There is no shortage of big-name NFL stars and former Pro Bowlers who are nearing the very end of their playing careers. To keep it perfectly blunt, they’re essentially fighting for their long-term football futures heading into next season.
We’re still in the early phases of the offseason, but it’s not too early to look at which players are on thin ice heading into next year. So without further ado, let’s dive into 10 NFL stars who will find themselves out of the league FOR GOOD if they don’t bounce back in 2024.
Russell Wilson
Hard as it is to believe now, the nine-time Pro Bowler may be just one bad or ineffective season away from needing to hand out resumes for a new career.
After a disappointing two-year stint with the Denver Broncos, Wilson was released. Denver was so desperate to get rid of Wilson that they happily took on an NFL-record $85 million dead money charge over the next two years.
Wilson was subsequently picked up by the Pittsburgh Steelers, who signed him to a cheap one-year deal to serve as competition to Kenny Pickett. It’s a low-risk move for the Steelers with potentially high awards, but it’s also “all or nothing” mode for Wilson now.
Think about it. The Seattle Seahawks were thrilled to get rid of the greatest QB in franchise history. The Broncos wanted to move on despite a stellar bounce-back 2023 campaign under Sean Payton.
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So if Wilson can’t beat out Pickett — a guy with 13 touchdowns and as many interceptions in 25 career games — then good luck. And don’t tell us Wilson is in a bad situation here.
He’s playing for a Hall of Fame head coach in Mike Tomlin with Diontae Johnson, George Pickens, Pat Freiermuth, Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren as his weapons. And having a top-10 defense makes life all the more easy for Dange-Russ.
So, Mr. Wilson, if this ideal situation in Pittsburgh doesn’t lead to a strong season, then you may as well prepare your retirement speech early.
Absolutely nobody is going to want a 37-year-old Wilson in 2025 if he can’t make the most of it. No pressure, Russ.
The real question is Russ still an NFL star?
Jamal Adams
The Jamal Adams trade will go down as a rare big-time miss by Seattle Seahawks GM John Schneider and former head coach Pete Carroll, to say the very least.
Adams is no longer the Seahawks’ problem. The man is going to have to somehow regain something close to his old New York Jets form if he’s going to continue playing past the 2024 season.
The three-time Pro Bowler and 2019 First-team All-Pro was a beast in his first season with the Seahawks, tallying 9.5 sacks that marked a single-season record for a defensive back. Adams’ efforts helped Seattle win the NFC West division crown, too.
But the injury bug and a significant drop in production quickly derailed Adams’ career in the Pacific Northwest. Over his final three years in Seattle, Adams appeared in only 22 games and didn’t even record a single sack.
That led to Seattle releasing Adams in a cap-saving move, officially putting an end to this lopsided trade in favor of the Jets.
Adams’ injury history, significant drop in production and attitude — see his beef with a Jets reporter — mean he’s on awfully thin ice heading in 2024.
If 2024 isn’t the year Adams stays healthy and proves he’s still a valuable starter in this league, then he’ll be out of the pros by next year. Otherwise? Come 2025, nobody is gonna want a guy whose last good season was five years ago.
Ryan Tannehill
Tannehill has been on the decline for three years now. The Tennessee Titans rightfully gave Will Levis the nod as a rookie in favor of a continuously underperforming Tannehill, who’s also on his last NFL legs.
It’s easy to say now that Tannehill will never be a starter again. It’s unlikely, yes, but there was a time when we all thought Kurt Warner was washed up before his career revival in Arizona. And don’t forget Geno Smith’s 2022 comeback year in Seattle…nor what Joe Flacco just accomplished in Cleveland this past season.
Tannehill’s experience makes him a quality QB2 option for anybody. But he’s also going to have to make some form of an impression if he wants to continue his career in 2025, when he’ll be 37 years of age.
Not saying that the former Titan has to revive his career the way he did in Tennessee back in 2019. But Tannehill, like Flacco, needs to somehow show that he can still produce in the right system — even in preseason and garbage time
Otherwise, the 2019 Comeback Player of the Year will also be out of the league by next year.
Zach Ertz
We don’t blame you if you’ve lost track of Zach Ertz’s journey over the last three years. Here’s the recap:
-Traded from the Philadelphia Eagles to the Arizona Cardinals during the 2021 season. Does well there to land a three-year extension
– Gets released late in 2023 following a second straight season derailed by injuries and a lack of production.
-Joins the Detroit Lions’ practice squad during the postseason, and doesn’t play a snap.
-Signs a one-year deal with the Washington Commanders in free agency
With Logan Thomas getting released, Ertz is the new No. 1 tight end in DC now. And he’ll soon have the pleasure of catching passes from either LSU’s Jayden Daniels or North Carolina’s Drake Maye.
Ertz has missed at least five games in three of the last four years — suiting up for just 17 total contests since 2022. The ex-Eagles star and Super Bowl 52 hero is well past his playing prime and has ONE LAST CHANCE To show he can still play in the NFL.
Ertz can expect a good amount of targets as the Commanders’ new No. 1 tight end. His future in the NFL depends entirely on staying healthy and regaining his star-like form here in 2024.
Harrison Smith
Smith has had a phenomenal career with the Minnesota Vikings that has lasted more than a decade now. His longevity is admirable in an era where many defensive backs are essentially finished by their early 30s.
Smith wasn’t terrible by any means in his age-34 season for Minnesota in 2023. He started all 17 games and compiled three pass defenses, as many forced fumbles and sacks and 93 combined tackles.
But Smith is also past his best-before-date. He finished with a 2023 Pro Football Focus grade of just 68.9 — his worst mark there since 2013. On top of that, Smith yielded a 65.4 completion percentage when targeted, according to Pro Football Reference.
Smith can still do a lot of things right, but it’s clear that he shouldn’t be viewed as a full-time starter at this phase of his career. Not in a game built around dynamic passing games with lightning-quick pass-catchers.
If Smith wants to make it to his age-36 NFL season in 2025, he’ll have to somehow turn back the clock and show there’s still some juice in those legs. Otherwise, it’s game over for Smith next year.
Dalvin Cook
In a move that wound up benefitting absolutely nobody, the Vikings released the four-time Pro Bowl running back last offseason. Cook then joined forces with Aaron Rodgers, signing a one-year deal with the New York Jets.
Cook saw little playing time behind RB1 Breece Hall, and Rodgers’ season-ending injury minutes into his Jets debut did not help matters. Still, you’d think Cook would have done better than 214 rushing yards, no TDs and a woeful 3.2 yards per carry.
The Jets let go of Cook late in the year, and he finished the season on the Baltimore Ravens’ roster. The four-time 1,000-yard rusher got eight carries in the Ravens’ divisional-round win over the Houston Texans.
As far as the rest of the league is concerned, Cook is on the long list of RBs who hit the before-30 wall. In fairly recent examples, we saw it with Ezekiel Elliott, Todd Gurley, Devonta Freeman and Melvin Gordon.
So Cook is one more bad season away now from playing himself out of the NFL. It is awfully easy for teams to find good running backs in this day and age, so who would wanna sign a 30-year-old Cook in 2025 if he doesn’t show he has at least a little bit of gas left in the tank?
It’s time for Calvin to get Cook-in again.
David Bakhtiari
The Green Bay Packers really had no choice but to cut Bakhtiari, whose tragic injury history quickly came to derail a potential spot in Canton.
Green Bay cut Bakhtiari ahead of 2024 free agency, giving GM Brian Gutekunst the cap space to address other needs — hello Josh Jacobs! — and the incentive to take an offensive tackle in the draft.
The three-time Pro Bowler and two-time First-Team All-Pro will be 33 years of age by next season. And injuries have limited him to just 25 total game appearances over the last four years.
Bakhtiari gets one more year to show he can stay healthy and avoid the injury bug. Otherwise, there’s practically a less-than-one percent chance that anyone will want to sign him in 2025…even as a second-stringer.
Michael Thomas
It’s honestly very surprising that the New Orleans Saints gave Michael Thomas this many chances to stay healthy. It didn’t work out. And now it’s back to the drawing board.
Like Bakthiari, Thomas was on a Hall of Fame trajectory early in his career. Then the injury bug struck Thomas, who missed the entire 2021 season with an ankle injury. He also played a combined 20 games over the 2020, 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Thomas’ All-Pro form is well in the past now, as hard as it is for “Can’t Guard Mike” and Saints fans to accept. He’s going to get another chance to, you guessed it…” stay healthy” in 2024 and show he can still be a serviceable offensive piece.
Somehow and someway, Thomas’ body is going to have to hold up. His NFL career fully depends on it now.
Patrick Peterson
The perennial Pro Bowler had a mini career revival with the Minnesota Vikings in 2022, garnering a superb PFF grade of 80.7 while tallying five interceptions and 15 pass defenses — both personal bests in 10 years.
Peterson’s bounce-back year led to him signing a two-year pact with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2023 free agency. Unfortunately, Peterson showed last season that 2022 was a mirage and not a preview of a late-career renaissance.
PFF graded Peterson at just 60.5 in 2023. And per Pro Football Reference, PP allowed a 91.5 passer rating when targeted.
Pittsburgh wound up releasing Peterson heading into the final year of his contract, putting the future Hall of Famer back on the market.
As we said earlier on the Harrison Smith entry, defensive backs rarely hold up well in their mid-30s. Peterson might still produce in a rotational phase at this year of his career, but anything close to what we saw with the Steelers in 2023 will lead to him being out of the league before his 35th birthday.
Ezekiel Elliott
Following his MOSTLY successful seven-year stint with the Dallas Cowboys, the two-time rushing champion was cut last year.
Elliott then signed a one-year deal with the New England Patriots, where he provided “meh” results at best. Playing on the AFC’s worst team did Zeke no favors, but it’s clear that Elliott is nothing more than a solid No. 2 RB at this phase of his career.
Elliott had 642 rushing yards, three touchdowns and 313 receiving yards in New England. Doesn’t look bad on paper, until you note that he averaged a career-low 3.5 yards per carry while also fumbling twice.
Nobody is asking Zeke to be a 1,000-yard rusher anymore, but even a backup running back has to have some juice left. Whereas Derrick Henry can still get by with his bulldozer of a human build, Elliott has always relied on his speed. And this man is not to be mistaken for, say, De’Von Achane anymore.
The former 2016 first-round pick will get another chance to show he’s a solid enough understudy at RB. But if he ends up instead showing the world that he’s completely washed up, that will be it for the former Cowboy and NFL star.
