Biggest Winners and Losers from 2025 NFL OTAs

Are you ready for some football?

Ok, so it’s not exactly football. There are no pads. There is no contact. And every starting quarterback practices while wrapped head-to-toe in bubble wrap.

But OTAs and mandatory minicamps are still an exciting time for fans. It’s a first chance to see their favorite team’s 2025 iteration together on the practice field. To get a glimpse of the veteran quarterback the team brought in to lead the offense. To see the first-round rookie edge-rusher interact with the rest of the defense.

It’s also frankly a time of overreaction. If a rookie quarterback uncorks a perfect throw, he’s the next Joe Montana. If a running back looks a little sluggish in drills, he’s the next Trent Richardson.

We’re still a long way from the season opener. Much can (and will) change.

Still, it can’t be argued that every year some players and teams are all smiles when OTAs wrap up. And others can’t wait for training camp to begin in earnest so they can forget what happened in shorts and shells.

2025 is no exception.

Winner: Pittsburgh Steelers

AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

Might as well start with the NFL’s biggest soap opera of the summer so far.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Aaron Rodgers have seemingly been on a collision course for months. But as time went on and on without the four-time MVP joining the team, seeds of doubt sprouted. What if Rodgers spurned the Steelers? What would the team do then?

Pittsburgh no longer has to worry about that. Rodgers signed a one-year deal and even participated in workouts. The 41-year-old told reporters that while he spoke with other teams, there was never really any question about which team he was going to play for in 2025—it was Pittsburgh or bust.

"It starts with Mike Tomlin," Rodgers said. "I've been a fan of his for a long time. There's a few iconic franchises in the NFL. I played for one of 'em for 18 years. This is another one of those. There's something special about obviously this area. So many great quarterbacks are from Pittsburgh. I feel like Pittsburgh has been a part of my career from the beginning."

It’s fair to question how much Rodgers has left in the tank—last year with the New York Jets, Rodgers’ QBR of 48.0 ranked 28th in the league. But what can’t be questioned is that of the options available to the Steelers, Rodgers was the best. The Steelers still fashion themselves contenders in the AFC North, but making a deep playoff run with Mason Rudolph under center wasn’t likely.

Now the Steelers can focus on football without daily questions about Rodgers’ status.

Or at least they can once they buy him a wedding present.

Loser: Cincinnati Bengals

AP Photo/Emilee Chinn

The Cincinnati Bengals had one of the NFL’s most explosive offenses last year. But the team missed the playoffs, largely because of a leaky defense that ranked 25th in the NFL. Cincinnati brought in a new coordinator for that defense in Al Golden, but as Golden tries to put his defense together, he’s doing so without his full complement of players.

Veteran edge-rusher Trey Hendrickson, who led the NFL last year with 17.5 sacks, is away from the team as he seeks a new contract. While addressing the media, quarterback Joe Burrow acknowledged the situation isn’t ideal—but the Bengals are trying to make the best of the situation.

"Last year, we had two (holdouts),” Burrow said. “This year, we have one. So, we do have less. You'd love to have none, but that's life in the NFL. We're all supporting Trey and would love for him to be back."

The problem is that it isn’t just Hendrickson—Cincinnati’s first pick in the 2025 draft isn’t with the Bengals either. Edge-rusher Shemar Stewart is also engaged in a contract dispute with the team, and per Sports Illustrated's Jay Morrison, the former Texas A&M standout hasn’t been shy about his displeasure over how the team is handling contract negotiations.

"I'm 100 percent right. I'm not asking for nothing y'all have never done before. But in y'all case, y'all just want to win arguments (more) than winning more games," Stewart said.

Yikes.

The Bengals will move the ball in 2025. They will score points. But they won't go anywhere if the defense is dreadful again.

And improving isn’t going to be easy if the Bengals can’t rush the passer.

Winner: Patriots ILB Robert Spillane

AP Photo/Rick Scuteri

New England Patriots linebacker Robert Spillane has traveled quite the journey in the NFL over seven seasons—from bit player with the Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers to a full-time starter the past two years with the Las Vegas Raiders to signing a three-year, $33 million contract with the New England Patriots in the offseason.

Spillane is just one of a number of new faces on the Pats defense this year, and he told reporters that the opportunity to play for Mike Vrabel in Beantown and be a defensive leader has brought his career full-circle.

“It’s a full-circle moment being here. He (Vrabel) recruited me out of high school at Ohio State. He gave me my first opportunity with the Tennessee Titans eight years ago as an undrafted free agent. Just to be signed to be the middle linebacker here and to play meaningful snaps means the world to me. I don’t want to let him down. He’s the type of coach that any player wants to play for. He encourages people to follow their dreams, to love their families, and to love football. What more can you ask for from a coach?”

With defensive coordinator Terrell Williams recovering from an illness, Spillane has been thrown into the deep end, making the defensive play-calls that are relayed in by linebackers coach Zak Kuhr.

If New England’s new-look defense is going to jell with so many new faces, the unit will need a leader—someone to step up and take control.

Spillane has wasted no time doing just that, garnering the respect of his teammates in the process.

Loser: Detroit Lions Offense

AP Photo/Paul Sancya

Jared Goff

OK, at this point it’s important to point out that it’s June and NFL players are participating in padless practices with minimal contact. There’s still a long way to go before Week 1.

That’s a good thing—because the new-look offense of the Detroit Lions is going through some growing pains.

First came the somewhat surprising news that star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was sitting out OTAs after having knee surgery in the offseason. St. Brown is supposed to be fine for the start of camp, but St. Brown is the sort of surprise no fanbase wants.

Also, while speaking with reporters, head coach Dan Campbell acknowledged that right now, the defense is ahead of the offense as both units acclimate to new coordinators.

"It was really just to get an introduction on what we're doing. Probably more up to speed defensively. It's just about everybody getting on the same page with how defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard wants to do things. We're cooking pretty good right now. I like where we're at. Offensively, same thing there. It's about what offensive coordinator John Morton really wants. We've tweaked a few things here and there — how he sees it, how he wants things run, how he wants to isolate certain players. A lot of the focal points were Jameson Williams and Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta, among others, and then getting the offense in. I thought we did that. I thought we really honed in on their versatility and all things they can do."

By September, the Lions will likely once again be an offensive buzzsaw. But this is a reminder that coming off the franchise’s most successful regular season ever, there are some big changes in Motown in 2025.

Winner: Bears QB Caleb Williams

AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

The Chicago Bears have already wrapped up mandatory minicamp. But whether workouts have been voluntary or mandatory, at least one prominent Bears player has been a constant at the team’s facility—second-year quarterback Caleb Williams.

While talking to reporters, new Bears head coach Ben Johnson said that Williams is taking advantage of every rep he can get under center—and doing a good job of picking up the team’s new offensive scheme.

"He's committed to learning the offense. We're not where we need to be yet as a team. He understands that. Any chance he gets to get a few more full-speed reps, sounds like he wants them. There’s always a throw or two every single day. The movement stuff outside of the pocket, it’s what we thought coming into town here, the ability to create. Sometimes you get wrapped up when you’re in the multiple play call game, being in the perfect play all the time for the perfect coverage, that look of the defense. And really with him, it doesn’t matter so much what the play call is. If it’s the perfect play, then it’s great, it’s there. If it’s not, then he’s able to find a way to make it work. So, I think there’s a little bit of that that’s going on right now and figuring that out.”

Talent was never the question with Williams, as he's always had the ability to improvise and make accurate throws off-platform. Williams’ rookie struggles were more a matter of sometimes trying to do too much—and getting sacked or making a poor decision as a result.

If Williams can come close to matching his physical talents and mental understanding of the game, then a Bears team that focused its entire offseason on improving around him could be a real factor in the NFC North.

Loser: Browns QB Shedeur Sanders

AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders needs a hug—because it has been a rough year so far for the rookie.

Considered by many a first-round prospect, Sanders’ free fall to the fifth round was the dominant storyline of the 2025 NFL draft. He was the second quarterback taken by a Browns team desperate for a solution at the position, after Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel.

That drop on draft day hasn’t alleviated the spotlight on Sanders, and one of the bigger stories of Browns’ OTAs was that while Sanders and Gabriel received most of the quarterback reps as the team attempts to see what they have in the youngsters, it was the latter who worked mostly with the starters.

While talking to the media, Sanders downplayed his lack of first-team reps.

"Life is just based on how you view different things. So, you can view things as you're not getting reps in a negative way or you can view it as, OK, when it's my time to get out there, let's be proactive and let's get warm, let's get going. So, there's no excuses because when you get out there, nobody cares how many reps you got whenever you get in the game. Nobody cares if you took a snap before. Everybody cares about production. So that's the main thing when you get out there: You got to be able to produce."

Not that long ago, many assumed it was just a matter of time before Sanders was a star in the NFL. Now, he faces a summer certain to be filled with even more scrutiny.

And a legitimate battle to even make the 53-man roster.

Winner: Commanders RB Brian Robinson Jr.

AP Photo/Nick Wass

The good news for Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. is that last season was a career year. The bad news is that even in that career year, Robinson failed to hit 800 rushing yards and missed multiple games for the third time in as many seasons.

Now, however, Robinson is healthy, and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury told reporters he expects the contract-year back to be a big part of the Washington offense in 2025.

“B-Rob’s a guy who has played at an incredibly high level,” Kingsbury said. “I thought early in the year, when he was really healthy, he was what we expect him to be, and the focus this offseason has been great. He knows what this year means to him and can mean to us when he plays at that level.”

Somewhat surprisingly, the Commanders didn’t make any additions in the backfield outside of seventh-round rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt. Robinson told reporters his intention in 2025 is repaying that confidence that he can be the lead back for a Washington team with Super Bowl aspirations.

“That’s been the goal since I stepped foot on this campus. Just to prove who I am, not only to this program, but to myself,” Robinson said. “And I’m excited to be able to continue along here and to show why I’m here and [that] I’m supposed to be here.”

With no pads and even less contact, it’s difficult to read too much into any player’s performance. But Robinson looked sharp on the practice field, and the team appears content to run it back with him and Austin Ekeler in the backfield this season.

Loser: Buccaneers EDGE Haason Reddick

AP Photo/Chris O'Meara

The 2024 season was a nightmare for veteran edge-rusher Haason Reddick. It started with a contract impasse with the New York Jets and ended with the 30-year-old managing one measly sack.

Now, Reddick finds himself in Tampa on a one-year, “prove it” deal. Except Reddick hasn’t really been in Tampa—despite needing to learn a new defense, Reddick skipped most of OTAs to work out on his own.

When Reddick finally did arrive in Tampa, he told reporters that any concerns over his absence was a double-decker nothingburger.

"I know everybody was concerned about me not showing up for OTAs, but for me, I definitely made sure to stay in shape and I think I showed it to everybody out here — I don't think it should have been a question. I had some things to button up on as I made my transition down here, I don't have to worry about nothing back up there. I don't care what people think about me, to be honest. People can say whatever they want--it's your opinion, and you're entitled to it. Then you talk about things like that, as long as I'm in a great place, a safe space and my mental is strong, that's the only thing that I'm worried about."

That may well be true. But it’s not a good look for the veteran—especially after last year’s fiasco in the Big Apple. If fall rolls around and Reddick starts piling up sacks, this will all be forgotten. But if Reddick gets off to a slow start for a Buccaneers team that badly needs pass-rushing help, the grumbles are going to start regarding Reddick’s level of commitment—whether those grumbles are justified or not.