Welcome to the NFL dead season. With OTA’s coming to a close and training camp still months away, the taste of football is not quite in reach. As teams prepare for the upcoming season, it’s clear some are on the rise. A strong draft class or free agent haul can turn struggling franchises into potential contenders. Others, however, fail to improve their rosters or make decisions that will take years to recover from. Finally, of course, there are the teams stuck in limbo – the ones with aging veterans and unproven talent. Many will focus on which teams will be Super Bowl contenders in 2019. But below, we take a closer look at which teams’ have the worst NFL rosters.
Which team is the NFL’s least talented?
Honorable mentions: Buffalo Bills, Oakland Raiders, Washington Redskins, Houston Texans, New York Jets, Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos
Miami Dolphins
The obvious candidate in our race to the last place starts down in south beach.
Electing to start the rebuild, the Miami Dolphins released running back Frank Gore, wide receiver Danny Amendola and defensive end Cameron Wake. Â General manager Chris Grier also traded away Ryan Tannehill, the team’s starting quarterback since 2012 to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for a seventh and future fourth-round selection.
Let’s look at the numbers of the departed:
Tannehill: The team’s top quarterback since Dan Marino, who only managed one playoff appearance in his seven seasons.
Wake: Finished just shy of 100 career sacks during his ten seasons out in Miami. He also recently turned 37.
Amendola: Led the team in receptions and receiving yards last season, averaging 9.7 yards per catch. Still, the two-time Super Bowl winner only finished with one touchdown, according to Pro Football Reference.Â
Gore: Finished with 722 yards on the ground but never found the end zone that way.
Yeah, that screams rebuild central. Out with the old and in with the new. Here’s the problem; the new is pretty darn good.
Miami captured one of the hottest coaching candidates in Brian Flores to help fix the 12th ranked defense just a season ago. They gave Flores weapons for the future by extending up-and-coming cornerback Xavien Howard and drafting Clemson defensive tackle Christian Wilkins with the 13th overall pick.
Grier traded away just a second and seventh-round pick to acquire Josh Rosen from the Arizona Cardinals. Keep in mind Rosen is a year removed from being a top 10 pick and deserves a mulligan after having consistent pressure thanks to one of the league’s worst offensive lines.
The problem with Rosen is his offensive line situation hasn’t improved. The Dolphins allowed 52 sacks last season, same as Arizona. The team also lost starters Josh Sitton and Ja’Wuan James to free agency and retirement. Still, Miami’s wide receivers are far from horrific, although combined last season, the current starting unit collected just 15 touchdowns.
Miami could be a five-win ball club if the defense remains stable with younger veterans such as Raekwon McMillan and Charles Harris finally coming together. Who knows – they could win maybe seven games if Rosen takes the next step working with Chad O’Shea.
Although Miami, however, still isn’t a good team, they might not be the worst this season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
There’s a good, a bad and an ugly when looking at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers heading into this season.
The Good: Bruce Arians took a disastrous 2017 Cardinals to a .500 record. The Bucs’ main stars are much better, and younger core than the Red Birds was.
The Bad: This is a must-win year for Jameis Winston. Since his promising 2016 campaign, the former No.1 pick has yet to throw for over 3,600 yards and more than 20 touchdowns a season.
The Ugly: The draft has not been kind to Tampa in recent years. With players such as Ronald Jones, MJ Stewart, Vita Vea, Noah Spence, Roberto Aguayo, and countless others haven’t panned out.
Tampa cleared cap space this offseason by parting ways with All-Pro Gerald McCoy. They then went on to sign veteran Ndamukong Suh to a one-year deal worth up to $10 million. Tampa also did nothing in free agency besides lose key receivers Adam Humphries and DeSean Jackson on offense and watching Kwon Alexander leave their defense.
The Bucs had the top-ranked passing offense last season, but those numbers are fluxed with Ryan Fitzpatrick, who’s now in Miami. Their defense ranked 27th in total yards allowed and gave up 34 touchdowns through the air. While Carlton Davis impressed last season, the remainder of the Bucs’ secondary is on a watch.
Their offense can still be somewhat promising with the likes of Mike Evans, OJ Howard, and Chris Godwin. The big key will be on Arians correcting the flaws with Winston’s turnover ratio. Tampa might not be the worst team in the NFL, but they certainly could finish with the worst record.
Everything starts with the quarterback and right now, that’s not a good thing down in Tampa.
New York Giants
The New York Giants are just two years removed from their 2016 postseason appearance. The team then is far different from the team now. While New York might feature one of the top young running backs in the game, there’s not much else to talk about.
Dave Gettleman had a chance to bring the Giants back to playoff form. The plan was simple; move on from veteran quarterback Eli Manning. Instead, he let everyone else hit the road and find new work. Electing not to sign him to a franchise tag, star safety Landon Collins in now with rival Washington.
Gettleman also traded away Damon Harrison last season to Detroit Lions before imploding the offense by shipping Odell Beckham Jr. and Olivier Vernon to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for Jabrill Peppers, Kevin Zeitler and multiple draft picks.
New York signed Lions standout Golden Tate III to a four-year, $37.5 million deal. Tate had a down year in 2018 with both Detroit and Philadelphia, but the former Notre Dame wideout has collected three 1000 yards season.
The Giants are a mixed unit, filled with veteran talent along with untapped potential. Peppers is a decent safety on the rise, but he’s not Collins. The team’s first-round selection, Dexter Lawrence, just doesn’t fit James Bettcher’s 3-4 scheme. We’re not even going to get into the Manning clone of Daniel Jones, who’s expected to be the quarterback of the future in the Big Apple.
The Giants finished 11th last season in passing offense. That number should diminish without Beckham. They also finished 23rd in passing defense. Expect that number to decline without Collins.
New York is just in limbo with Manning and his replacement calling the shots. Don’t expect them to be getting any better.
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals might have been big winners come draft weekend, but don’t expect them to be winning many games in 2019. With so many unproven stars and losses in free agency, this is still a roster plagued for a few more rebuilding years.
Steve Kiem went a different direction after watching his team finish with a 3-13 record last season. Taking a page out of rival Les Snead’s offseason, the Cardinal GM parted ways with both head coach Steve Wilks and quarterback Josh Rosen after one year in favor of offensive-minded Kliff Kingsbury current Heisman winner Kyler Murray with the first overall pick.
Both Wilks and Rosen were unproven at their respective positions, and neither of their replacements is any better. While Kingsbury does has several seasons of leading a team under his belt, he finished his career at Texas Tech with a sub .500 record. Granted, Murray does have a prestigious award to his name, but he’s also a one-year wonder and comes with mechanical flaws.
Besides the addition of former Eagles linebacker Jordan Hicks, a majority of Arizona’s free agents are pretty much in the desert for a farewell tour. Terrell Suggs returned home at age 36, Robert Alford struggled tremendously in coverage while JR Sweezy is a backup at this point in his career.
Much like the Giants, the Cardinals talent is mixed. Some veterans shine like Larry Fitzgerald, Budda Baker, and Chandler Jones. There’s also unproven talent such as Bryon Murphy, Andy Isabella and Hakeem Butler who could shine as rookies.
Arizona could be the surprise team of the year. Kingsbury could have his air-raid offense take over the league while Murray could avoid pressure behind one of the NFL’s worst offensive lines. In a few years, Arizona could be the team to beat in the NFC West.
For now, there are so many unanswered questions that need to be answered to keep them out of the cellar.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are likely favorite to finish last in their division. It’s not because they are just a bad team, but Duke Tobin failed to address any needs while every other roster AFC North replenished.
Tobin’s most significant move this offseason was signing offensive lineman Bobby Hart to a three-year, $21.5 million extension. Hart started all 16 games last season for the Bengals. Before that, he started 21 games in three years for the Giants. That money doesn’t add up for a below average offensive lineman.
In the draft, Cincinnati might have found a future franchise staple in Jonah Williams. The former Alabama product started every game since arriving in Tuscaloosa and is versatile enough to play four of the five positions on the line. Besides that, there are so many questions when addressing their class. Germain Pratt could be an eventual starter this season, but that’s their only guy.
Cincinnati has a vast offensive arsenal with AJ Green, Tyler Boyd, Joe Mixon and potentially John Ross and a healthy Tyler Eifert. The problem is Andy Dalton is still under center. He’ll need a big year through the air if he wants to continue to be in the Bengals long-term option. On defense, the unit could improve with the likes of Carl Lawson, William Jackson III, and Jessie Bates III.
Cincinnati is just a team that’s there. They have stars for the future but a quarterback needing a Pro Bowl like season. Hopefully, Zac Taylor can get the most out of them.
Verdict
Cincinnati is a struggling team, but they’re not a bad team. If every one of their young talents can continue to grow, they could end up being the surprise team this year.
Tampa Bay needs Winston to return to 2016 form, and they too can compete. Arians have always found a way to make bad teams look manageable and is called the Quarterback Whisper for a reason.
Arizona’s offensive line allowed 52 sacks last season, 17 of which came in under 2.5 seconds off the snap. Still, the Cardinals have a more mobile quarterback and an above average secondary that can cause turnovers.
Miami potentially found their quarterback of the future and knew they were in rebuilding mode. Rosen will be pressured, but he certainly got an upgrade in his arsenal. The defense might struggle, but if Rosen takes the proper steps, they could be at least a six-win team.
The Giants, however, have to take the cake here. Gettleman is going to build from the foundation of young talent in the building. The problem with that is outside of Saquon Barkley and perhaps Sterling Shepard as a slot receiver, none of their young talents is on the rise at their respective positions. Free agency hasn’t been kind to the organization either for the past two seasons.
Sorry Giants fans, you’re a winner in the wrong way.
