Three NFL teams that will regret their biggest offseason decision

NFL teams rarely admit an offseason move was a mistake until the evidence becomes impossible to ignore. Even then, somebody usually gets fired before the general manager finishes explaining “the vision.”

These three NFL teams made especially dangerous decisions this offseason. Each gamble could work, but the price of being wrong is awfully steep.

3. Colts paid Daniel Jones more than proven playoff quarterbacks

Daniel Jones played the best football of his career before tearing his Achilles in December. Apparently, 13 encouraging games were enough for the Indianapolis Colts to pay him more than quarterbacks with a much longer record of success.

Indianapolis signed Jones to a two-year, $88 million contract containing more than $60 million in guarantees. The deal averages $44 million per season and can reach $100 million through incentives.

For comparison, Baker Mayfield averages approximately $33.3 million with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Mayfield is not Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen. He has, however, taken the Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay to the playoffs. He won a postseason game with each franchise and led the Buccaneers to consecutive playoff appearances during his first two seasons with the team.

Jones has reached the playoffs once in seven NFL seasons.

He helped the New York Giants defeat the Minnesota Vikings in the 2022 wild-card round before New York lost 38-7 to the Philadelphia Eagles. He has not returned since.

The Colts could have allowed Jones to play under the transition tag and prove his 2025 performance was sustainable. Instead, they guaranteed him more than Tampa Bay originally guaranteed Mayfield, despite Jones recovering from a torn Achilles.

Indianapolis is paying for the quarterback it hopes Jones has become. Tampa Bay is paying less for one who has already delivered multiple postseason trips.

2. Raiders shattered the market for Tyler Linderbaum

Tyler Linderbaum is an excellent center. He is also being paid like the Las Vegas Raiders confused “excellent center” with “franchise quarterback.”

The Raiders gave Linderbaum a three-year, $81 million contract containing $60 million guaranteed. His $27 million average annual salary is $9 million higher than the next-closest center, Kansas City Chiefs star Creed Humphrey, who averages $18 million.

Las Vegas reset the market by 50%.

Improving the offensive line was necessary after drafting Fernando Mendoza first overall. Protecting a young quarterback is a smart investment. Paying a center $27 million per season is something else entirely.

Linderbaum could play at an All-Pro level and still struggle to justify that contract. One center cannot repair an entire offense, and he is now the sixth-highest-paid offensive lineman in football regardless of position.

If the Raiders remain outside the playoff picture, the deal will resemble another expensive attempt to skip several stages of a rebuild.

1. Rams made Super-Bowl-or-bust move with Myles Garrett acquisition

The Los Angeles Rams did not trade for Myles Garrett merely to win another playoff game. This is now Super Bowl or bust.

Los Angeles sent Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-rounder and a 2029 third-round selection to Cleveland. The Rams received the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, but Garrett could be spectacular and they could still regret the deal.

Verse made the Pro Bowl in each of his first two seasons and will not turn 26 until November. Garrett is 30. Los Angeles surrendered a younger Pro Bowl pass-rusher and three valuable picks to upgrade a position where it already had a budding star.

The Rams are betting everything on the remaining years of Matthew Stafford’s career. 

A conference championship appearance will not justify the price. Neither will an entertaining divisional-round loss.

Unless Stafford finishes the season holding the Lombardi Trophy, Cleveland may remember this trade much more fondly.