JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 29: Ryquell Armstead #23 of the Jacksonville Jaguars catches a pass for a touchdown from Gardner Minshew II #15 during the third quarter of a game against the Indianapolis Colts at TIAA Bank Field on December 29, 2019, in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

The NFL offseason is pretty much complete, but these five teams did a poor job getting ready for the 2020 campaign.

We are now past the draft and the first big wave of free agency, so the majority of NFL rosters have taken shape. There are still a few top free agents who can swing team’s fortunes on the market, but for the most part, the heavy lifting of an NFL offseason is done.

A lot of franchises have done very good work to get ready for the 2020 season, but these five teams have set themselves up very poorly for this year. Let’s start out with a look at a team that could end up tanking for Trevor Lawrence, the Jacksonville Jaguars.

5. Jacksonville Jaguars

Three years ago, the Jacksonville Jaguars were mere minutes from upsetting the New England Patriots in Foxboro to earn their first trip to the Super Bowl. Now the Jaguars are in the midst of another rebuild and ticketed for a last-place finish in the AFC South.

Salary cap issues have played a part in the Jaguars’ decision-making, resulting in early trades of A.J. Buoye and Calais Campbell while wide receiver Marqise Lee was released. Yannick Ngakoue has also demanded a trade while getting into a bizarre Twitter feud with owner Shad Khan, creating even more of a sideshow for the franchise.

Jacksonville’s finances led to a very quiet offseason, including the decision not to pick up the fifth-year option on Leonard Fournette’s contract, which should be a precursor to his exit after the season. Gardner Minshew is in for a long year as the Jaguars could lose a lot of football games.

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MIAMI, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 22: Andy Dalton #14 of the Cincinnati Bengals scrambles with the ball against the Miami Dolphins during the second quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on December 22, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

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In a scenario that would have typically only have happened in Madden, Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 2020 offseason proved to be one for the ages.

The word crazy might be putting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ offseason too lightly. The only thing more surreal is that we may not even get to watch this team in action this season.

Keeping the defense together was a “top priority” for the Buccaneers, as coach Bruce Arians said at the NFL Draft Combine. Aside from losing Carl Nassib to the Las Vegas Raiders, the Buccaneers kept every single starter on their defense.

Shaq Barrett received the franchise tag, and that was the end for Jameis Winston on the Buccaneers roster. “We are checking what’s behind door number one, two and three,” Arians said at the combine. “I know what I’m doing at the quarterback position. Jameis Winston doesn’t know, but the team does.” Later, we would find out just which quarterback was behind each door.

Tom Brady announced that he would continue his playing career, just not with the New England Patriots.

Brady saw his name attached to a few teams, with the frontrunners being the Los Angeles Chargers and Raiders. The Buccaneers found themselves in the mix as a possible outside chance at signing the future Hall of Fame quarterback.

TB x TB

On March 17, the football world could forget about the coronavirus pandemic — if only for just a moment — when news broke that Brady was coming to the Buccaneers. It took a few days longer than a contract signing typically would, with all of the specific requirements and stay-at-home orders being issued for many states.

For those keeping score, door numbers one, two and three were Tom Brady, Teddy Bridgewater and then Winston as the third option.

After it was official that Brady would be the Buccaneers’ quarterback for two years, the rumor mill started churning. We heard rumors of Julian Edelman, Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski — you name it, we heard it.

“It’s not gonna happen,” Arians said of the team signing Brown. “There’s no room, and probably not enough money, there’s just not a fit here,” Arians continued on to Tiki Barber and Brandon Tierney.

Gronk spikes retirement

Gronkowski signed with the WWE and made his debut at WrestleMania 36 as the host of the show. Not only would he interview, he actually became the company’s 24/7 champion after pinning his friend Mojo Rawley. Gronk was doing everything he could outside of football and with his infectious personality, shows welcomed him with open arms.

Andy Cohen asked Gronkowski if he’d consider coming out of retirement on an episode of Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live that aired April 20. “I’m feeling good right now. I’m happy where I’m at. And you just never know, man. You just never know. I’m not totally done. But I’ve got to get that feeling back,” Gronkowski said.

Just 24 hours later, Gronkowski unretired and was traded, along with a seventh-round pick for a Buccaneers fourth-round pick. FOX Sports insider Jay Glazer reported that Gronkowski already had completed his physicals to be traded, so it seems that this was in the works for some time already. Ian Rapoport wanted to make sure that WWE fans knew Gronkowski still needs to defend his title — anytime, anywhere.

The Buccaneers skill position roster currently looks like this:

• QB: Tom Brady
• RB: Ronald Jones
• WR: Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Scotty Miller
• TE: Rob Gronkowski, O.J. Howard, Cameron Brate

Your team may have had a crazy offseason, but it wasn’t Tampa Bay crazy.

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The Carolina Panthers seem set to move on from Cam Newton, and these five teams should have some interest in trading for him.

With Ron Rivera gone as head coach, the next step for the Carolina Panthers to move into a new era is to move on from quarterback Cam Newton. He is entering the final year of his contract, and the team can clear $19.1 million in cap space ($2 million in dead money) by cutting or trading him.

Other teams could wait for Newton to be cut, though it’s not necessarily guaranteed the Panthers will go that route right now. With ample other options available, via free agency or trade, getting in front of any line to trade for Newton might prove palatable for some teams.

Newton of course has questions about his health, and he will turn 31 years old in May. A shoulder injury sapped his effectiveness as the 2018 season wore, and a lingering foot issue eventually costing him 14 games last year. But when he was last fully healthy, during the first half of 2018, he was playing some of the best football of his career.

The Panthers have let it out that they expect Newton to pass a physical in March, just in time for the start of the new league year. The only way leaking that idea right now makes sense is to prove to other teams that he’s healthy, and thus create a trade market.

If Newton is not simply cut at the outset of the new league year, these five teams should be interested in making a trade for him.

5. New England Patriots

Any idea the Patriots will pursue another quarterback this offseason is obviously based on the assumption Tom Brady signs elsewhere as he considers his options in free agency. But he seems set to do just that, and while the most-likely scenario still feels like Brady returning to the Patriots the team may simply not want to match the kind of contract he could get elsewhere if he wants to leave.

The Patriots could promise Brady a revamped set of weapons as part of their effort to keep him, or in an effort get him to take less money yet again. But (a presumably healthy) Newton with that same supplemented talent around him would have a ton of upside, and New England wouldn’t have to commit to the 2015 league MVP beyond 2020 until they saw him on the field.

The Patriots should know Brady’s plans better than any other team, now and looking toward March 18. But as they consider their own other options, Newton stands out.

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The Cincinnati Bengals are working with Andy Dalton to facilitate a trade, and these five teams could enter the mix to make a deal.

With the No. 1 overall pick in April, it feels like a foregone conclusion the Cincinnati Bengals will draft LSU quarterback Joe Burrow. That embrace of a new era naturally means leaving the previous era behind, and according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the team is working with Andy Dalton to facilitate a trade to another team “when the time is right.”

Dalton started 13 games last season, around a brief post-bye week turn to overmatched rookie Ryan Finley. Without A.J. Green all season, Dalton threw for 3,494 yards in those 13 games on the worst team in the league. He appears to have something left in the tank, and there should be opportunities out there for him to at least compete for a starting job.

Of course the Bengals can just cut Dalton, and clear his entire $17.5 million salary and $17.7 million cap hit off the books with no ramifications. They surely don’t want to pay him that to be the No. 2 quarterback, so teams with any possible interest could just wait it out. But with the depth of quarterback options out there this offseason, a team that waits too long may be left choosing between holding a bag with Dalton and options they’d rather not turn to.

So the Bengals are in a rare position where they have some leverage to use. They could extract a draft pick from a team that thinks it’ll fail to get the higher profile signal callers who may be available, but yet will be looking for a new quarterback to some degree.

These five teams should have Dalton on their trade radar now, if he wasn’t there before.

5. Los Angeles Chargers

With the official announcement earlier this week they are parting ways with Philip Rivers, the Chargers are in the market for a quarterback, and the possibilities are wide-ranging (if not entirely realistic). Free agency, trades and the draft — with multiple combinations possible within those avenues — should all be on the table for Chargers general manager Tom Telesco as the franchise heads into the post-Rivers era.

The Chargers are not far removed from going 12-4 in 2018. If they bring back free agents Austin Ekeler and Hunter Henry, and make some moves to upgrade the offensive line, the pieces (sans knowing who the quarterback will be) of an offense that could compete for a playoff spot again next season will theoretically be in place. Dalton is serviceable to above-average, and can be raised to a higher level by what’s around him. The Chargers, even if they only want him as a bridge to a rookie like Justin Herbert, can provide a favorable situation to put up numbers next season.

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The New Orleans Saints fell short in the NFC playoffs for the third year in a row. Here are five offseason moves they can make to get back to the playoffs.

For the third year in a row, the New Orleans Saints have been eliminated from the NFC playoffs in heartbreaking fashion. New Orleans, the No. 3 seed in the NFC this year, lost at home to the No. 6-seeded Minnesota Vikings 26-20 in overtime. The Saints had lofty expectations of reaching their second Super Bowl in franchise history, yet they came up short once again.

New Orleans faces a critical offseason for the franchise. Yes, the Saints will likely be the favorite to win the NFC South yet again, but we have to wonder if the Super Bowl window has closed on the Drew Brees/Sean Payton era of Saints football. Brees is 40-years-old and will be a free agent this offseason. New Orleans is running out of time to get him Lombardi Trophy No. 2.

That being said, general manager Mickey Loomis has built a marvelous roster in the Big Easy. The Saints have the on-field talent to compete with just about anybody in the league. So there are a few reasons to believe the Saints can get back to the NFC playoffs next year and maybe make some noise.

Here are five offseason moves the Saints need to make to get back to the playoffs in 2020.

5. Make necessary adjustments to linebacker unit

One thing that New Orleans needs to address this offseason is its linebackers. The Saints have a few marquee players hitting free agency from that position group. Most notably, seven-year pro, A.J. Klein will be an unrestricted free agent this spring. He has spent the last three years with the Saints after being a fifth-round pick by the Carolina Panthers out of Iowa State.

Stephone Anthony and Manti Te’o will also be free agents, meaning the Saints will be looking to bolster the middle of their defense this offseason. The Saints may look to address this position group in the 2020 NFL Draft, re-sign any of these three free agents or look for other players on the open market.

The reason this position group is so important for the Saints to address is that they can’t afford to have bell-cow running backs like Dalvin Cook run the ball down their throats to dictate terms in the postseason. If New Orleans gets stronger at linebacker, then they will have the defense to carry an aging Brees to the Super Bowl.

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If the New York Jets really want to part with Le’Veon Bell, these five teams should pursue a deal for him in the offseason.

The NFL trade deadline has become more active in recent years, but one report on Tuesday really came out of left field. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reported the Jets were looking to trade running back Le’Veon Bell before the 4 p.m ET deadline.

Bell has been a big disappointment so far this season, with 349 rushing yards (3.2 yards per carry and one touchdown and 32 receptions for 187 yards and another score through seven games. Some of the issues around him were easy to see, but others like quarterback Sam Darnold missing time with mono and an enlarged spleen, were not easy to see coming.

Bell signed a four-year, $52.5 million contract ($27 million guaranteed) with the Jets last offseason. His signing appears to have been a source of disagreement between head coach Adam Gase and since-fired general manager Mike Maccagnan, with a report suggesting Gase did not want Bell (likely with the cost in mind though).

According to Spotrac, a trade of Bell before Tuesday afternoon’s deadline would leave a total of $13.19 million in dead money on the Jets’ salary cap over the next two years. An acquiring team would have taken on cap hits of $1.7 million, $13.5 million, $11.5 million and $13 million from here to the end of Bell’s contract.

But the fully guaranteed money on Bell’s deal goes way after the 2020 season. That gives the Jets an out, with a $4 million dead money hit to take on in 2021, while also possibly making a trade more palatable for an acquiring team looking to next year.

Spotrac and Over the Cap differ on the exact numbers, but the Jets’ dead money hits drop if they trade Bell between the start of league business in March regardless of if a deal happens before or after June 1. A trade would even allow them to clear some cap space.

Even with a significant contract in play, other teams will have interest in Bell if the Jets want to move him once the offseason comes. In particular, these five teams may see themselves in a win-now time frame and swing a deal.

5. Buffalo Bills

Mehta pointed to the Bills as a team that use a “bell cow’” back like Bell ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline, as they sit at 5-2 and try to bolster their status as a legit contender. Devin Singletary has shown some promise as a rookie this season, but looking to 2020 the depth chart dries up with Frank Gore on a one-year deal and T.J. Yeldon easy to part with one year into his two-year pact.

Cap space will not be an issue for Buffalo to acquire Bell, with over $88 million available right now (third-most in the league, via Over The Cap). Maybe they part with a future draft pick of two in an effort to make a push next year, while Josh Allen is on his rookie contract and there’s financial room to make a notable addition or two.

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