Things are getting real in the 2025 NFL season.
Playoff races are heating up with two weeks left, teams are starting to think about the future, and fantasy league championships are upon us. So with all that in mind, insiders Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano have been calling sources around the NFL for the latest news and buzz on key situations heading into Week 17.
This week, we asked around on Joe Burrow and his Bengals outlook. Could the star quarterback want out of Cincinnati? Should we read into his recent comments? And which other QBs could theoretically be looking at changes this offseason?
Jeremy and Dan also poked around on the Jaguars, who are in the middle of a six-game win streak and are in the AFC 1-seed mix. They also gathered reaction to Pro Bowl rosters, which were announced Tuesday morning. It's all here, as our national reporters answer big questions and empty their notebooks heading into Week 17.
Graziano: I think it's unlikely he wants out. People have been trying to get him out of Cincinnati since before the Bengals even drafted him, and he has never expressed any desire to not be there. Theories about what was bothering him at that news conference a couple of weeks ago are wide-ranging, with some believing he was going through something difficult off the field, and others believing he's sick of the way the Bengals operate. We don't know for sure, but I don't get the sense the Bengals are worried he's going to force his way out.
Fowler: Same, Dan. My sense is the Bengals have not received any indication that Burrow wants out of Cincinnati. One team source believed that Burrow was simply having a "bad day" two weeks ago at that initial news conference that sparked the consternation, saying, "I truly think he wants to be here," and that he has been great in game prep. Assuming the Bengals will run it back with coach Zac Taylor, whose contract runs through the 2027 season, then all signs point to Burrow staying with the franchise next season.
But it feels like a crucial year for both the direction of the franchise and Burrow's place within it. Would Burrow like to see improvements to the roster and the overall strength of the team? Most likely. But even then, league executives I've spoken to see no chance Cincinnati ever considers trading him. He's under contract for four more seasons.
Graziano: That's the thing, right? He has been vocal in the past about decisions he'd like to see the team make, most prominently last year when he openly lobbied for new deals for Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson. I don't think he's shy about expressing these sentiments in private, either, and if there are things he'd like the front office to do better, I'm confident the front office knows about them. A big part of the issue with Burrow at this point is whether he can stay healthy, but other than that weird Week 15 no-show against the Ravens, the Bengals have been an awfully good offense when Burrow has been healthy. They need to fix the other side of the ball.
Fowler: Correct. The question is really pretty simple: Can the defense improve its personnel over the next four to five months? If it struggles mightily for another year, I could see Burrow being more forceful. There's simply not enough talent on that side to make a run at the AFC North. A few draft picks -- defensive end Myles Murphy and corners DJ Turner and Dax Hill -- look like keepers. But that's not enough. The Bengals will need to get creative in free agency and the draft to properly support Burrow and the offense.
Fowler: Let's set the line at six. The list of possibilities include the Jets, Dolphins, Browns, Vikings, Colts, Raiders, Cardinals, Falcons, Saints and Steelers. Several of these teams could keep their current starter, most notably the Colts, who are aiming to retain Daniel Jones. The Vikings must decide on whether to bring in competition for J.J. McCarthy, and the Steelers will await Aaron Rodgers' plans. Multiple teams could stick with their rookies, too; Tyler Shough in New Orleans is making a compelling case.
The most fascinating situation has to be Miami, which must decide whether to pay Tua Tagovailoa $54 million to walk away (assuming no trade) and start a cost-effective option in his place.
Graziano: Miami has a problem. The $99 million dead money hit that would result from releasing Tagovailoa would be tough to manage, even if spread over two years. Denver has been just fine absorbing the $80 million dead money charge for Russell Wilson over the past two years, but part of that is because it has an elite defense and an elite offensive line and was able to find a rookie QB in Bo Nix to start right away and keep the team competitive. I'm not sure the Dolphins are in position to have any of those things in 2026.
I've brought this up a few times, and I'm still not sure how likely it is that there's a change here, but the Ravens have to do something with Lamar Jackson's contract or move on. He has two years left at $51.25 million per year in base salary, but none of his remaining money is guaranteed -- and the cap hit for next year balloons to $74.5 million. The Ravens need to extend him to get that cap hit down, or else they need to trade him, which obviously would open up yet another QB1 position for next season. Jackson has a no-trade clause, so he'd have some say in this if the Ravens decided to explore options.
They wouldn't be replacing him with a better player, because there really aren't any better players. But given that Jackson and coach John Harbaugh have won a total of three playoff games together since Jackson was drafted in 2018, it might be worth it for the Ravens to examine whether a new extension in excess of $60 million per year is the best way for them to build their team moving forward.
Fowler: Good call, Dan. It's clearly a situation Baltimore must handle with care. From that lens, it's worth noting that Jackson isn't exactly having his best "contract year." At the very least, his play is below his normal MVP standards. He has sat out three games and could sit out a fourth with his latest injury, a back contusion. Baltimore probably will miss the playoffs for the second time in his career. Such contract decisions are easier for the front office when the player and team are peaking at season's end, not declining.
Like with the coaching carousel, one or two surprises will surface at some point. Last offseason featured 10 quarterback changes. Yes, 10! And that's with only one rookie starter in Week 1 of 2025 (the Titans' Cam Ward). The veteran market was booming, and there were six new starters via either free agency or the draft. Derek Carr's retirement and Geno Smith's move to Las Vegas via trade was not in the forecast a year ago.
Perhaps Kansas City should be on the list, with an asterisk? Patrick Mahomes faces a lengthy recovery from his torn ACL, and given the team's struggles this season, the Chiefs might need steady reinforcements for Week 1. Joe Flacco is the kind of QB who would make some sense. (Also: At one point I started to wonder whether Philadelphia would be looking at a change eventually, but Jalen Hurts is weathering that storm.)
Graziano: Kansas City is very much worth watching, because if nothing else, it is going to need quarterbacks to operate its offseason program. Even if Mahomes is back in time for the regular season, there are going to be a lot of practice reps, training camp reps and preseason game reps to go around. Do the Chiefs bring in a veteran who can start if Mahomes isn't ready right away? Do they draft a developmental QB with upside and offer him a chance at a full offseason of first-team reps to accelerate that development? Do they do some combination of both? The Chiefs' QB moves this offseason could give us some clue about Mahomes' recovery timetable.
Graziano: To some extent, yes. Multiple people have texted me since Sunday to say Liam Coen should be Coach of the Year because of the team's 11-4 record and the apparent improvement in Trevor Lawrence's play. First-year defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile is also getting a lot of praise around the league for the way his unit has performed. And the trade deadline acquisition of Jakobi Meyers has been a difference-maker and allowed them to evolve an offense that's averaging 33 points since the start of November.
I think there is some skepticism -- as there would be with any contender new on the scene -- about how the Jaguars will perform in playoff games. But Lawrence does have a playoff win on his résumé, and the versatility of the Jaguars' offense combined with how tough they are up front on defense definitely has the attention of other teams.
Fowler: I've heard people say Coen is right there with Ben Johnson and Mike Vrabel in first-year coaches at their respective spots who are vying for Coach of the Year. The job Coen has done with the roster and especially with Lawrence has been impressive. From footwork to decisiveness, Lawrence looks like a different quarterback, and Coen deserves credit for that.
Keep in mind, this was an attractive job during the carousel. If GM Trent Baalke wasn't in the picture early in the process, I think Jacksonville luring Johnson was a possibility. Jacksonville realized that it had a good job on paper and had to pivot off Baalke to get a prime candidate, making Coen an offer he couldn't refuse. So from a talent standpoint, Coen was not walking into a rebuild. But what he has done with that talent on the roster is commendable.
Graziano: It wasn't a rebuild, but it's still a team that won only four games last season. And I think what's most impressive about Coen's performance is the methodical way he has gone about it. Lawrence was not playing this well early in the season, and Coen would have told you he was still learning the new offense and building chemistry with his receivers in that new scheme.
Brian Thomas Jr. struggled to find his spot in all of it, and No. 2 pick Travis Hunter was injured, as was tight end Brenton Strange. So the Jags leaned into their run game early behind Travis Etienne Jr. and got by for a while with a defense that was generating turnovers at a high level. The 4-1 start bought them time for Lawrence to get more comfortable in the offense, and Coen has been steady and consistent through the hot start, the midseason lull and the current six-game win streak. I would say people around the league are absolutely taking all of this seriously.
Fowler: How Jacksonville structures its future will be interesting in light of Meyers' three-year, $60 million extension signed last week. He has been lights-out since joining the team at the trade deadline. But Jacksonville has multiple standouts it could choose to pay, including Etienne, pass rusher Travon Walker and linebacker Devin Lloyd. Those players have performed well but were not selected by first-year general manager James Gladstone. Either way, Jacksonville's pass-catching nucleus will be loaded with Meyers, Thomas, Hunter, Strange and Parker Washington.
Fowler: Heavy chatter around the Eagles and the snubbing of defensive tackle Jordan Davis. Teammate Jalen Carter got the Pro Bowl nod among NFC defensive tackles, but if you ask the Eagles who has been their most dominant force up front this season, it's Davis without debate. And Chargers left tackle Joe Alt making the Pro Bowl off six games raised some questions. It's a weaker tackle pool in the AFC, but Indianapolis' Bernhard Raimann was a surer bet.
Graziano: The Packers thought Jordan Love would have a good chance. He's third in the NFL in QBR. Sam Darnold, who made the NFC roster, is 12th and has more than twice as many interceptions as Love has this season.
Fowler: Cornerback is of interest, because even though the position is loaded with top-shelf stars and the recipients were deserving, a few younger corners made compelling cases -- including a pair of 2023 second-round picks out of the AFC North in Pittsburgh's Joey Porter Jr. and Cincinnati's DJ Turner II. And it feels as if several teams had too many Pro Bowl players; Dallas and Baltimore have losing records but boast five and six recipients, respectively.
Graziano: Maybe if we'd run the Jaguars' section of this notebook a week or so ago, it might have helped them get someone into the Pro Bowl besides their long-snapper, Ross Matiscik, who is their only representative. In particular, the Jags would have liked to see Josh Hines-Allen get that recognition. Or Devin Lloyd and his five interceptions.