NFL Teams with the Biggest Enduring Questions This Offseason

Though the NFL offseason is in the midst of the league's lengthiest break of the year, all 32 teams have plenty of work to do during the pause and beyond. 

For starters, each squad has to whittle away at 90-man rosters (in some cases 91) over the course of the summer while trying to emerge from four exhibitions unscathed. But some have it worse than others in the "to do" column.

Available free agents, players who need extensions, roster battles and depth-chart clashes with long-term implications all fall under the umbrella of remaining work a handful of teams must somehow fit in before early September. 

Those who make it work on the deadline could excel. Those who don't? They won't stand much of a chance.

These are the teams with the biggest number of significant tasks left in front of them.  

Baltimore Ravens

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With the Baltimore Ravens, the conversation starts right at the top with Lamar Jackson. 

Jackson is now unquestionably the guy in charge without Joe Flacco riding the pine, and he has to deal with a new offensive coordinator (Greg Roman) and lead back (Mark Ingram II). In May, he admitted he didn't realize the team had installed a new offense. 

That sounds bad, but the good news is there's plenty of time for the unit to gel. Ingram is a capable and violent back who will demand a defense's attention, and the new wideout corps led by first-round pick Marquise Brown is more explosive than the unit they trotted out last year. 

But the defense has its work cut out for it, too. 

Za'Darius Smith and Terrell Suggs are gone. So is C.J. Mosley in the heart of the defense. And while the arrival of Earl Thomas is certainly a welcome one, he's playing in a new locale for the first time in his career and has missed 19 games since 2016. 

Starting as soon as they get to work, a whole lot has to go right for the Ravens.

Cincinnati Bengals

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The Cincinnati Bengals have all sorts of work to do.

New head coach Zac Taylor has to install a culture and an offense. And in addition to breaking in an entirely new coaching staff, he already has to compensate for the loss of first-round offensive tackle Jonah Williams, who is out for the season with a torn labrum. 

Yet the biggest task of all in Cincinnati pertains to player retainment. Perhaps no other team has a taller task in that regard.

A.J. Green leads the list of contract-year players and doesn't need an introduction. Tyler Boyd, who broke out last year with 1,028 receiving yards, is another contributor with an expiring deal. So is solid running back Giovani Bernard. Ditto for tight end Tyler Eifert. Starting corner Darqueze Dennard is another. Along the offensive line, Trey Hopkins and Clint Boling qualify. Don't forget starting linebacker Nick Vigil. 

Never mind the contract-year players the season after, starting with Andy Dalton but also including left tackle Cordy Glenn, running back Joe Mixon, pass rusher Carl Lawson and cornerback William Jackson. Of course, Dalton is the biggest name on that list. If he struggles to mesh with Taylor and the Bengals pick in the draft's top half next year, they could look to select a rookie passer.

Overall, the first change at head coach in 16 years could be the starting point for a major franchise reset, though that depends on how this offseason's work goes. 

Detroit Lions

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Kudos to Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia for going out and getting a former New England Patriots stalwart like Trey Flowers. Swapping in better all-around play and availability for Ezekiel Ansah, who departed for the Seattle Seahawks this offseason, was a good move.

The rest leaves a bit to be desired. 

It turns out Matthew Stafford played with a broken back last year, so it is a little concerning the Lions didn't do more up front. The team didn't use any draft picks on the line. It's blindly trusting Taylor Decker to keep on the upswing. Frank Ragnow seems to be moving to center after spending his rookie year at guard.

On paper, better coaching and the arrivals of first-round tight end T.J. Hockenson and free-agent wide receiver Danny Amendola could help mask problems on the offensive line and open things up for the running game.

But that is quite a few question marks for a team in an NFC North with little margin for error, particularly while led by a 31-year-old quarterback who has a potential out in his contract after the 2020 season. 

Houston Texans

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The Houston Texans won 11 games last year and got some promising play from Deshaun Watson, who didn't seem to show any ill effects from the season-ending torn ACL he suffered as a rookie. 

Yet despite the quarterback's injury history, Houston didn't do much up front last year and watched as Watson took another 62 sacks. This offseason, the front office added castoff Matt Kalil and used the draft to grab Tytus Howard at No. 23 and Max Scharping at No. 55. 

Translation: That's not inspiring.

Howard, in particular, came off the board way too early as the Texans overreacted after Andre Dillard was picked right before they walked to the podium. The set of moves leaves the entire offensive line in flux with no surefire answers. 

The defensive outlook isn't much better. Jadeveon Clowney still needs a long-term contract, and the unit lost Tyrann Mathieu.

Between talent leakage, so-so addressing of needs and the outlook beyond this year, the Texans have a lot to get right before the season starts. 

Miami Dolphins

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The Miami Dolphins' presence in an article like this shouldn't come as much of a surprise. 

Thanks to the Arizona Cardinals' knee-jerk reactions, they're generally viewed as winners for bringing over second-year quarterback Josh Rosen. But the coaches must now figure out if he should start over Ryan Fitzpatrick, a 36-year-old journeyman who can flash elite-level play for a few weeks before falling apart. 

And the propensity to fall apart is strong here. The depth chart surrounding the quarterbacks says it all. Miami has been gun-shy with Kenyan Drake out of the backfield, and DeVante Parker has yet to shake off bust whispers. Last year's line allowed 52 sacks. 

In a quest to remake its culture, Miami didn't do much in free agency and went with a character-production combo instead of upside by selecting Christian Wilkins in the first round. It is no mistake the Dolphins are adding former New England Patriots like Dwayne Allen and Eric Rowe while stockpiling long-term assets.

Perhaps more so than any other team, they have a long summer in front of them while trying to find the proper course for the future. 

New York Giants

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It isn't too hard to guess the main topic when it comes to the New York Giants. 

Head coach Pat Shurmur recently put it best when talking about the Eli Manning-Daniel Jones situation at quarterback, per ESPN's Jordan Raanan: "You never know what is going to happen."

Indeed.

The Giants took a big hit in the public eye when they drafted Jones sixth overall. But the already-embattled rookie is the other option next to the 38-year-old Manning, who completed 66 percent of his passes last year for 4,299 yards, 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. 

Either way, both guys will have to compete while lacking a weapon such as Odell Beckham Jr. to help things along. Right guard Kevin Zeitler also came over in the trade that sent Beckham to the Cleveland Browns, which means the entire offensive line has to readjust.

That offensive line is perhaps the biggest non-quarterback question facing the Giants. Zeitler alone doesn't change the fact Manning took 47 sacks last year while Nate Solder predictably struggled. The New England Patriots were willing to let him walk when New York signed him, after all.

Perhaps no team faces a bigger gauntlet of long-term decisions than the Giants this offseason, as the wrong move with a rookie quarterback can have career-defining implications.