Offseason Winners and Losers

Sorry, Steelers didn't make the cut.

NFL offseason winners and losers: Which teams actually improved? - The Athletic


Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens’ road to the AFC North title got a bit less treacherous this offseason. Baltimore signed top-flight pass rusher Trey Hendrickson away from divisional foe Cincinnati, and an even better pass rusher (Garrett) was traded outside the division. General manager Eric DeCosta also drafted rookie offensive guard Vega Ioane and signed veteran offensive lineman John Simpson, defensive lineman Calais Campbell and safety Jaylinn Hawkins, who should bolster the offensive and defensive fronts and secondary.

Meanwhile, the Ravens have hitched their future to two intriguing, young coaches — coach Jesse Minter and 30-year-old offensive coordinator Declan Doyle — which should infuse the franchise with life. If Minter can inspire an organization that owner Steve Bisciotti believed had grown stale on John Harbaugh’s watch, and if Doyle can help quarterback Lamar Jackson and his supporting cast reach another level, the Ravens could return to the postseason after a year’s hiatus and have a good chance to get over the hump.

Cleveland Browns
The Browns had to settle for a backup option (Todd Monken) as coach, and they remain handcuffed to quarterback Deshaun Watson and his awful contract. But the Browns did get a lot done this offseason, and those efforts give the franchise a chance to take a step forward over the next couple of offseasons. The Browns hated to trade Garrett, one of the best and most beloved players in franchise history, but they did receive salary-cap relief, a talented pass rusher in Jared Verse and additional building blocks in the form of draft picks. That move, coupled with a much-needed offensive line overhaul and a promising draft, should land the Browns in a better place.

It remains to be seen whether Monken can help revive Watson’s career or position Shedeur Sanders for growth if Watson falls short or gets hurt again. But veteran offensive linemen Tytus Howard, Elgton Jenkins and Zion Johnson, rookie wide receivers KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston, and safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren — along with Verse — give the Browns a strong core of new contributors to build around.

 

Mods, feel free to merge with: are we on the upswing | TheSteelersFans

 

Baltimore lost a top 5 center, have a rookie coach, fired a perennial coach-of-the-year candidate, brought back a mediocre guard in John Simpson, and somehow they were a winner? Nonsensical.


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William C.
23h 19m ago

With the Browns, you’re confusing motion with progress, again.


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Willie L.
21h 50m ago

Mike, at some point, you can't identify the Ravens as the best team ever in every article. I comment this on all of your articles. It's actually insane.



take the athletic with a grain of salt. here are the comments on this article.

 

A team nobody is talking about but should be paying attention; Bengals. In games where Burrow played last season and their defense held opponents to under 30 pts they were 4-2. Given their defensive focus this offseason I don't think opponents can expect to drop 30+ pts all that easily. Reportedly, Burrow is comparing this team with his last LSU team where he tossed a ridiculous 60 TDs.

 

he won't be playing LSU's schedule. he has only made 3 out of 6 seasons through the whole schedule. only one out of the last 3 years. we shall see. one injury to any team can throw a whole season off.

 

This guy is an offseason loser. From 1st round pick to

Friendly message to millionaire athletes; Don't go around driving drunk, beating on women, or robbing people.... it really doesn't seem that hard.

 

The Ravens could actually be one of the greatest offensive juggernauts in football history if they only had focused more on their run game rather than having LJ play pocket passer. Especially on 2nd and 3rd downs. With LJ, the Ravens have had a pretty good stable of RBs, including the 300LB FB.
Not saying they weren't successful at times throwing the ball, just that I think they would have been better as a run offense. If this new OC can figure things out, I expect the Ravens to be back on top.
Pre-season winner? Remains to be seen. They had a lot of issues last season and not all were due to injury.


I'll believe the Browns have made positive moves once I see the results. New coach=better coach? We'll just have to wait on that one.
I'm still not impressed with their QB room.
How did they get better on defense exactly?
I'm just not ready to buy into the Browns hype. They could prove me wrong, I just don't see it.


When Joe Burrow compared this years team to his LSU championship team, all I heard was, we're getting letterman jackets. With some echoes of the Eagles 'Dream Team' noise.
The Bengals lost the only guy playing good defense for them. They did bring in some other bodies. Just have to wait and see the effort.
No doubt the Bengals have gone all in with their offense paying huge money to 3 guys. That RB has a fun run field day against us last season. But I just don't know how they will look and hold up over a 17 game season. Remember, we did get better on the back end of our defense. Expect hits on Mr. Joe Cool.


I have no idea how the Steelers will look this season either. I feel like we have had a productive offseason that looks very nice on paper. Coaching moves, all that remains to play out. 2026? Who knows. I do feel like the Steelers are setting things up for 2027 and beyond better than the rest of the division so far. Just my opinion.

 

Similar to 2024 for the ravens?

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/rav/2024.htm

For the steelers,I agree.With his previous 2 teams,McCarthy was much better in year 2 that year 1 in Green Bay and Dallas.Of course a lot will depend on the QB situation and other things

 

Not sold on the Browns choice of Monken as HC. How much of his record was boosted by LJ? And their QB situation is ugly. Rumor is that Sanders may get traded if Watson is named the starter;



Ravens fans seem to think their new OC will bring a sea-change to their offense. Emphasis will be on explosive plays, downfield throws.

 

WINNERS

DARNELL WASHINGTON
NICK HERBIG
DARIAN THOMPSON



LOSERS

DERIUS SWINTON

 

Dont the browns improve every offseason?

 

I don't follow what the first part means. ???


The second part may be accurate. Consider though that this won't be his first year with Aaron. Things may develop faster than in GB and Dallas. May not.

 

In 2024, the Ravens were a first-run team and they were so dominant on offense...6.8 yards per play overall, almost an NFL record!(only the 2000 rams were higher at 7 yards per play).Lamar and Henry had a monster year

 

Ok. Then yes, that is what I mean.

 

I was kind of confused they completely forgot about Baltimore losing their Pro-Bowl center and then replacing him with nobody.

 

Then why start it

 

The Ravens media hype is fading. They went 8-9 last year, then showed a good coach the door like he owed them money. Lamar went 6-7 as a starter which is impressive if your goal was perfectly average with highlight reels. Look, I’ve seen this movie before. A super mobile, kinda shaky passer hits his late 20s and suddenly the wheels fall off. Add in Lamar’s injury collection and it’s not looking great for him. Then you’ve got Derrick Henry absolute Cadillac of a running back… but the man is 32 with a lot of miles on him. Not too may RB are good past their 32 birthday these days.

Bottom line: the Ravens offense in 2026 is gonna be below average to bad.

On the Bengals, Joe Burrow when he healthly is very good. But he isn't healthy often enough. And the team is poorly run and has next to no defense. But fantsay football players? Heck yes.

 

As long as the Ravens have Lamar and the Browns have Watson we'll hang with them regardless of the old guy under center. Burrow stays healthy a whole season the Bengals will be a tough nut to crack. They have Chase and Higgins both under 30 and I'm damn sure they will address the defensive problems they had last season.

F em! Go Steelers!

 

Never made a mistake in posting?

 

Yes

And then I deleted it so I wouldn’t look foolish it’s easy to delete

Just a thought

 

I believe one of a person’s greatest virtues is their ability to laugh at themselves

 

My main point was teams can look good on paper but never reach their aspirations. Trying to make a pecking order at this point is mostly folly. If we go by these specific teams of the AFCN, trying to predict how the season will go becomes even muddier. As we experience each season. If the Browns come up and win the division with no true QB, a brand new HC, and the defense got worse (on paper) with the Garrett trade, I will honestly be shocked. Almost nothing else from this division will surprise me in the least.

 

Ravens and Browns win every offseason. Shame that they don’t have a trophy for that