When it comes to the NFL, teams generally choose one of three paths: They’re either a) all-in b) rebuilding, or c) retooling — which is essentially a bit of both.
No matter how you slice it, there are several NFL teams that have set themselves up for murky futures with little long-term hope. On the flip side, other clubs have aced the art of roster building which has them set up to enjoy success for years to come.
So without further ado, let’s dive into five NFL teams facing very dark futures heading into 2024, and five with the brightest.
Which NFL teams will have a bleak outcome in 2024, and which will shine bright?
Dark: Dallas Cowboys
It doesn’t feel THAT LONG AGO when rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott powered the Cowboys to 13 wins and the NFC’s top seed in 2016. News flash: It was a long time ago.
Seasons change, but the Cowboys haven’t. They’ve retained their status as playoff chokers under Prescott, who now carries a horrible 2-and-5 career postseason record.
Die-hard Cowboys fans don’t want to admit it, but this team blew its main window of opportunity when it had Prescott, Amari Cooper, Tyron Smith, Leighton Vander Esch, and an in-his-prime Zeke.
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Prescott has proven that he can’t turn up his game when it matters most. Pending extensions for franchise pillars CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons will take a giant chunk out of the Cowboys’ salary cap space, thus giving Jerry Jones a good excuse not to be “all-in.”
By giving Prescott and Mike McCarthy limitless chances to get this team over the hump, Jerry is basically giving up a chance to win a Super Bowl. Such is life when you’re only okay with regular-season success.
Bright: Chicago Bears
It’s amazing just how quickly things can change.
A year ago, the Bears finished as one of the worst NFL teams in football but traded the first overall pick to the Carolina Panthers. Fast forward to 2024, and the Bears obtained the first overall pick via the Panthers and used it on can’t-miss USC quarterback Caleb Williams.
The Bears drafted another future superstar in Washington wideout Rome Odunze with the No. 9 pick, who will form a dynamic receiving tandem with DJ Moore. Throw in D’Andre Swift, Khalil Herbert, Keenan Allen, and Cole Kmet, and the sky’s the limit for this Bears’ offense.
And then on defense, you have two stud corners in Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson. Do-it-all safety Jaquan Brisker is just entering his prime, and the 2023 midseason trade acquisition Montez Sweat gives this team a long-term stud pass-rusher to build the front seven around.
With Williams, Odunze, Stevenston, and 2023 first-round pick and offensive tackle Darnell Wright on their rookie deals, Bears GM Ryan Poles has a nice long-term cap situation to work with.
This team is set up to dominate for the next decade-plus as long as Williams hits his ceiling. And given the elite talent around him, who’s to think that Williams won’t emerge as a superstar?
Dark: Cleveland Browns
It feels weird putting the Browns on this list, considering that they won 11 games and reached the postseason last year with five different quarterbacks.
But if we’re being honest, the clock is rapidly ticking on this team’s Super Bowl window.
Superstar running back Nick Chubb is entering the final year of his contract. What are the odds he’ll return to his elite form again after suffering a horrific season-ending knee injury ahead of Week 2? Even if he produces like an All-Pro in 2024, there’s no guarantee the Browns will pay an aging asset.
Based on the structure of his deal, the Browns are basically stuck with Deshaun Watson for at least two more seasons. That means a major chunk of their cap will continue to be gobbled up, not to mention that Cleveland is basically screwed if Watson can’t regain his superstar form we haven’t seen since 2020.
Top wide receiver Amari Cooper is also a pending UFA, and Cleveland may be hesitant to extend a guy who’ll be 31 next year. Regarding that star-studded offensive line? Joel Bitonio is entering his age-33 season. Both Jack Conklin and Wyatt Teller will be 31 after this season.
Oh, and the Browns play in football’s toughest division, featuring two bonafide Super Bowl contenders in the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals. Mike Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers are always in the postseason mix, not to mention most of their core players are just in the early stages of their prime years.
So in other words, the Browns basically have two years to win a Super Bowl with this star-studded core. Then, they’ll have a giant bill to pay for investing all their assets in Watson.
Bright: Los Angeles Chargers
After years of being held back by inept coaching, the Chargers went big-game hunting and hired Jim Harbaugh following his national championship triumph at Michigan. Harbaugh has wasted no time rebuilding the team with his vision alongside new GM Joe Hortiz.
Harbaugh rebuilt Michigan, Stanford, and the San Francisco 49ers into winners. This guy took a long-struggling San Fran team and took them to three straight NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl appearance.
If that’s not resolving your yearly coaching woes, then what is?
Losing Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and Austin Ekeler hurts sentimentally, but the Bolts were wise to cut cap space and move on from three aging assets. And though it might not be deemed a “sexy” pick, the Chargers got themselves a future All-Pro offensive tackle in Notre Dame’s Joe Alt with the No. 5 pick.
Oh, and the Chargers have one of the game’s elite quarterbacks in Justin Herbert. We know the o-line is in great hands, but this offense will be ready for takeoff once they upgrade the weaponry around Herbert.
With a top-tier head coach and quarterback, the Chargers have the two main ingredients for long-term success. Indeed, brighter days are ahead for this NFL team.
Dark: Denver Broncos
After assembling a young core with talent on both sides of the ball, the Broncos pushed all their chips into the middle of the table and completed a blockbuster trade for Russell Wilson.
Wilson was supposed to bring the Broncos back to relevance, but it took just two years for the team to pull the plug on him. They got 11 wins and 42 touchdown passes out of that massive investment, which, by the way, comes with an $85 million dead money charge for the next two years.
The Broncos have limited talent now thanks to the Wilson trade that gutted their 2022 and 2023 draft capital. The decisions to trade away Jerry Jeudy to Cleveland for pennies and to cut all-pro safety Justin Simmons make this team even worse than the eight-win group from last year, too.
Even if 2024 first-rounder Bo Nix quickly emerges as a quality starting QB in Mile High City, what about the rest of the roster?
The o-line stinks. The Broncos haven’t had a 1,000-yard receiver or rusher since 2019 and the defense. The defense is devoid of true game-changers outside of All-Pro Patrick Surtain, who might get traded before his rookie deal expires anyway.
Throw in the fact that the Broncos play in a division that the Kansas City Chiefs win every year, and it’s impossible to see how this team gets back to winning. Aside from Nix and Surtain, who else can help move the needle on this roster that might be football’s WORST from top to bottom?
Bright: Houston Texans
Unless you’re the dynastic Kansas City Chiefs, it’s easy to argue that the Texans have the brightest-looking future among all AFC teams.
They have an elite quarterback in CJ Stroud, who put together an MVP season as a rookie no less. Even if Stefon Diggs is only here for one year, Stroud has two dynamic young receivers in Nico Collins and Tank Dell and a consistent 1,000-yard rusher in Joe Mixon.
The Texans also have stability in the front office and as head coach. Nick Caserio is quickly asserting himself as one of the league’s best GMs, and DeMeco Ryans would have won Coach of the Year honors as a rookie if not for Kevin Stefanski’s heroics with Joe Flacco.
Not only is Houston loaded on offense, but their defense has the depth and star power to be football’s best within a couple of years. Derek Stingley Jr. is on his way to All-Pro cornerback status, and edge-rusher Will Anderson Jr. may soon make his case as the league’s No. 1 defensive player.
Houston also has a top do-it-all safety in Jalen Pitre to help Stingley in the secondary, not to mention they added star pass-rushers Danielle Hunter and Denico Autry in free agency to bolster their defense.
The Texans exceeded expectations last year by winning the AFC South and a Wild Card Game, and yet the likes of Stroud and Anderson Jr. haven’t hit their ceilings. Houston is nicely set up to dominate over the next decade, and it shouldn’t be long until this franchise finally celebrates its first Super Bowl championship.
Dark: New Orleans Saints
It’s very difficult to comprehend what New Orleans is doing.
They’ve missed the postseason three years in a row now, yet they’re still going “all-in” and keep restructuring veterans’ players deals so that the dead money charges can be paid down the road. It doesn’t make sense.
New Orleans is in “mushy middle” territory — the worst possible place for an NFL team. They’re good enough to make the playoffs, but not good enough to compete for a Super Bowl. And because they’re not bad enough to tank, that means constantly picking outside of the top-10.
So sure. The Saints might win the NFC South with veterans Derek Carr, Alvin Kamara, Marshon Lattimore, Cameron Jordan, Tyrann Mathieu, and Demario Davis leading the way. But they don’t stand a chance against an NFC heavyweight like the San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, or Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round.
GM Mickey Loomis would be wise to trade as many of his veterans as possible for future assets. Only Chris Olave and first-round pick Taliese Fuaga should be untouchable.
But the Saints won’t do that. They’ll continue to push for 10-win seasons and Divisional Round appearances. Nothing more.
Until/unless New Orleans commits to a full-scale rebuild, their future will be murkier than the many swamps that occupy Louisiana!
Bright: Green Bay Packers
The Pack were a giant surprise in year one of the Jordan Love era, qualifying for the playoffs before hammering the Dallas Cowboys on Wild Card weekend.
Green Bay also nearly stunned the top-seeded 49ers in the Divisional Round, only losing after Love threw a costly pick with the game in his hands. But hey, the kid’s going to learn from it.
Love is just entering his prime now. He has a deep set of young playmakers in Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft. Josh Jacobs and AJ Dillon have the chance to be football’s best-rushing tandem in 2024, too.
The o-line has two veteran stalwarts, Elgton Jenkins and Josh Myers. If 2024 first-round pick Jordan Morgan develops into an above-average starter, Love won’t have to worry about the quality of his pass protection.
The defense has a great mix of veteran stars and young defensive playmakers — including Jaire Alexander, Xavier McKinney, Rashan Gary, Quay Walker, Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt, and Rashan Gary.
It feels like the Packers’ D hasn’t hit its ceiling yet, but it’s still good enough to win a championship.
The bottom line is this NFL team is loaded with young talent on both sides of the ball — and that means they’re set up nicely to win long-term. Matt LaFleur has also cemented himself as one of the brightest offensive-minded coaches in the game, meaning Love will always be in good hands.
Sorry, Packers haters. But Aaron Rodgers’ departure didn’t close Green Bay’s competitive window. It only opened it up even longer.
Dark: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs were a nice surprise with Baker Mayfield last season, winning the NFC South for the third straight year before upsetting Philly on Wild Card Weekend.
The improbable run ended with a heartbreaking one-score loss to the Lions in the Divisional Round, so you can understand why GM Jason Licht decided to run it back with practically the same core.
But Tampa’s in a similar boat as NFC South rival New Orleans. They might be able to win a playoff game, but the talent level isn’t deep enough to realistically go on a Super Bowl run.
Franchise pillars Mike Evans and Lavonte David are on the wrong side of 30. Chris Godwin and Antoine Winfield Jr. could both be in free agency next year, too. Tampa is basically built to compete for a playoff berth in 2024, but not much else. And mark us down as skeptical that Baker will repeat his career year without Dave Canales now.
Bright: Philadelphia Eagles
Sorry, Eagles haters. But the window did not close with Fletcher Cox AND Jason Kelce did not close. GM Howie Roseman just pried it open even further following a near-perfect offseason.
Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith, and AJ Brown are squarely in their primes. The o-line is still elite with Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, and Cam Jurgens leading the way. Oh, and the Eagles just added a running back guy named Saquon Barkley. And we just mentioned Dallas Goedert now.
The rebuilt defense has future stars in Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Quinyon Mitchell, and Cooper DeJean. Veterans CJ Gardner-Johnson, Darius Slay, Brandon Graham, and Bryce Huff headline the group of proven stars on that side of the ball.
The bulk of Philly’s top players are in their early to mid-20s. And Nick Sirianni is still a top-tier coach, regardless of how last season ended. Add it all up, and the Eagles are well-suited to dominate today, tomorrow, and over the next five years.
