Predicting the five worst teams in NFL for 2025: Browns, Saints poised for bad years with dire QB situations

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As another NFL season is set to begin, 32 teams will chase the dreams of winning the Super Bowl. Every team has an opportunity to win it all come Week 1, and a fast start can certainly alter the course of a season. 

Even though all 32 teams have a chance at a Super Bowl title — and the parity of the NFL is stronger than ever — reality has to be faced with some franchises in 2025. There are some teams that just aren’t going to win a championship this season. 

Whether the quarterback situation isn’t good, the coach is dealt with factors beyond his control, mismanagement of the front office, or the roster being bad, there’s always a multitude of factors why some franchises are going to be bad every season. This holds true for 2025, as there are certain teams around the league that just aren’t going to be good. 

Some teams have to be bad in a 32-team league. Every year for CBS Sports, the prediction is made on which teams will be the worst in the NFL — and these five teams fit that moniker this year.

The Browns have been trending in this direction for years, thanks to giving Deshaun Watson $230 million guaranteed three years ago. Thanks to Joe Flacco leading Cleveland to the playoffs in 2023, the Browns haven’t been a complete disaster in the Watson era. 

Flacco is back as the starting quarterback, winning a four-man quarterback battle between Kenny Pickett (who has since been traded), and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. Slim pickings for the Browns here, but all are probably better than a healthy Watson (on the PUP list with an Achilles injury). There isn’t much on offense to work with, and there’s a 40-year old Flacco at quarterback. Points will be hard to come by.

Kevin Stefanski is a good coach and the defense is going to be a problem for opposing offenses, but there just isn’t enough depth on the offensive side of the ball for it to matter. The Browns are likely to turn the page from Flacco in favor of Gabriel or Sanders at some point, setting themselves up to draft their quarterback of the future in 2026.

This is a team that needs to hit the reset button.

Another team with a quarterback situation that’s less than ideal, and this one is worse than the Browns. The Saints had an intriguing battle for the starting quarterback job between Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough — two quarterbacks who never won a game in the NFL (Shough is a rookie). There is some talent on offense with Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed — but Derek Carr’s retirement made things very difficult for rookie coach Kellen Moore. 

The Saints are one of the older rosters in the NFL (20th by average age) they lack top-end talent at several key positions. Their good players on the defense are in their mid-30s (Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis), but they have some promising talent on that side of the ball. The offensive line may also be a concern throughout the year.

Salary cap hell has put the Saints in this position. This is a rebuilding year in New Orleans, as the Saints need to set themselves up for the best draft position possible. This team isn’t going to win many games with who they employ at quarterback.

The Titans were blessed with the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, and selected Cameron Ward with that pick. Tennessee needed a quarterback and will get to use the entire 2025 season to develop Ward in Brian Callahan’s offense. This is a team that’s still in rebuilding mode, and the 2025 season is about making Ward a success — not winning games (which will come if Ward plays well).

Tennessee has a chance in the AFC South, but this roster isn’t very strong. The defense leaves a lot to be desired, and the Titans will have trouble getting to the quarterback even with Jeffery Simmons around. The secondary also isn’t very good, which means a lot of points will be given up. The offense will be better with Ward around, but does he have the pass catchers to put up big numbers? 

One good thing Tennessee did was spend on the offensive line, as that unit should be a strength of this team. Keeping Ward upright is paramount, which is critical toward the Titans future with him as the franchise quarterback. 

Tennessee is still in a rebuild, and the Titans may have a quarterback in the process.

This season just feels like it’s going to be a disaster for the Colts. Anyone who has watched Daniel Jones with the Giants over the past six years knows he’s not the answer at quarterback. The Colts gave up on Anthony Richardson way too easily after two years, and now the franchise is at the point of no return with the former No. 4 overall pick. 

So why is Jones the starting quarterback? The Colts are banking on steady quarterback play getting them more wins in a weak AFC South, while Tyler Warren gives them a significant boost in the passing game. The Colts can run the ball with Jonathan Taylor and the offensive line is still good — even with the offseason losses of Ryan Kelly and Will Fries. Trusting Jones in a 17-game season is going to be significantly difficult, and it’s hard for Jones to magically improve less than 12 months after getting cut by the Giants.

The defense also can’t be any worse under Lou Anarumo than it was under Gus Bradley, but they’ll be charged with a tough task if Jones turns the football over and takes sacks like he did in New York. This quarterback situation may doom the Colts, and Shane Steichen’s tenure as coach.

An annual selection for this list, the Giants are a better team in 2025. Their defense is going to cause problems all season as Abdul Carter joins a front with Dexter Lawrence, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns. Jevon Holland was another free agent signing that will pay massive dividends for that group. The Giants are going to change a game or two because of their defense.

So why is New York going to be one of the worst teams in 2025? Their schedule is beyond brutal, and the talent just doesn’t match up to compete with the heavyweights on their calendar. Based on combined winning percentages from last season, the Giants have the toughest schedule in the league — opponents have a combined .574 win percentage. Eight of their first 12 opponents were playoff teams from last season — and the Giants face 10 playoff teams from last season in total. Doesn’t help New York plays in the NFC East, which has games against the NFC North and AFC West in the schedule rotation this year. 

The Giants have a first-round quarterback in Jaxson Dart waiting in the wings, but when will they give him the starting quarterback job? Russell Wilson struggled at the end of last season and now has the worst offensive line in football (over the last five years) blocking for him. There are playmakers on offense, but the unit is expected to be one of the worst in football again. 

This is a better Giants team than in years past, and the franchise is headed in the right direction. New York may lose a lot of games anyway. 

This news was originally published on this post .

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