The 2021 NFL season is behind us. The faithful who stuck it out for all 27 weeks ranging from the Hall of Fame Game to the Super Bowl will now be rewarded with four months of free agent deals and baseless draft speculation.
There’s a long, long way to go before the 2022 season kicks off. Fortunately, we’ve already got a good idea of the teams who’ll be in contention for 14 playoff spots or a coveted selection at the top of next year’s draft. Some franchises have entrenched quarterbacks and valid Super Bowl hopes. Others enter the offseason in various stages of rebuild.
A lot can happen in the course of an offseason. The Bengals found the pieces to build around Joe Burrow and mount a run to Super Bowl 56. Other teams — primarily the Jaguars — wind up in stasis, trapped in the inertia that leaves them unable to change their course of direction in a single year.
Let’s dive in and see where all 32 NFL teams stand now that the final whistle’s been blown on the 2021 season. Teams got extra credit for quarterback and coaching stability, along with their ability to add talent this spring. We’ll start at the bottom.
