NFL Offseason: Patriots, Packers Lead List of Teams Facing Big Questions

The NFL offseason is about to give way to the NFL preseason . Which teams did the most to improve over the past few months? The Los Angeles Rams revamped their secondary and traded for superstar pass rusher Myles Garrett , while the New York Jets created an entirely new defense, traded for a new starting quarterback and made three first-round picks.

Several teams appeared to improve on paper this offseason , but what about the teams that didn't? The Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks lost important pieces such as running back Kenneth Walker III , safety Coby Bryant and offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. The Philadelphia Eagles , meanwhile, lost offensive line legend Jeff Stoutland, are working with yet another new offensive coordinator and traded away star wideout A.J. Brown . It's safe to say Jalen Hurts is under a microscope in 2026.

Let's break down the five teams that had the worst NFL offseasons, starting with a club in the NFC South.

5. Atlanta Falcons

It's the beginning of a new era in Atlanta, but it remains to be seen whether that era will be successful. The offseason certainly didn't get off to the right start for the Falcons , as Defensive Rookie of the Year finalist James Pearce Jr . faced several troubling charges after a scary domestic dispute . Pearce got the deal of a lifetime, as all charges will be dropped if he completes a pretrial intervention program. However, the NFL will likely still suspend him.

I have questions about a lot of what the Falcons did this offseason. Matt Ryan is a franchise legend, but how will he fare as the president of football in Atlanta? He has more organizational power than new general manager Ian Cunningham, which is why the Chicago Bears did not receive a compensatory pick.

Ryan hired two-time NFL Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski, formerly of the Cleveland Browns , to serve as the lead man, but he comes with questions as well. Stefanski was part of the egregious Deshaun Watson trade that led to Baker Mayfield being pushed out of Cleveland, and he's gone 8-26 over his last two seasons despite having an elite defense led by a generational pass rusher. The Browns went 5-12 last year with the No. 4 defense in the NFL. Why couldn't Stefanski's offense get off the ground?

Some would argue Stefanski didn't have the right quarterback in Cleveland. OK, but the situation is arguably worse in Atlanta. Michael Penix Jr . is coming off the third torn ACL of his football career and is 4-8 as an NFL starter. Then the Falcons made the puzzling decision to quickly sign Tua Tagovailoa . The Miami Dolphins had to take on an NFL-record $99 million in dead cap just to get rid of the former No. 5 overall pick, and there's no denying Tagovailoa has regressed since his Pro Bowl season in 2023. Stefanski has coached some weird quarterback rooms over the past couple of years. Now he's just collecting lefties.

I was shocked  Drake London received a $141 million deal . That $35.2 million AAV makes him the No. 3 highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL, ahead of superstars like Justin Jefferson and CeeDee Lamb . London is a solid player, but I don't think he's a top-three talent at his position. You know who I do think has the potential to be a top-three player at his position? Running back Bijan Robinson and tight end Kyle Pitts . Where is their money? The Falcons better get moving before the Detroit Lions and Jahmyr Gibbs beat them to the punch in resetting the running back market.

The Falcons had what I would describe as a middle-of-the-road draft ( Lead NFL Draft Insider Ryan Wilson ranked it No. 14 ), so there's nothing to complain about there other than Atlanta not having a first-round pick because of the Pearce trade. The Falcons also stuck to the bargain bin in free agency. Their two biggest deals totaled just $9 million in value. Those contracts went to kicker Nick Folk and punter  Jake Bailey . I don't think a team "loses" free agency just by not signing anyone, but did the Falcons really get better this offseason?

Atlanta has legitimate weapons on offense and some pieces on defense, but if it doesn't have a quarterback, regression is imminent.

4. Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are one of six NFL teams to have made the playoffs in each of the past three seasons. There are NFL franchises that have never made the playoffs in three straight seasons, but expectations in Green Bay are different.

The Packers have finished as the NFC's No. 7 seed in three straight seasons, and no one was picking them to win the Super Bowl this past year after they limped to the finish line on a four-game losing streak. Green Bay has established itself as a middle-of-the-road team, and the problem is I think it got worse this offseason.

Green Bay lost its most reliable wide receiver in Romeo Doubs , linebacker Quay Walker and left tackle Rasheed Walker in free agency. The Packers also parted ways with cornerback Nate Hobbs and offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins , and traded pass rusher Rashan Gary to the Dallas Cowboys and wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks to the Eagles. As far as additions go, the headliners were veteran linebacker Zaire Franklin , defensive lineman Javon Hargrave and South Carolina defensive back Brandon Cisse .

Then factor in that star pass rusher Micah Parsons is expected to start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, which means he will miss at least four games, and the Packers should be worried about star running back Josh Jacobs , who is facing domestic violence charges.

When you look at the NFC North, the Bears are coming off their best season in more than a decade, the Lions are always going to be competitive and the Minnesota Vikings have reason for optimism with new quarterback Kyler Murray . Talking heads have tried to label the Packers as sleepers in 2024 and 2025, ever since that impressive 2023 playoff run in Jordan Love's first season as a starter. However, I feel less optimistic about Green Bay than I have in years.

NFC North win totals: The Vikings are being overlooked, while the Packers are being overrated Jordan Dajani

3. New England Patriots

There's a narrative that some are afraid to address the Mike Vrabel drama. It's the biggest story of the offseason, yes, but we also deal in facts, and neither party will come out and admit what we saw in the photos published by the New York Post/Page Six. We have a resignation letter from Dianna Russini and  worthless word salad  from the Patriots head coach in his press conferences instead.

This became a bona fide football story when Vrabel stepped out of the office for the final day of the 2026 NFL Draft , but this is also a leader of men who was shamed for a major personal mistake. Alleged mistake. Vrabel would love for this story to fade away, but has his confidence taken a hit? What about the way his players view him? The reigning NFL Coach of the Year was always seen as a hard-nosed, authoritative figure capable of getting the most out of his players. How about now? To make a list of NFL teams that had the worst offseasons and not include the Patriots would be disingenuous.

To make matters worse, the Patriots are the prime regression candidate in 2026. After going 14-3 last season with help from the easiest schedule since the turn of the millennium, the Patriots have the sixth-toughest schedule in 2026, including the toughest Weeks 1-4 strength of schedule by any team in 40 years. They open with a Super Bowl rematch against the Seahawks, then face the Pittsburgh Steelers , travel to the Jacksonville Jaguars and visit the Buffalo Bills . All four teams made the playoffs last year.

Imagine if the Patriots get off to a slow start in September. That could breathe even more life into the controversy New England and its fans want to go away. People are still waiting for the next shoe to drop. What will The Athletic's investigation find, and what will Russini have to say in the future?

2. Arizona Cardinals

It's hard to imagine a 3-14 team getting worse, but DraftKings has assigned the lowest preseason win total to the Arizona Cardinals at Over/Under 3.5. It's not just because they reside in the toughest division in the NFL. In fact, Arizona became the first team in NFL history to finish nine games worse than the rest of its division rivals last year. The fact of the matter is that one of the worst teams in the NFL did not get better this offseason.

The Cardinals fired Jonathan Gannon for Mike LaFleur, who spent the past three seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Rams. However, we all know that offense is Sean McVay's baby. The last time we saw LaFleur in charge of an offense was in 2021 and 2022 with the Jets and Zach Wilson . They ranked in the bottom eight in the league in both total offense and scoring offense. His top offensive lieutenant in Arizona is Nathaniel Hackett, who was one of the worst one-and-done head coaches in NFL history. He spent last year as a defensive analyst with the Packers.

The Cardinals were also a team expected to be in the market for a new quarterback. Instead, they will just run it back with Jacoby Brissett , who went 1-11 last year. Granted, he played better than Kyler Murray, but where would Brissett rank among starting NFL quarterbacks right now? He does have a dynamic new running mate in No. 3 overall pick Jeremiyah Love , but I don't think he can carry an entire offense by himself. It will take a collective effort from Love, Trey McBride , Marvin Harrison Jr . and much better play from a revamped offensive line.

It's understood that Arizona is in a rebuild, but Monti Ossenfort should start updating his LinkedIn profile. The Cardinals didn't inspire optimism with their coaching hires, failed to draft a top quarterback prospect and selected a running back at No. 3 overall. Unsurprisingly, they are expected to be the worst team in the NFL this season.

1. Jacksonville Jaguars

The reigning AFC South champion Jaguars did not earn high marks from pundits when it came to free agency or the draft. The Jags objectively got worse in free agency, losing linebacker Devin Lloyd , running back Travis Etienne , cornerback Greg Newsome II and safety Andrew Wingard . The only players Jacksonville signed from outside the organization this year were reserves Chris Rodriguez Jr. , Ameer Abdullah , Dane Jackson and Trystan Colon-Castillo .

In the draft, the Jaguars put together what many would call the worst class this year. It's not fair to judge an entire draft class before the players have taken a single snap, but the picks were a bit confusing. The Jags drafted Texas A&M tight end Nate Boerkircher at No. 56 overall. He's going to be an older rookie who caught just 19 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns last season, but offensive coordinator Grant Udinski has said he's going to change their offense. What?

Jaguars 2026 NFL Draft class

Player Pick selected CBS Sports' prospect ranking

TE Nate Boerkircher, Texas A&M

56

86

DL Albert Regis , Texas A&M

81

140

OL Emmanuel Pregnon , Oregon

88

65

S Jalen Huskey , Maryland

100

230

EDGE Wesley Williams , Duke

119

356

TE Tanner Koziol , Houston

164

233

WR Josh Cameron , Baylor

191

217

WR CJ Williams , Stanford

203

475

EDGE Zach Durfee , Washington

233

394

LB Parker Hughes , MTSU

240

480

While the Jaguars rank No. 1 on our list of worst offseasons, they are different from the rest of the teams included because there are still reasons to be optimistic about them. Jacksonville won the division last year with a first-year coach, had an MVP finalist in quarterback Trevor Lawrence , and saw the defense rank No. 1 in rushing yards allowed per game and No. 2 in takeaways. I really do like Liam Coen's coaching staff, as both Udinski and defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile received head-coaching interest this offseason. That will likely be the case next offseason as well.

Plus, the Jaguars did not get major contributions

_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-worst-offseasons-2026/)._