2025 NFL offseason: Projecting bold moves in free agency, draft

This looks like a big offseason for bold moves, because some teams have already made major decisions. Trade or cut Cooper Kupp? That’s happening. Trade Deebo Samuel Sr.? Also happening. Cut Aaron Rodgers? Done.

Below, I suggest a bold move for each team to make over the next two months. Some of these are realistic and others are more far-fetched, but each would provide a significant change. Which teams need to cut former stars to move forward? How should teams use their top draft picks? Where should the top free agents sign? All of these and more are included.

Moves are suggested for each team independently, which is why certain players are suggested as trade or free agency targets for multiple franchises.

To explain moves for several teams, we use my DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) metric, which takes every play during the season and compares it to a baseline adjusted for situation and opponent.

Let’s start with how Buffalo could help out its reigning MVP quarterback and go through each division:

Jump to a team:
ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN
CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND
JAX | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | MIA | MIN
NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF
SEA | TB | TEN | WSH

AFC EAST

Blow the Bengals out of the water with a Tee Higgins trade offer

Originally, my advice to Buffalo was just to sign the receiver. Now that the Bengals are planning to give Higgins the franchise tag for the second straight offseason, the Bills need to produce a trade offer so strong that the Bengals don’t want to turn it down.

Higgins was set to be the best free agent wide receiver, by far. He had 73 catches for 911 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. He ranked 12th in my DYAR metric despite playing only 12 games. He ranked 24th in 2023, 10th in 2022 and fifth in 2021 — even though he had to share targets with Ja’Marr Chase each of those seasons.

Higgins is a No. 1 receiver in search of a No. 1 opportunity. Meanwhile, the Bills need a No. 1 receiver. They need someone quarterback Josh Allen can depend on; someone they can confidently go to on third down to move the chains. Khalil Shakir had 821 yards last season, but he’s a slot receiver. They didn’t have an outside receiver with more than 600 yards. Higgins would fit perfectly as the leader of their wide receiver room and give them what they need to finally reach the Super Bowl.

Sign Chiefs guard Trey Smith

Practically every guard on Miami’s roster is a free agent — Robert Jones, Isaiah Wynn, and Liam Eichenberg — so why not upgrade the position with one of this year’s best free agents? Smith had an above-average pass block win rate (93.9%) but he really shines in the running game. Smith’s run block win rate of 75.1% ranked sixth among interior offensive linemen last season. The Dolphins as a team ranked 26th with a 69.7% run block win rate.

The lesson we learned from Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry in 2024 is that great running backs matter a lot more when they have enough good blocking to run free into the open field. The speedy De’Von Achane could be a fantastic lead back, but he needs that blocking to free him up to do magic things. Adding Smith would go a long way toward making the holes Miami needs to become a force again in the run game.

Trade quarterback Joe Milton III

There could be interest around the league in Milton because of the overall weakness of this year’s quarterback draft class. The rookie showed promise in Week 18 against the Bills’ backups with a 72.4 QBR. If New England can turn three more years of a sixth-round pick into four more years of a third- or fourth-round pick, that’s usually going to be a win for a roster. Especially when the only playing time Milton had during the regular season was a finale game against backups because the Patriots already have their quarterback of the future in Drake Maye.

Trade wide receiver Garrett Wilson

Wilson was clearly unhappy with his usage by the end of the season. He should have shined with better quarterback play from veteran Aaron Rodgers, and he did. In fact, Wilson set personal records in receptions (101), yards (1,104) and touchdowns (7). But there was definitely a feeling that Wilson could have done more if there wasn’t so much attention being paid to Rodgers’ old pals Davante Adams and Allen Lazard.

New York is likely going to cut both Adams and Lazard, which makes it even harder to trade Wilson because there won’t be anything left in the wide receiver room. But trading Wilson would also mean a fresh start with new offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand. Wilson is eligible for a big contract extension, probably in the $30 million per year range. The Jets can let another team pay that while they undergo a bit of a rebuild, dealing Wilson for as much draft capital as possible.

AFC NORTH

Double up at cornerback

Free agent cornerback Brandon Stephens was the weak link in the 2024 Ravens’ secondary, so Baltimore can upgrade its defensive backfield by finding a solid veteran to play alongside Nate Wiggins and Marlon Humphrey. It’s important to note that cornerback metrics are very unstable from season to season, so veterans who struggled in 2024 could very easily bounce back in 2025. For example, Buffalo’s Rasul Douglas was third in my coverage DVOA metric in 2023 before dropping to 52nd in 2024. Or the Jets’ D.J. Reed, who went from 42nd in 2023 to 63rd in 2024. Both Douglas and Reed will be free agents this offseason.

Better yet, the Ravens should double up at the position. With so many good receivers among the top AFC contenders, it’s important to have depth in case of injury. The Ravens should use one of their early-round draft picks on a cornerback who can start fourth on the depth chart and then move up as he improves.

Trade defensive end Trey Hendrickson

Hendrickson is one of the best edge rushers in the NFL. He led the league with 17.5 sacks in 2024 and was second in the league in pass rush win rate among edge rushers. But he’s going to be 31 years old next season, and one player does not make a defense. The Bengals ranked 27th in defensive DVOA despite Hendrickson’s great season.

The Bengals need to rebuild this defense with not just one great edge rusher, and they need a fresh start with new defensive coordinator Al Golden. They have just six picks in the upcoming draft and could use more. Sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that Cincinnati will aim for deals with receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins and Hendrickson. The Bengals should let another team give Hendrickson that extension and build up their draft capital by sending him elsewhere.

Do not trade Myles Garrett

Garrett’s trade request is tough on the Browns because trading him would make no sense for Cleveland. First of all, he may still be the best edge rusher in the NFL. He has had at least 14 sacks in four straight seasons, he ranked sixth in pass rush win rate (21.5%) in 2024 despite sucking up a lot of double-teams, and he won’t turn 30 until late in the 2025 season.

Trading Garrett would also be terrible for Cleveland’s salary cap situation, which is already in bad shape because of quarterback Deshaun Watson. Roster Management System estimates the Browns to be $30 million over the salary cap. Trading Garrett would leave the Browns with at least $36 million in dead money and a loss of $16.5 million in cap space. If the Browns try to mitigate this by waiting until after June 1 to trade Garrett, they would have to pay him a $5 million roster bonus and get nothing in return.

Could Garrett hold out? Perhaps, but he’s not going to miss the entire season because he wants his contract to roll a year. The Browns maybe could make nice and convince him they’re trying to win and he shouldn’t hold out. Or, they could just deal with only having him for half the year. The picks they would obtain in a Garrett trade might not be worth the salary cap problems that trade would create plus the loss of Garrett’s great play on the field.

Trade for quarterback Matthew Stafford

Stafford will come up a couple of times in this article. There’s been plenty of discussion about the Rams moving on from Stafford now that he’s 37, and about how he might fit with the Giants because of family connections. (Stafford’s brother-in-law Chad Hall is the Giants’ new assistant quarterbacks coach.) But the Steelers are another team that needs a quarterback and is closer to contention.

Stafford is still playing at a high level. He ranked sixth in QBR in 2023 and then 12th in 2024. Compare that to the Steelers’ two quarterbacks from last season. Stafford had 64.7 QBR, while Russell Wilson was at 51.3 (22nd) and Justin Fields was at 50.8 (not enough attempts to be ranked).

The Steelers ranked 13th in pass block win rate (62%) last season, which is important with an older pocket quarterback such as Stafford. Pittsburgh still needs to add receiving help, with both Van Jefferson and Mike Williams hitting free agency, but there would be hope that Stafford could truly activate the talents of George Pickens. Also, Stafford is a better fit for offensive coordinator Arthur Smith than Aaron Rodgers because of Stafford’s experience in Sean McVay’s play-action-heavy system with the Rams. The Steelers and Rams were both near the top of the league in using more conventional quarterback-under-center formations (31% of passes for each team).

AFC SOUTH

Trade for Garrett Wilson

Wilson was clearly unhappy in New York last season, but he’s a very talented young wide receiver. He has three straight 1,000-yard seasons, which is even more impressive considering the quarterback play the Jets have had.

In 2021, Wilson had 70 catches for 1,058 yards and 12 touchdowns at Ohio State with C.J. Stroud as his quarterback. The Texans can’t be sure whether Tank Dell‘s knee will be healthy next season, and Stefon Diggs is a free agent. Other teams have had a ton of success reuniting college teammates, such as Joe Burrow with Ja’Marr Chase or Tua Tagovailoa with Jaylen Waddle. Why not do the same thing in Houston with Stroud and Wilson? The 25th selection and a Day 2 pick in 2026 should get this trade done.

Load up on interior linemen in the draft

The Colts need help on their interior offensive line. Quenton Nelson is still one of the league’s best guards, but both center Ryan Kelly and right guard Will Fries are free agents in 2025. The Colts need to improve pass protection for quarterback Anthony Richardson while keeping the blocking strong for running back Jonathan Taylor. (They ranked fourth with a 73.9% run block win rate in 2024.)

The best way to do this might be to flood the zone. Interior offensive linemen are rarely worth taking in the first round, especially where the Colts are drafting at No. 14. But the Colts could draft interior linemen on Days 2 and 3 to build up depth at the position. Use three picks on interior linemen, combined with a free agent signing or two, and they’re going to find a couple of starters who will fit well between Nelson and right tackle Braden Smith.

Draft a tackle at No. 5

Wait, a tackle? Don’t the Jaguars already have two tackles? Jacksonville signed left tackle Walker Little to a three-year extension in December. Right tackle Anton Harrison was a 2023 first-round pick and therefore has either two or three years left on his contract, depending on whether the Jaguars pick up his fifth-year option.

The problem? Little and Harrison haven’t been great. Little ranked 54th out of 66 qualifying tackles in pass block win rate (84.8%) in 2024. Harrison was 60th (83.1%). Little was above average in run block win rate (77.8%), but Harrison (71.7%) was below average for that metric. Improvement at tackle, especially on the right side, would be a big step forward for new coach Liam Coen. The Jaguars could consider drafting Will Campbell or Kelvin Banks Jr. Then, they could see if Harrison might be able to transfer to guard.

Don’t select a quarterback at No. 1

The analytic standard is normally that the quarterback position is so important that a franchise has to take a quarterback at the top of the draft if it needs one. But many draft analysts don’t feel that any of this year’s quarterbacks are truly worth the first overall selection. So maybe the best thing is not to reach.

The AFC is currently loaded, and the Titans shouldn’t use the No. 1 pick on a middle-of-the-pack QB. The Titans should draft edge rusher Abdul Carter or cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter instead of forcing a competitive window where one does not exist. They can be satisfied with Will Levis while trying to build the rest of the team for when a top quarterback is finally available. The Titans have already suggested they are thinking this way with team president Chad Brinker’s comment that the Titans “will not pass on a generational talent” in the draft.

AFC WEST

Trade up to draft running back Ashton Jeanty

We don’t want teams to take the wrong lesson from the success of Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry and Josh Jacobs in 2024. The lesson is not that running backs matter. The lesson is that running backs matter as long as they are behind good offensive lines.

Analytics suggest that team should never draft a running back in the first round, but the idea isn’t absurd if a team already has an offensive line that would allow a star running back to shine. The Broncos finished No. 1 in run block win rate (74.9%) in 2024, yet they finished only 24th in run DVOA because their running backs were subpar. This is the perfect team to draft the Boise State superstar.

The Broncos may have to trade up from the No. 20 position to get Jeanty, perhaps needing to jump ahead of the Cowboys at No. 12. But the combination of Jeanty and this line — where all five starters are expected to be back for 2025 — might make this bold move worth it.

Cut tight end Travis Kelce

This would be a very unpopular move, but Kelce’s contract is set up as an easy way for the Chiefs to gain cap space for 2025. According to Roster Management System, cutting Kelce would cost the Chiefs only $2.5 million in dead money while saving them over $17 million on the salary cap. That’s important with the Chiefs currently having negative effective cap space (i.e. the cap space that they would have after signing at least 51 players and a projected rookie class).

And while Kelce still had some important catches in the postseason, his regular-season performance collapsed in 2024. Kelce ranked 38th out of 49 qualifying tight ends in receiving DVOA, and he ranked dead last among tight ends in the ESPN receiver tracking metrics.

Trade up to draft quarterback Shedeur Sanders

Everybody agrees that Sanders and the Raiders are a strong match. He was second in the FBS with 37 touchdown passes and fourth with 4,134 passing yards last season. The Raiders don’t have one of the league’s top offensive lines, but their line did rank a reasonable 17th in pass block win rate (59.4%), so Sanders should have time to stay in the pocket and further develop his passing skills.

ESPN’s Field Yates has Sanders falling to the Raiders with the No. 6 pick, but waiting for him to fall to them would not be the bold move. The move would be to trade up into the top three picks, preferably the top two, to ensure that Sanders comes to Las Vegas. Obviously, the problem is that it would cost additional draft capital, especially since the Raiders have other glaring needs and the top three teams (Titans, Browns and Giants) also need a young quarterback and would need to be enticed to trade down. Nonetheless, if the Raiders want to guarantee they’ll get Sanders, they’ll need to make a trade.

Trade for Tyreek Hill

Hill seems to have made nice with the Dolphins, but he’s still a trade candidate and he fits perfectly with the Chargers. Los Angeles is clearly in need of a No. 1 wide receiver who can stretch the field, and it has the quarterback who can get the ball to that type of receiver.

Even in an off 2024 season, Hill had 81 catches for 959 yards and six touchdowns. And he’s still just one season removed from when he led the league in yards and touchdowns. Hill running deep routes would open up room for Ladd McConkey to work underneath and allow Joshua Palmer or Quentin Johnston to play a much more realistic WR3 role.

NFC EAST

Extend DaRon Bland

There may be some questions about extending Bland, who is going into the final year of his rookie contract, after the cornerback missed much of 2024 with injuries. And frankly, he could be a bit overrated after his performance in 2023 because there’s a lot of randomness involved in getting five pick-sixes. Still, Bland is strong in coverage. Even without any interceptions in 2024, he had an above-average coverage DVOA in his seven appearances. Extending Bland would lock down the cornerback spot across from Trevon Diggs and allow Dallas to add roughly $3.3 million in cap space.

Don’t trade for quarterback Matthew Stafford

There is a lot of discussion of Stafford getting traded by the Rams, with New York as the most likely destination. Some of this talk is based on a relative, as Stafford’s brother-in-law Chad Hall is the Giants’ new assistant quarterbacks coach. Obviously, the Giants need a quarterback, and Stafford is still playing at a high level.

But are the Giants just a veteran quarterback away from winning? The best-case scenario for adding Stafford is probably a wild-card team in a difficult division where the Eagles just won the Super Bowl, the Commanders went to the NFC Championship Game, and the Cowboys will likely rebound with a healthy Dak Prescott. Stafford might help everyone in New York keep their jobs for another year, but that’s not a bold move. It’s not the kind of move that will build a Super Bowl contender for the Giants.

Instead, the Giants need to sit at No. 3 in the draft and hope that at least one of the two teams ahead of them doesn’t take a quarterback. Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward come with upsides that could make the Giants serious contenders in the future. It’s not likely to happen immediately — neither Ward nor Sanders is seen as good as last season’s six first-round quarterbacks — but it’s a shot the Giants really need to take if they want to be bold and build a winner.

Trade defensive end Bryce Huff

It seems like everything worked out for the Super Bowl champion Eagles in the 2024 season, but they made one move that didn’t work. They gave a huge free-agent contract to Huff, only to watch the edge rusher fall out of the starting lineup after a few games. He had just 2.5 sacks during the regular season and wasn’t active in Super Bowl LIX.

The Eagles aren’t going to have any use for Huff going forward, but someone will despite his off year. So why not trade him instead of cutting him? Let’s find the other teams that were interested in Huff a season ago and the Eagles can try to flip him for draft picks. Atlanta would be an interesting team to start with — the Falcons desperately need pass-rush help and took a look at Huff last year. The Eagles will need to make the trade with a post-June 1 designation because it will give Philadelphia an additional $4.3 million in cap space and $3.3 million in dead money. That’s worth it if the Eagles can get a midround 2026 pick as well.

Trade for wide receiver Cooper Kupp

The Commanders already have a great outside receiver in Terry McLaurin. Now they need an inside presence from the slot, and Kupp would be a strong fit. There’s no question that Kupp had a subpar season in 2024, and he hasn’t played more than 12 games in each of the past three years due to injuries. His catch rate has been down as well compared to when he won the receiving triple crown in 2021. He has consistently dropped in the ESPN receiving metrics based on player tracking, from a 61 rating in 2022, to 48 in 2023 and all the way down to 23 in 2024.

A trade for Kupp would be a gamble that he can return to his earlier form. But if it hits, it would be a huge gain for the Commanders. No defense could double-team both McLaurin and Kupp, giving quarterback Jayden Daniels more open targets in all parts of the field.

NFC NORTH

Build a pass rush

The Bears were 14th in adjusted sack rate but just 24th in pass rush win rate (36.5%) last season. Their starting four defensive linemen are expected to be back, but their depth players are all free agents. Montez Sweat, the Bears’ big pass-rush acquisition of 2023, ranked 47th out of 51 qualifying edge rushers with a pass rush win rate of just 9.9%, and he led the team with just 5.5 sacks. The defensive line is also aging. Sweat will be 29 next season, DeMarcus Walker will be 31, and defensive tackle Andrew Billings will be 30.

The best move for the Bears would be to take an edge rusher away from one of the Super Bowl teams. The Eagles’ Josh Sweat dominated in the Super Bowl with 2.5 sacks and could give the Bears an all-Sweat pass rush if he’s signed. The Chiefs’ Charles Omenihu is also a free agent and would be an excellent addition. Then, the Bears need to go after the defensive line with two or three draft picks. There will be a lot of talk about the offensive line, but quarterback Caleb Williams‘ sack issues (a league-high 68) can be attributed more to his own tendencies than the Bears’ blockers. Instead, the Bears can go with a pass rusher in the first round, such as edge rusher Shemar Stewart or interior pass rusher Walter Nolen.

Trade for Myles Garrett

Elsewhere in this piece, I argue why the Browns should not trade Garrett. But if Garrett forces his way out of town, the Lions should be first in line to make a trade offer. He is a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate, and the Lions are completely in “win now” mode. They are the kind of team that should be dealing high future picks for a superstar who will help put their defense over the top. Imagine if opposing blockers had to deal with Garrett and a healthy Aidan Hutchinson. There’s really no way to block that.

Don’t cut Jaire Alexander

Usually, the bold move is to cut an important star player. In Green Bay’s case, the bold move is to keep him. Some reports say that Alexander is going to be cut soon. The Packers are tired of dealing with his injuries, as he has played in just seven games in two straight seasons. Alexander still has two years remaining on a huge extension he signed a couple of years ago. The Packers would pick up $6.8 million in salary cap space by cutting Alexander now, and more than $17 million if they designate him as a post-June 1 cut.

The problem is that Alexander is still very good when he plays. Alexander had a minus-45.1% coverage DVOA last season — the same as Pat Surtain II, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. The Packers have more than $42 million in cap space, so they don’t need to make rash moves to trim talent. There’s no guarantee Alexander can play a full season in 2025, but past injuries also don’t guarantee future injuries. Green Bay should be bold and not let its best cornerback go elsewhere.

Sign quarterback Sam Darnold long-term and trade J.J. McCarthy for picks

This seems like an absurd idea after the poor wild-card game Darnold had in the playoffs against the Rams, but that was just one game against a very strong, young defensive line. For the entire regular season, Darnold was surprisingly good, ranking 14th in QBR even after adjustments for the players around him. He will still be just 28 next season, and he probably could be signed for a similar contract to the one Daniel Jones signed with the Giants; the Vikings would have a reasonable out after a couple of seasons if Darnold does not continue to play at a high level.

Signing Darnold to a long-term deal would also allow the Vikings to trade McCarthy. He would likely be the top-ranked quarterback in the 2025 class if he was in the upcoming draft. McCarthy won’t garner a top pick because he has one less season on his rookie contract than Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward will have, but he could get the Vikings a package of picks that would help to replenish their draft allotment. The Vikings currently have just three picks in the 2025 draft — none in the second, third or fourth rounds — and likely a fourth pick when compensatory picks are handed out.

NFC SOUTH

Trade Kyle Pitts

Pitts was supposed to revolutionize the tight end position after the Falcons selected him fourth overall in the 2021 draft. It hasn’t worked out that way. Pitts caught 47 passes for 602 yards and four touchdowns in 2024. He ranked 32nd out of 48 qualifying tight ends in receiving DVOA. After 15.1 yards per reception as a rookie, he hasn’t topped 13.0 yards per reception in any of the past three seasons. Pitts played only 62% of Atlanta’s offensive snaps last season, while blocking tight end Charlie Woerner played 40%.

It’s time to move on. Another team probably believes they can tap into Pitts’ potential, even after four NFL seasons. The Falcons have to make their choice: They can pay Pitts $10 million for another possibly mediocre season and hope to get a compensatory pick when he leaves after 2025, or they can trade him and get a pick sooner while getting $10 million off the books. The latter is the better choice.

Double up on the pass rush

The Panthers were a dismal 31st in pass rush win rate (28.1%) and 27th in adjusted sack rate last season, so that’s a clear place where they need players. Getting back interior lineman Derrick Brown from the knee injury that cost him virtually the entire 2024 season will be a big help, but why not go big by taking pass rush help with their first two draft picks?

With the No. 8 selection, the Panthers will likely have their pick of edge rushers other than Abdul Carter. ESPN’s Matt Miller has them taking Georgia’s Jalon Walker in his latest mock draft. Then, the Panthers could go interior line in the second round with a player such as Ohio State’s Tyleik Williams or South Carolina’s T.J. Sanders.

Don’t restructure Derek Carr‘s contract

The Saints are in big trouble. They are currently a league-leading $54 million over the cap. They also have very few players they can cut to get actual salary cap relief. According to OverTheCap.com, there is no cut the Saints could make before March 12 that would save them more than $4 million in cap space. They’re going to have to get below the cap by restructuring contracts, which just moves more dead money down the line and makes it harder to get a clean slate and rebuild the roster.

The Saints need to take their medicine as soon as possible, and one way to do that is to avoid restructuring Carr’s contract. That’s going to be very hard to do, because a Carr restructure would save the Saints $30 million on the cap. But it would also tie New Orleans to him for a couple of more seasons and push more money down the line, which makes it harder to split from Carr anytime soon. Yes, Carr had a 63.4 QBR in 2024, but hanging on to a 34-year-old quarterback widely seen as mediocre is emblematic of the Saints’ problems. They need to resist a Carr restructure so they can finally move on from him after the 2025 season.

Cut Rachaad White

The Buccaneers enter free agency with only $2.2 million in cap space. They need to make some room and one way to do it is to say goodbye to White. The running back is entering the final year of his rookie contract, so the Buccaneers can cut him for $3.3 million in cap savings with less than $250,000 in dead money.

White is still a useful player, but he gradually lost the No. 1 spot to Bucky Irving in 2024. White had positive rushing yards over expected, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, but he was far behind Irving. (White had 0.34 RYOE per carry, while Irving was at 0.94.) White was an excellent receiving back, ranking fifth in total receiving value by my DYAR metric, but Irving was eighth. The Buccaneers need to save money somewhere, and this is where it wouldn’t hurt too much.

NFC WEST

Raid the San Francisco defense

The Cardinals are fourth in the league in available cap space, but they need help in a lot of places, especially on defense. So why not grab some playmakers from the 49ers and kick the former division champions while they’re down? Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, linebacker Dre Greenlaw and cornerback Charvarius Ward are all free agents who started in Super Bowl LVIII.

Hargrave (triceps) and Greenlaw (calf/Achilles) missed significant time in 2024 due to injuries, but Hargrave had an above-average pass rush win rate of 15.0% in the past two seasons, and Greenlaw was one of the better off-ball linebackers in the league in 2023. Ward had a bit of an off year in 2024, but he’s going to be 29 this season and was above average in coverage DVOA in 2023.

Trade quarterback Matthew Stafford and bring in Sam Darnold

Stafford has still got it. He ranked sixth in QBR two years ago and 12th last season. He’s also 37 years old with a gigantic salary cap number of nearly $50 million in 2025. There has been a lot of scuttlebutt from the NFL rumor mill about the Rams moving on from him. It fits the old adage that it is better to move on from a player a year too early than a year too late. If they do it, they’ll want to make it a post-June 1 trade in order to spread the cap cost across two seasons. And they should bring in Darnold as a replacement.

Darnold ranked 14th in QBR last season. We know from his play in Minnesota under Kevin O’Connell that he can thrive in a Sean McVay-influenced offensive scheme. So why not bring him into a system run by the actual Sean McVay?

Show Brock Purdy the money

Purdy is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and anything San Francisco decides to do here would be a bold move. Trading Purdy and signing a veteran such as Kirk Cousins? Bold. Letting him play out his contract with the idea they would get a high compensatory pick for him in 2027? Very bold. But given Purdy’s draft pedigree and the general belief that he’s not a “win because of” quarterback, extending him and making him the long-term starter is a bold move as well.

San Francisco’s injuries in 2024 enhanced the case that Purdy is among the better quarterbacks in the NFL. He finished seventh in QBR (67.9) in 2024 after leading the league in 2023. The idea that he’s entirely dependent on San Francisco’s YAC-friendly scheme was washed away when Purdy had a strong season despite the 49ers being close to the median with 5.5 average yards after the catch. My DVOA ratings had Purdy ranked seventh, and Kevin Cole’s adjusted EPA measure, which attempts to adjust for everything from drops to YAC to opponent strength, also had Purdy seventh in value per play.

It’s going to be harder to build a roster if the 49ers are paying Purdy like a veteran, but he has earned it. Jimmy Garoppolo showed that even mediocre quarterbacks can succeed in coach Kyle Shanahan’s system, yet Purdy has succeeded at a much higher level. The 49ers don’t want to start over and hope their next quarterback works out as well as this one has.

Shake up the wide receiver room

The Seahawks missed the playoffs despite a 10-7 record and the offense was a bit of a disappointment, ranking just 18th in the league in DVOA. Wide receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett have two of the three highest cap numbers on the roster — quarterback Geno Smith has the other — and neither was as productive as Jaxon Smith-Njigba in 2024. Maybe it’s time to refresh the wide receiver room with some big changes.

Lockett, who will turn 33 early next season, had just 600 receiving yards and two touchdowns last season. He may be a Seahawks legend, but cutting him will save Seattle $13 million in cap space. The next step would be to trade Metcalf. His contract voids after the 2025 season, so see what teams like the Bills and Chargers would give for him right now. Then use those acquired draft picks to add a couple of young receivers who can flourish alongside Smith-Njigba.