Ladies and gentlemen, we made it. At long last, the 2025 NFL season is finally here … sort of.
With the Atlanta Falcons and Pittsburgh Steelers' rookies set to report for duty on Wednesday morning, all 32 NFL teams will soon begin their 2025 training camp—marking the unofficial start of football season.
With every club starting at 0-0, summer is the time for optimism. But as we know, only one team can win the Super Bowl, and the road to get there comes with plenty of hurdles.
And so, as the Eagles look to repeat while the rest of the league tries to take them down, here's one question surrounding all 32 teams heading into 2025:
One Question for All 32 NFL Teams:Arizona CardinalsAtlanta FalconsBaltimore RavensBuffalo BillsCarolina PanthersChicago BearsCincinnati BengalsCleveland BrownsDallas CowboysDenver BroncosDetroit LionsGreen Bay PackersHouston TexansIndianapolis ColtsJacksonville JaguarsKansas City ChiefsLas Vegas RaidersLos Angeles ChargersLos Angeles RamsMiami DolphinsMinnesota VikingsNew England PatriotsNew Orleans SaintsNew York GiantsNew York JetsPhiladelphia EaglesPittsburgh SteelersSan Francisco 49ersSeattle SeahawksTampa Bay BuccaneersTennessee TitansWashington CommandersArizona Cardinals
The Cardinals signed quarterback Kyler Murray to a five-year, $230 million contract extension ahead of the 2022 season. Since then, the quarterback has struggled. He started 11 games (going 3-8 with 17 touchdowns and nine turnovers) the following year before tearing his ACL, and over his last 25 starts is just 11-14 with a less than 2:1 TD-to-turnover ratio.
It's put up or shut up time for the former No. 1 overall pick—whose massive deal is pretty hard for Arizona to get out of before 2028.
Atlanta Falcons
After breaking Mike Ditka's record for most yards by a rookie tight end (1,026) in 2021, Kyle Pitts has yet to surpass the 700-yard mark in each of the last three seasons. Although offensive coordinator Zac Robinson told reporters this spring that he expects the former No. 4 overall pick to take a "big leap" in 2025, it remains to be seen if he can be a true impact player in an NFL offense.
Baltimore Ravens
While a whopping $12+ million APY sits between Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely's salaries heading into 2025, just 13 catches, 196 yards and five touchdowns were the difference in their production in '24. Needless to say, the Ravens have the top tight end tandem in the NFL—as proven by ESPN's annual position rankings, which saw Andrews come in at No. 6 and Likely at No. 8.
Likely has slowly but steadily crept into Andrews' production since being drafted out of Coastal Carolina in 2022. Perhaps 2025 is the year that officially becomes TE1.
Buffalo Bills
There isn't much to doubt about the Buffalo Bills. They've won the division each of the last five years, Josh Allen is the reigning NFL MVP, and they're fresh off a nail-biting three-point defeat in the AFC championship game. The problem? Four of their last five playoff defeats have come at the hands of Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
At this point, Allen's upper hand in the regular season means next to nothing in the NFL's biggest rivalry. It's time for him to show that he can beat Kansas City when it matters most.
Carolina Panthers
While the 2024 season gave us the emergence of quarterback Bryce Young in Carolina, it also saw the Panthers boast a league-worst defense. Carolina was dead last in the NFL last year in both yards per game allowed (404.5) and points per game allowed (31.4), which certainly helped contribute to their 5-12 record.
After swinging and missing on Milton Williams in free agency, the Panthers pivoted to former Chiefs DT Tershawn Warton before also adding S Tre'von Moehig, LB Pat Brown, DT Bobby Brown III, and LB Christian Rozeboom. They then selected four defenders in the draft. Carolina is in rebuild mode on defense. We'll see how it plays out.
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears won the Ben Johnson sweepstakes this past winter, signing the former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator to be their head coach. Ideally, the deal pairs him with former No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams for years to come.
On the flip side, Johnson has never been a head coach before and—while the brain power behind the NFL's most exciting offense—it's yet to be determined whether he can lead a full 53-man roster (plus practice squad) to victory.
Cincinnati Bengals
While quarterback Joe Burrow was leading the Bengals' high-powered offense with a league-high 4,918 yards and 43 touchdowns in 2024, the defense was failing to hold up its end of the bargain. Allowing a whopping 25.5 points per game led to a brutal 4-8 start before a miraculous five-game win streak—guided by the aforementioned Burrow—saw Cincinnati finish just outside of the postseason at 9-8.
After not making any sort of splash in free agency—and with Trey Hendrickson's contract situation still in limbo—it's hard to believe Cincy's results won't be a carbon copy of last year. Could the addition of Al Golden as defensive coordinator be the secret sauce? Sure, but I wouldn't count on it.
Cleveland Browns
After passing over him six times, the Cleveland Browns took Shedeur Sanders off the board with the 144th overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft. The former Colorado Buffalo joins a quarterback room Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Deshaun Watson, and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel—and will likely have an uphill battle for playing time.
That being said, Cleveland is Cleveland, and if we know one thing about how that organization is run, it's that owner Jimmy Haslam likes to put on a show. Perhaps he continues playing puppet master and gets the signal caller on the field sooner than GM Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski would like.
Dallas Cowboys
Jerry Jones pushed all his chips to the middle this past January when deciding to replace head coach Mike McCarthy with Brian Schottenheimer.
The 51-year-old Schottenheimer has been a career assistant and, since 2006, served as offensive coordinator for the New York Jets, St. Louis Rams, Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks, the University of Georgia, and most recently the Cowboys. Linked to the head coaching carousel as early as 2007, he now embarks on his first job in the year 2025—for arguably the most polarizing franchise in the league.
“Brian Schottenheimer is known as a career assistant," said Jones back in January. "He ain’t Brian no more. He is now known as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.”
Denver Broncos
RJ Harvey, the Broncos' second-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft, will inevitably become the team's starting running back at some point this season. The question is: when?
It felt like Denver was clearing the runway for him to take the reins up until signing J.K. Dobbins to a one-year deal last month. Now a de facto 1-2 punch in Sean Payton's backfield alongside second-year quarterback Bo Nix, we'll see who gets the lion's share of the carries to start—and finish—the 2025 season.
Detroit Lions
After earning the NFC's No. 1 seed in 2024 thanks to both an elite offense and a stout defense, the Lions lost both of their coordinators to head coaching jobs this offseason. John Morton is in line to take over the offense from Ben Johnson, while linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard was promoted to defensive coordinator in place of Aaron Glenn.
Detroit's roster is stacked, and healthy, which will help the newly appointed assistants. Now it's on them to keep the momentum rolling toward the team's long awaited Super Bowl title.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers have done their part in surrounding quarterback Jordan Love with plenty of weapons. Over the last four drafts, they've selected wide receivers Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, and most recently Matthew Golden.
It's a loaded room, but is there a true No. 1 target? And more importantly, does it even matter when you have an abundance of twos? For better or for worse, head coach and playcaller Matt LeFleur has his work cut out for him in the pass-catching department.
Houston Texans
Houston's front office, led by GM Nick Caserio, did quite the makeover to the offensive line this offseason in front of quarterback C.J. Stroud. After releasing guard Shaq Mason and trading left tackle Laremy Tunsil, they signed free agents Cam Robinson and Laken Tomlinson to one-year deals, claimed Jake Andrews off waivers from the Patriots, and drafted Aireontae Ersery out of Minnesota in the second round.
With Tytus Howard likely shifting inside to guard and second-year pro Blake Fisher set to man right tackle, Stroud is slated for a completely new front five in front of him. PFF ranked the unit dead last in their offensive line rankings heading into 2025. Best of luck, C.J.
Indianapolis Colts
Yup, that's free agent acquisition Daniel Jones in the above photo, not Anthony Richardson—the quarterback once thought to be the franchise’s future.
That's because, despite being drafted fourth overall by the Colts in 2022, Richardson is once again dealing with a shoulder injury that forced him to miss the team's on-field offseason program, coincidentally giving Jones—also a former first-round pick—a leg up in the team's quarterback competition.
If he can enter training camp healthy, it will be one of the more closely watched battles throughout the summer.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars made one of the boldest moves we've seen in recent draft history when they traded up for Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter—but that was only step one.
Now tasked with navigating the first true dual-threat player in the modern NFL, it'll be exciting to see where Jacksonville decides to play him, what his workload will look like, and how the 22-year-old will perform on both sides of the football.
Kansas City Chiefs
While this question is being asked in relative jest, there are plenty of questions surrounding the future of the Chiefs heading into 2025. Sure, they've won the AFC West for nine straight seasons, have played in five of the last six Super Bowls, and have the best quarterback the league has seen since Tom Brady—but on the flip side, all signs point to this being Travis Kelce's last hoorah, head coach Andy Reid isn't getting any younger, and despite going 15-2 last regular season, Kansas City needed plenty of luck to do so.
It'll be fascinating to see how general manager Brett Veach will refresh and retool for the second half of Patrick Mahomes' career.
Las Vegas Raiders
Pete Carroll is back coaching in the NFL after taking the 2024 season off to serve as a consultant for the Seattle Seahawks. The soon-to-be 74-year-old was hired by Tom Brady & Co. as the next head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders back in January and is set to become the oldest head coach in NFL history.
Reunited with Geno Smith as his quarterback—and with a short runway in front of him, given his age—Carroll is tasked with bringing Vegas back to the postseason for the first time since 2021.
Los Angeles Chargers
The wide receiver cupboard in Los Angeles is pretty bare following the abrupt retirement of Mike Williams last week. While Ladd McConkey put together an impressive rookie season in 2024, the team let Josh Palmer walk in free agency this spring, and Quentin Johnston has been underwhelming since being drafted in '23. In an already young room, there will be plenty of pressure on second-round pick Tre Harris to emerge as a key contributor for quarterback Justin Herbert.
Maybe they go the alternate route and see how Pepe from Love Island looks in cleats and shoulder pads…
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams seemed more than ready to move on from Matthew Stafford ahead of the 2025 season. After allowing him to test the market, however, the two sides agreed on a two-year restructured contract.
Now set for his fifth season under center in L.A. and 17th overall, Stafford is far closer to the end of his career than the beginning. There's a real chance that this is the 37 year-old's curtain call.
Miami Dolphins
After leading the Dolphins to back-to-back playoff appearances in his first two seasons at the helm, head coach Mike McDaniel's team went just 8-9 in 2024 and finished second in the AFC East for a third year in a row.
Paired with Tua Tagovailoa, an accurate and smart passer, McDaniel has called a thriving offense in Miami. That's all well and good, if you're an offensive coordinator. Owner Stephen Ross expressed his "full support" of McDaniel following last season's end, but with clamors for a change in culture, it's fair to question the 42-year-old's job security—especially if they finish the 2025 campaign under .500 once again.
Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota tried its best to make J.J. McCarthy's NFL landing as soft as possible last season. Despite selecting him 10th overall in the 2024 draft, the Vikings had Sam Darnold in the room to allow the Michigan product to learn behind the scenes and start when he was ready. That plan quickly changed, however, when McCarthy tore up his knee in the preseason and missed the entirety of his rookie campaign.
Now, Darnold is off to Seattle, and McCarthy is the guy—for better or for worse. We'll see if the 22-year-old's two passing touchdowns from last August are enough momentum to grab the reins of an entire NFL franchise.
New England Patriots
After swapping out Jerod Mayo for Mike Vrabel and spending the most money in free agency this offseason, the Patriots have become a popular pick to turn things around in 2025—especially given that they've solved head coach and quarterback.
But have they solved quarterback? Many, including myself, are bullish on Drake Maye after he threw for 2,276 yards and tallied 17 total touchdowns as a rookie. On the other hand, however, the 22-year-old turned the ball over 16 times in 13 games and realistically, was just 1-9 as a starter (the Patriots won two of Maye's starts despite Jacoby Brissett and Joe Milton III playing the majority of snaps).
With an improved cast around him and a proven play-caller in Josh McDaniels in his ear, it'll be intriguing—and important—to see how Maye can dial it up in year two.
New Orleans Saints
Derek Carr's abrupt retirement this past May left the New Orleans Saints in quarterback limbo entering 2025. Luckily, given the negative prognosis they received on Carr's shoulder injury, they selected Louisville's Tyler Shough with the 40th overall pick in April's NFL draft.
With Carr out of the picture, the starting QB job is essentially Shough's to lose. Given the nature of the league, and the fact that he was a second-rounder, the 25-year-old will need to prove his worth sooner rather than later.
New York Giants
After botching the Daniel Jones/Saquon Barkley contract dilemma, Giants general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll have been given another chance by owner John Mara to show they're worthy of the job.
The tandem enters 2025 on the hot seat. We'll see if the quarterbacking trio of Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, and Jackson Dart—along with a consensus slam dunk draft class—can help them cool things off.
New York Jets
It's a top-down makeover for the New York Jets this season, having rid themselves of general manager Joe Douglas, head coach Robert Saleh, and quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The trio of GM Darren Mougey, HC Aaron Glenn, and QB Justin Fields is now set up to lead the charge.
Fields signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the team this offseason after tallying just over 1,100 passing yards and ten total touchdowns in six starts for the Steelers in 2024. He's been handed the keys to the Gang Green operation for the short term. It remains to be seen if he can be an answer for the long term.
Philadelphia Eagles
It's hard to imagine the Eagles winning Super Bowl LIX without Saquon Barkley. The former No. 2 overall pick set career highs in rushing yards (2,005), yards per attempt (5.8), and rushing touchdowns (14) in 2024 while pacing Philly's offense throughout the postseason the tune of 36.3 points per game.
He is—however—now entering his age 28 season, and as we know about running backs, they don't age gracefully. Can Barkley, who signed a new deal this offseason to become the highest-paid RB in NFL history, buck the trend once again?
Pittsburgh Steelers
This is not hyperbole. The entirety of the Steelers' 2025 season hinges on whether or not Aaron Rodgers can return to form. After allowing both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields to walk away in free agency, Pittsburgh waited until the fifth round in the NFL draft to select a quarterback and—after months of talks—finally signed Rodgers to a one-year deal in early June.
If the 41-year-old still has it almost two years post-Achilles tear, then the signing will be a slam dunk. If he's washed up, however, then heads may roll in Pittsburgh for the first time in a long time.
San Francisco 49ers
While having an offensive guru as their head coach, the Kyle Shanahan-led 49ers have been known for their dominant defense throughout their current surge as one of the NFC's top teams. Last season, however, that wasn't the case.
After allowing 25.6 points per game in 2024—tied for fourth worst in the NFL—San Francisco fired defensive coordinator Nick Sorenson and re-hired Robert Saleh, who served as DC from 2017 to '20 before taking the New York Jets' head coaching job. It'll be up to him, along with veterans Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, to get the 49ers' defense back up to snuff.
Seattle Seahawks
After having Geno Smith under center for the last three seasons, the Seahawks decided to boldly pivot at quarterback this offseason. They shipped Smith to Las Vegas—reuniting him with Pete Carroll—and signed Sam Darnold to a three-year, $100 million contract.
While Darnold is coming off by far his best season as a pro, the former first-round pick, who was once considered a bust, still has to prove that he's a long-term option at signal caller.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
After missing the back half of last season due to a dislocated ankle, Chris Godwin re-signed with the Bucs this past March on a three-year, $66 million contract. According to the Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud, the wide receiver won't participate in team-related activities to begin camp as he continues to recover from surgery.
Outside of Godwin, quarterback Baker Mayfield's weaponry consists of 31-year-old Mike Evans, second-year pass catcher Jalen McMillan, and rookie Emeka Egbuka. If Tampa wants to repeat as NFC South champs—and advance past the divisional round of the playoffs—they'll want Godwin back as soon as possible.
Tennessee Titans
Entering year two with a rookie No. 1 overall pick at quarterback, you would think Titans head coach Brian Callahan has a long leash heading into 2025. However, with the current state of affairs in the NFL—a.k.a., an overarching pressure to win now—it's not unreasonable to wonder if a slow start to the season could cause an abrupt end to his tenure in Tennessee.
Washington Commanders
Jayden Daniels did just about everything he could as a rookie: 12-5 record, Offensive Rookie of the Year award, NFC Championship Game appearance. The question now is simple: Can he repeat his successes?
The easy answer is yes. Executives across the NFL have already dubbed Daniels as the fifth-best quarterback in the sport—a high bar as he enters just his second season—and the addition of Deebo Samuel to the wide receiver room should only help him improve in Year 2. But seeing is believing. The floor is yours, JD5.
