They are three big teams and some big-name players are missing out. Let’s see what’s next for each one.
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The Cowboys have set the stage for a big 2026
Jerry Jones has had a strange season, but he has put the Cowboys in position to make a huge leap back to the top of the NFC in 2026. Trading Micah Parsons for draft capital was certainly unconventional, but acquiring All-Pro talent Quinnen Williams has given them an elite new difference-maker on their defensive line.
That unit is in good shape and the offense can score in bunches, but the rest of the defense… ugh. That’s where there’s still a lot of work to do.
Williams’ presence has given Dallas the opportunity to at least add some variation and disruption up front, which can help the porous secondary, but his presence alone hasn’t been enough. The Cowboys are still one of the worst defenses in the league and just made the hapless Vikings’ offense look like a superior unit last week. Their group of cornerbacks and safeties needs to improve or else it won’t matter how much pressure Williams and the rest of the defensive line receive. They’re still allowing too many split plays that make it difficult for even one of the league’s best offenses (which needs to re-sign George Pickens, although Jones has given every indication he plans to do so) to keep up with what they’re giving up on the other end.
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At the very least, Jones has left them in a flexible position to significantly improve in the offseason, given that he still has an additional 2026 first-round pick in his back pocket from the Parsons trade. Whether or not the Cowboys package their first extra into something else remains to be seen, but they have the draft resources to remain flexible. They currently have some major cap issues, ranking 32nd in projected 2026 cap space by Spotrac at -$36 million, but they have some easy decisions, like moving on from Tre’Von Diggs and Terrence Steele, that could give them immediate cap relief.
Jerry Jones stumbled upon a solid plan. It’s time to see if he can continue making moves to take advantage of how good his offense is.
The bosses almost had a blessing in disguise
A restart isn’t the worst thing in the world for the Kansas City Chiefs after being exhausted the past two seasons, but it came at a huge cost when superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a torn ACL in the fourth quarter of their loss against the Chargers, which officially eliminated them from the playoffs.
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Mahomes had surgery to repair his ACL and reportedly his ACL as well, so he should be able to return cleanly, but the Chiefs clearly have major issues to address outside of him. The offense improved, but their luck in one-score games has taken a major dip and they are now out of the playoffs. While the offense was better, it was clear that was primarily a product of having one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time and they needed to restock this roster with premium talent.
Health on the offensive line was a killer for the Chiefs this year, but the talent simply can’t be at the same position next year. Xavier Worthy hasn’t lived up to his first-round billing, Rashee Rice has been inconsistent and the running back room has needed legitimate investment for several years now. It’s been said ad nauseum, but the offense should not be played at this level of difficulty with a first-round Hall of Fame quarterback in his prime.
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The defense needs an explosion of talent on the back end, with a shaky group of defensive backs that hasn’t panned out the way the Chiefs thought they would since the first Super Bowl against the Eagles a few years ago. Steve Spagnuolo is still a great defensive coordinator, but they are really feeling the talent pressure on this unit.
This is a lot to accomplish in one offseason, but as long as they simply get better in a handful of places they will return to the Super Bowl hunt next year. Mahomes should be fine. If he’s good, the Chiefs will be good. They really need to go back to the drawing board to figure out how they can become a productive football team again.
The Bengals still need the same things as always
The Bengals are going back with the same offensive core in an attempt to make another Super Bowl run before this window closes. This season was filled with familiar struggles, including injuries to Joe Burrow and Tee Higgins, inconsistent play from the offensive supporting cast, and another putrid performance from the defense. Cincinnati has not made the playoffs since 2022 and that streak will extend to one more season after its official elimination at the hands of the Ravens.
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It’s certainly frustrating for them to keep finding themselves in this place, but figuring out what to do next is baffling, because they’ve tried the plan that most people would suggest.
Cincinnati has paid big money for contracts for its big offensive players and has supplemented that effort by investing high-value draft picks in the defense. Ultimately they just got lost so many times. The defense is littered with recent top-100 picks, including multiple first- and second-round picks, but they simply haven’t gotten these picks right. It’s not that they haven’t tried to take a responsible approach to stocking their defense considering where their salary allocation goes, they just haven’t picked the right players.
Fortunately, for next season, the Bengals will have the opportunity to be really aggressive in the offseason to improve their defense. According to Spotrac, they are projected to have over $110 million in cap space to spend. NFL free agency isn’t as strong as it used to be with big-name players hitting the open market, but they can easily find upgrades for arguably the league’s least talented defense.
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Spend on defense, pray for health on offense. That’s really all they can do unless they’re really ready to break their offensive plan and turn things around. That’s probably not necessary given the season they had on offense just a year ago; a stroke of good luck is really the most important thing here.