Alright, folks—2025 is here and the corresponding NFL season is right around the corner!
For some NFL players, this ain’t just another season… It’s the season. We’re talking career crossroads and contracts hanging by a thread.
Some of these guys are former stars clinging to relevance, others are unproven talents running out of excuses, and all of them are on the hot seat.
So buckle up, we’re counting down 10 NFL Players who absolutely have to deliver in 2025 because it is MAKE or BREAK for them.
Which 10 NFL players need to perform extremely well in 2025?
Dre Greenlaw, LB, Denver Broncos
Dre Greenlaw’s move to the Mile High City comes with equally high expectations and a growingly concerning history of injuries. The Broncos were wise to structure his contract in a way that allows them to treat the three-year deal as a one-year audition, and with Greenlaw already nursing a strained hamstring, the pressure is on.
Greenlaw, when healthy, is a tone-setting thumper who flies around the field like he’s got somewhere to be and someone to hit. He was a core piece of that ferocious Niners defense, but both his availability and ability have been called into question of late—and for him to maintain his staying power in the league, he’ll need to prove it in a big way during his first season as a Bronco.
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At the end of the day, Denver’s not exactly overflowing with elite defensive leadership right now, but they are young and talented—and there is a great opportunity for Greenlaw to re-establish himself… IF he can deliver… but if he can’t stay healthy and perform, his future in Denver—and perhaps the NFL—could be in jeopardy.
Anthony Richardson, QB, Indianapolis Colts
Anthony Richardson enters 2025 not just at a crossroads, but standing in the middle of football’s version of a busy highway, hoping not to get pancaked by the expectations… and subsequent disappointments.
The Colts rolled the dice on him at fourth overall in 2023, betting that his rare blend of size, speed, and arm talent would override his rawness. So far? The flashes have been lightning-in-a-bottle rare, and the injuries have been far too common.
At this point, he needs to prove he can do something other than sub himself out midgame and throw high-velocity incompletions.
Colts fans want to believe. Hell, most football wants to believe… he has had moments where he’s been electric.
But if Richardson doesn’t show he’s more than just a preseason Pro Bowl fantasy, Indy might be moving on—and fast, because the flashes have been far too infrequent.
Bottom line… If he can’t validate himself as a legit NFL pro this year, he may never get the chance to again.
Geno Stone, CB, Cincinnati Bengals
There were high expectations for Geno Stone when the Bengals brought him in last season from division rival Baltimore, where he had just completed a breakout season.
He thrived in the Ravens system, picking off seven passes in his first year with more responsibilities.
So, the Bengals nabbed him, hoping he’d bring some of that ballhawk energy across state lines and felt really good about it.
Unfortunately, the operation didn’t go as planned.
It took him seven weeks to get his first interception in the Bengals, and they weren’t even able to properly celebrate the occasion because he was injured on the very same play!
That said, he did start to find his groove within the Bengals system toward the final quarter of the year.
Between Weeks 13 and 15, Stone collected three interceptions, and wouldn’t you know it, the defense picked up and the team went on a five-game winning streak, narrowly missing the playoffs.
To his credit, his ability to heat up late was a big spark for the playoff push, but 2025 has to be more fireworks, less kindling. If he doesn’t bring it this NFL season, he could find himself as just another guy who peaked too early.
Von Miller, Edge, FA
There was a time not too long ago when adding Von Miller to your defense felt like typing cheat codes into Madden. He was the closer. The big-game assassin. The “one piece away” move that teams made when they were serious about chasing rings. Just ask the 2021 Rams. But now? Von’s not hunting rings—he’s hunting relevance.
Yeah, now he’s just trying to find a roster spot. Buffalo paid him big money, and to say that the production was absent is a massive understatement—six sacks in two years and an off-field storm cloud that won’t stop raining.
And we have just scratched the surface of the off-field issues. Legal troubles and controversy have followed him into free agency, and let’s be honest—that’s not exactly what playoff-bound GMs are itching to bring into their locker room. Especially not when the on-field payoff isn’t guaranteed.
At his age, it is going to have to be an NFL team that thinks it seriously has a chance at a Super Bowl run and is just a post-season sack or two away.
Assuming Miller does get signed, which, since this is the NFL he probably will… He’ll need to prove that his lack of production in Buffalo is not the norm and that he can be a meaningful contributor for a contender.
But if 2025 looks anything like his Buffalo stint, that Hall of Fame speech might be arriving sooner than expected.
Diontae Johnson, WR, Cleveland Browns
Diontae Johnson’s career arc has gone from promising young star to NFL journeyman in record time.
Five teams in roughly a year isn’t just a red flag—it is almost impossible… It’s a parade of red flags wrapped in a cautionary tale!
Once pegged as a budding wide receiver 1 in Pittsburgh after a 107-catch, 1,161-yard season in 2021, Johnson now finds himself clinging to a one-year, vet-minimum deal in Cleveland with zero guarantees—literally and figuratively.
The talent has always been there: quick feet, sharp routes, and the ability to get open in the tightest of spaces.
But drops, inconsistency, and a few choice behavioral decisions have overshadowed his skill set. A few may be underselling it… He has made a mess of things in damn near every locker room he’s been in.
His infamous refusal to enter a game in Baltimore because he didn’t like his role? That didn’t exactly help his rep in a league where “buy-in” is non-negotiable.
Now he lands in Cleveland with one last shot to clean up the attitude, prove he can be a steady contributor, and shed the “headcase” label… And what a place to do it!
At least he’s joining a team with low expectations… and one where he doesn’t need to be the star anymore. He just needs to be a pro.
But beware—if he flames out here, it could be a wrap for what was once an extremely promising NFL career.
Joey Bosa, DE, Buffalo Bills
Once feared as one of the league’s most dominant pass rushers, Joey Bosa is now fighting to remind everyone he’s still worth game-planning for. Injuries have ravaged the back half of his career, limiting him to just 14 sacks over the past three seasons—after racking up 58 in his first six.
The Bills are giving him a “prove it” contract, hoping to squeeze what’s left of his prime into one last push. In theory, it’s a smart move. Buffalo needs someone—anyone—to bring heat off the edge after Von Miller flopped spectacularly.
But let’s not sugarcoat it: Bosa’s durability is the elephant in the locker room.
At full strength, he can still wreck games. The problem? Full strength has been a myth since 2021. If he can’t stay healthy and rediscover even a shadow of his former self, his time as a feared edge rusher—and his long-term NFL prospects—could be finished.
If he continues to struggle with injuries and productivity, the Bills may very well be the last team he plays for in the NFL.
Marshon Lattimore, CB, Commanders
The Commanders made a splash by trading for Marshon Lattimore, hoping they were buying a four-time Pro Bowl lockdown corner, not a guy held together by athletic tape and good intentions. Since arriving in D.C., it’s been more rehab reports than highlight reels. He tweaked a hamstring shortly after getting there, and despite flashes in the postseason, he hasn’t looked like that guy since his New Orleans heyday.
The talent hasn’t gone anywhere. Lattimore still has the instincts, the technique, and the swagger that made him a menace on the boundary. But at age 29 and coming off two injury-plagued years, the clock is ticking.
Washington has a rising, young core and a new regime expecting results. If Lattimore doesn’t show he can still be a high-level CB1, he might find himself phased out faster than a Dan Snyder scandal. This is his chance to prove the elite version of Marshon isn’t a thing of the past.
If he can’t recapture some of that swagger he played with during all those years in New Orleans, we could see the curtains get called on Lattimore sooner than you think.
Zion Johnson, OL, Los Angeles Chargers
When the Chargers drafted Zion Johnson 17th overall in 2022, they thought they were locking in a building block on the interior line for the next decade.
Fast-forward three seasons, and Johnson has been… well… “fine” to put it kindly… he’s been “fine.”
Not dominant, not terrible—just fine. And for a first-round pick? That’s not going to cut it.
Johnson has started 49 games, which sounds impressive—until you realize those starts have been riddled with inconsistency, penalties, and far too many moments where he looked completely overwhelmed.
The Chargers recently declined his fifth-year option, a not-so-subtle message that it’s most likely over for him in L.A., but for his career, it may also be now or never.
If there’s anyone who’s going to demand more from his linemen, it’s Jim Harbaugh.
Johnson doesn’t just need to improve—he needs to become a tone-setter. If he doesn’t? He’ll be just another middling lineman that falls off the radar of NFL GMs.
Derek Carr, QB, New Orleans Saints
Carr’s career has long been defined by almosts: almost a playoff run, almost elite, almost the guy. But with 2025 looming, “almost” isn’t going to be good enough.
The Saints brought in rookie QBs Tyler Shough and Spencer Rattler, and while they aren’t exactly threats yet, it’s clear the leash is shortening.
Carr still has enough arm talent to win games. But if he doesn’t elevate this offense and get New Orleans back to the postseason, he’ll officially move from “franchise QB” territory to “veteran stopgap” purgatory. And once you’re there, it’s hard to get out.
If Carr can’t find a way to get it done this year, he could be in big trouble down in the Big Easy—and big picture for his career!
Aaron Rodgers, QB, Free Agent
What would a make-or-break list be without Aaron Rodgers?!
Rodgers is a former four-time NFL MVP, and if he manages not to ostracize himself entirely among the voters, he’ll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
But since he joined the New York Jets two seasons ago, it’s been a comedy of errors.
Well, it really started as a tragedy with the Achilles tear… but then deteriorated into a deranged comedy specifically designed to torture Jets fans, who thought they had their savior.
In any case, he very much looked like a 40-year-old quarterback coming off a torn Achilles tendon last year and did not do enough production-wise to justify his wacky behavior and all of the headaches he caused the team in the media.
Now, it looks like he is likely to take his talents to the Steel City, which should be an interesting culture fit to say the least… In any case, if Rodger’s is going to launch a successful second act… we are not counting that Jets stint as an act at all… now is the time!
Rodgers doesn’t need another MVP season. He just needs to look like a guy who belongs under center in 2025. Because if this next stop is another flop, the last chapter of his storied career could end with a whimper, not a bang.
