The NFL schedule has finally been released for the 2025 season, and we can finally start fully navigating the bye weeks for fantasy football. The good news is that the NFL must have listened to our complaints from last season, because we only get one true "Bye Mageddon" and it's in Week 8, with six teams on a bye.  

Last season, fantasy managers had to go through hell when we saw not only six teams on a bye in Week 12, but another six teams on a bye during Week 14! Roger Goodell must have lost his fantasy league last year or something, because this season it is much easier to navigate.

Without further ado, here are the bye weeks for all 32 NFL teams:

2025 NFL Bye Weeks And Fantasy Football Takeaways

Week 5:

  • Green Bay Packers
  • Atlanta Falcons
  • Chicago Bears
  • Pittsburgh Steelers

Alright, not going to lie, Week 5 kind of sucks. Fantasy managers of top running backs like Bijan Robinson and Josh Jacobs will need to have some insurance for the week.

Make sure to plan ahead if you took Caleb Williams in the middle rounds or waited on Jordan Love later.

Week 6:

  • Minnesota Vikings
  • Houston Texans

This week is manageable, but it still hurts having Justin Jefferson, C.J. Stroud, Joe Mixon, and Nico Collins gone.

Week 7:

  • Baltimore Ravens
  • Buffalo Bills

Woof, losing two dual-threat quarterbacks in one week is harsh. It'll be important if you roster Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson to not wait on picking up your backup quarterback until the week before, make sure you plan ahead.

Week 8:

  • Las Vegas Raiders
  • Detroit Lions
  • Los Angeles Rams
  • Seattle Seahawks
  • Arizona Cardinals
  • Jacksonville Jaguars

There it is … bye mageddon. Should we just go through the list? In Week 8, we won't see Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta, Brian Thomas, Kyren Williams, Puka Nacua, Davante Adams, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Kenneth Walker, Kyler Murray, Marvin Harrison, Trey McBride, Ashton Jeanty, and Brock Bowers … just to name a few. Six teams off ensures that even the toughest built fantasy teams will be impacted. Use the same advice as before, don't wait until the week before to start adding players off the waiver wire. Prepare early and pray.

Week 9:

  • Philadelphia Eagles
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  • Cleveland Browns
  • New York Jets

Week 9 is like a sneaky papercut, doesn't seem like much, but can hurt like hell. You'll be without top quarterbacks like Jalen Hurts, Baker Mayfield, and (hopefully) Justin Fields. We will also be out of the top rushers from all four teams.

Week 10:

  • Dallas Cowboys
  • Cincinnati Bengals
  • Tennessee Titans
  • Kansas City Chiefs

Okay, first of all, can we talk about how the Chiefs have the most primetime games in 2025, with seven, and the second-most primetime games go to the DALLAS COWBOYS at six?

It's Jerry's World, and we're just living in it.

Anyways, we won't have to worry too much about superstars from the Titans, but everyone else? Yeah, that's going to hurt.

Week 11:

  • New Orleans Saints
  • Indianapolis Colts

At least Cooterdoodle can't be upset since the Saints aren't playing, right? Everyone needs a break sometime.

Week 12:

  • Washington Commanders
  • Denver Broncos
  • Miami Dolphins
  • Los Angeles Chargers

This is going to chop up to be a challenging Week 12 with Bo Nix, Courtland Sutton, Justin Herbert, Ladd McConkey, Tyreek Hill, Tua Tagovailoa, De'Von Achane, Jayden Daniels, and Terry McLaurin.

Good luck on the waiver wire, folks!

Week 14:

  • Carolina Panthers
  • New York Giants
  • San Francisco 49ers
  • New England Patriots

The final bye week could come with some heavy hitters, especially if Christian McCaffrey is able to stay healthy up to this point. Also, Malik Nabers, Tetairoa McMillan, Chuba Hubbard, and Brock Purdy will take a toll.

Overall Takeaways On Bye Weeks From The NFL Schedule Release

Let's talk about the overall takeaways:

  • Plan ahead: The best advice in this article will be the same week in and week out—make sure to plan ahead. Save this article and try to hit the waiver wire early before your superstar players have to hit the bench. It's important to stay ahead of all your leaguemates.
     
  • Week 8 is Bye-Mageddon: There are six teams on a bye, and you need to watch out for this during drafts. I don't usually let bye weeks affect my draft strategy, but this is the one week where I'll be extra cautious and keep a close eye on these six teams in Week 8.
     
  • Should I change my draft strategy?: Ultimately you don't need to change anything in the way you draft, just make sure to take a peak at bye weeks before you click draft to ensure you're not stacking players who will be off on the same week.
     
  • Week 14 could rock teams: Thankfully, the bye weeks are better than last season, but Week 14 could have some heavy hitters that set you back a week before the fantasy playoffs begin. Plan accordingly.