Miami Dolphins<\/p>\n
This week\u2019s takeaways will take one last look at each of the NFL\u2019s 32 teams, as we break for summer and one more breather before the hysteria of training camp begins \u2026<\/p>\n
Arizona Cardinals<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a lot of focus on Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett\u2019s holdout during spring workouts, and that\u2019s not unwarranted, given his place as the presumed starter. And it does feel as if it\u2019s created an opening for Gardner Minshew II to make a run at the job. But more important for the franchise, come camp, will be the development of all the young players Mike LaFleur is inheriting from GM Monti Ossenfort, guys among the 14 top-100 picks Arizona has made over Ossenfort\u2019s first three years. Guys, specifically, such as Marvin Harrison Jr., Walter Nolen III, Max Melton, Will Johnson and Paris Johnson Jr.<\/p>\n
Atlanta Falcons<\/p>\n
The Falcons have one big piece of business to settle (Bijan Robinson\u2019s contract) and a quarterback battle to finish before Week 1. The former is complicated, but I assume it will be taken care of. The latter is fascinating. Tua Tagovailoa has taken all the 11-on-11 reps with the first team through the spring. Michael Penix Jr., coming off a torn ACL, is trending toward being cleared by the time camp kicks off. And while Penix has the team\u2019s investment in him on his side, there\u2019s a new regime, so Tagovailoa certainly has a legit shot to make a run at the job.<\/p>\n
Baltimore Ravens<\/p>\n
The Ravens\u2019 hire of Jesse Minter is indeed an indication that the organization didn\u2019t want a total teardown of the John Harbaugh era. And the signs are there that the idea is working\u2014with Harbaugh era draft picks such as Malaki Starks, Nate Wiggins and Roger Rosengarten having big springs in a new setting, and GM Eric DeCosta taking a guy in the first round, Penn State guard Vega Ioane, who has the look of a guy who\u2019d fit any Ravens era.<\/p>\n
Buffalo Bills\u00a0<\/p>\n
Speaking of new coaches, the Bills\u2019s shift in philosophy comes on the head-coaching side, since new boss Joe Brady was promoted from the offensive coordinator spot. So veteran additions such as Bradley Chubb, C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Geno Stone, and draft picks like DE T.J. Parker are headed into a critical summer. Maybe even more so, I think, than DJ Moore, just in that we already have an idea of what Moore will look like in Brady\u2019s offense (they were together in Carolina).<\/p>\n
Carolina Panthers<\/p>\n
The Panthers look poised to head into the fourth year of Bryce Young\u2019s contract, and it is, to be clear, a critical one for everyone involved. Yes, they\u2019ve exercised his fifth-year option for 2027 at $25.9 million. But if Young doesn\u2019t look like the kind of guy the team would want to invest a deal at more than $50 million per year in this fall, then Carolina will become a suitor for a quarterback next spring.<\/p>\n
Chicago Bears\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of the best quotes of the spring to help frame the summer and fall came from Bears QBs coach J.T. Barrett, who said that his goal this offseason was to show Caleb Williams that, \u201cWe don\u2019t have to work as hard for our money.\u201d Last summer, Ben Johnson, Declan Doyle and Barrett fed Williams through a fire hose, beating him down with information to build him back up. This summer, I bet we\u2019ll see more of the easy-money things Barrett references, to show the quarterback he doesn\u2019t need to do as much of the spectacular to play winning football.<\/p>\n
Cincinnati Bengals\u00a0<\/p>\n
Go back and look at everything Joe Burrow has said the past few months. The not-so-subtle pressure he\u2019s put on his Bengals by raising external expectations. Comparisons to what he had around him going into 2019 at LSU. Burrow knows he has a damn good group and a damn good opportunity this year. And that\u2019s not just on offense. It\u2019s within the defense he\u2019s competed against through the offseason, too, with veteran imports Dexter Lawrence II, Bryan Cook and Boye Mafe leading the way.<\/p>\n
Cleveland Browns<\/p>\n
When it comes to the Browns, there\u2019s been lots of focus on Shedeur Sanders vs. Deshaun Watson. I get it. But I think there\u2019s a good chance the quarterback for 2027 isn\u2019t on the roster yet, and that the long-term fate of the current regime rides more on the development of the core from after the Travis Hunter trade\u2014with the progress from Carson Schwesinger, Mason Graham, Harold Fannin Jr., Quinshon Judkins, Dylan Sampson, KC Concepcion, Spencer Fano, Denzel Boston and Austin Barber crucial to that.<\/p>\n
Dallas Cowboys<\/p>\n
One of the biggest position battles in any camp is Tyler Guyton vs. Nate Thomas to be the Cowboys\u2019 left tackle. If Brian Schottenheimer and Klayton Adams can make that spot a strength, then the line can be the team\u2019s foundation, and Dak Prescott will have everything he needs around him to have a career year. And with Christian Parker a potential difference-maker as defensive coordinator, Dallas would be positioned to take advantage of a wide-open NFC East.<\/p>\n
Denver Broncos<\/p>\n
Had it not been for Bo Nix\u2019s freak injury in the AFC title game, we might be talking now about the Broncos coming off a Super Bowl. And here, to me, is the best part about it: Having to manage expectations won\u2019t be a problem, because Sean Payton already foisted those upon his growing team last summer, when he told everyone who\u2019d listen that he had a Super Bowl team. Now, with Jaylen Waddle aboard to add another dimension to the offense, Nix healthy and most of the rest of the operation intact (pending Jonathon Cooper\u2019s legal situation), look out.<\/p>\n
Detroit Lions<\/p>\n
The Lions\u2019 rugged identity under Dan Campbell was forged in large part by the NFL\u2019s best offensive line. So when that group started to come apart last year, the effect was real. And the retooling through this offseason\u2014with Cade Mays now aboard to take Frank Ragnow\u2019s old spot at center, and pro-ready first-round right tackle Blake Miller kicking Penei Sewell back to his college position on the left side\u2014is good evidence of how serious Detroit was about fixing it. So camp will be very important for that group, and well-regarded line coach Hank Fraley.<\/p>\n
Green Bay Packers<\/p>\n
I put the Packers alongside the Seahawks last year, as a team that could win it all if a bunch of young players elevated from good to great. I feel the same way this year. It\u2019s a talented roster. So the question is whether guys such as Christian Watson, Matthew Golden, Jordan Morgan, Lukas Van Ness, Devonte Wyatt and Edgerrin Cooper can take their games to another level, and of course, how guys like Micah Parsons and Tucker Kraft look coming back from knee injuries. A lot of pieces are in place.<\/p>\n
Houston Texans<\/p>\n
The Texans are in a championship window, without question, and the defense is already at that level. All the questions are on offense. Can C.J. Stroud, healthier this offseason than he was last, finally put the puzzle together? Can Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel build on big springs to supercharge the Nico Collins\u2013centered receiver room? And will Braden Smith, Wyatt Teller and Keylan Rutledge change the face of a line that\u2019s been a problem the past two years? If the answers to those questions are yes, then this is a Super Bowl\u2013level team.<\/p>\n
Indianapolis Colts\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last year, the Colts went for broke at the trade deadline, dealing for Sauce Gardner with the team 7\u20132. Indianapolis won the following Sunday, then not again the rest of the year, with Daniel Jones\u2019s torn Achilles a big part of the story. Now, Jones is coming back off the Achilles injury with a new contract, and a good, balanced team that should be in the playoff hunt is counting on him. The good news is Jones met all his marks this spring. And, I\u2019m told, if things keep going the way they have, he\u2019ll start working in team drills at the start of camp, which is a good sign for where he is.<\/p>\n
Jacksonville Jaguars<\/p>\n
The Jaguars have had an awfully quiet offseason after the Liam Coen\u2013James Gladstone\u2013Tony Boselli triumvirate delivered immediate results in 2025. And interestingly enough, the ascension of guys they\u2019ve already got on the roster might wind up being the biggest difference-maker for the reigning AFC South champions\u2014with Trevor Lawrence, Travon Walker and Brian Thomas Jr. as three that still have some meat left on the developmental bone.<\/p>\n
Kansas City Chiefs<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s call it what it is: Chiefs camp is going to be Patrick Mahomes Watch. Mahomes has been in on installs, individual and seven-on-sevens through the spring. His arm has looked good, given how rehab limited his throwing work over the past six months. He\u2019s trending toward being cleared for 11-on-11 work at the start of camp, but the plan is to be smart here. The Chiefs know, given the competitor in question, once they tell Mahomes he can go, he will go; they\u2019ll likely pace him some early on. But he\u2019s in a good place, way ahead of the normal ACL\/LCL rehab timeline.<\/p>\n
Las Vegas Raiders<\/p>\n
All eyes will be on Fernando Mendoza at Raiders camp, and rightfully so. The future of the franchise is in his hands. But I really like the choice of Kirk Cousins to be the bridge. His knowledge of Klint Kubiak\u2019s and Andrew Janocko\u2019s offense, from the time the three spent together in Minnesota, makes him an ideal on-field tutor for Mendoza, and will also allow the No. 1 pick more reps in the summer, since Cousins won\u2019t need every last one to be ready. And for those quarterbacks, if the Raiders\u2019 offensive line and receiver groups can come together, even better.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Chargers\u00a0<\/p>\n
Would I be nuts to pick the Chargers to go to the Super Bowl? I know, I know. The Chargers have had these sorts of teams for a quarter century. Still, last year, they won 11 games, mostly without the two tackles that are the center of the team\u2019s identity; they\u2019re upgrading in a big way at tight end; they have young, rising talent at tailback and receiver; and the talent level on defense is really, really good. I think Justin Herbert, with all this around him, should be an MVP candidate. And that leaves me with replacing Jesse Minter with Chris O\u2019Leary as DC as the biggest question going into camp. Health-allowing, the Rams won\u2019t be the only team threatening to make Super Bowl LXI a home game.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Rams<\/p>\n
Five years ago, with the arrival of Matthew Stafford, the Rams pushed their chips in and welcomed the pressure of a win-or-else year. They\u2019re back there again now, with Myles Garrett coming aboard<\/a>, and a roster full of homegrown young talent (Byron Young, Puka Nacua, Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske, Kyren Williams, Steve Avila, Quentin Lake) blended with a raft of veteran acquisitions from the past few years (Davante Adams, Kevin Dotson, Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, Kam Curl) leaving few questions to answer in camp. One, though, will be the status of left tackle Alaric Jackson<\/a>\u2014losing him would be a very big deal.<\/p>\n Miami Dolphins<\/p>\n
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