With rosters continuing to take shape as we move closer to the start of training camp, it's clear that the 2025 NFL season could be a career-defining campaign for certain players.
Some are clinging to past glory, while others are out to prove they're worth big-time money in 2026 and beyond.
Below, I've identified 17 of the most prominent players who must deliver in 2025, presented in alphabetical order.
With Andrews entering the final year of his contract after surviving an offseason of uncertainty, now is the time for the 29-year-old to give the team overwhelming evidence that it should retain him beyond 2025. From a roster-building perspective, it might make more sense for Baltimore to invest in younger TE Isaiah Likely, whom head coach John Harbaugh is expecting big things from in 2025. But Andrews has held an important place in this era of Ravens football. A monster season -- capped, perhaps, by some clutch postseason plays a year after his meltdown contributed to the team’s playoff exit -- would help his cause. A strong campaign will fetch quality offers elsewhere, too, but if Andrews wants to spend his entire career in Baltimore, he could make that a reality by crushing it in 2025.
The 2022 first-round pick spent on Burks -- once envisioned as the replacement for A.J. Brown -- has not come anywhere close to paying off. He's made 53 catches for 699 yards and only one touchdown in three seasons. Tennessee declined his fifth-year option last month and set up a prove-it season. If first overall pick Cam Ward can breathe life into the Titans’ passing game, perhaps Burks will prove his worth. But given what we've seen in his first three seasons, it will be surprising if Burks suddenly blossoms, even with a more talented quarterback now under center.
The Chiefs moved on from Joe Thuney this offseason, shipping out the most trustworthy member of the left side of their line. Caliendo got a chance to start at left guard late last season after Thuney moved to left tackle, but now he has a chance to win the job at left guard outright -- although he’s battling against 2024 second-round pick Kingsley Suamataia for the gig. In fact, the whole left side of the line is auditioning, with free-agent addition Jaylon Moore looking to fill the void at left tackle and 2025 first-round pick Josh Simmons set to compete when he’s healthy enough to do so as he returns from a torn patellar tendon. However, Caliendo is facing the pressure of being in a contract year. Oh, and he also must protect Patrick Mahomes, the superstar face of a perennial Super Bowl contender.
Cook enters the new season with uncertainty long-term. He’s made clear his desire for a new contract, but the Bills don’t appear to have budged, even after his second straight 1,000-yard season, in which he averaged nearly five yards per carry and rushed for a league-high 16 touchdowns. So, Cook is staying away from voluntary OTAs. To fully convince Buffalo to invest in him with a new deal, Cook will almost certainly need to outperform his production over the last two years, which means posting something like 1,200-plus rushing yards and double-digit rushing touchdowns, along with 300-plus receiving yards and a handful of receiving scores. That's a high bar for a back who has already done enough to deserve consideration for an extension. If Buffalo doesn't pay Cook, somebody else will, given that he maintains the performance he's demonstrated over the last two seasons.
Darnold dominated headlines last season by helping Minnesota win 14 games and earned a lucrative deal from Seattle, a franchise that willingly jettisoned Geno Smith to Las Vegas in favor of a philosophical change built around the mind of new OC Klint Kubiak and Darnold's strengths. It's a calculated risk that will attract plenty of attention this fall. The calculated part, though, shows in Darnold's contract. If the veteran can't produce at an acceptable level in his first season in Seattle, the Seahawks can cut him (after June 1) and save $27.5 million of his $33.9 million cap number in 2026 -- giving themselves an exit plan if they need one.
Etienne registered back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2022 and 2023, but his workload diminished significantly in 2024. His carries dropped from an average of 243.5 per year over those first two campaigns to 150 last season, when he missed two games due to injury. Backup Tank Bigsby emerged as the more viable option in what was generally a dreadful Jaguars offense last year. In fact, Bigsby finished with a higher rushing total (766 yards) than Etienne (558 yards). Entering the 2025 draft, many believed the Jaguars would select Boise State star Ashton Jeanty with the fifth overall pick and replace Etienne entirely, but when they instead traded up to take Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter at No. 2, Etienne received a new lease on his Jaguars life. That hasn't come without skepticism, of course; on Monday, new head coach Liam Coen quelled trade rumors involving Etienne. But what we should truly take from all of this is one simple fact: Etienne, entering a contract year, has one more chance to prove he should be in Jacksonville's long-term plans, and that opportunity arrives in 2025.
Fields signed a two-year, $40 million deal to become the Jets' chosen new starter in 2025, but if we look at what it might cost them to get out of said deal after the coming season, it's clear this is a one-year tryout. A post-June 1 trade next offseason would clear all but $3 million of his $23 million cap number in 2026, per Over The Cap. Fields must prove he's worth keeping in 2025 because, generally speaking, it feels as if the NFL's intrigue regarding the fifth-year pro is starting to run out. That curiosity convinced the Steelers to add him via trade last offseason, but their stubborn commitment to Russell Wilson in the final weeks of the season -- when they lost five straight, including to rival Baltimore in the Wild Card Round -- told us how Pittsburgh felt about Fields. If the former first-round pick is going to prove his most ardent supporters correct, he needs to start doing so now.
Jones was effective at right tackle in his rookie year, replacing the injured Jack Conklin and posting some impressive numbers as a pass protector. The same was not true in 2024 before an injury ended his campaign in Week 11. His Pro Football Focus grade dropped precipitously and led to questions about whether his rookie season was an aberration. Cleveland is going to figure it out once and for all in 2025, because Jones is penciled in as the replacement for the still unsigned Jedrick Wills at left tackle. Time to deliver.
This is about earning the final year of his contract. Lattimore moved to Washington as a coveted trade acquisition but struggled to find the same form with the Commanders, posting some truly dreadful Pro Football Focus grades in the postseason. There's reason to believe a full year with Dan Quinn will fix things, and Lattimore is under pressure to do so this fall because the Commanders can cut ties with zero financial penalty in 2026. However, Lattimore has not joined the team for the offseason program, per defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. At 29 years old, Lattimore could still earn decent money on a new deal, but the main goal is to prove himself as a trusted corner for a team that aims to build on its surprise run to the NFC Championship Game last season. If he does that, he'll be much easier to keep or at least consider for a contract restructure that's friendlier to the team's salary cap.
Football can be a cruel game sometimes. Take the recent turn in Milano's career, for example. He finally received All-Pro recognition in 2022, only to follow it up with two injury-plagued seasons that limited him to a combined total of nine games in that stretch. He's in the final year of his contract and turns 31 years old in July. His inclusion on this list isn't so much about preserving or capitalizing on significant earning power, but it is tied to returning strong with the only NFL team he's ever known -- a team that has Super Bowl ambitions.
A player as talented as Olave shouldn't be in this position, but he's suffered a series of concussions going back to his days at Ohio State (including two such injuries last season) and has reached a point in his career where he needs to prove he can stay healthy. New Orleans picked up his fifth-year option this offseason, a move that showed the team’s confidence in the former Buckeyes star. But after two 1,000-yard seasons, Olave played in just eight games in an injury-plagued 2024, finishing with 32 catches for 400 yards and one score. New Orleans' instability at quarterback hasn’t helped him, but Olave can do himself a lot of good by staying on the field in 2025. While his fifth-year option essentially ensures he'll be with the Saints through 2026, there's no guarantee it's a precursor for an extended career in the Big Easy.
Phillips is another case of bad injury luck. After two strong seasons to begin his NFL career (with a combined 15.5 sacks), Phillips suffered an Achilles injury in the Black Friday game in 2023, then suffered a season-ending knee injury early in the 2024 campaign, marking two straight years in which he was robbed of the chance to play a full slate. As a player who overcame plenty of health challenges in college -- he medically retired from football in 2018 before returning in 2020 -- this is nothing new to Phillips, but his mettle will truly be tested in 2025. He’s in the final year of his rookie deal with a Dolphins team that is feeling the pressure to succeed. If he can stay healthy, perhaps he can get back on track. He'll have to do so while knowing it is a make-or-break year for him.
Fantasy owners know Pitts' paradox all too well. The uber-athletic tight end began his career with great expectations, posting a 1,000-yard rookie season. However, he’s tallied just 128 catches for 1,625 yards and nine touchdowns combined in the three seasons since. He's in the final year of his rookie deal, with a very uncertain future ahead of him. Pitts has watched other first-round talents at his position thrive for other clubs, and while he's been dealt a somewhat-unfair hand with Atlanta's revolving door at quarterback, the time is now to prove he's worth keeping around beyond 2025. Some extra time spent with QB Michael Penix Jr. might help those efforts, especially after he saw just 74 targets in his first season in offensive coordinator Zac Robinson's scheme, but Pitts is currently dealing with an injury that has kept him off the field during OTAs.
First, let me note that while he's accomplished plenty in his career, Patriots WR Stefon Diggs' 2025 season is also a make-or-break campaign because New England can essentially move on from him after a year with little financial penalty. Now that we've handled that, let's turn our attention to one of the most underwhelming receivers from the 2024 draft class. While Brian Thomas Jr. and Malik Nabers were torching defenses elsewhere, Polk resided in the shadows as a rookie, catching just 12 passes for 87 yards and two touchdowns in an offense that was desperate for a pass catcher to separate from the pack. Polk needs to take a big step forward in 2025 to prevent the Patriots from finding a replacement for him, because while they're not on a title-chasing timeline right now, they need reliable producers for QB Drake Maye.
A quick rehash of the Richardson career arc leaves us with two main themes: He's an incredibly gifted athlete with sky-high potential, and he’s also lacked the consistency to hold down the Colts’ starting job. Indianapolis' patience ran thin with Richardson in 2024, so the team added competition for him this offseason with the signing of Daniel Jones. As the fourth overall pick of the 2023 draft, Richardson was an expensive investment. Such investments don't guarantee long leashes, though, which Richardson has already learned. We'll see if the pressure has inspired improvement, or if Richardson will be usurped by another former first-rounder in Jones.
EDITOR'S UPDATE: Richardson is dealing with a shoulder injury and will not participate in the team's minicamp next week, head coach Shane Steichen told reporters on Thursday. Steichen added that the QB sustained the injury in his throwing shoulder last week during OTAs.
Swift has two years remaining on his existing deal and has been reunited this offseason with his former offensive coordinator in Detroit, new Bears coach Ben Johnson. That might not be the most encouraging news, though: Swift ran for just 542 yards and five touchdowns in his final season in Detroit before leaving for Philadelphia, clearing the way for the Lions to rebuild their backfield with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. Swift will need to produce a better season under Johnson's direction in 2025 than he did back then, especially because the Bears can save all but $1.3 million of his $8.8 million cap number in 2026 by cutting him. With plenty of eyeballs on Chicago in Johnson's first season at the helm, now is the time for Swift to prove he deserves to stick around.
Williams fizzled out in Denver and ended up accepting a one-year, $3 million deal to headline Dallas' underwhelming backfield. The sizzle he once brought to the Broncos faded before 2024, but he has a rare opportunity to regain it for a Cowboys team that should boast some offensive firepower, with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens at receiver. If Williams is going to command a starting job anywhere in the NFL from here on out, it must begin in Dallas.
