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With the NFL Draft over a month away and the start of training camps just about four months out, there is still plenty of time for all 32 across-the-league teams to address their biggest roster needs before the start of the 2025 regular season. But even in just the first few weeks of the offseason, we've already seen a handful of teams make moves that will be consequential to their success and shape the direction that the upcoming season goes. According to Judy Battista of NFL.com, no two teams improved their standing as much as the Chicago Bears and the New England Patriots.
If you've been paying attention, then you know by now that both the Bears and the Patriots wasted no time after their seasons ended to ensure that their prized second-year quarterbacks — Caleb Williams in Chicago, Drake Maye in New England — would no longer be weighed down by coaching staffs that had no business overseeing the formative years of a pair of players who are expected to be the face of their respective franchise moving forward. The Bears pounced on Ben Johnson, formerly the whiz-kid offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions, and the Patriots brought in recent Ring of Honor inductee Mike Vrabel.
Neither team stopped there, though. Both the Bears and Patriots aggressively pursued upgrades throughout the offseason, with Chicago making a pair of trades and a handful of smart free agency signings to address the roster's biggest weaknesses, while New England spent more money than anyone else in free agency, with an emphasis on building the kind of defense that Mike Vrabel-coached teams have historically fielded.
“The reset for 2025 has been dramatic, headlined by the hiring of Ben Johnson as head coach and turbocharged during free agency, with the overhaul of the interior of Chicago's offensive line (Williams was sacked 68 times last season),” Battista writes. “The Bears also signed defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and rising edge rusher Dayo Odeyingbo to play opposite Montez Sweat.”
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As for the Patriots, while Battista notes that there is still work to be done in giving Drake Maye the kind of support he needs to maximize his potential, spending so heavily on instant-impact players on the opposite side of the ball should propel the Patriots back into the Playoff mix as soon as this year.
“Through the first week of free agency, the Pats signed players to contracts with a combined total value of $279.3 million, the most in the NFL, according to Spotrac. That money bought a defensive overhaul that included defensive lineman Milton Williams, pass rushers Harold Landry and K’Lavon Chaisson, cornerback Carlton Davis, and linebacker Robert Spillane. Vrabel is building a tough, physical defense.”
Ultimately, the success of both of these franchises will hinge on whether Caleb Williams and Drake Maye can live up to the hype that comes with being the 1st and 3rd picks in the NFL Draft respectively. In Chicago, Williams needs to be the franchise savior. In New England, there are hopes that Maye will become the next Tom Brady. Either way, it's a nearly impossible standard to live up to.
