NFL team grades as camps open

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The NFL offseason, mercifully, has officially ended as all 32 NFL teams have opened their respective training camps.

While every team is 0-0 and each opens camp full of optimism, not every team's offseason would suggest such enthusiasm. Teams have spent months attempting to take on their full and proper forms, but not every squad features a complete roster.

Paste BN Sports' Nate Davis takes stock of every team's performances off the field over the past few months. Here's a sampling of the issued grades:

Chicago Bears: A — They might have won the offseason the minute they hired highly, highly regarded Ben Johnson as their head coach, not only adding an offensive wunderkind but damaging the rival Lions in the process.

Denver Broncos: B+ — A team that made a surprising playoff run in 2024 behind rookie QB Bo Nix could be poised to take the next step.

Green Bay Packers: B — They made a splash – by Wisconsin standards – after taking Matthew Golden in the first round of the draft, breaking a 23-year streak when they’d avoided Round 1 wideouts.

Dallas Cowboys: B- — Welp, it’s never dull in Big D. The Cowboys began 2025 with the fairly surprising choice of naming Brian Schottenheimer to his first head coaching gig. Issues certainly remain − though, despite owner Jerry Jones’ rhetoric, expect DE Micah Parsons to soon become the league’s next highest-paid non-quarterback.

Las Vegas Raiders: C — There’s little doubt they should be more competitive on the heels of a 4-13 campaign. Yet with a soon-to-be 74-year-old coach in Pete Carroll and soon-to-be 35-year-old QB Geno Smith, it all feels very … interim?

Detroit Lions: D - The main issue for this team, which is a bit of a victim of its own recent success, could be the departure of eight assistants, most notably OC Ben Johnson (Bears) and DC Glenn (Jets), both hired to their first head coaching gigs.

Cleveland Browns: I (for incomplete) — They seem to be playing something of a long game, but it’s just too early to know how it ultimately plays out as a team likely destined to finish last in the AFC North straddles the line between rebuilding and trying to remain competitive.

📸 PHOTOS: Best from training camps

FRIENDLY REMINDER: THERE'S A GAME THURSDAY‼️

The Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Chargers will play in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. The annual exhibition showcase kicks off the weekend's Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremonies as well as the league's preseason slate.

• When: Thursday, July 31
• Time: 8 p.m. ET
• TV and streaming: NBC and Peacock

UNIFORM ANNOUCEMENT TRACKER 👕

📢 The Green Bay Packers are turning back the clock more than a century for what they are dubbing the "1923 Classic."

📢 The Cleveland Browns – hilariously – revealed a new "Alpha Dawg" matte brown helmet, which is sponsored by DUDE Wipes. Yes, for real. 🧻

📢 The Buffalo Bills will wear two different alternate helmets this season, both are a nod to the team's history.

📢 The Pittsburgh Steelers are kicking it back to 1933, when they were known as the Pittsburgh Pirates. Yes, the same name as the local baseball team. 🏴‍☠️

📢 Not only have the New Orleans Saints unveiled a vanilla ice cream white helmet, but also a caramel "Gameday Golds" alternate jersey. Who wants a sundae? 🍨

📢 Speaking of tasty cold treats, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have an adjusted "Creamsicle" look, featuring "Florida Orange" and the winking pirate, "Bucco Bruce."

📢 The Los Angeles Chargers rolled out an all-gold "Charger Power" uniform intended to honor the "Air Coryell" teams of the late 1970s and early '80s. ⚡

📢 What's old is new again for the Washington Commanders, who have an alternate uniform that is a nod to the team's glory days under coach Joe Gibbs.

📸 PHOTOS: Alternate and throwback uniforms worn during the 2024 NFL season

HOT READS 🎯

The best NFL reads from Paste BN and our Sports Network:

🏈 Two NFL stars got paid bigly💰: The Los Angeles Chargers made Rashawn Slater the highest-paid offensive lineman in league history, while Jake Ferguson became the highest-paid tight end in Dallas Cowboys history.

🏈 Ferguson got paid; what about Micah Parsons? Tyler Dragon reports that the expectation is the Cowboys and Parsons will finalize a record extension before the start of the regular season.

🏈 Cleveland Browns QB Kenny Pickett suffered a hamstring injury at camp and will be reevaluated later this week.

🏈 Terry McLaurin ended his holdout, reported to Washington Commanders training camp on Sunday and was immediately placed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list with an ankle injury.

🏈 Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford (more on him later in this newsletter!) has missed training camp so far with back soreness and there's no indication on when he might be able to practice.

🏈 Jarrett Bell writes that Aaron Rodgers has a new best friend … wide receiver DK Metcalf. They are bonding at training camp and could transform the Pittsburgh Steelers' fortunes.

KICKOFF COUNTDOWN: 3️⃣8️⃣days ⏳

There are 38 more days until the 2025 NFL season opens with the Kickoff Game between the Dallas Cowboys and defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 4.

38 is also the number of fourth-quarter comebacks engineered by Matthew Stafford, which is the most among active quarterbacks (Russell Wilson is next with 32) and tied for fourth-most in NFL history with Matt Ryan, and behind Tom Brady (46), Peyton Manning (43) and Ben Roethlisberger (41). Stafford's list of fourth-quarter comebacks includes 49 game-winning drives.

Stafford's first such comeback was unforgettable. During his rookie season with the Detroit Lions in 2009, Stafford and the Cleveland Browns' Brady Quinn were engaged in a high-scoring shootout at Ford Field. The winning sequence was crazy. With no time left on the clock, Stafford heaved a pass into the end zone. It was intercepted, but the Browns – in such a Browns thing to happen – were called for pass interference. On the other end of the play, Stafford got absolutely clobbered by 315-pound defensive tackle C.J. Mosley. With the ball at the goal line for an untimed down, Daunte Culpepper entered the game briefly at quarterback for the Lions, but after a time out Stafford returned to the field. An obviously injured Stafford threw a touchdown pass to Brandon Pettigrew for a 38-37 win.

NFL Films just happened to have Stafford mic'd up for the game, and the result is amazing. At the time, Steve Sabol called it the most dramatic player wiring in NFL Films' history.

NFL CLASSICS 🏈: FROM THE YOUTUBE ALGORITHM 🎞️

This is where we reprise some NFL lore and recall classic, memorable moments from yesteryear.

I recently dove into a two-hour video of every MLB All-Star Game starting lineup from the 2000s. The baseball All-Star Game had just happened and it was a fun watch to see the All-Stars of years past.

How does that apply to football? Well, did you know that they used to individually introduce starting players before each Super Bowl game?

It's almost crazy to think that each starting player was introduced before a Super Bowl, but it was a regular thing … until the New England Patriots put an end to that tradition by coming out as a team before Super Bowl 36 during the 2001 season. The Patriots went on to upset the "Greatest Show on Turf" St. Louis Rams and a new trend in Super Bowl pregame ceremonies had begun.

At Super Bowl 59, actors Jon Hamm and Bradley Cooper introduced the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.

We've landed on a video from more than three decades ago, when NBC Sports' Dick Enberg introduced the Cincinnati Bengals' defensive starters and San Francisco 49ers' offensive starters for Super Bowl XXIII.

"From Arizona State, strong safety No. 33, Pro Bowler David Fulcher."

"And from Nebraska, running back No. 33, Pro Bowler Roger Craig."

And then, speaking of memories of Super Bowls past, the following video includes a commercial for Bud Bowl I.

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