On Monday, I looked at the best offseasons this cycle. Today, we’re getting negative. I’ve outlined the five worst offseasons so far, taking everything into consideration: free agency, draft, hiring cycle, cap management and more.
These teams failed to set themselves up for current or future success, depending on where they are as a franchise. Some of these teams are stuck in-between competing and rebuilding, while others claim to want to compete without putting themselves in position to do so.
Without further ado, the worst offseasons in 2025:
1: San Francisco 49ers
It has not been an offseason to remember in San Francisco. After taking the Chiefs to overtime in Super Bowl LVIII, the 49ers took a step back last year, as injuries and thinning depth took their toll. Now that QB Brock Purdy is up for an extension, they’ve missed out on the rookie contact quarterback window. Their signal-caller is going to get a lot more expensive, and the Niners are already feeling the squeeze of an expensive roster.
Of the players that started in that Super Bowl against the Chiefs, WR Deebo Samuel, LG Aaron Banks, DT Arik Armstead, DT Javon Hargrave, ED Chase Young, LB Dre Greenlaw, CB Charvarius Ward and S Tashaun Gipson are no longer on the roster. Their defense has been decimated by attrition over the last two offseasons, and the unit they’re currently fielding doesn’t pack the same punch it did when the 49ers made perennial trips to the NFC Championship Game.
To combat this, San Francisco focused heavily on defense in the draft. DT Alfred Collins was a good pick in the second round, but LB Nick Martin was a massive overdraft in the third, and CB Upton Stout was a bit overdrafted as well. First-round pick ED Mykel Williams comes at a position of need, but there was better value on the board at pass rusher. Drafting for need and chasing “your guys” rarely works out, and that’s how the 49ers have operated for years. It’s part of what’s gotten them into this mess.
It would be unwise to count out Niners HC Kyle Shanahan. He’s one of the best in the game and hasn’t had back-to-back losing seasons in his tenure. But it’ll be an uphill battle for them to get back to a Super Bowl with this core. Purdy was found money in the seventh round, but now he’ll cost a market contract, making it tougher to field as deep a roster around him. The Rams are the clear favorites in the NFC West and the Cardinals appear to be on the upswing. We’ll see what the new-look Seahawks can do, but the 49ers face a tough battle in their own division, let alone the rest of the conference.
2: Miami Dolphins
What a difference a year can make for a head coach. Dolphins head man Mike McDaniel was one of the hottest names in football just a year ago. Now, there were rumblings he might be on the hot seat after how last season went. Those rumors were likely overblown, but McDaniel needs a bounce-back year to feel good about returning in 2026.
That may be easier said than done, as if anything, Miami’s roster got worse this offseason. Both their offensive and defensive lines were a problem in 2024, as was the secondary. The offensive line is definitively worse than it was a year ago. Starting LT Terron Armstead retired, and he was by far the best player on that unit. Second-year man Patrick Paul will compete with rookie Jonah Savaiinaea for the starting left tackle spot, with Savaiinaea potentially kicking inside to guard as well. It’s a shaky situation on the left side of the line, and the rest of the line underperformed last year as well.
Very little was done to address the secondary, and there’s been an ongoing trade saga with CB Jalen Ramsey. The Dolphins are apparently still open to trading him, though I’m not sure why. Without Ramsey, this secondary is dangerously undermanned, and even with him, it might be a problem. Safety Jevon Holland departed in free agency, leaving a hole at safety as well.
Rookie DTs Kenneth Grant and Jordan Phillips should help the defensive line, but their other two problem areas last year have only gotten worse. Healthier seasons from their stars should help, but it’s hard to see Miami being a serious threat in the playoffs this season. Does a borderline wildcard year save this version of the team? Maybe, but then, I’m not sure where they go from here.
3: Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons had the shock pick of the 2024 draft when they took QB Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall despite signing free agent QB Kirk Cousins to a significant four-year deal the month prior. Penix was generally viewed as a late-first- or early-second-round player, but the Falcons felt he was too good a prospect to pass on. Their decision ended up being a wise one, with two more quarterbacks flying off the board shortly after their pick and Cousins struggling in his return from an Achilles injury. Penix ended up starting a handful of games to close the season, though Atlanta had largely fallen out of playoff contention by that point.
Despite Cousins being the clear backup entering 2025 and carrying a hefty $40 million cap hit, the Falcons have elected to keep him on the roster. They were reportedly open to trading him, but when teams weren’t willing to take on his contract, they decided to keep him rather than cut him and incur a significant dead cap hit (though cutting him with a post-June 1 designation would still save them good money on the cap). The Falcons have rationalized this choice by saying that because their starter, Penix, is on such an affordable contract, they’re spending the same amount on quarterback as they were planning to when they signed Cousins.
This is a classic example of the sunk cost fallacy, and it’s a poor team-building strategy by Atlanta. Just because they are saving on Penix’s contract doesn’t mean they shouldn’t save more by cutting Cousins. Those funds could be used to bolster other areas of the roster, including perhaps to bring in another marquee free agent. Instead, they’re riding the bench. Maybe Penix gets injured or plays poorly and Cousins ends up in the starting lineup again, but it’s bad process.
That’s not the only bad decision Atlanta’s front office made this offseason. They made the worst trade of the 2025 draft, giving up a future first-round pick to move back into the first round and select ED James Pearce Jr. at No. 26. Pearce is a great player who fills a position of need, but it took a massive cost to acquire him. The Falcons selected LB Jalon Walker at No. 15, a hybrid player out of Georgia who may play more edge rusher in the NFL than he did in college. They needed a lot of help at pass rusher, so doubling down on the position in the draft isn’t a bad thing. But given the other trades in similar ranges, it was a ludicrous price to pay to draft a player in Pearce who wasn’t even guaranteed to come off the board in the first. And given some of the other pass rushers available late in the second round, it wasn’t a good opportunity cost, either.
I generally liked the other moves the Falcons made this offseason. They added some solid defensive pieces in free agency and had a solid draft, Pearce trade aside. But they made two of the worst moves by process of the offseason, and that’s deserving of a place on this list.
4: New Orleans Saints
The tenor of the Saints’ offseason changed considerably with the news that starting QB Derek Carr is retiring from the NFL. Suddenly, the outlook is a lot more favorable, but it’s worth looking back on how we got here. The Saints have been dying a slow death ever since Drew Brees retired following the 2020 season. Longtime HC Sean Payton retired the following offseason, and since then New Orleans has stubbornly refused to rebuild.
In the latter Brees years, the Saints kept a contending core together through some cap trickery, using mock extensions with void years to push out cap hits and let them keep their roster together. It let them field some of the best teams in the NFC for a few years, but that Super Bowl window closed four years ago when Brees retired. The Saints don’t seem to be aware of that, however, as they continue to roster-build as if they’re a perennial playoff team. They signed Carr two years ago to lead them back to the playoffs, but he missed a lot of time with injuries and played inconsistently when on the field.
The result is an expensive, underperforming roster that the Saints are stuck with. Just to have enough cap space to operate this offseason, they had to extend several veterans they might otherwise part with, including Carr. This is one of the worst rosters in the NFC, but it’s also one of the most expensive.
When Carr started throwing again about a month ago, he found a shoulder injury that was projected to cost him the 2025 season. He was exploring his options, including some that could have allowed his return late in the year. Carr’s decision to retire provides cap relief to New Orleans and sends them firmly into a rebuilding year. This was not the plan, though, given their free agency plan was made with the understanding Carr would be their starter, and considering their draft strategy.
Carr’s injury was known pre-draft, and he was expected to miss the season. With his future in jeopardy, the Saints drafted QB Tyler Shough out of Louisville in the early parts of the second round. It’s one of the more egregious overdrafts in recent memory, with Shough showing up at No. 90 on the consensus big board. Now he’ll be expected to start and develop behind a shaky offensive line and question marks across the board at receiver.
Perhaps now the Saints will finally look to the future and do the work to reconstruct their roster. Carr’s retirement saves them a bunch of cap space, but his wasn’t the only ugly contract on the books. If New Orleans takes this opportunity to reset, it’ll benefit them. If not, we’ll be in for more of the same.
5: Houston Texans
The Texans are on this list purely because they failed to address their biggest need: offensive line. In fact, they got worse after they traded away stalwart LT Laremy Tunsil to the Commanders. After QB C.J. Stroud won Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2023 and led the Texans to the divisional round of the playoffs, the Texans were one of the hottest young teams entering 2024. But they took a step back last year, still winning the AFC South, but limping to the finish line.
Their offense was the main culprit, specifically their offensive line. Stroud was under constant pressure and the offense was stagnant without a stable pocket. Trading away Tunsil is a baffling choice, though Houston cited the need to establish a proper culture as the reason for the trade. Second-round pick Aireontae Ersery will compete with free agent signee Cam Robinson for the left tackle job, but either player will be a significant downgrade. The interior of the Texans’ line was a liability last year, as well, and they didn’t do much to address it at all.
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