We’ve spent a lot of time throughout this offseason highlighting teams’ efforts to reshape their rosters so they’re in a better position to win in 2025 than they were in 2024. Those efforts included coaching changes, front-office changes, free-agent signings, draft picks, trades and more.
And it’s always fun to look on the optimistic side of things and concentrate on what’s new, and what could be better. But everyone who arrives with a new team accordingly leaves a hole to be filled where they had been before. Every addition somewhere means that someone has departed from elsewhere.
Now that we’re at around the midway point of the offseason, we wanted to take a look backward at every team’s most significant offseason loss, and if/how those who left are being replaced.
Dallas spent much of last season splitting carries between running back Dowdle and the much-less effective Ezekiel Elliott. The Cowboys signed the similarly ineffective Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders before drafting Jaydon Blue in the fifth round this offseason. There are still some pretty significant questions at the position after Dowdle was quite effective down the stretch of the season. He averaged 4.7 yards on 17.6 carries per game once he became the full-time lead back.
Pinnock played 95% of New York’s defensive snaps in each of the last two seasons. He was seemingly less effective the more he got on the field, though, so the Giants replaced him with the more versatile Jevon Holland, and that should help improve Shane Bowen’s defense.
Williams was one of the most effective interior defenders in the NFL. He finished the season with a 14.2% pressure rate, far above the league average of 10%. It was actually 31st in the league among the 277 players who rushed the passer at least 100 times, via Tru Media. He only played 48% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps, but he was a massive part of their Super Bowl run, especially in the playoffs.
Allen missed nine games due to injury last season, and his absence was felt as Washington’s run defense struggled pretty badly. Then again, the Commies gave up 430 combined rushing yards to the Lions and Eagles in their final two playoff games, and Allen was on the field for those performances. Still, losing a consistent presence in the middle of the defensive line could be a blow.
