It’s been a weird couple months for the NFL. With the coronavirus pandemic halting all other leagues, the offseason has turned into the sports world’s main attraction. Every story – whether it be a transaction, draft pick or controversy – has seemingly generated twice the buzz it normally would have with little else to take away from the spotlight.
With the draft and free agency mostly in the rearview, we are taking stock of just how noisy each of the NFL’s 32 teams have been since the season ended. Whether the headlines were positive or negative, here’s how they stacked up:
Deafening noise
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
A woebegone franchise signs Tom Brady and brings Rob Gronkowski out of retirement, two of the most recognizable names in NFL history. Will the on-field product match the insane hype? Or will they be like last year’s Browns and go up in flames?
2. Houston Texans
Armed with a young superstar QB in Deshaun Watson, Bill O’Brien traded his best receiver (Deandre Hopkins) for a second-round pick and a potentially washed-up running back (David Johnson). With Brandin Cooks replacing Hopkins, Houston’s playbook will just be Four Verticals in “Madden.”
3. Green Bay Packers
Everyone in Green Bay will spend all year answering questions about Jordan Love, including Aaron Rodgers, who would probably rather talk about his family.
4. Cleveland Browns
A new coach, a new GM, another free-agent spending spree, and a young QB in Baker Mayfield who needs to make a huge leap to keep it all from coming apart at the seams. So basically, a typical offseason in the Cleve.
5. Miami Dolphins
Miami put out a hilarious number of smokescreens leading up to the draft (Justin Herbert? An offensive tackle? Trading up to get Joe Burrow?) only to end up taking Tua Tagovailoa anyway.
6. Dallas Cowboys
When are things ever quiet in Big D? The Dak Prescott contract drama seems never-ending, and bringing in Andy Dalton won’t calm that noise. Jerry Jones drafted another offensive star in CeeDee Lamb – from a yacht – which should put more pressure on Prescott and new coach Mike McCarthy.
7. New York Giants
Dave Gettleman was having a fairly tame offseason, and his initially criticized moves to draft Daniel Jones and hire Joe Judge were aging well. Then one of his first-round picks from last year, DeAndre Baker, was charged with armed robbery.
Needs to take it down a notch
8. Detroit Lions
Everyone who left the Lions this offseason had something negative to say about Matt Patricia: Darius Slay said he doesn’t respect him, Glover Quin blasted his “attitude, persona and arrogance,” and Damon Harrison said he was “hell-bent” on getting out of Detroit. This could be his last chance to turn the Lions around after a 9-22-1 record through two seasons.
9. Arizona Cardinals
On the flip side of the Bill O’Brien debacle is the Cardinals, who now have a top-three receiver to pair with Kyler Murray in Kliff Kingsbury’s flashy offense. And have you seen Kingsbury’s house?
10. Chicago Bears
The Bears can’t escape the 2017 Draft. They traded for Nick Foles to “push” underwhelming second-overall pick Mitchell Trubisky (read: take his job). Then, Deshaun Watson opened old wounds by tweeting that the Bears never talked to him that year. The stress has clearly had an effect on Matt Nagy.
11. Buffalo Bills
The Bills traded for Stefon Diggs and are in a prime position to win the AFC East after the Patriots lost Tom Brady. Fans are talking a big game, which should surprise no one, but the question remains: How good is Josh Allen? Or is this defense-first team just the 2018 Jaguars or 2019 Bears?
12. Carolina Panthers
Carolina overturned the entire roster, swapping Cam Newton for Teddy Bridgewater, Ron Rivera for ex-Baylor coach Matt Rhule and Luke Kuechly for a swarm of college defenders. Christian McCaffrey became the highest-paid running back of all time with the justification that he’s “more than a RB.”
13. Cincinnati Bengals
Bringing Joe Burrow and his impeccable swag to your team is a guaranteed way to generate buzz. Their coach is named Zac Taylor. Do we know anything about him? Is he a real person?
14. Denver Broncos
The Broncos added a ridiculous amount of talent, both through the draft (Jerry Jeudy, KJ Hamler) and free agency (Melvin Gordon, AJ Bouye). The fan base is convinced Drew Lock is the guy, and he better be, considering the massive investments John Elway made everywhere else.
15. Philadelphia Eagles
Eagles fans had a predictably over-the-top reaction to their team drafting Jalen Hurts in the second round. You’d think they, of all people, would know the importance of having a good backup QB.
A safe volume
16. San Francisco 49ers
The NFC champs wheeled and dealed all offseason, bringing in All-Pro tackle Trent Williams and extending Arik Armstead while letting go of DeForest Buckner and Emmanuel Sanders. Was it enough to get back to the Super Bowl?
17. Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders moved to Las Vegas and drafted a receiver who runs fast in the first round. Al Davis would be proud.
18. Indianapolis Colts
Signing Philip Rivers was expected, but trading for Buckner wasn’t. With the Titans possibly having reached their ceiling in 2019 and the Texans in turmoil, the Colts could contend for the AFC South title.
19. Tennessee Titans
They pretty much had to pay Ryan Tannehill after the former Dolphins QB Derrick Henry carried them to the AFC Championship. This is another confident fan base, but is Tannehill actually worth $118 million?
20. Seattle Seahawks
Russell Wilson trade rumors have been floating around over the past few weeks, which makes no sense from a winning standpoint, but makes plenty of sense considering Seattle often runs the ball 50 times a game and forgets Wilson is on the team altogether.
21. Jacksonville Jaguars
Yannick Ngakoue is still on the team, a fact that he has taken every opportunity to publicly gripe about. They offloaded nearly every other player from a defense that nearly made the Super Bowl, replacing them with pretty much just Joe Schobert. By passing up the QB market, Gardner Minshew is now the guy, that is, until Trevor Lawrence is.
22. New Orleans Saints
Sean Payton talked up gadget QB Taysom Hill as “the next Steve Young” despite the fact that he has just six career completions in three seasons. Then they signed Jameis Winston. Actions speak louder than words.
23. Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings let go of a ton of talent this offseason, including Diggs, Everson Griffen, Linval Joseph and all three of their starting cornerbacks from last season. They extended Kirk Cousins and replenished their roster with a ridiculous 15 draft picks, but it might be a bit of a rebuilding year while those guys develop.
24. Washington Redskins
Hiring Ron Rivera and bringing in Chase Young could sneakily turn an already-decent defensive unit into one of the league’s best. That doesn’t change the fact that this might be the worst offense in the league, with Dwayne Haskins already feeling the heat just one year into his career.
25. Los Angeles Rams
The Rams are so hamstrung by the salary cap and limited draft capital that they couldn’t do much, although they did hand out another $30 million over three years to LT Andrew Whitworth – who will be 41 when the deal expires. Next up: trying to figure out how to pay Jalen Ramsey, who they sacrificed two first-round picks for and didn’t play all that well in LA.
Has anyone heard from them?
26. Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens snatched Pro Bowler Calais Campbell from Jacksonville for *checks notes* … a fifth-round pick? That’s it?
27. New York Jets
It’s rare that the Jets have a quiet offseason, but the first under Joe Douglas fixed a lot of holes (mainly the offensive line) without being flashy. Which, for a team with a recent history of splashy deals, is a good thing.
28. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons let go of Vic Beasley, Desmond Trufant and Devonta Freeman, while paying Dante Fowler Jr. and taking a (relatively) low-risk flier on Todd Gurley. It’s been three years since they made the Super Bowl.
29. Los Angeles Chargers
Look at these new uniforms. I mean, come on. Just gorgeous. Oh, they also drafted Justin Herbert.
30. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers’ most notable addition in 2020 will be a healthy Ben Roethlisberger, who trimmed his beard and threw passes to his teammates this week.
31. New England Patriots
New England passed on about a dozen quarterbacks in free agency and seem like its riding with Jarrett Stidham. The most notable contribution to the offseason, other than watching Brady leave, was a draft night shot of Belichick’s dog.
32. Kansas City Chiefs
Things couldn’t be better in Chiefs-land. Kansas City returns 20 of the 22 starters that won the Super Bowl and the Chiefs’ only major addition being explosive LSU RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Andy Reid likely spent the offseason enjoying cheeseburgers in peace.