NFL Teams That Would Be Better off Rebuilding Ahead of 2025 Season

NFL fans are not generally regarded as a patient lot—especially fans of teams that have struggled in recent years. And the last thing they want to hear is the “R” word: rebuild.

NFL teams don’t much like the word, either. As a matter of fact, some are so fixated on the here and now that they would sooner spend years mired in mediocrity than sacrifice one bad season to help accelerate a rebound.

The Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins are fringe contenders at best, but when you have a $200 million quarterback, teams have to justify that contract. The New England Patriots just spent a fortune in the offseason in the hopes of turbocharging a return to prominence. And when was the last time we really knew what the New York Jets were doing?

But there are some teams who need to read the writing on the wall and realize this isn’t going to be their year. And then accept it and use the trials and tribulations of 2025 as a trampoline to a turnaround in 2026.

Las Vegas Raiders

AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson

Maxx Crosby

Back when Pete Carroll took over as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, he made it clear to reporters that the team intended to contend right away.

“It took us a few years to get to the very top of the last couple programs I was with,” he said. “We’re starting right now and going for it immediately. … We’re going to start right now, (we’re) going to go after it and build this team as quickly as we can.”

This no doubt made the Raiders’ long-suffering fanbase happy, and the trade that brought veteran quarterback Geno Smith to Sin City was indicative of a team that plans to contend immediately. But at the risk of angering Raider Nation, this is a team that is still a year away, especially in an AFC West that put three teams in the playoffs last season.

To be clear, the Raiders aren’t as far out as some of the teams in this column—there are some foundational pieces on both sides of the ball in the likes of tight end Brock Bowers and edge-rusher Maxx Crosby.

But the Raiders have a below-average offensive line. The wide receivers aren’t exactly an imposing lot. Linebacker and the defensive backfield are legitimate question marks.

This season should be as much about figuring out which needs the team will have to address in 2026 as trying to make the playoffs in 2025.

And if the Raiders finish anywhere but last place in the AFC West this season, it will be a step in the right direction.

New Orleans Saints

AP Photo/Eric Thayer

Tyler Shough

For years, New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis stubbornly refused to blow up the roster and rebuild. Every offseason was more about trying to slap duct tape across the team’s weaknesses and make one more playoff run.

That philosophy got the Saints nowhere except the fourth circle of salary-cap hell. And after veteran quarterback Derek Carr surprisingly retired in the offseason, Loomis was essentially left no choice.

The Saints are rebuilding whether the GM wants to or not—and it is from the ground up.

At quarterback, the Saints will either be trotting out Spencer Rattler or a 26-year-old rookie in Tyler Shough. The team’s best offensive weapon (running back Alvin Kamara) is 30 years old. The wide receivers outside Chris Olave (who is entering something of a make-or-break fourth season after a concussion-shortened 2024) aren’t great.

It’s no better on the other side of the ball. Key defenders like defensive lineman Cameron Jordan and linebacker Demario Davis are at the end of their careers. There isn’t a position group on that side of the ball that doesn’t either have significant holes already or will in 2026.

And the bill has come due for all the salary-cap chicanery over the years. Per Over the Cap, the Saints are projected to be $24.5 million in the red against the 2026 salary cap.

The Saints are in the thick of the hunt for the No. 1 overall pick next year—and even that isn’t going to magically fix the franchise’s myriad issues.

Cleveland Browns

AP Photo/Rusty Jones

Shedeur Sanders

Stop me if you have heard this before: The Cleveland Browns are a mess.

The franchise has mostly been that way for the last 25-plus years, but the Deshaun Watson fiasco has put the team in an even deeper hole.

Setting $230 million on fire tends to do that.

Cleveland simultaneously has four quarterbacks and none. The hope is that one of Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders will emerge as a capable starter, but that’s far from guaranteed.

Quarterback may be the team’s biggest issue, but it’s far from the only one. An offensive line that was once one of the team’s strengths has gotten older and worse, with multiple starters set to hit free agency next year. The wide receivers thin quickly behind Jerry Jeudy. The defense seemingly has talent on paper, but it was a unit that was 27th in points allowed last season.

There should one goal for the Browns in 2025—and it ain’t making the playoffs.

Kevin Stefanski’s job should be safe, so his overriding goal should be to see if the team has anything in Pickett, Gabriel or Sanders. That’s it.

The Browns will be picking in the top five again in 2026. But courtesy of the Travis Hunter trade, Cleveland also has Jacksonville’s first-rounder in 2026.

It’s going to be a rough year, but when it mercifully ends, Cleveland needs to know whether it can use those picks to add weapons and fix the offensive line—or if they need to look at packaging the selections to insure they can draft an elite prospect under center.

Tennessee Titans

AP Photo/George Walker IV

The Tennessee Titans and head coach Brian Callahan are in something of a tricky spot in 2025.

On one hand, there is pressure to improve after a dismal 3-14 season. But on the other hand, the Titans need to be realistic about just how improved they will be in 2025.

Tennessee president of football operations Chad Brinker told reporters that the team plans to build through the draft rather than shoot for a quick fix.

"We're going to build the core of our roster through the draft, and we're going to be selective in free agency," he said. "No. 2, it means we're going to emphasize player development, particularly our young players. And, No. 3, once those players are developed, we're going to be looking to retain our core performers, our very best. I grew up in this system. It's what I know, it's what I believe in."

It's a wise philosophy, but one that will require patience.

An equal measure of patience will be required with the team’s first pick in this year’s draft. No one was surprised when Tennessee made Miami quarterback Cam Ward the No. 1 selection, but as an uneven training camp demonstrated, there are going to be growing pains—pains that will be all the more evident once opponents start throwing disguised blitzes and coverages at the youngster.

The NFL is very much a “what have you done for me lately?” business. But if the Titans truly believe in the philosophy Brinker espoused, they need to be patient—with their quarterback and their head coach.

New York Giants

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New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen are in a tight spot.

After a disastrous 3-14 season in 2024, Giants owner John Mara was quick to announce both Daboll (the 2022 Coach of the Year) and Schoen would be back in 2025.

Mara told reporters that the pair are “the right two guys to lead us going forward.” But he also wasn’t shy about conveying a measure of impatience that the Giants have been mostly terrible the past two years.

"I appreciate the fact that [the fans] have hung in there with us," he said. "I get your frustration, I feel your pain, but I still believe this is the right decision for us going forward. It better not take too long, because I've just about run out of patience. The results are not even close to what we want them to be. They're going to have to get better if we’re going to move on to Year 5."

Therein lies the rub. Should the Giants try to win now with Russell Wilson under center, or roll out Jaxson Dart (the second of two first-round picks in 2025) and take the lumps that come with it?

The team has some talent. Wide receiver Malik Nabers was fantastic in his first year. With rookie Abdul Carter joining Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux, the G-Men have arguably the best trio of edge-rushers in the league.

But with Wilson under center, the Giants are—average at best. Maybe the third-best team in the NFC East. There won’t be any deep playoff run. Or likely any playoffs at all.

At some point, Daboll has to let Dart play...and hope Mara doesn’t lose what patience he has left.

Indianapolis Colts

AP Photo/Michael Conroy

Anthony Richardson

In Indianapolis, the regime of general manager Chris Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen is in a similar situation as Daboll and Schoen in New York. With a 17-17 record over two seasons, Steichen’s seat is warming up. But the Colts have both an advantage and a disadvantage that the Giants do not.

The advantage is that the Colts play in one of the league’s weaker divisions in the AFC South.

The disadvantage is that the Colts don’t have a promising young quarterback—probably.

After drafting Anthony Richardson fifth overall in 2023, the results have been, um, yeah. Richardson has struggled to stay on the field and struggled even more as a passer—including a laughable 47 percent completion percentage.

And yet, the Colts still need to roll Richardson back out there in 2025—even if it costs the team a win or two.

That win or two isn’t going to matter anyway—if the Colts start Daniel Jones, Indianapolis’ ceiling is maybe 8-9 wins.

Yippee!

Even if you don’t believe that Richardson is the future in Indianapolis (this writer doesn’t—the ability to complete a forward pass is rather important for quarterbacks), the truth is the 23-year-old has only started 15 games in the NFL.

If Steichen and Ballard’s priority is the long-term success of the franchise and a return to status as a contender, they have to find out if Richardson can turn his career around and become a viable NFL starter.

The Colts can’t do that with Richardson watching from the sideline as Jones overthrows Michael Pittman and Josh Downs.