Four years after removing him from their Ring of Honor, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have reinstated Jon Gruden as one of their officially recognized all-time greats, the team announced Thursday.
“Jon Gruden was initially inducted into the Bucs Ring of Honor based on his many accomplishments during his seven seasons as our head coach, and he remains a significant figure in the history of our franchise,” the Buccaneers said in a statement. “Upon further reflection, we have decided to reinstate him into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor.”
Gruden’s initial induction came in 2017, roughly a decade after he completed his seven-year run atop the Buccaneers’ staff. He was removed from the Ring of Honor in 2021, just one day after his abrupt resignation as Las Vegas Raiders coach. That exit came immediately following publication of controversial emails Gruden had sent while working with ESPN years earlier, in which he’d used racially insensitive and misogynistic language in correspondence with another NFL executive.
The Buccaneers said at the time of his removal from the Ring of Honor, which includes 14 other former coaches and players, that Gruden’s actions went “against our core values as an organization.”
The 2024 NFL season is officially in the rearview mirror, and 31 teams around the league will spend the next seven months trying to improve their rosters to compete with the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, while the Eagles themselves will try to maintain their position as the best roster in football.
The first stage in the offseason player-acquisition process is free agency, which begins in just a few weeks. For a few days in the beginning of March, there will be a massive spending spree around the NFL, and it’s likely that a lot of players on our list of the top offensive free agents below will become significantly richer men.
Speaking of, the top 25 offensive free agents are …
PLAYER POSITION TEAM
Tee Higgins WR Bengals
Chris Godwin WR Buccaneers
Ronnie Stanley OT Ravens
Sam Darnold QB Vikings
Stefon Diggs WR Texans
Drew Dalman C Falcons
Will Fries OG Colts
Cam Robinson OT Vikings
Alaric Jackson OT Rams
Kevin Zeitler OG Lions
Amari Cooper WR Bills
Marquise Brown WR Chiefs
Mekhi Becton OG Eagles
DeAndre Hopkins WR Chiefs
Josh Myers C Packers
Teven Jenkins OG Bears
Zack Martin OG Cowboys
Najee Harris RB Steelers
Aaron Jones RB Vikings
Dan Moore Jr. OT Steelers
James Daniels OG Steelers
Keenan Allen WR Bears
Brandon Scherff OG Commanders
Russell Wilson QB Steelers
Justin Fields QB Steelers Higgins is expected to be franchise tagged for a second straight year, technically taking him off the open market, but we’ve seen before that franchise-tagged players are gettable if you’re willing to offer enough draft capital and an appropriate contract. If the Bengals won’t pay him what he’s worth, then there will be some team willing to meet the price on both fronts — and in that case, he remains the top available player.
Kansas City Chiefs guard Trey Smith is pretty clearly the next-best available player, but the reigning AFC champions are set to use the franchise tag on the blocker, per reports. There are other players available at the position, though, with a bunch of depth at guard in particular: Fries, Zeitler, Becton, Jenkins, Martin, Daniels and Scherff are all quality starters. Some of them have age (Zeitler, Martin, Scherff) or injury (Becton, Martin) issues that could hold them back from being their best selves, but there is a lot of depth among the group either way.
2025 NFL free agency: Ranking top 25 defensive players; three from Super Bowl champion Eagles headline list Garrett Podell 2025 NFL free agency: Ranking top 25 defensive players; three from Super Bowl champion Eagles headline list The same is true of receiver, by the way. Godwin and Diggs are each coming off significant knee injuries, but both showed this season that they can still play at a high level. There’s less risk in Godwin because he’s younger, but Diggs might cost less due to the age/injury combination. Even beyond those two players, though, there is a lot of depth on the receiver market.
Both Chiefs wideouts are available this offseason, and it might not cost that much to get them considering their own age (Hopkins) and injury (Brown) issues. Hollywood could be a really good buy low for somebody in the same way he made for a smart bet for the Chiefs this past year, only to have the dice roll come up snake eyes due to his preseason shoulder injury. Cooper didn’t make much of an impact upon his arrival in Buffalo and that might drive his price down, but he was terrific in Cleveland the last couple years and had a personal issue derail some of his time with the Bills, which at least partially explains the drop in playing time and production. Then there’s Allen, who is clearly not the same physically as he once was, but can still be a reliable underneath target in the slot. You’ll want to limit his playing time and make sure he’s not your top option in the passing game, but he can help.
The running back market isn’t great, but it’s not terrible. Harris and Jones can still be part of backfield rotations, and players like Rico Dowdle and J.K. Dobbins will also be out there. Raheem Mostert was just released and will be available as well, and some team might want to take a shot on trying to recapture what Javonte Williams was early in his rookie contract, before his injury.
The quarterback class is … not great. Darnold may have cost himself a significant amount of money with his performances in Week 18 and the first round of the playoffs, but he is still the top option out there. He may not get a long-term deal anymore, though, and may now be viewed as more of a mid-tier bridge quarterback than surefire starter. After him, you can take your pick of Steelers quarterbacks. There’s not much upside in Wilson anymore so Fields seems like the better bet to me, but the league might not see it that way. If you miss out on those guys, there’s always young players like Trey Lance, Mac Jones and Zach Wilson, or long-term backups like Jacoby Brissett and Marcus Mariota. Or hey, someone might take another shot on Jimmy Garoppolo.
The 2025 NFL Scouting combine is underway, and one of the exercises used to measure the strength of incoming prospects is the bench press. But which of the league’s current coaches might be able to showcase their own physical strength, if thrust beneath the bar? A handful of them joined CBS Sports this week to debate this very topic, and you might be surprised at some of the answers.
At least five different coaches were quick to hail the Detroit Lions’ Dan Campbell as the strongest active head coach, with Brian Callahan, Nick Sirianni, Raheem Morris, Sean McDermott and Todd Bowles among Campbell’s most supportive counterparts. And it makes sense: Campbell played tight end in the NFL at 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds, making him one of the most physically imposing men to hold a top coaching gig.
Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton had an alternative, however: DeMeco Ryans. The Houston Texans coach famously played 10 seasons as a standout linebacker before getting into coaching. Payton also had a specific reason for choosing Ryans over Campbell, who previously worked under his lead in New Orleans.
“I’ve been with Dan long enough to know there’s an injury risk,” Payton said.
Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald, meanwhile, said he’d “bet on myself” to win a bench press competition. And the Carolina Panthers’ Dave Canales offered a “sleeper” pick: Sean McVay. Still just 39, the Los Angeles Rams coach drew a second endorsement from former colleague Raheem Morris later in the discussion, with Morris arguing McVay’s “compact” frame might work in his advantage.
