As we reflect on the 2025 NFL offseason and the moves each team made, which teams made critical mistakes that could end up costing them a shot to legitimately compete in 2025? Some teams have more margin for error than others, while some teams simply couldn’t afford any slip-ups if they truly want to get in the mix for division titles, Super Bowl contention, or just generally improving on what we saw last year.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at every team’s biggest offseason mistake in 2025 and what might sink their ship overall. Some teams can overcome offseason mistakes, but most are going to look back and regret the error of their ways.
What was your favorite team’s worst offseason mistake in 2025? Will it cost them dearly?
Every NFL Team’s Worst Offseason Mistake in 2025
NFC North
Green Bay Packers: Failure to add another EDGE presence
The Green Bay Packers actually had a couple of bad mistakes in the 2025 offseason that could end up sinking this team’s ship in 2025. The need for an edge presence is the foremost error and they still have some time to rectify that, but it might be a pipe dream to trade for someone like Trey Hendrickson at this point. The Packers also failed to properly upgrade the cornerback position with the departure of former first-round pick Eric Stokes.
Minnesota Vikings: Playing “Moneyball” with the secondary
The Vikings didn’t have a ton of 2025 NFL Draft capital to work with this offseason, and they took the plunge headfirst into the JJ McCarthy era, but the failure to add any true impact players in the defensive backfield (added Isaiah Rodgers and Jeff Okudah) while losing a key player in Camryn Bynum, could end up being this team’s undoing.
Detroit Lions: Doing literally nothing in response to Aidan Hutchinson’s injury
I don’t understand the Detroit Lions’ approach to figuring out how to deal with life without Aidan Hutchinson. If Hutchinson doesn’t return to peak form, this Lions pass rush is in trouble off the edge. They went from being talked about as a possible Myles Garrett destination to hardly making a dent in free agency or the NFL Draft with help in the pass rush department. Considering how desperate they were last year, you’d think GM Brad Holmes would be on top of it. The contingency plan doesn’t look great and neither does Hutchinson’s recovery from a serious leg injury.
Chicago Bears: Passing on outstanding running back class early
The Chicago Bears have had a fantastic offseason overall, but running back D’Andre Swift was once a castoff of Ben Johnson and the Detroit Lions. Now, we’re supposed to believe that Swift is going to be the featured piece of his rushing attack in Chicago? You can’t address every need in a single offseason, but with such a loaded running back class, it was a little shocking to see the Bears wait until late on Day 3 to add someone (Kyle Monangai) with that position being so crucial to the success of Johnson’s offense.
AFC North
Pittsburgh Steelers: Banking on Aaron Rodgers
The entire Pittsburgh Steelers offseason seems to be hanging on an Aaron Rodgers-sized thread at this point. The Steelers brought back Mason Rudolph this offseason, but that move isn’t moving the needle for anyone except a small sect of Steelers fans who are Rudolph truthers. The trade to acquire DK Metcalf and subsequent contract extension make the Steelers' passing on QBs in the 2025 NFL Draft even more curious. This is a team clearly missing a piece of the offseason puzzle.
Baltimore Ravens: Choosing DeAndre Hopkins over other veteran WRs
There were a lot of interesting veteran receivers available this offseason, but the Baltimore Ravens decided to go with a guy in DeAndre Hopkins, who has really not shown himself to be anywhere near the difference maker he used to be. After getting traded to the Kansas City Chiefs last year, Hopkins caught a respectable 41 passes with four touchdowns. The Ravens didn’t need a super dynamic addition to the receiver room but even someone like Keenan Allen would have been better.
Cleveland Browns: Not getting a king’s ransom for Myles Garrett
The Browns needed to strip their operation down to the studs this offseason, even if they believe in the duo of GM Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski. The idea of trading away Myles Garrett is a difficult one to grapple with, but throwing a ton of cash at Garrett instead of using him to replenish draft assets you lost in the ugly Deshaun Watson trade is a bizarre choice given where this Browns roster is currently at. Cleveland missed an opportunity to get a king’s ransom in a trade bidding war.
Cincinnati Bengals: Not paying Trey Hendrickson what he’s worth
The good news for the Bengals with this one is that they can rectify the issue by paying Trey Hendrickson what he wants. They obviously are willing to cut checks as an organization, so why would they draw a line in the sand for a legitimate Defensive MVP candidate? The presence of Trey Hendrickson off the edge is crucial for the Bengals to maximize their current window and playing hardball with him to save a couple of million is a rough look.
NFC South
Atlanta Falcons: Banking on all young guys on the defensive front
The Atlanta Falcons made some much-needed investments in the defensive side of the ball, but they went so heavy on offense for so long that I’m not sure they’re going to be able to take the steps forward they hope in 2025 with so much youth on that side of the ball. Getting guys like Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. looks great on paper, but those picks have to hit immediately in order for this team to be relevant late in 2025. And that’s a lot to ask of rookies.
Carolina Panthers: Failing to sign DL Milton Williams in free agency
The Panthers traded away their biggest and best defensive piece last offseason, sending Brian Burns to the New York Giants. That trade left a gaping hole on the defensive front and they have done nothing to effectively add a dynamic presence on that side of the ball to help defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and the worst defense in the league last year. Multiple teams missed on him, but the Panthers' missing on Milton Williams, in particular, set off a chain reaction of them moving to a very clear “Plan B” in free agency. He was the stud they needed.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Only adding Haason Reddick to the pass rush
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers should be much better this year defensively as long as they can stay mostly healthy, but regardless of the health of the majority of that unit, they needed to add guys to the pass rush off the edge. They were desperate enough last year to call Shaq Barrett out of retirement, but the only addition they made in 2025 was bringing in Haason Reddick in NFL free agency. With the Eagles, Reddick was a superstar. With the Jets, he was a super-dud. It’s worth a shot, but not as the only option.
New Orleans Saints: Completely botching the QB situation
The New Orleans Saints obviously didn’t do enough work on Derek Carr and his situation heading into the 2025 offseason. They were caught in a brutal situation shortly before the NFL Draft when they did a crash course on incoming signal callers. And they may have taken the worst risk-reward option of them all with Tyler Shough in the second round. The way the Saints have seemingly botched the QB situation (Carr has now retired) will be this team’s undoing in 2025.
AFC South
Houston Texans: Gutting the offensive line
The Texans needed to upgrade their offensive line in 2025, but they seemingly gutted the weirdest possible names. They traded star left tackle Laremy Tunsil to the Commanders, arguably the weirdest move of them all. Houston’s approach to “improving” the offensive line is extremely risky, and as much time as CJ Stroud spent on his back last year, I’m not sure it was the right call by GM Nick Caserio.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Cutting Evan Engram
Anytime a new GM and head coach come to an NFL city, they are going to make drastic moves to put their stamp on a roster. James Gladstone and Liam Coen put their stamp on the Jaguars with a variety of salary cap casualties, including cutting tight end Evan Engram. Engram was immediately sought after by two AFC playoff teams – the Broncos and the Chargers – and wound up signing in Denver. As good of a prospect as Brenton Strange may be, the Jaguars dumping Engram felt like an unnecessary move when he could help the team and QB Trevor Lawrence.
Tennessee Titans: Old and ill-advised free agent signings
The Tennessee Titans hired a new general manager in Mike Borgonzi, but their approach to NFL Free Agency remained confusing. They signed Tyler Lockett and Van Jefferson at receiver as well as Jaylon Moore on the offensive line. They overpaid for Cody Barton and Dre’Mont Jones defensively. Tennessee’s moves just don’t make sense for a team that is transitioning to a rookie quarterback and they’re likely going to be taking on a decent amount of dead money in the near future when these moves don’t work out.
Indianapolis Colts: Putting any level of stock in Daniel Jones
The Indianapolis Colts have a pretty good-looking roster overall, but the signing of Daniel Jones to compete with Anthony Richardson is about as uninspiring as it gets. Even if Jones was wrongfully cut midseason by the New York Giants, there’s no real proof of concept that he can be anything more than a solid spot starter in the NFL. His 2022 season feels more like a mirage than anything, and even if that’s as good as it gets…how good was it actually? Jones and Richardson have been inefficient turnover machines.
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys: Passing on the draft at running back early
What was abundantly clear for the Dallas Cowboys last year was the lack of a running game, especially compared to their division rivals in Philadelphia. Many people expected the Cowboys to prioritize the running back position in the 2025 NFL Draft but they didn’t spend any picks on that spot until the 5th round (Jaydon Blue). The additions of guys like Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders don’t inspire much confidence at all and if Dallas’s running game struggles this year, we’ll be able to point to their poor offseason process.
Philadelphia Eagles: Not bringing back Mekhi Becton
There’s not much you can really say about the Eagles to truly say something is going to “sink their ship” but lack of continuity on the offensive line might do it. The Eagles snagged Mekhi Becton in free agency last year and he turned into a big-money guard for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2025. You can’t keep everyone, but Becton was a great fit in Philly and would have been a smart player to re-sign on their offensive line to keep the starting five together.
Washington Commanders: Downgrading on the defensive front
The Washington Commanders are one of the most exciting teams in the NFL right now after making the NFC Championship in 2024 with star rookie Jayden Daniels, but what are they going to do in 2025? You want to see progression from a young team like this but did the Commanders do enough on the defensive front? I don’t think so. In fact, with the loss of Jonathan Allen and the failure to add impact players off the edge, they have downgraded here and that could be a serious issue over an 18-week season.
New York Giants: Creating a complete mess at quarterback
The New York Giants seem like a team that was the last one to Black Friday shopping. They set out to get the best possible deals and they ended up just getting whatever was leftover and they grabbed as much of it as they could. Signing both Jameis Winston and Russell Wilson was weird enough, but after failing to trade up for Cam Ward, the Giants played a bit of small-ball by moving up for Jaxson Dart. Is anyone convinced this is going to work out? I guess you never know.
AFC East
New York Jets: Paying big money for Justin Fields
It’s not like the New York Jets gave Justin Fields an outrageous contract. In today’s NFL, they took a calculated risk, but it’s a pretty big one overall and it could end up pushing this team into “sell” mode at the 2025 NFL trade deadline. There are a lot of important contract players on this roster in New York and new GM Darren Mougey might be looking to build his NFL Draft war chest in the middle of this season if the Fields move doesn’t work out.
Buffalo Bills: Signing defensive linemen without proper due diligence
The Buffalo Bills had to improve on the defensive front in 2025, and they did, but they didn’t do proper due diligence on the players they signed. Although Larry Ogunjobi and Michael Hoecht will eventually help the Buffalo defensive line, it won’t be during the first six games of the year as both guys were popped for violating the NFL’s PED policy. If it was just one guy, maybe you could argue that the Bills knew about it beforehand but two guys with PED suspensions is indicative that they didn’t do enough research.
New England Patriots: Paying Stefon Diggs like it’s 2022
Everyone is interested to see if the Patriots can be a team that takes a big leap in 2025, but the New England Patriots were obviously desperate to reach the salary cap floor this offseason. They signed Stefon Diggs, who hasn’t played overly well in a couple of years and is coming off of a serious knee injury at the age of 31, to a contract worth north of $20 million per year. You’ve got to overpay sometimes to get big-name players into tough situations, but paying Diggs like this means the Pats are also going to ensure he gets time on the field and targets, and what young players will be sacrificed?
Miami Dolphins: Day late, dollar short on addressing roster holes
The Miami Dolphins just feel like they are a day late and a dollar short on a number of moves they’ve been making lately. They drafted Kenneth Grant in the 1st round this year, but that feels like a response to losing Christian Wilkins a year too late. The Dolphins haven’t adequately addressed their secondary. They haven’t gotten enough pieces for their offensive line. They should have traded Tyreek Hill last year. It feels like this team is a step or two behind in the roster-building process.
NFC West
Los Angeles Rams: No impact additions to secondary
The Los Angeles Rams have done a better job than most teams the last few years at reloading their roster, especially in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Once you’ve reloaded in the trenches, however, you’ve got to make some impact additions to upgrade your secondary. For whatever reason, the Rams decided in 2025 that they were not going to do that. The cornerback position was one of the primary weaknesses on paper, and maybe they’re just hoping that Emmanuel Forbes can be a steal off the waiver wire last year.
San Francisco 49ers: Too many losses all at once (especially defensively)
The 49ers have simply lost too much all at once. Deebo Samuel, Talanoa Hufanga, Dre Greenlaw, Javon Hargrave, Charvarius Ward, Aaron Banks…so many players departed the Bay area this offseason and it’ll be a coaching masterclass by Kyle Shanahan and Robert Saleh. It just feels like the 49ers are going to be fighting an uphill battle all year long and I’m not sure if they’re going to be any better than 8 or 9 wins if they are able to stay healthy. And based on last year, that’s a big “if”.
Seattle Seahawks: Trading DK Metcalf and Geno Smith
I don’t understand the overhaul the Seahawks decided to take on in 2025. I can understand bringing in a young quarterback to develop, but why would you move off of Geno Smith to go to Sam Darnold? Just keep continuity with Smith for one more year and take Jalen Milroe just like you did. And trading DK Metcalf only to replace him with Cooper Kupp? I just don’t get the process here by Seattle and hopefully it works out for them, but I’m not confident.
Arizona Cardinals: Whiffing on Milton Williams in free agency
The Arizona Cardinals are rightly banking on the offensive weapons they already have in place developing and taking steps forward in 2025. I can’t fault them for not messing with that side of the ball too much but on the defensive side of the ball, this team desperately needed to make impact additions. And they did, but they missed out on doing even more. Arizona was one of the top teams to get outbid by the Patriots for defensive lineman Milton Williams, one of the top prizes in free agency this year. Williams plus Josh Sweat and Walter Nolen would have set this defense off in 2025.
AFC West
Kansas City Chiefs: Trading Joe Thuney to the Bears
Patrick Mahomes will officially be entering his 30s this year, so why not trade away the best offensive lineman you’ve got protecting him? The Kansas City Chiefs obviously can’t keep everybody, but getting rid of Joe Thuney and doing a favor for Ryan Poles with the Bears? That’s rough. And it could end up costing the Chiefs dearly. I’m skeptical of the offensive line as it is for Kansas City but moving Joe Thuney was a bad move.
Denver Broncos: Not doing enough to surround Bo Nix
The Denver Broncos had one job this offseason – get Bo Nix some help. The question at this point is whether or not they did enough. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder with all of these moves, but the primary additions the Broncos made to the offense were Evan Engram, RJ Harvey, and Pat Bryant. You’re trusting Sean Payton’s eye here a lot. Otherwise, the Broncos might have put Bo Nix in a position to carry the team way too much yet again in 2025.
Los Angeles Chargers: Not properly replacing Joey Bosa
The Los Angeles Chargers signed Najee Harris in NFL free agency only to replace him immediately in the 2025 NFL Draft with Omarion Hampton in the 1st round. For a team that is so hellbent on upgrading in the trenches (passed on Malik Nabers for Joe Alt), why didn’t the Chargers do more to replace Joey Bosa off the edge? There were a number of intriguing players still on the board when they picked in round one, including James Pearce Jr. The Chargers also failed to properly address their secondary in free agency.
Las Vegas Raiders: Horrible free agency period and downgrades defensively
If you evaluate NFL free agency on paper, which is our only choice at this point, the Raiders easily made the weirdest moves possible. The decision to let Trevon Moehrig go after arguably his best season so far as a pro and replace him with Jeremy Chinn? Hate it. The decision to let Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo go only to replace them with Elandon Roberts and Devin White? Yikes. Then you lose Nate Hobbs and replace him with Eric Stokes? I hated everything about free agency for the Raiders.