NFL offseason priorities for 2025 Key dates, storylines - ESPN

The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, so the NFL hype train is now in the midst of a 13-day break before jumping back into the spotlight with the NFL combine.

By Feb. 23, league and team officials will begin descending on Indianapolis for a week of scouting and interviewing draft-eligible players. That will kick off a blitz of news — from franchise tags to free agency to the NFL draft — that will take us right into spring practices and other organized team activities (OTAs).

With the offseason now under way, let's set the table by looking at the biggest storylines across the NFL.

Who will sign free agent quarterback Sam Darnold? Will the Cincinnati Bengals hold on to a core group of players, including receivers Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase? Will Cleveland Browns pass rusher Myles Garrett be traded? Who will be the top player of the 2025 NFL draft? And what about league questions, such as an 18-game season, a flag football league and using technology to assist referees?

Here's a look at what we know:

At least six teams have unsettled quarterback dynamics for the 2025 season: the Browns, New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans, Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants. Three others — the Minnesota Vikings (Darnold), New Orleans Saints (Derek Carr) and Los Angeles Rams (Matthew Stafford) — will spend the next few weeks determining whether their incumbents will return.

In some years, many of those teams could address their needs in the draft. In 2024, for example, six of the first 12 picks were quarterbacks. But the 2025 draft class is much thinner at the position, putting more value on the list of veterans expected to be available in free agency.

In other words, many