There are bad organizations, and there are dumpster fire organizations. Some, like the Bengals, have been great in the past but have fallen on hard times this year. Some, like the Browns, have been awful for essentially the entire 21st century and are truly worthy of being labeled a dumpster fire.

Today, we’re going to try to identify which teams are actually “dumpster fires” and which are just in a rough spot. One firetruck means I’m not worried about the team whatsoever. Five means I’m in full-on panic mode, and I don’t see a way out for them anytime soon.

Trigger warning: Fans of the teams below may not like what I have to say. If you or a loved one are easily offended by someone talking trash about your favorite team, consult with your doctor before proceeding.

New York Giants: 🚒 🚒

I actually don’t think the New York Giants are in all that bad of a spot. I know they’re 2-9 and just fired their coach, but they are going to be a very popular opening, and should get one of the best coaches on the market.

Looking at the Giants’ roster, there’s a lot to like. Jaxson Dart looks like a star in the making. Cam Skattebo, Malik Nabers, Wan’Dale Robinson and Theo Johnson aren’t a bad offensive core. They have one of the best defensive lines in football with Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Abdul Carter and Dexter Lawrence. And they’re likely going to have a top-five pick this offseason.

Their offensive line and secondary definitely need some help, but they have a very good core in place and are in the biggest market in America. They’re going to get a big-name head coach, and if he ends up being a good fit, they could be competing in the NFC within the next two years.

New York Jets: 🚒 🚒 🚒 🚒 🚒

The New York Jets are the definition of a dumpster fire, and it’s all because of one guy: Woody Johnson. When Dan Snyder was around, he had some competition for the worst owner in the NFL. Now it’s just him.

When you make so many changes at quarterback, head coach and general manager, and you keep getting the same results, eventually you have to look at the one thing that hasn’t changed. As long as Johnson is the owner of the Jets, I can confidently say they will not be a winning football team.

Now, if you remove Johnson from the equation, I’d say the Jets are more like a three-firetruck team. They have some key pieces such as Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, Olu Fashanu, Will McDonald and Mason Taylor in place, and now they have five first-round picks in the next two years to go along with three seconds. They have a decent core and a ton of draft capital to work with, but they have to hit on every single one of their picks over the next two years to really compete. They can’t afford to miss.

I think there are teams in a worse spot than New York, but Woody Johnson alone makes them a five out of five. I mean, the guy wants to ban player report cards because he got an F last year. That tells you all you need to know about the man.

Miami Dolphins: 🚒 🚒 🚒 🚒

I actually like some of the Miami Dolphins’ pieces. I think De’Von Achane is a top five running back, Ollie Gordon is a very good backup and Jaylen Waddle is an elite receiver, but outside of that, I don’t love what they have going on in Miami.

I think Mike McDaniel’s time in Miami is coming to a close. He’s a brilliant offensive mind, one of the best in the league, but like we saw with Brian Daboll, X’s and O’s isn’t the only thing that matters as a head coach. You have to be a leader and your players have to respect you. I’m not saying the Dolphins don’t respect him, but there are much better leaders out there.

I also don’t love the whole general manager situation. I agree Chris Grier had to go, but firing him midseason because he refused to trade away top assets like Waddle, Achane and Minkah Fitzpatrick, just to not trade any of them away, is not a great look. I don’t know who the long-term solution is at GM, but if they get the right guy, he can turn things around quickly. But another wrong hire and their struggles will only continue.

The Dolphins also have negative cap space in 2026. They do have five picks in the first three rounds of the draft, though, so that helps a bit, but that negative cap space is not a good sign for a team that doesn’t have all that much talent on its roster.

I think of the four firetruck teams, they’re the best off, but they’re still in disarray.

Tennessee Titans: 🚒 🚒 🚒 🚒

The Tennessee Titans have been a dumpster fire for a few years now. Things have been going south in Nashville ever since they fired Mike Vrabel, and there isn’t a whole lot of hope for things to turn around within in the next year or two.

They have arguably the worst roster in football. Look at their offense. They have maybe two franchise players in Peter Skoronski and Cam Ward. Maybe JC Latham, but the jury’s still out there. Outside of that, I like Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike, but they’re no world beaters.

Then defensively, outside of Jeffery Simmons, who is easily their most valuable asset outside of Ward, they don’t have anybody. I still need to see what they have in Olu Oladejo and Kevin Winston Jr., but nobody else on that side of the ball moves me. I think they should trade Simmons, get at least a first and a Day 2 pick in return, and commit fully to rebuilding that side of the ball.

The only things stopping this from being a five out of five are Cam Ward and the fact that they have the second-most cap space in the NFL. Other than that, there’s not much to like about Tennessee right now.

Cincinnati Bengals: 🚒

The Cincinnati Bengals have a lot of things to fix, but I’m not sure I’d quite say they’re a complete dumpster fire. I mean, they have a top-five quarterback in the league in Joe Burrow, two elite receivers in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, one of the best running backs in the league in Chase Brown, and all but Brown are signed until at least 2028.

Now, there are major issues on the offensive line and on the defense. Burrow has been hurt far too often due to the lack of protection up front, and their defense is arguably the worst in the league. But they’re going to have a top-10 pick this year unless they completely turn things around, so they should be within striking distance of an elite offensive tackle. Then they also have $81-million (don’t ask me how, with all the money they’ve given out) to sign some big names on defense.

This team is one good offseason away from being AFC contenders again. However, if they don’t nail this offseason and they struggle again next year, then I’ll start to worry.

Cleveland Browns: 🚒 🚒 🚒 🚒

The Cleveland Browns have been the laughingstock of the NFL for basically the entire 21st century. They have had three 10+ win seasons since 1995 and are in a cycle of sucking, getting slightly better, then sucking again.

Right now, things are terrible in Cleveland. Their offense is horrific. Quinshon Judkins and Harold Fannin were hits this year, and they’ll be great for a while, but outside of them, who do you like on this team? And don’t say Shedeur Sanders. He was a fine college quarterback, but he can’t get away with 90 percent of the things he did at Colorado.

Defensively, they have the best player in football, Myles Garrett, a great young defensive tackle, Mason Graham, and a stud linebacker in Carson Schwesinger, but outside of those three, everyone’s expendable.

Also, almost forgot to mention that they have the 25th-worst cap situation in the NFL in 2026. That’s not great for a rebuilding team.

I was very, very close to giving them five firetrucks, but I do think they have a solid core in place with the guys I just mentioned. If they can draft well again for the next few seasons (which is a big if), they could have a future. But it’s Cleveland, so, yeah…

Washington Commanders: 🚒 🚒

Another team I’m not all that worried about is the Washington Commanders. I know they’re struggling this year and they probably weren’t the second-best team in the NFC last year – they just got hot at the right time – but I do believe they have a solid foundation for the future.

Obviously, it helps having someone like Jayden Daniels on your roster. He’s still a top 10 quarterback in my book, the Commanders’ offense has just been decimated by injuries. I think they have some good, young receivers and an offensive line that’s above average. I think they need to invest in one elite receiver outside of Terry McLaurin and a rookie running back fairly early in the draft.

Defensively, they have some solid pieces as well. Dorrance Armstrong, Quan Martin, Daron Payne and others form a solid core. They just need to get rid of some of their aging veterans and bring in an influx of youth.

Do I think they can be great next year? No. But if they do things right this offseason, they could be contenders in 2027.

Arizona Cardinals: 🚒 🚒 🚒

There are worse places to be than Arizona right now. The Cardinals don’t have a super bright immediate future, but they also haven’t dug themselves into a hole like some of these other teams.

The Kyler Murray and Jonathan Gannon era is likely coming to an end this season. Murray is almost certainly gone, and if Arizona keeps losing, Gannon should be too. That means a hard reset in the desert, but they have the facilities to reboot faster than some of the other teams on this list.

First, the Cardinals have a pretty strong core. Marvin Harrison, Michael Wilson, Trey Benson, Paris Johnson and Trey McBride is a pretty good foundation for building an offense. Jacoby Brissett has been pretty good this year, too, so if they need a cheap stopgap while they find their next quarterback, they already have one in place.

Defensively, things are a bit more grim. They have Will Johnson, Darius Robinson, Josh Sweat and Budda Baker to build around, but the rest of the defensive roster is very average. Luckily, they have all of their draft picks in 2026, so they can start to rebuild that side of the ball.

Arizona also has a decent cap situation. They have $41-million to spend in 2026, which ranks 17th in the NFL. Not great, but enough to make some moves.

I don’t see them being super competitive in the next couple of years, but they’re in a much better spot than, say, the Jets, Titans and Browns.

New Orleans Saints: 🚒 🚒 🚒 🚒

The New Orleans Saints are not in a great spot right now. Ever since Drew Brees and Sean Payton retired (Payton obviously came back just a year later), they’ve been going downhill. They finally made a change at head coach and brought in Super Bowl winner, Kellen Moore, but there’s still a ton of work to be done.

First and foremost, they need to figure out the cap situation. General Manager Mickey Loomis has dug them into a deep hole. They have negative $17-million in cap space next season (which is actually a major improvement from years past), so signing free agents isn’t going to be easy. Loomis has also been known to miss on quite a few draft picks, most notably with guys like Marcus Davenport, Andrus Peat, Trevor Penning and Payton Turner.

The Saints do have a couple of things going for them. Their offensive line is one of the better units on this list. I also think they might have something in Tyler Shough, but I need to see more from him before I release my final judgment. They also have some solid pieces in Chris Olave, Chase Young, Jonas Sanker and others that they can build around.

If it weren’t for the huge cap issue, they’d probably be at a three, but until that’s resolved and Loomis is either fired or given another position in the building, I don’t see the Saints winning much.

Las Vegas Raiders: 🚒 🚒 🚒

I still think the Las Vegas Raiders are a dumpster fire, but they’re less of a dumpster fire than some other teams. I like their core a lot. Ashton Jeanty, Brock Bowers and Maxx Crosby are all top-five players at their position (Jeanty is arguable, but put him behind the Colts’ offensive line, and he’s nearly as productive as Jonathan Taylor). Add on the fact that they have the most cap space in the NFL entering 2026, and that’s not a bad start for a rebuilding team. However, there are still some negatives.

I don’t think hiring Pete Carroll was a good move. The man is 74 years old. The only reason he’s still around is because he won a Super Bowl over a decade ago. I’m not saying he’s a bad coach, but is he really the man you want in charge for a long-term rebuild?

I also don’t love their GM. John Spytek is in his first year as general manager, and you can very obviously tell. He’s the one responsible for hiring Carroll and using a premium pick on a running back despite having gaping holes all over the roster (I love Jeanty, but there were much better fits out there for them). He also shelled out $75 million for Geno Smith this offseason. He wanted to make a splash with the fanbase in his first season, but it’s not paying off.

Their core of elite players, the fact that they have all their draft picks and then some, and their $118 million in cap space saves them from getting four firetrucks. But this is still a very dysfunctional organization.

Atlanta Falcons: 🚒 🚒 🚒 🚒

Am I maybe a little biased because I’m a Saints fan and love seeing the Atlanta Falcons fail? Yes. Do I also truly believe they’re in almost equally as bad of a spot as the Saints? Also yes.

Michael Penix may not be the guy in Atlanta. He’s got a great arm, but for whatever reason, he hasn’t looked great this season. He’s now dealing with another potential season-ending injury, which will be the fifth of his career since beginning college. He’s torn his ACL twice already and now has more problems with his knee. Things just aren’t looking great for him in the future.

I also think they wasted many draft picks on skill position players. I’m not saying Bijan Robinson and Drake London aren’t great, because they are, but when you’re a bad team picking in the top 10, maybe consider picking up a star pass rusher or offensive lineman.

The Falcons also have just $15-million in cap space next season, which ranks 24th in the NFL. But hey, at least they’ll have a top-five pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, right?… Right? Oh, wait, I forgot, they traded that pick to the Los Angeles Rams for the right to draft James Pearce, who has 2.5 sacks this season.

I also don’t think Raheem Morris is a great head coach. At least he hasn’t proved to be one yet.

If Penix ends up panning out, they’ll be fine, but if he doesn’t (and right now that seems more likely), they could be in the dumps for a while.