The NFL League year for 2025 has officially begun as of 12 pm EST on Wednesday. With that, teams can make agreed signings with free agents official and can begin putting players on their salary role. With the legal tampering window opened as of Monday, most teams have already begun adding to their corps of players that will be rostered through the 2025 season (and beyond). Today, we’ll highlight the teams that have made the most out of this off-season.
- Chicago Bears
After finishing the season being sacked more than any other NFL quarterback that year (68 times) and third most in a season , Caleb Williams can’t be anything but pleased with the way this off season has gone for the Bears. They brought in one of the most appealing head coach candidates in recent years in Ben Johnson (former offensive play-caller for the Lions), who is expected to bring his innovative play-calling and intelligent scheming to Chicago.
In addition to this, the Bears wasted no time addressing their sack problem – making big moves trading for two Super Bowl winning lineman (G) Jonah Jackson from the Rams and (IOL) Joe Thuney from the Chiefs. When the legal tampering period opened on Monday they got in the mix by signing the top center on the market in Drew Dalman (former Falcon). Dalman had a 95% effectiveness rate as a pass-blocker and excels as a run blocking center – which is sure to get Benny Johnson buzzing with excitement.
The Bears also made additions to the trenches on the defensive side of the ball, signing DT Grady Jarret (former Falcon) and Edge Rusher Dayo Odeyingbo (former Colt). Joining a pass rush that has Montez Sweat and will be coordinated by Dennis Allen, this move for the Bears will help to alleviate some pressure on their secondary, which is mid-tier at best.
I hope Bears fans don’t get too ahead of themselves. While these are all incredible moves on paper, they had a similar off-season last year and failed to play good football. Ben Johnson is a beam of light, yes, but still has a lot to prove as a head coach, not just a play caller. This will also be the year that Caleb Williams has to step up and show why he was rated so high coming out of college. The good news is he will be seeing fewer defenders in his face this season.
2. Washington Commanders
The Commanders jumped out of the water as a top NFL team last season surpassing everyone’s expectations and knocking off the Super Bowl favorite, Detroit Lions to make it to the NFC Championship. Under the regime of new Head Coach Dan Quinn and Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels, that team was H-O-T HOT and this off-season they’re keeping the flame going.
First and foremost, their biggest win of this off season was holding on to their veteran studs that make a difference on the field and in the locker room. One of Daniels’s favorite targets TE Zach Ertz was resigned as well as LB Bobby Wagner, P Tress Way and TE John Bates.
The hogs of Washington also brought in another big boy to funnel the trenches on defense. DT Javon Kinlaw who was one of the more notable free agent names on defense will be bringing a run stopping presence to a defensive line that was a revolving door to opposing rushers (see NFC Championship game film).
The Commies addressed their O Line issues they experienced last season which impacted their run game significantly. Fans in the D.C area should be feeling as high as this guy was on his draft night, as Laremy Tunsil is putting a new mask on in Washington. The LT is one of the best at his position in the game and will pay a vital role in protecting his 2nd year quarterback’s blindside.
My concern for Washington is how high the bar is for this upcoming season. No one saw Washington going as far as they did last season which has now set an expectation for D.C fans that is tough to accomplish with such a young team.
3. New England Patriots
Oh boy, have Pats fan been in hell the past couple of seasons. After underwhelming off-seasons followed by disappointing games (including a win that cost them the 1st overall pick in this year’s draft) there ain’t much to be optimistic about.
But there is a beam of light in Foxboro. Drake Maye has Patriots fans overly optimistic about the future and there’s a lot of buzz about the ways in which the team will support him. So far all they’ve done offensively is sign OT Morgan Moses (which certainly helps the worst offensive line in the league). Oddly enough, the way they’ve supported the offense is by supporting the defense.
Mike Vrabel tasked to replace one and done coach, Jerod Mayo, is on a mission to create a defense no team wants to face. In the first day of free agency he and the Patriots front office dropped over $200 million on players like LB Robert Spillane, CB Carlton Davis, EDGE Harold Landry, and the big ticket item – one of the top free agent defensemen, former Eagles DT Milton Williams.
These defensive additions coupled with their existing young stars like CB Christian Gonzalez and DE Keion White will make it very difficult for teams to score on them next season. However, Pats fans are still sitting around wondering when on Earth Drake Maye will have someone to throw to. The question that lingers with this team is what they will choose to do with the 4th overall pick in this year’s draft. Do they address the need for a wide receiver there or up the protection in drafting a tackle?
4. Buffalo Bills
This is Josh Allen and he is good at football. This is Josh Allen and he just won the NFL MVP. This is Josh Allen and he is about to marry my celebrity crush, Hailee Steinfeld. This is Josh Allen and he will be getting paid $330 million over six years.
Yeah that’s right, this guy is winning right now and the Buffalo Bills are too. Extending the best quarterback their franchise has ever seen (sorry Jim Kelly stans) is the best move Billy Beane and the front office could possibly make this off-season.
But they didn’t stop there. The Bills picked up 4x Pro Bowl Edge Rusher Joey Bosa after the Chargers released him over the weekend. Bosa will play on a defensive line that also added Michael Hoecht from the Rams and will be looking for new leadership after releasing veteran DE Von Miller.
Buffalo has been on the cusp of greatness for years now. They just keep running into the Chiefs in the playoffs. I’m not sure if these moves will really help them to get past that hurdle – but the Chiefs having a tough off-season might. As long as Allen stays healthy and continues to improve, I can envision that long awaited Lombardi making its way to upstate New York.
5. Minnesota Vikings
What a season it was for the Minnesota Vikings who finished 14-3 and revived the career of Sam Darnold. Kevin O’Connel showcased his brilliant coaching by creating defensive schemes that matched up perfectly to their opposition and relying their biggest offensive weapons. Still, this off-season brought a lot of questions.
The first question was the quarterback position. Darnold, a free agent, was expecting a pay day from his next team. While I’m sure the Vikings wouldn’t have minded paying Darnold, they already invested a first round pick into JJ McCarthy who sat out his rookie year due to injury.
With Sammy D heading to Seattle, the Vikings had some money to spend and they did just that. They brought back RB Aaron Jones Sr. on a player friendly deal and extended CB Byron Murphy.
The big piece to their off-season success came from the notable players brought in. Offensively, they improved their line by signing IOLs Will Fries and Ryan Kelly. Defensively, they made key additions and in Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, two studs who will provide a formidable presence in the NFC North.
In my opinion, this season for the Vikings hinges on JJ McCarthy’s. We will know much more about the future of the franchise after seeing McCarthy’s performance. Some were questioning whether he was worthy of being taken as early as he was in the draft (I was one of them), but Bo Nix brought those concerns and he BALLED out his rookie year.
Can we really judge the success of a team based off of a few signings? No. But does it get us amped for a season that is still a horrid 6 months away? Absolutely.
Written by Colby Shannon March 12th at 8:17 pm
As we continue to approach the draft OnlyFootball will be diving further into NFL teams and their expected outcomes for the draft and the 2025 season.
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