5 NFL franchises in disarray we can be thankful aren't the Lions (anymore)
4. Cleveland Browns
The Browns, for some reason, gave Deshaun Watson a massive fully guaranteed contract after off the field issues cost him the entire 2021 season. Much to the chagrin of every other team in the league, by the way, even if that contract has since been ignored as a setter of the market value for quarterbacks.
To the surprise of pretty much no one, the Browns have not gotten much of any return on that bloated investment. Watson has made just 19 starts over the last three seasons due to injuries over the last three seasons, and his 2024 campaign is over due to a torn Achilles he suffered in Week 7. When he has been on the field, Watson has been one of the worst quarterbacks in the league by basically every measure.
What's more, the structure of his contract says the Browns are stuck with Watson for the duration of it (through 2026). And his status for the start of the 2025 season is naturally in doubt, and his availability at any point during next season is some level of a question mark.
The Browns tend to do dysfunctional things in general, so they may be on this list without the bad move to acquire and commit big money to Watson. But that move has turned out badly, so it gets the spotlight here.
3. Las Vegas Raiders
Poor Mark Davis. It seems like he tries so hard to be a good owner, but he just can't quite get it right. The Raiders are still (theoretically) a marquee NFL franchise, now calling Las Vegas home, they just don't have the wins to back it up. Maybe having Tom Brady as a minority owner can help fix things, but how much influence will he truly have? It could be a lot, but it's hard to say right now.
Some might say the NFL is better when the Raiders are good, with the franchise's ties to some of the game's iconic figures. Maybe we'll find out soon, again, what that looks like on a consistent basis. But there's a long way to go, and the path will not be easy. The Raiders are a poster boy for some level of disarray until further notice.