Now that the dust has settled on the NFL postseason, NFL fans can firmly set their attention to this upcoming year and the offseason moves that will define their favorite teams’ ability to compete in 2025.
This should be an interesting offseason too… There are a number of big superstars that are set to hit the open market, guys who were the long time faces of franchises with suddenly murky futures…
Not to mention, all of the front offices who have kicked the salary cap can go down the road as long as they can and now have some really hard decisions to make!
So, how about we dive in… 5 NFL superstars who will be playing in new colors next season and 5 who won’t be going anywhere.
Which NFL stars will change teams in 2025, and which ones will stay?
New Home: Zack Baun, LB, Philadelphia Eagles
This is what happens when you win the big one! The team gets to celebrate and all seems great… then next thing you know the scavengers from around the league start trying to rip off pieces of your championship squad.
For Philly, heading into the 2025 offseason, there are going to be a few talented players that they struggled to keep in town despite the overall impressive cap situation that they have pieced together—and Zack Baun is suspect number 1.
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This was a big year for Baun, he was a first-team All-Pro nod along with obviously helping the Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl and he is due for a big NFL payday.
Baun finished with career highs in tackles (151), sacks (3.5), pass deflections (4), and forced fumbles (5), but will Philadelphia be willing to pony up the $27 million dollar to keep him in town on the tag? I think not.
And the scary thing for the Birds is that on the open market, who knows what he will end up commanding… He is 28 and still has a lot of his best football ahead of him!
Don’t be shocked if an NFC competitor like Washington or even Los Angeles makes him an offer he can’t refuse, should Philly let him hit the open market.
Not Going Anywhere: Tee Higgins, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
While Ja’Marr Chase gets most of the attention from the media in the Bengals aerial attack, Tee Higgins has quietly emerged as a legit star receiver in his own right—and the two form one of the most formidable receiver duos in the league when healthy.
Higgins recorded 1,029-plus yards in back-to-back terms and 13 touchdown receptions in total between 2021 and 2022.
He did deal with injuries that impacted his production in 2023 but managed to bounce back with 73 catches for 911 yards and a career-high 10 touchdowns this past season.
And there has been a lot of noise as to whether or not the Cincinnati front office will break their piggy banks to keep him in town.
If the Bengals front office has any sense about it… which based on their track record, unfortunately, shouldn’t be a foregone conclusion… They should 100% make sure that they can get a deal done before Tee can start flirting with other organizations.
Joe Burrow, who, at this point, is the Cincinnati Bengals—and represents all of their organization’s hopes and ambitions in a major way—has made it very clear that he wants the front office to invest in this NFL team and that he believes Tee Higgins is a big part of the solution going forward.
There is, as mentioned, still a chance that the Bengals decide to pull some Bengals nonsense and let their star wideout walk, but the smart money says that he stays in Cinci. The front office simply has too much to lose on this one!
New Home: Jevon Holland, S, Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins will tell you that they are contenders heading into this season and looking to build out the final couple of pieces required to get over the hump… but make no mistake about it, regardless of the big names that they have on that roster, this is very much an organization that is in flux.
This means that some of the hard decisions that will have to be made for high-paid players—thanks to the investment they’ve made and, subsequently, all of the money they have tied up in the likes of Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill—will be even harder.
What does that net out to for Jevon Holland? Well… He should expect the Dolphins to be placing the franchise tag on him this year. Doing so would mean he’d be getting $19.6 million to play one season with the Dolphins in 2025.
Considering the restrictions that they will have on their budget heading into the offseason, allocating that much money to a player who’s never reached the Pro Bowl feels unlikely.
That, however, is not an indictment on Holland by any means… he has proven to be a versatile piece that many NFL teams will be happy to sign. And there is a very good chance that he has a big year in 2025—where he gets that Pro Bowl nod! It just probably won’t be in Miami.
Not Going Anywhere: Myles Garrett, Edge, Cleveland Browns
If the NFL made Myles Garrett play with one arm tied behind his back, there is honestly a chance he’d still be a top-five pass rusher. The guy is a generational talent that has been wasting away with the Browns… And, unfortunately, even with Cleveland’s front office teetering on the edge of financial disaster, they are not about to let their best player walk out the door.
Now, would it make sense for the Browns to finally admit they’ve hit a wall and start selling off parts—including Garrett? Probably. But let’s be real: that’s not happening. Cleveland still thinks it can win with this core, and the idea of trading away their four-time All-Pro pass rusher is the kind of logic that gets you run out of town.
Expect the Browns to throw a blank check at Garrett to keep him in the fold despite the fact that it would make sense for them to admit that they’ve hit a breaking point and to sell this NFL team off for parts—Garrett included… the likelihood of that feels extremely low.
Cleveland is still under the delusion they can compete—and they want to keep Garrett in town—at least for as long as they can. Expect them to make him an offer they can’t refuse and to deal with forcing his way into a new uni sometime down the road. He can always circle back on that one!
New Home: Josh Sweat, Edge, Philadelphia Eagles
Josh Sweat is another big name that Philadelphia might have to accept will be playing ball in a different jersey by the time next season rolls around.
The Birds have invested heavily in their defensive line, but with Jalen Hurts’ contract ballooning and other key pieces needing extensions, there’s only so much money to go around. Unfortunately, Josh Sweat is the odd man out.
Sweat has been a rock-solid edge presence, racking up 35.5 sacks over the past four NFL seasons, but he’s heading into his age-28 season and is going to demand serious money after the run he and the team just made.
Enter the Arizona Cardinals. Jonathan Gannon maximized a painfully thin defensive roster last season, but now it’s time to actually stock the cupboard.
Sweat knows his system, and with Arizona’s disastrous pass-rush numbers—they’ll be more than happy to break out the checkbook. He might not be an All-Pro, but he’d immediately become their best pass rusher.
For Sweat, now that he has a ring, a fresh start in the desert with a familiar coach and deep pockets could be exactly what he needs.
Not Going Anywhere: Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Near the top is figuring out what happens with Chris Godwin’s future and whether or not he’ll be back in Tampa Bay.
Tampa Bay just went through this with Mike Evans last offseason, and guess what? He didn’t go anywhere. Now it’s Chris Godwin’s turn, and the signs are pointing in the same direction.
The good news for Bucs fans is that the front office has made it clear that they want their longtime star receiver back, injury concerns, and all…
Tampa knows what they have in him, and with Baker Mayfield’s resurgence, it makes way too much sense to run it back. Expect the Bucs to work out a deal—maybe not a monster contract, but something that keeps him in pewter for a while longer.
Godwin has been a fixture in that locker room for years now and is a great player when he’s on the field—expect this NFL team to find a way to keep him in South Florida for the foreseeable future.
New Home: Haason Reddick, Edge, New York Jets
It may be hard to consider Haason Reddick a true superstar after the display he put forth last season with the Jets, but let’s just chalk that one up to the organizational chaos of the Jets hitting new highs… or new lows, rather.
Reddick was a bonafide superstar in Philadelphia, and that one season with the Jets did turn him into a ghost. Blame it on injuries, blame it on the never-ending circus that is Jets football, but it does all net out to the fact that, his New York stint was a disaster.
But he will still command a lot of attention this offseason, albeit not quite as much as he would of a year ago, but still—he will not be on the clearance rack.
Edge rushers don’t just forget how to play, and Reddick still has plenty left in the tank.
He’s just one year removed from four straight double-digit sack seasons, and in the right system, he could be a game-wrecker again for any NFL team.
Coming off a down year, he’ll likely want to rebuild his value and would likely enjoy the opportunity to play for a player-friendly coach like Raheem Morris in Atlanta, where they could very much use a pass-rushing specialist to help get the Falcons back into playoff contention.
Not Going Anywhere: Derek Carr, QB, New Orleans Saints
While Derek Carr may not be the forever option for the Saints, the reality is that he is not going anywhere in the near future.
And that is despite the money problems that this NFL team continues to kick down the road!
Think about it… The Saints just brought in Kellen Moore to revamp the offense, and Carr is the perfect guy for him to do it with. He gives him just enough firepower to compete but is not legit enough for Moore not to keep an eye downfield for a young signal-caller that he can target and hand-pick for his system like Sean Payton did in Denver with Bo Nix.
Seems like a win-win for both sides, as Carr is eager to just get out there and try to stay healthy enough to play some football—and Moore’s offense could be the right fit to help him put up big numbers and get one more payday.
New Home: Aaron Jones, RB, Minnesota Vikings
Aaron Jones has been one of the most productive backs in the league when healthy, but it is starting to look like his time in Minnesota was meant to last.
Enter the Denver Broncos, an NFL team that desperately needs a veteran presence in the backfield.
They have had a very impressive offensive line the last couple of years, one that should be good enough to sustain a top-10 rushing attack, but that has not been the case because they have not had the right ball carriers in the backfield.
Even in a limited role, Jones was still effective last season, averaging 4.5 yards per carry and proving he can be a weapon in the passing game. Denver isn’t looking for a long-term answer—they need a guy who can stabilize the position while they develop a young back from the 2025 draft class.
Meanwhile, Minnesota can go back to the drawing board this season and do the same, bringing in a couple of more explosive options to support Darnold… or J.J. McCarthy as an outlet.
Not Going Anywhere: Khalil Mack, Edge, Los Angeles Chargers
Mack just put together a mighty impressive “aging superstar” season… One of the better ones we’ve seen in recent memory, anchoring a Chargers defense that went from a liability to a legitimate force. And with Jim Harbaugh now running the show, L.A. isn’t about to let him walk.
Sure, there are cap concerns. There always are. But Harbaugh isn’t here to rebuild—he’s here to win. And keeping Mack in powder blue is a key part of that.
There will obviously have to be a bit of a balancing act for General Manager Joe Horitz this offseason, but Mack seems like he wants to say in L.A. and bear the fruits of the culture that Jim Harbaugh is building out there.
Expect him and the Chargers to meet in the middle and make a deal that keeps both sides happy and puts this NFL team and Mack in a position to chase that elusive Super Bowl that both have been after.
