Biggest remaining need for each AFC team, plus 10 NFL futures bets to make and explaining the collusion case

Over the next few days, we’re going to go around the NFL and take a look at what each team needs to do to win their division. We’re going to start things today with the AFC East. Now, I know what you’re thinking and I agree, there’s no way the Jets are going to win the division, but crazier things have happened, people. Crazier things have happened. 

Here’s Tyler Sullivan’s breakdown of what each team needs to do to win the division crown:

• Dolphins: Tua Tagovailoa needs to stay healthy and play better vs. elite competition. “Over the last two seasons, the identity of the Dolphins with a healthy Tagovailoa has been a club that can only beat up on bad competition and falters against the top-tier opponents. … That simply has to improve for the Dolphins to contend in 2025 and for Tagovailoa to live up to the four-year, $212.4 million extension he signed last offseason.”
• Patriots: Produce a top-five defense in the NFL. “The bulk of New England’s free agent spending spree this offseason primarily focused on the defensive side of the ball with additions of players like Milton Williams, Carlton Davis and Harold Landry. … These additions, coupled with emerging players already on the roster, gives New England’s defense a tremendously high ceiling. If they can improve to become a top-five defense in the league, that makes Maye’s life on offense worlds easier and could prove to be a thorn in Buffalo’s side as they push for a playoff berth.”
• Jets: Justin Fields becomes latest QB to enjoy late-career breakout. “In his short showing as the starter last season (six starts), Fields showed some promise. … If Fields can now limit turnovers, make timely throws, and still be dynamic with his legs, that’s enough for New York to be scrappy in the division race.”
• Bills: Improved defensive play in key situations. “This offseason, the club did sign pass rusher Joey Bosa as a free agent to help improve the unit, while also drafting corner Maxwell Hairston in the first round out of Kentucky. Buffalo will also have Matt Milano back in the fold after he missed the first chunk of the year due to a torn biceps injury. He registered two sacks in Buffalo’s three playoff games to go along with five total quarterback hits. Those additions, on top of getting key players back healthy, should help improve Buffalo’s defense in 2025, giving them an even wider inside track at winning the division.”

You can check out Tyler’s full explanation for each team here. 

4. NFL collusion case takes another twist: NFLPA plans to appeal

The NFL collusion case has been one of the most interesting stories of the offseason, but at the same time, it’s so mundane that not many people are following it. There have been two new twists in the case over the past 24 hours, which could make things even more interesting. 

Here’s what you need to know: 

• What is the NFL collusion case? After Deshaun Watson got his fully guaranteed contract from the Browns in 2022, players were hoping that a fully guaranteed deal would become the norm in the NFL, but that didn’t happen. The NFLPA eventually accused the NFL’s 32 teams of colluding together to keep the amount of guaranteed money down in player contracts. The case went to arbitration and a ruling was given out in January, but no one knew about it because the NFL and NFLPA decided to keep things confidential. That lasted until June when the ruling was eventually leaked out by the  “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast. 
• What was the ruling? The NFL didn’t lose the case, but the league definitely didn’t win. Although the arbitrator didn’t necessarily agree that the owners were colluding, he did throw NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and former NFL lead attorney Jeff Pash under the bus by ruling that a “clear preponderance of the evidence” showed that both men encouraged the NFL’s 32 teams to suppress player guarantees so that fully guaranteed contracts wouldn’t become the norm. Colluding is banned under the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and NFLPA, so this is a situation that could have potentially started a firestorm of problems … and it still could because of what just happened on Wednesday. 
• The NFLPA is appealing the ruling. Under normal circumstances, the NFL and NFLPA only get 10 days to appeal a ruling, but that deadline was extended when the two sides made a confidentiality agreement to keep the ruling a secret back in January, according to ESPN. Since the arbitrator agreed that Goodell and Nash tried to get teams to collude, the NFLPA will likely be feeling pretty confident going into the appeal, which will be heard by a three-person arbitration panel. It’s not clear what will happen if the NFLPA wins the appeal, but if it does, that would mean that the panel found the NFL to be in violation of the CBA, which could have serious consequences for the league. We’ve got more details on the appeal here. 
• NFL is also going after the NFLPA. The NFL has informed the NFLPA that the league will “seek legal fees and costs in excess of $12 million” for all the money the NFL has been forced to spend during the collusion case, according to ESPN. If the NFLPA loses its appeal, it could be a double whammy, because the union could also get stuck footing the league’s $12 million legal bill. 
• New NFLPA president appears to have a conflict of interest. You want some more drama? How about this: The president of the NFLPA, Lloyd Howell, is currently “working as a paid, part-time consultant for The Carlyle Group,” according to ESPN. The problem there is that the Carlyle Group is one of the select few private equity firms that has been given approval to purchase minority ownership in an NFL franchise. So Howell is directing the NFLPA vs. the NFL battle while doing part-time work for a company that is working with the NFL. Howell has been with the Carlyle Group since March 2023, which means he was hired by them three months before he was first elected as the president of the NFLPA. According to ESPN, an NFLPA lawyer asked Howell to resign from his job, but he chose not to. 

The NFLPA and NFL tried to keep this case a secret and their plan worked for nearly six months, but now, the cat is out of the bag and it’s going to be very fascinating to see where this case goes next. The drama here certainly isn’t over. 

5. NFL All-Quarter Century Offensive Team

We are 25% of the way through the century and we’ve been celebrating that fact all summer long here at CBS Sports. Last week, we released our list of the top 25 moments of the last 25 years, and now, we’re going to unveil our All-Quarter Century Team on the offensive side of the ball. 

Here’s a look at who made the cut:   

QB: Tom Brady
RB: LaDainian Tomlinson
FB: Kyle Juszczyk
WR: Randy Moss
WR: Marvin Harrison
WR: Larry Fitzgerald
TE: Tony Gonzalez
LT: Joe Thomas
LG: Alan Faneca
C: Jason Kelce
RG: Zack Martin
RT: Lane Johnson

Brady got the nod at quarterback, which isn’t too surprising considering that he’s won seven of the 25 Super Bowls that have been played this quarter-century. One of the biggest debates came at receiver with Larry Fitzgerald being named a starter on the team over Hall of Famers Terrell Owens and Calvin Johnson. 

If you want to see the full offensive roster, which includes backups at each position, we’ve got that here. 

6. Extra points: Saints unveil a new alternate helmet

It’s not the busiest time in the NFL, but there’s still a lot happening, so I went ahead and put together a small roundup for you. 

• Saints add a white helmet to their wardrobe. For the first time in franchise history, the Saints will be wearing a white helmet, which you can see here. The Saints have worn a gold helmet for most of their existence and they’ve also worn black, but this year will mark that first time that they’ve worn a white helmet. The team will pair the helmet with their white color rush uniforms for an undetermined game this year.  
• Eli Manning backs out of buying a stake in the Giants. The two-time Super Bowl winner was thinking about buying a stake in the Giants, but as it turns out, the cost of buying an NFL team was too rich for his blood. “Basically, it’s too expensive for me,” Manning said told CNBC. “I mean, these numbers are getting very big.” You can check out Eli’s full comments here. 
• Vikings linebacker scammed out of $240,000. Dallas Turner, who was selected in the first-round of the NFL Draft last year, was scammed out of nearly $250,000 back in April. Someone was able to convince Turner to wire $120,000 to two different accounts. If you want to know how they were able to convince him to do that, you can get the details here. 
• Funding plan for Browns’ new stadium is facing lawsuit. Ohio is planning on using $600 million from the state’s unclaimed property fund to help pay for the Browns’ new stadium, but that plan is now under attack. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has already signed the state budget, so the plan has been approved, but three Ohioans have filed a lawsuit to stop it, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Personally, I have $32 in unclaimed funds in the state of Ohio and I have decided to let the people choose whether I claim the money or donate it to the Browns’ stadium. You can vote here. 

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Author: John Breech
July 10, 2025 | 2:05 pm

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