3 NFL Teams to Avoid in Futures Market This Offseason

The 2022 NFL season is still a long way away, but the futures market at WynnBET Sportsbook can be a tantalizing one if you find a team that seems to be undervalued. 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the current favorites to win the Super Bowl with Tom Brady back at quarterback with the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs and and Los Angeles Rams rounding on the top three in the odds (KC and LA are tied). 

The NFL offseason is a long one, and we’ve seen several contenders shake up their roster with major trades (Tyreek Hill or Davante Adams anyone?). Even with each team’s roster starting to take shape, there is always the fear of an offseason injury that could derail a bet before it even gets off the ground. Last season, we saw the Baltimore Ravens lose several key players prior to the 2021 season, and Baltimore never recovered. 

Injuries aren’t the only concern. What if a quarterback struggles in the preseason? Do we even know who is going to start for, say the San Francisco 49ers in 2022? 

There are so many factors that you have to consider when betting these season-long futures, and sometimes it is best to just wait and see before placing a wager. 

Here are three teams that I would avoid completely this offseason until we get a better read on them this offseason. 

San Francisco 49ers (+1200 to Win Super Bowl, +160 to Win NFC West)

Are we really sold on the San Francisco 49ers? I’m certainly not. 

WynnBET Sportsbook has San Francisco at +1200 to win it all in 2022, which is tied with the Green Bay Packers for the fourth shortest odds in the NFL. 

There are several issues that I have with the 49ers, and the first starts at the quarterback position. Yes, it seems like the team will go to Trey Lance after he sat behind Jimmy Garoppolo in his rookie season, but do we have enough belief in Lance that he can take this team to a Super Bowl? 

Lance made two starts in 2021 and appeared in six games in total. He showed flashes of his arm strength, yet he only completed 57.7 percent of his passes. He’s a more dynamic player than Garoppolo, but there are going to be growing pains with a quarterback in his first true season as a starter.

On the flip side, if the 49ers decide to roll with Jimmy G instead, we’ve already seen this team’s ceiling. The 49ers will be good, they’ve made the Super Bowl and the NFC Championship Game in two of the last three seasons, but Garoppolo doesn’t have what it takes to step up in those big spots. 

I love the 49ers defense, and if Deebo Samuel stays on the roster they still have plenty of playmakers. That doesn’t fix the quarterback questions. Until we know Lance is the real deal, this is too short of a price. 

Cleveland Browns (+1500 to Win Super Bowl, +165 to Win AFC North)

I am staying far, far away from the Cleveland Browns. 

Deshaun Watson’s status for the 2022 season has yet to be determined, and it would be surprising if the NFL didn’t at least suspend him for a few games. The Browns do still have Baker Mayfield, but there’s no way he just steps in after the way the franchise tossed him aside this offseason. 

Cleveland failed to make the playoffs last year due to poor quarterback play, but the Browns also have some questions at receiver even with Amari Cooper in the fold. 

If Watson plays, the Browns should be one of the best teams in the AFC. 

However, they are currently one of the Super Bowl favorites and the favorite in the AFC North, which seems crazy if Watson is suspended. Until we know his status, this team is way too volatile to back at this price. Plus, a slow start if Watson is suspended would give the team much more value as a contender once he returns. 

Tennessee Titans (+2500 to Win Super Bowl, +145 to Win AFC South)

Count me out on the Tennessee Titans entering the 2022 season, as the team traded away A.J. Brown and replaced him with rookie wideout Treylon Burks. 

Ryan Tannehill showed last season that he isn’t going to carry this team, even as the No. 1 seed, and the loss of Brown means more teams are going to stack the box to sell out to stop Derrick Henry. 

The Titans have always been solid under Mike Vrabel, but the writing appears to be on the wall for Tannehill after the team drafted Malik Willis. Sure, the division is a cakewalk with the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars, but that’s not enough for me to trust this Titans team yet. 

Maybe Tennessee goes on a crazy run like it did in 2021. Even then, I still don’t think they have a Super Bowl-caliber roster.

Find Peter Dewey’s full betting record here.