NFL's most intriguing people: Who will define the next year? - ESPN

NFL training camps are kicking off, and with them come thoughts of the season ahead. Which teams, players and coaches will define the 2024 season? Who are the most fascinating folks to watch ahead of the 2025 offseason? We have reached the point where we're about to start finding out.

With that in mind, here's our offseason look at 10 people we think will help shape the next 365 days in the NFL. They could be listed here because they are potential breakout players. They could be players with something to prove or a big contract situation on deck. They could be a coaches on the hot seat. They could even be a coach on the outside looking in. (Spoiler alert: One of them is.) You never know what will happen in a season, and how its events will shape the league's future. But there are always a few people to keep an eye on.

Let's take a closer look at 10 such individuals who should play a part in defining the next calendar year.

Will he sign an extension with the Cowboys before camp? Before the season? Before hitting free agency next March? At all???

Prescott has the Cowboys over a barrel. He has one year left on his contract, which includes a clause prohibiting Dallas from using a franchise or transition tag on him next spring. That means, absent a new deal, he would become an unrestricted free agent at age 31, just one year removed from finishing second in MVP voting in 2023. Oh, and he'd be entering a quarterback market with a top end currently pricing out at $55 million per year.

The Cowboys have a ton of reasons to get this deal done. Prescott would cost them more than $40 million in dead money on next year's cap if he leaves in free agency. They don't have an obvious successor unless Trey Lance is about to make a serious