8 Biggest Distractions Facing NFL Teams in 2023

Distractions can derail an NFL team's Super Bowl hopes quickly. Both on-field and off-field issues can end up causing a franchise to have a poor season.

Scenarios such as a disgruntled player demanding a trade or causing issues with team chemistry as well as other factors can cause a franchise to lose focus and take unnecessary losses.

Pending criminal cases are another matter entirely and were intentionally omitted.

With that in mind, here are the eight biggest potential distractions NFL teams are facing ahead of the 2023 season.

The Arizona Cardinals have little hope of contending without Kyler Murray on the field. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, it remains to be seen if the star quarterback will make it back into the lineup in time for the squad to be competitive in 2023. Murray's 2022 season was cut short by a torn ACL, an injury that could keep him sidelined for a significant stretch.

The NFL Network's Ian Rapoport revealed that Murray could miss as much as half the upcoming campaign while he recovers from surgery on the knee. The 25-year-old reportedly isn't going to rush back and will wait until he's "100 percent" recovered before returning. While Murray has displayed strong progress in his rehab—including sharing a video of himself doing weighted squats just 13 weeks after his procedure—there's still no official timetable on when the team may activate him.

Arizona seemed to finally make real strides towards becoming a Super Bowl threat under the young passer during the 2021 campaign—going 11-6 during the regular season, the club's best showing since 2015—but regressed last year, finishing with an ugly 4-13 record with Murray going 3-8 in his 11 starts.

With Murray's uncertain status set to loom over this club for the foreseeable future, it appears another rough year is ahead for fans out in the desert.

The Baltimore Ravens made one of the more interesting signings off the 2023 offseason when they inked Odell Beckham Jr. to a one-year contract. While the incentive-laden deal isn't too much of a financial risk for the organization, the move could end up being an unwelcome distraction if Beckham proves to be a poor fit in the offense.

OBJ was last seen on the field scoring the opening touchdown of Super Bowl LVI for the Los Angeles Rams. He couldn't finish the contest after injuring his knee and later revealed that he played the entire back half of the 2021 campaign with a torn ACL. Beckham had surgery to repair the issue the following offseason and ultimately missed the entire 2022 season.

It now remains to be seen if the 30-year-old can return to full strength and continue playing at a high level. While he was a strong addition to L.A.'s roster—scoring a total of seven touchdowns in 12 contests including the playoffs for the club—he messily forced his way out of the Cleveland Browns' organization following two-and-a-half disappointing seasons.

If Beckham doesn't gel with Baltimore's run-heavy attack and isn't getting enough touches in an offense that also features Rashod Bateman, Mark Andrews and exciting rookie prospect Zay Flowers, the wideout could quickly turn sour and tank the chemistry in Baltimore's locker room.

The Detroit Lions were hit hard by a wave of gambling suspensions that were handed out in late-April. Four of the five players being punished by the league were members of the Lions, a group that includes receivers Stanley Berryhill, Quintez Cephus and Jameson Williams in addition to safety C.J. Moore. Cephus and Moore will be out for the entire 2023 season at a minimum for wagering on NFL games during the 2022 campaign, while Berryhill and Williams were each hit with a six-game suspension for betting on non-NFL games at a team facility.

While none of these talents made a huge impact last season—and Moore and Cephus were subsequently released following the NFL's judgement—the loss of Williams is a notable setback for the Detroit offense. The second-year wideout, who Detroit invested the No. 12 overall pick on, spent much of his rookie season on injured reserve before returning for the final six contests. He contributed a single 40-yard rush and a 41-yard reception in those contests but was in line to start alongside star wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown this coming season.

The Lions narrowly missed out on making the playoffs last year, coming up just shy following an impressive midseason turnaround. Expectations are high for the organization this season, but the loss of key personnel like Williams for an extended stretch is a hindrance that could set them back and make the journey back to the playoffs tougher than it needed to be.

The Las Vegas Raiders were a trendy pick to make a run last year. They added a Hall of Famer-caliber wideout in Davante Adams—reuniting him with collegiate quarterback Derek Carr—and several other notable veterans in addition to hiring Josh McDaniels to take the head coaching reins. The team got off to a slow start, however, and couldn't turn things around. With the Raiders ultimately finishing 6-11 and well out of playoff contention, McDaniels' seat turned red-hot heading into 2023.

This won't be the first time the former New England Patriots coach has found himself in a tricky situation in the AFC West. He took the Denver Broncos' reins back in 2009, leading them to a middling 8-8 record in his first year. After stumbling to a 3-9 record the following year, McDaniels was let go before the season even ended. While he rehabilitated his image by winning three more Super Bowls upon his return to Foxboro, it appears his second head coaching stint could be as equally short as his first.

McDaniels will have some familiar faces around him as he attempts to turn Vegas around, including a new starting quarterback in former Patriots passer Jimmy Garoppolo and up-and-coming wideout Jakobi Meyers. The coach will need these players to step up in a big way, as he can't afford another stumble out of the gate. Doing so will crank the pressure up considerably and potentially cost him his job before the year even ends.

The Minnesota Vikings appear to be in a state of transition with no clear direction after they released star running back Dalvin Cook and are reportedly considering trading elite pass-rusher Danielle Hunter. The team, coming off a respectable 13-4 campaign and its first NFC North title since 2017, looks to be regressing and may struggle to reach the playoffs again in 2023.

It's understandable that Minnesota parted ways with Cook due to salary constraints. While the back just earned his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl nod following another strong 1,000-plus yard season, he was due to count for over $14 million against the cap. The move saved $9 million and has former backup Alexander Mattison slated to take over as the team's top option in the backfield.

The Vikings are now considering moving on from Hunter as well. The pass-rusher is still one of the best in the league at his position, racking up 10.5 sacks and making his third Pro Bowl appearance last year. He's due just $5.5 million in 2023—the final year of his current deal—but he's skipped voluntary workouts while seeking a raise. The NFL Network's Ian Rapoport found that Minnesota's front office is fielding trade offers for the edge-rusher and has reportedly received strong interest.

While it remains to be seen if Hunter will get moved, the situation is a distraction for a Vikings team that already lost a locker room and on-field leader in Cook. If Hunter does get shipped off, this club will have a tough time repeating its regular season successes from a year ago.

The New York Giants were one of the surprise success stories of the 2022 campaign. The team outperformed modest expectations with new head coach Brian Daboll at the wheel, reaching the playoffs for the first time in over a half-decade and even winning their first postseason game since a Super Bowl run in 2011. While the team managed to keep much of its core together this offseason, it hasn't been able to get an extension ironed out for Saquon Barkley.

While the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport noted that the two sides are "back in communication" as of this week, an agreement still hasn't been reached. If a deal doesn't get done within the next month, the team will have no option left other than hoping Barkley signs his franchise tag. The team placed it on their star running back earlier in the offseason, but the No. 2 overall pick in 2018 wants a longer contract after his resurgent 2022 campaign.

Barkley, coming off his best rushing season as a professional and his first 1,000-plus yard showing since his sophomore year, has even hinted at potentially skipping the entire 2023 season if an extension isn't hammered out before the July 17 deadline for franchise-tagged talents to sign.

With expectations higher than they have been in years for Big Blue, this distraction is one the team can hardly afford. Barkley was the heart of their offense last year and shouldered a massive workload for a squad that grinded out plenty of close wins. Having him disgruntled and potentially even sitting out will set the Giants—who only have veteran Matt Breida and fifth-round rookie Eric Gray as viable options behind Barkley—back significantly.

The New York Jets went all in on a Super Bowl when they swung a blockbuster trade for Aaron Rodgers this offseason. The future Hall of Famer represents a major upgrade over incumbent starter Zach Wilson, but it's far from guaranteed the Jets will be able to lift the Lombardi Trophy during Rodgers' tenure. The aging passer is coming off a down year with the Green Bay Packers and has a tall task ahead in turning around an offense that averaged a mere 318.2 yards and 17.4 points per game in 2022.

Rodgers may have won his second straight and most recent of four total MVP awards at the conclusion of the 2021 campaign, but he could not continue that hot streak last year. Rodgers only completed 64.6 percent of his passes for 3,695 yards and 26 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. During his back-to-back MVP seasons, the quarterback averaged a 69.8 percent completion rate, 4,207 yards, 42.5 scores and just 4.5 interceptions. It's possible those types of consistently elite performances are in the rearview as he enters an age 39 campaign.

Playoff success has also evaded Rodgers in recent years. Since winning his lone championship in Super Bowl XLV, Rodgers has gone just 7-9 in the postseason. His Packers failed to even make it out of the Divisional Round despite a league-best 13-4 record in 2021.

While Rodgers will find some familiarity thanks to Gang Green's hiring of offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and the signings of wideouts Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb, he'll still have to get used to playing with a slew of new teammates in a new location. As Russell Wilson found out last year when he was traded to the Denver Broncos—a team that had the worst offense in the league—it's not always an easy transition to make. If Rodgers and the Jets get off to a slow start, the noise from the New York media will be a tough distraction to block out.

The Washington Commanders have a pending sale of the team hanging over them, a situation that may not be resolved anytime soon. It's already been over two months since an agreement was reached in principle for Dan Snyder to sell the Washington Commanders to a group spearheaded by Josh Harris—owner of the NHL's New Jersey Devils and NBA's Philadelphia 76ers—for a record-setting $6.05 billion, but there is a chance the deal takes quite a bit of time to finalize.

According to USA Today's Jarrett Bell, "NFL owners were nowhere close to approving the deal" in late May due to equity issues and the large number of people involved in Harris' ownership group. The number of limited partners is which is reportedly up to 20 according to A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports, just four under the league limit.

There is optimism the deal will be finalized before the 2023 campaign kicks off. According to SBJ's Ben Fischer, NFL owners have been told to reserve both July 20 and August 8 as potential dates for "special league meetings", signs that seem to indicate the league is confident a final vote will take place in the summer.

It remains to be seen how the pending sale will impact Washington's on-field product this year. While the major waves of free agency and the draft are over, teams will still be signing veterans and swinging trades leading up to the 2023 campaign. If the Commanders' front office is reticent to make splashes, it could set the club back.