The Los Angeles Chargers were officially the first team to open training camp on July 12. It's only a matter of days before the rest of the NFL follows suit, and the pads will come on before we know. However, there are plenty of outstanding issues across the league that still need to be addressed.
It's unclear when or if teams will handle the most pressing plans on their respective to-do lists; several storylines remain fluid and worth monitoring. There are still so many moving parts and burning questions. With that in mind, let's predict how some will end.
4. Buccaneers cut CB Jamel Dean
Jamel Dean is a solid cornerback, but he's not an elite one and is counting against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' payroll like one. Simply put, the math isn't mathing. Consequently, the Super Bowl LV champion has been considered a potential cap casualty for months, and camp presents a pressure point.
Dean's $15,136,941 million cap hit ranks fifth among all corners for 2025. Meanwhile, Pro Football Focus (PFF) graded him as the 26th-best player at his position out of 222 qualified options, which is objectively good. Nonetheless, the Buccaneers aren't getting a bang for their buck, let alone what they're paying for.
Moreover, Dean has struggled with availability, sitting out multiple games in each of his six seasons as a pro. He's missed nine contests over the past two campaigns, making it hard to rely on him weekly, albeit productive when on the field. This presumably factored into general manager Jason Licht's decision to spend a pair of third-round picks on cornerbacks Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish.
Cutting or trading Dean post-June 1 creates roughly $13 million in savings while leaving behind a palatable $2.284 million in dead money. The Bucs would gain considerable financial flexibility and have ostensibly prepared to replace him with Morrison and Parrish.
3. Courtland Sutton, Terry McLaurin's contract situations carry into the season
A lot of wide receivers have gotten paid recently, and then there's Courtland Sutton and Terry McLaurin. They're entering the final years of their contracts with the Denver Broncos and Washington Commanders, respectively, and deserve raises. Yet, no extension is imminent for either of them, and we anticipate the stalemates to linger into Week 1 (and beyond).
Oddly, so many wideouts getting compensated handsomely has complicated the market for McLaurin (and Sutton), as CBS Sports' Joel Corry thoroughly outlined. There's no denying that these two veteran pass-catchers are incredibly talented and the primary targets for their aerial attacks. But are they worth the $30-plus million average annual value (AAV) a WR1 merits nowadays?
Just because Sutton and McLaurin top their depth charts doesn't mean they're unquestioned alpha receivers. Many secondary options are arguably better and couldn't crack the $30 million AAV threshold, creating a murky hierarchy. With that in mind, it's easy to see the Broncos and Commanders letting them play out their deals and reassess next offseason.
There have been minimal updates on Sutton's negotiations with the Broncos since he expressed optimism in April about the two sides reaching an agreement. McLaurin isn't happy about his talks with the Commanders. These discussions typically come down to who blinks first, but no one appears ready to budge so far, setting up for long, awkward standstills.
2. Kenny Pickett is named the Browns' Week 1 starting QB
Who will the Cleveland Browns have under center for their regular-season home opener against the Cincinnati Bengals? That's a fully loaded query that no one has the answer to right now. But if we were to place a bet on the outcome, Kenny Pickett is like the most logical choice.
Oddsmakers seemingly believe 40-year-old Joe Flacco will win Cleveland's starting quarterback job, though he's just as likely to get cut this summer. 2025 fifth-round selections Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, but early signs are that neither is ready to handle that responsibility yet. That leaves Pickett, a former first-rounder with multiple years of experience running an offense.
Say what you want about Pickett's arm strength (or lack thereof) and intent on being conservative, but he won games with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He may have left much to be desired in the box score, but was productive in the stat that matters most: Win-loss record. The 27-year-old went 14-10 across 24 starts in 2022 and 2023 before getting traded to the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles last March.
Pickett didn't get many opportunities as a backup behind Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia. Be that as it may, he gained valuable experience sitting on the sidelines of a championship squad, which can help him move forward. The Browns made a bet on this to some degree by giving up assets to acquire the rising fourth-year pro from the Eagles.
1. One of T.J. Watt or Trey Hendrickson gets traded
Speaking of the Bengals and Steelers, they boast two of the premier defenders in football in Trey Hendrickson and T.J. Watt, respectively. Like McLaurin and Sutton above, both are on expiring contracts. But unlike the wideouts, there is no debate about the edge rushers' value, which is why they've dug in on their stances amid well-chronicled impasses.
There have been updates on Watt and Hendrickson that have each offered some reasons for hope that they'll find common ground with their franchises. But some of the information we're getting has left out some important details, specifically regarding the former, which casts doubt. The vagueness leads us to believe one or both will be rerouted in a blockbuster move in due time.
Given his status as a homegrown perennial Defensive Player of the Year talent and how the Steelers operate, Watt feels more likely to stay put. Concurrently, Hendrickson and the Bengals haven't been on speaking terms for much of the offseason and Cincinnati's ownership is notoriously frugal. But at this rate, nothing is off the table.