March 18, 2025
By Daniel Cohen
This was one of the more wild offseasons in recent memory with the amount of player movement, big-name signings, and notable retirements, so it only felt right to give out some grades. A grade of "C" in my mind is more-or-less a neutral offseason, but some element of these grades does take into account the overall strength of the roster—for example, a DC team that doesn’t add many players but retains the bulk of their roster is going to grade higher than an Oregon team that does the same.
Atlanta Hustle: B
There’s no one-to-one replacement for Bobby Ley’s throws, but Sean Connole could be a great fit-piece for the Hustle offense with a skill set similar to that of his new backfield counterpart Austin Taylor. Two handlers with massive range throwing to Brett Hulsmeyer, Jeremy Langdon, all-time goal leader Cam Brock, and 2024 goal leader Alec Wilson Holliday should keep this O-line performing at optimal efficiency. Matt Smith will be missed though, and it remains to be seen if the cutters can limit turnovers to the same extent.
Austin Sol: C
Not the most uplifting offseason for Austin after losing offensive staples Evan Swiatek, Mark Evans, and Duncan Fitzgerald, as well as Matt Armour and Oliver Fay on defense, but they’ve inherited some pieces from Dallas that warrant some optimism. Connor DeLuna was a 2022 All-Star, and Myles Armstrong was Dallas’ second leading receiver last year. Kyle Henke is still around to lead the offense, and with 2023 Coach of the Year Steven Naji at the helm, Austin will again be in the mix for the postseason in what should be a super tight South Division playoff race.
Boston Glory: A
The team that knocked off New York last season adds reigning Rookie of the Year Tobe Decraene, brings back Ray Tetreault, Henry Babcock, and Ethan Fortin (who played with New York the last three years), and suffers zero notable losses. Oh, and they got a guy in Calvin Stoughton who showed flashes as one of Colorado’s top offensive players in limited action in 2023. That’s a winning offseason if I’ve ever seen one. Additional two-way threats, capable throwers, dynamic playmakers to pair with two-time reigning MVP Jeff Babbitt—if this team just stayed the same that would’ve been a win. This is the team to beat out East.
Carolina Flyers: C+
Losing Tobias Brooks, Anders Juengst, Henry Fisher, and Sol Yanuck isn’t going to be easy to overcome, but let’s face it: If any team is fit to endure those types of losses, it’s probably Carolina. No matter what their roster looks like each year, this is a team that has always finished over .500, and the additions of college stars John McDonnell and Rutledge Smith should help offset some of the departures. Carolina seems to have answers for similar roster shake ups each year, and despite the C+ offseason grade, I don’t doubt this team at all heading into 2025.
Chicago Union: A+
I’m not sure we’ve ever seen a bigger influx of talent than what Chicago has brought in this offseason. They’ve assembled somewhat of a Union all-star team from the past few seasons, with Paul Arters, Pawel Janas, Nate Goff, and others returning to the team, plus they’ve stolen a couple of standouts from Madison and Indianapolis in the trio of Victor Luo, Xavier Payne, and Will Wettengel. Add Daan De Marrée to the mix, one of the best European players, plus Brandon Van Deusen, just two years removed from a 6,000 yard season, and you’ve got one the most talented on-paper teams in the league heading into the new season.
Colorado Summit: B
Good luck to the West Division defenses looking to contain whatever combo of Alex Atkins, Tobias Brooks, Noah Coolman, Quinn Finer, and Keenan Laurence the Summit choose to deploy. The combination of throwing and downfield playmaking ability makes this one of the highest-ceiling units in the league, and while Colorado does suffer some losses on the defensive side, their offensive firepower should be enough to carry them back to the playoffs after a disappointing 2024 campaign.
DC Breeze: B
Do the additions of Christian Boxley and 2024 Callahan Award winner Aidan Downey offset the loss of Jonny Malks? While it’s still unclear whether Malks will end up joining later in the summer, his absence does leave a significant hole in terms of a proven field-stretching thrower on the O-line. Still, with the way this DC offense churns out small ball possessions with smooth, fluid rotations, I’m not too worried. Boxley might be the best downfield receiver in the entire league when he’s at his best—I trust him to compensate on the receiving side for maybe slightly fewer DC hucks—and Downey’s well-rounded skill set is likely to be a seamless fit wherever DC chooses to use him.
Detroit Mechanix: B-
Joe Cubitt. Jake Felton. Justin Perticone. Chris Walsh. At one point or another, all four of these guys were impact players for a Detroit team that has never rostered all four playmakers at the same time. Give the Mechanix some credit; they’re determined to crawl out of the bottom of the Central, and re-adding some of their best players from recent seasons is a great start to their 2025 campaign.
Houston Havoc: B
Houston had a rock solid offseason, returning nearly every core piece while adding a handful of notable Texas guys: Chase Cunningham, Tyler Reinhardt, and Dalton Smith. Cunningham had some dominant seasons with Austin, Smith most recently shined as a D-line quarterback for a Chicago team that went all the way to the championship game in 2022, and Reinhardt adds a nice complementary throwing piece to the Havoc backfield. Without any notable losses, Houston has positioned themselves to potentially overtake Austin as the best team in Texas this year.
Indianapolis AlleyCats: D+
It’s been a rough offseason for the AlleyCats, with most of their franchise staples either retiring or switching teams. New addition Carson Chamberlain was an underrated playmaker for Detroit last year, and Nick Pappas showed plenty of flashes as a two-way player for Chicago—don’t be surprised to see these guys towards the top of Indy’s scoring leaders this year—but it’s a new era for Indy and remains to be seen how their young pieces carve out a new identity.
Los Angeles Aviators: D
While they still have their small core of franchise staples—as long as Sean McDougall is in the lineup, you can never count them out—the offseason departures are going to be a lot to overcome. The loss of their two star O-line handlers in addition to downfield playmakers Bryan Nguyen and Everest Shapiro leave a massive question mark for the offense heading into 2025. They’ve got a lot of unknowns on their team, and will need a handful of these guys to emerge as consistent contributors for them to have any hope of pushing for a playoff spot in the South.
Madison Radicals: C
Out with the old guard, in with the new. Madison’s slowly been undergoing a cultural shift, and this shift is getting expedited by the departures of franchise staples like Brian Hart, Avery Johnson, Victor Luo, Andrew Meshnick, and Pat Shriwise. Luo is the only one of this group that finished in Madison’s top 15 last year in minutes played, so they may not look significantly different on the field, but they’re going to need their younger guys to continue stepping into leadership roles and evolving their games if they want to keep up with Chicago and Minnesota.
Montreal Royal: C-
Obviously the loss of the reigning "Rookie Of The Year" stings, but the Royal do add a pair of former Ottawa Outlaws stars in Geoff Bevan and Jeremy Hill. This Montreal squad was punchy last year, and they still have the talent with guys like Jakob Brissette, Quentin Bonnaud, Kevin Quinlan, and Christophe Tremblay-Joncas to play up to the competition in the East.
Minnesota Wind Chill: B+
The Wind Chill made two early offseason splashes, signing former Hustle and Phoenix stars Justin Burnett and James Pollard. They’ve been pretty quiet since, though with the bulk of their championship roster returning for another year, this team certainly has the right balance of depth and top-end talent to make another run. Adding two more defensive playmakers to one of the league’s best defenses and most explosive counterattacks has the Wind Chill looking like the team to beat once again in the Central Division, despite Chicago’s impressive offseason.
New York Empire: C
Maybe I’m too focused on the losses and not high enough on the additions, but losing Elliott Chartock and Charles Weinberg on offense, plus a massive list of D-line guys that includes Bretton Tan and both Drost brothers makes me the most skeptical about New York that I’ve been since I started working for the league in 2019. Calvin Brown and Max Sheppard are definitely worth getting excited about—we’ve seen what Sheppard can do when surrounded by talent—and I wouldn’t be surprised if the rest of their additions make an immediate impact, but I just can’t help but feel that this was a net negative offseason for New York given the roster turnover. Time will tell!
Oakland Spiders: B-
The Spiders have had one of the quieter offseasons, but they’ve got a nice group heading into 2025. They’re returning a strong core, which features several young players like Raekwon Adkins, Dexter Clyburn, Walker Frankenberg, and others that have yet to reach their ceilings, and the additions of a few experienced ultimate vets making UFA debuts should keep Oakland in the playoff conversation out West for a third straight year.
Oregon Steel: C
Oregon is mostly a mystery to me. I think the rebrand presents a great opportunity for a fresh start for the franchise, but I’m not seeing enough from the roster to expect anything significantly different from what we saw from the Portland Nitro. Lucas Coniaris should immediately take on a big role for the offense after leading the AlleyCats for the past few seasons, and he could form a nice three-man attack with sophomores David Barram and Ben Thoennes.
Philadelphia Phoenix: D+
The Phoenix suffered several key losses this offseason on both offense and defense, so they could look quite a bit different in 2025. While there’s some hype with some of their younger players, it remains to be seen how the team fills all the vacated production; Philly will be without their top three plus/minus leaders from a season ago, as well as two of their top-three leaders in throwing yards. On the bright side, many of the franchise staples are still there—Sean Mott, Greg Martin, and Paul Owens to name a few—so we shouldn’t be surprised if they continue to be their usual hot-and-cold selves.
Pittsburgh Thunderbirds: C
Yes, they lost Max Sheppard and Pete Zaccardi and though they don’t really have any notable additions, there’s still plenty to like about this Thunderbirds roster. They played their best offensive game of the season last year without Sheppard in the lineup, as Will Hoffencamp, Anil Driehuys and company played a near-perfect game in Pittsburgh’s five-turnover effort against Indy. This new era Thunderbirds team proved they could knock off the best in the Central with wins over Chicago and Minnesota last year, and they should again be plenty punchy with a full year of experience under the belts of last year’s rookies.
Salt Lake Shred: C-
Salt Lake is sure to feel the holes left by the franchise’s all-time leader in total yards, Sean Connole, as well as two-time UFA champion Grant Lindsley. Then you look at the vacated production of guys like Elijah Jaime and Ben Field, plus Joe Merrill’s injury, and you start to wonder if last year’s West Division runner-up could have trouble rebounding this year. While the Shred still have the bulk of their guys, including all three Yorgasons, they had a bumpy back half of the season when their depth started to crumble a bit, so it remains to be seen how many losses this core can handle. Though with Head Coach Bryce Merrill, two-time MVP finalist Jordan Kerr, and plenty of young talent, it’s still hard to doubt a team that’s just two years removed from a championship game appearance.
San Diego Growlers: B+
The Growlers have lots of positive momentum coming into 2025 after a strong offseason. Headlined by the returns of Khalif El-Salaam and Jesse Cohen, plus Daniel Brunker and Marcel Osborne coming over from LA, Travis Dunn and the Growlers core gets a boost for the new season and is well-positioned to make a run at a playoff spot in the South, especially given Austin and LA’s losses.
Seattle Cascades: C
Not a bad offseason for Seattle after returning the bulk of their roster that got them to their first Championship Weekend appearance since 2016, but they didn’t bring in any splashy signings to retool either. While they’ve lost a few notable guys on defense, the most important defensive player in the league, reigning DPOY Lukas Ambrose, is back for another year and should keep this unit operating at a high level. The addition of Asher Lantz should help fill some of that vacated takeaway volume, and the young Cascades core with another year of experience should continue trending upwards in 2025.
Toronto Rush: A-
The “Rush Reboot” offseason campaign really kicked into gear when Toronto announced the signings of three notable European talents in Toms Abeltins, Tom Blasman, and Arvids Karklins back in January. The influx of talent continued after that, with the Rush bringing back franchise legend Mark Lloyd, along with multiple Rush stars from the past several seasons, plus another Euro-star in Connor McHale. It’s exactly the offseason Toronto needed if they want to climb back to the top of the East, but they’ve still got a long way to go, and there are a lot of unknowns with regards to UFA experience and overall chemistry. But, if the hype of the European contingent proves warranted, this offseason grade is gonna look far too low by the end of the season.
Vegas Bighorns: C+
The UFA’s newest franchise brought in a handful of players (I counted 5-10) with previous UFA experience, so that’s good to see, including Bighorns captain Joel Clutton, a unanimous selection to the UFA All-Defense team in 2022. While some of the guys, Clutton included, have made notable impacts at times throughout their on-and-off UFA careers, there isn’t a ton of recent UFA starpower on the roster so it’s hard to get overly excited about the inaugural roster. Still, the level of experience and recognizable names is a good sign, so a net positive offseason grade feels appropriate.
