RotoWire.com created a scoring system to see which teams were the "biggest losers" this NFL offseason, based on how much overall talent they lost. We factored in notable player departures and their approximate value (AV) from the 2024-25 season, notable players re-signed to new contracts and the team's draft grade, along with any changes to head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator. Teams that lost a lot of players, had coaches taken from them, had a poor draft grade and/or were unable to re-sign stars received lower or negative points. The higher the score, the more the team gained during the offseason.
Sources: NFL.com - source for notable player departures, NFL draft grades & notable re-signed players; Pro-Football-Reference.com - source for each NFL player's AV.
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Rank | Team | Total Score |
1 | Miami Dolphins | -70 |
2 | Minnesota Vikings | -61 |
3 | Pittsburgh Steelers | -49 |
4 | Tennessee Titans | -37 |
5 | Indianapolis Colts | -30 |
6 | Detroit Lions | -28 |
7 | Philadelphia Eagles | -28 |
8 | San Francisco 49ers | -25 |
9 | Los Angeles Rams | -23 |
10 | Los Angeles Chargers | -19 |
11 | Green Bay Packers | -15 |
12 | Atlanta Falcons | -15 |
13 | New York Jets | -14 |
14 | Seattle Seahawks | -13 |
15 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | -11 |
16 | Kansas City Chiefs | -10 |
17 | Baltimore Ravens | -9 |
18 | Cincinnati Bengals | -8 |
19 | Cleveland Browns | -8 |
20 | Las Vegas Raiders | -7 |
21 | Washington Commanders | -2 |
22 | New Orleans Saints | 1 |
23 | Houston Texans | 3 |
24 | Carolina Panthers | 4 |
25 | Arizona Cardinals | 4 |
26 | Dallas Cowboys | 5 |
27 | Denver Broncos | 6 |
28 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 7 |
29 | Chicago Bears | 15 |
30 | Buffalo Bills | 18 |
31 | New York Giants | 27 |
32 | New England Patriots | 33 |
Who Were The NFL's Offseason Losers?
Miami Dolphins (8-9 in 2024-25, last playoff berth in 2023-24)
It's been a busy offseason for the Dolphins, with longtime franchise stalwarts like running back Raheem Mostert, tight end Jonnu Smith and offensive linemen Kendall Lamm and Robert Jones all departing to other NFL teams this offseason. Throw in defensive defections from veteran cornerback Jalen Ramsey and linebacker Anthony Walker Jr., and you have a decent snapshot of the type of talent that walked away from the 'Fins after last year's 8-9 dud of a season in Miami Gardens.
While Miami did acquire veteran tight end Darren Waller in a trade with the New York Giants, along with free agent deals for offensive guard James Daniels, the biggest move of the offseason was the move that landed safety Minkah Fitzpatrick from the Pittsburgh Steelers, with the Dolphins dealing Ramsey and Smith, along with a seventh-round pick in 2027 for the rights to the five-time Pro Bowl safety with an approximate value of 65 in 106 NFL games.
Throw in the fact that NFL.com gave Miami a 'C+' grade for the team's draft class that was headlined by taking Michigan defensive tackle Kenneth Grant and Arizona offensive guard Jonah Savaiinaea and you have a decent snapshot of how the 2025 season is looking for the AFC East franchise.
Still, the team's move for Fitzpatrick wasn't enough to staunch the figurative bleeding in Miami, with the Dolphins posting the largest drop off leaguewide across the metrics surveyed for this story, at -70, speaking to the on-field brain drain that's occurred over the last few months in South Florida.
Minnesota Vikings (14-3 in 2024-25, last playoff berth in 2024-25)
While no one can claim that the 2024-25 NFL season was anything shy of a smashing success for the Vikings, with a 14-3 record and a Wild Card berth, the NFC North club saw its season end abruptly from there, falling in the Wild Card Round to the Los Angeles Rams, 27-9.
Unfortunately for the Vikings, they are going to be breaking in a new quarterback, as last year's journeyman success story of veteran Sam Darnold leading Minnesota to the postseason came to an end when the former USC Trojans star signed with the Seattle Seahawks during the offseason, leaving 2024 first round pick J.J. McCarthy as the Vikings' QB1 in 2025.
While only time will tell whether the 10th pick out of Michigan will live up to the billing, we do know that McCarthy will have to do more with less in 2025, as the Vikings lost six offensive linemen, with tackles David Quessenberry and Cam Robinson going to the Los Angeles Rams and Houston Texans, while guards Ed Ingram was traded to the Houston Texans and center Garrett Bradbury left for the New England Patriots, with guards Dan Freeney and Dalton Risner also departing the Land of 10,000 Lakes in recent months.
On defense, Minnesota lost Camryn Bynum, who had three interceptions last season, to the Indianapolis Colts, while Patrick Jones II and his co-team leading 18 tackles for loss left for the Patriots.
On top of that, NFL.com gave Minnesota's draft class a 'C-' grade, with Ohio State guard Donovan Jackson being the team's lone selection in the first or second round, with four other picks between rounds three and six, which drew the ire of the league's website, with Gennaro Filice saying of the Vikings' lack of draft picks (tied for the fewest leaguewide and the fewest top 100 picks overall), led them to such a low grade.
Finally, the Vikings' key offseason additions of running back Jordan Mason (who was acquired from the San Francisco 49ers for fifth-and-sixth round draft picks in 2025) and free agent moves for wideout Rondale Moore, tight end Josh Oliver, guard Will Freis, center Ryan Kelly, defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave and several defensive backfield members wasn't enough to save them in the end.
That's because Minnesota finished the NFL offseason with the second most points lost of any team surveyed for our story, at -61, speaking to the exodus in free agency and the team's lack of draft depth this spring.
Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7 in 2024-25, last playoff berth in 2024-25)
While Pittsburgh has racked up two straight 10-7 seasons and reached the playoffs four times in the last half-decade, the Steelers haven't made it past in the Wild Card once, with last year's team falling to the Baltimore Ravens, 28-14.
To address those on-field deficiencies, Pittsburgh took a big risk and signed future Hall of Fame QB Aaron Rodgers to a one-year, $13.65 million contract, with the veteran of 248 NFL games and 243 AV looking to bounce back after a disappointing two year stint with the New York Jets, where he went 6-12 with 3,897 yards and 28 touchdowns (to 11 interceptions) as the starter.
Joining Rodgers in the Steel City this season were free agents like running back Kenneth Gainwell, wideouts Scotty Miller, Ben Skowronek and Robert Woods and tight end Donald Parham Jr., while the Steelers landed wide receiver DK Metcalf and tight end Jonnu Smith via trades with the Seattle Seahawks and Dolphins.
Throw in the fact that edge rusher T.J. Watt re-signed with the club for $123 million over three years (making him the highest-paid non-QB in league history) and the trade for Ramsey that sent Fitzpatrick to the Dolphins and you have a decent snapshot of the type of talent that Pittsburgh has this season.
Another factor that hurt their score for 2025 is the team's draft class, which earned a 'B-' grade from NFL.com, with Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon headlining the class, along with Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson and two Ohio State alums, in edge rusher Jack Sawyer and QB Will Howard.
Pittsburgh enters the league year with the third largest point loss across the metrics used for our story, at -49, illustrating the type of obstacles that stand in the way of the Steelers reaching the postseason for a third straight season this fall.
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Tennessee Titans (3-14 in 2024-25, last playoff berth in 2021-22)
Year One of the Brian Callahan era in the Music City did not hit the mark, with the Tennessee Titans bottoming out at 3-14 with a -149 point differential, landing the top pick in the NFL Draft along the way.
While former Miami QB Cam Ward highlighted that draft class as the No. 1 pick, Tennessee was also able to get UCLA edge rusher Oluwafemi Oladejo and Penn State safety Kevin Winston Jr. out of Penn State, along with six other NCAA prospects in rounds three through six, ultimately landing them an 'A-' grade from the team at NFL.com.
Throw in free agent acquisitions like wideout Tyler Lockett, offensive tackle Dan Moore Jr., guard Kevin Zeitler, linebacker Dre'Mont Jones and linebacker Cody Barton (amongst others) and you have a decent snapshot of the players Tennessee brought in during the offseason.
The downside for the franchise, though, is the loss of players like wideouts Tyler Boyd and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, along with tight end Nick Vannett and offensive linemen like Nicholas Petit-Frere, Daniel Brunskill, Logan Bruss and Dillon Radunz on offense, with Harold Landry, McTevin Agim, Jerome Baker, Luke Gifford and others on defense..
All in all, Tennessee finished the offseason with the fourth largest point loss, at -37, in the NFL, speaking to the dire straits that the Titans find themselves enmeshed in this football season.
NFL Teams That Thrived This Offseason
On the flip side, several NFL teams managed to avoid the pitfalls that led to the aforementioned teams ranking at the top of the NFL's talent drain over the offseason, with franchises like the New England Patriots, New York Giants, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars adding the most talent overall.
New England had the largest gain, year-over-year, at +33, buoyed by an 'A' grade draft class (from NFL.com), along with free agent deals for wideout Stefon Diggs, lineman Morgan Moses, edge rusher Harold Landry, defensive lineman Milton Williams and cornerback Carlton Davis. Plus the Pats of course hired Mike Vrabel as head coach and brought back franchise legend Josh McDaniels as OC, which should be a boon for Drake Maye.
The Giants were also buoyed by an 'A-' grade draft class from NFL.com, with edge rusher Abdul Carter out of Penn State looking to wreak havoc on opposing QBs like he did in Happy Valley. Free agent deals were also reached for QBs Russell Wilson and Jameis Winson, wideout Darius Slayton, lineman James Hudson, edge rusher Chauncey Golston, defensive linemen Jeremiah Ledbetter and Roy Robertson-Harris and secondary members like cornerback Paulson Adebo and Javon Holland, adding needed depth this year, helping New York claim the second-largest jump leaguewide, at +27.
Buffalo (+18) was third leaguewide, while Chicago (+15) and Jacksonville (+7) rounded out the NFL's biggest winners over the offseason, giving their respective fanbases reason for optimism heading into the fall.
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Q&A:
Q: Which NFL team was ranked as the biggest offseason loser in 2024?
A: According to RotoWire.com's scoring system, the Miami Dolphins ranked as the biggest offseason loser with a score of -70. The team lost a lot of solid players and had a poor draft grade. Although they did not have any changes to the top three coaching positions, they did not re-sign as many high-value players as other teams and didn't make strong additions to their staff.
Q: How did RotoWire determine the NFL's biggest offseason losers?
A: RotoWire developed a weighted scoring system that measured each team's offseason performance. The formula factored in notable player departures, Approximate Value (AV) lost from 2024-25, re-signed players, draft grades from NFL.com, and coaching staff changes. Teams that lost talent, failed to re-sign stars, or had poor draft evaluations were assigned lower or negative scores.
Q: Which other NFL teams joined the Dolphins on the biggest offseason losers list?
A: The Minnesota Vikings (-61) and Pittsburgh Steelers (-49) followed the Dolphins as the next biggest offseason losers. Rounding out the top five were the Tennessee Titans (-37) and Indianapolis Colts (-30), all of whom struggled with roster turnover, draft grades and offseason setbacks.