What a Team of Remaining 2025 NFL Free Agents Would Look Like

NFL free agency is almost three months old, and while most players have already found new teams (or re-upped with their old one), there are still more than a few players still looking for work.

Quite a few will eventually sign somewhere as we move through the summer. But imagine if there was another way.

Imagine if the NFL decided to add a 33rd team in the thriving Metropolis of Rancho Cucamonga, California. After tabbing Dave Gettleman to serve as general manager and Rich Kotite to serve as head coach, the NFL tasks the new team (the Rancho Cucamonga Rejects) with building a roster.

But there won’t be any expansion draft. This team must be built with existing free agents.

What would that team look like? Would there be any positions of strength, or just weakness after weakness? Could the team match (or better) the four wins the Houston Texans posted in the last inaugural season for a franchise in 2002?

As you’re about to see, the answer is probably no—this is the sort of team that would make John McKay, when asked about his team’s execution, to quip that he’s in favor of it.

It’s not all bad. But it’s mostly not good. In any event, sit back and prepare for the two-deep depth chart of the Rancho Cucamonga Rejects.

Think the Washington Sentinels. Only not funny.

And Oh God could they use Shane Falco.

Quarterback

AP Photo/Ashley Landis

Carson Wentz

Starter: Carson Wentz

Had Aaron Rodgers waited a few more days before joining the Pittsburgh Steelers, quarterback could have been a strength of this team. Instead, this squad will be led by Carson Wentz.

Sigh.

Back in 2017, Wentz was a leading MVP candidate as quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, throwing 33 touchdown passes against just seven interceptions and winning 11 of 13 starts. But then Wentz tore up his knee, and while he threw for 4,000 yards in 2019, he was never really the same.

Wentz, who made one start for the Kansas City Chiefs a year ago, hasn’t started more than seven games in a season since 2021. But with 94 career starts under his belt, Wentz is easily the most experienced and accomplished quarterback available.

Sigh.

Backup: Desmond Ridder

A third-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2022, Ridder made 13 starts for the Atlanta Falcons in 2023, completing 64.2 percent of his passes for 2,836 yards with 12 touchdowns and an equal number of interceptions. His QBR of 40.1 that year ranked 26th in the NFL.

The following year, Ridder was out of Atlanta altogether. But at just 25, Rejects offensive coordinator Hue Jackson is confident that Ridder’s best football is still ahead of him.

Running Back

AP Photo/Maria Lysaker

J.K. Dobbins

Starter: J.K. Dobbins

On some level, it’s surprising that Dobbins still hasn’t found a team for 2025—the 26-year-old set a career-high in rushing yards last year with the Los Angeles Chargers, topped 1,000 total yards and averaged a highly respectable 4.6 yards per carry.

But Dobbins has also had all kinds of trouble staying on the field in the NFL. Dobbins has missed time in all five professional seasons, including four games last season. His entire 2021 season was wiped out by a torn ACL, and he made it just one game into the 2023 season before tearing his Achilles tendon.

Still, he’s one of the better players on this “team”—at least until he gets hurt.

Backup: Nick Chubb

Speaking of injuries, it wasn’t that long ago that Chubb was considered one of the best pure runners in the league. As recently as 2022, Chubb racked up over 1,500 yards on the ground for the Cleveland Browns, averaged five yards a carry and scored 13 total touchdowns.

But Chubb suffered a serious knee injury in 2023, and it was clear last year that the 29-year-old wasn’t close to 100 percent. In eight games, Chubb averaged just 3,3 yards per carry, and his success rate in 2024 was an atrocious 27.3 percent.

This team may have to go pass-heavy—which is a problem given the whole lack of a viable quarterback thing.

Wide Receiver

AP Photo/Scot Tucker

Keenan Allen

Starter: Amari Cooper

Wide receiver could be the biggest strength of the Rancho Cucamonga Rejects—if veteran wideout Amari Cooper can recapture past form.

Cooper’s 2024 season was admittedly a mess—after a midseason trade to the Buffalo Bills, the 30-year-old vanished from the offense. His 44 catches, 547 receiving yards and four touchdowns were all career-lows.

But the season before in Cleveland, Cooper set a career-high with 1,250 receiving yards. He has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards seven times and has five Pro Bowls on his NFL resume.

Starter: Keenan Allen

Like Amari Cooper, Allen is a veteran wideout coming off a down season by his standards. Allen’s 70 catches for 744 yards and seven scores doesn’t look that bad at first glance, but it was Allen’s worst statistical season since an injury wiped out his 2016 campaign.

Still, as recently as 2023, Allen caught 108 passes for 1,243 yards with the Los Angeles Chargers. It was the fifth time Allen has topped 100 catches, the sixth time he surpassed 1,000 yards in a season and the sixth time he made the Pro Bowl.

At 33, Allen isn’t going to take the top off a defense. But he’s a steady presence who can move the chains.

Starter: Gabriel Davis

There was a time when Davis appeared to be an ascending young talent—after averaging 17.4 yards per catch in 2022 and 16.9 yards per grab in 2023 while with the Buffalo Bills, Davis got a three-year, $39 million contract from the Jacksonville Jaguars.

However, Davis’ lone season with the Jaguars was a mess—he missed seven games, caught fewer than half his 42 targets and failed to eclipse 250 receiving yards. The Jaguars cut bait, and while there has been some interest in his services the 26-year-old remains without a team.

The Rejects need some kind of downfield threat. And Davis is the best of that lot still available.

Backups: Nelson Agholor; D.J. Chark; Tyler Boyd

Tight End

AP Photo/Michael Conroy

Gerald Everett

Starter: Gerald Everett

OK, so how to put this…the tight end situation for this team is a mess.

Gerald Everett at least has experience going for him—over eight seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Chargers and Chicago Bears, Everett has started 50 games and hauled in 292 career receptions.

However, Everett has never really been a consistent part of an NFL offense. His best season came with the Bolts in 2022, when the 30-year-old caught 58 passes for 555 yards and four scores.

Brock Bowers he ain’t. But Everett is the best option available.

Backup: Jordan Akins

At 33 years old, Akins’ best days as a player are behind him. And frankly, his best days were never that great—he’s caught 40 passes in a season just once and has never had 500 receiving yards in a season just once.

Still, Akins has shown flashes of ability to stretch the field, and back in 2022 with the Houston Texans Akins scored five touchdowns on just 37 receptions.

This is not a team that would be well-served running a lot of “12” personnel.

Offensive Line

AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson

George Fant

Left Tackle: D.J. Humphries

Jedrick Wills was considered for this spot, but with reports circulating that Wills is sitting out the 2025 season, he’s out. Like Wills, Humphries has had injury issues of his own—he has missed more than half of two of the past three seasons. But Humphries has 100 career starts under his belt, and the sad reality is that the cupboard at tackle is in full Mother Hubbard mode.

Backup: Isaiah Wynn

Left Guard: Will Hernandez

A 29-year-old who has started 91 games over seven seasons with the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals, Hernandez was limited to just five games with the Redbirds a season ago. However, two years ago the 6’2”, 332-pounder was a capable starter in Arizona, and he’s still the right side of 30.

Backup: Jon Feliciano

Center: Daniel Brunskill

The list of available centers is equal parts short and depressing. Brunskill isn’t a great option by any stretch—he graded 50th of 64 qualifying centers last season at Pro Football Focus. But Brunskill has made 66 career starts over six seasons, including 10 with the Tennessee Titans a year ago.

Backup: Nick Harris

Right Guard: Brandon Scherff

Scherff is easily the top player on the offensive line for the Rejects—a five-time Pro Bowler who was named a first team All-Pro in 2020. The 33-year-old graded out as a top-20 pass-blocking guard per PFF last year while with the Jacksonville Jaguars, failing to allow a sack in 1,013 snaps.

Backup: Shaq Mason

Right Tackle: George Fant

Fant barely played last year in his second-go-round with the Seattle Seahawks, but two years ago with the Houston Texans, Fant played in 13 games, allowing just three sacks in 915 snaps according to Pro Football Focus. Fant isn’t a worldbeater, but he’s an experienced tackle who has started 75 games over eight professional seasons.

Backup: Chukwuma Okorafor

Defensive Line

AP Foto/Peter Aiken

Von Miller

Edge-Rusher: Von Miller

Miller is an easy choice as the defensive captain of the Rejects—he’s easily the biggest name on the team and the only player with a legitimate shot at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

At 36, Miller isn’t the defensive force he once was—he won’t be able to play a full compliment of snaps. But in just 279 snaps with the Buffalo Bills last year Miller recorded six sacks, and Miller’s 129.5 career sacks is the most among all active players.

Backup: Matthew Judon

Defensive Tackle: DeShawn Williams

Williams has had quite a circuitous NFL career—after playing four games for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2016, he didn’t make it back to the NFL until 2020. The 32-year-old played 12 games for the Carolina Panthers in 2024, making one start.

As with quite a few positions in this exercise, the defensive tackles available are—less than impressive. But of that unimpressive list, Williams is one of the few who has shown any pass-rushing chops—he had 4.5 sacks for the Denver Broncos in 2022.

Backup: Raekwon Davis

Defensive Tackle: Taven Bryan

Bryan was supposed to be a force in the NFL—the former Florida standout was a first-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars back in 2018. That he’s now on this “team” tells you all you need to know about how that worked out.

After four years with the Jaguars, Bryan spent a year in Cleveland before joining the Indianapolis Colts. He made six starts in Indy last year, tallying 20 total tackles and one sack.

Can you feel the excitement?

Backup: Quinton Jefferson

Edge-Rusher: Jadeveon Clowney

With Von Miller charging at quarterbacks off one edge, the Rejects need a batterymate for Miller who can set the edge and defend the run while also adding some pop to the pass-rush.

Enter Jadeveon Clowney, who was the first overall pick back in 2014.

Clowney didn’t have the career some expected, but he has been a quality player for a long time. Clowney has logged at least nine sacks four times, including as recently as 2023. He has also posted 40 or more tackles six times and been named to three Pro Bowls.

Backup: Za’Darius Smith

Linebacker

AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman

Kyzir White

Starter: Kyzir White

This was a fairly easy call—of the off-ball linebackers available, White is the best option. White started 28 games over his two years with the Arizona Cardinals, including all 17 in a 2024 campaign in which the 29-year-old logged a career-high 137 total tackles and made the defensive play-calls.

White isn’t great in coverage—he allowed almost three quarters of the passes thrown in his direction to be completed last year with a passer rating against of 96.0. But he’s productive, experienced and should still have a couple seasons of decent play left in the tank.

Starter: Eric Kendricks

Kendricks just celebrated his 33rd birthday, and his age started to show last year in Dallas. Kendricks surpassed 100 total tackles for the ninth consecutive season, but he also allowed a passer rating against north of 100 for the fourth consecutive season.

Those coverage deficiencies could be a problem, but Kendricks is experienced, he has been consistently productive, and he’s shown some aptitude for rushing the passer—at least three sacks in three of the past four years.

Starter: Ja’Whaun Bentley

As was already mentioned, the Rejects are going to run the nickel as their base defense. But there are times when the team is going to need to put a third linebacker on the field to stuff the run.

That linebacker will be Ja’Whaun Bentley.

Bentley is more of a classic two-down “thumper” of a linebacker, and he made it just two games into the 2024 season before tearing a pectoral muscle. But from 2021 to 2023, Bentley started 49 games for the New England Patriots and topped 100 total stops three straight years.

Backups: De’Vondre Campbell; Shaq Thompson; Kamu Grugier-Hill

Cornerbacks

AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

Mike Hilton

Starter: Asante Samuel Jr.

In four seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers, Samuel failed to live up to either his draft slot or his last name. He was an average player at best in coverage, and he made it just four games into the 2024 season before a shoulder injury sidelined him.

But while Samuel hasn’t been great in coverage, he also hasn’t been terrible when healthy, and at just 25 years old there’s still a chance that Samuel can turn things around. There aren’t many players on this squad who are still on the upslope of their NFL career.

Samuel’s potential wins out here.

Starter: Rasul Douglas

Douglas had a season to forget last year with the Buffalo Bills—he allowed well over 70 percent of the passes thrown his way to be completed, and the 29-year-old had a bloated passer rating against of 122.0.

But as recently as two years ago, Douglas topped 60 total tackles and intercepted five passes in a 2023 campaign split between Buffalo and Green Bay. He’s an experienced and versatile starter who should provide a steady presence on the boundary.

Starter: Mike Hilton

If the Rejects (the merchandise is going to sell itself) are going to run a lot of nickel, the team is going to need a solid slot cornerback. For most of his seven seasons in the NFL, Mike Hilton has been just that.

Granted, the 2024 season wasn’t Hilton’s best work—over two-thirds of his targets were completed and his passer rating against was 92.0. But that marked just the second time in seven years that Hilton’s passer rating against was over 90, and he has averaged 57 total tackles a year over the past two seasons.

Backups: Kendall Fuller; Shaquill Griffin; Stephon Gilmore

Safety

AP Photo/Danny Karnik

Justin Simmons

Starter: Justin Simmons

Von Miller may be the biggest name the Rejects landed, but Justin Simmons is likely the best player on the team at the moment. Over nine seasons with the Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons, Simmons has racked up 32 interceptions, which is tied for sixth among all active players.

A two-time Pro Bowler and four-time second-team All-Pro, Simmons’ coverage numbers were solid last year—less than 60 percent of the passes thrown in his direction were completed, and his passer rating against was a highly respectable 81.9. He’s as close to a legitimate star as any player in this menagerie of mediocrity.

Starter: Julian Blackmon

A five-year veteran out of Utah, Blackmon started 16 games for the Indianapolis Colts last year, racking up 86 total tackles. But with the arrival of Camryn Bynum in Indianapolis, Blackmon became expendable, and to date no NFL teams have given the 26-year-old a new home.

Welcome to Rancho Cucamonga, Julian!

The lack of interest in Blackmon is probably due to a marked decrease in his effectiveness in coverage last year. But two seasons ago, Blackmon played 986 snaps and had a stellar passer rating against of 46.6.

Here’s hoping he can re-find that form.

Backups: Jordan Whitehead; Marcus Williams

Special Teams

AP Photo/George Walker IV

Nick Folk

Kicker: Nick Folk

At 40 years young, Folk is no spring chicken. But the veteran kicker has hit on over 90 percent of his field goal tries in four of the past five seasons and over 95 percent each of the last two years. Over that same two-year span, Folk has connected on 11 of 12 field goal attempts from 50 yards out or farther.

This team needs a guy who can hit the long ones.

Punter: Marquette King

Given an offense led by Carson Wentz and an offensive line that makes the 2024 Chicago Bears look good, the Rejects need a solid punter, Unfortunately, most punters who are any good at all are already rostered, and the scouting department budget in Rancho Cucamonga of 12 dollars doesn’t afford many resources to scour the globe for a punter.

Marquette King actually led the NFL in punting yards all the way back in 2014, but he spent the spring playing in the UFL with the Arlington Renegades. King’s led the league in both punting yards and net average, and there’s no better way to flesh out this team than a 36-year-old who hasn’t played in the NFL since 2018.