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NEWS
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After a back-and-forth season, Colorado Rapids missed the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs and have their sights set on making changes ahead of the 2026 season.
The club has already parted ways with head coach Chris Armas (who they were in-talks to sign to a contract extension prior to the decision) & are currently in the search for a new head coach.
This season, the squad missed the MLS Cup Playoffs and finished as the 11th seed in the Western Conference
Taking a glance at the overall season, Colorado went 8-5-4 at home & 3-10-4 on the road. They scored 16 less goals and allowed 4 goals less in comparison to their 2024 campaign.
With their roster decisions published, Colorado will have a lot of roster flexibility & a lot of decisions to make in regards to their future as they look to improve this roster.
In the offseason guide:
The Positives
Rafael Navarro (17 goal contributions) & Djordje Mihailovic (16 goal contributions) carried this team this season. Only 4 players (Navarro, Mihailovic, Yapi, & Harris) had 5+ goals this season.
Defensively, the squad improved in comparison to 2024 and that can easily be attributed to Zack Steffen regaining his form. The goalkeeper received a handful of USMNT call-ups and has essentially re-inserted himself into the conversation to make the World Cup roster. He’s a very important piece to the Colorado defense.
Colorado were pretty good at home this season. They went 8W-5L-4D and were among the top in the West in terms of points recorded at home.
The Negatives
On the road, Colorado was one of the worst teams in the Western Conference. With a 3W-10L-4D record, they were lucky to even finish 11th.
At the same time, Colorado missed the playoffs by only one point. In their final 5 games of the season, they ended up going 1W-2D-2L, with their biggest blunder occurring on decision day versus LAFC, where they allowed a 90th minute goal by Andrew Moran to knock them out of the playoffs.
The squad in comparison to 2024 scored 16 less goals. Scoring goals matters when you’re looking to qualify for the playoffs.
Colorado was also another MLS team that struggled in the Leagues Cup. They failed to make it out of the group stage as the club had just 1 win & 2 losses. They were victorious 2-1 over Santos Laguna, fell 2-1 versus Club Tijuana, & fell 2-2 (5-4 in penalties) to Cruz Azul.
Roster Flexibility
The Colorado Rapids have A LOT of roster flexibility. At the moment, the club has two designated players (Paxton Aaronson & Rafael Navarro) and three U-22 initiative signings (Cole Bassett, Theodore Ku-Dipietro, & Alexis Manyoma).
This club is currently in the 2DP and 4 U-22s model. In regard to GAM totals, the club has $2,033,775 of GAM (as of Sept. 18, 2025).
The club announced their end-of-season roster update, where they announced most contract option decisions.
The club is entering the 2026 season with 23 players rostered as of November 25th.
Offseason Priorities
Hire a new head coach that is willing to take on the challenge of bringing this team back into the MLS Cup Playoffs.
Find more offensive weapons to assist Paxten Aaronson & Raffael Navarro.
© USA Today Sports
© USA Today Sports