We know what the goal of the teams that were active at the NFL’s trade deadline was: Improving their chances of being contenders in the playoffs. What about the teams that either stayed neutral at the deadline or clearly won’t be contending for the postseason this year?
Quite a few of the bottom-feeder teams in the NFL need to use the second half of the season as a way to start to prepare for the offseason and 2026 season. Teams like the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and even the Arizona Cardinals should already be figuring out what this offseason is going to look like.
This is more than the draft, it’s about figuring out what free agency looks like, what coaching changes need to be made and what it’s going to take to turn things around for next season. Here’s one thing every rebuilding team needs to focus on as the second half of the season kicks off.
New Orleans Saints (1-8)
Goal: Figure out which players are worth keeping
There was a lot of talk about the New Orleans Saints possible moving Chris Olave at the trade deadline. He ended up staying and it makes sense why the Saints felt he was too valuable to move on from, considering they're going to be searching for a new quarterback. Olave may be worth keeping around, but there are quite a few other players that shouldn't return to the Big Easy for one reason or another.
Alvin Kamara is one of those players that shouldn't return to New Orleans, but the Saints need to use the last half of the season to decide who's worth bringing back and who's worth moving on from. They have a lot of aging vets on this team as well and getting younger and more draft capital has the be the focus. Depending on how some of these roster casualties play at the end of the season, that will give Kellen Moore and this front office a starting point.
Tennessee Titans (1-8)
Goal: Continue to prepare Cam Ward for next season
The Tennessee Titans are in full rebuild mode, but they have a great building piece in Cam Ward. He's looked as good as any rookie quarterback this year and that's a positive sign for the Titans as they figure out how to address this important offseason. The most important thing for them is to continue to let Ward work through the kinks this year.
Next season, he has a chance to take that leap and after a strong rookie season -- considering the Titans are a bad team -- the best thing for him is to build on it. That will come with getting help this offseason via the NFL Draft and free agency, but they have to let Ward cook the second half of the season. Let him make the mistakes, let him try and be the hero because it will help him develop the right way.
New York Jets (1-7)
Goal: Let Aaron Glenn coach worry free
The New York Jets have to be patient with Aaron Glenn and the task he has to rebuild this Jets team into a contender. Woody Johnson can't get impatient with Glenn and this team's shortcomings in 2025 and let that carry over into next year. This year was a learning curve for everyone. Glenn found out truly how hard it is the be an NFL coach — with the Jets at that — and he found out he had false hope in Justin Fields.
Those are all fine mistakes to make as a rookie head coach, but like Dan Campbell turned the corner after a miserable first season, Glenn too has to prove he's the right one to bring New York back to NFL relevance. The Jets don't have to be a playoff team a year from now, but they have to look a whole lot better than they currently do and Glenn has to show why patience with him is imperative for things to change.
New York Giants (2-7)
Goal: Get clarity on Joe Schoen/Brian Daboll
Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen, regardless of how much the New York Giants underpeform, continue to get a longer leash. That has to end this year and it has to be resolved over the next two months of the season. The Giants are 2-7, out of the playoff picture and no better than they've been the last few seasons. They can't keep bringing Daboll and Schoen back, hoping for new results.
They need to accept that after this season is over, it's time to make some organizational changes. Even if the Giants manage to look respectable to end the season, they can't continue to think things will be different. Like the Miami Dolphins are figuring out, a change is needed and they need to come to that resolution over the next eight weeks. If they don't, it will only amplify their struggles and inability to be real contenders.
Miami Dolphins (2-7)
Goal: Figure out if Tua Tagovailoa’s replacement is already on the roster
The Miami Dolphins gain nothing from playing Tua Tagovailoa at this point so it’s time to see what Zach Wilson and Quinn Ewers can do. Mike Mc Daniel is on borrowed time, but he can still convince an NFL franchise to hire him this offseason with a strong second half. More important than that though, they need to figure out how they’re going to approach the quarterback position.
Can they rely on Wilson or Ewers to hold them over for another year before drafting their future in what should be a better quarterback class than the upcoming one? Or should they make a big splash in free agency or with an offseason move? They can’t continue to have false hope in Tagovailoa.
Las Vegas Raiders (2-7)
Goal: Figure out if Geno Smith is the answer
Pete Carroll took the Las Vegas Raiders job and pointed to Geno Smith as his quarterback of choice and that failed. While I don’t think Smith is that great, I think with some help, he can do enough to make the Raiders competitive — even in the daunting AFC West. Ashton Jeanty came down to earth in his first NFL season, but after trading Jakobi Meyers, they need some real perimeter weapons.
They need some improvements on the defensive end too, but truthfully, they need to revamp this offense. Brock Bowers is good, but he can’t be the only weapon on this offense. The Raiders need to be aggressive in filling out their receiver room and finding out what this offense can really look like.
Cleveland Browns (2-6)
Goal: Find quarterback clarity
The one thing Cleveland needs to do is find out what they have in Shedeur Sanders. Dillon Gabriel isn’t the answer and Sanders can be, but holding out on Sanders just doesn’t make sense. Unless Sanders looks like what Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels has done over the last two years, the Browns are in the market for a quarterback either way.
Worst case scenario is Sanders looks as bad as the coaching staff thinks he does and best case scenario, they can avoid drafting yet another quarterback in their continued failed experiment at finding their franchise quarterback.
Arizona Cardinals (3-5)
Goal: Find out if Kyler Murray has been holding them back
The Arizona Cardinals have to figure out if they want Kyler Murray to be part of their long term future or not. I know he’s on IR right now, but he could still return later in the season and if Jacoby Brissett continues to play well enough, you have to think the Cardinals decide to move on from him.
It’s hard to say he’s been the sole problem for the Cardinals’ struggles, but they can’t continue to believe in him if they have a chance to move on from him while he still has some value. At the end of the day, there’s more quarterback-needy teams than available quarterbacks so they could get something from him. This second half of the season could be his last out west.