With the NFL regular season winding down, some teams will need to focus on what they need to do to improve their rosters. For some teams, blowing up their roster and rebuilding might be their best option going forward.

Matthew Stafford

In any major sports, teams will need to go through some type of a rebuild to improve the outlook of their organization. Even a successful organization like the New England Patriots had to go through a so-called “rebuild.” In 2000, the Patriots fired Pete Carroll as their head coach and hired Bill Belichick to take the reins. They also drafted a guy named Tom Brady in the sixth round of the NFL Draft.

In Belichick's first season, New England would finish with an abysmal 5-11 record. They would reshape their roster for the following year — with Drew Bledsoe suffering a gruesome injury early in the season.

Tom Brady, Patriots

Patriots faithful thought the season was lost until Brady stepped in and led them to an 11-5 record and got the Patriots their first Super Bowl. The rest is history as the Patriots have become the blueprint of what all teams in the NFL strive to become.

With that being said, here are a few teams who should consider starting from scratch and rebuild their rosters this off-season.

3. Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins could be in for a huge change over this summer throughout their whole franchise. The Adam Gase experiment could be coming to an end—with him having another disappointing season as head coach.

Since being hired in 2016, Gase has reached the playoffs once—losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2016 Wild Card game. The Dolphins future seemed to be in good hands as they made the playoffs in his first season at the helm.

Since then, the Dolphins have a record of 13-19—missing the playoffs in both seasons. That won't cut it, especially when you're in the same division as the Patriots. Some have said his play-calling and his grasp—or lack thereof—on the locker room has taken a nose dive. An embarrassing loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 17 could be the last straw for Gase and company going forward.

The Dolphins could also move on from their quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, after playing all six of his seasons in Miami. He's been injured for a good portion of this season, while he missed all of 2017 with a knee injury.

Ryan Tannehill
CP

It's hard to trust him going forward and it doesn't help much that he hasn't been impressive when he does suit up. It would be wise for the Dolphins to clean house and start fresh in a lot of areas.

With the Patriots reign over the AFC East likely coming to an end in the next couple of years, the Dolphins will need to be ready to supplant them as the next team up.

2. Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions decided to hire Matt Patricia as their head coach in 2018. Not much changed for the struggling franchise, as they are 6-10 as the season has ended. They did defeat the Green Bay Packers in Week 17 in impressive fashion, but everyone knows that the Packers have issues of their own.

Patricia came from Belichick's staff in New England—with Lions fans hoping for him to instill a winning mentality in the Motor City. That plan went awry in Patricia's first season, as many are already questioning his ability to be a head coach in the NFL.

It's unlikely they decide to move on from Patricia this early, but they could look to move Matthew Stafford if they decide to begin anew this off-season. I'm one of the select few who believes Stafford is still a franchise quarterback.

He could definitely help teams in need of a quarterback like the Jacksonville Jaguars, Washington Redskins, or New York Giants. Maybe a change of scenery would benefit both sides at this point.

The Lions have failed to surround him with consistent talent and offensive line. They likely found their future running back in Kerryon Johnson, but it may be too late to help Stafford.

matthew stafford, Lions

The Lions haven't won a playoff game since 1991—with them needing to completely overhaul their roster in hopes to change their losing ways.

1. Cincinnati Bengals

Could it finally be the year that Marvin Lewis gets fired as the Cincinnati Bengals head coach? This year it has been talked about more than ever, so it could actually come into fruition. Even though it hasn't happened in years, there's no way that the Bengals don't consider moving on.

Lewis has been the head coach of the Bengals for 16 years, failing to make the playoffs in all of them. He has reached the playoffs just seven times, with the last time being in 2015.

It's been three straight seasons that Cincinnati has been under .500, with a change needing to happen to right the ship going forward. Lewis seems to be a well-respected guy in NFL circles, but so was Jeff Fisher—and we know how that ended up.

The Bengals will also need to consider making a change under center. Andy Dalton has underwhelmed as the starter since 2011, with this year possibly being the tipping point for him and Bengals faithful.

marvin lewis, john ross

Dalton suffered a thumb injury that had himself placed on injured reserve in Week 12. His season ended with him throwing for 2,566 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. It was yet another less-than-stellar year from Dalton, leaving the door open for a possible change at the quarterback position.

Like the Lions, it's almost been two decades since the last time the Bengals won a playoff game. Injuries have factored into that, but at some point, the Bengals have to make changes to hopefully create a new culture for the future.

With the Steelers run with Ben Roethlisberger coming to an end soon, the Bengals will need to get going with their rebuild in hopes to be fighting for a spot as the top dog in the AFC North.