The negatives:
- At quarterback, the mediocre Derek Carr (who played just 10 games in 2024) has a no-trade clause and refuses to take a pay cut on a contract that could be restructured to save $30 million — but would likely lock the 33-year-old into starting the next two seasons. Gross.
- Their veteran talent is either gone (CB Marshon Lattimore was traded, OT Ryan Ramczyk is expected to retire) or aging quickly (35-year-old Cameron Jordan, 29-year-old Alvin Kamara), while there are reasons to doubt WR Chris Olave, LT Taliese Fuaga and CB Kool-Aid McKinstry going forward.
- By this point, longtime GM Mickey Loomis' salary cap situation is infamous. This team is already a league-worst $50 million over the 2025 cap, twice as bad as even the Browns, with Olave eligible for an extension. It's a mess that will take years to recover from, though I expect they'll continue to kick the proverbial can.
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