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The NFL offseason can feel like a blur and a drag at the same time.
What do you mean? We have gotten through the scouting combine, free agency, the draft, and the schedule release and the mandatory minicamps are underway? Now, I’m freaking out about getting my stories done for Sports Illustrated’s annual NFL season preview issue.
At the same time, the Seahawks crushing the Patriots in the Super Bowl seems like ages ago. Now that I think about it, what a cool experience it was to be in attendance for Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime performance and for Sam Darnold to prove the doubters wrong with a Lombardi Trophy.
Darnold and the Seahawks certainly showed me, but now it’s time to get ready for the 2026 season because we’re almost at the start of training camps. But before teams break for summer, let’s put a bow on the offseason by reviewing what occurred in my winners and losers column.
Winners
Chris Shula and Myles Garrett
Shula didn’t necessarily need help landing a head-coaching gig in the future because he was already a coordinator under Sean McVay, and being a coach on McVay’s staff is currently the league’s best stepping stone for taking over an NFL team. But the Rams’ defensive coordinator recently received another nudge with the team acquiring Garrett in last week’s blockbuster trade.
After the Seahawks won the Super Bowl, teams started jumping on the trend of prioritizing defense, which led to defensive-minded coaches Jesse Minter, Jeff Hafley and Robert Saleh being hired by the Ravens, Dolphins and Titans, respectively. Trading for Garrett and versatile cornerback Trent McDuffie was the Rams’ way of keeping up with the league’s latest trend after building a dynamic offense the past few seasons.
With that kind of talent, it’s all set up for Shula to become a head coach in 2027. However, there was one thing going against Shula this past coaching cycle. McVay’s defensive coaches haven’t had as much success as offensive ones after moving up. Brandon Staley had success with Justin Herbert, but his three years with the Chargers are mostly remembered for late-game blunders and failed defenses. Raheem Morris had better results with his defenses, but the offense often struggled in his two years with the Falcons.
Maybe this is a bit of a reach, but how McVay’s past defensive coordinators performed could have played a role in Shula being passed over this year for one of the 10 head-coaching vacancies. Former Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur got one of those jobs as the Cardinals’ new coach.
Come January, it would be surprising if Shula gets shut out again after acquiring the pieces to build a defense that could rival Seattle, Houston and Denver. Shula managed to produce quality defenses the past two years despite the team’s frugal ways on that side of the ball.
As for Garrett, it’s simple. He’s a winner because he’s likely to become accustomed to winning after spending nine years in Cleveland, where he won only one playoff game. Garrett will go down in history as one of the best edge rushers ever, but he won’t have a flawless résumé until he wins a Super Bowl. Bruce Smith would likely trade one of his Defensive Player of the Year awards for a ring. Garrett now has a chance to complete his stellar résumé.
Cam Ward
This is the time of year when social media coordinators get fans to be overly optimistic about the upcoming season by posting highlights of players working out in shorts. But I’m sort of buying the content that the Titans have posted of rookie wide receiver Carnell Tate.
There seems to be an early connection between this year’s No. 4 pick and Ward, last year’s No. 1 pick. That chemistry alone is already a plus for Ward after the minimal options he had during a rocky rookie season. Tennessee also signed wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, who’s coming off a breakout 2025 season with the Giants, where he made several plays for new Titans offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.
It also shouldn’t be overlooked that Ward could benefit from the Titans playing complementary football in 2026. Saleh could produce a productive defense with all the moves made on that side of the ball this season.
Expect Ward and the Titans to be better, and maybe draft Tate high in your fantasy football leagues. If it doesn’t work out, scream at the Titans’ social accounts.
Raiders’ front office
I’ve heard many Raiders fans say this offseason that it’s strange to see the front office make competent moves. With all of the head-scratching moves this franchise has made in the past quarter-century, something as simple as selecting the clear No. 1 quarterback in the draft and paying the best center on the market has earned GM John Spytek a ton of praise.
That may come off as sarcastic, but Spytek does deserve praise for doing the obvious and making safe decisions. The Silver & Black need more of that.
You knew this regime was serious about finally providing this franchise with a proper rebuild when they told Maxx Crosby to take the rest of the year off, knowing full well that it would upset him and probably force him to push for a trade. Well, that’s exactly what happened, but the Raiders also made sure they landed the No. 1 pick, and now have Fernando Mendoza and Crosby is still around.
To Spytek’s credit, he tried to do the right move for his rebuild when he traded Crosby to Baltimore, but the star edge rusher was sent back to Las Vegas by the Ravens, and the two first-round picks in the nullified trade never arrived. The full rebuild might take longer now, but the 2026 Raiders could be a sleeper wild-card contender with Crosby and his new teammates, including center Tyler Linderbaum and linebackers Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean.
And if the Raiders struggle again, we now know this GM isn’t afraid to trade the team’s best player for the team’s future.
Cardinals’ hopes for landing 2027 No. 1 pick
You know it’s the offseason when the Titans, Raiders and Cardinals are all listed in the winners’ section for doing something right that doesn’t involve winning games. But mentioning Arizona here isn’t about the moves it made to get better this season.
Yes, I’m intrigued about the Cardinals’ revamped rushing attack with the addition of Jeremiyah Love, the No. 3 pick in April’s draft. In the one game LaFleur took over play-calling duties for an ill McVay last season, the Rams had their best rushing performance of the season, recording 249 yards against LaFleur’s Cardinals.
Still, I’m expecting the Cardinals to be very bad, and it’s a good year for quarterback-needy teams to be lousy. Arizona is well-positioned to gain the No. 1 pick in next year’s loaded draft class for quarterbacks. Not only is the roster filled with holes, but the Cardinals play the Rams, Seahawks and 49ers twice and have one of the toughest schedules in the league, which is rare for a team with a last-place schedule.
Having the inside track on pick No. 1 in April, while Jacoby Brissett, Gardner Minshew II and Carson Beck battle to be the 2026 starter, is a win for an organization that needs to prioritize the future.
Joe Burrow
This might be the year that Burrow and his explosive offense finally get some help from the defense.
The trade for star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II will give the Bengals a player who can push the pocket and set the table for the edge rushers. Trey Hendrickson is no longer around after signing with the Ravens, but there’s pass-rusher depth with the arrival of Boye Mafe and the second-round selection of Cashius Howell.
While I’m expecting the defensive line to be better, I don’t see the back end of the defense making a sizable improvement. However, having a bend-but-don’t-break defense with a quality pass rush could be enough for Burrow and his high-scoring offense to make it work and end a three-year playoff drought.
Also, I would like to use this space to address the Bengals fans who were upset with my defensive triplets story. Yes, I’m aware that cornerback DJ Turner II had a strong 2025 season, but I gave Dax Hill a slight edge because of his ability to play both in the slot and on the outside. Versatility is needed for a team that allowed 28.9 points and 233.8 passing yards per game last season. If Cincinnati improves those defensive numbers, I’m sure the cornerbacks will get more national attention and climb up the rankings.
Losers
Familiar contenders with Super Bowl droughts
The June 1 trades involving Garrett and A.J. Brown wasn’t good news for teams looking to get over the playoff hump.
It must have been frustrating for Bills fans to see the Patriots brush off a few dark seasons and quickly return to the Super Bowl with a new star quarterback in Drake Maye. Now Maye is armed with Brown, one of the league’s top X receivers and a better playmaker than Josh Allen’s new wideout, DJ Moore.
The clock is ticking on Buffalo winning the Super Bowl with Josh Allen, who recently turned 30. Perhaps last year was their best shot with the Chiefs having a rare down season.
The same can be said about the Ravens and Lamar Jackson, who, like Allen, has never advanced to the Super Bowl. The Patriots keep improving, the Texans have an elite defense, and maybe the Chiefs bounce back this season. Perhaps it would have been better for Baltimore to keep Crosby after all.
Garrett’s arrival in L.A. will be a problem for Kyle Shanahan and his 49ers, a franchise that has come close in recent years but hasn’t won a Super Bowl since 1994. The star-studded Rams will also be in the way of the Packers, who took a big swing on Micah Parsons last year, and the Lions, whose talented roster now doesn’t look as strong.
Brandon Aiyuk
I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s tired of the drama involving Aiyuk. Look, I know there are two sides to every story, and Aiyuk still hasn’t explained why he decided to ghost the 49ers, but he has handled this situation poorly nearly every step of the way.
The 49ers must have done something seriously terrible for Aiyuk to grant them the right to void the guaranteed money on his 2026 deal, which was projected at $27 million, according to OvertheCap.com. But, hey, that was Aiyuk’s choice to lose that money. The problem here is that he’s now acting shocked that the team he decided to quit on isn’t allowing him to walk freely and easily get to the No. 1 team on his wish list, which is probably the Commanders to reunite with Jayden Daniels and GM Adam Peters.
Now, Aiyuk is calling the 49ers the babies who don’t want to play ball, this aftergetting an arrest warrant for posting a video of him speeding near the team’s facility. Also in his 90-second rant that didn’t explain why he ghosted the team in the first place, Aiyuk said the 49ers are afraid to cut him. I think the 49ers are being more petty than afraid, and I don’t blame them for not allowing Aiyuk to get his way and holding out as long as possible to make a trade that likely won’t happen.
Again, had Aiyuk handled the situation better, perhaps the 49ers would have been more willing to play ball—pun intended.
Mike Vrabel
As for another tiresome storyline, Vrabel had a rough offseason. He’s a terrific coach, but his reputation as a leader took a hit after the scandal with Dianna Russini. It also wasn’t a good look that Vrabel didn’t immediately address the situation and then left the team in the middle of the draft.
Not only does Vrabel have to make things right with his family, but he also has to hold himself accountable to his players and coaches. He has to regain everyone’s trust in the organization and show that he actually practices what he preaches.
Vrabel can no longer hide from this situation, especially because there will likely be questions about it during the season. If he gets agitated or declines to comment whenever the subject comes up, that will only continue to generate headlines. Standing tall and facing the music is probably the best way to finally get rid of this tiresome storyline.
Chicago residents—if the Bears move to Indiana
It would be a huge disappointmentif the Bears end up building their new stadium in Indiana. The team and lawmakers of the city and state need to stop bickering and find a resolution to keep the Bears close to home, or right where they are, next to Lake Michigan.
While the Bears do need a new stadium to replace outdated Soldier Field, they’re currently on an ideal site that complements Chicago’s passionate fans and the rich history of the team. The team could lose the vibrant atmosphere on game days if it moves to Indiana.
Steelers’ young quarterbacks
I didn’t realize how much Steelers fans wanted to see more from second-year quarterback Will Howard until I was in Pittsburgh for the draft and saw firsthand how many of them were disappointed about Drew Allar being the team’s third-round selection.
Allar’s arrival could mean that new coach Mike McCarthy isn’t high on Howard, who was drafted in the sixth round in 2025 when Mike Tomlin was still the coach. And since we’re reading between the lines, it didn’t help that Aaron Rodgers recently returned, likely meaning the Steelers have no plans to rebuild with a new coaching staff and would rather have veteran Mason Rudolph as the No. 2 than an inexperienced player. If I’m reading all this right, Howard could now be the No. 4 QB on the depth chart. Or maybe Rudolph could be cut or traded this summer.
Personally, I’m on board with those disgruntled Steelers fans at the draft, but I’ll take it a step further. I would rather see the Steelers have a camp battle this summer between Allar and Howard for QB1 than Rodgers preparing for his age-43 season. I know that sounds strange, but the Steelers have been boring for quite some time as a team that hasn’t gotten stuck in the mediocre cycle. It’s time for the younger players to get more opportunities.
Holiday plans
I would rather keep NFL games to Monday nights, and Thursday nights before a jam-packed Sunday slate, but I’m sure many football fans don’t mind having more games throughout the week.
I wasn’t going to complain too much about Wednesday night games or Christmas tripleheaders or Saturday games that conflict with college football playoffs. But the NFL has gone too far with scheduling a game on Noche Buena (Dec. 24), which is pretty much Christmas Day for Mexican households. This is when my sisters fight over the bathroom to dress up for a long night of sitting in the living room while my brother and I stuff our faces with tamales and pozole. (Sometimes we help with the cooking.)
But now I can’t fully focus on food because the Eagles and Texans play on Christmas Eve. I’m half joking here and, obviously, this is more of a personal gripe, but maybe the NFL should put more consideration into people traveling on Christmas Eve or Thanksgiving Eve (the Rams play the Packers on Wednesday, Nov. 25) and can’t stop to watch games on these days.
There might be such a thing as too much football and perhaps having more games throughout the week could be diminishing the product on the field. But the NFL taking up the bulk of the calendar won’t stop anytime soon, given the monster ratings its games generate.
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GILBERTO MANZANO
Gilberto Manzano is a staff writer covering the NFL for Sports Illustrated. After starting off as a breaking news writer at NFL.com in 2014, he worked as the Raiders beat reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and covered the Chargers and Rams for the Orange County Register and Los Angeles Daily News. During his time as a combat sports reporter, he was awarded best sports spot story of 2018 by the Nevada Press Association for his coverage of the Conor McGregor-Khabib Nurmagomedov post-fight brawl. Manzano, a first-generation Mexican-American with parents from Nayarit, Mexico, is the cohost of Compas on the Beat, a sports and culture show featuring Mexican-American journalists. He has been a member of the Pro Football Writers of America since 2017.
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