The league year and free agency will begin on March 16. The rest of the off-season usually starts with free agency. Which teams will sign or re-sign top players? Which teams will wait to cash in on the 2022 draft?
We could get at least one big move before next month. It is possible for Rodgers to decide if he wants to stay with the Packers. The decision will affect the plans of multiple teams interested in acquiring the quarterback. Rodgers is not the only quarterback who could change teams.
Let's talk about what each team needs to focus on this off-season. Who are the free agents? Which players could be cut? What are the best and worst scenarios for each team? How many early draft picks do each team have?
Click the links below to read the previews from our reporters. The teams are sorted by their rank.
Some of Arizona's major offensive players, including running backs James Conner and Chase Edmonds and receiver A.J. Green, could be headed to free agency. Steve Keim could be given a chance to rebuild the offense around what Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray want, and who they believe could help Arizona win down the stretch. Josh Weinfuss has more.
The Falcons need to figure out a bunch of spots. Their receiver position is not as good because of free agency, with the only player who finished the year on the 53-man roster who is not a free agent being Frank Darby. Due to free agency, the front seven could be restructured. Read more from Michael.
How do the Ravens get Lamar Jackson back on track? If you ask Harbaugh and DeCosta, it starts in Baltimore. The offensive line is a point of emphasis for both Harbaugh and DeCosta in their season-ending news conferences. Read more from him.
They need to upgrade on both sides of the ball with the lines and depth at receiver and corner at the top of the list. There will be some smart cap management required, but general manager Brandon Beane will have the help of nine draft picks. Read more from her.
He has an $18.9 million salary cap hit, so he is almost impossible to trade. He was 4-7 with nine touchdown to 13 interception as the starter. Upgrading the line is a priority regardless of who is under center, as protecting him was an issue with 35 sacks. Carolina's options are not great. Read more from David.
How will the Bears maximize the skill set of Justin Fields? Ryan Poles is the new GM and he needs to upgrade the offensive line. Nine sacks in Cleveland were not all about the schemes and the game. The left tackle is a priority, but so are the skill positions on the edges. The Bears have a lot of No. 2s at wide receiver. Read more from Jesse Rogers.
Cincinnati will have to make immediate decisions at left guard and right tackle, as well as assess whether the rest of the unit is good enough. The team has ranked 31st in the league in pass block win rate since the start of the season. The Miami Dolphins have been the worst. Ben Baby has more.
The decision on whether or not Baker Mayfield can bounce back after undergoing surgery on his left shoulder will be made by the Browns. After finishing 10th in QBR, Baker Mayfield did quarterback the Cleveland to their first playoff victory in 26 years. Jake Trotter has more.
It's too early to say this is it for McCarthy, but it's shaping up that way. Jerry Jones went out of his way to keep DanQuinn with a contract extension and future raise, despite the shadow of SeanPayton. McCarthy will have to do better than winning the NFC East in 2022, even though there was obvious progress in his second season. Todd Archer has more.
With five picks in the first three rounds, using a premium pick on a quarterback remains a possibility. The quarterback decision is the biggest domino that has to fall before Paton gets to work on the rest of the roster. Jeff Legwold has more.
Should the Lions take a quarterback with a late-first-round pick? It depends on who is available at that point. It is pretty much a foregone conclusion that the show will be run again next season, but what does that mean for the team moving forward? Eric Woodyard has more.
What will Rodgers do? When will he do it? He said he would make a decision soon. The start of free agency on March 16 seems like the latest, but they probably need to know at least a week before that so they can begin restructuring contracts or cutting players because they have to be under the salary cap by the start of free agency. No one knows what Rodgers will do or when he will do it, so the Packers have one plan thatInvolves Rodgers and one that doesn't. They are essentially at a standstill until he makes a decision. Rob Demovsky has more.
Dan and Jeff Saturday discuss how the upcoming decision of Rodgers will affect where Adams will sign his contract.
The Texans have a first-round pick. The team could take an impact player at No. 3, but general manager Nick Caserio said at the end of the season that Houston could trade down in the draft. Caserio will not be able to get the same return for the 3rd pick as he has in the past, but he can still get a player he likes. Sarah Barshop has more.
The Colts are focused on their quarterback position, but the pressure is on the general manager and coach. In his sixth season as GM, he only has to show for one playoff victory, and that was back in the year of 2019. Mike Wells has more.
The addition of Doug Pederson, who won Super Bowl LII with the Philadelphia Eagles, to pair with quarterback Trevor Lawrence, has fans hopeful that the team will be better than last year. The No. 1 overall pick, as well as three other picks in the top 70, are available to the Jags. Michael DiRocco has more.
Significant improvements to the sacks will be a priority for the Chiefs in the off-season. The Chiefs have a long list of free agents, and with a tight salary-cap situation, it is almost certain that significant changes are coming. Adam Teicher has more.
What will the new regime of general manager Dave Ziegler and coach Josh McDaniels do with the player? It depends on whether they see him fitting the scheme of the trade, as opposed to any kind of haul they might get in return. In his eighth season, Carr played in his first career playoff game, but his career record is only 57-70 and he holds virtually every passing record in franchise history. Read more from Paul.
The Bolts were at the bottom of the league in defending the run, allowing opposing offenses to rush for more than 140 yards per game. The run defense suffered in the six games that DE Justin Jones missed due to injury, so they must draft wisely and count on him to stay healthy up front. Read more from her.
Mina Kimes is curious to see if the results of this offseason will give the Los Angeles Chargers a better chance at a Super Bowl.
The Rams will have to work to make their roster work against the salary cap. Stafford is in the final year of a five-year contract and is due an extension. It will be costly for the Rams, but it could also provide some cap relief to spread Stafford's numbers out over several seasons, since he has proved he is capable of winning in the playoffs and leading a team to a Super Bowl title. Lindsey Thiry has more.
Most of Miami's salary-cap space should be spent on retaining its free agents and adding premier players to its offense to support quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who enters a make-or-break third season. Read more from him.
The Vikings will need to spend a lot on their defense, which ranked 31st last year, but must figure out what to do with a few expensive veteran contracts. Read more from her.
Things can be narrowed down to three layers. What can the Pats do to support Mac Jones? What happened to the defense at the end of the season, and what is being done to prevent it from happening again? Why did their special teams units decline so much? The coach often talks about weaving all three phases together, and doing a better job in that area will be a big emphasis this off-season. Read more from Mike.
Who will be the quarterback? The front-runner is Jameis Winston since he was a good fit in 2021, when he threw 14 touchdown passes and just three turnovers. Since he is an unsigned free agent, there is no guarantee that he will return. Mike Triplett has more.
The Giants GM said he wanted to clear $40 million in cap space and build through the draft. The Giants won't be big players in free agency this year as they get their finances in order, according to him. They have two top 10 picks and nine picks overall. Read more from Jordan.
Joe Douglas has four of the first 38 picks in the draft and he added capital with the Sam Darnold and Jamal Adams trades. There is no excuse for the team not to jump in 2022. It doesn't have to take forever, as shown by the quick turn around by the Cincinnati Bengals. Read more from Rich Cimini.
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