The NFL is not known for being the most player-friendly league… It has punitive player conduct policies, the game takes a huge physical toll on players, and, of course, most guys’ careers have an extremely short shelf life.
Sometimes, all it takes is a couple of bad seasons before the league at large gives up on a player.
And that, my friends, is exactly what these 10 big-named players are going to be up against in 2023.
Now… without further ado, let’s get into it!
Kadarius Toney
I don’t know you guys, but I’m getting tired of hearing about how Kadarius Toney has the potential to be some game-changing wide receiver 1…
I get that there was a lot of excitement about Toney coming out of the University of Florida… On paper, the guy should be a top talent in the league. He was in pretty rarified air physically, posting a 4.37 second 40-yard dash and a 39.5-inch vertical leap… There is a reason that the New York Giants used a first-round pick on the young wide receiver… The guy was and is a freak athlete.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
But there has always seemed to be a huge disconnect between his potential and the actual out put.
I’m not sure if it is a lack of commitment or poor fundamentals or what it is… But even dating back to college his production wasn’t all that impressive. He caught just 120 balls and 12 touchdowns during his four years in Gainesville.
Safe to say that the Giants drafted his potential, not his resume…
Like I said though, the potential really hasn’t materialized at the NFL level either.
During his rookie season in New York, he made just four starts and recorded only 39 catches for 420 yards and no touchdowns.
And, to be honest, it really hasn’t gotten much better since then. The Giants were so sick of Toney’s antics that they ended up trading him to the Kansas City Chiefs just two games into the 2022 season.
If that weren’t enough of an indictment on Toney, how about the fact that after being slotted into that high-powered Chiefs offense he still only managed to make 14 catches in seven games… If you can’t put up numbers with Patrick Mahomes as your quarterback, then, frankly I don’t know what to tell you…
Kadarius did manage to redeem himself slightly by making a couple of big plays during this year’s Super Bowl, but it is high time for him to become a steady contributor during the regular season as well. And if he can’t find a way to do that in 2023 for the Chiefs, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him out of KC and maybe even out of the league sooner than later.
Elijah Moore
Elijah Moore has had one of the more puzzling starts to an NFL career in recent memory. The New York Jets took him at the top of the second round, 34th overall, in the 2021 Draft—and he’s had flashes in which he’s looked like a top-notch NFL wideout.
Unfortunately, those flashes were marred by inconsistent play and what appeared to be an inability to fit into a system and get along with his fellow players, as well as his coaches. What was even more concerning, is the issues seemed to get worse and worse as his tenure in New York progressed.
It got to the point that Moore was so disgruntled he ended up requesting a trade, something the Jets thought better of at the time, instead, benching the whiny wideout.
Once the offseason rolled around though, the Jets decided enough was enough and they dealt him to the Browns along with a third-round pick in exchange for Cleveland’s second-rounder.
Moore is now joining a Browns team that has a lot to prove, specifically its offense and its embattled quarterback, Deshaun Watson. If he is unable to fit in there and contribute consistently with all that is at stake—it could be bad news for Moore’s career.
Mac Jones
I don’t know what was more surprising: Mac Jones Pro Bowl performance during his rookie year—or his sophomore slump in 2022.
Also—I don’t know which is the real Mac Jones… Is it the guy who stepped up in a big way during the first season that the Patriots played without Tom Brady in two decades by leading the offense and managing games so efficiently that the Pats finished 10 and seven in a year when expectations were as low as they’d ever been?
Or!
Is he the visibly frustrated, error-prone QB that we saw get replaced for a stretch last year by the unheralded Bailey Zappe?
Well, we are going to find out in 2023!
As a third-year starter, Mac will no longer be insulated from real criticism… In part because the days of “rookie mistakes” are gone, but also, because his human shield, Matt Patricia is no longer calling the shots on the offense.
Granted, Mac and the Pats have the deck stacked against them in what will be a very competitive AFC East, but they will have to rise to the occasion because there is a lot at stake for the organization and its young quarterback this year.
Chase Young
Expectations were sky-high for Chase Young coming out of Ohio State… Washington took him 2nd overall in the 2020 NFL Draft—and people around the league thought the freakish edge rusher could be a generational talent.
And in 2020—it seemed like all of those people were going to be proven correct.
Young had a heck of a rookie season, recording 7.5 sacks, forcing four and recovering three fumbles—and totaling 44 tackles. This earned him a trip to the Pro Bowl and Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.
Year 2, however, well… It really couldn’t have gone much worse. Chase Young was essentially a non-factor through the first nine games of the year, recording just 1.5 sacks and 26 tackles, then proceeded to tear his ACL.
2022 wasn’t much better. In fact, it was worse! He played just three games and made only five tackles… Then, he tore his ACL again—this time, also ruptured his patella tendon.
Now, heading into his fourth NFL season, the once-promising defensive end’s career is very much hanging in the balance. Washington went as far as to decline his fifth-year option—making 2023 the epitome of a prove-it year.
Javon Kinlaw
Javon Kinlaw has had a rather dubious start to his NFL career. The San Francisco 49ers’ defensive tackle has played just 24 games in three seasons since San Fran took him 14th overall in the Draft. And to make matters worse, he really hasn’t done much to excite the team or its fans when he has been on the field.
Kinlaw has totaled just 1.5 sacks and 45 tackles across his three professional seasons… Not exactly the ROI you’d be looking for out of a first-round pick.
The Niners have made their stance on Kinlaw clear by declining the fifth-year option, meaning that the d-tackle will be a free agent at the conclusion of this season.
Kinlaw has been so inconsistent that there really isn’t even a guarantee that he gets much of an opportunity this year… but when he does—he will have to make sure he capitalizes on them… Because he really does not have a lot of rope left with the 49ers—or, frankly, the rest of the NFL.
With another weak showing, Kinlaw could be out of the league. Simply put, Javon needs to step his game up or his career could be over before it truly started.
J.C. Jackson
Heading into 2022, there was a lot of excitement in Los Angeles about the Chargers. Erhm, well, maybe not in Los Angeles, but wherever it is that the few remaining Chargers fans actually live!
The hype wasn’t just around the team’s stud quarterback, Justin Herbert, but really the team as a whole—and JC Jackson was a big reason why.
Yes, they were going to be up against it in a very challenging AFC West, but the team was really rounding into form.
The offense was already in a great place with the aforementioned Justin Herbert, as well as, Austin Ekeler, and Keenan Allen. And with Joey Bosa was up front chasing down quarterbacks—and the acquisition of the former Patriots Pro Bowl cornerback—for the first time in God knows how long—the defense seemed like it could be special.
Unfortunately, 2022 was not J.C. Jackson’s year. He was limited to just five game and didn’t look particularly impressive when he was on the field. It was a shocking fall for a guy that had totaled 17 picks and 98 tackles during his last two seasons in New England.
Jackson needs a big year in 2023 to get his career back on track.
Baker Mayfield
Baker Mayfield is running out of chances… Plain and simple.
The former number-one overall pick in the 2018 draft has really only had one good season thus far—and 2020 is getting further and further in the rearview mirror.
When you look at the totality of his resume, it is extremely underwhelming. He has gone 31 and 38 and the tape is worse than the record… His accuracy seems to come and go at random, he can’t protect the ball consistently enough to be an effective game manager, and he really hasn’t proven himself capable of winning games on his own.
To make matters worse, Mayfield has found new and inventive ways to ostracize his teammates and put himself on an island. If you aren’t going to be a good quarterback, the least you can do is find a way to contribute as a leader on the team.
Since that 11 and five year in 2020, things have gotten scary bad for Baker. He’s gone 10 and 24 and is now going to be playing for his fourth team in three years.
If Baker can’t put it together with the Buccaneers, he honestly might be out of the league in the blink of an eye because while he may be better than a lot of backup QB’s around the league, he really isn’t the kind of personality you’d want as the understudy for your starter.
Chase Claypool
Early on in his career, Chase Claypool looked like he might become the next, great Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver. The former second-round pick out of Notre Dame had a great rookie season, using every inch of that 6’ 4” and 240-pound frame to impose his will on opposing defensive backs.
Claypool hauled in 62 catches for 873 yards and nine touchdowns despite starting just six games.
But with each passing year, he continues to regress.
At first, people chalked it up to the quarterback situation in Pittsburgh, but it starting to become more apparent that the off-the-field distractions and Claypool’s lack of maturity are starting to catch up with him.
The Steelers eventually decided they’d had enough and shipped him out to Chicago part-way through the 2022 season. People expected him to be a game-changer for that Bears offense, but he was extremely underwhelming in his seven games, catching just 14 passes for 140 yards.
Now that Justin Fields has emerged as Chicago’s franchise quarterback, Claypool is running out of excuses… and time!
Jimmy Garoppolo
It feels like few guys have been better set up for success and done less than Jimmy Garoppolo… He parlayed two wins for the Patriots at the peak of their powers in to a huge deal and an opportunity to play in Kyle Shanahan’s dynamic, quarterback-friendly offense in San Fran, where he was surrounded by immense talent for six years.
The team had a ton of regular season success, going 38 and 17 during his starts—and even made it to the Super Bowl in 2020, but questions have continued to swirl around how much credit Jimmy G really deserves for any of that.
This became extremely apparent in 2022 when he was toggled in and out of the starting lineup in part because of another series of pesky injuries—and, well, inconsistent play.
Unfortunately for Garoppolo, he ran out of rope in San Fran and the team has decided to move forward with Brock Purdy at the helm.
Now, he is out of the Garden of Eden—and getting slotted into a chaotic Raiders organization. We will finally see if Jimmy can be a winner on his own—or if outside the friendly confines of Shanahan and Belichick’s coaching he’s just another mediocre quarterback.
Mekhi Becton
2023 is going to be a make-or-break year for the Jets third-year offensive lineman… His first two NFL seasons were marred by injuries—and now that Aaron Rodgers has been added into the mix, the pressure in New York is as high as it has been in over a decade.
New York’s former 11th overall pick needs to find a way to stay on the field—and to perform when he is out there.
That is… assuming he’s able to get out there on a consistent basis… Because even if he can stay healthy, he is expected to have to earn a starting spot during camp. And not at left tackle, where the team drafted him—because the Jets signed veteran Duane Brown.
Now, Becton is going to have to earn reps at right tackle, a position he’s been outspoken about not wanting to play.
Though… With the Jets declining his fifth-year option, Becton doesn’t have much of a choice. He’s going to have take what he can get and make the best of it during this pivotal season.
Which NFL player do you think most has a make-or-break season ahead of them in 2023?
