NFL 2025 leaves fans BAFFLED: Changes that MAKE NO SENSE!
Happy midweek, everyone! John Breech is busy sending more Trey Hendrickson contract offers to Mike Brown (or so we think). So today’s Pick Six newsletter is brought to you by Cody Benjamin, with tidbits on all the latest from around the NFL.
Be sure to subscribe right here, to ensure you never miss a daily dose of NFL updates. And keep on reading for everything from 2025 season predictions to updates on big names absent from spring workouts:
1. 100 things to know for the 2025 NFL season
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The 2025 season is officially fewer than 100 days away, so we compiled 100 key facts, figures, questions and predictions — plus a whole lot more — in anticipation of football’s return. Which teams are currently favored to win Super Bowl LX? Which players are best equipped to claim NFL MVP? Which organizations are under the most pressure to perform? We’ve got everything you need to know for the 2025 season in the rundown, which can you read in its entirety right here.
2. OTA absentees: Kirk Cousins, James Cook among no-shows
Spring workouts are underway, and while this current phase of NFL action is voluntary, some big names are trying to prove a point by steering clear of organized team activities (OTAs). Here’s the latest:
3. Top 10 veteran QB acquisitions of the last 10 years
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The NFL world continues to wait for Aaron Rodgers to make a decision about his football future, but in the meantime, how might the Pittsburgh Steelers — who are still publicly anticipating Rodgers’ arrival — justify putting hope in a 41-year-old quarterback? Perhaps by reviewing some other successful gambles at the position. We just dropped our ranking of the 10 best quarterback acquisitions of the last 10 years, showcasing the best of recent bets under center. Here’s a sneak peek at the top five:
5. Baker Mayfield (2023, Rams to Buccaneers): When Tampa Bay signed Mayfield to a one-year, prove-it deal, they were adding a maligned former No. 1 pick who’d just bounced between three teams in the last two seasons. The ever-scrappy Mayfield proceeded to throw 69 scores in his first two years with the Bucs, reviving his image with consecutive playoff bids.
4. Jared Goff (2021, Rams to Lions): Dumped by Los Angeles just three years after helping the Rams reach the Super Bowl, Goff looked a lot like a throwaway piece of the Matthew Stafford blockbuster, sure to be quickly replaced in Detroit. Instead, he gradually settled in and became a resilient figurehead for Dan Campbell’s ultra-aggressive and ultra-talented Lions contender.
3. Nick Foles (2017, Chiefs to Eagles): Foles may be the anomaly here, never quite sticking as a full-timer, but the journeyman wasn’t just the cool-handed star of Super Bowl LII, when he outdueled Tom Brady to upset the Patriots dynasty while filling in for an injured Carson Wentz. The clutch Eagles legend also led the Birds to another improbable playoff run 2018.
2. Matthew Stafford (2021, Lions to Rams): The Rams had built an all-star lineup by 2021, and they envisioned Stafford as the missing piece to a championship. They were quickly proven right, with Stafford’s big arm helping lift the Rams over the top in a 41-touchdown debut. Durability has been an issue, but when upright, No. 9 remains one of the NFL’s most gifted arms.
1. Tom Brady (2020, Patriots to Buccaneers): It’s not every day you get a crack at the most accomplished quarterback of all time, but the Bucs lured the longtime New England great to Florida in 2020, and Brady answered the call. Looking mildly exhausted in his last Patriots days, he found a new gear at age 43, tossing 40 scores and helping Tampa Bay dominate the Chiefs to win Super Bowl LV in his Bucs debut. He was equally as dynamic the following year, leading the NFL with 43 touchdowns en route to yet another playoff appearance.
4. Five teams most likely to fall short of projected win totals
Every offseason, all 32 fan bases have reason to hope. But Jared Dubin is trying to be realistic, too. Which is why he identified five NFL teams most likely to fall short of their projected 2025 win totals. Among the group: a prestigious AFC contender.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Over/Under 8.5 — The Steelers do not have a quarterback. Even if you want to say their quarterback will be Aaron Rodgers, well, Aaron Rodgers just led the Jets to a 5-12 record with an offense that ranked 24th in both yards and points, as well as a mere 18th in expected points added per play. It’s not like he nets you a top-10 offense through his mere presence anymore. And if you want to say their quarterback will not be Aaron Rodgers, well, that’s a pretty significant problem because their other options are, to be kind, not good. Pittsburgh also has one of the 10 toughest schedules in the league, complete with games against the Bills, Ravens, Lions and Ravens again in the final six weeks of the season. I know Mike Tomlin has never finished under .500, but between the offensive questions, the schedule and more questions than usual on the second level of the defense, this feels like the first time the Steelers finally dip below the line.
Check out all of Dubin’s picks right here.
5. One thing to watch for every AFC team during OTAs
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With OTAs underway, which teams are facing the most pressing questions? Jared Dubin went through each of the AFC’s 16 clubs to offer some burning queries of his own, including whether the reigning conference champions are OK up front:
The Chiefs’ offensive line completely fell apart last season, with the failure of Patrick Mahomes’ blind-side protection causing cascading problems elsewhere. Kansas City signed Jaylon Moore in free agency and then drafted Josh Simmons. Who wins that job? Is Simmons healthy enough to play right away? And will whomever emerges as the starter actually hold up?
Check out all of Dubin’s observations on the AFC right here.
6. Terry Bradshaw rips Steelers for Aaron Rodgers pursuit
Pittsburgh fans may be growing impatient regarding the team’s courting of Rodgers, but at least one franchise legend wants no part of the former Green Bay Packers star. Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw, who led the Steelers to four Super Bowl titles from 1970-1983, recently called the team’s interest in Rodgers “a joke,” arguing such a signing would be short-sighted. Bradshaw also deemed the current regime a “failure” for its inability to support former first-round pick Kenny Pickett, who was traded in 2024.
