Whether they’re traded, cut, or decide to test the open market, there is no shortage of big-name NFL stars on both sides of the ball who will be wearing a new team uniform next season.
Without further ado, let’s dive into 10 NFL superstars who will definitely be playing elsewhere in 2025.
Find out which NFL stars are going to play for another team in 2025.
Aaron Rodgers
After the New York Jets fired GM Joe Douglas in November, bombshell reports stated that the four-time MVP may be on borrowed time in Gotham.
For one, it was reported that Jets owner Woody Johnson pushed for the idea of the Jets benching Rodgers amid a disastrous season. Additionally, Connor Hughes of SNY reported that New York “prefers to move on from Rodgers” after the season.
Well, honestly, why should the Jets run it back with a dysfunctional and tremendously underachieving core? And do you think Rodgers wants to spend the final year or two of his career on a horrific Jets team? Neither do we.
Rodgers’ stat line hasn’t been terrible by any means. He can still play. We could see him going to a team like the Las Vegas Raiders, Seattle Seahawks, or even the inner-state rival New York Giants: Two QB-needy NFL teams with stud offensive weapons to maximize his production.
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We honestly have no idea where the Jets go from here since Woody Johnson won’t sell the team. But it just feels like the Jets and Rodgers will mutually agree to part ways, giving the future Hall of Famer “one more last chance” to chase another Super Bowl.
Tee Higgins
The Cincinnati Bengals were unable to agree on a new deal with their star wide receiver ahead of the regular season. Higgins ultimately agreed to sign the franchise tender that pays him $21.8 million for this year.
The budget-conscious Bengals clearly have no interest in paying Higgins on top of No. 1 wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who’s sure to land over $120 million on his next deal. With so much money tied up in Chase and Joe Burrow, the Bengals will have to find a cheaper replacement for Higgins.
The big-bodied receiver will have no shortage of interested parties when he hits free agency after this season. A healthy Higgins has put up excellent numbers as the No. 2 receiver behind Chase, but someone will pay him to be their No. 1.
If you’re Higgins, how can you turn down more money AND the chance to be the lead receiver, as opposed to taking a discount in Cincy to play second-fiddle to Chase? Of course, you’re going to leave.
There are a handful of Super Bowl-contending teams that could use a player like Higgins as their top receiver. The Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans, Pittsburgh Steelers, Green Bay Packers, and Washington Commanders come to mind.
Or, you know, some average NFL team could just throw Higgins a boatload of money that he can’t say no to.
Either way, Higgins is a virtual lock to leave the Bengals after this season. If he was gonna stay, the two sides would have agreed to an extension by now.
Deebo Samuel
Don’t forget that Samuel requested a trade two years ago before agreeing to a three-year contract extension with the San Francisco 49ers. But truly, for real, it feels like this is his last go in 49er land.
The 49ers are up against the cap after handing lucrative extensions to Brandon Aiyuk and Christian McCaffrey. Starting quarterback Brock Purdy will need a new deal that will take up nine figures, too.
The emergence of Jauan Jennings and the 2024 first-round selection of Ricky Pearsall should make this an easy decision for the 49ers. They can’t commit that much money to a complementary piece like Samuel, who also carries a worrisome injury history.
Heck, Samuel himself should be excited about the idea of a trade or being cut and getting a fresh start. Like Tee Higgins, Samuel can secure vital financial security elsewhere on a team that will make him their No. 1 receiver.
Samuel would have to take a drastic pay cut to remain in San Fran beyond next year. Don’t expect it to happen. The Deebo era is coming to a close in the Bay Area.
Von Miller
Injuries and off-the-field issues have largely prevented the two-time Super Bowl champion from living up to his contract with the Buffalo Bills.
After winning his second ring with the Los Angeles Rams, Miller signed a six-year deal worth $120 million in free agency. That has bought them a 2022 season that ended abruptly with a torn ACL, a nightmare 2023 season that saw him start zero games and record zero sacks AND a 2024 season that saw him hit with a four-game suspension.
Buffalo’s defense has been a top-tier unit without Von Miller on the field since he arrived in 2022. It makes no sense to bring back a 36-year-old next year when he’s hardly on the field to begin with.
Cutting Miller in the offseason would carry a manageable $15.417 dead money hit, but Buffalo would also save $8.457 million against the cap. This should be a no-brainer for Brandon Beane.
Miller can still play, folks. He had four sacks in seven games before his suspension. His big-game experience — 10.5 sacks and three forced fumbles in 13 playoff games — will make Miller attractive to other teams.
It’s hard to envision any scenario where Miller returns to Buffalo in 2025, but he’ll have no problem securing a nice one or two-year deal on a Super Bowl-contending team.
Also Read: 10 NFL Teams Whose 2024 Seasons Are OFFICIALLY OVER
Keenan Allen
The cap-strapped Los Angeles Chargers tried to get Allen to take a pay cut in his contract year, but the two sides couldn’t find the middle ground.
After releasing fellow star wideout Mike Williams, the Bolts split from both halves of their super duo by sending Allen to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a fourth-round pick. At the time, it felt like a coup for the Bears.
There were high hopes for Chicago in year one of the Caleb Williams era. I mean, how could he fail with Allen, DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, Cole Kmet, and D’Andre Swift as his main weapons? The talent level was too high for the Bears’ offense to flop.
Lo and behold, the Bears offense has been mostly unwatchable this year. It got so bad that offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was fired mid-season and replaced with Thomas Brown.
Aside from Swift, none of Chicago’s skill position guys have played up to expectations. That includes Allen, who’s on his way to setting career lows.
In other words, the six-time Pro Bowler clearly can’t wait to leave Windy City. Since Allen will be 33 next year, other NFL teams will have to decide if he’s past his best-before date or if it was the Bears holding him back.
The bottom line is that there’s zero chance Allen agrees to an extension with the Bears. He’s going to test his luck in free agency, and he’ll hopefully get the chance to compete for a Super Bowl. A short-term, incentive-filled deal would be Allen’s best bet.
He’d sure be a fun fit with the Kansas City Chiefs. Just saying.
Haason Reddick
The Reddick trade has been a disaster for the star linebacker and the Jets. The only winner of this saga is the Philadelphia Eagles, who are getting a 2026 third-round pick for a guy who has hardly seen the field this year.
You know the story by now. Reddick got traded to the Jets and then held out in hopes of a new contract. New York let him explore the trade market, only for Reddick to end the holdout and return in October.
Anywho, Aaron Rodgers isn’t the only big-named Jet who’s on his way out. Reddick is still in his prime and will surely seek a) a team that will pay him what he’s worth and b) a championship contender.
Truth be told, Reddick can’t get out of Gotham soon enough. He’ll be on cloud nine when he hits the open market and finds an NFL team that will give him a top dollar and keep him away from a circus show like that of the Jets.
Geno Smith
After winning Comeback Player of the Year honors in 2022, Smith was awarded a three-year contract extension worth $75 million. The two-time Pro Bowler had a solid 2023 campaign, but he’s reverted to his old habits and is hardly starting-caliber anymore.
Smith is turning the ball over way too much this year, which is reminiscent of his Jets days. At 34 years of age, he shouldn’t be viewed as their long-term guy anymore.
The Seahawks can save a whopping $25 million against the cap if they release Smith next year. And given the amount of younger QBs available in free agency or trade – Sam Darnold and Bryce Young included — this feels like the perfect time to move on from Smith. Seattle could even look at the draft to find their next signal-caller.
Lots of NFL teams will be interested in Smith as a short-term option. It’s clearly best for both sides to move on.
Joey Bosa
The longtime Los Angeles Chargers star is signed through 2025, but it’d be a shock if he played out the last year of his deal.
Bosa has missed significant time for the third straight season, and he hasn’t been a Pro Bowler since 2021. His age, injury history, and insane $36.471 million cap hit for 2025 means the Bolts have an easy call here.
The Chargers would save $25.36 million in cap space if they were to release Bosa. Even if he agrees to a significant pay cut, you gotta think that Jim Harbaugh and company will want to get younger and cheaper on defense anyway.
Someone will take a chance on the four-time Pro Bowler in free agency. And let’s be real, he could use a fresh start anyway.
Najee Harris
This won’t be a popular entry for Pittsburgh Steelers fans, but the writing’s on the wall. Even after a third straight 1,000-yard season in 2023, Harris had the fifth-year option on his rookie contract declined.
The Steelers are clearly planning to do the smart thing: Avoid paying top dollar to a devaluing position. And as great as Harris is, Jaylen Warren also flashed the ability to be an RB1 with the 1,154 yards of offense he posted in 2023.
A pending RFA, Warren will cost a fraction of what Pittsburgh will have to pay a player who’s on his way to a fourth straight 1,000-yard season. Harris deserves to chase the money he deserves, but it won’t come from a Steelers team that must manage their cap situation safely.
The Steelers draft and develop talent better than most other organizations. Even if Warren isn’t the RB1, they can find someone in the later rounds. This is how they operate.
Harris has been everything the Steelers wanted when they drafted him in the first round in 2021, but you can’t pay top dollar to running backs these days. That means saying goodbye to Harris.
Sam Darnold
Sam Darnold is basically in Nick Foles-Philadelphia Eagles territory. It’s basically a “thank you for saving our season, and see ya.”
Foles led the Eagles to a Super Bowl 52 championship in the 2017 season after Carson Wentz went down with an ACL tear. After Wentz went down with another injury in 2018, Foles rallied the Eagles back into the postseason.
But Philly chose Wentz over Foles, who signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency.
A similar fate awaits Darnold with the Minnesota Vikings. He’s enjoying a career year under Kevin O’Connell and has Minny in Super Bowl contention, yes. But make no mistake: This is JJ McCarthy’s NFL team.
The Vikings moved up to select the Michigan QB 10th overall. If they weren’t high on JJ, they wouldn’t have used a first-round pick on him. They would have seen what Darnold could do first.
McCarthy underwent season-ending surgery on his meniscus before Week 1 kicked off. Good on Darnold for making the most of the opportunity, but the Vikings aren’t about to give up on McCarthy before he even plays a snap for them.
Darnold shrugged off the “bust” label and showed everyone that he could be a great QB. It’s not his fault the Jets and Carolina Panthers let him down. Someone will want to pay him what he’s worth and trust us, plenty of teams need a new starting QB.
Darnold has been a real feel-good story in Minnesota. But he’ll exit in free agency and join an NFL team that can promise him the QB1 gig, with McCarthy taking over as the Vikings’ starter.
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