While some NFL teams are facing murky and gloomy futures, other teams have aced the art of constructing a sustainable contender. With the 2025 NFL season approaching.
let’s dive into five teams that are facing dark futures and five with the brightest.
Which NFL teams have the brightest or the darkest futures?
Dark: San Francisco 49ers
There was a time when the 49ers’ future was so bright that everyone needed shades. But like balloons, sometimes dreams float away.
Where to start? Well, All-Pro offensive tackle Trent Williams is entering his age-37 season. Star running back Christian McCaffrey has durability issues and isn’t getting any younger. Extending tight end George Kittle just ahead of his 32nd birthday was also an interesting choice…
The salary cap forced the 49ers to bid farewell to plenty of key veterans this NFL offseason, including Deebo Samuel, Aaron Banks, Dre Greenlaw, Leonard Floyd, Javon Hargrave, Charvarius Ward, and Talanoa Hufanga.
And with Brock Purdy’s looming extension set to take a big chunk out of the 49ers’ long-term salary cap room, it’s hard to be optimistic about the big picture in the Bay Area.
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Here, you have an ageing and expensive core that’s too top-heavy with a lack of depth on both sides of the ball. The 49ers also play in a tough NFC West, featuring three playoff contenders with much younger core players.
The Arizona Cardinals have Kyler Murray, Trey McBride, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Walter Nolen. The Seattle Seahawks have Sam Darnold, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Charles Cross, Devon Witherspoon, Grey Zabel, and Byron Murphy II. The Los Angeles Rams have Puka Nacua, Kyren Williams, Byron Young, Kobie Turner, Jared Verse, and Braden Fiske.
The 49ers have Purdy and…not much else to offer in terms of premium talent under the age of 26. Add it all up, and it feels like the 49ers will soon be back to where they spent much of the 2000s and 2010s: The bottom of the NFL standings.
Bright: Washington Commanders
What more is there to say about the 2024 NFC runner-ups? All Jayden Daniels did was have by far the best rookie quarterback season ever, leading Washington to its first NFL playoff win in 19 years and its first NFC Championship Game since 1991.
Daniels, head coach Dan Quinn and GM Adam Peters have completely transformed the culture of this team. The stench of Dan Snyder’s toxicity and muck is long gone. New owner Josh Harris, thankfully, is hands-off and lets his guys do the work — a task that was impossible for Snyder.
So having the right ownership, GM, head coach and QB alone has Washington set up nicely over the long run. But man, do we ever love their roster that has a nice mix of young and veteran talent.
Daniels, Terry McLaurin, Deebo Samuel, Brian Robinson, and Austin Ekeler round out an explosive offensive nucleus. The o-line was bolstered by the additions of veteran Pro Bowl Laremy Tunsil and first-round pick Josh Conerly Jr.
Washington’s secondary is a work in progress, but their front seven is set up nicely with Frankie Luvu, Daron Payne, and future Hall of Famer Bobby Wagner leading the way. And Peters will just slowly but surely add more beef to this defense.
Crushing the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in the Divisional Round was just a sign of what’s to come in DC. They have a winner at QB and a top-tier GM-head coach duo. It shall not be long until the nation’s capital celebrates its first Super Bowl parade in over three decades.
Dark: Pittsburgh Steelers
We’re at the point now where we don’t know what the plan is in Pittsburgh anymore. They haven’t won a playoff game since the 2016 NFL season, but Mike Tomlin just keeps finding ways to get his team into the dance despite mediocre quarterback production.
The Steelers haven’t suffered a losing season since 2003, a remarkable feat. But is the goal to keep that streak going or to compete for Super Bowls?
The Steelers have been in the “mushy middle” since 2018: Good enough to make the playoffs, but not good enough to make a Super Bowl Run. That also means not being bad enough to get franchise-changing top-10 draft picks. It’s not where you want to be.
Franchise pillars T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward aren’t getting any younger…so how much longer will this ageing defense hold up? Trading for DK Metcalf to bolster the offense was nice and all, but who else do the Steelers have to scare opposing defenses?.
If the Steelers don’t sign Aaron Rodgers, they’re doomed. If they get Aaron Rodgers, they’ll be competitive for one or two years MAX, and then it’s back to the drawing board at quarterback.
Did we mention the Steelers play in the AFC North, featuring two of the league’s top-four QBs in Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson? Who do the Steelers have behind center to challenge those two guys, again?
Unless Pittsburgh gets its hands on a young franchise-changing QB next year, or unless they devote to a full-scale rebuild, they’ll remain in the mushy middle for the long run. And that’s the last place you want to be, hence a “dark” future.
Bright: Denver Broncos
It’s pretty amazing how much one head coach can quickly change the outlook of a franchise.
Before the Broncos traded for Sean Payton in 2023, they looked like a team in disarray. The Russell Wilson trade and subsequent extension was a failure, and they had little in the way of talent outside of All-Pro corner Patrick Surtain II. Everything was looking gloomy in Mile High City.
But then something extraordinary happened. Payton and the Broncos decided to bite the bullet and release Wilson after two seasons, taking on $85 million in dead money. They then used the No. 12 pick on Oregon QB Bo Nix, kick-starting a fresh new era of Broncos football.
Led by Nix and Surtain, who won 2024 Defensive Player of the Year honors, the Broncos exceeded expectations with a 10-7 finish to end a nine-year playoff drought. Yes, they were humbled by the Buffalo Bills on Wild Card Weekend, but GM George Paton made the moves to make sure his club can take that next step forward in 2025.
The Broncos bolstered their defense by signing All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga and workhorse linebacker Dre Greenlaw….before using their first-round pick on Texas corner Jahdae Barron. As if this team that had the third-best scoring D and the most sacks in the NFL a season ago wasn’t scary enough.
So Denver has a championship-level defense full of young studs, a Hall of Fame-worthy head coach and a 25-year-old franchise quarterback. All the main ingredients needed to build a long-term contender.
Broncos fans suffered for almost a decade of mediocrity and often unwatchable football. But they’re coming together at the peak of Denver sports—at a time when the Nuggets and Avalanche are making pushes to become dynasties.
Dark: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs are the best team in football’s worst division, AKA the NFC South. Kudos to them on being hungrier than their foes, but the long-term picture in Tampa is very bleak.
Tampa’s issue is similar to that of the Steelers: Good enough to make the playoffs. Not deep enough to realistically compete for a Super Bowl. And as long as they’re competitive, they won’t be in the mix to get those valuable top-five or 10 draft picks.
As fun a story as Baker Mayfield is, we’re still skeptical that he’ll keep this up much longer. Mike Evans, entering his age-32 season, will slow down sooner rather than later in the NFL. Even Chris Godwin, entering his age-29 campaign, may never be 100 percent again after suffering a gruesome ankle injury last year.
Three of Tampa’s best defensive players, Lavonte David, Haason Reddick, and Vita Vea, are in their 30s. The Bucs don’t have any young stud defensive players in the secondary, which has been a problem under Todd Bowles for a while now.
At least the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers have young QBs and franchise pillars to build around. In a short time, they’ll close the gap with an ageing-and-mediocre Bucs roster and push Tampa down into the territory of irrelevance.
So enjoy your 10-win ceilings and annual home playoff games while you’ve got ‘em, Bucs fans.
Bright: Houston Texans
The Texans are coming off a second straight AFC South division crown title and Elite Eight appearance. And believe us, they’re only getting started.
CJ Stroud still hasn’t experienced what it’s like to play behind a non-horrible offensive line. Star wideout Tank Dell has yet to play an NFL postseason game after suffering two straight season-ending injuries. And yet…Stroud’s Texans were close-ish to beating the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round last year.
Stroud is inching toward top-five QB territory. The Texans just drafted Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel to bolster an already-deep supporting cast featuring Dell, Nico Collins and Joe Mixon.
Defensive pillars Will Anderson Jr. and Derek Stingley Jr. are top-five guys at their positions, and veterans CJ Gardner-Johnson and Danielle Hunter can still take over a game at any moment.
Head coach DeMeco Ryans didn’t need long to turn these Texans into a playoff team. And yet, their best days are still ahead. The real party hasn’t started in Houston yet, folks.
Dark: Cleveland Browns
Not sure about you, but we’re having a difficult time finding something positive about this Cleveland squad as currently constructed.
Trading Myles Garrett would have scored a monster haul to accelerate their rebuild, but the Browns decided to extend him for $160 million. They could have drafted a generational prospect and two-way phenom in Travis Hunter, only to trade down from the No. 2 spot via the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Not sure how you feel about Jerome Ford and rookie Quinshon Judkins, but we doubt they’ll be as productive as Nick Chubb was in his prime. Their o-line is a strength, yes, but Wyatt Teller, Jack Conklin, and Joel Bitonio are all on the wrong side of 30.
Garrett is entering his age-29 season. Jerry Jeudy is their only playmaking receiver, and we wouldn’t call him a star. And oh, the Browns don’t have a long-term solution at QB lined up…unless Shedeur Sanders ends up being the real deal. We’ll believe it when we see it.
Other than that, the long-term outlook in Cleveland doesn’t seem so bad?
Bright: Chicago Bears
Over the past decade, few sports teams have tried selling false hope to their fans as much as the Bears. But for the first time since the early Lovie Smith years, there’s a lot for Bears Nation to be excited about.
2024 first-overall pick Caleb Williams was the real deal on a lousy Bears team last year, despite playing behind the NFL’s worst o-line with incompetent coaching.
Well, the Bears hired a hot-shot young head coach in Ben Johnson to save the day, following a remarkable run as Dan Campbell’s offensive coordinator in Detroit. Johnson takes over a star-studded offensive core led by Williams, DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, Cole Kmet, and rookies Luther Burden III and Colston Loveland.
The young defense is no joke, either, with Tyrique Stevenson, Kyler Gordon, and Jaylon Johnson forming a stingy secondary.
With a plethora of youthful talent, a brilliant offensive-minded coach, and a can’t-miss young phenom at quarterback, the Windy City may as well become “The Sunny City” figuratively. Much brighter days are on the horizon in Chicago.
Dark: New Orleans Saints
It’s rather amazing how this team has operated since Drew Brees’ retirement in 2021. They keep “going for it” by extending fading veterans and throwing money around carelessly in free agency. That model works if you’re always in contention.
Just one problem: The Saints haven’t made the playoffs in four straight years. But sure, let’s give Derek Carr $150 million and extend Alvin Kamara, Cameron Jordan, Chase Young, and Tyrann Mathieu instead of rebuilding. Allow us to keep Mickey Loomis as GM even though he hasn’t done anything right in the post-Brees era.
The Saints keep restructuring players’ deals so they can pay the hefty salary cap bills down the road, when they should have bit the bullet years ago. Why are you operating like a Super Bowl contender when you’re stuck in mediocrity?
Unless the Saints replace Loomis and/or accept it’s time to cut ties with these pricey veterans and rebuild, they’ll be stuck in no man’s land. It’s long overdue for owner Gayle Benson to wake up and do something about this NFL team.
Bright: Green Bay Packers
If there’s one team that’s perfectly suited to win today, tomorrow, and over the next half-decade-plus, it just might be the team that resides in the Dairy State.
The Packers have the three main components of a sustainable long-term contender: A savvy front office, a top-tier head coach and a franchise QB. For all the hate Brian Gutekunst got during Aaron Rodgers’ final years in Green Bay, the man knows how to build a winner.
Matt LaFleur turned Jordan Love into an MVP-caliber QB the year they moved on from Rodgers. This is one of the game’s top head coach-QB tandems, and to think Love hasn’t hit his ceiling yet.
Green Bay has the perfect combination of young NFL studs and veteran stalwarts. The young nucleus features Love and the three-headed receiving monster of Jayden Reed, Matthew Golden, and Romeo Doubs, plus underrated tight end Tucker Kraft. And former rushing champion Josh Jacobs is still fairly young at age 27.
Recent first-round picks Devonte Wyatt, Edgerrin Cooper, and Lukas Van Ness complement a great set of veterans on defense led by Kenny Clark, Xavier McKinney, and Rashan Gary, too. And again, it still feels like this young Packers D hasn’t hit its ceiling yet.
Few teams draft and develop talent as well as Green Bay, so you know the roster around Love will only get better.
At this time, it feels like a matter of WHEN – not IF — the Packers win a Super Bowl with Love.
