Sports

2024 NFL offseason primers: All 32 teams’ needs, free agents, draft picks, cap space, and more

The 2023 NFL season is over. Now 2024 can begin.

What are your team’s top needs? What free agents might they lose? How much cap space do they have? Who in the draft might help? What could move the fantasy needle?

We’ll answer all those questions for you in our team-by-team primers. 32 franchises, one goal — which starts now.

AFC East

Buffalo Bills

Further over the cap than every other team, Buffalo may lose several defensive starters to free agency. Luckily, Josh Allen and other important pieces are still around.

Miami Dolphins

Will quarterback Tua Tagovailoa receive a contract extension? And how do you fix the offensive line with one of the league’s worst cap situations?

New England Patriots

The post-Bill Belichick era begins with a premium draft pick in a good quarterback draft, as well as a ton of cap space.

New York Jets

The offensive line and wide receiver room need upgrades if New York wants to maximize a big year ahead with Aaron Rodgers returning from injury.

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens

One of the NFL’s best teams last season has its core pieces in place, but faces a challenge in retaining several key free agents.

Cincinnati Bengals

Joe Burrow should be healthy again, which is promising, since Cincinnati has major cap space to bolster one of the AFC’s best teams.

Cleveland Browns

There’s a Super Bowl-caliber roster here, and it mostly hinges on which version of Deshaun Watson they get.

Pittsburgh Steelers

It’s unwise to expect Mike Tomlin to have his first losing season, but quarterback is a glaring issue that needs resolved.

AFC South

Houston Texans

C.J. Stroud had arguably the best rookie QB season ever, Will Anderson Jr. was defensive Rookie of the Year, and Houston won the AFC South. How can things get even better?

Indianapolis Colts

It’s all about building around Anthony Richardson in Indy. Here are the ways they could go about it.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The pressure’s on after a disappointing collapse to end 2023. Jacksonville isn’t blowing things up, but there are a couple big free agents to contend with.

Tennessee Titans

Change is in the air in Tennessee, where Brian Callahan has replaced Mike Vrabel as head coach, and QB Ryan Tannehill and RB Derrick Henry might be gone soon too.

AFC West

Denver Broncos

Sean Payton already benched Russell Wilson late last season. Now the question becomes: How do they actually move on from him?

Kansas City Chiefs

The roster may look very different from the one that just won a second straight Super Bowl, but it might be even better in pursuit of an unprecedented third.

Las Vegas Raiders

Antonio Pierce got the full-time gig as Vegas’ head coach. Now he needs to find his franchise quarterback.

Los Angeles Chargers

The Bolts made arguably the biggest and best hire of the head coaching cycle in Jim Harbaugh. Which is good, because they need a ton of work.

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys

Another good regular season, another early playoff flameout. 2024 is an “all-in” year, per Jerry Jones. Here’s how his team might go about it.

New York Giants

Year 1 under Brian Daboll was a rousing success. Year 2 thudded back to Earth. How will Year 3 turn out?

Philadelphia Eagles

You won’t find many seasons that sour quicker than Philadelphia’s in 2023. Fortunately, there’s still an NFC contender here.

Washington Commanders

The new ownership group made two key hires in head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Adam Peters. Who they pick at QB at No. 2 overall might be the biggest move yet.

NFC North

Chicago Bears

The offseason’s major crossroads is in Chicago, where the team needs to decide if it’s drafting a QB at No. 1 overall — or sticking with Justin Fields and open for business.

Detroit Lions

There aren’t many glaring needs in Detroit outside of cornerback and secondary pass rusher. There’s also a ton of cap space. This team is close.

Green Bay Packers

The bad news is, cap space is limited. The good news is just about everything else in Green Bay, which has surrounded yet another franchise QB with a promising roster.

Minnesota Vikings

Kirk Cousins, or a fresh face at quarterback? That’s the big decision in Minnesota, which can return to the playoffs with the right signal-caller.

NFC South

Atlanta Falcons

Desmond Ridder doesn’t appear to be the answer at QB, which means new head coach Raheem Morris has his No. 1 task for the offseason set.

Carolina Panthers

New head coach Dave Canales and GM Dan Morgan have the NFL’s biggest rebuild on their hands, and no first-round pick to get it started with.

New Orleans Saints

Home of one of the NFL’s worst salary cap situations, New Orleans well into the red, which will hinder efforts to improve upon a good-not-great team.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Mike Evans is officially back, now the attention turns toward Baker Mayfield and running it back after a surprise NFC South title.

NFC West

Arizona Cardinals

Wins were scarce in 2023, but optimism wasn’t, with Kyler Murray returning strong, first-year head coach Jonathan Gannon getting buy-in and now tons of resources through which to improve.

Los Angeles Rams

Sean McVay, Matthew Stafford and Co. returned to the playoffs behind resurgent seasons and a number of hits in the draft. Can they climb back into genuine title contention?

San Francisco 49ers

Despite another gut-wrenching Super Bowl loss, San Francisco will retain one of the NFL’s best rosters for another run toward a title.

Seattle Seahawks

Mike Macdonald takes over for Pete Carroll, who oversaw the most successful period in franchise history. Questions start on defense — and maybe at quarterback too.