Mike McCarthy found a way to needle his starting quarterback without saying much at all. Asked about Aaron Rodgers on The Pat McAfee Show Thursday, the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach didn’t answer the question. He just laughed and threw it back at McAfee instead.

The exchange came after Pittsburgh’s 28-9 preseason win over the Green Bay Packers, a game Rodgers didn’t play in. McAfee wanted to know if McCarthy planned on “playing Aaron Rodgers ever,” a nod to Rodgers’ own recent comments dismissing preseason football as something less than real. McCarthy didn’t bite.

“Well, hell, just put him on your show again. Jesus Christ!” McCarthy said, according to Yardbarker. “I thought we were on the same team here.”

The Rodgers-McAfee Appearance That Started It

McCarthy’s joke traces back to August 3, when Rodgers sat down with McAfee and got asked a fairly standard question: what does this season, and the idea of life after football, look like for him. Rodgers didn’t stay on script.

He pivoted into a discussion of Dr. Anthony Fauci and a recent congressional hearing, then turned the conversation toward his own history with the media. Rodgers pointed to the scrutiny he faced over his vaccination status during his years with the Green Bay Packers and argued the coverage was lopsided.

“How much time did they spend on my responses every week, on my vaccination status, on Taylor and Travis’ wedding? Did they do even a minute? Did they do even a minute on Tony Fauci?” Rodgers said.

The comments spread fast. Pittsburgh’s Senior Director of Communications, Burt Lauten, addressed the moment by defending players’ right to hold personal views, according to a statement shared by Steelers Depot on X.

McCarthy Keeps Steering Back to Football

When reporters pressed McCarthy on the controversy directly, he stuck to the same line he’s used since the interview first made news.

“These are grown men,” McCarthy said. “They all have different opinions. There’s no question about that. At the end of the day, my job is to keep it about football.”

It’s a deliberate approach. McCarthy isn’t defending or distancing himself from what Rodgers said — he’s simply declining to engage with it as a team issue. That framing matters in a locker room McCarthy has said thrives on veteran voices speaking freely, Rodgers included.

Why Rodgers Sat Out the Packers Game

Rodgers’ absence from Thursday’s win had nothing to do with the McAfee fallout. McCarthy explained postgame that the Steelers wanted to get their other three quarterbacks — Mason Rudolph, Will Howard and rookie Drew Allar — real snaps in a competitive room, a rotation decision that had been signaled well before kickoff.

Rodgers is expected to see his first preseason action since 2018 when Pittsburgh hosts the New York Jets on August 21, a game he’s said he’ll play in if McCarthy wants him out there for 30 to 40 snaps.

What Comes Next

None of this settles anything. Rodgers, 42, has framed this as likely his final NFL season, and McCarthy’s comfort with letting him speak his mind isn’t going away before Week 1. If Rodgers is back on McAfee’s show before the regular season starts, McCarthy’s joke may end up sounding less like a joke and more like a prediction.

Detroit Lions fans are still processing what Cade Mays’ wrist injury means for the offensive line, and the fan base isn’t of one mind about it.

Mays reportedly broke a small bone in his wrist last week. He’s expected to miss 8-10 weeks, a timeline that could keep him out until after Detroit’s Week 5 bye. In the meantime, the Lions are turning to in-house options at center, leaning on Seth McLaughlin and Michael Niese while Juice Scruggs works his way back from a separate soft tissue injury.

With the center spot unsettled heading into the season, Pride of Detroit put the question to readers in its latest SB Nation Reacts survey, sponsored by FanDuel Sportsbook: What’s your concern level for the Lions’ offensive line after Cade Mays’ injury?

The results leaned slightly toward optimism. Based on the comment section, that confidence seems rooted less in the current depth chart and more in trust — trust that the coaching staff can identify the right replacement, and that there’s still enough time before the regular season to get someone ready.

What Fans Are Saying

Reaction in the comment section and on The Feed ranged from measured calm to real worry.

Some pointed to the offseason work general manager Brad Holmes put in on the line. User Waitingsince57 laid out a four-part case for moderate concern: Holmes fortified the offensive line this offseason, the trade for Scruggs was aimed at shoring up interior depth, McLaughlin is

“a formidable, award-winning Center from OSU just 2 years ago”

who knows the position, and the coaching staff — Hank Fraley and John Petzing — will sort it out.

Others weren’t as reassured. Enor kept it simple:

“It all starts with the middle of the line. I’m very concerned.”

Hungry Lion landed in similar territory, rating their concern “Moderately High” and noting that while Scruggs is a solid option, he’s not the same level of player Mays is.

A few fans took the long view. 12Jamie argued that injuries even out across a long season and that health in January — not August — is what actually decides whether a team contends. ULTIMATEpunisher007 struck a similar note, saying the situation “isn’t nearly as bad as losing Frank,” referring to All-Pro center Frank Ragnow’s retirement, and expressing confidence Scruggs can hold the fort early in the season.

PrideLander summed up the middle ground many fans seem to occupy: concern tied mostly to present uncertainty, tempered by the fact that it’s still early enough in the preseason to find a workable answer between Scruggs, Tate Ratledge, and McLaughlin.

Why It Matters

The center position is the hub of pass protection and run-blocking communication — the player responsible for identifying fronts and setting protections before the snap. Losing that continuity, even for two months, forces backups into a role that leans heavily on chemistry with the quarterback and the rest of the line. That’s the practical reason the fan base isn’t panicking, but isn’t dismissing it either: it’s a solvable problem, but only if the answer gets found before Week 1.

The Detroit Lions dropped their preseason opener 16-14 to the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night at Paycor Stadium, and for a handful of players fighting for roster spots, the tape raised more questions than it answered. This Lions roster battle is far from settled, and a few names below now face a tougher path to the 53-man roster after Thursday’s showing.

Rain fell for most of the night in Cincinnati, and the wet ball played a role in several of Detroit’s mistakes — including a fumbled handoff and multiple bobbled snaps. With 32 players held out, including 18 starters, according to Pride of Detroit, the backups and roster hopefuls got an extended look. Some took advantage. These five did not.

Michael Niese, C

Niese’s night included a nice block that sprung Raheem Blackshear on a 24-yard run, but it’s what happened at the snap that stands out. He skipped one snap off the wet turf for a 5-yard loss, and a second bad exchange was salvaged by backup quarterback Luke Altmyer. Yahoo Sports/SI reported that Niese finished with the second-worst offensive grade on the team at 38.6, with two bad snaps that resulted in fumbles.

Center is suddenly a real competition in Detroit. Cade Mays, the team’s prized offseason addition at the position, is expected to miss 8-10 weeks with a fractured wrist, and Juice Scruggs is dealing with a separate soft-tissue injury, according to Heavy.com. That opens a real path for Niese to make the roster — if he can clean up the one job a center cannot get wrong. Ball security at the snap is not a small technical detail. It’s the position’s entire first responsibility, and it’s cost Niese before: he took over mid-game at center late last season and delivered a poor snap that resulted in a safety, which turned out to be his final offensive snap of 2025.

Dominic Lovett, WR

Lovett tied for the team lead in receiving with three catches for 28 yards, but the surface number hides a rougher outing. He drew a team-high eight targets and caught fewer than half of them, with two drops mixed in. On special teams, he bobbled one of his two punt return chances. Detroit’s receiver room behind the top of the depth chart is crowded, and Lovett is fighting for both a receiving role and a return job at once.

To his credit, nobody else in that receiver group separated from the pack either. Pride of Detroit noted Lovett out-targeted fellow roster hopeful Tay Martin eight to one in the race for a WR5 spot, giving him a real opening — he just needs to convert more of those looks into clean catches.

Luke Altmyer, QB

This one is complicated, because Altmyer’s tape was genuinely encouraging in stretches. He pushed the ball downfield with confidence, including a 23-yard strike to Cedrick Wilson, and stayed composed in the pocket. Of his two interceptions, one came off a drop by Isaac TeSlaa and the other was a late, off-target heave trying to force a play in the final seconds.

The box score won’t wow anyone. Altmyer finished 13-of-22 for 130 yards, one touchdown and two picks, while fellow quarterback Josh Dobbs went 4-for-8 for 32 yards in his limited work. But raw numbers undersell what Altmyer needed from this game. It was his best chance to put real distance between himself and Dobbs on the depth chart, and that gap didn’t open. Dobbs, a recent signing who only received the playbook days before kickoff, gets another week of practice to catch up before the next preseason game — meaning the early-arrival advantage Altmyer had is gone. The undrafted rookie can still win this competition. He just left some room on the table Thursday night.

Miles Frazier, OL

Frazier played every offensive snap Thursday — 66 of 66, per SI/Yahoo’s snap count breakdown — and entered the week looking like a lock for the 53-man roster. That’s probably still the case. But three holding penalties in one outing is a real dent in the confidence level, especially for a lineman who was flagged twice for false starts in his first game action of 2025 before barely playing the rest of that season.

Working at guard with the first team, Frazier held his own without standing out, overshadowed at times by Christian Mahogany and Blake Miller. He later slid out to left tackle, showing off his positional versatility — then got beaten badly for a sack there, a reminder that flexibility only helps if the play at each spot holds up. He remains a good bet to make the team. He’s just no longer a lock.

Payton Turner, DE

Turner didn’t play Thursday. According to Heavy.com, the defensive end is dealing with a back issue that kept him out of the preseason opener, one of several injuries piling up for Detroit’s front seven this camp. Normally, missing a game isn’t held against a player. But Turner is short on time to show he belongs on the roster, and the clock worked against him twice Thursday.

First, the players competing with him for a defensive line spot all played well. Ahmed Hassanein was outstanding, logging a third-down strip sack in the red zone. Eric O’Neill stood out consistently, Skyler Gill-Howard looked like a legitimate pass rusher, and Chris Smith and Myles Adams both flashed against the run. Even depth pieces like Ben Stille and Anthony Lucas had moments. Second, Detroit’s front seven has real numbers, and not all of these players can make the roster. Turner needs snaps, and soon, or he’ll be watching from behind players who are actively building tape while he heals.

Snap Counts at a Glance

Snap counts via SI/Yahoo Sports.

Detroit’s next preseason tune-up is another chance for each of these players to answer the questions Thursday raised — or let them linger heading toward roster cuts.

Ben Roethlisberger didn’t hide his reaction to Drew Allar’s first game in a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform. The Steelers legend said he was caught off guard by how the rookie quarterback handled himself in the team’s preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers, and he wasn’t alone in noticing.

Allar, Pittsburgh’s third-round pick out of Penn State at No. 76 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft, entered in the third quarter of Thursday night’s game and immediately made his presence felt. His first pass went for 75 yards. Two plays later, he punched it in himself on a read-option keeper. By the time the night ended, he’d thrown two touchdown passes, run for a third, and completed 10 of 13 attempts for 154 yards in a 28-9 Steelers win, according to ABC News.

What Roethlisberger said about Drew Allar

Speaking on his Footbahlin podcast, Roethlisberger broke down what stood out about both Allar and fellow young quarterback Will Howard, who played earlier in the game. He didn’t ration his praise.

“I would be incredibly encouraged as a Steelers fan to say I think our future is here, but let’s be certain. I love the fact that we have two options. You can’t afford to put one of them on a practice squad as somebody will come scoop them up,” Roethlisberger said, according to HITC.

He then turned his attention specifically to Allar.

“I feel the same way about Drew. Like I want him to get more reps… I was pleasantly surprised. I thought he was super consistent. Just like Will, he made good decisions with the ball and didn’t turn it over.”

Matthew Luciow posted video of the segment on X: “Big Ben on Will Howard and Drew Allar: ‘I would be incredibly encouraged as a Steelers fan to say I think our future is here.'”

Big Ben on Will Howard and Drew Allar:

“I would be incredibly encouraged as a Steelers fan to say I think our future is here.”#steelers

🎥 Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger @_BigBen7 pic.twitter.com/JG0N04cwi5

— Matthew Luciow (@matthewluciow92) August 14, 2026

Roethlisberger’s comments carry weight in Pittsburgh. He’s the last quarterback to bring the franchise a Super Bowl, and the Steelers have cycled through backup options since he retired following the 2021 season.

How the debut unfolded

Aaron Rodgers sat out entirely, a decision head coach Mike McCarthy signaled was coming so the 42-year-old could rest during the preseason opener, per CBS News Pittsburgh. That left the door open for Mason Rudolph, Howard and Allar to split reps and make a case for the No. 2 job behind Rodgers.

Rudolph started and went 10 of 11 for 93 yards, directing a long drive that stalled at the goal line. Howard followed and looked sharp running the two-minute offense, finishing 7 of 9 for 86 yards and setting up a short touchdown run. Then Allar took over and turned in the night’s headline performance, capping a 5-play, 80-yard drive with his own touchdown run before adding two more scoring drives, including a touchdown pass to fellow rookie Kaden Wetjen and another to Riley Nowakowski.

McCarthy, making his own debut leading his hometown team, was complimentary of the group afterward. “I thought they were very poised,” he said, according to ABC News. “I said I like the way (the quarterbacks) played, especially the young guys.”

Allar entered to chants of “Drewwww” from the home crowd, a sign fans were already invested in the rookie before he’d taken a snap, per ABC News.

Why this matters beyond one preseason game

None of this changes Rodgers’ status as the starter. But it does shape the more interesting question in Pittsburgh: who backs him up, and who’s next in line whenever he’s done. Rudolph is the known commodity. Howard, a sixth-round pick a year ago, has flashed poise in a small sample. Allar now enters that mix as a rookie who didn’t look like one.

What made Allar’s night notable wasn’t just the box score. He read the defense correctly on his touchdown run, took what McCarthy’s play-calling gave him on quick-hitting throws, and didn’t force anything into coverage. That’s the kind of decision-making teams want to see from a third-round rookie before they hand him more responsibility.

The reaction wasn’t limited to a Steelers legend. Fans and outside observers reacted strongly to the performance as well, with some even suggesting Allar could push for playing time sooner than expected, though that kind of talk is speculative given Rodgers remains firmly entrenched as the starter.

Pittsburgh has two more preseason games left, against the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills, before the regular season opens against the Atlanta Falcons. Both will offer more evidence on whether Thursday night was a legitimate signal or simply a good night against a Packers defense playing mostly reserves.

Green Bay’s offensive line spent the offseason answering one question: could Jordan Morgan hold down left tackle full-time? Through one preseason game, the early returns on the tape say yes — at least in pass protection.

The Packers dropped their preseason opener 28-9 to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium, and Yahoo Sports noted Morgan “played well in pass protection, showing a strong base and strong legs while limiting pressures,” even as the same report flagged run blocking as an area where he still needs work. That split matches what shows up on film.

Morgan, the Packers’ first-round pick in 2024, spent most of his first two seasons bouncing between right guard and right tackle out of necessity rather than fit. He’s a natural left tackle by trade — that was his spot at Arizona — and last season’s stretch at the position, both in preseason and in Green Bay’s Week 18 game against Minnesota, hinted at what a full-time move could look like. Thursday’s opener continued that trend.

What the Tape Shows

According to a breakdown from Acme Packing Company, Morgan’s snaps against Pittsburgh were largely unremarkable in the best possible sense for an offensive lineman — clean combo blocks with his guards, sealed assignments on multiple run plays, and no pressures allowed in obvious passing situations. The outlet did flag one blown assignment on what looked like an outside zone toss, where Morgan appeared to work the wrong linebacker and center Sean Rhyan had to cover for him — though without an end-zone angle on the broadcast, the exact leverage and read on that play are hard to nail down definitively.

One moment did stand out enough to circulate on social media. Analyst rcon14 posted a clip of Morgan and the Packers’ run scheme catching a defensive back in an unfavorable spot in the box:

rcon14 posted on X: “This poor DB didn’t want to be in the run fit”

This poor DB didn't want to be in the run fit pic.twitter.com/4vuryI3kGg

— rcon14 (@rcon14) August 14, 2026

The same account also posted film of the missed zone assignment, noting the lack of a clear camera angle made it tough to fully diagnose:

rcon14 posted on X: “Wish they had an endzone view of this play so I could see the leverage of the LB better. Someone blocked the wrong dude.

Wish they had an endzone view of this play so I could see the leverage of the LB better. Someone blocked the wrong dude. pic.twitter.com/46ohopceJf

— rcon14 (@rcon14) August 14, 2026

The Pass-Protection Number Worth Watching — With a Caveat

Acme Packing Company’s own count puts Morgan at one pressure allowed across 107 left tackle snaps spanning last preseason, the Week 18 Vikings game, and Thursday’s opener — a number the outlet arrived at independently of PFF’s official grading, which the site says still lists Morgan with two pressures allowed, including one tied to what it describes as an aborted play. That specific tally is a single analyst’s film count, not a league or PFF-published figure, and it hasn’t been independently verified beyond that one outlet. Treat it as informed opinion rather than confirmed stat.

What is better supported: Morgan enters 2026 on PFF’s list of make-or-break players leaguewide, carrying a 62.0 overall grade and a 68.8 pass-blocking grade from 2025 — numbers PFF analyst Bradley Locker has pointed to as evidence of a player still developing but trending in the right direction.

Why It Matters

Green Bay let Rasheed Walker leave in free agency this offseason rather than bring him back at left tackle, a position where SI’s Packers coverage noted Walker struggled enough that he ultimately signed a below-market deal elsewhere. That decision put the job in Morgan’s hands with thin depth behind him — Darian Kinnard is the primary fallback, and any shuffling would likely mean sliding Zach Tom over from the right side, which head coach Matt LaFleur has already had to account for given other line injuries.

Pass protection is the swing skill here. Morgan’s run blocking was inconsistent in the opener and remains the bigger question mark, but a left tackle who reliably protects Jordan Love’s blind side solves the more urgent problem. If Morgan settles in as a plus pass protector while trending toward average in the run game, Green Bay’s offensive line projects as a real strength rather than a liability heading into the regular season.

The Detroit Lions fell to the Cincinnati Bengals, 16-14, on Thursday night at Paycor Stadium, opening the exhibition portion of Dan Campbell’s sixth season as head coach, according to ESPN’s game recap. The Bengals took the lead late on a Joe Flacco touchdown pass and held on after Detroit’s final scoring drive came up just short.

Weather, turnovers, and penalties made for a sloppy game by both teams. But the Lions used the night for what preseason openers are actually for: evaluation. Detroit played more players likely to make the 53-man roster than in any preseason opener under Campbell, while several developing players got real reps against Bengals starters on both sides of the ball.

It’s still preseason. These performances shouldn’t outweigh 11 training camp practices’ worth of evidence. But the game still matters for roster construction — some players strengthened their case for a regular-season role, and others didn’t.

Here are the winners and losers from the Lions’ preseason opener.

Winner: DE Ahmed Hassanein

Ahmed Hassanein has been one of the breakout stories of Lions training camp, and he backed it up on the field. A year ago, it wasn’t clear he’d make the 53-man roster. Now he looks like a player who might not even need his third preseason snaps against the Colts — and who could carve out an early-season role.

Hassanein set the tone by sacking Joe Burrow against Cincinnati’s starting offensive line. He finished with four tackles, three quarterback hits, two sacks, two tackles for loss, and a forced fumble. His red-zone sack and strip of backup quarterback Josh Johnson killed a Bengals drive and nearly flipped the field. Twenty-nine snaps, that much production — it’s hard for a defensive lineman to have a cleaner night.

Winner: DT Skyler Gill-Howard

Skyler Gill-Howard’s tackle total — just one — undersells how disruptive he was. He chased down Josh Johnson on third down, forcing a field goal instead of a first down. Earlier in the game, he’d already hit Johnson once to force an incompletion, helped by Anthony Lucas collapsing the pocket from the edge. He added a second hit later, beating second-year Bengals guard Jalen Rivers with an inside fake into a swim move.

Gill-Howard told Pride of Detroit after practice earlier in camp that things were starting to click for him as a pass rusher. Thursday backed that up.

Loser: WR Isaac TeSlaa

It’s been a quiet, complicated camp for Isaac TeSlaa, and his preseason debut didn’t help. Detroit’s other receivers competing for WR5 reps made plays on passes from backup quarterbacks Luke Altmyer and Josh Dobbs. TeSlaa, the presumptive WR3, did not.

He deflected his first target off his own helmet, turning it into an interception. Two drives later, he dropped a catchable slant on fourth down to end a possession. It raises a real question heading into the regular season: can the Lions trust TeSlaa with WR3 snaps in Week 1 against a Brandon Staley defense, especially with a new backup center also breaking in?

Winner: RB Jacob Saylors

With Isiah Pacheco, Sione Vaki, and fellow RB4 hopeful Jabari Small all held out, Jacob Saylors had the backfield largely to himself — and made it count. He ran eight times for 55 yards, a 6.9 yards-per-carry average, including a 27-yard burst and four other carries of seven-plus yards. He added three catches for 28 yards through the air.

Saylors ran through arm tackles and held up in pass protection, looking sharper than he did a year ago, when he arrived in Detroit fresh off a UFL season. After totaling only two offensive touches for the Lions last season, he looks like a player ready to do considerably more.

Winner: LG Christian Mahogany

Saylors’ night had help up front. Christian Mahogany had his share of mistakes — a couple of penalties and a blown blitz pickup — but he also created consistent movement at the line of scrimmage in both zone and gap schemes. His first block of the game sprang Saylors for seven yards by driving Dexter Lawrence downfield.

Mahogany logged 24 live pass-protection reps after entering camp behind schedule due to injury. With Ben Bartch and Juice Scruggs — the latter needed at center — also in the mix at left guard, Mahogany’s performance puts him in early position to start next to left tackle Penei Sewell.

Loser: CB Ennis Rakestraw

Rakestraw’s night mirrored TeSlaa’s — a rough evening for a player facing scrutiny after a slow start to his career. He forced one early incompletion but was otherwise targeted often, giving up completions not just to Ja’Marr Chase but also to Andrei Iosivas and Colbie Young.

Rakestraw left the game in the second quarter after a low tackle attempt on Bengals running back Tahj Brooks and did not return. Head coach Dan Campbell told reporters afterward the injury is “not major,” describing it as a likely arm contusion after X-rays showed no structural damage, according to the Detroit News. Rakestraw echoed that after the game, telling reporters it was “nothing major. Just a bruise.” With Terrion Arnold cut this offseason and reportedly signing with the Seahawks, per Pride of Detroit, the Lions are already thin at cornerback behind presumed starters D.J. Reed and Rock Ya-Sin, making any absence there worth watching.

Quick Hitters

Winners

• RT Blake Miller — A promising NFL debut with a few rough snaps mixed in. He drew reps against Myles Murphy, Cedric Johnson, and Jonathan Allen.
• ED Eric O’Neill — Beat Zeus Jr. for a third-down quarterback hit on Joe Burrow that forced a field goal, adding several other pass-rush wins and two run-defense tackles.
• DB Christian Izien — Won a blitz rep in pass protection against Chase Brown and made a run stop working essentially as a third linebacker.
• S Thomas Harper — Showed range in help coverage on a deep sideline shot and stayed disciplined against checkdowns.
• CB Nick Whiteside — Broke up a deep pass.
• CB Keith Abney II — A fumble recovery, a pass breakup, and a hard-hitting stop on a checkdown, though he also got beaten badly on one outside run.
• NT Chris Smith — Held up against the run and generated some interior pocket pressure, keeping his roster case alive.
• LB Trevor Nowaske — Played more MIKE than SAM and flashed instincts with a run-stopping tackle for loss.
• QB Luke Altmyer — Played through prior hand-size concerns and pushed the ball downfield aggressively, finishing 13-of-22 for 130 yards and Detroit’s lone passing touchdown, a crossing route to Tarik Black.

Losers

• OL Miles Frazier — Three penalties, a sack allowed, and balance problems at both positions he played, a step back after a strong camp showcasing his versatility.
• DL Mekhi Wingo — Left the game with an injury and couldn’t match the impact of his direct roster competition, Gill-Howard. Campbell said afterward Wingo could be evaluated for concussion protocol.
• DL Tyre West — Played just four defensive snaps, reflecting where he currently sits on a crowded D-line depth chart.
• WR Tom Kennedy — Watched WR5 rivals Dominic Lovett, Tay Martin, and Tarik Black all make plays while he has yet to separate himself in camp.

The Lions return to action August 22 against the Colts as the roster picture continues to take shape ahead of final cuts.

Raw snap counts from the Green Bay Packers’ preseason opener don’t tell the whole story. Cornerback Jaylin Simpson technically led the team in total snaps Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but that number alone says nothing about who’s actually competing for real roles. Breaking down snaps by unit — first-team, second-team, offense, defense — paints a far clearer picture of where Green Bay’s Packers preseason snap counts battle stands heading into Week 2.

The Packers fell to the Steelers 28-9 at Acrisure Stadium on Thursday night, with the game getting away from Green Bay’s reserves in the second half. But the score wasn’t really the point of this one. The starters played one series. The backups and the backups’ backups played most of the night, and that’s where the actual competition lives.

Jordan Love and the First-Team Offense

Jordan Love took the Packers’ first nine offensive snaps before handing things off to Tyrod Taylor. He finished 3-for-5 for 18 yards, according to Packers.com, with his best throw a 19-yard completion to Jayden Reed on third down that moved the chains before Trey Smack’s field goal.

MarShawn Lloyd got every first-team running back snap, taking over a role that’s been Josh Jacobs’ since he arrived in Green Bay. Jacobs sat out with a groin injury he’s been managing since Aug. 6, when Heavy.com first reported he’d missed practice. Chris Brooks was also out with a hamstring issue.

At receiver, Matthew Golden, Christian Watson and Jayden Reed split the workload almost evenly, with Reed staying true to his role as a slot-only target in three-receiver sets. That’s been the pattern for Reed since he entered the league, and nothing in this opener suggests it’s changing for 2026.

The offensive line told its own injury story. With right guard Aaron Banks and right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele both out with knee injuries, Jacob Monk slid into right guard and Anthony Belton — the presumed starter at guard — kicked out to right tackle. It’s a shuffle worth watching once Green Bay gets healthy up front.

Second-Team Battles Worth Watching

Tyrod Taylor played the most of any Packers quarterback, running 13 snaps with the second unit. He went 4-for-8 for 21 yards without finding the end zone, per the team’s official recap. Behind him, Kyle McCord turned in the standout performance of the night, going 12-for-16 for 102 yards and directing a scoring drive right before halftime.

At running back, Pierre Strong Jr. led the reserves with seven snaps, but the name to note is undrafted rookie Jaden Nixon, who got run ahead of 2025 draft pick Damien Martinez. That’s a real signal about how the Packers currently view their backfield depth beyond Jacobs and Lloyd.

The receiver group behind the starters featured Bo Melton and Savion Williams as the outside options, with Skyy Moore working the slot role Reed holds with the first team. Isaiah Neyor rotated in behind Melton and Williams and ended up leading all Packers wideouts with four catches for 34 yards on the night.

Tight end Drake Dabney logged the most second-team snaps at his position, with Messiah Swinson working in behind him — evidence the Packers see Swinson ahead of veteran depth like McCallan Castles for now. Green Bay was without both projected starters at the position, Tucker Kraft (knee) and Luke Musgrave (neck), for the opener.

Snap Distribution by Position Group

Defense: A Clearer Picture Up Front

Green Bay’s top defensive linemen, Devonte Wyatt and Javon Hargrave, both sat out with knee-related injuries, opening the door for a rotation of Karl Brooks, Warren Brinson and Jonathan Ford with the starters. Ford worked almost exclusively as a nose tackle in a 3-4 look, a role that stayed consistent even after he moved into the second-team rotation.

Lukas Van Ness and Barryn Sorrell started at edge, with Van Ness sliding inside on a nickel rush package before the first-team defense’s series ended. Collin Oliver took that interior rush snap when the second group came in — reps he got in part because rookie Dani Dennis-Sutton missed the game with an illness.

With the second-team defense, Isaiah McDuffie and Ty’Ron Hopper both logged heavy linebacker snaps, 22 and 19 respectively, with Hopper stepping aside only when defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon called single-linebacker “Penny” packages. Gannon, who took over Green Bay’s defense this offseason after Jeff Hafley left to become Miami’s head coach, has been running the Packers through disguised looks all camp, according to Packers.com.

At safety, Kitan Oladapo and Mark Perry each played all 22 second-team snaps in base looks, with Oladapo sliding into the slot in nickel packages and Murvin Kenion III rotating in at safety when that happened. Oladapo, who also picked up a sack blitzing off the slot corner spot during the game, looked more comfortable at true safety than he did working the slot.

What It Means Going Forward

None of this decides a single roster spot. It’s one preseason game, and Green Bay was missing a long list of regulars — Jacobs, Wyatt, Hargrave, Kraft, Musgrave, Banks, Bako-Bewele and Dennis-Sutton among them. But snap distribution inside a game like this is still one of the clearer early signals of how a coaching staff is thinking about its depth chart before injured players return to the mix.

The clearest takeaways: Lloyd is the lead back until Jacobs is back healthy, Jaden Nixon has quietly jumped Damien Martinez in the pecking order, and Jonathan Ford has a defined interior role regardless of which unit he’s playing with. Expect the coaching staff to keep expanding those looks as more starters get involved in Week 2.

Green Bay’s wide receiver room has a strange problem for a Matt LaFleur offense: it’s small. LaFleur has spent his tenure as head coach chasing big-bodied receivers who can win at the catch point and hold up in the run game, but outside of Christian Watson, the depth chart is short on size. That’s what makes the emerging Packers wide receiver competition between undrafted rookies Isaiah Neyor and J. Michael Sturdivant worth watching — because through one preseason game, both look more ready to play the position than 2025 third-round pick Savion Williams.

Jayden Reed and Matthew Golden aren’t changing that equation; neither will ever be confused for a “big” receiver. Further down the depth chart, Bo Melton and Skyy Moore make their living either playing bigger than their listed size or leaning into the traits that make smaller receivers valuable in their own right. That leaves Williams as the lone exception to the small-receiver rule — except it’s fair to ask whether “receiver” is even the right word for what he is right now.

Savion Williams Still Looks Like a Football Player Without a Position

The scouting report on Williams heading into the 2025 draft was straightforward: a massive athlete who still needed to learn the finer points of playing receiver. A year later, with half a season of NFL tape in the bank, that description still fits. Williams remains, at best, an unrefined route runner. He belongs on an NFL field because he’s an elite athlete, not yet because he’s mastered the position.

Williams caught 10 passes for 78 yards and a touchdown as a rookie in 2025, and he opened the Packers’ preseason with an 11-yard catch against Pittsburgh, according to the team’s in-game updates from Packers.com. But production and polish aren’t the same thing, and it’s the polish that’s still missing.

Neyor and Sturdivant Bring the Size the Room Is Missing

Neyor, who appeared in Green Bay’s wild-card loss to the Bears last season after spending most of 2025 on the practice squad, stands 6-foot-4 and 218 pounds. He turned in one of the best athletic profiles of any receiver in the 2025 draft class — RAS.football posted an unofficial 9.97 out of 10.00 on his combine numbers, ranking 11th out of more than 3,400 wide receivers dating back to 1987, according to a post on X from RAS.football:

Isaiah Neyor is a WR prospect in the 2025 draft class. He scored an unofficial 9.97 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 11 out of 3408 WR from 1987 to 2025.

Splits projected, times unofficial.https://t.co/TmcbybAh18 pic.twitter.com/s3I00O62Et

— RAS.football (@MathBomb) March 1, 2025

Sturdivant, a Florida transfer who went undrafted this spring, is a shade shorter and lighter at 6-foot-3, 207 pounds, but still comfortably fits the big-receiver mold. His athletic testing was similarly loud — Acme Packing Company’s Paul Noonan flagged him as part of a deep, oversized 2026 receiver class worth the Packers’ attention, writing that Green Bay’s receiver room was undersized at nearly every spot except Watson.

Both got extended run in Thursday’s preseason opener at Acrisure Stadium, a 28-9 loss to the Steelers. Neyor played 37 snaps and caught four passes for 34 yards, leading Green Bay in both categories, per Packers.com’s live game tracker. Sturdivant played 26 snaps, catching two passes for 26 yards, including an 8-yard grab to move the chains, according to the same source.

Why the Difference Shows Up on Tape

The numbers only tell part of it. What stood out Thursday was how in control both players looked. Neyor and Sturdivant ran routes with functional pace — starting fast, settling into breaks, and getting in and out of cuts without wasted movement. That’s the part of receiver play that doesn’t show up in a 40 time. It’s built from reps, and it’s the exact area evaluators flagged as unfinished business for Williams coming out of TCU.

Route discipline matters more in LaFleur’s scheme than most, because Green Bay’s passing game leans on option routes and full-field reads that require receivers to be exactly where quarterback Jordan Love expects them to be, not just physically capable of getting open. A big catch radius means little if the route doesn’t put a receiver in the right spot at the right time. Right now, Neyor and Sturdivant look closer to reliable on that front than Williams does.

What This Means for the Roster Battle

Williams isn’t getting cut. As a 2025 third-round pick entering Year 2, his roster spot is about as safe as anyone’s outside the true top of the depth chart. That’s reflected in early roster projections, which continue to list Williams among Green Bay’s Week 1 receivers alongside Watson, Reed, Golden, Melton and Moore, with Neyor and Sturdivant projected to battle for practice-squad eligibility rather than active-roster spots.

But if the Packers are looking for a big-bodied receiver who plays like an actual receiver, rather than an oversized gadget piece, Neyor and Sturdivant have made a stronger case through one preseason game. Whether that’s enough to crack the 53-man roster in a crowded position group remains an open question — one Green Bay will keep answering over the next three weeks of the preseason.

The NFL has suspended Atlanta Falcons edge rusher James Pearce Jr. for the first eight games of the 2026 season, the league announced Friday. The discipline stems from a February domestic violence arrest involving his ex-girlfriend, WNBA forward Rickea Jackson, and closes out a months-long cloud hanging over one of Atlanta’s most promising young defenders.

Pearce won’t argue the punishment. According to ESPN, NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy confirmed Pearce did not appeal, making the eight-game ban final. He’ll sit out without pay starting Aug. 30 and can return Nov. 2, the week Atlanta plays in Madrid against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Adam Schefter broke the news on X: “Falcons DE James Pearce Jr. is being suspended eight regular-season games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy”

ESPN source: Falcons DE James Pearce Jr. is being suspended eight regular-season games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. Pearce was arrested in February, in Doral, Florida, after a domestic dispute involving his ex-girlfriend, Los Angeles Sparks forward Rickea… pic.twitter.com/4GE0LK10ak

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 14, 2026

What Happened in February

Police in Doral, Florida, arrested Pearce on Feb. 7 after a domestic dispute with Jackson, a forward who was playing for the Los Angeles Sparks at the time and has since been traded to the Chicago Sky. According to CBS Sports, Jackson told police she noticed Pearce following her in an SUV. When she stopped at a red light, he allegedly got out and tried to open her door. She drove off toward the Doral Police Department, and police say Pearce rammed her car before fleeing when officers arrived.

Pearce was initially charged with three felonies — aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, fleeing and eluding police, and resisting an officer with violence. A fourth charge, aggravated stalking, was reduced to a misdemeanor, and a charge of battery on a law enforcement officer was dropped entirely.

He avoided prosecution by entering a pretrial diversion program in the spring. Complete it without incident, and the remaining charges go away. That agreement, per NBC Sports, was one of the automatic triggers for NFL discipline under the personal conduct policy, which sets a baseline six-game suspension for domestic violence that can climb based on aggravating factors — in Pearce’s case, fleeing and resisting arrest.

A Costly Blow for Atlanta’s Pass Rush

The timing stings. Falcons fans watched Pearce break out as a rookie, and now he’s gone for half a season at the position that needed him most. Fellow second-year pass rusher Jalon Walker tore his ACL in training camp and is done for the year, leaving Atlanta thin at the exact spot where it had built real hope.

Pearce, the No. 26 overall pick in 2025 after Atlanta traded up to get him, was a finalist for Defensive Rookie of the Year. He piled up 10.5 sacks, one forced fumble and 26 tackles across 17 games — the most sacks by a rookie since Micah Parsons posted 13 in 2021. That production made him the centerpiece of a Falcons pass rush that was supposed to take a jump this year.

Instead, he spent most of this offseason away from the team, showing up only for mandatory minicamp before rejoining for training camp. He’s worked mostly with the reserves all summer, and Atlanta’s early depth chart already had him listed third-string — a sign the front office saw this coming.

What’s Next

Pearce is eligible for all preseason activity, including Friday night’s exhibition opener against the Denver Broncos, and can practice with the team right up until his suspension begins. Whether he returns in November as a full-time starter or has to work his way back into the rotation will depend largely on how Atlanta’s defense performs without him — and on whether Pearce stays clean through the rest of his diversion program.

The suspension is one of four the NFL handed down Friday. Two other high-profile domestic violence and civil cases — involving Green Bay running back Josh Jacobs and Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua — remain open, with no discipline announced yet, according to CBS Sports.

Trey Smack had a rough couple of weeks at Nitschke Field. Then the lights came on in Pittsburgh, and the rookie kicker looked like a different player.

The Green Bay Packers’ sixth-round pick went 3-for-3 on field goals — from 37, 58 and 38 yards — in Green Bay’s preseason opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night. He also drilled a fourth attempt, another 58-yarder, that got wiped off the board by a penalty. According to Packers.com, officials flagged former Green Bay defensive lineman Dean Lowry for roughing the snapper on that first kick, handing the offense a fresh set of downs instead of three points.

Smack didn’t blink. He just kicked it again.

The Packers lost the game 28-9, undone late by a defense that ran out of proven bodies. But the final score wasn’t really the point of a preseason opener. The story was Smack, and how he handled the moment after weeks of uneven practice reps.

A Perfect Night at a Brutal Kicking Stadium

Acrisure Stadium has a reputation among NFL kickers. Swirling wind off the Ohio and Allegheny rivers has turned plenty of confident legs into cautionary tales. Smack didn’t seem to notice. His first 58-yard attempt came on Green Bay’s opening drive, set up by a Jordan Love-led march that also included a third-and-4 conversion to Jayden Reed. That kick split the uprights before Lowry’s penalty erased it, and Smack simply came back out and made a 37-yarder instead.

His signature moment came right before halftime. Third-string quarterback Kyle McCord drove the offense 35 yards in 38 seconds with no timeouts, hitting three straight completions to set up a spike with one second left. That gave Smack a look at another 58-yarder — same distance, different half, same result. It sailed through as time expired, cutting Pittsburgh’s lead to 7-6 at the break. He added a 38-yard field goal later for his third made kick of the night.

Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love called Smack “the highlight of the night,” according to Packers.com’s postgame coverage.

From Shaky Camp to a Statement Debut

None of this looked inevitable a few weeks ago. Smack, a sixth-round pick out of Florida, opened training camp making just 8 of his first 13 attempts, a rough enough stretch that it drew scrutiny for a kicker the Packers traded up to select. He started finding his rhythm during Family Night at Lambeau Field, going 6-for-7, and reportedly spent time this past week talking with Packers Hall of Fame kicker Ryan Longwell.
There was also a hometown assist. Green Bay long snapper Cal Adomitis played his entire college career at Pitt, and Smack said the two talked through what to expect at Acrisure Stadium before the game. “Cal and Dan (Whelan) do a great job of getting the ball down long enough so I can see it,” Smack said, per Packers.com. “From there, it’s on me.”

Smack wasn’t interested in taking a victory lap afterward. “I don’t really try to feel relief in this kind of business because we always have next week,” he said. “We gotta play next week. My mind’s already switched to the Broncos,” referencing Green Bay’s next preseason game in Denver.

Why This Matters for Green Bay

The Packers haven’t had a stable answer at kicker since Mason Crosby’s final season in 2022. Anders Carlson, Brayden Narveson and Brandon McManus have cycled through the job since, and Green Bay released McManus — even after paying him a roster bonus — once it added Smack in the draft. General manager Brian Gutekunst has said he believed a kicker with Smack’s talent would typically go in the fourth or fifth round, which is part of why the front office paid two seventh-round picks to move up for him.

That backdrop is why one clean night in Pittsburgh carries weight beyond a preseason box score. It doesn’t erase a shaky camp, and it’s one game against a Steelers roster full of players competing for depth-chart spots. But it’s the first real evidence that the leg strength Smack showed at Florida — where he set the school record with 10 career field goals of 50-plus yards — can translate to NFL distances under real pressure.

Starters Held Their Own Before the Drop-Off

Green Bay’s first-team defense, under new coordinator Jonathan Gannon, forced a three-and-out to open the game, with Zaire Franklin recording an 8-yard sack of Mason Rudolph on an A-gap blitz. Edge rusher Brenton Cox Jr. added a sack of his own on the next series. Running back MarShawn Lloyd, playing his first game action since last August after two injury-plagued seasons, carried four times for 13 yards in his return.

The problems came later. Green Bay’s reserve defense allowed three unanswered touchdowns in the second half as Pittsburgh pulled away, and rookie Steelers quarterback Drew Allar threw for two scores and ran for a third in his own debut. But for a preseason opener, the top units doing their job and the roster coming out healthy mattered more than the final margin.

Super Bowl LXI is six months away, and for the first time in the game’s history, it lands on Valentine’s Day. The NFL’s championship game is set for Sunday, February 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter marked the milestone on X: “Super Bowl LXI — the first time in NFL history that the championship game will be played on Valentine’s Day — takes place six months from today.” —

Super Bowl LXI — the first time in NFL history that the championship game will be played on Valentine’s Day — takes place six months from today. pic.twitter.com/1aHBP9lj6W

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 14, 2026

The date isn’t new information. The NFL locked in SoFi Stadium as the host site back on December 13, 2023, and the calendar has pointed to Valentine’s Day ever since. What’s new is the six-month countdown, which put the date back in front of fans this week and set off a wave of jokes online about football colliding with date night.

Why the Super Bowl Landed on Valentine’s Day

The timing traces back to the NFL’s 2021 move to a 17-game regular season. That extra week pushed the whole schedule later, and this year the math lines up in an unusual way — Labor Day falls on September 7, 2026, the latest possible date it can land. Push the start of the season back that far and the Super Bowl slides deep enough into February to hit the 14th.

It also means Super Bowl LXI falls on Presidents’ Day weekend, giving fans a three-day break to recover — or, as more than one online joke put it, giving couples a built-in excuse to move their Valentine’s dinner to Saturday instead.

A Historic Broadcast, Too

The date isn’t the only first. Super Bowl LXI will be the first Super Bowl ever broadcast on ESPN, simulcast on ABC, marking ABC’s first time airing the game since Super Bowl XL in 2006. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will call the game — their seventh Super Bowl together, but their first with ESPN.

SoFi Stadium last hosted the Super Bowl in 2022, when it staged Super Bowl LVI. That makes 2027 the ninth time the Los Angeles metro area has hosted the game — only New Orleans and Miami have hosted more.

How Fans Are Reacting

Once the six-month countdown started circulating this week, social media leaned hard into the obvious punchline: which wins, the game or the date. Reaction on X ranged from fans joking that dinner reservations just got easier to book, to others predicting an unromantic scramble for couples trying to split the day between a restaurant and kickoff.

The mood wasn’t universally jokey. Some fans argued the scheduling was simply bad timing for a night usually built around dinner plans and undivided attention, with a handful suggesting the league could have shifted the calendar to avoid the overlap altogether.

None of that reaction changes anything about the game itself — the date, venue, and broadcast plan have been locked in for years. What’s driven this week’s conversation is simply the six-month milestone putting a firm number on the calendar for fans who hadn’t clocked the overlap yet.

What’s Still Unknown

The matchup, obviously, is nine months away from being decided — the 2026 season hasn’t kicked off yet. Any prediction about which teams or cities will be playing in Super Bowl LXI is speculation at this point, nothing more.

Deshaun Watson takes the field Saturday for the first time since October 2024. Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken named him the starter for the team’s preseason opener against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, with rookie Shedeur Sanders set to start the following week against Buffalo. According to ESPN, Monken informed both quarterbacks of his plan after Wednesday’s practice, and each is expected to play roughly a half.

Not everyone in Cleveland is ready to call it a fresh start. Radio host Ken Carman, speaking on 92.3 The Fan’s morning show, was blunt when asked whether Watson deserves any benefit of the doubt heading into the competition. “No. He doesn’t get any credit,” Carman said, according to BrownsNation. “I think the organization gets blamed. He’s not proven anything to me.”

It’s the kind of line that captures where a lot of Browns fans are after four years of a deal that hasn’t come close to paying off.

A $230 Million Bet That Hasn’t Cashed In

Cleveland sent the Houston Texans three first-round picks (2022, 2023 and 2024), a 2023 third-rounder and two fourth-round selections to acquire Watson in March 2022, then signed him to a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract — still the largest fully guaranteed deal in NFL history, per NFL.com‘s reporting at the time.

The return has been rough. Watson has started 19 games for Cleveland, throwing for 3,365 yards and 19 touchdowns with a passer rating of 80.7, according to StatMuse. That’s a steep drop from the quarterback who led the NFL with 4,823 passing yards and threw 33 touchdowns for Houston in 2020, a season that earned him All-Pro recognition and was the third of his three career Pro Bowl selections.

An 11-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy cost him most of his first season in Cleveland. Then came the injuries. He tore his right Achilles tendon in October 2024 and missed the rest of that year. A second surgery in January 2025 wiped out his entire 2025 season, per ESPN.

Carman Isn’t Alone in His Doubts

Carman’s skepticism has been a running theme through camp. Reacting to Monken’s praise of all four Browns quarterbacks during camp, Carman pushed back specifically on the coach’s comments about Watson. “I don’t think he really is capable of those things,” Carman said, according to The Big Lead. “I’m not trying to say nasty things. I’m just being honest with everybody.”

Watson, for his part, has framed the preseason opener as a chance to change the conversation. “I’m super excited,” he said Wednesday, according to the Browns’ official site. “All the hard work that I put in with the training staff, with my team, my personal team, to get to this stage has been tremendous for me.”

What Monken Is Actually Looking For

Monken hasn’t tipped his hand much on who’s ahead in the quarterback race. He’s said only that the decision on who starts Saturday came down to a plan for evaluating both players fairly, not a declaration of a winner. Each quarterback will get a half of work, with the plan to give both a two-minute drill look before Sanders gets his turn as the starter against Buffalo on Aug. 22.

That structure matters. Sanders started the final seven games of his rookie season in 2025, going 3-4 with seven touchdown passes against 10 interceptions — a rough audition, but also more recent proof of live-game reps than Watson has had in nearly two years. Watson’s Total QBR of 33.1 since arriving in Cleveland would rank last among qualifying quarterbacks if he had enough starts to qualify, per ESPN’s reporting.

Whichever way the competition breaks, this is Watson’s last realistic shot to justify the largest guaranteed contract in league history before it plays out. He’s entering the final year of that deal. Saturday won’t decide anything on its own, but for a fan base that’s heard this story before, it’s the first real look at whether there’s anything left to see.

Kirk Cousins is still the Las Vegas Raiders’ quarterback. Klint Kubiak made sure nobody walked out of Allegiant Stadium confused about that Thursday night, even after Fernando Mendoza gave the building plenty of reasons to dream.

The Raiders lost their preseason opener 27-14 to the Arizona Cardinals, but the result mattered less than what it revealed about the quarterback picture. Cousins played one series. It ended in the end zone. Mendoza played the next three-and-a-half quarters, and he ended it with a touchdown of his own — plus a sack, some jittery pocket feel, and a postgame answer that sounded more like a guy grading his own film than a rookie basking in a moment.

Kubiak was asked directly about where the competition stands. He didn’t dance around it.

“Kirk’s been getting the reps with the ones. I think he’s had a solid training camp, and you know it’s his job to lose,” Kubiak told reporters after the game.

Cousins Made the Most of One Drive

Cousins got a single series, and he made it count. He completed five of six passes for 50 yards, working through Jack Bech and Tre Tucker before finding tight end Michael Mayer for a 13-yard touchdown that capped a 10-play, 68-yard march, according to ESPN’s Ryan McFadden. Ten plays, one result. Clean and businesslike — exactly the kind of outing a 15-year veteran wants before he hands the offense to a rookie for the night.

Mendoza said afterward that he’s been leaning on Cousins all camp, calling him “a master of his craft” whose composure rubs off just from being on the same field, per Sportsnaut.

Mendoza’s Debut Had Real Flashes — and Real Warts

The Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick took his first NFL snap with 3:39 left in the first quarter. His opening series stalled after two incompletions and a punt. Then the game slowed down for him.

He fit a 19-yard throw to rookie receiver Malik Benson through a tight window. Running back Mike Washington Jr. ripped off a 53-yard run to set up a short field. And on third down, Mendoza found Bech over the middle for a 6-yard touchdown — his first NFL score, delivered to the same receiver who’d catch a would-be game-sealing target later in the half. He finished 10 of 16 for 97 yards and a rushing score of his own, per ESPN.

But the tape will also show a sack — an 8-yard loss to Cardinals defensive tackle Walter Nolen after Mendoza couldn’t locate an outlet near the goal line, according to Yahoo Sports. Under pressure more broadly, he struggled: Mendoza was pressured on 38.9 percent of his dropbacks and went just 2 of 6 for 11 yards and a 42.4 passer rating in those situations, per ESPN’s tracking.

Kubiak wasn’t hiding from that part of the outing either.

“He knows he can’t take a sack, and but those are things he’s going to grow from,” Kubiak said.

Still, the coach’s overall read on his rookie was upbeat. “As far as getting and out of the huddle, commanding the group, getting the play calls down, I saw the same guy I see in practice,” he said, adding that he sees “an ascending player.”

Mendoza Was Harder on Himself Than Kubiak Was

The rookie’s self-scouting report was blunt.

“Unfortunately, I let my teammates down today,” Mendoza said. “But it’s a growing experience. I feel like we’re all growing, and it showed me that I need to grow a lot.”

That’s not a quote from someone treating a preseason opener like a moral victory. It’s a quarterback who watched Arizona’s Gardner Minshew go 14 of 16 for 101 yards and two touchdowns on the other sideline and understood the gap between a promising debut and a finished product.

Cousins, for his part, wasn’t shy about crediting his understudy. He said Mendoza “did a great job” and “operated well,” according to the same postgame session.

Why Kubiak Isn’t Budging — Yet

None of this is really a mystery. Cousins signed with Las Vegas as a bridge option this offseason, arriving with a working relationship with Kubiak that dates back to their years together in Minnesota, where Kubiak coached his quarterbacks and later ran his offense. That familiarity matters in a new system, and it’s a big reason Cousins has taken every first-team rep in camp while Mendoza has worked almost exclusively with the second unit.

The bigger-picture logic is straightforward, too. Last year’s Raiders offense allowed a league-high number of sacks and never found a rushing identity. Kubiak’s scheme is built to avoid putting a young quarterback in exactly the kind of predicament that led to Mendoza’s sack Thursday — asking him to hold the ball, extend plays and bail out a shaky pocket. The plan is for Cousins to stabilize things now and let Mendoza absorb the league at his own pace, not to rush a rookie into rescue duty.

That’s the case for patience. It’s also why one preseason series — even a sharp one — was never going to change the pecking order.

What Comes Next

The Raiders are back in action Aug. 20 against the Houston Texans, and both quarterbacks figure to get another look. For Mendoza, it’s a chance to clean up the pressure numbers and show the sack was the exception, not a pattern. For Cousins, it’s simply about doing again what he did in Week 1 — take his opportunity and not give Kubiak any reason to reconsider.

Nothing about Thursday changed the trajectory. Cousins starts Sept. 13 against Miami. Mendoza keeps developing behind him, with the job — as Kubiak put it — his to lose.

The Detroit Lions opened their 2026 preseason Thursday night at Paycor Stadium, and the scoreboard said Cincinnati 16, Detroit 14. But for a team resting 32 players — including 18 starters — the final score barely mattered. What mattered was who separated themselves in the roster fight, and who didn’t.

Quarterback Jared Goff, receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, and edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson all watched from the sideline. So did running back Jahmyr Gibbs. In their place, a wave of backups, rookies, and roster-bubble veterans got extended run against Cincinnati’s defense — and a few of them made it impossible to ignore them.

Quarterback: Altmyer Survives His NFL Debut

Luke Altmyer’s box score won’t turn heads. Two interceptions, a lost fumble, numbers that look rough in isolation. But watch the tape and a different story shows up. The undrafted rookie played roughly two-thirds of Detroit’s offensive snaps and never looked rattled doing it.

Context matters here. The first interception bounced off receiver Isaac TeSlaa’s hands and into a defender’s. The fumble came off a wet handoff exchange, not poor mechanics. Only the second pick — a ball sailed high late in the game while forcing an issue — falls squarely on Altmyer.

Head coach Dan Campbell singled him out afterward. “I thought Luke did a really good job for a young guy,” Campbell said. “I’ve got to be careful; I don’t want to give him too much sugar and tea time. But what you see in practice — the composure, not too big for him, the accuracy, those deep balls — he’s got a touch about them. I felt like he showed up.”

Josh Dobbs played the rest of the game and graded out neutral. Goff didn’t play at all.

Running Back: Saylors Makes His Case

The battle for the fourth running back spot got a lot clearer Thursday. Jacob Saylors led Detroit in rushing attempts, rushing yards, yards per carry, receptions, and receiving yards — the full workload, and he handled all of it. He looked shifty in the open field and found ways to contribute as both a runner and a receiver.

“He was probably our most potent player on offense,” Campbell said of Saylors. “He made a lot of plays for us. He’s a steady workhorse.”

Raheem Blackshear flashed too, including a 24-yard burst that stood out. Kye Robichaux runs hard between the tackles but didn’t show much else. Isiah Pacheco left with a reported MCL sprain, and Sione Vaki dealt with a nose and eye issue — neither injury has an official severity update attached yet.

Wide Receiver: TeSlaa’s Rough Camp Continues

Isaac TeSlaa entered his second season with real expectations after a strong rookie year full of highlight catches. Thursday didn’t help. He was targeted three times and caught none of them — one target deflected off his helmet and turned into the interception that opened the scoring against Detroit.

Campbell isn’t worried yet. “I remember what those days were like. You want everything to come early; you can come into your second season and place a lot of pressure on yourself. You want to be great. Just stay the course,” he said after the game.

Elsewhere in the receiver room, Dominic Lovett took control of the competition for the fifth receiver spot. He drew eight targets — more than anyone else on the roster — and turned three into 28 yards, consistently creating separation. Tay Martin caught his only target for 14 yards. Veterans Tom Kennedy and Malik Cunningham each had a single catch and look like they’re losing ground in a crowded room.

Tight End and Offensive Line: A Rookie Sneaks Ahead

Jackson Meeks, a converted receiver, out-produced Thomas Gordon in the battle for the fourth tight end job, hauling in a 17-yard catch with 16 yards coming after contact. Starter-in-waiting Sam LaPorta and backup Brock Wright didn’t play.

Up front, most of Cincinnati’s pressure came through the interior of Detroit’s offensive line rather than off the edge — a good early sign for rookie right tackle Blake Miller and left tackle Larry Borom, who both held up in pass protection. NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger posted about Miller’s performance on X, praising his ability to hold up for an entire half against Bengals pass rusher Trey Hendrickson’s group. Miles Frazier had a rougher outing, drawing three holding penalties at right guard in the first half before playing better after a second-half move to left tackle.

Defensive Line: Hassanein’s Breakout Night

If one player walked away from Thursday with his stock unmistakably higher, it’s edge rusher Ahmed Hassanein. On his first defensive snap of the game, he beat Cincinnati’s starting offensive line with an inside move and sacked quarterback Joe Burrow. He added a quarterback hit on the next series and later forced a fumble with a second sack.

Campbell didn’t hold back describing it. “Just the way Ahmed played, the things he’s able to do, you felt like it would translate, certainly with this preseason. It was good to see; it was maximum effort. He’s been disruptive, and he’s going to learn from this,” he said.

Rookie defensive tackle Skyler Gill-Howard also stood out, drawing two of the defense’s top plays on the night, including a fourth-down pressure that forced an intentional grounding penalty and a third-down tackle for loss on backup quarterback Josh Johnson. “Watching Skyler get to the quarterback there, it was a critical fourth down to get the offense the ball,” Campbell said. “That takes a tremendous amount of effort, but that’s what is expected; that was awesome.”

Secondary: A Scare on Rakestraw, and Relief Afterward

The night’s biggest concern came in the second quarter, when cornerback Ennis Rakestraw went low to make a tackle on Cincinnati running back Tahj Brooks and stayed down. He was evaluated in the blue medical tent before heading to the locker room and did not return, a tough moment for a player who lost his entire 2025 season to a shoulder injury.

Detroit got good news after the game. According to Pride of Detroit, X-rays showed no structural damage, and Campbell downplayed the severity himself. “It’s not major. It ended up being — it’s not a head shot — we just think he got a little contusion in the arm,” Campbell said.

Elsewhere in the secondary, undrafted rookies Nick Whiteside and Keith Abney both made plays worth remembering — Whiteside recovered from getting beaten deep to force a pass breakup, and Abney logged both a pass breakup and a fumble recovery. Safety Thomas Harper had arguably the cleanest game of any Lions defender at any position, rotating between safety spots and holding up in coverage throughout.

What It Means Going Forward

None of this changes Detroit’s depth chart at the top. Goff, St. Brown, Hutchinson, and the rest of the starting core weren’t trying to prove anything Thursday night. But for the back half of the 53-man roster — the running backs, receivers, and defensive linemen fighting for the last few spots — this game moved the needle. Saylors, Hassanein, and Gill-Howard all built a real case. TeSlaa and the offensive line’s depth pieces have work to do before the next preseason game.

The Detroit Lions’ preseason opener against the Cincinnati Bengals wasn’t just a game. It was a data set. Snap counts and, more importantly, the order teams roll out their lineups tend to say more about a roster picture than the final score does — and Detroit’s 16-14 loss at Paycor Stadium on Thursday left plenty to dig through.

A breakdown of who played, how much, and in what order points to some real answers on Detroit’s backup quarterback battle, its crowded receiver room, and its always-tricky fourth running back spot.

Quarterback: Altmyer Gets the Bulk, Dobbs Gets a Purpose

Luke Altmyer took the vast majority of snaps at quarterback, playing 44 of the team’s 66 offensive plays. Josh Dobbs took the other 22. Jared Goff did not play.

Altmyer started and played deep into the game, finishing 13-of-22 passing for 130 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He also lost a fumble on a bad exchange with running back Jacob Saylors in the rain early in the game. For a moment, it looked like the fumble might have gotten him pulled. It didn’t. Coach Dan Campbell said after the game the plan all along was to get Dobbs some second-quarter reps with the starting offensive line, not to bench Altmyer for a mistake.

That distinction matters. Altmyer played well enough to make the backup job an actual competition. But Detroit clearly wants Dobbs — a veteran journeyman added late to the roster — ready to step in as the primary backup if needed. Dobbs went 4-of-8 for 32 yards in his stint.

Running Back: Saylors Building His Case Again

Jacob Saylors started and played 29 snaps (44%), well ahead of Kye Robichaux (21 snaps, 32%) and Raheem Blackshear (16 snaps, 24%). Jahmyr Gibbs, Isiah Pacheco, and Sione Vaki all sat out, with Pacheco dealing with what’s been reported elsewhere as an MCL sprain.

Saylors is making a push to be the team’s RB4 for a second straight season, and his primary competition — Jabari Small — didn’t play, believed to be nursing a knee issue. Blackshear, a recent addition, drew praise from Campbell postgame but will need more than one outing to crack the RB4 conversation.

Vaki’s roster spot looks safe regardless of Thursday’s inactive list. Campbell effectively locked him into the RB3 role earlier in the week, tying it directly to special teams value:

“We know those two backs (Jahmyr Gibbs and Isiah Pacheco) at the top and we know what (Sione) Vaki is, he’s one of the best special teams players in the league. So, if that fourth running back is going to make it, he’s going to need to help on special teams.”

That’s a real signal for Saylors and Blackshear both — special teams reps might decide who sticks.

Wide Receiver: The WR5 Race Heats Up

With Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams both held out, the receiver snaps went almost entirely to players fighting for depth spots. Dominic Lovett (32 snaps, 48%) and Tay Martin (30 snaps, 45%) led the group, followed by Tom Kennedy at 25 snaps.

Isaac TeSlaa got heavy run as Detroit looks for the second-year receiver to shake a slow camp. It didn’t happen Thursday — TeSlaa had a drop that turned into an interception and another that cost Detroit a fourth-down conversion, according to Yahoo Sports.

Greg Dortch, Detroit’s presumed WR4, barely saw the field — a strong sign his roster spot isn’t in question. That leaves WR5 as the real battle. Lovett was inconsistent, with a few nice grabs mixed with drops and a muffed (but recovered) punt. Martin had a solid outing, and Tarik Black caught Detroit’s only touchdown on a play that also drew a pass interference flag.

Offensive Line: Two Clear Lineups, All Night

Detroit ran two distinct offensive line groups and never mixed them. The first unit had Larry Borom at left tackle, Christian Mahogany at left guard, Seth McLaughlin at center, Miles Frazier at right guard, and Blake Miller at right tackle. The second group swapped in Frazier at left tackle, Melvin Priestly at left guard, Michael Niese at center, Mason Miller at right guard, and Colby Sorsdal at right tackle.

McLaughlin’s debut in a Lions uniform was up and down. Frazier, who played all 66 snaps, had a rough night by penalty count — he was flagged for holding three times. First-round pick Blake Miller got extensive run at right tackle, and Campbell sounded encouraged, though he stopped short of a full verdict:

“I felt like my eyes were never on he or Larry (Borom) and that’s a positive. That’s a pretty good sign that they’re handling their business. We didn’t have any issues on the perimeter.”

Defensive Line: Hassanein Making Noise

Ahmed Hassanein was the standout of the night up front. He recorded a sack on his very first defensive snap and added a second sack in the second half, continuing a strong camp that’s pushing him toward a roster lock. Anthony Lucas played the most defensive line snaps at 50 (71%), spread across both the start and the tail end of the game.

Presumed starter Tyler Lacy played sparingly, with Detroit thin at the position after a run of camp injuries. Eric O’Neill logged heavy snaps and started making plays late.

At defensive tackle, Skyler Gill-Howard was a bright spot after entering as a reserve, producing a pressure that led to a fourth-down intentional grounding penalty and chasing down Bengals quarterback Josh Johnson for a third-down stop.

Secondary: Rakestraw Injury, but Not a Major One

Cornerback Ennis Rakestraw started outside opposite Nick Whiteside and left the game in the second quarter after tackling Bengals running back Tahj Brooks. He didn’t return. Campbell told reporters afterward the injury was “not major,” describing it as an upper-body contusion, and Rakestraw said X-rays came back clean structurally. It’s a meaningful update given Rakestraw missed all of 2025 after a shoulder injury and surgery.

Roger McCreary replaced Rakestraw and played into the fourth quarter — not necessarily a great sign for a player hoping to lock down a clear role. Whiteside, the other outside starter, had an early pass breakup on a deep shot.

At safety, veteran Chuck Clark got a brief look to open the game before giving way to the rest of the rotation, likely just to get system reps in ahead of a probable Week 1 starting job. Thomas Harper started and continues to cement himself as the fourth safety on the depth chart behind Christian Izien.

What It All Means

None of this settles anything on its own — preseason snap counts rarely do. But the pattern is consistent: Detroit is using Game 1 to sort out real questions at backup quarterback, RB4, WR5, and the back end of both lines, while resting nearly every established starter. Hassanein’s early flashes and Saylors’ continued strong camp stand out as the two clearest winners from the night. TeSlaa’s rough outing and the unresolved Rakestraw and Wingo situations are the two things worth tracking into Week 2.

Detroit’s second preseason game will offer the next real look at how these competitions are shaping up.

Will Campbell spent the offseason hearing about 14 pressures. On Tuesday, he did something about it.

The New England Patriots left tackle turned in a strong showing against the Indianapolis Colts’ pass rush during joint practice in Foxborough, according to multiple reports from the session — a clean bounce-back rep after a Super Bowl LX performance that left plenty of questions about his readiness heading into Year 2.

New England’s top offensive line unit, with Campbell anchoring the left side alongside Alijah Vera-Tucker, Jared Wilson, Mike Onwenu and Morgan Moses, kept Drake Maye upright and on platform through the entire morning against a Colts front seven that includes DeForest Buckner, Arden Key and Sauce Gardner, Yahoo Sports reported. Maye, who was sharp for most of the two-hour session outside of a late interception in two-minute drills, credited the group’s focus in seeing a new opponent for the first time in camp.

“I was proud of the guys for, first of all, the effort,” Maye said, via Yahoo Sports. “I think seeing somebody new for the first time and seeing some different things, I thought we did some good things.”

Separately, 98.5 The Sports Hub reported that Campbell has started camp with a “good bounce-back,” moving well and holding up as a blocker in both the run and pass game — even before facing a tougher test in the Colts, who brought edge rushers Laiatu Latu and Arden Key to Foxborough for the session.

A Super Bowl to Forget

The good week comes with real stakes attached. Campbell allowed one sack and a league-worst 14 total pressures on Maye in Super Bowl LX, the most pressures given up by any player in a single game all season, including the playoffs, according to Next Gen Stats. Seattle sacked Maye six times overall and forced three turnovers in a 29-13 win at Levi’s Stadium, ending New England’s season with a thud after a 14-3 regular season.

Campbell was a rookie thrown straight into the fire as the Patriots’ fourth overall pick out of LSU, and he dealt with a knee injury that complicated his first year. He suffered an MCL sprain in New England’s Week 12 win over the Cincinnati Bengals and was carted off the field, though he avoided a worst-case outcome and returned in time for the postseason. He then started every playoff game, including the Super Bowl, while still working back from the injury — a factor Maye pointed to when defending his left tackle two days after the loss.

“I think Will is a great case of somebody who experienced it all,” Maye told reporters in February, via Yahoo Sports’ report on the exchange. “Who experienced the ups and downs of the injury side of it.”

New England used part of its 2026 draft capital to add competition at the position anyway, trading up to select Utah’s Caleb Lomu with the 28th overall pick. Lomu played almost exclusively left tackle in college, which fueled speculation about Campbell’s long-term future at the spot. The Patriots have consistently said Campbell isn’t moving, and coach Mike Vrabel has had Lomu working primarily at right tackle this offseason as heir apparent to 35-year-old Morgan Moses.

Camp Had Its Own Bumps Before Tuesday

Campbell’s path to a strong joint practice wasn’t entirely smooth. He missed practice time earlier in camp with an unrelated left arm injury, wearing a brace and sitting out a team scrimmage in early August while Marcus Bryant and Lomu took first-team reps in his absence. Vrabel said before that scrimmage that he expected Campbell back “after the weekend,” and the left tackle returned as a full participant on Aug. 10 — a day before the Colts came to Foxborough.

Why It Matters Heading Into Week 1

New England opens its season on the road against Seattle on Sept. 9 in the NFL Kickoff Game — the same team that beat them in the Super Bowl six months earlier. Maye has already framed the rematch as fuel for training camp.

“I think it’s a chance for us to get some extra motivation during training camp,” Maye told reporters, via NFL.com. “Starting off with the bang like that, a chance to get an opponent that left a bad taste in our mouth.”

How Campbell holds up against Seattle’s pass rush in Week 1 will be the clearest test yet of whether last season’s finish was more injury-driven growing pain than a permanent red flag. A clean joint practice against a quality Colts front is one data point. A real game against the team that beat them in February is the one that will actually count.

Detroit’s preseason opener ended the way most exhibition games do: with a final score nobody will remember by Labor Day. The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Lions 16-14 Thursday night at Paycor Stadium, with Joe Flacco throwing a second-half touchdown and Evan McPherson hitting three field goals to seal it. None of that will matter by September.

What will matter is what Dan Campbell’s staff saw from the players fighting for the back end of the Lions 53-man roster. Preseason football exists for exactly this — unpredictable reps against real NFL competition, the first live look coaches get at how a depth chart might actually shake out. Here are five roster bubble players who made their case Thursday night.

Ahmed Hassanein, DE — Locking Down a Roster Spot

No Lion made a louder statement than Hassanein. On his very first defensive snap of the season, he got skinny around left guard Dalton Risner and dropped Joe Burrow for a 9-yard loss, exactly as Hassanein said afterward he intended to do. “I kept saying, ‘I’m going to sack Joe Burrow,'” Hassanein said after the game, crediting his faith for the moment.

He wasn’t done. Hassanein added a third-quarter strip sack of backup quarterback Josh Johnson — the Bengals recovered the fumble, but the pressure was the story. He finished with two sacks and four total tackles, and the Detroit News noted he also helped stuff a third-down run in the first half alongside linebacker Trevor Nowaske.

The sixth-round pick out of Boise State missed most of his rookie year with a pectoral injury and spent the year largely on the practice squad. Campbell wasn’t shocked by the breakout. “I don’t really feel like I’m surprised,” the coach said, per Detroit’s team site. “I felt like he’d come out and make plays.” With Detroit’s edge rotation already stacked behind Aidan Hutchinson, DJ Wonnum and Tyler Lacy, Hassanein looks like a near-lock to make the 53-man roster — and a real threat to push for more snaps if he keeps this up.

Jacob Saylors, RB — Seizing His Opportunity

With Jahmyr Gibbs, Isiah Pacheco and Sione Vaki all held out, Saylors got the workload nearly every Lions running back competing for a roster spot would want. He delivered. Yahoo Sports reported that Saylors was Detroit’s leading rusher and receiver at halftime, accounting for just over half of the team’s 165 total yards through two quarters.

The 26-year-old has bounced around the league since going undrafted out of East Tennessee State in 2023 — stops with the Bengals, Falcons, Giants and Browns before landing with Detroit off the UFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks, where he led the league in rushing in 2024. Thursday looked like a continuation of that trend: physical, versatile touches both on the ground and out of the backfield.

The RB4 competition behind Gibbs, David Montgomery and Craig Reynolds is far from settled, and Jabari Small will get his own look before final cuts. But Saylors made the first real move in that battle.

Nick Whiteside, CB — Confirming the Camp Buzz

Whiteside has been one of the names buzzing loudest out of Allen Park all camp, and turning good practice reps into a good game isn’t always automatic. He managed it. Detroit’s team site described Whiteside logging a pass breakup on a deep shot while starting outside opposite Rakestraw, and Pride of Detroit’s snap-count breakdown flagged it as one of the cleanest individual reps of the night.

The stat sheet won’t wow anyone — Whiteside finished with modest tackle numbers — but the tape reportedly showed a physical corner sticking with Cincinnati’s receivers throughout. That matters more than raw counting stats this time of year.

With D.J. Reed and Rock Ya-Sin viewed as the presumptive starting outside corners, Whiteside is building a case to be the top reserve — a case that got stronger in an unfortunate way when Ennis Rakestraw left the game with a second-quarter injury.

Ennis Rakestraw’s Injury Adds Urgency to the Cornerback Race

Rakestraw went down early in the second quarter making a tackle on Cincinnati running back Tahj Brooks and did not return. It was the second straight training camp scare for the third-year corner, who lost all of last season to a shoulder injury. The early word was encouraging: Campbell told reporters after the game the injury looked like a contusion, not something major, and Rakestraw echoed that himself. “I’m good … it’s nothing major,” he told reporters. “Just a bruise.”

A follow-up report from Pride of Detroit added that X-rays showed no structural damage, with Campbell attributing the injury to an arm contusion rather than anything more serious. Even if Rakestraw is fine, the sequence — combined with Whiteside’s performance — makes the cornerback competition behind Reed and Ya-Sin one of the more interesting position battles left in Detroit’s camp.

The Defensive Line Depth Chart Got More Crowded

Hassanein wasn’t the only Lions defensive lineman making life difficult for Cincinnati’s offense Thursday. Detroit recorded just two sacks as a team, but the pressure was more consistent than that number suggests, with multiple undrafted and depth-chart hopefuls flashing early. That kind of across-the-board disruption from the front seven is exactly what Detroit’s coaching staff wants to see with roster cuts on the horizon and a rotation battle still unsettled behind the starters.

Preseason Week 1: Detroit Lions Key Stats vs. Bengals

Data per Yardbarker’s postgame recap.

What’s Next

The Lions return to action Saturday, August 22, hosting the Washington Commanders at Ford Field. Expect a longer look at players like Hassanein and Saylors, and a clearer picture of how the cornerback depth chart is shaping up behind Reed and Ya-Sin — especially if Rakestraw needs any additional time to return to full speed.

Tom Brady had two Mendozas to keep an eye on Thursday night at Allegiant Stadium.

The Raiders minority owner was in the building as Fernando Mendoza made his long-awaited preseason debut, and before kickoff, he found time for a warm moment with someone who wasn’t even playing: Mendoza’s younger brother, Max.

The Las Vegas Raiders opened their 2026 preseason with a 27-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, but the result barely mattered next to what unfolded on the sideline and, later, on the field. Kirk Cousins started under center for new coach Klint Kubiak, throwing a 13-yard touchdown to tight end Michael Mayer on the opening drive. Then, at the 3:39 mark of the first quarter, Kubiak turned the offense over to his rookie.

Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick out of Indiana, went 10-of-16 for 97 yards and a 6-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jack Bech, according to the Associated Press. He also took a sack and added six yards on the ground before his night ended after the first snap of the fourth quarter.

Kubiak liked what he saw. “I thought he led a good scoring drive as far as getting in and out of the huddle and commanding the group and getting the play calls down,” the coach said, according to the AP. “I saw the same guy that we’ve seen in practice. I see an ascending player.”

Mendoza was tougher on himself. “Unfortunately, I let my teammates down today,” he said, per the same AP report. “But it’s a growing experience, and I feel like we’re all growing.”

Brady Makes Time for Mendoza’s Brother

In the video, Brady shakes Max’s hand, pulls him in for a hug, and greets him by name: “Hey, Max! Good to see you, buddy.” He then compliments the teenager’s jacket, telling him, “I have one just like that. Although yours looks a lot better than mine. That is awesome,” per HITC.

It’s a small gesture, but it says something about how close Brady got to the Mendoza family during the pre-draft process. As the Raiders’ de facto head of football operations, Brady was directly involved in evaluating and eventually landing Mendoza with the top pick — a fact the New York Post has reported extensively on this offseason. Knowing a prospect’s kid brother by name and recognizing his jacket isn’t the kind of detail that comes from a scouting report. It comes from time spent with the family.

A Long-Awaited First Look

Brady wasn’t the only owner watching closely. Mark Davis was also on hand as Mendoza took his first snaps as a professional, capping a run-up that started back in January, when Brady, Davis and general manager John Spytek were spotted scouting Mendoza in person at the College Football Playoff national championship game.

Thursday’s outing came with the usual preseason caveats — this was a backup offensive line, a second-team supporting cast, and an Arizona defense that projects as one of the league’s weaker units. Still, Mendoza avoided the kind of mistakes that derail rookie debuts, and he flashed the processing speed that made him the Heisman winner at Indiana.

The Raiders will have to balance patience with opportunity going forward. Kirk Cousins remains the Week 1 starter, but Thursday did nothing to quiet the questions about how long that arrangement lasts if Mendoza keeps building on a performance like this one.

Mendoza’s Preseason Debut By The Numbers

The Raiders head to Houston next Thursday for their second preseason game, where Mendoza figures to see another extended look.

Troy Aikman isn’t dressing up his outlook for the Miami Dolphins. The Hall of Fame quarterback turned broadcaster said this week that Miami’s 2026 season is shaping up to be a rough one, even as he continues to work as a consultant for the franchise while also calling games for ESPN.

Aikman made the comments during an appearance on the “Dallas Dialogue with Dale” podcast, where he was asked whether his front-office ties to Miami create a conflict of interest with his job as a lead analyst on Monday Night Football.

His answer: the Dolphins simply won’t be good enough for it to matter.

“The Dolphins are not expected to be very good this year. They’re getting out of cap hell, so there’s no Monday night game with the Dolphins this year,” Aikman said, via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk.

Aikman’s dual role with the Dolphins and ESPN

Aikman signed on as a front office consultant for the Dolphins in January, and he’s played a bigger part in the organization’s rebuild than the title suggests. He was directly involved in the search that landed Miami both general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley, according to Yardbarker.

At the same time, he’s entering a contract year at ESPN, where he’s the network’s lead color commentator for Monday Night Football. That overlap has drawn scrutiny for months, with Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio among those pressing the league on it.

Aikman says he’s cleared it with the league office directly. “I’ve talked to the commissioner, and he’s fine with what I’m doing and my role,” he said.

He’s also pushed back on the idea that his situation is unusual, drawing a comparison to Tom Brady’s dual role as a Fox Sports analyst and minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Why Miami isn’t getting a Monday night slot

The scheduling detail Aikman leaned on isn’t a throwaway line. The NFL builds its primetime schedule around teams it expects to draw eyeballs, and Miami didn’t make the cut for 2026 after a 7-10 finish in 2025 — the franchise’s worst mark under since Mike McDaniel took over in 2022.

McDaniel was fired after that season, and the Dolphins moved on from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa as well. Tagovailoa was released and later signed a one-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons, a move that left Miami carrying a record-setting dead cap charge. Sullivan and Hafley now lead a Dolphins team that’s effectively starting over — new GM, new coach, new quarterback situation, and a cap sheet still absorbing the fallout from the Tagovailoa split.

What it means

None of this means Aikman is wrong about the Dolphins’ 2026 outlook. A team rebuilding its coaching staff, front office and starting quarterback in the same offseason rarely contends the following year, and the league’s own scheduling decision backs that read. But the optics remain awkward: a network’s top game analyst publicly forecasting a bad season for the same team he’s advising off the air is the kind of detail that keeps the conflict-of-interest conversation alive, regardless of how either side frames it.

Burnley have ripped up their shirt sponsorship agreement with Finotive One and replaced it with longtime partner Vertu Motors, the club confirmed Thursday morning — just three days before their Championship season opener against West Ham United.

The club announced the split in blunt terms. Burnley said in an official statement that it was “disappointed to confirm that its agreement with Finotive has been terminated,” adding it had “acted decisively to protect the Club’s interests, and those of our supporters.”

Within the same hour, Burnley moved to fill the gap. The club confirmed Vertu as its new Official Front of Shirt Principal Partner, with the automotive retailer’s branding replacing Finotive’s across the men’s, women’s and academy first-team shirts effective immediately.

How the Finotive deal collapsed

Burnley announced Finotive One as its new main sponsor at the start of July, ending a two-season run with betting firm 96.com. The club had already worn shirts carrying the Finotive branding throughout preseason, including last week’s Carabao Cup tie against Notts County.

Then the wheels came off. According to the Burnley Express, speculation spread Thursday evening that something had gone wrong with the Cypriot-registered trading platform’s agreement, with reports suggesting the club was already searching for a replacement sponsor days before kickoff. The paper had floated Vertu as the likely candidate — a call that proved accurate within hours.

Burnley has not detailed publicly why the Finotive agreement fell apart. The club’s statement stopped short of naming a cause, saying only that it acted to protect its own interests and those of supporters while keeping preseason preparations “uninterrupted, both on and off the pitch.”

Vertu steps back into a familiar role

Vertu is not new to Turf Moor. The UK’s fourth-largest automotive retailer first partnered with Burnley ahead of the 2022/23 season — the year the club won the Championship title in record-breaking fashion — and has held a “Club Partner” status since, including a spell on the back of shirts and a stint featuring its Bristol Street Motors brand during the 2024/25 campaign.

Burnley Chairman Alan Pace called the swap a natural progression rather than a scramble. “Vertu has been a valued and trusted partner of the Club, and this new relationship is a natural next step for two organisations that share a commitment to ambition, innovation and long-term success,” Pace said in the club’s statement.

Vertu Chief Executive Robert Forrester echoed the sentiment, framing the deal around the club’s local ties in East Lancashire rather than just shirt real estate. “Burnley FC sits right at the heart of that community, and this new, enhanced partnership will allow us to continue working on programmes that we know will have a huge impact on people and communities across East Lancashire,” Forrester said.

What it means for fans who already bought the kit

The abrupt switch leaves Burnley with a logistical mess to clean up. Supporters who already purchased a 2026/27 replica shirt carrying Finotive branding have been offered three options: a full refund, an exchange for a Vertu-branded replacement, or having Vertu branding applied to their existing shirt free of charge. All future replica stock will carry Vertu branding going forward.

One immediate consequence: replica kits will not be available online or in the Clarets Store for Sunday’s fixture against West Ham while the club sorts out the changeover. Full details on timing for refunds and exchanges are expected to be communicated through official channels in the coming days.

The kit itself isn’t changing — just the badge on the front

The sponsor swap doesn’t touch the kit design J.J. Watt, the former NFL defensive star and Burnley co-owner, unveiled a few weeks ago. Watt said at the time he had spent nearly two years working on the design, calling it “a true honour and privilege.” That claret-and-white Castore kit, which drew mixed reviews from fans over its simplified look, will carry Vertu’s logo instead of Finotive’s when Burnley walks out at Turf Moor.

Burnley kicks off the 2026/27 Championship campaign at home to West Ham United on Sunday, August 16 at 4 p.m. BST — their first match in England’s second tier since relegation from the Premier League last season, and a fixture that will now double as Vertu’s on-pitch unveiling.

Drew Allar didn’t wait long to make a case for himself. On his first extended look in an NFL uniform, the Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback threw two touchdown passes and ran for a third, leading Pittsburgh to a 28-9 win over the Green Bay Packers in the team’s preseason opener Wednesday night at Acrisure Stadium.

The Steelers used their 76th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on Allar, a third-round selection out of Penn State. He didn’t play like a player who fell to the third round. Allar finished 9 of 14 for 154 yards, connecting with fellow rookie Kaden Wetjen and tight end Riley Nowkowski for scores before punching in a third touchdown himself on a three-yard read-option keeper, according to CBS Pittsburgh. One report from CBS Pittsburgh listed his completions at 10 of 13; multiple other outlets, including CBS Sports and Yahoo Sports, put the final line at 9 of 14. Either way, the yardage and touchdown total line up: 154 yards, three total scores, no turnovers.

A read-option and a rocket to Wetjen

The signature moment came on Allar’s first drive of the third quarter. He found Wetjen on an in-breaking route that turned into a 75-yard gain, according to Yahoo Sports. Two plays later, head coach Mike McCarthy called a read option, and Allar tucked it himself for a three-yard touchdown that put Pittsburgh ahead 14-9. The crowd at Acrisure Stadium reportedly greeted Allar’s entrance with chants of “Drewwww!” as fans got their first live look at the rookie, per CBS Pittsburgh.

Green Bay’s response drive went nowhere. Safety Israel Mukuamu broke through for a sack, and the Packers’ possession totaled just nine yards on five plays, according to Behind the Steel Curtain. Allar wasn’t finished. He later led a 10-play, 89-yard drive on which he completed all seven of his throws, capping it with a five-yard touchdown pass, per CBS Sports.

Allar credited the coaching staff for setting him up to succeed. “I think it’s a huge confidence boost,” he said after the game, according to CBS Sports. “Coach McCarthy and the whole offensive staff putting together a really concise game plan and just calling stuff that they know I’m comfortable with. Just allowing us to go out and play fast.”

Rodgers watched from the sideline — and he won’t be around much longer

Aaron Rodgers didn’t play. The 42-year-old sat out the opener in sweats, along with several other veterans, as McCarthy prioritized keeping his roster healthy through camp, according to CBS Pittsburgh. Rodgers signed a one-year deal worth up to $25 million to return to Pittsburgh in May, and days later confirmed publicly that 2026 will be his final NFL season. “Yes. This is it,” Rodgers told reporters in May, per ESPN.

That timeline is what makes Allar’s debut worth watching beyond one preseason box score. Rodgers is locked in as Pittsburgh’s Week 1 starter, and nothing from Wednesday changes that. But his retirement, whenever it officially arrives after this season, will open a competition that now includes a rookie who just posted a three-touchdown night in his first game.

He wasn’t the only Steelers quarterback who impressed. Mason Rudolph started and went 10 of 11 for 93 yards across two series, directing a long drive that stalled at the goal line, according to CBS Pittsburgh. Second-year passer Will Howard, a sixth-round pick a year ago, followed with a 7-of-9, 86-yard showing that included a two-minute drill ending in Pittsburgh’s first touchdown of the night, per CBS Sports. All three quarterbacks are competing for reps behind Rodgers, with Pittsburgh’s roster set to be trimmed to 53 players by August 30, according to CBS Pittsburgh.

Fans on social media are already dreaming big

Preseason opener or not, Steelers fans reacted to Allar’s stat line with the kind of enthusiasm typically reserved for the regular season. Reactions circulating on X ranged from comparisons to Rodgers’ own quarterback development to outright calls for Allar to take over the starting job — including at least one fan predicting a Week 4 changeover, and another, from a rival fanbase, calling for Rodgers to “retire” immediately so Allar could start Week 1. Those takes are fan speculation, not anything close to how Pittsburgh’s depth chart actually works — Rodgers is under contract as the starter for 2026, full stop. Other fans struck a more grounded tone, with one Pittsburgh supporter noting simply, “It is just preseason but I am hyped.”

What’s next

Pittsburgh has two more preseason games left: a home matchup against the New York Jets on August 21, followed by a road trip to face the Buffalo Bills on August 27, according to the Steelers’ official schedule release. The Steelers open the regular season at home against the Atlanta Falcons on September 13.

None of that changes what’s in front of Pittsburgh right now: Rodgers is the starter, and this is his farewell season. But if Wednesday night was any indication, the Steelers may already have his successor developing on the same roster.

Jayden Daniels’ feud with LSU over his old jersey number has spilled well past the football world, and now a ticket-resale giant has joined in on the joke.

StubHub posted on its official X account Wednesday that it would stop selling tickets in groups of five, framing the move as a tribute to the Washington Commanders quarterback. “Effective immediately, we will no longer offer tickets in groups of 5. Out of respect for Jayden Daniels, we’re only doing 4 or 6+. Thank you for your understanding,” the company wrote. The post has drawn heavy engagement, with Yahoo Sports reporting that StubHub was one of several brands and accounts that jumped on the moment for a laugh.

Effective immediately, we will no longer offer tickets in groups of 5. Out of respect for Jayden Daniels, we're only doing 4 or 6+. Thank you for your understanding. pic.twitter.com/MT9lohBrot

— StubHub (@StubHub) August 13, 2026

What sparked the LSU dispute

The joke traces back to a real legal fight. Daniels won the Heisman Trophy at LSU in 2023 wearing No. 5, then left for the NFL after being drafted second overall in 2024. That number sat unused until this preseason, when sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett started wearing it during fall camp.

Daniels didn’t take it well. According to ESPN, an attorney representing Daniels sent LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry a letter dated Aug. 5 demanding the school stop using his name, image and likeness. A spokesperson for Daniels told ESPN the family is “deeply disappointed and feels profoundly disrespected by LSU’s decision to give Jayden’s number to another player.”

The dispute has since grown. Louisiana Sports reported that Daniels’ camp also asked LSU to return its copy of his Heisman Trophy, though the outlet notes LSU has no intention of doing so and considers the cease-and-desist letter non-binding.

LSU coach Lane Kiffin has said Pickett was promised the number during his recruitment in December 2024. Former coach Brian Kelly, who was let go in October 2025, told ESPN he believed the same but held off issuing the number to Pickett while Daniels was still on campus because Daniels hadn’t signed off on it.

Pickett and his family aren’t budging

Pickett has made clear he intends to keep the number. “I’ve worn the number my whole life, since I was 4 years old,” Pickett told reporters, according to ESPN. “It’s the number I was promised. I wish Jayden the best. Good player, and he did real good here.”

His father, Damien Pickett, was more direct with a Louisiana paper. The Advocate reported Damien said the situation “makes us want to wear the number more,” adding that Kiffin has backed the family throughout the process. As of that report, LSU had not told the Picketts that DJ could no longer wear No. 5.

An LSU athletic department spokesman declined to comment when ESPN reached out this week.

Fans have turned on Daniels

The public reaction has not been kind to Daniels. HITC reported that NFL fans piled on after the cease-and-desist letter became public, with one fan writing “that’s a bad look for Jayden” and another calling the whole thing “such a weird thing to do.” Some fans also noted that Joe Burrow’s own LSU number, No. 9, was never officially retired either — a comparison Kelly himself raised, telling ESPN, “We didn’t want to issue No. 9, so you can’t treat one differently from the other.”

Daniels has since tried to soften the tone publicly. According to Yahoo Sports, he wrote that “there are issues to be worked out,” adding he has “a lot of gratitude” for his time at LSU and hopes the matter “will get done privately.”

StubHub’s post, meanwhile, has taken on a life of its own separate from the underlying dispute. Reaction in the replies has been mixed — plenty of fans found the timing funny, but others used the moment to needle StubHub over its own reputation for service fees and resale pricing complaints, arguing the company has bigger problems than a punchline about ticket quantities.

Comparable LSU jersey precedents

Under LSU’s jersey policy, a retired number can technically still be reissued at a head coach’s discretion — every number except Cannon’s No. 20, which is the only one formally barred from reuse, according to Louisiana Sports. That distinction is central to why LSU believes it’s within its rights to let Pickett wear No. 5, even as Daniels argues otherwise.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as LSU and Daniels’ representatives continue discussions.

Patrick Mahomes will not play when the Kansas City Chiefs open their preseason against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium. Head coach Andy Reid confirmed the decision this week, ending speculation about whether the two-time MVP would take his first snaps since tearing his ACL and LCL last season.

“The way the rotation will go is Pat won’t start or play,” Reid said, according to Chiefs on SI. “So it’ll be Justin (Fields) and then (Garrett) Nussmeier, and then Chris (Oladokun) will take it from there.”

Chiefs reporter Matt McMullen first relayed the news, and it was later confirmed by CBS Sports, which cited the team’s official site. The plan lines up with what Reid has signaled for weeks: Mahomes will not be rushed onto the field just to shake off rust in a game that carries no real stakes.

Mahomes Eight Months Removed From Knee Surgery

Mahomes has taken part in every training camp practice this summer, working his way back from the torn ACL and LCL that ended his 2025 season in Week 15 against the Chargers. By kickoff Saturday, he’ll be roughly eight months removed from surgery. Full participation in camp drills is one thing. Live contact in a game that means nothing to the standings is another, and Reid has made clear he’s not willing to gamble with it.

Safety Tyrann Mathieu, who watched Mahomes work at camp, came away impressed with what he saw, according to HITC. Still, practice reps and preseason snaps against unfamiliar pass rushers are different tests, and Kansas City clearly isn’t ready to find out yet.

Chris Jones Wants No Part of Preseason Snaps, Either

Mahomes wasn’t the only Chiefs starter making the case for caution this week. Defensive tackle Chris Jones told reporters Thursday he’d rather the whole starting lineup sit Saturday.

“Why play the starters? I mean, it’s so much risk you’re taking to play starters in preseason. I hope Coach Reid will be like, ‘You know what, starters don’t play,'” Jones said, per Yardbarker.

Reporter Matt Derrick captured video of Jones making the comments and posted it to X. Derrick posted on X: “Chris Jones said Thursday he hopes Andy Reid won’t play the Chiefs’ starters against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday”

Chris Jones said Thursday he hopes Andy Reid won’t play the Chiefs’ starters against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday, and he had a demonstrative reason why.

“I want to play against your starters.” pic.twitter.com/FcU10aoPB5

— Matt Derrick (@mattderrick) August 13, 2026

Jones, now 32 and entering his 11th NFL season, didn’t rule out playing himself if asked. “I don’t want to play preseason. I’d rather not play, but if I do have to play, I’ma buckle up,” he said. He added that he’d rather see the Rams’ starters across from him instead, so he can gauge himself against players who’ll actually be on the field in Week 1: “I want to play against their starters. You know what I mean? I want to play against the guys that are going to be starting on Sunday, because you like to weigh yourself out — where I’m at, where I can improve.”

That matchup looks unlikely regardless. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford isn’t expected to play Saturday either, continuing head coach Sean McVay’s long-standing habit of resting his starters in exhibition games.

Bengals-Lions Game Shows the Real Risk

Jones’s caution isn’t hypothetical. The Cincinnati Bengals started Joe Burrow on Thursday night against the Detroit Lions, and it didn’t take long for the downside to show up. Burrow was sacked on Cincinnati’s opening drive, part of a two-series outing in which he completed 5 of 6 passes for 39 yards before giving way to Joe Flacco, according to Yahoo Sports. He also took a hard hit on his one incompletion.

NFL insider Ari Meirov posted video of the sack on X: “#Bengals QB Joe Burrow is sacked on the opening possession of preseason”

#Bengals QB Joe Burrow is sacked on the opening possession of preseason: pic.twitter.com/4KxPexj694

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 13, 2026

Burrow walked away from it, and the Bengals went on to win the game. But the sequence is exactly the scenario Jones is trying to avoid: a franchise quarterback absorbing hits in a game that won’t affect anyone’s playoff seeding.

How the Chiefs’ Depth Chart Shakes Out

The bigger picture hasn’t changed. Kansas City opens the regular season on Monday Night Football against the Denver Broncos on Sept. 14, and everything between now and then is built around getting Mahomes there healthy. A clean, uneventful preseason opener does more for the Chiefs than any highlight Mahomes could produce against the Rams’ backups.

DJ Pickett isn’t giving up the number. LSU’s sophomore cornerback addressed the ongoing dispute with former Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels for the first time publicly on Thursday, and his message was simple: he’s keeping No. 5.

“About the number situation, I wore that number my whole life since I was four years old. That’s the number I was promised,” Pickett told reporters following LSU’s Day 8 fall camp practice, according to a video shared by Zack Nagy on X. “I wish Jayden the best. A great player and he did real good here. That’s all.”

#LSU cornerback DJ Pickett took the podium following Day 8 of Fall Camp to address the Jayden Daniels situation.

Pickett wishes Daniels the best – but will remain in No. 5.

“It’s the number I was promised.”

Pickett’s entire statement from Thursday: pic.twitter.com/7quUGqopAs

— Zack Nagy (@znagy20) August 13, 2026

The comments come after a chaotic week in Baton Rouge. Daniels, now entering his third NFL season with the Washington Commanders, had an attorney send LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry a cease-and-desist letter dated Aug. 5, informing the school it could no longer use his name, image and likeness, according to ESPN. The letter itself does not mention Pickett or the jersey by name, per a separate WAFB report, but instead argues LSU’s contractual authorization to use his NIL has expired.

The underlying issue is clear enough. LSU handed Pickett the No. 5 jersey at the start of fall camp on Aug. 5, the same number Daniels wore during his Heisman Trophy-winning 2023 season. No Tigers player had worn it since Daniels left for the NFL.

Daniels’ camp says he feels “profoundly disrespected”

A spokesperson for Daniels told ESPN the quarterback and his family were caught off guard by the decision. “The Daniels family is deeply disappointed and feels profoundly disrespected by LSU’s decision to give Jayden’s number to another player,” the spokesperson said, adding that Daniels believed his wishes on the number would be honored.

The dispute has since escalated beyond the NIL letter. According to Matt Moscona of LouisianaSports.net, Daniels’ camp has also asked LSU to return its copy of his 2023 Heisman Trophy. That report has not been independently confirmed by LSU, and multiple outlets, including Yahoo Sports, note the school has no intention of complying. LSU has also indicated it’s undecided on how far it will go to honor the cease-and-desist letter, which is not a legally binding document.

Head coach Lane Kiffin, in his first season at LSU, largely stayed out of the specifics when he addressed the situation with reporters Thursday, though he has reportedly spoken with Daniels’ representatives directly.

The Pickett family says they were promised the number

DJ Pickett’s father, Damien, gave his own account of the situation to The Advocate, saying the family didn’t learn about the cease-and-desist letter until ESPN’s report broke Wednesday. “It’s not really pertaining to my son, but he’s been put in the middle of something that has nothing to do with him,” Damien said, according to NOLA.com.

Damien Pickett also said the family’s frustration is directed more at former coach Brian Kelly’s staff than at Kiffin, who he credited with “honoring what was promised to my son.” Pickett wore No. 3 as a freshman last season, an All-America campaign, before switching to No. 5 for 2026 with Kiffin’s approval.

Here’s a snapshot of where the two Heisman-tied jersey numbers at LSU currently stand:

That contrast — Burrow’s No. 9 sitting unused for six years while Daniels’ No. 5 was reissued after three — has fueled much of the fan pushback toward LSU rather than Daniels, even as reaction to Daniels’ own response has been mixed.

Why this matters heading into the season

None of this changes what’s actually at stake on the field. Pickett is expected to be a key piece of LSU’s secondary this fall as the Tigers prepare to open their season against Clemson in a matter of weeks. The jersey dispute, whatever its outcome, has already put a first-year starter in an uncomfortable spotlight before he’s played a snap of the season.

For Daniels, the fallout is more about legacy than logistics. He has no ongoing football relationship with LSU, and the NIL cease-and-desist letter functions largely as leverage rather than a practical roadblock for the school. But the Heisman Trophy request, if accurate, signals this isn’t just about a jersey number anymore.

Daniels addressed the situation briefly himself in an Instagram post Thursday afternoon, writing that he has “a lot of gratitude” for his time at LSU and hopes the issue “can all be resolved” privately, while keeping his public focus on Commanders training camp.

Joe Burrow made his 2026 preseason debut Thursday night at Paycor Stadium, and when it was over, he wasn’t just talking about his own night under center. He was talking about Dohnte Meyers.

The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Detroit Lions 16-14 in their preseason opener, and Burrow completed 5 of 6 passes for 39 yards across 13 snaps before giving way to the rest of the depth chart, according to the Bengals’ official postgame recap. He also took a sack on the opening possession and absorbed a hard hit on a third-down throw, per Local12’s report on the game.

None of that overshadowed Meyers. The 26-year-old former CFL receiver, who signed with Cincinnati in January, led all Bengals pass-catchers with three receptions for 29 yards. He added a 13-yard run for good measure, per the team’s own recap.

Why Joe Burrow Is Talking Up Dohnte Meyers

Burrow isn’t hurting for weapons. He already has Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, arguably the best receiving duo in the league. But every training camp produces a name nobody outside the building saw coming, and this year that name is Meyers.

Speaking to reporters after the win, Burrow explained what set Meyers apart before camp even opened. “Number one, he just loves ball,” Burrow said. “The week before training camp, I texted him: ‘Hey, are you in town?'”

Charlie Clifford posted on X: “Joe Burrow says former CFL star WR Dohnte Meyers stood out tonight. Added he has all of camp.”

Joe Burrow says former CFL star WR Dohnte Meyers stood out tonight. Added he has all of camp.

Then Burrow shared a story of Meyers driving through the night this summer from Atlanta to Cincinnati just to be a part of his throwing session:

"That is the kind of guy that he is." pic.twitter.com/unfLEBKKkx

— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) August 14, 2026

Burrow went on to describe what happened next. Meyers told him he could make it. Burrow asked if he could be there the following morning at 11. Meyers said yes — then drove through the night from Atlanta to Cincinnati to make it happen.

“Come to find out, he drove from Atlanta that night to be there to throw the next day. That’s the kind of guy that he is.” — Joe Burrow

Local12’s postgame coverage independently described the same exchange, reporting that Burrow shared a story about contacting Meyers before training camp to ask if he could catch passes the next morning, and that Meyers made the trip.

Burrow didn’t stop at the backstory. He broke down what Meyers has shown on the field. “He’s had a great camp,” Burrow said. “He’s quick, shifty, and understands what we’re trying to do. He played a lot in the CFL, and though he comes over here and hasn’t played a lot in the NFL, he’s got a lot of reps under his belt. He’s a guy that we’ve seen a lot out of.”

The Numbers From Cincinnati’s 16-14 Win

Detroit rested its starters, which opened the door for players like Meyers to make a case for a roster spot. Cincinnati’s defense set the tone early, intercepting a Luke Altmyer pass on the opening series and forcing a fumble recovery from rookie Cashius Howell, according to the team’s recap.

Detroit rallied late, cutting the deficit to two points on a touchdown and two-point conversion, but rookie Noah Thomas recovered the ensuing onside kick and safety Russ Yeast sealed it with an interception in the final seconds, per the Bengals’ recap.

What’s Next for Meyers

Cincinnati’s receiver room is deep, and Meyers still has to prove he belongs on the 53-man roster. Two preseason games remain for him to make his case to Burrow and head coach Zac Taylor. But between the camp buzz and Thursday’s performance, Meyers has put himself firmly in the roster conversation — even if a practice-squad spot ends up being the more realistic outcome.

For now, the story writing itself in Cincinnati isn’t just about a receiver chasing a roster spot. It’s about a quarterback who noticed the effort behind it.

Kansas City Chiefs fans aren’t in a patient mood, and a training camp hype video just gave them another reason to vent. Two days before the team’s preseason opener against the Los Angeles Rams, the Chiefs’ official X account posted a short clip of Patrick Mahomes and Rashee Rice connecting on the practice field with the caption “Rice is cookin’.” The replies were not kind.

The mockery lands against a rough backdrop. Kansas City missed the playoffs last season for the first time in over a decade, finishing 6-11 after Mahomes went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 15. The Chiefs enter 2026 needing answers on multiple fronts, and fans clearly aren’t ready to be sold on optimism just yet.

Fans Pile On After ‘Rice Is Cookin” Post

The video itself was standard training-camp content — Mahomes finding Rice on a route, nothing more dramatic than that. But the caption drew immediate pushback. According to HITC, one fan responded by asking simply, “Cookin’ who?”

Another fan, Scott, was more pointed. He posted on X: “With no defense. Comical.” —

With no defense. Comical

— Scott (@LetsGoIrish79) August 13, 2026

The jokes kept coming from there. One fan compared the clip to “cooking a cold pastrami sandwich.” Another dismissed the hype entirely, writing that the post was “hyping up Rice in the big 2026.” A separate reply argued flatly that Mahomes “is not the guy” right now, and at least one fan responded with nothing but a tortoise GIF — a jab at the pace of Kansas City’s rebuild.

None of it is official team business. It’s fans blowing off steam on a Wednesday in August, the kind of noise that follows every franchise during training camp. But the tone says something about where Chiefs Kingdom’s patience sits after a losing season.

Mahomes’ Recovery Is the Real Storyline

The bigger issue hovering over the joke is Mahomes’ health. He tore both his ACL and LCL in his left knee during a Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 14, 2025 — an injury that ended his season and eliminated Kansas City from playoff contention. He had surgery about 24 hours later.

Mahomes has been cleared to practice at training camp, which is a real step forward given the severity of the injury. But head coach Andy Reid isn’t rushing him. Reid told reporters last week there’s a “pretty good chance” Mahomes won’t play at all in the preseason, saying the “percentages are leading that way” and that he hasn’t decided whether Mahomes will suit up even for the second or third preseason game.

That would be new territory for Mahomes, who has never sat out an entire preseason in his nine-year career. For now, he says he’s preparing as if he’ll play and letting Reid make the call. His focus is squarely on Week 1 — a Sept. 14 matchup against Denver, the team that won the AFC West while Kansas City was out of the picture.

What’s Next

Kansas City opens its three-game preseason slate against the Rams on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium, with kickoff set for 3 p.m. CT. Whether Mahomes takes a single snap remains genuinely uncertain — and given how thin the Chiefs’ margin for error looked a year ago, every rep between now and Sept. 14 is going to be watched closely, jokes and all.

Steve Smith Sr. thinks Kansas City has found its next No. 1 wide receiver, and it’s not a household name yet. The Hall of Fame-caliber wideout says rookie Cyrus Allen is on track to take over as the Chiefs’ top target, a claim that’s split the fan base right down the middle.

Kansas City opens its preseason schedule this weekend, and there’s plenty riding on it after a rough 2025 season. The Chiefs finished 6-11, missed the playoffs, and spent the offseason retooling. One of the more notable additions was Allen, a fifth-round pick out of Cincinnati who’s quickly become one of the more talked-about names at training camp.

Cyrus Allen backed to become Chiefs’ number one wide receiver

Smith made the prediction during a recent episode of the 89 with Steve Smith and James Palmer podcast, according to Yahoo Sports. His comments, first surfaced by HITC, didn’t come with much hedging.

“Cyrus Allen is going to be eventually, in my humble opinion….their number one Wide Receiver.”

That’s a significant claim for a player who wasn’t picked until No. 176 overall. Allen spent his college career bouncing between programs — two seasons at Louisiana Tech, one at Texas A&M, before landing at Cincinnati for his senior year. It was there he broke out, catching 51 passes for 674 yards and 13 touchdowns, tying Cincinnati’s single-season receiving touchdown record, according to ESPN.

He’s carried that momentum into St. Joseph, Missouri, where the Chiefs have run training camp. ESPN reported that Allen strung together a hot opening week, working increasing first-team reps with Patrick Mahomes and drawing praise from teammates. Xavier Worthy, entering his third season in Kansas City, called Allen “an electric route runner” with “the explosion, good ball skills, hands” to be a factor early. A shin injury slowed Allen for a stretch in early August, but he returned to practice within the week.

Kansas City hasn’t had a true No. 1 receiver since trading Tyreek Hill to Miami. Rashee Rice has carried the load since, but the offense has slipped from a top-five scoring unit with Hill to No. 21 in scoring last season. If Allen develops the way Smith expects, it would fill a hole the Chiefs have been trying to patch for years.

Fans split on the bold prediction

The reaction online tracked two very different lanes. Some fans backed Smith’s read on Allen’s early camp buzz. Kansas City supporter Drew Banks posted on X in response: “It sure seems that way. You can tell he just moves different than anybody we have, and Pat knows it.” —

It sure seems that way. You can tell he just moves different than anybody we have, and Pat knows it. https://t.co/ecEFCn2IsU

— Drew Banks (@Drizzy_Dru29) August 14, 2026

Others online echoed that sentiment, with one replying that Smith “knows ball” and another agreeing the veteran analyst “might know of what he speaks.”

Not everyone was convinced, though. Skepticism largely centered on Smith’s track record with bold receiver predictions. One fan pointed back to a previous miss: “Steve Smith thinks every small receiver is gonna be special. Guy thought Skyy Moore would be an All-Pro.” Another added, “My dawg normally right but that’s not gonna be this season,” while a separate reply argued Smith “has been off a lot lately” and “says a lot of nothing.”

The Skyy Moore comparison is the crux of the pushback. Moore was a second-round pick in 2022 who never developed into a consistent NFL contributor before being traded away, and critics see Smith’s Allen prediction as a repeat of that same optimism. Whether that’s a fair parallel is a matter of opinion — Allen’s camp production so far has been the real thing, not projection, which is part of why some fans are willing to buy in despite Smith’s mixed history calling shots on unproven receivers.

For now, Smith’s prediction remains just that — a prediction, not a certainty, and one the Chiefs’ preseason slate will start to test this weekend. Allen will get his first look at NFL-caliber competition outside of practice reps, with Kansas City hoping the early camp buzz translates once games count.

Fernando Mendoza took his first NFL snaps on Thursday night, and Raiders fans were watching every one of them.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft made his preseason debut for the Las Vegas Raiders against the Arizona Cardinals at Allegiant Stadium. The final score didn’t go Las Vegas’s way — the Cardinals won 27-14 — but for a rookie quarterback trying to show his new organization something, the scoreboard was almost beside the point.

Mendoza entered on the Raiders’ second offensive drive, late in the first quarter, working behind the second-team offensive line. According to Yahoo Sports, head coach Klint Kubiak had said beforehand that Mendoza could see snaps with some first-team linemen mixed in, and that’s roughly how it played out. By the time the night was over, Mendoza had gone 10 of 16 for 97 yards and a touchdown, connecting with receiver Jack Bech on a 6-yard scoring strike that tied the game at 14-14.

That touchdown wasn’t just a nice moment for a rookie. Per the Associated Press, via CBS Sports, Mendoza became the first No. 1 overall pick to throw a touchdown pass in his preseason debut since Baker Mayfield did it for Cleveland back in 2018. He also nearly had a second one in the fourth quarter, overthrowing receiver Deven Thompkins on a shot down the field.

Mendoza shared quarterback reps with veteran Kirk Cousins, who is set to open the regular season as Las Vegas’s starter, and fellow backup Aidan O’Connell. He wasn’t sacked more than once and didn’t turn the ball over — two boxes any coaching staff wants checked in a rookie’s first live look, regardless of the final result.

Kubiak liked what he saw.

“I thought he led a good scoring drive as far as getting in and out of the huddle and commanding the group and getting the play calls down,” Kubiak said, according to the Associated Press, via ClickOnDetroit. “I saw the same guy that we’ve seen in practice. I see an ascending player.”

NFL fans react to Fernando Mendoza’s first game for the Raiders

Cousins will start Week 1 as Las Vegas’s QB1, but plenty of eyes were locked on Mendoza on Thursday, given what it cost the Raiders to get him — the first overall pick in April’s draft. Kubiak, in his first year as head coach, has been careful not to rush the rookie’s timeline. Still, what fans saw against Arizona’s second-string defense got a few of them fired up about what’s coming.

The NFL’s own account on X posted highlights from the outing, including a throw fit into a tight window: NFL posted on X: “Fernando Mendoza threading the needle!” —

Fernando Mendoza threading the needle!

Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/PC9UPZvRxA

— NFL (@NFL) August 14, 2026

Reaction under that post and elsewhere on social media ran hot. One fan wrote, “I’ve seen enough. Welcome back Tom Brady.” Another, referencing that same tight-window completion, called it an “absolute laser beam.” A third fan focused on the mechanics of the throw itself: “The window he fit that ball into was impressive.”

Others leaned into the moment more broadly. “He only gets better and better! Let’s go!” one fan posted. Another tied Mendoza’s poise back to the man who helped bring him to Las Vegas — part-owner Tom Brady, who according to Silver and Black Pride was in attendance for the game, as he has been for past preseason contests. “Looking a little Bradyish right here…” the fan wrote. A separate post simply read, “Fernando is so fun to watch.”

It’s worth keeping the moment in context. Mendoza was facing Arizona’s backups in a preseason opener — not the kind of competition that tells a franchise everything it needs to know. The Cardinals, for what it’s worth, had their own strong showing under center: Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew combined to go 15 of 15 for 123 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, per CBS Sports.

Still, a clean, mistake-free debut with a touchdown pass is exactly the kind of first step Las Vegas wanted from its rookie quarterback. The Raiders are back in preseason action next Thursday at Houston.

Fernando Mendoza’s preseason debut by the numbers

Lamar Jackson is walking into the 2026 season with a target on his back, and ESPN analyst Louis Riddick isn’t softening the message. Riddick says the Baltimore Ravens quarterback will absorb the blame first if the team’s problems from last season carry over, regardless of how new the coaching staff is.

Jackson has two MVP awards and four Pro Bowl trips on his résumé heading into his ninth year in the league. None of that has translated into a Super Bowl, and the Ravens are still trying to find their footing after a season that fell apart late.

Baltimore finished 8-9 in 2025, missing the playoffs after a 26-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers closed out the year. That result cost John Harbaugh his job, along with the rest of his coaching staff.

Riddick Says There’s No Cushion for Jackson in Baltimore

The Ravens didn’t waste time rebuilding. Jesse Minter takes over as head coach, with Declan Doyle running the offense and Anthony Weaver in charge of the defense. It’s a near-total reset of the coaching room, and it’s brought some genuine buzz back to the building.

Riddick isn’t convinced that changes who gets scrutinized if the losing continues. Speaking on First Take, he didn’t hedge:

“There is no grace period in Baltimore. And who’s going to be the person who all the attention is going to be focused on? It will be Lamar,” Riddick said, according to HITC.

Riddick’s reasoning is simple, and it’s the same logic that follows every starting quarterback in the league. The position draws the heat first, win or lose. He put it bluntly: it will be Jackson under the microscope “because it’s always him,” and because a quarterback’s game gets “picked apart from A to Z” when things go sideways.

That kind of scrutiny would touch nearly everything Jackson does on the field — his rushing numbers, his accuracy as a passer, and a durability question that followed him through last season.

Health and Availability Were Real Issues in 2025

Jackson missed three games last year with a hamstring injury and sat out another with a tailbone bruise. In the 13 games he did play, he was held without a passing or rushing touchdown four times — a stretch of inconsistency that mirrored the team’s overall late-season collapse. Baltimore’s playoff chances were officially gone once the Steelers loss closed the book on the regular season.

None of that has soured Jackson on the direction the franchise is heading. Back in May, he called Minter and the incoming staff “a breath of fresh air,” and people around the team say that energy has carried into training camp.

Jackson has reportedly built real chemistry with rookie wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane during camp, and tight end Mark Andrews has stood out as well. Teammates and coaches have also pointed to Jackson taking on more of a vocal leadership role this offseason — a shift that matters given how much responsibility is about to land on him once the season starts.

Why This Falls on Jackson, Fair or Not

Riddick’s take reflects a pattern that’s true across the NFL, not just in Baltimore. Front offices can rebuild a coaching staff and retool a scheme, but the quarterback remains the face of both the offense and the record. When a team with Jackson’s talent misses the playoffs, the questions default to the player under center — his health, his decision-making, his ability to close games.

If Minter’s staff clicks early and the Ravens get back into playoff contention, the pressure Riddick describes fades fast. A rough start, though, and Jackson becomes the first name reporters bring up — not the rookie coordinators, not the front office. That’s the reality Riddick is describing, and it’s on Jackson to prove it wrong once games start counting in September.

The Buffalo Bills have wrapped two weeks of 2026 training camp in Rochester and held an open practice at their new home stadium. Now they get set to host the Carolina Panthers in a preseason opener at Highmark Stadium on Saturday, August 15. Two weeks in, the biggest story out of camp isn’t on offense — it’s how unsettled the Bills defense depth chart looks under first-year coordinator Jim Leonhard.

Josh Allen is still Josh Allen. The offensive line is mostly set, save for a late battle at left guard. The receiver room is still sorting itself out behind DJ Moore and Khalil Shakir. But it’s the defense that has given Bills Mafia the most to chew on this summer, as Leonhard tears down Sean McDermott’s long-running scheme and rebuilds it from scratch.

Leonhard is scrapping the old defense — and the old depth chart with it

Everyone knew coming into camp that Leonhard was moving Buffalo away from McDermott’s 4-3 Cover 2 look toward a more attacking, simulated-pressure 3-4. What’s turned into the real surprise is how far that shift is reaching into personnel. Instead of tweaking a scheme players already knew, Leonhard is treating almost every spot on defense as an open competition.

ESPN’s Ben Solak spent time watching Bills camp and counted more than 20 different defensive players rotating through first-team reps. According to ClutchPoints, Solak said the Bills “are throwing everyone at the wall right now defensively and seeing what sticks,” adding that even veterans such as Christian Benford and Greg Rousseau have played their entire careers inside McDermott’s static system and are now adjusting on the fly.

That’s a notable departure. Buffalo’s defense had been one of the more stable units in football for the better part of a decade. Leonhard clearly isn’t assuming anyone’s job is safe just because of a track record in the old scheme — which is exactly why the two-deep looks so different than most people expected heading into camp.

Offense is basically set; defense is anything but

Two weeks into camp, Buffalo’s offensive picture is close to finalized. Ten of 11 starting spots are effectively locked in, and if Alec Anderson holds off competition at left guard, that group could be settled entirely before the preseason opener.

The defense tells a completely different story. Entering camp, the expectation was that Buffalo had maybe two real openings — middle linebacker and the second safety spot next to breakout starter Cole Bishop. Instead, per ClutchPoints, it’s shaping up as seven or more genuine position battles as Leonhard and offensive coordinator Joe Brady near the first preseason game.

Buffalo’s PR department released its first unofficial depth chart ahead of the Panthers game this week. The graphic itself isn’t full of shockers, but it does map out exactly where the battles for playing time will be decided over the next month.

Breaking down the position battles, spot by spot

Cole Bishop is the unquestioned safety after a breakout 2025 campaign, but the job next to him remains unresolved. Free-agent signing Chauncey (C.J.) Gardner-Johnson is considered the favorite, though he’s been dealing with a leg injury for stretches of camp. Veterans Geno Stone and Sam Franklin Jr., along with rookie Jalon Kilgore, are all getting extended looks in his absence.

Cornerback is more settled at the top, with Christian Benford and Maxwell Hairston projected as the starting duo — but both have injury histories, which puts real weight on the CB4 and CB5 competition behind them. Dee Alford is expected to handle the nickel role, while rookie Davison Igbinosun is fighting off Torino Pride Jr. and Kani Walker for depth spots.

Inside linebacker might be the most fascinating battle in camp. Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams currently sit atop the depth chart, but rookie fourth-round pick Kaleb Elarms-Orr has trended toward a starting role throughout camp reporting. Keonta Jenkins, an undrafted free agent from 2025, has also generated buzz as a potential fit for Leonhard’s system.

At outside linebacker, Gregory Rousseau and Bradley Chubb project as the top two, but Javon Solomon and rookie T.J. Parker are both pushing for real snaps, with Michael Hoecht and Mike Dana expected in the rotation regardless.

The interior defensive line is arguably the most intriguing group to watch this preseason. Ed Oliver, Deone Walker and T.J. Sanders are penciled in as the starting trio, but all three spent their careers as traditional 4-3 defensive tackles before this offseason’s scheme change. DeWayne Carter, Phidarian Mathis, Zane Durant and second-year lineman Landon Jackson — who bulked up and moved from edge to the interior this offseason — are all drawing real looks. Don’t be shocked if one of them, Jackson in particular, eventually pushes into Sanders’ current spot before Week 1 of the regular season.

Why this matters going into Saturday

None of this is settled by scheme alone — it comes down to fit. Leonhard’s 3-4 relies heavily on disguised pressure and players who can win in multiple gaps, which is a different demand than the read-and-react roles most of this roster grew up playing under McDermott. That’s the real reason so many bodies are cycling through first-team reps: Leonhard isn’t just installing a new playbook, he’s figuring out who on the current roster actually profiles for it.

Saturday’s preseason opener against Carolina at the new Highmark Stadium won’t decide most of these battles outright, but it will be the first live look at how these competitions are trending — especially at inside linebacker and along the interior line, where camp reporting suggests the biggest shakeups could be coming.

Justin Herbert has a new play-caller, and at least one national analyst thinks that alone could push him into the MVP race. Dan Orlovsky, appearing on The Pat McAfee Show, said the pairing of Herbert and new Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel has him more intrigued than any other quarterback-coach combination heading into the 2026 season.

The excitement isn’t limited to Orlovsky’s corner of the internet. Chargers fans have been fired up since McDaniel took over play-calling duties, and Herbert himself has drawn notice for throws that even left McDaniel stunned during camp.

Orlovsky breaks down why Herbert fits McDaniel’s system

McDaniel spent four seasons as head coach of the Miami Dolphins, where he built an offense around Tua Tagovailoa’s timing and anticipation rather than pure arm strength. Herbert is a different kind of quarterback physically, and Orlovsky says that contrast is exactly what makes this pairing worth watching.

“These quarterbacks that aren’t the physically dominant specimen that Justin Herbert is, and now you have this coach that has had to kind of build the offense around that style of player with a quarterback that is made out of a lab, and he is six-foot-six; he is 240 pounds. He has an absolute cannon for an arm, and he’s a freak athlete,” Orlovsky said.

Herbert is 6-foot-6, 236 pounds, with one of the strongest arms in the league. McDaniel has never worked with a passer built like that. Orlovsky’s point: McDaniel now gets to keep his scheme’s structure while adding a weapon he’s never had access to before.

The “compromise” Orlovsky says the offense needs

Orlovsky didn’t stop at praise. He argued that the offense’s ceiling depends on Herbert and McDaniel meeting in the middle. McDaniel’s system leans on touch and layered throws — passes placed with timing and precision rather than velocity — and Orlovsky says Herbert will need to adapt some of his more fastball-heavy tendencies to that style.

“I think if both of those guys can really get to a little bit of a compromise, but really high level of understanding of, the quarterback’s great at this stuff, let’s build all of our stuff like that, and then this play caller really needs this out of me. I think this could be one of the better offenses in the league, and the quarterback could be absolutely in the MVP conversation,” Orlovsky said.

Orlovsky isn’t alone in that read. He’s also told ESPN and the Pat McAfee Show separately that he’d be “shocked” if Herbert isn’t a top-five MVP candidate by Thanksgiving, and that he expects the Chargers’ offensive line, tight end room and backfield depth to make this a top-five unit if the line stays healthy.

What’s confirmed and what’s still projection

McDaniel’s hire as Chargers offensive coordinator is confirmed — he joined Jim Harbaugh’s staff after four seasons as Miami’s head coach. Herbert’s physical measurements, his contract status as the Chargers’ starter, and the Week 1 matchup are all matters of record. The MVP talk, though, is analyst projection, not a stated team goal or league designation. No one in the Chargers organization has framed the season around an MVP push publicly.

The offense will get its first real test in Week 1. Los Angeles opens the 2026 season at home against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Sept. 13, marking the first look at McDaniel’s play-calling in a game that counts.

The Las Vegas Raiders open their 2026 preseason Thursday at home against the Arizona Cardinals, and all eyes will be on one name: Fernando Mendoza. The No. 1 overall pick out of Indiana is about to take his first NFL snaps in a real game, and according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, kickoff at Allegiant Stadium is set for 5 p.m. local time.

Kirk Cousins will start under center for Las Vegas. That’s not a surprise — the Raiders signed the veteran in free agency specifically to bridge the gap while Mendoza develops. But head coach Klint Kubiak, in his own coaching debut, has made clear Mendoza won’t just stand on the sideline holding a clipboard.

“We do have a plan for those guys and how many snaps or series we’d like to see them go,” Kubiak told reporters ahead of Tuesday’s practice.

What Dan Orlovsky Wants to See

Former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky broke down what he’s watching for from Mendoza during a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. His focus wasn’t on box-score numbers. It was on rhythm.

“I want to see Fernando Mendoza play with ease tonight. Ease in and out of the huddle and at the line of scrimmage. Ease handling the formations and the motions and the shifts,” Orlovsky said, per Pat McAfee on X (unconfirmed link — could not independently verify the post URL).

Orlovsky also pointed to something harder to coach than mechanics: composure. He wants to see whether Mendoza speeds up and unravels when something goes wrong, or whether he plays through adversity the way he did at Indiana, where he won the Heisman Trophy and led the Hoosiers to a Rose Bowl win over Alabama in the College Football Playoff.

Camp Reports Have Been a Mixed Bag

Mendoza’s transition to the pros hasn’t been seamless. ESPN’s Ryan McFadden reported the rookie has shown a good grasp of Kubiak’s offense and flashed accuracy, but has also had, in his words, his “fair share of struggles” — including off-target throws and issues getting the offense properly lined up, according to Yahoo Sports.

Part of that is structural. Mendoza rarely took snaps under center in college, running mostly out of the shotgun at Indiana. Learning that footwork and rhythm from scratch, on an NFL practice field, in real time, is exactly the kind of adjustment preseason games are built to expose — for better or worse.

Kubiak has downplayed the rough patches as part of the process. “There will never be a perfect game or a perfect practice,” he said earlier in camp, per Yahoo Sports.

The Matchup: Two Rookie Quarterbacks Under the Microscope

Mendoza won’t be the only first-year passer drawing attention Thursday. Arizona’s Carson Beck, a third-round pick, turned heads with a strong half in the Hall of Fame Game, and the hype around him has grown since. If Mendoza performs anywhere near that level against Beck’s Cardinals, it could shift the national conversation quickly.

Why This Game Matters — And Why It Doesn’t

Preseason performances rarely predict regular-season success. Vanilla schemes, backup-heavy defenses, and small sample sizes make it a shaky evaluation tool. But for a No. 1 overall pick who’s going to sit behind Cousins to start the year, Thursday is one of the few live look Raiders fans will get before the regular season kicks off September 13.

Las Vegas didn’t draft Mendoza to sit forever. Cousins gives the franchise a stable bridge and, by all accounts, a mentor willing to help Mendoza learn the pace of the NFL game. How Mendoza looks Thursday — rushed or composed, sharp or scattered — will shape how loud that conversation gets over the next few weeks.

The Baltimore Ravens caught a break this week. After a pair of scary training camp moments left the secondary’s two best cornerbacks on the sideline, head coach Jesse Minter delivered the update everyone in Owings Mills was hoping for on Thursday: both Nate Wiggins and Marlon Humphrey are trending toward a return to practice as soon as next week.

“I would say both are trending very well to potentially be back next week,” Minter told reporters, according to FOX Sports and the Associated Press. “Both just dealing with a couple small things, I think. Got good reports on both of them and expect both of those guys back.”

It’s a meaningful sigh of relief for a Ravens defense that can’t afford another wave of secondary injuries after finishing last season near the bottom of the league against the pass.

What Happened to Wiggins and Humphrey

Wiggins went down about 45 minutes into Tuesday’s practice while covering rookie wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane in one-on-one drills. He couldn’t put weight on his left leg and had to be carted off, a moment that quieted the practice field fast. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported hours later that Wiggins had avoided structural damage — the first real exhale for a team that briefly feared the worst.

Humphrey’s injury came a day later. He walked off under his own power during Wednesday’s session with what the team has kept as an undisclosed issue, though he was accompanied off the field by Baltimore’s medical staff.

Losing either player for an extended stretch would have stung. Losing both at once, right as the calendar turns toward the regular season, would have been a genuine problem. Instead, Minter’s update Thursday pointed toward a short absence rather than a long one.

Neither Was Expected to Play Saturday Anyway

Here’s the part that softens the timing: even in full health, Wiggins and Humphrey likely weren’t playing extensive snaps in Saturday’s preseason opener against the Philadelphia Eagles at M&T Bank Stadium. Minter had already signaled earlier in the week that most of Baltimore’s regular starters — including two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson — would sit out or see limited action, with backup Tyler Huntley running the offense as first-time NFL play-caller Declan Doyle gets his initial live look as offensive coordinator.

So the injury news doesn’t cost the Ravens anything against Philadelphia. It matters for the bigger picture — training camp reps, chemistry building under a new coaching staff, and getting healthy before games start counting.

Why It Matters for Baltimore’s Defense

Wiggins is currently considered the Ravens’ best cover corner, and Humphrey remains one of the more respected veteran voices in that room. A defense that finished tied for second-to-last in the NFL against the pass last season doesn’t have margin to work with a diminished cornerback room, even in August. Getting both players back on the field for joint practices and preseason reps — rather than nursing them through the opener and hoping for the best in Week 1 — is exactly the outcome Minter wants heading into his first year as a head coach.

Baltimore is looking for a sharper start in 2026 than it got a year ago. The Ravens blew a 40-25 fourth-quarter lead in their 2025 season opener, falling 41-40 to the Buffalo Bills, and never fully recovered the margin for error that collapse cost them. They missed the playoffs when rookie kicker Tyler Loop’s 44-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right in a 26-24, season-ending home loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 18. That outcome, and an 8-9 finish, led to John Harbaugh’s dismissal in January and Minter’s hiring off the Los Angeles Chargers’ defensive staff.

Now Minter is trying to build his own identity with a defense that has the pieces to be elite when healthy. Keeping Wiggins and Humphrey on the field is a meaningful piece of that.

What’s Next

The Ravens open their three-game preseason slate Saturday at 7 p.m. ET against the Eagles at M&T Bank Stadium. Baltimore then travels to face the Minnesota Vikings on Aug. 22 before closing the preseason at home against the Washington Commanders on Aug. 28. The regular season begins Sunday, Sept. 13, on the road against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Jordan van den Berg wasn’t supposed to be a name Bears fans knew by the second week of August. A sixth-round pick out of Georgia Tech, the defensive tackle looked penciled in for a camp battle over a practice-squad spot. Instead, he’s taking reps with the twos and threatening to work his way into the ones — and the Bears’ veterans in the room have noticed.

“I think he’s gonna be a hell of a football player,” Bears defensive tackle Neville Gallimore said, according to Sports Illustrated, which relayed comments van den Berg’s veteran teammate made on the Bears’ own YouTube channel. “I think he’s growing. His understanding of the game is improving every day. I just love his competitiveness.”

Bears DT Jordan van den Berg looking good in camp

It’s not just the flashes on tape. Gallimore said van den Berg has made himself part of the room, not just part of the rotation. “Great guy for the locker room,” Gallimore said. “He does his job at a high level and, again, I think he’s only going to get better as he continues to be a part of the system.” He went further, calling the Bears the best thing to happen to van den Berg’s career, predicting the rookie “is going to be a guy that surprises a lot of people this year.”

The praise lines up with what’s actually shown up on the practice fields at Halas Hall. Van den Berg overpowered fellow rookie Logan Jones and shoved aside offensive lineman Luke Newman in one-on-ones earlier this month, and he’s since worked his way into first-team run-drill reps alongside starters Gervon Dexter Sr. and Grady Jarrett, according to AtoZ Sports.

Chicago took van den Berg with the No. 213 overall pick, trading up in the sixth round to get him. Coming out of Georgia Tech, he was viewed as a developmental piece — someone whose testing numbers outran his tape. Lance Zierlein’s draft evaluation for NFL.com, republished by Yahoo Sports, put it plainly: “Elite testing numbers at his pro day will send scouts back to the tape for further evaluation. He possesses disruptive first-step quickness and heavy hands to beat blocks.” Zierlein also flagged the concerns that came with a Day 3 grade: “He carries average mass and below-average length. He needs to prove he can take on NFL blockers at the point of attack.”

Camp so far suggests he’s answering that question. Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen singled out van den Berg’s technique and instincts after Sunday’s practice, per the Bears’ own team-site report. “He’s another guy that’s really taken to the coaching,” Allen said. “He plays with great pad level. He can get in a good stance and come off and strike the line of scrimmage, and he’s got some pretty good football instincts and plays extremely hard.”

Allen tied it directly back to what the coaching staff saw on college tape. “A lot of the things that we saw on the tape at Georgia Tech, we’re seeing a lot of those same athletic qualities show up, and I think that’s what training camp is all about,” he said.

The path up the depth chart has been methodical by design. Allen described the internal logic the staff uses to promote a player through camp reps. “When you start off with the threes and then all of a sudden you show up, and you catch our attention, then we’ve got to find ways to get you some reps with the twos,” Allen said. “And if you continue to catch our attention, then we’ve got to find some ways to get you some reps with the ones because that’s how you really evaluate what you have in the player.”

Where van den Berg fits on a crowded defensive line

Even with the buzz, van den Berg isn’t walking into a starting job. Dexter, Jarrett and Gallimore sit ahead of him on the depth chart, and he’s got company behind them in James Lynch, Kentavius Street, undrafted rookie Jayden Loving and an injured Shemar Turner. Gallimore himself is a newcomer this season, arriving after stops with the Cowboys, Rams and Colts — he started eight games for Indianapolis a year ago.

Jarrett has taken notice of the newcomer stealing some of the spotlight, too. “He’s a heck of a competitor,” Jarrett said, per AtoZ Sports. “He brings an edge to our defense as a whole. You can tell he loves his job. He definitely brings life to the room. But he’s a worker first, and he’s going to be a highly productive player for us. I’m happy that he’s with us.”

Why the timing matters for Chicago’s defense

None of this is happening in a vacuum. The Bears’ defense has taken real hits already this camp. Cornerback Kyler Gordon remains on the physically-unable-to-perform list with a calf injury and no firm return timeline, while safety Coby Bryant is out an estimated eight to ten weeks after knee surgery, according to ESPN. Linebackers T.J. Edwards and D’Marco Jackson and defensive end Montez Sweat have also been banged up, leaving the unit thin heading into the regular season, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

That context is exactly why a sixth-round rookie forcing his way up the depth chart matters more than it might in a healthier year. If van den Berg keeps developing at this rate, he gives Allen a legitimate rotational piece to lean on up front — which, in turn, takes pressure off a secondary that’s already stretched by injury. It won’t fix Chicago’s back-end issues by itself. But a defensive line that can win snaps without extra blitz help makes life easier for whoever ends up starting at corner and safety in September.

The Bears still have preseason games left to sort out the back of the roster. For now, van den Berg has done the one thing every Day 3 pick hopes to do in camp: make the coaching staff and his own locker room start talking about him.

Aaron Rodgers has never been shy about crediting the people who built him into a Hall of Fame-caliber quarterback. Now, with Mike McCarthy running the show in Pittsburgh, Rodgers is putting real detail behind why that partnership worked for over a decade — and why he was willing to run it back for one more season.

McCarthy handed Rodgers his first career start in September 2008, a decision that kicked off one of the more successful quarterback-coach pairings of the last twenty years. According to HITC, that relationship played a direct role in Rodgers agreeing to return for the 2026 season once McCarthy took over as Pittsburgh’s head coach.

Rodgers explains the chemistry behind the reunion

Speaking in a recent Zoom interview with Wisconsin media, Rodgers laid out exactly why McCarthy remains the coach he trusts most. He didn’t dress it up.

“I obviously molded a lot of my philosophies based on playing under him, so to just have that common idea about how the offense should run and what it needs to look like is really fun,” Rodgers said, via Yardbarker.

That shared offensive language didn’t happen by accident. Rodgers spent 13 seasons under McCarthy in Green Bay, long enough to internalize the West Coast principles that still shape how he reads a defense today.

It wasn’t always smooth

Rodgers made clear the relationship had real friction built into it. He had the freedom to change plays at the line of scrimmage, sometimes a lot of them, but that freedom came with accountability attached.

“He could just let me go sometimes, and then sometimes he’d have to call me in on a Monday and say, ‘Listen, you changed 10 plays. Can we just go through why you changed these 10 plays?'” Rodgers said, according to Yardbarker.

Those Monday conversations weren’t about punishment. They were about alignment. Rodgers said the two would work through their disagreements and almost always land in the same place.

“We’d talk it out, and he’d see my side, and we always kind of met back in the middle on that. That was the beauty in the success that we had,” Rodgers said.

For a quarterback known for improvising deep into the play clock, that back-and-forth mattered. Rodgers put it plainly when he summed up the dynamic as a whole.

“It was a lot of push and pull. He gave me a lot of latitude, and I proved that I deserved latitude and could make it work, and when I went too far, he’d rein me back in.”

What the partnership produced in Green Bay

The track record speaks for itself. McCarthy and Rodgers won Super Bowl XLV together to cap the 2010 season, with Rodgers throwing for 304 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-25 win over Pittsburgh that also earned him Super Bowl MVP honors. Rodgers went on to collect four regular-season NFL MVP awards over his career, though only two of those — in 2011 and 2014 — came while McCarthy was still his head coach. The other two arrived in 2020 and 2021 under Matt LaFleur, after McCarthy had already left Green Bay.

McCarthy left the Packers after the 2018 season. Rodgers stayed in Green Bay for several more years before eventually moving on to the New York Jets and then Pittsburgh, but the foundation McCarthy built with him never fully faded.

Why the reunion makes sense now

McCarthy’s system is still rooted in West Coast principles, and Rodgers’ comfort with that structure is a big reason the Steelers were able to lure him back for what he has called his final NFL season. The scheme familiarity cuts down on the usual learning curve a 42-year-old quarterback would face installing a brand-new offense, and it gives McCarthy a starter who can process his verbiage instinctively rather than translating it in real time.

Locker room voices have picked up on the dynamic too. Steelers receiver Ben Skowronek described the pair as being like “an old couple that got divorced and then they realized maybe they’re right for each other all along,” per Yahoo Sports.

None of that guarantees results on the field. Pittsburgh’s offensive line play and Rodgers’ comfort in the pocket remain open questions heading into the 2026 season. But the working relationship between quarterback and coach — the piece that took years to build the first time around — appears to have picked back up close to where it left off.

The San Francisco 49ers have heard the science. An independent expert hired by the team found nothing linking their electrical substation to the rash of injuries that has plagued the roster for years. The NFL’s own chief medical officer downplayed the connection back in January. General manager John Lynch has called it a “big nothing burger.”

None of that has made the theory go away. And with training camp already producing another wave of injuries, the whispers around the 49ers substation are as loud as ever.

NFL insider Mike Florio addressed the situation directly in a new piece for Pro Football Talk, arguing that facts don’t matter much once a belief takes hold in a locker room.

“For the 49ers, the fact that the substation isn’t a factor in injuries is immaterial to the reality that too many people think it is. The only viable solution is to get the hell away from the thing,” Florio wrote.

That’s not just a throwaway line. It also happens to line up with something the team is already exploring for entirely separate reasons.

A Facility Move Was Already in the Works

Back in June, The Athletic’s Vic Tafur reported that 49ers CEO Al Guido said the team is exploring a possible relocation of its practice facility. The driving factor, according to Guido, is space — not electromagnetic fields. San Francisco has operated out of the same Santa Clara site since 1988, and the footprint around Levi’s Stadium has gotten tight.

“Everything is geared to winning the Super Bowl,” Guido told The Athletic.

Whatever the motivation, a new location would carry a side effect Florio is banking on: it would finally put the substation question to bed. If the 49ers keep getting hurt at the same rate somewhere else, the theory dies. If the injuries taper off, plenty of people will draw their own conclusions regardless of what the science says.

Camp Has Already Been Brutal

The timing makes the debate impossible to ignore. San Francisco has been chewed up by injuries again in the early days of 2026 training camp. Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall is done for the season after undergoing surgery on a lingering PCL injury in his right knee, an issue that dated back to Week 4 of last year. He shared a message on social media after the procedure, writing that he was ready for “every early morning” and “every setback” ahead of a recovery timeline that could stretch nine months.

Pearsall’s loss forced San Francisco to move fast, re-signing veteran receiver Deebo Samuel to fill the void.

He hasn’t been alone. At one point, the 49ers finished a practice without 20 players from their 90-man roster, according to The Athletic’s Matt Barrows. Defensive lineman Sam Okuayinonu went down with an apparent ankle injury that same week. Receiver Mike Evans has dealt with a quad strain. Pass rusher Nick Bosa, still working back from a torn ACL, has missed extended stretches with soreness. Even head coach Kyle Shanahan has been managing his own recovery from a car accident in July, on top of everything happening on the field.

Quarterback Brock Purdy has stayed mostly upright through all of it, but he’s throwing behind a shorthanded offensive line. The Athletic’s Vic Tafur flagged the left guard spot as a specific concern this week, even as Purdy delivered strong outings in team drills against Tennessee in joint practices.

Why the Theory Won’t Quit

Part of the stubbornness comes down to timing and repetition. The 49ers have ranked among the NFL’s most-injured teams in the majority of recent seasons, and soft-tissue injuries in particular — torn ACLs, Achilles tendons, hamstrings — have piled up across multiple units. When a pattern like that repeats itself year after year, players and fans go looking for a single explanation, even a strange one.

The science doesn’t back it up. Substations emit low-frequency electromagnetic fields, a form of nonionizing radiation also produced by microwaves and cellphones. The World Health Organization has found no evidence connecting that kind of exposure to human tissue damage. San Francisco’s own hired expert reached a similar conclusion. Even Seahawks tight end Eric Saubert, who spent 2024 with the 49ers, has described the substation as more of a locker-room punchline than a genuine fear.

None of that erases the frustration inside the building. Injuries have cost San Francisco a real shot at a Super Bowl before, and until the team finds a way to keep players on the field, the questions — fair or not — aren’t going anywhere.

49ers Recent Camp Injury Snapshot

For now, the 49ers are left managing two problems at once: a genuine injury crisis and a theory about its cause that refuses to fade, no matter how many experts weigh in.

The Chicago Bears’ stadium search is heading into a pivotal Thursday, and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker isn’t ready to concede the team to Indiana just yet.

The Bears currently play at Soldier Field, and that isn’t changing anytime soon. But the franchise’s board of directors voted in June to advance a stadium development project in Hammond, Indiana, with the exact site still to be determined. That move came after a property tax bill meant to help fund a Bears stadium in Arlington Heights, Illinois, failed to get a vote before the state legislature’s spring session ended.

Now, Pritzker is signaling the door to Illinois hasn’t closed. Per Ben Szalinski of Capitol News Illinois on X, the governor said Wednesday: “We’ve had contact with our staff, their staff, and we’re working hard to make sure that there’s an opportunity for the Bears to stay in the state of Illinois, whether it’s in Chicago or in Arlington Heights.”

Pritzker was careful to temper expectations, though. According to a separate post from Brenden Moore of Capitol News Illinois on X, the governor clarified that the Bears “have various things that they’ve talked to us about, but they haven’t presented language in a bill to us.” In other words, there’s dialogue, but nothing close to a done deal on paper.

Warren and McCaskey Set to Address Indiana Plans Thursday

The timing matters. Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren and chairman George McCaskey are scheduled to speak with reporters around midday Thursday at Halas Hall, in what’s typically the team’s routine pre-preseason media availability, according to ABC7 Chicago. It will reportedly be the first time either executive takes questions since the board’s June vote to push forward in Hammond.

Team sources downplayed expectations heading in. Moore posted on X that a source close to the Bears told him it “‘s not some major announcement” — adding that public anticipation was sitting at a level 10 when it should be closer to a three, per ChiCitySports. Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch echoed that there’s no urgency for lawmakers to act immediately, telling reporters he doesn’t expect a special legislative session and that any substantive movement would more likely come during the fall veto session, according to ABC7.

Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said he’d been told an announcement was coming, though he stopped short of predicting the outcome. “I hope it’s about the stadium,” McDermott said, according to NBC Chicago. “I don’t want to presume, but I was told there’s going to be an announcement tomorrow.”

How the Bears Got Here

This saga has dragged on for years. The Bears bought the old 326-acre Arlington International Racecourse property in Arlington Heights for $197 million back in 2023, then spent seasons trying to nail down property tax certainty with state and local officials before breaking ground. A lakefront dome proposal near Soldier Field also came and went, rejected by state lawmakers as too costly for taxpayers.

By this spring, Arlington Heights looked like the frontrunner again. But when the property tax legislation stalled in Springfield without a vote, the Bears pivoted hard toward Indiana, where officials moved faster to offer public funding support. The June board vote to advance the Hammond project — specifically eyeing a site called Wolf Lake Terminal — was the clearest signal yet that Indiana had become the real threat to keep the team out of Illinois for good.

Since then, momentum has looked like it favored Indiana. That’s what makes Pritzker’s Wednesday comments notable — he’s publicly reasserting that Illinois hasn’t given up, even after the legislative setback and the board vote.

Why Illinois Fans Are Nervous

None of this changes where the Bears play right now. Soldier Field remains home through the transition, whenever it comes. But the stakes for the fanbase go beyond zip codes. A franchise synonymous with Chicago for over a century relocating its stadium across state lines, even while keeping the “Chicago” name, would land as a gut punch for supporters who’ve watched this process stretch across multiple ownership statements, failed bills, and shifting site proposals since 2021.

The financial numbers explain some of the tension. An Illinois lakefront dome proposal would have required close to $900 million in public funding. The Arlington Heights infrastructure ask has been estimated at roughly $850 million in public dollars for sewers, water mains, and traffic upgrades — though Pritzker has argued much of that spending was already planned regardless of a stadium. Indiana, by contrast, has moved with fewer legislative roadblocks to offer support for the Hammond site.

What Happens Next

Thursday’s press conference is the next real data point. Whether Warren and McCaskey use it to confirm forward progress in Indiana, reopen the door to Illinois, or simply run through the usual training-camp talking points remains to be seen — and it’s worth noting downplayed expectations from sources close to the team suggest this may not be the finish line some fans are hoping for.

A final decision on where the Bears build their next stadium hasn’t been made public. Until it is, both Illinois and Indiana remain in play, according to officials on each side of the border.

The New Orleans Saints got an unwelcome update on rookie wide receiver Jordyn Tyson on Thursday, two days before the team’s preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Tyson left practice early with a trainer after dealing with hamstring soreness, according to The Sporting News, citing a report from Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.Football.

“Saints WR Jordyn Tyson left practice early with trainer Thursday,” Triplett reported. “We’ve heard hamstring and hopefully minor. But ended his practice early after a strong start.”

Triplett added a note of caution without downplaying the concern entirely: he’d been told the issue “isn’t super serious but obviously less than ideal.”

The timing stings. Thursday’s session doubled as a joint practice with the Jaguars ahead of Saturday’s preseason opener at the Caesars Superdome, kicking off at 3 p.m. CT. Coach Kellen Moore has already said most Saints starters, including quarterback Tyler Shough, are expected to sit out that game, which made Thursday’s joint work Tyson’s best chance for extended reps against Jacksonville’s first-team defense before the games start counting.

A Recurring Problem for New Orleans’ First-Round Pick

This isn’t new territory for Tyson. The hamstring issue is the same one that reportedly played a role in his slide from a potential top-five selection down to the No. 8 overall pick, where the Saints took him in April. Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said the injury flared up again shortly before the draft, an update that Katherine Terrell of ESPN first reported, according to ClutchPoints.

Tyson sat out the offseason program and much of the spring while the Saints managed the injury cautiously, then opened training camp on the field and progressively increased his workload. He was fully practicing with the first-team offense earlier this month, building chemistry with Shough and pairing alongside Chris Olave as the Saints tried to give their second-year quarterback more firepower.

At Arizona State, Tyson put up 136 receptions, 1,812 yards and 18 touchdowns over four college seasons, but hamstring trouble limited him to nine games in his final year — the same injury now resurfacing in New Orleans.

What It Means for the Saints’ Receiver Room

New Orleans invested heavily in its receiver group this offseason, adding Tyson in the draft and locking up Olave to a new contract as the team builds around Shough entering his first full season as the starter. Losing Tyson for any real stretch, even in August, would blunt some of that plan before it gets tested in live games.

For now, the belief around the team is that this is a maintenance issue rather than a setback that threatens Tyson’s timeline. But given the pattern — combine, spring practices and now training camp — any hamstring news involving Tyson is going to get watched closely in Metairie for the next several days.

The Saints and Jaguars held their joint practice Thursday at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center before Saturday’s preseason opener. New Orleans opens its regular season on the road against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Sept. 13.

This story will be updated if the Saints provide further clarity on Tyson’s practice status.

Brian Thomas Jr. spent part of the 2025 season as trade bait around the league. The Jacksonville Jaguars never budged.

According to Bleacher Report, citing Jeff Howe of The Athletic, Jacksonville declined two “significant” trade offers for Thomas ahead of last season’s Nov. 4 deadline. The Jaguars held that line again this offseason when Thomas’ name kept surfacing in trade chatter, according to Heavy.com.

Jaguars head coach Liam Coen didn’t just let the rumors sit out there. He called Thomas directly early in the offseason to tell him, in plain terms, that Jacksonville wasn’t moving him.

“It was just important to let him know we’re all in this thing together, and this is not coming from us,” Coen said, according to ProFootballRumors.com.

That’s a phone call, not a press conference. Coen didn’t wait for a reporter to ask. He picked up the phone and told his 23-year-old receiver where he stood.

Why Thomas Kept Popping Up in Trade Talk

The speculation didn’t come out of nowhere. Thomas broke out as a rookie in 2024, catching 87 passes for 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns on his way to a Pro Bowl nod and a fourth-place finish in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting. Then 2025 happened.

Thomas finished last season with 48 catches for 707 yards and two touchdowns over 14 games, missing three with ankle and shoulder injuries. His drop rate more than doubled, jumping to 11.0 percent after sitting at 5.3 percent as a rookie — he tied for second in the NFL with 10 drops, according to Heavy.com.

Meanwhile, the offense kept moving without him. Parker Washington stepped into a bigger role. Jakobi Meyers arrived in a midseason trade from the Raiders and settled in fast. Travis Hunter, working through an injury-shortened rookie year, is expected to see more targets in 2026 as well. Thomas went from focal point to one name among several in a crowded receiver room.

That drop-off is exactly what made rival teams think Jacksonville might listen. It didn’t work.

A Relationship Thomas Says Has Grown

Thomas told The Athletic the call from Coen meant something to him beyond just clearing the air.

“That put me in a good spot,” Thomas said, per Heavy.com.

He framed it as a trust builder — the kind of gesture that makes a player want to grind harder for a coaching staff rather than wonder where he stands. Thomas has also talked about his working relationship with Coen improving since the rocky stretches of last season, describing the two as having grown closer as Coen’s offense demands more precision than production alone.

Coen, for his part, has been consistent about framing this as bigger than one season’s stat line. He wants Thomas to see Jacksonville as invested in him long-term, not just chasing this year’s box score.

What’s Next: Preseason Opener at New Orleans

Jacksonville opens its 2026 preseason Saturday against the Saints at Caesars Superdome, with kickoff set for 4 p.m. ET (3 p.m. CT), according to the New Orleans Saints’ official site.

Don’t expect to see Thomas on the field for it, though. Jacksonville’s starters, Thomas included, are being held out of the preseason opener and will get their work in through joint practices instead, according to Yahoo Sports and the Florida Times-Union. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence and cornerback-receiver Travis Hunter are in the same boat. The Week 1 preseason roster spot battles will fall mostly to rookies and players fighting for a depth chart spot.

That means Thomas’ real audition starts once the games count. He’s two years removed from a record-setting rookie debut and one season removed from a stretch that had rival executives calling Jacksonville to see if he was available. The Jaguars have made their answer clear twice now — first with their wallets at the trade deadline, then with a phone call in the offseason. What happens on the field in 2026 is on Thomas.

Josh Palmer says his body finally feels right again. Whether that’s enough to earn him a real role in Buffalo’s crowded receiver room is still an open question.

The Bills wide receiver has spent training camp trying to put a lost 2025 season behind him, and by his own account, the rebuild is working. WKBW reported Palmer is off to a strong start at St. John Fisher University, a sharp contrast from a season he called, in his own words, a “hard reset.” Head coach Joe Brady, who called plays for Palmer as offensive coordinator before his promotion, has also praised the receiver’s approach and work ethic throughout camp.

A Wasted Season, By the Numbers

Palmer’s first year in Buffalo was rough. He signed as the Bills’ top free-agent addition last offseason, then watched the year fall apart around ankle and knee injuries that limited him to 12 games. He finished with 22 catches on 37 targets for 303 yards. Zero touchdowns. It was the worst statistical season of his career, and he missed both of Buffalo’s playoff games entirely.

He’s been open about how that felt. Speaking with Trainwreck Sports at a Bills Mafia fan event in July, Palmer described the offseason as a turning point: “The body is getting way, way, way better. I’m in a much better place,” he said, adding that he’s looking forward to “having a healthy season.”

The numbers back up the recovery talk so far. At camp, Palmer has flashed the deep-ball ability that made him a name in four years with the Chargers — including a contested catch over cornerback Dee Alford down the seam that Bills beat reporter Jonathan Acosta flagged as one of his best plays of camp.

A Crowded Room Just Got More Crowded

Palmer isn’t walking into an empty depth chart. Buffalo made DJ Moore its clear No. 1 receiver after trading for him this offseason, and Khalil Shakir remains locked into a starting role after his 2025 breakout. Add tight end Dalton Kincaid and running back James Cook — both established targets for Josh Allen — and the competition for remaining snaps is steep.

That’s where the story gets complicated. Despite the strong camp reviews, Buffalo’s unofficial depth chart released this week ahead of the preseason opener against Carolina has Palmer running with the second team, not the first. Keon Coleman — heading into a make-or-break third season — was listed as the starting No. 3 receiver instead.

It’s worth being careful here — an unofficial camp depth chart is not a roster decision, and Bills reporters covering it in real time have cautioned against reading too much into it this early. Coaches shuffle groupings constantly through August. But it does undercut any suggestion that Palmer’s spot is settled just because he’s healthy again.

What It Means Going Forward

Buffalo doesn’t need Palmer to be its top target. It needs him to be the reliable complementary piece the front office envisioned when it signed him to a three-year, $29 million contract last offseason — a deal that includes $15 million fully guaranteed at signing, according to a breakdown from Buffalo Rumblings. If he can stay on the field and give Allen a legitimate vertical option, Buffalo’s passing attack gets a lot harder to defend. If he can’t, the “everybody eats” offense will keep eating without him.

Palmer’s own teammates have pushed back on the idea that last season was a fair measure of who he is. Shakir, speaking on the Centered on Buffalo podcast, called Palmer one of the hardest workers on the team, someone who’s “up before all of us” putting in extra time in the training and weight rooms.

Buffalo opens its preseason slate against Carolina on Saturday. It won’t settle anything by itself, but it’s the first real look at whether a healthy Palmer can turn training-camp buzz into game reps that matter.

Justin Herbert has been turning heads all camp. On Wednesday in El Segundo, he turned his own offensive coordinator’s head clean around.

A clip from Chargers training camp showed quarterback Justin Herbert firing a throw that left new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel laughing in disbelief on the sideline. Sports media personality Ryan DePaul posted the moment on X, framing it as a glimpse of what McDaniel now has to work with after a career spent scheming around a different kind of arm in Miami: “Mike McDaniel is literally laughing at what he’s seeing because he knows the playbook just got a whole lot bigger.”

This is the difference between calling plays for Tua Tagovailoa and calling plays for Justin Herbert.

Mike McDaniel is literally laughing at what he’s seeing because he knows the playbook just got a whole lot bigger. With Herbert, throws that require scheming around limitations… pic.twitter.com/8kPsBS5AI2

— Ryan DePaul (@RyanDePaul) August 12, 2026

According to ClutchPoints, McDaniel set the throw up before the snap by telling players nearby, “You shouldn’t be able to do this unless you have an absolute cannon at quarterback.” Then Herbert did it anyway. McDaniel’s reaction afterward, per the same report: “That’s f****d up… What? What in the world was that? Holy s**t.”

A Different Kind of Quarterback for McDaniel

McDaniel spent four years in Miami building an offense around Tua Tagovailoa’s timing and accuracy, not his arm strength. Herbert gives him something else entirely. The Chargers quarterback has one of the strongest arms in the league, and that changes what a coordinator can even draw up. Throws that would need extra scheming, extra protection, or a shorter route concept with a lesser arm become live options with Herbert under center.

That distinction has been a theme of camp. ESPN’s training camp tracker has repeatedly noted Herbert looking comfortable and on target in McDaniel’s new shotgun-heavy setup, connecting on time with his full group of receivers even as the Chargers’ pass rush has given him a legitimate test in padded practices.

It fits with the offseason approach McDaniel installed. Herbert reworked his footwork in the shotgun this spring, catching the snap with his left foot forward so he can get the ball out in rhythm rather than resetting his base first. It’s a small mechanical tweak aimed at getting completions out earlier and letting receivers run after the catch — exactly the kind of detail that turns a big arm into a functional offense instead of just a highlight reel.

Weapons McDaniel Can Build Around

Herbert isn’t doing this alone. The Chargers return Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston at receiver, added Tre’ Harris in last year’s draft, and still have KeAndre Lambert-Smith developing behind them. Lambert-Smith, a 2025 fifth-round pick, put up 1,598 receiving yards over four seasons at Penn State before transferring to Auburn for his final year, where he ranked second in the SEC in receiving yards per game, according to the Chargers’ own draft profile of him.

The run game figures to matter just as much to McDaniel’s plan. Los Angeles carries three backs in Omarion Hampton, Kimani Vidal and Keaton Mitchell, and McDaniel has said he expects to use all three depending on matchup and feel, per ESPN’s camp reporting. Add in fullback Alec Ingold, whom McDaniel brought over after their time together in Miami, and the pieces are in place for a Chargers offense that wants to be balanced rather than lean entirely on Herbert’s arm — even on days when that arm is the story.

One detail from the viral clip — the personnel grouping and route concept on the specific throw that drew McDaniel’s reaction — has not been independently confirmed by any outlet’s reporting and is not included here as fact.

What Comes Next

The Chargers are working through the back half of training camp with joint practices and preseason games on the calendar, including a matchup against the Houston Texans set for Thursday night. Every rep between now and Week 1 gets scrutinized through the lens of whether this is finally the year the Bolts break through, and moments like Wednesday’s throw only add to that pressure. Herbert has heard the “get over the hump” refrain for years. McDaniel’s job now is turning throws like this one into points that count.

The Carolina Panthers have had a rough training camp when it comes to health. The team already lost wide receiver Chris Brazzell II to season-ending knee surgery and outside linebacker Nic Scourton to a torn ACL in the opening weeks of camp. Now running back Chuba Hubbard is banged up, too — though this one looks far less severe.

Panthers head coach Dave Canales told reporters Thursday that Hubbard is week-to-week with a hamstring injury, according to The Athletic’s Joe Person on X. Canales said he’s “very confident” Hubbard will be ready for the regular-season opener against the Bears, and he expects the running back to return to practice with time to spare before that game.

Person posted on X: “Canales says Chuba Hubbard, dealing with a hamstring injury, is week-to-week. Canales said he’s ‘very confident’ Hubbard will be ready for Week 1.” —

Canales: Chuba Hubbard is week to week with a hamstring issue. Confident that he’ll be ready for Week 1. pic.twitter.com/u6zeMeD4yZ

— Joe Person (@josephperson) August 13, 2026

Hubbard did not practice Thursday. ESPN’s Mike Kaye separately confirmed the week-to-week designation, and NFL.com’s news desk reported the same detail Thursday, noting Canales called himself “very confident” about the Week 1 timeline. With two independent outlets corroborating Person’s report, the injury and outlook are considered confirmed, even as the exact severity and expected return date remain unspecified.

Brooks Gets the Start Against Buffalo

With Hubbard sidelined for now, Canales said Jonathon Brooks will start at running back Saturday when the Panthers host the Buffalo Bills in their preseason opener. Person also posted that update on X: “Canales says Jonathon Brooks will start at running back Saturday against the Bills.” —

Canales: Jonathon Brooks will start at RB vs. the Bills. Etienne and Dillon also in the mix.

— Joe Person (@josephperson) August 13, 2026

It will be Brooks’ first preseason action as a pro. The former Texas back has dealt with multiple ACL injuries in his young career, and this camp marked a chance to show he’s fully back to form. Now, instead of splitting reps with Hubbard as originally planned, he gets a full runway to lead the offense — even if only in a preseason setting.

Trevor Etienne and A.J. Dillon are also expected to see carries against Buffalo, giving Carolina a full look at its running back depth while Hubbard rehabs.

Hubbard’s Track Record

Hubbard carried the ball 134 times for 511 yards and a touchdown in 2025, a season in which Rico Dowdle emerged as Carolina’s leading rusher. He still averaged a respectable 3.8 yards per carry in a reduced role. The bigger number worth remembering: 2024, when Hubbard ran for 1,195 yards and 10 touchdowns before a late-season calf injury ended his year early.

The plan entering camp was for Hubbard and Brooks to share the backfield in 2026. That arrangement is on hold for now, but nothing about Canales’ comments suggests it’s off the table once Hubbard is healthy. A hamstring strain, treated cautiously in August, is a common camp injury — the kind teams would rather manage now than risk aggravating in Week 1.

Carolina spent heavily on defense this offseason, adding edge rusher Jaelan Phillips and linebacker Devin Lloyd, among others. If that unit performs, the Panthers could be positioned for more early leads — which would only add value to whichever back is healthy and playing behind Bryce Young.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Jayden Daniels has taken his frustration with LSU out of the group chat and into a law office. An attorney representing the Washington Commanders quarterback sent LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry a cease-and-desist letter on Aug. 5, telling the school it can no longer use Daniels’ name, image and likeness, according to ESPN, which obtained a copy of the letter.

The trigger wasn’t subtle. LSU handed Daniels’ old No. 5 to sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett, and Daniels found out the way a lot of NIL fights start now — through leaked photos. According to Louisiana Sports, Daniels learned Pickett was wearing No. 5 after promotional images surfaced, and he’d already reached out to LSU leadership privately before fall camp to object.

Daniels’ attorney, Adam Kenner, didn’t leave much room for interpretation in the letter itself. “LSU must immediately cease and desist from any further issue use, display, publication, distribution, promotion, commercialization, or other exploitation of Mr. Daniels’ NIL in any manner or medium,” Kenner wrote, according to OutKick, which said the letter was first reported by ESPN.

The legal basis is a 180-day window. NBC News reported that ESPN’s copy of the letter ties Daniels’ decision directly to LSU’s choice to let Pickett wear No. 5 — the number Daniels wore across his two seasons with the Tigers. Daniels’ NIL agreement with LSU reportedly allowed the school to use his likeness for 180 days after his final game; his camp argues that window closed long ago.

The Heisman request adds another layer

This didn’t stop at the jersey and the NIL letter. Louisiana Sports reported, citing sources, that Daniels’ camp also asked LSU to return its copy of the Heisman Trophy he won in 2023. LSU has no plans to do that. The outlet reported the school is undecided on how far it will go to comply with the letter at all, noting a cease-and-desist isn’t legally binding on its own.

LSU coach Lane Kiffin has been talking directly with Daniels’ representatives, according to the same report. He didn’t dodge the topic in his Thursday press conference, either. “DJ is in (No.) 5, and that was a situation that was promised to him in recruiting here, for him to sign here,” Kiffin told reporters, per Yahoo Sports. “I’ve done a lot of research on that with the family and the representatives and the people, so really I didn’t have a decision to make.”

Pickett, a former five-star recruit, wore No. 3 as a freshman last season while No. 5 sat unused out of respect for Daniels under then-coach Brian Kelly. Kelly was fired in October, and Kiffin took over at the end of the regular season — clearing the way for the number to change hands. Pickett has said the number was promised to him going back to his recruitment. “I wore the number my whole life, since I was 4 years old. It was the number I was promised,” Pickett told reporters, according to CBS Sports. “I wish Jayden the best. Good player, and he did real good here.”

Daniels’ camp calls it disrespect. LSU fans are split.

A statement from Daniels’ spokesperson didn’t soften the language. “The Daniels family is deeply disappointed and feels profoundly disrespected by LSU’s decision to give Jayden’s number to another player,” the statement read, per CBS Sports. “Jayden and his family had every reason to believe that his number would remain a meaningful part of his LSU legacy and would be honored and protected in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the university.”

Daniels himself tried to lower the temperature publicly, even as his lawyers turned it up privately. He posted on Instagram Thursday: “I have been locked in on training camp and that’s been my number one focus. I have a lot of gratitude for my time at LSU and I’m proud of what my teammates and I accomplished there. Obviously there are issues to be worked out between my team and LSU and my hope is that it will get done privately.”

NFL insider Mike Garafolo posted a copy of the letter on X, walking through Kenner’s demand in detail:

Mike Garafolo posted on X: “The letter from Jayden Daniels’ attorney Adam Kenner to LSU football stating the program ‘must immediately cease and desist from any further use…of Mr. Daniels’ NIL…'” —

There’s nothing in the letter about LSU using the No. 5 jersey. There’s no legal claim to the number itself. The communication is solely about Jayden Daniels’ NIL. https://t.co/Tr73AViICB

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 13, 2026

Not everyone in Baton Rouge is sympathetic. Reaction on the ground has been mixed at best. “I just really don’t like the way it’s going. With the cease-and-desist letter, it’s becoming very petty,” LSU alum John Myles told Fox 8 New Orleans. Another resident, Markus Russell, saw it differently: “If you promised a kid a jersey, give him the jersey. But I can understand Jayden Daniels’ point too.”

Neither number has been officially retired

Worth noting: LSU has never formally retired No. 5. Neither has it retired Joe Burrow’s No. 9, which has sat unworn since he left the program in 2019. LSU has retired six numbers in its history — Billy Cannon’s No. 20, Tommy Casanova’s No. 37, Jerry Stovall’s No. 21, Charles Alexander’s No. 4, Bert Jones’ No. 7 and, technically, still not Daniels’ or Burrow’s. Yahoo Sports notes there’s no official LSU policy barring a number from being reissued once it’s been out of circulation, retired or not.

LSU hadn’t publicly responded to the letter as of the latest reporting. Sources told ESPN the school had not yet issued a formal response. Whatever happens next, the dispute is layered — the jersey, the NIL letter and now the Heisman request all tangled into one increasingly public standoff between a star quarterback and the program that helped make him one.

Maxx Crosby knows exactly where he stands heading into the 2026 season. The Raiders edge rusher checked in at No. 24 on the NFL’s 2026 Top 100 list, a ranking voted on by players across the league. It’s his fifth straight appearance on the list and his fourth consecutive year cracking the top 25, according to Raiders.com.

That’s two spots lower than where he finished a year ago at No. 22. Crosby didn’t waste time responding. “24. More Is Required,” he posted on X  — a short, blunt reaction that fits how he’s carried himself all offseason.

24. More Is Required. 🦅🐍 https://t.co/iLmhj6Ntu9

— Maxx Crosby (@CrosbyMaxx) August 13, 2026

The drop barely registers as a snub. Crosby is still the second-ranked EDGE defender in the league behind only the Rams’ Myles Garrett, per Pro Football Network’s version of the Top 100. He’s also a five-time Pro Bowler with four seasons of double-digit sacks under his belt.

Better Numbers, Worse Team Record

The stats back up the frustration with the ranking dip. Crosby actually improved on his 2024 output last season, finishing with 10 sacks, a league-second 28 tackles for loss, and career-high pressure numbers, according to Raiders.com. He did it despite missing the final two games and while Las Vegas stumbled to a three-win season.

Here’s how his last two seasons compare, based on team-reported figures:

Defensive line coach Travis Smith didn’t hold back when describing what Crosby brings to the building every day. “The people around him are so fortunate, including coaches, to watch the routine and the discipline he approaches every day with,” Smith said, per Raiders.com.

A Motivated Player After a Wild Offseason

Crosby doesn’t need much extra fuel this year. He was at the center of one of the stranger storylines of the offseason when the Raiders agreed to trade him to the Baltimore Ravens, only for Baltimore to back out over concerns tied to his surgically repaired knee, according to Bleacher Report. He stayed put in Las Vegas and has leaned into that chapter as motivation rather than a distraction.

He’s also had a physical moment with new starting quarterback Kirk Cousins. The two got into a scuffle during a training camp practice, an incident that briefly held Cousins out of a session before he returned to first-team reps, per Yardbarker. It’s the kind of camp friction that tends to happen when a roster is trying to raise its floor after a rough season.

Crosby also isn’t shy about talking up his teammates. He recently praised tight end Brock Bowers, who joined him on this year’s Top 100 list at No. 60, calling Bowers a “top-10 player in the league” who’s “going to be in that top 10 here soon,” according to Yardbarker.

Why the Defense Around Him Matters Now

Crosby has spent recent seasons as close to a one-man wrecking crew as the modern NFL allows, and that’s exactly the problem the Raiders tried to fix this offseason. A pass rusher who wins one-on-one every play still needs bodies around him to keep offenses from simply designing protection to neutralize a single name. Las Vegas addressed that by adding depth at linebacker this offseason, reinforcing the front seven that Crosby anchors, per ClutchPoints.

Pair that with a quarterback competition that’s given Cousins the early edge over rookie Fernando Mendoza — Cousins has taken every first-team rep in camp and, according to ESPN’s Ryan McFadden, “has looked better than Mendoza and (backup) Aidan O’Connell,” per Yardbarker — and the Raiders enter the season with more talent up and down the roster than they’ve had in years.

Up Next: Preseason Opener Against Arizona

The Raiders open their preseason slate Thursday night against the Arizona Cardinals at Allegiant Stadium, with kickoff set for 5 p.m. PT (8 p.m. ET), according to Raiders.com. It’s new head coach Klint Kubiak’s first game on the sideline, and the Cardinals are expected to play their starters, per AZCardinals.com.

Whether or not Crosby sees extended snaps in a preseason opener, the message from his Top 100 reaction is clear enough. He’s not treating a top-25 ranking as a finish line.

Jayden Daniels wants his name off LSU’s books. The Washington Commanders quarterback’s attorney sent the university a cease-and-desist letter on Aug. 5, telling LSU it can no longer use his name, image and likeness. The trigger: sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett is wearing Daniels’ old No. 5 jersey this season.

According to ESPN, which obtained a copy of the letter sent to LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry, the dispute centers on Daniels’ NIL agreement with the school. That deal allowed LSU to use his name, image and likeness for 180 days after his final college game. Daniels’ camp argues that window doesn’t cover handing his number to someone else.

No LSU player had worn No. 5 since Daniels left for the NFL in 2024, though the school never formally retired it. That changed when Pickett showed up to preseason camp wearing it.

What Daniels’ family is saying

A spokesperson for the Daniels family did not hold back in a statement provided to ESPN and cited by CBS Sports: “The Daniels family is deeply disappointed and feels profoundly disrespected by LSU’s decision to give Jayden’s number to another player.”

The statement went further, arguing Daniels believed the number would stay tied to his legacy. “Jayden and his family had every reason to believe that his number would remain a meaningful part of his LSU legacy and would be honored and protected in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the university,” the spokesperson said, per CBS Sports.

Daniels won LSU’s third Heisman Trophy in 2023, then went No. 2 overall to Washington in the 2024 draft. He was the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year and led the Commanders to the NFC Championship Game as a rookie. In Baton Rouge, that kind of résumé usually buys permanent real estate on a jersey.

Kiffin’s side: a promise is a promise

LSU head coach Lane Kiffin isn’t backing down. He told reporters Aug. 5 that Pickett was promised the No. 5 jersey during his recruitment, back when Brian Kelly was still running the program. Pickett signed with LSU in December 2024. Kelly was fired in October 2025, and Kiffin took over at the end of that regular season.

“When a kid is promised something to come to a school, he should wear it,” Kiffin said, according to CBS Sports.

Kelly backed that account when he spoke to ESPN, saying he’d told Pickett the number was his eventually — just not right away. “I just wasn’t prepared to do it until we got a full commitment from another Heisman Trophy winner,” Kelly said, referring to Daniels. “We didn’t want to issue No. 5” without that sign-off, according to Yahoo Sports.

Pickett wore No. 3 as a freshman last season and earned Freshman All-America honors after picking off three passes. He switched to No. 5 when preseason camp opened this month.

By the numbers

Why this matters beyond a jersey number

Numbers retirements are murky territory in college football. LSU currently has four numbers set aside for good — No. 20, No. 21, No. 37 and No. 4 — with Billy Cannon’s No. 20 the only one the program calls permanently retired. The school is set to add Bert Jones’ No. 7 to that list this November when Texas visits Baton Rouge.

Daniels’ No. 5 was never on that list. That’s the crux of the legal question: does an unofficial, informal honor carry the same weight as a retired number? Daniels’ attorneys are betting the NIL agreement gives them leverage regardless of what LSU’s retirement policy says on paper.

This isn’t happening in a vacuum for Kiffin, either. He’s spent this offseason fielding questions about his own reputation after bolting Ole Miss for LSU following the 2025 season — a move that came before his old team’s Playoff run had even wrapped up. Washington Commanders insider JP Finlay pointed to that history on social media, calling Kiffin a “football mercenary focused on wins, not tradition,” and referencing Knoxville, Oxford and the Raiders as evidence of a coach who moves fast and rarely looks back. The exact post could not be independently verified at publication time.

Kiffin has heard versions of that criticism before, going back to his one-and-done stint at Tennessee in 2009. Speaking at SEC media days this summer, he didn’t dispute the villain label — he leaned on it. “You’ll be a hero if you win,” Kiffin told reporters, pointing to his old boss as proof the label doesn’t stick around forever. “I think of Coach [Nick] Saban. He became the hero again because he won, but he was a villain.”

Whether that logic extends to a Heisman winner’s jersey number is a separate question, and one that’s now sitting with lawyers instead of a locker room.

What happens next

CBS Sports reported it reached out to Daniels’ attorney, Adam Kenner, for comment and had not received a response as of Thursday. LSU hasn’t issued a formal public response to the cease-and-desist beyond Kiffin’s Aug. 5 comments defending the decision. No lawsuit has been filed as of this writing — the letter is a cease-and-desist regarding NIL usage, not a court filing.

A practice-field interception turned into a full-blown media storm for the Philadelphia Eagles this week. The team’s own social media account posted a clip of quarterback Jalen Hurts throwing a pick to cornerback Quinyon Mitchell during Wednesday’s training camp session, and the Jalen Hurts interception clip has since climbed past 11 million views, dragging the Eagles’ offense back into the spotlight days before their preseason opener against the Baltimore Ravens.

The clip itself is nothing football fans haven’t seen a thousand times: a quarterback misses his read, a defensive back closes the window, ballgame. What made this one different is who posted it. The Eagles’ account captioned the video “Right on Q,” intending to spotlight Mitchell’s playmaking. Instead, it put Hurts’ mistake in front of millions of people who otherwise wouldn’t have known a training-camp rep even happened.

Acho Says Someone Could Face Consequences

Former Eagles linebacker and current analyst Emmanuel Acho was among the first to react, and according to ClutchPoints, he didn’t rule out real fallout inside the building. Acho reposted the clip and wrote that the video had already reached 5 million views in four hours before adding his take on how far the organization goes to shield its quarterback.

He stopped short of predicting a firing, but he made clear he expects someone to answer for the decision internally. Acho isn’t alone in that read — former NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz also weighed in publicly, calling it an “odd choice for a social media clip.”

Florio Raises the Bigger Question — And Catches Heat For It

NBC Sports analyst Mike Florio took the story a step further. In a column for Pro Football Talk, Florio noted that highlighting any single practice moment is a gamble, since one player’s good rep is inevitably another player’s bad one. He zeroed in on the “Right on Q” caption and asked the obvious follow-up: was this just an intern’s harmless celebration of Mitchell, or something more pointed aimed at Hurts?

Florio tied the moment to previous reporting from NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Derrick Gunn, who said last season that there was internal frustration over Hurts deviating from the play as called once the ball was snapped. Florio’s framing suggested the post could be read as a message from within the building — though he offered no confirmation that it actually was, and stressed the ambiguity of “an intern gone rogue” versus a deliberate dig.

That’s where the backlash started. Eagles fans and NFL commentators pushed back hard on Florio’s column, with many arguing he was manufacturing controversy out of a completely normal preseason practice rep. As ClutchPoints reported, critics called it a non-story and pointed out that every quarterback in the league throws interceptions in camp — the only unusual part was the Eagles choosing to post it.

It’s worth being direct about what’s confirmed here and what isn’t. The Eagles have not issued any public statement explaining the intent behind the post, and no team official has confirmed or denied that it was meant as a message to Hurts. That piece of the story remains speculation, not fact, and should be read that way.

Behind the Noise, Optimism Around Hurts Remains High

The clip discourse is happening against a backdrop of actual on-field progress. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler has reported that Hurts is looking like a viable dual-threat quarterback again in camp, moving with sharper burst after his rushing production dipped to 421 yards last season — well off his 2021–2024 pace, when he regularly approached 700 rushing yards a year.

The bigger storyline in Philadelphia this camp is the installation of new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion’s scheme, which leans more heavily on under-center formations and play-action than the system Hurts ran under former coordinator Kevin Patullo. Fowler has reported that Hurts and Mannion have connected well, and that Hurts — by his own admission previously resistant to scheme changes — is “as open as he’s ever been” to the adjustments.

Hurts has framed the transition around fundamentals. He’s said mastering his footwork within Mannion’s timing-based passing concepts is what allows him to work through his reads cleanly and play with confidence heading into the 2026 season. None of that erases one practice interception, but it’s the context that’s largely missing from the viral clip driving Thursday’s conversation.

Quick Look: The Numbers Behind the Debate

Whatever the intent behind the post, the Eagles now have a preseason opener to shift the conversation back to the field. If Hurts looks as sharp in games as camp reports suggest, one viral interception clip becomes a footnote. If not, Florio’s question about mixed signals inside the building will keep getting asked.

The New York Giants have gotten a lot better during the 2026 offseason. John Harbaugh has brought a fresh sense of optimism to East Rutherford ahead of a pivotal season, but one problem in the secondary is testing that mood — and it may explain why the team is taking a hard look at a free agent facing serious felony charges.

Giants cornerback Paulson Adebo is reportedly dealing with a leg injury, per New York Daily News reporter Pat Leonard. Adebo has struggled during training camp and was back on the sideline working with trainers Thursday, part of a pattern that’s stretched across multiple practices this week. He wasn’t the only one held out. Wide receivers Jalin Hyatt and JuJu Smith-Schuster, center John Michael Schmitz and offensive lineman Lucas Patrick were also absent, and fellow cornerbacks Greg Newsome II and Dru Phillips worked off to the side with trainers, according to SI.com.

Why Adebo’s Injury Matters for the Giants

Adebo signed a three-year, $54 million deal with the Giants last offseason after four seasons in New Orleans, but his first year in New Jersey didn’t go the way either side hoped. A sprained MCL limited him to 12 games, and Pro Football Focus graded him 74th out of 114 eligible cornerbacks, with his coverage grade ranking even lower. Now, with a new leg issue popping up in camp, the Giants’ plan at cornerback is getting murkier just as the preseason opener approaches.

That backdrop is why reporter Pat Leonard connected Adebo’s situation to New York’s decision to bring in Terrion Arnold for a visit this week, a move that’s stirred plenty of conversation given what Arnold is currently facing off the field.

The Terrion Arnold Situation

Detroit released Arnold on June 29, days after his arrest on eight felony counts tied to kidnapping, armed robbery and conspiracy. According to Yahoo Sports, prosecutors allege Arnold helped arrange the abduction and robbery of three men who were held at gunpoint and beaten inside a Tampa apartment in February — retaliation, authorities say, for a earlier robbery at an Airbnb where Arnold had been staying. Authorities have not alleged Arnold was inside the apartment during the attack itself.

Arnold has denied any wrongdoing. His representative, Denise White, said in a statement that he “categorically denies any involvement in the matters underlying the allegations made against him and maintains his innocence.” He has not been convicted, and the case remains pending. Arnold was free on a $1 million bond and had an arraignment hearing scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 13 in Tampa, where he was expected to enter a formal plea, though the outcome of that hearing had not yet been reported as of this writing.

New York hosted Arnold for a visit this week, joining a growing list of teams — Houston, Seattle and New Orleans among them — that have taken meetings with the 23-year-old former first-round pick despite the pending legal case. Harbaugh addressed the visit directly with reporters, framing it as part of a broader approach to roster building rather than a signal that a deal is close.

“We want to be aggressive in every way. Whatever we can do, we will investigate any situation or player that can help us improve.”

That’s Harbaugh’s stated approach — evaluate anyone who might help, without committing to anything. He struck a similar tone when asked about Adebo’s ongoing issue, according to Leonard’s reporting, saying, “Yeah, he’s got some stuff. We don’t usually delve in. When you have to put an injury report out, I do sometimes tell you guys, then I feel bad about it after. I’m like ‘I shouldn’t have told him exactly what it was.'”

What This Means for the Cornerback Room

The Giants aren’t hurting for depth at the position, at least on paper. Greg Newsome II, Deonte Banks and rookie Colton Hood all figure to play meaningful snaps alongside Adebo, and Korie Black provides another option if the injuries pile up. Newsome, in fact, has reportedly “moved ahead” of Adebo on the depth chart this summer, according to Dan Duggan of The Athletic.

Still, the combination of Adebo’s new leg concern and his uneven first season in New York gives the coaching staff reason to keep looking. Signing Arnold would let the Giants add a talented, 23-year-old former first-round pick at a position of need — but it would also mean absorbing significant reputational and legal risk while his case works through the courts. Nothing in Harbaugh’s comments suggests a deal is imminent, and no team has signed Arnold as of Thursday.

For now, the Giants are watching Adebo’s recovery closely while continuing their “aggressive” search for depth, as Harbaugh put it. Whether that search ends with Terrion Arnold remains to be seen, and it will likely depend as much on what happens in a Tampa courtroom as on anything that happens on the practice field.

Ricky Pearsall has officially gone under the knife, and the San Francisco 49ers receiver wants everyone to know he’s already looking forward, not back. Pearsall confirmed Thursday that his season-ending PCL surgery is complete, sharing a candid, reflective message on Instagram about the toll of yet another injury setback and his plan to attack the recovery ahead, as detailed by ESPN.

The post capped off a two-week saga that began when general manager John Lynch announced the 49ers were shutting Pearsall down for the year. Now the wideout has a face and a voice to put on the moment — and it’s one of resolve rather than self-pity.

“Nothing to be disappointed about. No regrets. No what ifs. Just peace in the midst of yet another trial, knowing I did everything I could,” Pearsall wrote, according to NBC Sports.

He didn’t stop there. Pearsall also shared a photo from the hospital and laid out exactly how he plans to spend the next several months. “The road back starts now. I’m ready for every part of it,” he wrote, per Bleacher Report. He described committing to “every early morning” and “every small win nobody sees” between now and his return.

How We Got Here

Pearsall’s knee problems trace back to Week 4 of last season, when he first injured the PCL in a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. He tried to play through it, but the injury cost him all or part of 10 games. The 49ers and Pearsall opted against surgery in the offseason, banking on rest and rehab instead.

That plan fell apart fast. After just three training camp practices this summer, Pearsall developed swelling in the knee. Team doctors ultimately determined the ligament hadn’t healed the way anyone hoped, and surgery became the only real option.

This wasn’t Pearsall’s first brush with adversity. Just before his rookie season, he was shot during an attempted robbery in San Francisco’s Union Square — a scare that sidelined him for the start of his NFL career before he’d played a single down.

Why the Recovery Timeline Matters

PCL reconstruction isn’t a common procedure at the pro level, and that’s part of why this decision took so long to reach. Dr. Prem Ramkumar, an orthopedic specialist at MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center, explained why teams typically avoid operating on isolated PCL tears. “Isolated PCL injuries do not typically require surgery. We usually operate when a patient has failed nonsurgical treatment for several months, if not years,” Ramkumar said, according to ClutchPoints‘ reporting on the decision.

Ramkumar pointed to one recent comparison: former NBA center Steven Adams, who had a nearly identical isolated PCL surgery in 2023 after months of failed rehab. That case is one of the few recent precedents doctors have to draw from when mapping out Pearsall’s expected recovery arc, which sits in the six-to-12-month range, with nine months considered the realistic target for a 2027 season return.

The Numbers Behind the Frustration

What makes this stretch especially hard to swallow for 49ers fans is the flash of production Pearsall has shown whenever he’s actually been available.

Add it up, and Pearsall has played just 20 of a possible 51 regular-season games since San Francisco drafted him 31st overall in 2024, a workload gap that’s kept the league from ever seeing what a full, healthy season from him actually looks like.

What It Means for San Francisco’s Receiver Room

The 49ers weren’t about to wait and hope. Within hours of the Pearsall news becoming official, San Francisco moved to re-sign Deebo Samuel, bringing back the do-it-all playmaker who spent his first six seasons with the franchise. The team also added veteran Mike Evans to a multi-year deal this offseason, a decision that now looks directly tied to the injury risk Pearsall carried into the year.

San Francisco went on to add depth pieces like KhaDarel Hodge as camp wore on, restocking a receiver group now expected to run through Evans, Samuel, Christian Kirk and rookie De’Zhaun Stribling as its top four heading into the season.

The Road Ahead

Pearsall turns 26 in September, and this is shaping up as a defining stretch of his career. The 49ers still have to make a call on his fifth-year option next offseason, and doing that with a player who has yet to play a full 17-game slate adds real uncertainty to the equation.

For now, based on his own words, Pearsall isn’t dwelling on any of that. He’s framed this as one more test in a career that’s already demanded plenty of resilience — from the gunshot wound before his rookie season to a knee that never fully cooperated. If his recovery holds to the nine-month target, he’d be on track to be ready well before the start of the 2027 campaign.

Aaron Donald hasn’t put his name on a Rams roster since March 2024. He also hasn’t stopped showing up at the team facility. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year worked out with Los Angeles twice this month, and according to multiple reports, an actual decision on whether he plays in 2026 could come within days.

Donald’s first session came on Aug. 5, an official workout reported to the NFL’s transaction wire, CBS Sports reported. He wore a helmet but no pads, and used team equipment at the Rams’ facility during training camp. NBC Sports reported the session, unlike a prior visit, went through official league channels — meaning it had to be logged, not that the team was formally evaluating him for a roster spot.

Four days later, new clips surfaced. HITC reported that footage posted by a training account (@210ths) on Aug. 9 showed Donald running through speed, footwork, and conditioning drills alongside current Rams defensive tackles Braden Fiske and Desjuan Johnson.

Fans didn’t hold back reacting to it. Multiple people compared Donald’s footwork in the new footage to clips from his final season in 2023 and came away split. Some saw no drop-off; others figured a 35-year-old body is still a 35-year-old body, however sharp the footwork looks on video.

Sean McVay isn’t tipping his hand either way. Speaking as players reported to training camp, the Rams coach said he genuinely doesn’t know which way this goes.

“He is going through his process, and he is putting himself in a position to make a decision, and he’s earned the right to be able to do that,” McVay said, via the Rams’ official site. “Anything that he does, he does all in, and so he’s going through a very strict, regimented process that was similar to what he did when he played.”

A separate quote attributed to a former Rams teammate — describing Donald as looking faster and hungrier in the recent workout — has been circulating, but it could not be independently verified through a live search at the time of publication. It’s included here only as an unconfirmed attribution and should not be treated as confirmed reporting.

Why the Rams’ Roster Moves Make This Bigger Than a Workout

Donald walking through drills wouldn’t generate this much noise if the roster around him hadn’t changed. Los Angeles acquired reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett this offseason, along with former Chiefs cornerback duo Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, Pro Football Rumors reported. That’s a defense already reshaped for a title run. Add a healthy Donald to a front that includes Garrett, Kobie Turner, Fiske, and Byron Young, and it stops looking like a depth move and starts looking like a nightmare matchup for opposing offensive lines.

NBC Sports’ Mike Florio reported Aug. 9 that Donald’s target decision timeline had shifted from early that week to the end of it — not because talks stalled, but because a decision this size, per Florio, might reasonably take a little longer to get right. If Donald does return, Florio reported the Rams would lean on the same gradual ramp-up plan they used after his 2017 and 2018 holdouts, with an eye toward 30-40 snaps in Week 1.

That Week 1 game is no ordinary opener, either. The Rams open the 2026 season against the San Francisco 49ers in Australia on Sept. 10, per Yahoo Sports. If Donald suits up, it would happen on a stage about as far from a quiet season debut as the NFL schedule allows.

Where Things Stand

Donald spent a decade with the Rams, won a Super Bowl, and retired as arguably the most disruptive interior lineman of his generation. None of that guarantees he plays another down. But between two workouts in five days and a defense built to make his return count, the Rams and their fans aren’t exactly discouraging the speculation.

Mansoor Delane strapped on a full-contact jersey Thursday morning at Chiefs training camp for the first time all summer, and for a rookie cornerback who has spent most of camp on the outside looking in, that alone counts as news.

The Athletic’s Jesse Newell posted the update from the practice fields at Missouri Western State University: “Chiefs’ Mansoor Delane (shoulder) in full-contact jersey for first time this camp” —

Chiefs’ Mansoor Delane (shoulder) in full-contact jersey for first time this camp. pic.twitter.com/ds9QZhxwlU

— Jesse Newell (@jessenewell) August 13, 2026

It’s a small step. But for a No. 6 overall pick who traded up three spots to get to Kansas City, small steps are the only steps that have mattered since June.

A Shoulder Injury That Wouldn’t Quit

Delane’s shoulder trouble surfaced late in OTAs and kept him out of mandatory minicamp entirely. He worked off to the side while his new teammates ran drills without him. He then opened training camp in a yellow non-contact jersey, the kind typically reserved for players coming off surgery — though the Chiefs have maintained they’re simply being careful with their top pick, not managing a post-op recovery.

General manager Brett Veach addressed the injury directly during an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio, according to AtoZ Sports. Veach described the issue as a shoulder blade injury sustained near the end of OTAs and said the team isn’t concerned about it lingering, just wants it fully healed before pushing Delane further.

Delane himself has stayed even-keeled about the setback. “It’s good, just getting better every day. Biggest thing right now is just getting my feet under me, acclimating to the conditioning,” he said, per ClutchPoints, citing Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk.

The Depth Chart Snub That Raised Eyebrows

Two days before Thursday’s practice, Kansas City released its first unofficial depth chart of the summer — and it wasn’t kind to its prized rookie. Chiefs Digest’s Matt Derrick reported that the team listed Nohl Williams and L’Jarius Sneed as the starting cornerbacks, with Delane and Kristian Fulton behind them, according to KC Kingdom.

That’s not nothing for a player the Chiefs mortgaged draft capital to acquire. Kansas City sent the No. 9 pick, a third-rounder, and a fifth-rounder to Cleveland just to move up three spots and secure Delane back in April. He was supposed to walk into a wide-open cornerback room — the Chiefs had already dealt Trent McDuffie to the Rams and watched Jaylen Watson leave in free agency — and take it over early.

Instead, the shoulder cost him reps he can’t get back, and the early unofficial depth chart reflects exactly that. Kansas City’s beat writers were quick to note the list is a snapshot, not gospel — subject to change with every practice between now and Week 1 — but it’s still a real signal of where the coaching staff has Delane penciled in right now: fighting for a job, not handed one.

Why Sneed Fits the Timeline

The Chiefs reuniting with Sneed this offseason, after two years in Tennessee, gives Andy Reid’s staff a proven, veteran alternative while Delane works his way back. Sneed knows the defense, knows the terminology, and doesn’t need a training camp to get comfortable in Steve Spagnuolo’s scheme. With Delane limited for weeks, sliding a known commodity into that starting spot is the low-risk move — even if it’s meant to be temporary.

Delane isn’t just battling Sneed and Fulton for reps, either. Kaiir Elam, Nohl Williams, and Melvin Smith Jr. are all in the mix at cornerback, and every practice Delane misses is a practice one of them doesn’t.

What Comes Next

The timing of Thursday’s full-pads return lines up well. The Chiefs host the Los Angeles Rams in their preseason opener at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday, and while a rookie working back from injury is unlikely to see extended snaps in a game that early, every padded practice between now and kickoff is a chance for Delane to close the gap he opened by missing time.

He signed a four-year, $41.6 million contract with Kansas City in June, well before the shoulder issue became a training camp storyline. The money and the draft slot were never in question. What’s still an open question is how much runway he’ll have left to win a starting job before the regular season arrives.

DeVonta Smith is still missing practice. Philadelphia’s Jefferson Health Training Complex has become a familiar sideline view for the Eagles wide receiver this month, and Wednesday brought another absence tied to his lingering hamstring injury. But there’s a detail worth noting: Smith was out there early, working through drills on his own before the team session even started.

Eagles beat writer Dave Zangaro captured it on X.

“It looks like DeVonta Smith (hamstring) is going to miss another practice. But he’s out here early getting in some work on the side,” Zangaro posted on August 13, 2026.

That’s not nothing. A receiver who can’t do any work at all typically isn’t running routes solo before the rest of the roster shows up. It suggests the injury, while still serious enough to keep him out of team drills, hasn’t shut him down completely — and that the Eagles could see him back on the field before camp wraps.

What We Know About the Injury

Smith first popped up on the injury report in early August. He and rookie receiver Makai Lemon both went down with hamstring issues during an indoor practice session, and NBC Sports Philadelphia reported the team didn’t view either injury as serious at the time. Since then, Smith has missed a string of practices, and multiple reporters covering the team have echoed the same “no long-term concern” language coming out of the building.

The Eagles have been deliberate about it. Soft-tissue injuries like hamstring strains have a way of lingering if a team rushes a player back too early, and with more than a month left before Philadelphia’s regular-season opener, there’s no reason to gamble. Smith watching from the sideline in August beats him aggravating something in Week 1.

Why Smith’s Health Matters More Than Ever

This camp carries different stakes for Smith than any before it. The Eagles traded receiver A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots in June, sending him to reunite with head coach Mike Vrabel in exchange for New England’s 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder, according to the team’s official announcement. Philadelphia waited until after June 1 to make the move, a timing decision that split the dead-money cap hit across two seasons instead of absorbing it all at once.

Brown’s exit reshuffles the entire depth chart. Smith goes from complementary piece to unquestioned WR1, the receiver Jalen Hurts is going to lean on when the offense needs a play. He’s earned that trust. Smith caught 77 passes for 1,008 yards and four touchdowns last season on 113 targets, his third career 1,000-yard campaign, all while playing second fiddle to Brown in the target hierarchy.

Behind Smith, the receiver room is still finding its shape. Philadelphia brought in Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore in free agency, traded for Dontayvion Wicks, and used a first-round pick on USC’s Makai Lemon — but none of them have Smith’s track record. If his hamstring keeps him out longer than expected, tight end Dallas Goedert becomes the most proven safety valve in the passing game. Goedert set a franchise record with 11 touchdown catches last season and re-signed with the Eagles this offseason on a one-year deal, positioning him as one of the top two remaining targets now that Brown is gone.

What’s Next

The Eagles have roughly a month before Week 1, and history suggests they’ll take their time with Smith rather than push him back onto the field prematurely. Working out on the side is often the first real step back — a sign a player is close enough to trust his body with limited movement, even if he’s not ready for full-contact reps yet.

Philadelphia opens the regular season with an eye toward reclaiming the NFC East, a division where the Dallas Cowboys have made clear they intend to compete for the top spot. Getting Smith healthy and integrated as the true No. 1 option well before Week 1 matters as much as any personnel decision the front office makes this summer.

Jim Nantz finally addressed the Tony Romo situation out loud, and he did it without burning a single bridge.

Speaking with reporters at CBS Sports’ annual NFL Media Day on Tuesday, Nantz confirmed he wasn’t looped in on the network’s decision-making regarding his longtime broadcast partner, who has been on indefinite leave since late July following an OWI arrest in Milwaukee. According to Awful Announcing, Nantz said he “was just laying low” during the process, focused instead on a packed golf broadcasting schedule.

What he didn’t stay quiet on was his loyalty to Romo.

“Tony is a great friend of mine and has been for years,” Nantz said, per Awful Announcing. “He and I go back to 2011 when he got married; I was invited to his wedding. So, this was not someone in 2017 when he entered the booth I was just getting to know for the first time. So he’s a great friend, continues to be, always will be.”

Nantz kept the details of his private conversations with Romo exactly that — private. “I adore his family; his wife is awesome. They’re the ones that are on my mind right now,” he said. “The contents of what we talked about, I’m just going to leave that private, and I think that’s the only way and the appropriate way for me to look at it.”

What led to Romo’s leave from CBS

Romo was pulled over on Interstate 43 in Milwaukee on July 23 after a deputy observed signs of impairment, according to the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office. He was cited for first-offense OWI, an unsafe passing violation, and having an open container in his vehicle, and he declined a breathalyzer test. Wisconsin classifies a first-offense OWI as a civil violation rather than a criminal charge.

CBS didn’t act immediately. The network waited until July 31 — eight days after the arrest, and shortly after body camera footage of the stop became public — before issuing a statement placing Romo on leave “until further notice.” That delay, and the footage that preceded it, appear to have shaped the network’s next move.

CBS Sports president David Berson addressed the situation directly at Tuesday’s press conference, according to Yahoo Sports. “We have to consider the impact on our image and our brand,” Berson said. “That’s very important to us. The focus should be and needs to be on our presentation and this great product.” He added that Romo’s situation remains fluid: “It’s an evolving situation and we are still assessing. There is no timetable or final decision at this time.”

Romo’s status is unresolved, but the reporting environment around him has shifted. John Ourand of Puck has written that the consensus among sports media executives is that Romo has likely worked his last game for CBS, with the network expected to lean on the morals clause in Romo’s $180 million contract to part ways — a deal that reportedly still owes him $72 million over four seasons.

J.J. Watt steps into the No. 1 booth

With Romo out, J.J. Watt has moved up from the network’s No. 2 analyst chair to pair with Nantz and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson on the top NFL broadcast team. Nantz didn’t hold back on his new partner.

“He is a very, very talented communicator,” Nantz said of Watt, per Awful Announcing. “When you win the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, and you win the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year Award, which impresses me way more than anything he’s done in his legendary first-ballot Hall of Fame football career, that tells you that the man knows about leadership and he knows how to not only lead people, he knows how to deliver a message.”

Watt, for his part, said he learned about the opportunity roughly ten days before it became public. “It’s certainly not the circumstances you want something like this to happen under, but it’s an incredible opportunity, and I’m extremely excited about it,” Watt told Awful Announcing. He and Nantz have already run a mock broadcast together, calling a game from last season to build chemistry ahead of Week 1.

The reshuffling doesn’t stop at the top. Watt’s former broadcast partner, Ian Eagle, has a new analyst of his own in Ross Tucker, who will call games alongside Eagle and Evan Washburn as part of the new booths CBS has assembled for 2026. Eagle and Tucker already share history from years of radio work together on Westwood One.

Nantz and Watt are set to open the season in Minnesota, where the Vikings host the Green Bay Packers. Eagle and Tucker head to Houston for Week 1, calling the Texans’ matchup against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 13.

Where things stand

Romo has been CBS’s top NFL analyst since joining the network in 2017 after retiring from the Dallas Cowboys, working alongside Nantz for what would have been a tenth season together in 2026. Whether he ever returns to that chair is still an open question — one CBS says it isn’t ready to answer yet.

Jalen Hurts has a wind problem, and the numbers now back it up.

Back in January, the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback struggled through a Wild Card Round loss to the San Francisco 49ers, a game played into gusts as high as 28 mph at Lincoln Financial Field. Hurts finished 20 of 35 for just 168 yards and a single touchdown in that 23-19 defeat. San Francisco went on to get blown out by the Seattle Seahawks the following week, a result that likely made Philadelphia’s exit sting even more for head coach Nick Sirianni.

During Fox’s broadcast that night, Tom Brady offered a technical explanation for why certain quarterbacks fall apart in heavy wind. He broke down how the angle of a quarterback’s release affects the ball’s flight path when air resistance gets involved.

“Looking at it from this angle, this is kind of like a neutral plane, and this is when the point is slightly down. When you’re throwing into the wind, it has to be neutral; if the point of the ball is up, any wind friction is going to push that ball up over the top,” Brady said, according to the broadcast.

He continued by explaining that a release coming from below the ball tends to point its nose upward, and that in strong wind, extra surface area on the ball gets exposed to resistance, throwing off its path.

The stats behind Brady’s theory

An Eagles-focused analyst who posts under the handle Eagles Eric dug into that theory this week, breaking down Hurts’ release mechanics on tape and cross-referencing them against wind conditions across his starts.

Eagles Eric posted on X: “I analyzed a lot of Hurts throws & he often uses the U-shaped release. So I investigated if it hurts him in the wind… turns out Tom Brady may be…” —

Tom Brady talked about how a U-shaped release can leave the nose of the football too high, making it harder to cut through wind.

I analyzed a lot of Hurts throws & he often uses the U-shaped release.

So I investigated if it hurts him in the wind… turns out Tom Brady may be… https://t.co/tPju2xoSmC pic.twitter.com/LOKSbiyVSF

— Eagles Eric (@EaglesXsandOs) August 13, 2026

The numbers he shared line up with what Brady described. Hurts’ Expected Points Added (EPA) per pass — a metric that measures how much a given play moves a team’s odds of scoring relative to expectation — holds steady in calm conditions and drops off sharply once the wind climbs into double digits.

That last figure is the one that stands out. Hurts’ efficiency per pass in windy conditions works out to less than half of what he produces on a calm day, according to the numbers shared by Eagles Eric. “Turns out Tom Brady may be onto something,” the analyst wrote in the same post.

Why the mechanics matter

The explanation Brady gave comes down to basic aerodynamics. A football thrown with the nose tilted up presents more of its surface to oncoming air, and in gusty conditions that extra resistance can push the ball off its intended line before it ever reaches a receiver. A tighter, more neutral spiral cuts through that resistance instead of fighting it.

Hurts’ release, according to Eagles Eric’s film review, tends to come from a lower arm slot that produces exactly the kind of upward-tilted release point Brady described. It’s a mechanical quirk that may not show up much on a still afternoon, but becomes a real liability once wind gusts start pushing 20 mph or more — conditions Philadelphia will likely see again at some point deep in a playoff run, given how often postseason football in the Northeast runs into late-season weather.

None of this means Hurts can’t be effective in the wind going forward. Mechanical tendencies like this one are the kind of thing quarterbacks and their position coaches can work on in the offseason. But if Sirianni and the Eagles’ coaching staff want to avoid a repeat of that Wild Card performance, Hurts’ release angle in bad weather looks like a real place to start.

The Green Bay Packers have a date with their past on Thursday night. Green Bay opens the preseason against Aaron Rodgers’ Pittsburgh Steelers, reuniting the franchise with the quarterback who ran it for nearly two decades. Ahead of the game, Rodgers’ former backup-turned-successor made clear there’s no bad blood between them.

Packers quarterback Jordan Love spoke about his old mentor during a Wednesday interview session, and the gratitude in his voice was hard to miss.

“I’ve mentioned it time and time again: I have nothing but great things to say about A-Rod and my time being behind him and watching him, how much I was able to develop and grow in my process seeing him,” Love said. “The transition — I think for the organization, that’s something that’s never easy, and for the players, it’s not something that’s ever easy, either. For a guy that’s been here that long and done so many great things, those are big shoes to fill. For me, I try to focus on being my best and doing the best job I can for the team.”

Love’s comments were shared on X by Zach Jacobson of PackersDispatch.com —

Jordan Love said that he and Aaron Rodgers have talked about their painless transition of power and how it compared to the controversy-filled summer of 2008 with Brett Favre.

"I've heard different stories, Aaron talking to me about his time coming up and how he wanted his…

— Zach Jacobson (@zacobson) August 12, 2026

The Packers drafted Love in the first round back in 2020, but he sat behind Rodgers for three seasons before ever taking a regular-season snap. He didn’t formally inherit the starting job until 2023, after Green Bay traded Rodgers to the New York Jets. That waiting period shaped how Love talks about his old QB1 today — less like a guy who got passed over, more like someone who says he got a free education.

Love Says Watching Rodgers Read Defenses Shaped His Own Game

Love has been reminiscing about his years behind Rodgers for several days now, not just Wednesday. He told reporters some of the biggest lessons he picked up watching Rodgers operate at the line of scrimmage.

“I think being able to sit behind Aaron, and see just the way he was able to control the line of scrimmage, see pressures make, protection adjustments and pick stuff up, was next level, and it gave me something to build up and to see and be like, man, that’s what I want to be able to do,” Love said, according to WFRV’s Carson Fowler.

That’s not small talk. Pre-snap protection calls — identifying which blitzer is coming, sliding the line, checking into a different play — are one of the hardest parts of playing quarterback in the NFL, and they’re mostly invisible to fans watching at home. Rodgers built a Hall of Fame case doing it better than almost anyone. Love says three years of watching that up close, before he ever had to do it himself in a real game, gave him a framework he still leans on.

Rodgers, for his part, has spent this week talking openly about Green Bay too. According to ESPN, Rodgers said Wednesday he’d hoped this preseason matchup would be played at Lambeau Field instead of Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium, since it may be his last shot to play there as a visitor before he retires. He called it “100 percent” something he wanted, joking about wanting to grab dinner at a Green Bay restaurant and get in a round of golf while he was in town.

Love Has Grown Into His Own Franchise Quarterback

None of this reads as Love feeling stuck in Rodgers’ shadow anymore. He’s earned that distance. Love signed a $220 million contract extension during the 2024 offseason, the kind of deal that only gets handed to a quarterback the front office is fully committed to.

The Packers and Steelers don’t share a division and don’t meet during the regular season, which means Thursday’s preseason opener is likely Love’s last chance to line up against Rodgers on a football field — barring an unlikely Super Bowl meeting between the two teams. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET at Acrisure Stadium.

Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur has confirmed Love will play in the game, though the Packers haven’t locked in an exact snap count. It’s Love’s fourth straight season playing in his team’s preseason opener. On the other sideline, Rodgers said this week he’s willing to play if new Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy — his former coach in Green Bay — wants him out there, but he’s made no secret that he views preseason football as low-stakes. He hasn’t taken a preseason snap since 2023.

There’s a real storyline underneath the pleasantries. Rodgers has already said this is expected to be his final NFL season. For Love, beating the team’s old franchise quarterback — even in a preseason game that means nothing in the standings — carries a little extra weight. For Rodgers, closing out his career without ever playing a road game at Lambeau is clearly something he’s still processing, even three years after the trade that sent him to New York and eventually to Pittsburgh.

Jayden Daniels is done letting this one go. The Washington Commanders quarterback has sent LSU a cease-and-desist letter demanding the school stop using his name, image and likeness, and the trigger is personal: his old No. 5 jersey is now on another player’s back.

Daniels’ attorney, Adam Kenner, sent the letter on Aug. 5 to LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry, according to ESPN’s Mark Schlabach, who obtained a copy this week. The dispute centers on sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett, who has been wearing No. 5 during LSU’s preseason practices — the same number Daniels wore when he won the Heisman Trophy in 2023.

Nobody had worn it since. Daniels’ jersey was never officially retired, but per ESPN, it sat untouched for two full seasons after he left for the NFL. Then Pickett showed up to camp wearing it.

What the Letter Says

Daniels’ camp didn’t hide how they felt. “The Daniels family is deeply disappointed and feels profoundly disrespected by LSU’s decision to give Jayden’s number to another player,” his spokesperson said in a statement provided to ESPN. “Jayden and his family had every reason to believe that his number would remain a meaningful part of his LSU legacy and would be honored and protected in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the university.”

The spokesperson added that Daniels “made it clear that he did not want his number given to another player, and he believed his wishes would be respected.” According to Yahoo Sports, Daniels also feels he’s being treated differently than fellow LSU Heisman winner Joe Burrow, whose No. 9 hasn’t been issued to anyone since he left Baton Rouge in 2019.

On the legal side, Kenner’s letter leans on contract language rather than sentiment. His NIL agreement with LSU allowed the school a grace period of “at most” 180 days after his departure to keep using his name and likeness, the letter states. That window closed a long time ago.

“Accordingly, LSU must immediately cease and desist from any further issue use, display, publication, distribution, promotion, commercialization, or other exploitation of Mr. Daniels’ NIL in any manner or medium,” Kenner wrote, according to TSN. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo shared a copy of the letter on X: “Jayden Daniels’ representatives have sent LSU a cease-and-desist letter over the school’s continued use of his NIL.”

The letter from Jayden Daniels’ attorney Adam Kenner to LSU football stating the program “must immediately cease and desist from any further use, display, publication, distribution, promotion, commercialization, or other exploitation of Mr. Daniels’ NIL in any manner or medium.” pic.twitter.com/QdX6Tl1evG

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 13, 2026

LSU’s Side: A Promise Made in 2024

LSU coach Lane Kiffin addressed the situation directly on Aug. 5, telling reporters that Pickett was promised the number when he signed with the Tigers in December 2024, per ESPN. Pickett wore No. 3 as a freshman last season, when he picked off three passes and made 37 tackles. He was spotted in No. 5 for the first time when preseason practice opened last week.

Former LSU coach Brian Kelly, who was fired last season, told ESPN he’d made the same promise to Pickett but held off issuing the number because Daniels hadn’t signed off on it. “I just wasn’t prepared to do it until we got a full commitment from another Heisman Trophy winner,” Kelly said. “We didn’t want to issue No. 9, so you can’t treat one differently from the other.” LSU’s athletic department declined to comment when ESPN reached out this week.

Why LSU Hasn’t Retired the Number

This is where LSU’s jersey policy gets complicated. The school has officially retired four football numbers: Billy Cannon’s No. 20, Tommy Casanova’s No. 37, Jerry Stovall’s No. 21 and Charles Alexander’s No. 4. LSU also plans to retire Bert Jones’ No. 7 this fall.

But per LSU’s own athletic department bylaws, adopted in 2007, a retired number can still be issued to a current player in that sport at the head coach’s discretion — with one exception. Cannon’s No. 20 is the only number in LSU football history that can never be worn again. Everything retired after 2007 is technically still available for a coach to hand out, which is exactly what happened with Pickett and No. 5, even though Daniels’ number was never formally retired at all.

That last line is the whole fight in one sentence. Burrow’s number has sat untouched by policy or unofficial respect; Daniels’ hasn’t, and he’s not taking it quietly.

What Comes Next

Right now this is a legal demand, not a lawsuit. Kenner’s letter tells LSU to stop using Daniels’ NIL — it doesn’t yet threaten specific litigation over the jersey number itself, and LSU hasn’t publicly responded to the demand beyond Kiffin’s comments about the promise made to Pickett. Whether the school pulls back on using Daniels’ name and image in its marketing, or whether this escalates into something more formal, is still unresolved as of this writing.

Daniels, for his part, is entering his second NFL season off a Pro Bowl rookie year that included an Offensive Rookie of the Year award and a run to the NFC Championship Game. The jersey dispute is unfolding well away from Commanders training camp, but it’s a reminder that the NIL era didn’t end when these players turned pro — it just changed venues.

Training camp hype has a way of inflating draft boards, and Luther Burden III is riding one of the bigger waves in this year’s fantasy football class. The Chicago Bears wide receiver, coming off a rookie season that ended with a bang, has become one of the most talked-about breakout picks of the summer. Not everyone is buying it.

ESPN’s Mike Clay isn’t. On a recent episode of ESPN Fantasy’s podcast, Clay put a label on Burden that draft-season hype trains don’t usually survive.

“[Luther Burden III] is the most overvalued player in fantasy since Anthony Richardson.” — Mike Clay, ESPN Fantasy

ESPN Fantasy posted the clip on X on August 12, 2026, noting Clay is “out on Burden at his high draft cost this season”

"[Luther Burden III] is the most overvalued player in fantasy since Anthony Richardson." 😳@MikeClayNFL is out on Burden at his high draft cost this season 😯 pic.twitter.com/W65gr98yDb

— ESPN Fantasy Sports (@ESPNFantasy) August 12, 2026

Why Burden Is Suddenly a Fantasy Favorite

The hype isn’t coming out of nowhere. Chicago traded DJ Moore to the Buffalo Bills in March, sending its longtime WR1 out in exchange for draft capital as part of the deal that sent Chicago a 2026 second-round pick, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. That move cleared a lane in Chicago’s passing game, and Burden — a second-round pick out of Missouri in 2025 — is widely expected to be one of the players who fills it.

He gave fantasy managers a reason to believe late last season. Burden caught 47 of 60 targets for 652 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie, and he saved his best for last: an eight-catch, 138-yard game against San Francisco in Week 17 that flashed exactly the kind of ceiling drafters are now paying for, according to FantasyData. Bears head coach Ben Johnson has fueled the momentum, too, comparing Burden’s competitive streak to that of Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jarvis Landry, two players Johnson coached in Detroit and Miami, per FantasyData.

Between the vacated targets and the coach-speak, it’s easy to see why Burden’s price has climbed. He’s currently going as high as receiver No. 21 and pick 47 overall in some formats, according to The Big Lead, while FantasyPros’ own ADP tracker has him at No. 41 overall. Either way, he’s coming off the board in the fourth round of most drafts — well ahead of where a receiver with one full rookie season and 652 yards typically goes.

The Anthony Richardson Comparison, Explained

Clay’s comparison isn’t random. Richardson entered his second NFL season in 2024 carrying similar sophomore-year hype after flashing dual-threat upside as a rookie with the Indianapolis Colts. Drafters bought in hard, pushing him into the QB5-QB6 range on draft boards. It backfired badly. Richardson finished the 2024 season as fantasy’s QB25, done in by accuracy problems and a benching in favor of Joe Flacco, according to a report from SI’s fantasy football desk.

The parallel Clay is drawing is about price, not talent. Burden and Richardson both entered Year 2 with a small sample of eye-catching rookie tape and a fan base ready to extrapolate it into stardom. Richardson’s second season is the cautionary tale for what happens when the price outruns the proof.

Burden by the Numbers: Then and Projected

Those projected numbers, sourced from The Fantasy Footballers and ESPN’s own player models, aren’t bad on their own. They’d represent a real Year 2 jump. The tension is entirely about cost: is a projected 78-catch, 4-to-5-touchdown season worth a fourth-round pick when Burden has exactly one 53%-snap stretch of NFL football to point to?

What Clay’s Concern Actually Is

Clay isn’t arguing Burden will be bad. He’s arguing Burden is priced like a proven commodity when he’s still an unproven one. Burden played fewer than 53% of snaps in all but five games as a rookie, according to FantasyPros, meaning most of his 2026 outlook rests on a smaller sample size than his ADP would suggest. His per-route efficiency was excellent in that limited role — he ranked third among qualified receivers in yards per route run from Week 13 on, according to FantasyPros — but efficiency in a part-time role doesn’t always translate cleanly to a full-time one.

Chicago also isn’t lacking for pass catchers even with Moore gone. Rome Odunze, the Bears’ 2024 first-round pick, and rookie tight end Colston Loveland are both expected to soak up a chunk of the vacated targets, which muddies exactly how big Burden’s workload jump will be.

The Bottom Line for Drafters

Burden isn’t the problem — the price is. That’s the distinction Clay is making, and it’s the same one that got Richardson drafters burned in 2024. A receiver with 652 rookie yards and a hot finish is a legitimate breakout candidate. A receiver going in the fourth round off the strength of that sample is a bet that the finish was the true talent level, not a hot streak against favorable matchups.

Whether that bet pays off will start to become clear once the Bears open the season. Burden’s fantasy managers are the ones putting real draft capital behind the answer.

Dak Prescott isn’t hiding from it anymore. As the Dallas Cowboys open the 2026 season under real pressure to finally get back into the postseason, their quarterback is done pretending a Super Bowl isn’t the point.

Prescott laid it out in blunt terms during a training camp sit-down with Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. He walked into camp in Oxnard wearing a T-shirt reading “Dallas Cowboys, Super Bowl XXX Champions” — a nod to the franchise’s last title, from the 1995 season.

“Why are we hesitant to say that that’s what we’re playing for?” Prescott said, according to Sports Illustrated. “I don’t know if it’s just getting older, having kids and blatantly not giving a f— what other people think, but if that’s what this is about, then why is anybody being hesitant about it?”

He didn’t stop there. Prescott told Breer he’s “a big manifester,” someone who says things out loud specifically because he believes saying them makes them happen.

“I wouldn’t be here in my life if I didn’t think I would be here, going back to being a little kid,” Prescott said.

Prescott says his life has matched his childhood predictions

Prescott pointed to his own life as proof the approach works. People ask him all the time whether he expected things to turn out this way. His answer isn’t the modest one they’re fishing for.

“They expect a ‘No, not at all’ — did you ever expect your life to be like this? And I go, damn near to the smallest detail,” Prescott said. “I’ve had cars that I’ve only got because I said I’d have them when I was 7 years old. So to say I was going to be a Super Bowl champion and play like this, that’s also something I said. So why don’t I own that as much as I own other things?”

It’s not just talk from Prescott alone. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer told Breer he’s fully on board with players saying the quiet part out loud, according to Yardbarker’s report on the same SI piece. “I love it,” Schottenheimer said. “It’s why we all do this. It’s what we all sacrifice for.”

Why the pressure is real this time

The bravado comes with stakes attached. Dallas finished the 2025 season 7-9-1, missing the playoffs for the second straight year, and gave up 511 points — the most in franchise history, according to ESPN. The offense was never the problem. The defense was.

Prescott still put up 4,552 passing yards last season, and the receiving corps of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens combined for more than 2,500 yards between them. Pickens, acquired in a trade from Pittsburgh last year, is entering 2026 on a $27.3 million non-exclusive franchise tag after the two sides didn’t reach a long-term deal by the July 15 deadline, per ESPN.

That offensive production is why Dallas invested heavily in defense this offseason, bringing in veterans like Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams to rebuild a unit that ranked among the league’s worst a year ago. If that side of the ball holds up, the Cowboys believe they have enough offense to make a real run — and Prescott isn’t interested in downplaying that anymore.

The history Prescott is fighting

There’s a stat working against him. No quarterback has ever won a Super Bowl with a franchise after failing to reach a conference championship game in his first 10 seasons there, according to CBS Sports Research cited by CBS Sports. Prescott enters his 11th season with Dallas still chasing that first NFC title game appearance — the longest active drought in the conference.

He’s aware of it, and he’s choosing to treat it as motivation rather than a warning sign. “Why not? Life’s about being urgent,” Prescott told CBS Sports. “A lot of us want to wait and want to say, ‘Oh, we’ll do it later,’ but what are we really promised?”

For a Cowboys team that hasn’t been past the divisional round since the 1995 season, urgency is the only currency Prescott has left to spend. Whether it translates into wins starts showing up in September.

Kevin O’Connell didn’t wait long once he made up his mind. On Tuesday, the Vikings head coach ended a two-week quarterback competition and named Kyler Murray the starter over J.J. McCarthy, according to NFL.com. Murray will lead Minnesota’s offense into the Sept. 13 opener against the Packers, and the fourth different Week 1 starting quarterback the Vikings have handed Justin Jefferson in as many years.

The decision didn’t sit quietly overnight. By Wednesday, Murray and Jefferson were already connecting on plays that made it clear why O’Connell pulled the trigger. The two hooked up on a handful of big gains at practice, including a throw that traveled roughly 35 yards on a deep post route, according to CBS Sports, which cited reporting from Will Ragatz of Bring Me The Sports.

Why O’Connell Made the Call

O’Connell told reporters the decision came down to more than just talent. Murray brought experience Minnesota’s other options didn’t have.

“I think he’s demonstrated what he’s capable of, both the experience he has, playing at a high level in this league but also his experience now of coming in here, being challenged,” O’Connell said, according to CBS News Minnesota.

That’s according to CBS News Minnesota, which also reported that Murray took the bulk of first-team reps in joint practices throughout camp, giving O’Connell a longer look at him running the actual offense under game-like conditions.

Murray, a two-time Pro Bowler and the No. 1 overall pick in 2019, signed with Minnesota on a one-year deal in March after Arizona released him. He’s now getting the reps to match the title. Speaking to reporters after his first practice as the named starter, Murray kept the tone measured. “It feels good,” he said, per Vikings.com. “Obviously, any competitor, you play this game, you want a chance to lead the guys on Sunday and have an opportunity to go win.”

What It Means for McCarthy

McCarthy, the No. 10 pick in the 2024 draft, will serve as the backup. His path back to QB1 isn’t gone, but it’s narrow. Injuries wiped out his rookie year, and last season brought uneven results: 10 starts, a 57.6% completion rate, 11 touchdowns against 12 interceptions, according to CBS News Minnesota. O’Connell was careful not to frame the move as a verdict on McCarthy’s future. “In no way does this diminish anything that J.J.’s demonstrated,” he said, per the same report. He added that McCarthy would still get “a lot of reps” going forward, calling his development an “arrow up” the staff feels good about.

The Numbers Jefferson Is Trying to Fix

Jefferson is coming off the roughest statistical stretch of his career, a year spent bouncing between three different starting quarterbacks as injuries piled up around him.

Those numbers, first detailed by CBS Sports, tell the story of a receiver whose talent never left but whose situation did him no favors. A torn meniscus, a dislocated shoulder, an undrafted rookie forced into two starts — Minnesota cycled through quarterbacks out of necessity, not by design, and Jefferson’s production cratered as a result.

Early Signs of Chemistry

What’s happening now looks different. Murray finding Jefferson deep on a 35-yard post isn’t just a highlight — it’s the kind of rep that builds timing between a quarterback and his No. 1 target before the games start counting. CBS Sports noted that Murray appears to already understand the priority: get Jefferson the ball as often as possible.

That’s the swing factor for Minnesota’s offense heading into the season. Jefferson turns 27 this summer and remains one of the most talented receivers in the league regardless of what a down year did to his counting stats. If Murray stays healthy and the two keep building on what they started this week at TCO Performance Center in Eagan, the offense has a real chance to look like the one Minnesota fans remember from Jefferson’s best seasons — not the injury-riddled version from a year ago.

Murray’s own injury history is worth watching, too. He’s played a full 17-game season only once in the last four years, limited by a torn ACL in 2022 and a foot injury that cost him most of last season in Arizona. Durability, not talent, will likely decide how far this pairing goes.

J.J. McCarthy is no longer the Minnesota Vikings’ starting quarterback. Head coach Kevin O’Connell handed the job to Kyler Murray on Tuesday, ending a training camp competition that had shadowed the Vikings’ offseason since Minnesota signed the veteran in March.

ESPN NFL analyst Booger McFarland isn’t ready to close the book on McCarthy. Speaking on a recent segment of NFL on ESPN, McFarland argued the benching is a setback, not a verdict.

“I think if you’re JJ number one, this is just a setback. This is not the end of the story,” McFarland said. “I think we’ve seen several quarterbacks, like Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, and Geno Smith, that things didn’t always go well initially and now they’re starting quarterbacks in the National Football League.

Why the Vikings Made the Switch

The numbers tell part of the story. McCarthy started 10 games as a rookie starter in 2025, completing 57.6% of his passes for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, according to Eleven Warriors. He also missed his entire rookie season in 2024 with a torn meniscus, then lost time in 2025 to ankle and hand injuries.

Murray, the No. 1 overall pick in 2019, signed a one-year deal with Minnesota in March after Arizona released him. The Minnesota Star Tribune reported that Murray quickly grasped O’Connell’s offense during camp, showing an accuracy and poise that separated him from McCarthy in the competition. O’Connell announced the decision Tuesday, with the Vikings set to open the regular season at home against Green Bay on Sept. 13.

The pick puts Minnesota into unfamiliar territory. Per the Star Tribune, the Vikings will open the 2026 season with their fourth different starting quarterback in as many years — a run that includes Kirk Cousins, Josh Dobbs, Sam Darnold and now Murray.

McCarthy’s Response

McCarthy did not push back publicly. Speaking to reporters this week, he called the benching a “speed bump” and said Minnesota remains “the place I want to be,” per the Star Tribune. “I love every single person in this building. I love the state. I love the fanbase,” he added.

McCarthy is only 23 and has made just 10 career starts. He’s under contract with the Vikings through the 2028 season, which limits his trade value even if Minnesota wanted to move on. ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reported that O’Connell told McCarthy he’s “holding the pen on his story” and that the team plans to support his development, according to Larry Brown Sports.

The McFarland Comparison

McFarland’s argument leans on precedent. Mayfield bounced between four teams before locking down the job in Tampa Bay. Darnold struggled for years with the Jets and Panthers before resurrecting his career in Minnesota in 2024. Smith spent most of a decade as a backup before winning the starting job in Seattle. All three are examples McFarland has pointed to as proof that a rocky start doesn’t define a quarterback’s career.

McFarland also floated a numbers-based case for opportunity. “The number was like 64 or 65 quarterbacks played last year, so the likelihood of him playing this season is really high,” he said, framing McCarthy’s path back to the field as more a matter of when than if. That’s speculation on McFarland’s part, not a guarantee — Murray, barring injury or a significant slump, is Minnesota’s Week 1 starter.

What’s Next

McCarthy gets his first game action of the summer Saturday when the Vikings open the preseason at the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium, with kickoff set for noon CT. It’s a low-stakes setting, but one McCarthy said he’s “extremely excited” for, according to NBC Sports.

For now, McCarthy’s path back to a starting job runs through backup snaps, practice reps and whatever opportunity Murray’s health or performance might eventually open up. Whether that happens in Minnesota or somewhere else remains unclear.

Bo Nix won’t play when the Denver Broncos open their preseason slate against the Atlanta Falcons on Friday, but the plan is for the third-year quarterback to be back on the field for Denver’s final two exhibition games. Head coach Sean Payton confirmed the decision Wednesday, and it lines up with what Nix has been saying all camp: the ankle isn’t holding him back anymore.

The move is about location as much as caution. According to Yahoo Sports, Nix will travel with the team to Atlanta but stay on the sideline at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which has an artificial turf surface. His preseason debut instead comes at Empower Field at Mile High, on natural grass, when Denver hosts the Green Bay Packers on Aug. 21. He’s also expected to see action the following week against the Minnesota Vikings.

Jarrett Stidham and Sam Ehlinger will split reps at quarterback Friday night against Atlanta.

What the Ankle Injury Actually Was

Nix fractured his right ankle on the second-to-last play of overtime in Denver’s 33-30 divisional-round win over the Buffalo Bills in January, an injury that knocked him out for the rest of the playoffs. Backup Jarrett Stidham started the AFC Championship Game in his place, and the Broncos fell to the New England Patriots, 10-7, at home. New England went on to lose Super Bowl LX to Seattle.

Nix had surgery to repair the fracture shortly after the injury, then needed a second procedure in April to clean up bone spurs in the same ankle. That second surgery limited him through much of the offseason program and cut into his reps at mandatory minicamp in June, ClutchPoints reports.

None of that has shown up at training camp. Nix has taken every practice rep since camp opened, matching last year’s workload, and coaches have not limited his mobility.

“I feel great,” Nix said, via NFL.com. “I feel normal. Nothing’s holding me back. I’m out there playing like I normally do and feel really good in my spot.” He added that he expects to run the ball as freely as ever: “Absolutely not,” Nix said when asked if the ankle would limit him. “I’m going to roll, and I’m going to be as athletic as I can be. It’s a strength of ours and we have to use our strengths.”

Engram Sees a Quarterback Still Climbing

Tight end Evan Engram, who caught 50 passes for 461 yards and a touchdown in his first season catching passes from Nix, has watched that same drive up close all offseason. Speaking to NFL Network, Engram made clear he thinks Nix is far from finished developing, ankle or no ankle.

“He’s constantly trying to improve,” Engram said. “He’s constantly wanting to be better. He’s only year three, but he’s very mature. He’s very smart, he just knows ball. He’s a gamer and obviously there’s a lot of things he wants to improve on, little details within his game, but his mindset alone is going to take him really far in this league.”

NFL Network posted video of the comments on X: “The sky’s the limit for him” — Evan Engram on his QB Bo Nix heading into his 3rd season —

"The sky's the limit for him" 👀@eazyengram on his QB Bo Nix heading into his 3rd season@MarcRoss | @OmarDRuiz | @Broncos pic.twitter.com/z2MWVrFoyh

— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) August 12, 2026

Engram closed with the same read a lot of people around the Broncos facility share right now: “You saw what he’s capable of last year, and I think the sky’s the limit for him, and he’s looking to improve on that for sure.”

The Case for Nix’s Ceiling — and Where He Still Has Work to Do

The record backs up the confidence. Denver has gone 25-11, including the playoffs, since Nix took over as the starter, a 69.4% win rate. The Broncos reached the postseason in each of his two seasons after missing it eight years running, won the AFC West outright in 2025, and finished that regular season 14-3 — the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

Nix has also put himself in rare statistical company. He’s just the third quarterback in NFL history to throw for at least 3,500 yards and 25 touchdowns in each of his first two seasons, joining Peyton Manning and Justin Herbert. Among the six first-round quarterbacks from the 2024 draft class, Nix leads the group in team wins, passing touchdowns, rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns.

That last row points to where the improvement Engram is talking about needs to show up. Nix completed just 44.1% of his throws that traveled 10 or more air yards last season and only 36.1% on throws of 20-plus air yards — numbers that explain why his completion percentage over expectation ranked in the bottom third of the league. Denver’s offense has leaned on Nix’s mobility and short-to-intermediate accuracy to manufacture points; stretching the field more consistently on deep balls is the next step if he wants to close the gap between “very good” and “elite.”

What’s Next: A Contract Decision Looms

Nix is entering the third season of his four-year rookie deal, with a club option for 2028 still in Denver’s back pocket. That gives the Broncos some runway, but the bigger question — whether Nix is worth a market-setting extension — will start to take shape based on how he performs, and stays healthy, in 2026. Nothing about a contract is close to official, and any numbers floated publicly should be read as speculation until Denver or Nix’s camp says otherwise.

Michael Penix Jr. is winning a smaller battle inside a bigger one. As the Atlanta Falcons sort out their starting quarterback job between Penix and Tua Tagovailoa, Penix has quietly cleaned up one of the rawer parts of his game: dropping back from under center.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski flagged the improvement himself.

“Very pleased in that area, specifically,” Stefanski said, crediting quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt and the work the players have put in.

Stefanski’s offense leans on under-center concepts to set up play-action, a wrinkle Penix rarely used in his first two Atlanta seasons, when he lived almost exclusively in shotgun and pistol formations.

The timing of that praise matters. Stefanski announced Wednesday that Tagovailoa will start Friday’s preseason opener against the Denver Broncos at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with Falcons starters expected to play roughly one series before giving way to Cooper Rush and undrafted rookie Jack Strand. Stefanski was careful to separate that decision from any Week 1 announcement.

“We’re not there to name a starter for Week 1,” he said. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

Penix remains sidelined from that opener. He’s still working back from the torn ACL he suffered in Week 11 of the 2025 season, and he isn’t yet cleared for 11-on-11 team reps, which has left Tagovailoa handling the bulk of first-team work in camp. Stefanski relayed one encouraging note on Penix’s knee:

doctors have called it “an amazing ACL” that “should never have any more knee problems for the rest of his career,” according to Stefanski’s comments relayed by ESPN.

Even limited to 7-on-7 work, Penix has flashed the arm talent that made him the eighth overall pick in 2024. During a recent practice, he threaded a 25-yard sideline strike to tight end Kyle Pitts into a tight window, the kind of throw that keeps his name in the Week 1 conversation even while he watches team drills from the side.

Falcons quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt has been the connective tissue in both quarterbacks’ development. On the under-center work specifically, Van Pelt told Falcons.com that getting both quarterbacks comfortable there is a priority because it opens up the play-action passing game. He said Penix is picking it up well despite the limited reps, running daily drill work even though he can’t yet apply it against a full defense.

Tagovailoa arrives at Friday’s game further along physically than he was a few weeks ago. He missed the start of training camp with back tightness and has been ramping up workload gradually since. Van Pelt told SI’s Falcons site that the missed time set Tagovailoa back initially, but that he’s picked up the system’s play calls and protection adjustments in recent practices.

What Penix’s 2024 Preseason Debut Showed

Fans got an early look at Penix’s ceiling during his 2024 preseason debut, when he completed 9 of 16 passes for 104 yards. It was a small sample, but it hinted at the ball placement and arm strength that made him a first-round pick out of Washington.

Those numbers, reported by Sportscasting, show two very different profiles. Penix threw far fewer interceptions relative to his workload, while Tagovailoa’s larger sample includes the volume and touchdown production that made him a Pro Bowler in Miami before a rocky final season there.

Nothing about the Week 1 job is decided. Tagovailoa currently holds the edge simply because he’s healthy enough to take the reps that matter, but Stefanski and Van Pelt have both stopped short of naming him the starter. If Penix keeps refining his footwork and stacking throws like the one to Pitts once he’s cleared for full contact work, this competition could get considerably more interesting before the Falcons open their regular season September 13 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Kyle Shanahan hit the field for all of Tuesday’s joint practice against the Tennessee Titans, and he did it without the bulky black cast that’s covered his left hand since mid-July. In its place: a slimmer brace, a small but visible sign that the 49ers head coach’s recovery from a serious car accident is moving forward.

Shanahan crashed his Tesla into another vehicle in Palo Alto on July 14, an accident that left him with a concussion, a broken nose, three broken ribs, a broken left hand, and more than 40 stitches above his eye. He’s taken full responsibility for the crash, and last weekend he added a new detail: the car was on Autopilot at the time, and he’d taken his eyes off the road for a couple of seconds to reach for a phone that had slipped out of reach, according to NBC Sports. He hasn’t blamed the vehicle for what happened.

Assistant head coach Chris Foerster and the rest of San Francisco’s staff picked up Shanahan’s day-to-day duties in the early weeks of camp while he worked through concussion symptoms. Tuesday’s practice, held at the SAP Performance Facility in Santa Clara, marked a step back toward normal. Shanahan was out there the entire session, running the offense against Tennessee’s defense.

Purdy Carves Up the Titans

Whatever rust San Francisco’s offense might have been carrying, it didn’t show. Brock Purdy completed 21 of 27 passes during team drills, threw three touchdowns, and didn’t turn the ball over once. Two of those scores went to veteran receiver Demarcus Robinson. The third found tight end Luke Farrell.

The stat line, first reported by ESPN’s Nick Wagoner and relayed by 49ers Webzone, included a couple of standout throws — a ball threaded between three defenders to rookie receiver De’Zhaun Stribling that would’ve gone the distance, and a layered pass over linebacker Cody Barton to tight end Jake Tonges for a big gain.

Shanahan, never one for hollow praise, kept his postgame assessment simple. “Brock’s a really good player, so I expect him to have good plays,” he said. “I notice all the bad plays, and I didn’t notice many bad plays today, so I think he had a hell of a day.”

Purdy’s role has shifted some with Shanahan working his way back. NBC Sports Bay Area reported that Purdy has taken on more of a vocal leadership role in practice as he heads into his fifth NFL season, filling gaps when the offense’s pace starts to slip.

“Somewhat Embarrassing”

Shanahan isn’t the type to dwell on his own health in front of a microphone. But when reporters asked for an update after Tuesday’s practice, he gave a rare, unguarded answer, according to a transcript provided by the team’s communications staff.

“Evaluating my health is somewhat embarrassing, and I think getting old to everybody. So don’t take it personal — I’m trying not to anymore. I was messed up, and I’m getting a lot better.”

It’s a small window into a coach who’s spent nearly two decades in NFL locker rooms avoiding exactly this kind of vulnerability. He’s previously described lingering headaches and fatigue as the main symptoms still hanging around from the concussion, but said his ribs and overall condition have improved significantly since the crash.

What Comes Next

San Francisco and Tennessee meet again Thursday night at Levi’s Stadium for both teams’ preseason opener, though most of the 49ers’ starters — including Purdy — are expected to sit or see limited snaps, with backups getting the bulk of the work. Shanahan has said he intends to coach the game himself, continuing the same gradual return to full duty he’s followed since training camp opened.

For a 49ers team with Super Bowl aspirations, getting its head coach back in his usual spot — calling plays, teaching, watching the tape late into the night — matters more than any single practice period. Tuesday’s session, cast-free and mistake-free from Purdy, was a step in that direction.

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. hasn’t stopped rooting for his old Colorado quarterback. As Shedeur Sanders fights for the Cleveland Browns’ starting job, Horn made it clear where his allegiance lies — even while keeping his own focus locked on Carolina’s season.

Asked directly whether he thought Sanders would win the Browns’ quarterback competition, Horn didn’t dodge the question. He also didn’t lose sight of his own job.

“I pray my boy do win that competition,” Horn said. “Right now I’m worried about our season, what we got going on. But I pray my boy do win whatever they got going on.”

Polymarket Sports posted video of the exchange on X: “JUST IN: Jimmy Horn Jr. was asked if Shedeur Sanders was going to win the Browns’ quarterback competition” —

🚨JUST IN: Jimmy Horn Jr. was asked if Shedeur Sanders was going to win the Browns’ quarterback competition pic.twitter.com/eoBwSg5e7h

— Polymarket Sports (@PolymarketSport) August 12, 2026

Where the Browns’ QB Battle Actually Stands

Sanders isn’t just chasing a roster spot — he’s in a genuine two-man race with veteran Deshaun Watson. According to ClutchPoints, the Browns announced this week that Watson will start Saturday’s preseason opener against the Chicago Bears, with Sanders then getting his turn behind the first-team offense when Cleveland faces the Buffalo Bills on Aug. 22. Head coach Todd Monken has stressed the job is still undecided and said he’ll evaluate both quarterbacks week to week before naming a starter.

Watson, a three-time Pro Bowler, missed the entire 2025 season recovering from a torn Achilles. Sanders started seven games as a rookie last year, throwing for 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns. Whoever wins the job inherits an offense that has cycled through quarterbacks for the better part of a decade, so Cleveland isn’t rushing the call.

A Bond Built in Boulder

Horn and Sanders’ connection goes back to their days turning around the Colorado program under Deion Sanders. Their breakout moment together came in the 2024 season opener against North Dakota State, when Sanders threw for 445 yards and four touchdowns while Horn hauled in a career day of his own, racking up 198 receiving yards on a heavy target share.

Both players carried that chemistry into the pros, even if they landed on different rosters. Sanders slipped to Cleveland in the 2025 draft, and Horn went to Carolina in the same class. They’ve stayed close enough that Horn has referred to Sanders as his “brother,” and the two have made a point of connecting whenever their teams cross paths in the preseason.

Horn Is Building His Own Case in Carolina

While Horn keeps tabs on Cleveland, he’s got his own competition to win. As a rookie, he caught 11 passes for 108 yards across 14 regular-season games, modest volume for a player who entered the league with speed that turned heads in training camp.

He picked up where he left off in Carolina’s 2026 preseason opener, a 33-30 win over the Arizona Cardinals in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game. Horn led the Panthers in catches and receiving yards, finishing with four receptions for 44 yards on seven targets, including a 17-yard catch-and-run off a pass from undrafted quarterback Haynes King that saw him juke a defender in the open field, according to ESPN.

The Panthers have a crowded receiver room behind Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker, which makes every preseason snap matter for Horn as Carolina finalizes its roster.

What Comes Next

Sanders gets his showcase start against Buffalo on Aug. 22, the next real data point in a competition that Monken has said won’t be settled until the Browns see both quarterbacks operate behind the first team in live snaps. Horn, meanwhile, has three more preseason games to keep proving he belongs in Carolina’s rotation.

If Sanders does win the job, don’t expect Horn to stay quiet about it. The two have made it clear, on the field and off, that Boulder never really left them.

Vita Vea has not been traded. He also hasn’t backed off his contract stance. Three weeks after the two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle requested a trade from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the situation sits in the same uncomfortable spot: no extension, no deal, and no clear end in sight.

Vea’s agent, Collin Roberts, told ESPN in late July that talks on a new contract had stalled, prompting the trade request. Vea is entering the final year of the four-year, $71 million extension he signed in 2022, and none of the $17 million he’s owed this season is guaranteed — a detail that’s been central to the impasse. He responded by holding in during training camp rather than staging a full holdout, showing up but not fully participating while he waits for a resolution.

Where things actually stand

The Buccaneers have made no move to trade Vea, and recent signals point the other way. Over the weekend of August 1, the team unveiled a stadium mural at Raymond James featuring Vea alongside Mike Evans, Baker Mayfield and Antoine Winfield Jr. — a symbolic but pointed gesture that Yardbarker read as the front office signaling Vea remains part of its plans for 2026, trade request or not.

That doesn’t mean the standoff has softened. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler has reported that Vea is “very dug in” on his position and has “zero” intention of playing this season without a new deal — putting the pressure back on Tampa Bay to either extend him or grant the trade, according to Yardbarker’s account of Fowler’s reporting. Vea’s agent was more blunt with the Tampa Bay Times, saying he doesn’t “see it ending in anything but a trade at this point,” per Yahoo Sports.

There have been smaller, more human moments in between the hard positioning. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and analyst Maurice Jones-Drew discussed the Mayfield and Vea situations on “Good Morning Football” this week, with Jones-Drew characterizing Vea as engaged with his teammates and the defensive line room even amid the uncertainty, according to NFL Network. Separately, after a Buccaneers-Jets joint practice, a report from JoeBucsFan.com noted Vea was seen talking with Jones-Drew on the sideline before posting a shrug-emoji reaction on X to pass-rush data comparing him with recently paid defensive tackles like Jeffery Simmons and Dexter Lawrence — a small, pointed signal about where he thinks he stands in the market.

Why the money gap is the real story

This isn’t just posturing. The interior defensive line market has moved fast. Tennessee’s Jeffery Simmons landed a three-year extension worth $105.8 million, including $100 million guaranteed. Cincinnati’s Dexter Lawrence got a one-year, $28 million deal. Multiple outlets have noted that 14 defensive tackles now average at least $20 million a year, a group Vea has a reasonable case to join, according to Pro Football Rumors. Vea’s $17.75 million average annual value currently ranks 19th at the position.

Tampa Bay’s front office, meanwhile, has been dealing with a second contract situation at the same time. Quarterback Baker Mayfield rejected the Buccaneers’ extension offers ahead of his own self-imposed camp deadline and will play out the final year of his deal. Pro Football Rumors reports the team pushed harder to get a Mayfield deal done than a Vea one — which may explain why Vea’s camp felt sidelined enough to request a trade in the first place.

What comes next

Nobody outside the building knows exactly how this resolves. Trade requests during camp are common leverage plays, and plenty of them don’t end in an actual trade — but Vea’s camp has made clear this one isn’t just theater. If Tampa Bay wants to keep its anchor on the interior line without a deal, it risks him sitting out regular-season snaps once the games start to matter. If it trades him, a defense that leaned heavily on his ability to eat double teams gets noticeably lighter up front.

For now, both sides remain where they’ve been for weeks: talking, not agreeing, and watching the calendar tick toward Week 1.

Ja’Marr Chase has spent five NFL seasons piling up receptions, yards and touchdowns at a pace few receivers ever have. But when Kay Adams asked him what still drives him, Chase didn’t point to a stat line of his own. He pointed to Mike Evans and his 1,000-yard receiving streak.

The Cincinnati Bengals star sat down with Adams for an interview posted to X, and the conversation turned to milestones. Adams asked what benchmarks still matter to Chase this deep into his career. His answer was simple: doing it again, and again, every single year.

“I think a thousand matters,” Chase said. “It’s still something you want to consistently have each year because Mike Evans is the new inspiration for all the older and younger guys. He’s been at, what, 11 years straight with 1,000 yards? That’s the hardest thing to do is that consistency.”

Evans Set the Bar Chase Is Chasing

Evans put together 11 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons across his first 11 years in the league, a run ClutchPoints notes ties him with Jerry Rice for the most in NFL history. A broken collarbone limited him to eight games in 2025 and finally snapped the streak, but not before he’d already rewritten what durability and production look like at the position.

He left Tampa Bay as the Buccaneers’ all-time leading receiver, with 13,052 yards and 108 touchdown catches over 12 seasons, and signed a three-year, $60.4 million deal with the San Francisco 49ers in March. Evans now steps into a 49ers receiver room that spent most of last year in the training room instead of the end zone, and Chase’s read on that situation cuts to the heart of what makes the streak so remarkable in the first place: receiver production is supposed to be tied to whoever’s throwing the ball, and Evans just refused to let that be true, year after year.

Chase Already Has a Head Start

Chase has cleared 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first five seasons, a stretch that includes a 2024 receiving Triple Crown and back-to-back years with 125-plus catches. He’s the only player in NFL history with at least 500 receptions and 50 receiving touchdowns through five seasons.

Getting anywhere near Evans’ number will take more than talent. It’ll take health. Evans’ streak survived four different starting quarterbacks in Tampa Bay before an injury, not a slump, finally ended it. Chase has the advantage of a fixed situation, playing his entire prime alongside Joe Burrow, but he’s also seen firsthand this past season how quickly a shoulder injury or a banged-up quarterback room can throw a receiver’s numbers off track.

That’s the part of Evans’ game Chase says he respects most: not just the peak, but the refusal to have an off year.

It ain’t an offseason without Jameis Winston delivering an all-time quote.

It happened Wednesday after the New York Giants practiced at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Giants had opened the first few weeks of training camp at The Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia before shifting operations back to their home facility.

Winston, barefoot, faced the media and broke down the Giants’ new-look coaching staff under first-year head coach John Harbaugh. When a reporter asked about the offensive installs, Winston reached for a very specific analogy — captured on video by the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy.

Ryan Dunleavy posted on X: “Jameis Winston said the offensive system install is ‘gumbo’ (A Thomas McGaughey favorite term)”

#Giants Jameis Winston said the offensive system install is ‘gumbo’

(A Thomas McGaughey favorite term) pic.twitter.com/fzNWXFNYsl

— Ryan Dunleavy (@rydunleavy) August 12, 2026

“It’s so exciting because we have so many different minds, right? We have five coordinators on offense, and I think that is a great example of the leadership that Coach Harbaugh has,” Winston said, according to a transcript published by the Giants’ official site. “He’s let his coaches build a system that is very unique to all of them. All of them are doing different things.”

Then came the line that will live on Giants Twitter for a while.

“Just listening to Drew Brees’ Hall of Fame speech, I can compare it to gumbo. There are so many good mixes in there. You got the old school. You got the new school. You got this melting pot of greatness. So it’s really fun.”

He must have been hungry after practice.

Why the Comparison Actually Fits

Winston isn’t exaggerating about the coaching depth. Harbaugh built an offensive staff loaded with former play-callers and head coaches: Matt Nagy runs the offense as coordinator, Brian Callahan — fired as Tennessee’s head coach last year — handles the passing game and works directly with quarterbacks, and Greg Roman, a four-time NFL offensive coordinator who worked under Harbaugh in Baltimore, serves as senior offensive assistant. Mike Bloomgren and Willie Taggart, both former college head coaches, round out a room that has more college and NFL head-coaching experience than most position groups in the league.

That’s the “gumbo” — different coaching philosophies, different eras of football, all stirred into one offense. It’s also, by Winston’s own account, a running joke inside the building: he credited the phrase to Giants special teams coordinator Chris Horton’s staff-favorite term for describing the mixed system.

Perhaps it’s worth noting that Winston, 32, spent four seasons with the New Orleans Saints, so he knows exactly what a gumbo is.

Winston’s Role Heading Into 2026

Winston, now in his second season with the Giants, is set to back up 2025 first-round pick Jaxson Dart. He signed a two-year, $8 million deal with New York in March 2025, a contract that initially looked like an afterthought after the club also added Russell Wilson and drafted Dart — but Winston ended up seeing the field anyway.

In three appearances last season, Winston completed 37 of 66 passes for 567 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, according to RotoWire. He made two starts in place of an injured Dart, going 0-2, including an overtime loss to the Detroit Lions in which he threw for two touchdowns and added a 33-yard receiving score on a trick play.

He’s seen limited opportunity in recent years, but Winston has carved out a role as a locker-room presence — someone teammates and coaches point to for energy and leadership, gumbo metaphors included.

PHILADELPHIA — Every training camp has a surprise. For the Eagles in 2026, it isn’t a highlight-reel interception or a quarterback controversy. It’s a 5-foot-11 undrafted receiver from Tarleton State who keeps getting open.

Darius Cooper, who made Philadelphia’s roster last year as a UDFA out of a small Texas program, has spent the past two weeks of camp doing something more valuable than trending on social media: earning first-team reps and holding onto them. With DeVonta Smith and rookie Makai Lemon both sidelined by hamstring injuries, Cooper has taken advantage of every extra rep, and Jalen Hurts has noticed.

“I think he’s pretty good already. And I think he’s going to continue to grow,” Hurts told reporters this week. “He’s always been really good at the deep ball from his time back in small college Texas ball. And he’s got a hunger, and he’s got a diligence about himself.”

A Camp Full of Traffic, and Cooper Keeps Winning It

The Eagles’ wide receiver room looks nothing like it did a year ago. Philadelphia traded star receiver A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots on June 1, a deal confirmed by ESPN and officially announced by the team, sending Brown to New England for a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder. In his place, general manager Howie Roseman rebuilt the room from the ground up — trading up in the first round for USC’s Makai Lemon, acquiring Dontayvion Wicks, and signing Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore in free agency.

That leaves DeVonta Smith as the only receiver with a locked-in role heading into Week 1. Everyone else is competing, and this summer, Cooper has separated himself from that pack on pure performance. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Cooper opened camp with a diving catch on the first practice, dragged in a one-handed grab in the end zone days later, and has continued stacking good reps since — including a rep where he beat All-Pro cornerback Quinyon Mitchell for a contested catch, per NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Monday’s practice at the Jefferson Health Training Complex may have been his best yet. Cooper broke ahead of two defensive backs and climbed for a Hurts loft over both their heads, according to PhillyVoice, working against top competition like Riq Woolen and Cooper DeJean and coming away with consistent completions.

CBS Philadelphia captured some of that work on video, noting that with Smith and Lemon both out with hamstring issues, Cooper has been taking full advantage of his practice time:

Why the Production Gap Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story

Skeptics will point to Cooper’s numbers from 2025 — nine catches on 11 targets across 212 offensive snaps, a modest workload after he missed time on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. But that stat line reflects a receiver who barely got on the field behind an established veteran corps, not a ceiling.

The number that actually matters is 121 — Brown’s target share in Philadelphia’s offense last season. Somebody in this receiver room inherits a chunk of that volume, and new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion doesn’t appear tied to a strict pecking order. With Smith capable of playing anywhere from the slot to the boundary, Mannion has the flexibility to move Hollywood Brown into space for field-flipping plays, deploy big-bodied targets like Johnny Wilson or rookie tight end Eli Stowers in the red zone, or simply reward whoever is producing in August with real snaps in September.

That’s the door Cooper is walking through. He isn’t just making disciplined route adjustments — he’s shown a physical, contested-catch skill set that some worried the offense would lack once Brown left town.

Eagles Receiver Room by the Numbers

What Comes Next

Philadelphia opens its preseason slate against the Baltimore Ravens, and while starters typically see limited action in exhibition games, it’s a real chance for Cooper to add to the tape he’s already building. Nothing is decided. Smith and Lemon are expected back once their hamstrings clear, and Wicks and Hollywood Brown remain part of the equation. But roster construction rewards production, and if Cooper keeps making contested catches through August, the coaching staff will have a hard time keeping him off the field come September — especially with the quarterback already in his corner.

The New England Patriots have too many good wide receivers, and that’s precisely the problem. As training camp rolls toward the preseason opener, Kayshon Boutte trade rumors continue to swirl around a receiver room that coach Mike Vrabel now calls seven deep. Yet according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, the coaching staff isn’t ready to let Boutte go anywhere.

“The Patriots have seven receivers that could be on this roster,” Reiss said on The Pat McAfee Show. “They’re telling me that Kayshon Boutte is gonna be a big part of what they do. That could become a challenge if another team comes calling.” Pat McAfee posted video of the exchange on X on August 12, 2026

"The Patriots have seven receivers that could be on this roster..

They're telling me that Kayshon Boutte is gonna be a big part of what they do..

That could become a challenge if another team comes calling" ~ @MikeReiss #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/qt8Flwok2j

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 12, 2026

That’s the tension defining Boutte’s summer. He’s productive, well-liked in the building, and reportedly wants to stay involved. But the math at his position doesn’t leave much room, and it hasn’t for months.

How New England Got So Crowded at Receiver

The Patriots gutted and rebuilt their receiving corps this offseason. New England landed A.J. Brown in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles and signed Romeo Doubs to a multiyear free-agent deal, instantly transforming what had been one of the league’s thinnest receiver rooms into one of its deepest. Stefon Diggs, who became the team’s first 1,000-yard receiver in six years in 2025, is gone. Brown and Doubs now sit atop the depth chart as Drake Maye’s top two targets.

That left Boutte, DeMario “Pop” Douglas, Mack Hollins, second-year wideout Kyle Williams and Efton Chism III fighting for what’s left. Reiss has written that seven training camp practices in, the receiver group’s depth was already the Patriots’ most compelling storyline of camp, with 2007 — the Randy Moss and Wes Welker era — the closest historical comparison for volume at the position.

Boutte’s Case for Staying

Boutte didn’t need a huge target share to make an impact in 2025. He caught 33 of his 46 targets across 14 games for 551 yards and six touchdowns — a career high in scores — while averaging 16.7 yards per catch, a figure that ranked among the league’s best for qualified receivers. Coming out of a sixth-round slot in the 2023 draft, he’s turned into exactly the kind of downfield weapon offenses covet.

Vrabel has been effusive about him early in camp. “He’s very professional, ready to go, knows what to do and takes advantage of his opportunities,” the coach said, via the Boston Globe’s coverage of a July practice. “It’s been great to see him show up and be productive early in camp, just as he was last year.” The Boston Globe reported separately that Boutte has looked like New England’s most impactful player through the opening weeks of camp, hauling in a string of deep balls from Maye.

Why a Trade Still Isn’t Off the Table

Here’s the roster math that keeps the rumors alive. Boutte is entering the final year of his rookie contract, playing on a non-guaranteed salary in the mid-single-digit millions. Teams typically keep five or six receivers on their 53-man roster, not seven. Something usually gives.

According to MassLive’s Karen Guregian, Boutte requested a trade as far back as April after watching the Patriots add Brown and Doubs, though the team reportedly hasn’t landed an offer it considers worthwhile. NFL insider Albert Breer has said Boutte could have been had for a fifth-round pick around the 2026 draft, but no team made that move. Boutte has since stayed with the team through camp and has repeatedly declined to close the door on either outcome. “It’s whatever’s best for me,” he told reporters last week, per Audacy’s Meghan Ottolini and the Boston Globe’s Nicole Yang. “Whether it’s here or somewhere else, I got to do what’s best for me.”

The dynamic puts real pressure on New England either to trade Boutte for something in return or risk losing him for nothing via a late-camp cut. As Heavy Sports has pointed out, the Patriots do technically have the roster flexibility to carry seven wideouts if they choose — it’s just rare across the league, and it doesn’t come without a cost elsewhere on the depth chart.

What Happens Next

New England opens the preseason at home against the Indianapolis Colts on Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium, giving Boutte and the rest of the receiver group one more nationally visible chance to make their case — both to the Patriots’ staff and to the 31 other teams watching film. “Really all 32 teams are watching,” Boutte said recently. “Not just the team you play for.”

Nothing suggests a deal is imminent. Reiss’s comments this week point the other way — toward a team that values Boutte and would rather find a way to keep him productive than simply cash him in for draft capital. But the roster crunch is real, and it isn’t going away before final cuts. If a receiver-needy team makes an offer New England can’t refuse, the calculus could change fast.

President Donald Trump picked his three NFL teams to watch for the 2026 season, and he couldn’t help but single out one quarterback by name. Speaking with ESPN’s Laura Rutledge at the 2026 Patriot Games at SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio, Trump named the New England Patriots, New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams when asked which teams he’s got his eye on heading into the year.

“Maybe I’ll pick a few,” Trump said, according to Yahoo Sports. “I think New England looks good. The Giants, I like their quarterback a lot. They say the LA Rams are looking very strong.”

New York Post Sports posted video of the exchange on X, recapping Trump’s picks for its own audience. “President Donald Trump named his top 3 NFL teams this year. The Patriots, Giants and Rams were the ones mentioned.”

"We'll see how it turns out, I'll be watching."

President Donald Trump named his top 3 NFL teams this year. The Patriots, Giants and Rams were the ones mentioned. pic.twitter.com/S6uoK8V5s2

— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) August 12, 2026

Trump then pulled back a little, aware of how these things tend to look. “But I better not get into this too much. I’m going to get myself in trouble if I do,” he said. He closed with a broader compliment to the league: “I think you have a lot of good teams, a lot of great teams, and we’ll see how it turns out. I’ll be watching.”

Why These Three Teams

The picks aren’t random. Yahoo Sports notes the Patriots reached Super Bowl LX last season under quarterback Drake Maye, who finished as runner-up for NFL MVP. New England has since added receiver depth, agreeing to a trade with Philadelphia for veteran wideout A.J. Brown and signing Romeo Doubs in free agency, giving Maye more weapons entering his third year.

The Rams enter the year as one of the league’s Super Bowl favorites after falling one win short of the big game last season. Los Angeles made the biggest move of the offseason in June, acquiring two-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett from Cleveland in a deal that sent Jared Verse and draft compensation back to the Browns, according to ESPN. It marked the first time since 1997 that a reigning Defensive Player of the Year switched teams the following offseason. The Rams also traded for cornerback Trent McDuffie and signed Jaylen Watson, building around quarterback Matthew Stafford and head coach Sean McVay.

The Giants pick is the one raising eyebrows. New York is coming off a difficult stretch and enters the season under new head coach John Harbaugh, but Trump’s affection for rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart isn’t new. In May, Dart introduced Trump at a political rally in Suffern, New York, leading the crowd in a “Go Big Blue” chant before bringing the president to the stage, according to Fox News. The moment briefly stirred tension in the Giants locker room after teammate Abdul Carter voiced frustration on social media, calling the situation “AI” before the two players said they’d talked it out and were “good.” The team held a meeting to address the fallout, and both players moved forward publicly.

Fan Reaction

The comments made the rounds online, with some fans questioning the Giants inclusion given the team’s recent struggles. Others read Trump’s list as politically savvy more than football-savvy. “You have to hand it to this guy for checking the boxes,” one fan wrote, per Yahoo Sports, pointing to the Patriots nod toward owner Robert Kraft, the Giants nod toward the New York crowd, and the Rams pick as a legitimate football take.

A Busy Year of Sports Appearances

Trump’s NFL comments add to a packed year of sports appearances. In June, he attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden as the New York Knicks hosted the San Antonio Spurs, an appearance that came with heavy security measures, including a shutdown of the outside watch party by the NYPD and Secret Service. He was met with boos from the crowd before tip-off, and some Knicks fans blamed his presence for snapping the team’s 13-game winning streak, the only loss New York suffered during that Finals run.

Later that month, Trump hosted a UFC event on the White House South Lawn on June 14, which coincided with his 80th birthday. In July, he attended the FIFA World Cup Final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where he had a viral moment during the trophy ceremony as Spain celebrated its win over Argentina.

Joe Burrow already owns the highest career completion percentage in NFL history. He’s still not satisfied with how the ball comes out of his hand.

The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback told Kay Adams during an August 11 appearance on the Up & Adams show that his throwing motion is the specific thing he’s obsessing over in training camp this summer.

“Just trying to perfect the throwing motion at this point,” Burrow said. “I’m always thinking about ways to be more efficient, spin the ball, throw the ball, put it where I want.”

Up & Adams posted video of the exchange on X: “Joe Burrow, the NFL’s ALL-TIME completion percentage leader is working on… HIS THROWING MOTION?!”

Joe Burrow, the NFL's ALL-TIME completion percentage leader is working on… HIS THROWING MOTION?! 🤣@Bengals | @JoeyB | @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/H3sh9layru

— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) August 12, 2026

It’s a strange thing to hear from a guy who completes passes at a 68.5 percent career clip, the best mark any quarterback has ever posted. But that’s the point. Burrow has talked before about reworking his mechanics from the ground up rather than treating them as fixed. During Netflix’s “Quarterback” series, he told a former high school coach he’d changed his motion “in every possible way” since his prep days. This isn’t a new hobby. It’s a running project he keeps coming back to.

A healthy Burrow chasing his 2024 form

The tinkering comes as Burrow tries to put a frustrating 2025 fully behind him. He suffered a turf toe injury in Week 2 against Jacksonville that required surgery and cost him nine games. When he returned on Thanksgiving night in Baltimore, he needed time to find his rhythm again, but by December he looked like himself. He threw four touchdown passes in a Week 14 win at Buffalo, then followed it with a 309-yard, four-touchdown, zero-interception performance against Miami that produced a 146.5 passer rating, the second-best mark of his career.

Cincinnati’s season ended with a 20-18 loss to Cleveland in Week 18, a game defined more by the defense’s struggles than anything Burrow did wrong. He threw touchdown passes to Chase Brown and Ja’Marr Chase, including the go-ahead score to Chase with 1:29 left, but the Browns answered with a game-winning field goal as time expired. The Bengals finished 6-11 and missed the playoffs for a third straight year.

Even in a season cut short, Burrow’s efficiency barely wavered. He completed 173 of 259 passes for 1,809 yards, 17 touchdowns and five interceptions across eight starts, good for a 100.7 passer rating.

That 2024 season is the standard Burrow is chasing again. He led the NFL that year with 4,918 passing yards and 43 touchdown passes, arguably the best statistical stretch of his career. A cleaner, more efficient release is, in his own words, part of how he thinks he gets back there.

Why the mechanics tweak matters for Cincinnati

Small changes in a quarterback’s release can shave fractions of a second off throws to tightly contested windows, which matters against the press coverage and disguised blitzes Burrow will see in the AFC North. Cincinnati overhauled its defense this offseason, most notably by trading for Dexter Lawrence, and the front office is clearly betting that better roster balance plus a locked-in Burrow gets them back into the playoff picture. A quarterback still hunting for extra efficiency at his level is a small detail, but it fits a bigger pattern: Burrow treating a Pro Bowl résumé as a floor, not a ceiling.

Burrow is slated to make his first game appearance since January when the Bengals open the preseason, giving an early look at whether the mechanical work is translating onto the field.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are getting the band back together in the middle of their defense. Linebacker Elandon Roberts has agreed to a one-year deal to return to Pittsburgh, according to ESPN, with his agent Drew Rosenhaus announcing the agreement Wednesday.

Roberts spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons in Pittsburgh before leaving for the Las Vegas Raiders last spring. Now he’s headed back to Acrisure Stadium at age 32, and this time he’s bringing a familiar coach with him.

Why the Fit Makes Sense

Roberts isn’t walking into a brand-new system. Patrick Graham, who ran the Raiders’ defense in 2025, took over as Pittsburgh’s defensive coordinator this offseason. Roberts played for Graham last year in Las Vegas, so there’s no learning curve here — just a linebacker slotting back into a scheme he already knows, under a coach who already trusts him.

That connection reportedly helped push this reunion along. According to Behind the Steel Curtain, Roberts started all but one game for Las Vegas in 2025 while working directly under Graham. Terms of the new contract haven’t been made public. Steelers Depot reports the deal is expected to come cheap, though nothing is confirmed on the financial details yet.

It’s not just the coaches who wanted him back. Steelers long snapper Christian Kuntz publicly lobbied for a reunion back in February, telling his podcast Roberts was “one of the best teammates I’ve had in my career” and joking that if he ever needed backup in a fight, “I’m calling E-Rob.” Kuntz got his wish.

What Roberts Brings to the Middle

Roberts doesn’t sneak up on anybody. He’s a downhill, physical run-stopper — the kind of linebacker who fills gaps and finishes tackles rather than making highlight-reel plays in space. That style traveled well to Las Vegas. He played all 17 games for the Raiders in 2025, started 16 of them, and worked 58 percent of the defensive snaps, per CBS Sports.

His numbers backed up the tape. Roberts finished with 90 total tackles, six tackles for loss, one pass defensed and a fumble recovery. He also had the best single game of his ten-year career last October, logging 18 tackles against the Kansas City Chiefs on 92.6 percent of Las Vegas’ defensive snaps.

Pittsburgh already knows what a healthy, featured version of Roberts looks like. In his first year with the Steelers back in 2023, he led the team with 101 tackles, added 2.5 sacks and two passes defended. His role shrank in 2024 as Payton Wilson emerged as a rookie, and his production dipped to 46 tackles, five tackles for loss, one sack and a forced fumble on a reduced 44 percent snap share. Across his two Pittsburgh seasons combined, Roberts totaled 147 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks over 33 games (29 starts), according to Behind the Steel Curtain.

Where He Fits on the Depth Chart

Roberts returns to a linebacker room that already has answers at the top. Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson currently project as Pittsburgh’s starting duo at inside linebacker, and neither job is up for grabs. What Roberts adds is exactly what he’s provided everywhere he’s played: proven depth, veteran leadership, and a player Mike Tomlin has previously called a “tooth-chipper” for how physically he plays the position.

For his career, Roberts has recorded 694 tackles, 14.5 sacks and five forced fumbles across 157 games and 121 starts, dating back to when the Patriots drafted him in the sixth round in 2016. He won two Super Bowls in New England before stops in Miami, Pittsburgh, and Las Vegas.

What It Means Going Forward

This isn’t a splashy move, and it’s not supposed to be. Linebacker depth wins games in December and January, when the AFC North turns into a rock fight and starters start missing practice time. Adding a player who already knows Graham’s defense, already knows the locker room, and has never missed significant time due to injury gives Pittsburgh insurance without disrupting the pecking order at the position.

If Queen or Wilson goes down, or simply needs a breather in a physical divisional stretch, the Steelers now have a linebacker who can step in and not change what the defense is trying to do. That continuity is the whole point of the reunion.

Roman Wilson is doing something he couldn’t do in his first two NFL seasons: making the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback talk about him unprompted.

Wilson, a third-round pick out of Michigan in 2024, spent his rookie and sophomore years buried on the depth chart and battling injuries. He finished the 2025 season with just 12 catches for 166 yards and two touchdowns, numbers that fell well short of what Pittsburgh hoped for when it drafted him. Three weeks into 2026 training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, that version of Wilson is nowhere to be found.

Rodgers keeps talking about him

Aaron Rodgers isn’t in the habit of handing out empty praise. This week, ahead of Pittsburgh’s first preseason game, the quarterback said Wilson “looks to be more dynamic,” according to comments relayed by Mike DeFabo of The Athletic. Rodgers added that Wilson is “making plays” and growing more confident, even joking around more in the locker room.

Rodgers has said similar things throughout camp. Earlier this month he told reporters he expects Wilson to “start to make some splash plays,” pointing to a strong showing from Wilson back in the spring as a sign of things to come.

That’s a notable shift in tone. Last summer, Rodgers was still coaching Wilson through mental blocks rather than praising his play, at one point saying he needed to get the young receiver “out of his own head.” A year later, the conversation has moved from potential to production.

New coaching staff, new opportunity

Pittsburgh hired Mike McCarthy as head coach this offseason, and the staff overhaul reached the receiver room too. Adam Henry, who spent three seasons developing Khalil Shakir into a 1,500-yard target with the Buffalo Bills, took over as Pittsburgh’s receivers coach. According to Steelers Depot, McCarthy has praised Henry’s early work with the position group, specifically noting how Wilson has been “one of the most impressive players at camp” under his tutelage.

The Steelers also loaded up around Wilson this offseason. They traded for Michael Pittman Jr. to pair with DK Metcalf, giving Rodgers two established outside targets. That left a genuine question mark at slot receiver, one Wilson is now answering. Pittsburgh’s first official training camp depth chart listed Wilson as the starting slot receiver, ahead of second-round rookie Germie Bernard.

McCarthy has even floated using Wilson more broadly than that. Per Last Word on Sports, the head coach said he wants to work Wilson outside as well, pointing to his vertical speed as a fit for what McCarthy calls “the Autobahn” on the perimeter. Wilson, McCarthy said, can now line up at X, Z, and F.

What changed

The biggest difference from a year ago isn’t scheme. It’s chemistry. Wilson caught just 12 of 21 targets from Rodgers last season, a 57.1 percent catch rate, per Pro Football Reference figures cited by Still Curtain. The two rarely looked in sync. This camp, that has flipped — Still Curtain reports Wilson now has plays specifically designed to go to him as Rodgers’ first read, something that wasn’t happening in 2025.

The competition isn’t over

None of this locks in Wilson’s role. Bernard, Pittsburgh’s second-round pick out of Alabama, remains a real threat to that slot job, and multiple outlets have framed the two as locked in a genuine competition. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted Wilson knows he’s facing “stiff competition” from Bernard for the starting job, even as he’s shown he belongs in that conversation.

There’s also a track record working against overconfidence here. Wilson has had strong camp buzz before that didn’t translate to the regular season — his rookie summer included praise from Rodgers, too, before injuries and inconsistency buried him on the depth chart. As one Steelers Nation piece put it, talent was never really the question with Wilson. Turning camp flashes into reliable, in-game production when Rodgers needs him is the part he hasn’t proven yet.

What it means for Pittsburgh’s offense

If Wilson holds the job, the Steelers get a three-receiver group with genuinely different skill sets. Metcalf threatens defenses vertically on the outside. Pittman wins with size and physicality on intermediate routes. Wilson, working from the slot, brings the quickness to attack the middle of the field — exactly the sort of matchup problem McCarthy’s offense, which is expected to lean more heavily on three-receiver personnel, is built to create.

Nothing is decided yet. The preseason will be the real test, and Bernard hasn’t gone away. But for a player who entered his third season with his roster spot anything but guaranteed, Roman Wilson has turned training camp into the best stretch of his NFL career so far — and given Pittsburgh’s coaching staff a real reason to build around him.

The Carolina Panthers are adding a familiar name to their tight end room. Carolina has agreed to terms with veteran tight end Darren Waller on a one-year contract, the team’s latest move to bolster its passing attack ahead of the 2026 season.

According to Yahoo Sports, citing ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Waller has agreed to terms on the deal. Financial specifics have not been disclosed. The team has not yet made the signing official — per Panthers.com, a corresponding roster move still needs to be made before the deal can be finalized.

Waller is expected to join the roster ahead of Carolina’s second preseason game this Saturday.

What Waller Brings to Carolina

Waller, 33, spent the 2025 season with the Miami Dolphins after coming out of retirement. He appeared in nine games, catching 24 passes for 283 yards and six touchdowns — numbers that made him a legitimate red-zone weapon even in limited action. According to NBC Sports, a groin injury ended his season before Miami’s Week 18 game, and he’d also missed time earlier in the year with a pectoral injury.

His best football came years earlier. A sixth-round pick out of Georgia Tech by the Baltimore Ravens in 2015, Waller broke out with the Las Vegas Raiders, posting back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2019 and 2020 and earning a Pro Bowl nod. Las Vegas rewarded him with a three-year, $51 million extension in 2022, but traded him to the New York Giants the following year. He played one season in New York, then retired.

He didn’t stay retired long. Waller un-retired in 2024 when the Dolphins traded a sixth-round pick to the Giants to acquire his rights, according to ESPN. He told people close to him he simply missed football.

Fills a Need at Tight End

The move addresses a spot fans and analysts have flagged all offseason. Carolina entered Wednesday with roughly $8.5 million in cap space — among the tightest situations in the league, according to Pro Football Rumors — but still found room for a low-cost, low-risk addition at the position.

Reports differ slightly on the exact tight end depth chart Waller is walking into, but Tommy Tremble and Ja’Tavion Sanders have been the primary names throughout camp, with Mitchell Evans, James Mitchell and Caden Prieskorn also in the mix. That group combined for just three touchdowns at the position in 2025, a number Waller’s red-zone production should immediately threaten to improve.

Quarterback Bryce Young gains a bigger-bodied target over the middle, something the offense has lacked. Waller isn’t likely to be a volume target — his role probably looks closer to what he did in Miami, a situational red-zone weapon rather than a full-time starter — but for a team that made a surprise playoff run a year ago, marginal additions like this one matter.

Coming Off a Playoff Run

Carolina went 8-9 last season but still claimed the NFC South title and made the playoffs for the first time since 2017. The Panthers pulled off one of the season’s bigger upsets in Week 13, beating the Los Angeles Rams 31-28 at Bank of America Stadium. The two teams met again in the Wild Card round, where Carolina’s season ended in a 34-31 loss, according to the team’s official 2025 season record.

Waller’s addition comes as the Panthers try to build on that surprise run, with a defense bolstered by offseason free-agent additions and a coaching staff looking for more consistency out of the passing game in year two under Dave Canales and Dan Morgan.

Geno Smith’s return to the New York Jets hit a rough patch this week. In Tuesday’s joint practice against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the veteran quarterback threw two interceptions — one returned for a touchdown — as New York’s first-team offense struggled to find rhythm under new coordinator Frank Reich.

The Jets had been building momentum through the first stretch of training camp. That changed once Tampa Bay’s defense showed up. According to ESPN, the first-team offense struggled in Tuesday’s session, with Smith intercepted twice and the unit trending downward after an encouraging start to camp.

It wasn’t just the picks. Running back Breece Hall put it bluntly after the Bucs controlled the line of scrimmage: “They beat us up a little today,” he said, per ESPN.

Day two looked different. Smith was sharper in Wednesday’s session, and the offense found some rhythm in red-zone work, connecting on touchdowns to tight end Mason Taylor and receiver Garrett Wilson. Smith described the two days as a step forward despite the rough start. “I thought we had a really good, competitive two days,” he said after Wednesday’s practice. “I thought there were a lot of great plays out there that were made, and I think there were also some plays we can learn from.”

Reich, for his part, isn’t wavering on his quarterback. He praised Smith’s focus following a sweltering Tuesday session, saying Smith is “a leader of the offense… in every way, shape and form,” and pointed to his concentration as a trait that lifts the whole unit, according to ESPN.

What’s Next for Smith and the Jets

The Jets have no practice scheduled for Thursday. Smith and the rest of the starters are set to play Friday night against the Buccaneers in New York’s preseason opener at MetLife Stadium — Smith’s first game action back with the franchise that drafted him in 2013. He’s eager for it. “Just to get out there and just play ball,” Smith said, describing the pull of “the real live game atmosphere,” per the Jets’ official site.

Smith, now 35, is on his second stint with the Jets after stops with the Chargers, Seahawks and Raiders. His first tenure in New York (2013–2016) produced a 12-18 record. He rebuilt his career in Seattle, making two Pro Bowls, before a difficult 2025 season in Las Vegas. Friday’s preseason opener will be an early look at where this version of the Jets offense actually stands.

Malik Nabers is getting closer to running with the New York Giants’ first team, and head coach John Harbaugh gave the clearest update yet on the timeline this week. Nabers, still working back from the torn ACL and meniscus that ended his season in Week 4 last year, has been limited to individual drills and route work on the side through most of training camp. That’s about to change.

According to Dan Duggan of The Athletic, Harbaugh said Wednesday that Nabers is “exactly where he’s been” in his recovery, with plans to ramp him into team periods “maybe next week.” Duggan reported the update on X, formerly Twitter

There was a slight scare when Tyler Nubin got a little too close for comfort on a swing pass to Nabers. Everyone was fine, but probably going to want to pull up a step sooner with the franchise WR in a walk-through https://t.co/wXNkweYBdx

— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) August 6, 2026

Multiple other reporters at Giants camp relayed similar language from Harbaugh the same day. Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News, via Yardbarker, wrote that Harbaugh said Nabers “might jump into some team periods as soon as next week,” adding that the wide receiver “didn’t do much” in that day’s practice but has “looked good” when working through individual drills and routes. CBS Sports and FantasyPros both filed matching reports the same day, each citing Harbaugh’s comments and multiple credentialed camp reporters.

Harbaugh’s exact words, per a separate report from Jingletree: “We’re looking towards soon ramping him up into some group periods and perhaps some team periods. Maybe next week. We’ll see. He’s doing great. He’s working hard. Spirits are high.”

What This Means for Week 1

None of this is a guarantee. Harbaugh has been careful not to promise anything about Nabers’ status for the Giants’ Sept. 13 season opener against the Dallas Cowboys. The team has structured camp around getting him ready for that game, but “next week” for team periods is a checkpoint, not a finish line. If Nabers handles live reps well, it becomes a real building block toward Week 1. If there’s any setback, that timeline slides.

So far, the early signs are good. Nabers has missed just one practice all camp and has avoided the Physically Unable to Perform list entirely, sticking to individual work and routes on air while his surgically repaired knee continues to strengthen. That’s a notable marker for a player who tore both his ACL and meniscus, an injury that often keeps receivers sidelined well into a following season.

Nabers’ Track Record

Whenever he’s back on the field, expectations will be sky-high. Nabers set the tone as a rookie, catching 109 passes for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns in just 15 games, instantly establishing himself as the focal point of the Giants’ offense. He was on pace to build on that last season before the injury, hauling in 18 catches for 271 yards and two touchdowns through four games.

This will also be Nabers’ first full offseason and training camp working with quarterback Jaxson Dart, who took over as New York’s starter last season. The Giants are banking on that pairing developing into one of the more dangerous quarterback-receiver combinations in the league, and every step Nabers takes toward full speed matters for how quickly that chemistry can build.

A New Voice Running the Building

Harbaugh’s presence has changed the tone at Giants camp this summer. He arrives with a long, successful run leading the Baltimore Ravens, and the Giants have leaned into an aggressive, information-first approach under him — even hosting a workout for free agent cornerback Terrion Arnold this week, despite Arnold’s ongoing legal situation, as part of what Harbaugh described as leaving no stone unturned at positions of need.

On offense, the plan starts with Nabers. New York’s receiver room lacks a proven second option behind him, which puts extra weight on his health heading into the regular season. Harbaugh has repeatedly stressed patience with the recovery rather than rushing it, even as fans and reporters look for every scrap of news out of East Rutherford.

The next real test comes whenever Nabers actually steps into a team period. Until then, this is the update Giants fans have been waiting on: a healthy, encouraging one, without a guarantee attached.

JJ McCarthy didn’t get the news he wanted this week. But he didn’t duck the cameras, either.

A day after the Minnesota Vikings named Kyler Murray their starting quarterback for 2026, McCarthy faced reporters at training camp in Eagan and addressed the decision directly. He didn’t hide his disappointment. He didn’t fight it, either.

“Obviously, every competitor wants to play,” McCarthy said Wednesday. “But moving forward, it’s just about continuing to work hard and just staying ready for when my number’s called.”

Head coach Kevin O’Connell made the call Tuesday, ending a training camp competition that had split first-team reps between the two quarterbacks for weeks. Murray gets the job. McCarthy moves to backup.

McCarthy Explains What He Meant by ‘Out of My Control’

McCarthy leaned on one phrase throughout his session with reporters: out of his control. Pressed on what exactly he meant by that, he gave an answer that mixed frustration with philosophy.

“There’s so many things out of my control, like the heat today,” McCarthy said. “And it’s just really having the discernment to figure out which of the two [quarterbacks]. And that was one of the things outside of my control and me attacking and optimizing every opportunity which was in my control and that’s all I was focusing on.”

It’s a notable shift in tone. Earlier in camp, McCarthy had said he expected the competition to be judged fairly and that he’d get a legitimate shot. On Wednesday, fairness wasn’t the framing anymore. Control was.

A Rough Start to McCarthy’s NFL Career

The decision caps a difficult stretch for the 2024 first-round pick. Minnesota traded up to grab McCarthy at No. 10 in the 2024 NFL Draft, and he tore his meniscus in his first preseason game, wiping out his entire rookie year.

He got his shot in 2025. It came with an asterisk — ankle and hand injuries limited him to 10 starts, and the results were uneven. According to ESPN, Minnesota went 6-4 in those starts, but the team still missed the playoffs.

Murray brought a very different résumé to the competition. Minnesota signed the former No. 1 overall pick in March after Arizona released him, and O’Connell said Murray had done enough over the spring and camp to win the job outright. O’Connell pointed to both what Murray has already shown and what he could still become in Minnesota’s offense.

Why O’Connell Went With Experience

The math here isn’t complicated. Murray has 87 career NFL starts. McCarthy has 10, and half of those came with a hand or ankle that wasn’t fully right. O’Connell needed stability at the position after three years of shuffling starters, and camp reps reportedly reinforced the experience gap rather than closing it.

That doesn’t mean the door is shut on McCarthy for good. Injuries have hit the Vikings’ quarterback room hard the last several seasons, and Carson Wentz remains on the roster as a third arm — a wrinkle that could still shape how the depth chart looks once the regular season arrives.

What’s Next for McCarthy

McCarthy is set to get real playing time Saturday when the Vikings open the preseason against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. It’s his first game action since tearing his meniscus in last year’s preseason opener, and it’s a chance to show the coaching staff — and the fan base — where he stands heading into a backup role.

For now, McCarthy says he isn’t going anywhere by choice. “This is the place I want to be,” he said, adding that he loves the organization, the state and the fans regardless of how the quarterback competition shook out.

Minnesota opens the regular season at home against the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 13, then travels to face the Chicago Bears the following week.

The New York Jets went out and got themselves a proven safety this offseason, and it’s changed the tone in the defensive backfield. Miami agreed to send Minkah Fitzpatrick to New York in exchange for a 2026 seventh-round pick, according to ClutchPoints, citing ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The Jets also signed Fitzpatrick to a three-year extension worth $40 million.

For a Jets defense that finished the 2025 season winless in the interceptions column, adding a three-time First-Team All-Pro was about as clear an upgrade as a rebuilding team could ask for. Fitzpatrick, a New Jersey native, is walking into a homecoming of sorts. He also reunites with Jets defensive coordinator Brian Duker, who coached him in Miami the past two seasons.

But for running back Breece Hall, Fitzpatrick’s arrival means something a little different. It means sharing a building — and a locker room — with a player Hall grew up watching.

Breece Hall Calls Fitzpatrick “Unc”

Hall, 25, is entering his fifth NFL season and is expected to anchor the Jets’ backfield again in 2026. Fitzpatrick, by contrast, is starting his ninth year in the league — a gap wide enough that Hall has taken to needling the veteran safety with an affectionate nickname.

“I call him unc every day,” Hall said, according to a video circulating on social media. “I was in middle school like ‘damn I wonder what it’s like to play against Minkah Fitzpatrick.'”

That timeline checks out. Fitzpatrick was already a first-round pick and starting safety in Miami back when Hall was still years away from his standout run at Iowa State, so the age and experience gap between the two is real, even if it doesn’t show up much on the field.

What Fitzpatrick Has Said About the Younger Generation

The exchange stems from comments Fitzpatrick made in a video, in which he addressed younger players telling him they grew up watching his highlight tape.

“It’s awesome. A lot of those dudes look up to me, and they really admired my game back in the day. They still do now. They pay a lot of respects to me, and I really appreciate the way they show love,” Fitzpatrick said in the clip.

It’s the kind of moment that tends to happen naturally once a player sticks around long enough to become a fixture. Fitzpatrick has made five Pro Bowls and posted 21 career interceptions since Miami drafted him 11th overall back in 2018 — well before most of his current teammates were regulars on NFL rosters.

Why This Matters for the Jets Defense

Beyond the locker-room chemistry, the Jets are counting on Fitzpatrick’s experience to steady a defense that struggled to make plays on the ball a season ago. Interceptions were nonexistent in 2025, a stat that head coach Aaron Glenn’s staff has clearly targeted this offseason. Fitzpatrick slots in alongside Azareye’h Thomas, Brandon Stephens, Jarvis Brownlee Jr. and Malachi Moore in a retooled secondary, an upgrade ClutchPoints notes should be significant over the departing Andre Cisco.

New York opens the 2026 regular season on the road against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Sept. 13, a matchup that also carries a subplot: Titans head coach Robert Saleh previously ran the Jets’ sideline from 2021 to 2024. Tennessee’s roster under Saleh includes several former Jets, and Cam Ward returns at quarterback for the Titans after taking over as the No. 1 overall pick in 2025.

For Hall, the “unc” jokes are lighthearted, but they underline something real about what New York added this offseason: a locker-room presence with enough playing history to command respect from a roster that, in some cases, quite literally grew up watching him play.

Aaron Rodgers is closing out his NFL career the same way he’s played most of it: grateful, a little wistful, and still cracking jokes at practice. With training camp winding down and his final season underway, the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback spent Wednesday reflecting on what 22 years in the league actually meant to him.

Rodgers announced in May that 2026 will be his final season, closing the book on a career that started in Green Bay in 2005. Asked what he’s most thankful for as the finish line approaches, Rodgers didn’t hesitate.

“Definitely the people I got to do it with,” Rodgers said, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, who shared the comment on X on Wednesday.

It’s the kind of answer that fits where Rodgers is right now. He’s not chasing another MVP or trying to prove he still belongs. He’s soaking in what’s left. And Wednesday gave him one more chance to do that in front of the Green Bay press corps, the team he spent 18 seasons with before stops in New York and Pittsburgh.

Rodgers Wanted One Last Trip to Lambeau

The Steelers host the Packers Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium in the preseason opener for both teams, but Rodgers made it clear he wished the circumstances were different. Earlier Wednesday, in the same session with reporters, he said he wanted the game in Green Bay instead.

Aaron Rodgers on a Zoom with Wisconsin media in advance of Thursday’s preseason game at Pittsburgh when asked if wishes the game was in Green Bay:

“100 percent. … Was really hoping this one was going to be in Green Bay.”

— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) August 12, 2026

“100 percent. … Was really hoping this one was going to be in Green Bay,” Rodgers said.

It’s a small thing in the grand scheme of a preseason exhibition, but it says something about how Rodgers is approaching this final year. Lambeau Field is where he won four MVPs and Super Bowl XLV. A trip back, even for a meaningless August tune-up, would have been a fitting bookend. Instead, the reunion comes to him — Green Bay travels to Pittsburgh, and it’s still not yet known whether Rodgers or Packers starter Jordan Love will actually play in the game, since teams typically rest veteran starters in preseason openers.

Rodgers didn’t stop at nostalgia about the stadium. At practice, he made a point of thanking several longtime figures from his Packers days who are still around the organization in some capacity — practice referee Larry Van Alstine and longtime Packers broadcaster Larry McCarren among them, along with the equipment staff who’ve worked with him for years. It was a small, human moment from a player who knows exactly how many of these camps he has left.

A Strong Bounce-Back Season in Pittsburgh

Whatever sentimentality Rodgers is carrying into his final year, it’s backed by real production. He’s entering his second season with the Steelers off one of his better statistical years in nearly half a decade.

That passer rating was his best since his 2021 MVP campaign, and it helped push Pittsburgh to a 10-7 finish and the AFC North title. The season ended in disappointment, though — the Steelers were knocked out by the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round, leaving Rodgers and the organization to chase that elusive deep playoff run one more time in 2026.

Rodgers came close to not returning at all. He’s said the coaching change from Mike Tomlin to Mike McCarthy — his longtime Packers head coach — played a real role in bringing him back for a second Pittsburgh season, given the two spent 18 years together in Green Bay, including their Super Bowl XLV run.

The Final Chapter

By the time this season ends, Rodgers will have played for three franchises across 22 years: Green Bay, where he built a Hall of Fame résumé and won a Super Bowl; the New York Jets, where an Achilles injury wiped out most of two seasons; and Pittsburgh, where he’s found something closer to a proper farewell tour.

Thursday’s game won’t count for anything in the standings. Rodgers may not even play meaningful snaps in it. But for a quarterback who’s spent the last several months talking openly about gratitude rather than legacy, facing his old team one more time — even in the wrong stadium — is still worth something.

John Harbaugh isn’t tipping his hand on Jaxson Dart. He is on Odell Beckham Jr.

Asked this week whether his second-year quarterback will play in Saturday’s preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings at MetLife Stadium, the first-year Giants head coach kept it vague. “That’s a good question,” Harbaugh said, according to SI’s Giants team site. “I’m gonna have to dodge. I’ll bob and weave. I’ll let you know later.”

What he didn’t dodge: Beckham’s status. The 33-year-old wide receiver, who signed with the Giants this offseason, will play in the team’s preseason opener, Harbaugh confirmed, per SI.

Why Dart’s Status Is Still Up in the Air

This is a decision most first-year coaches face every August. Preseason snaps carry real injury risk for a young starter the franchise is building around, and Harbaugh made clear the Giants weren’t ready to announce their plan with a few days still on the clock before kickoff.

Dart’s camp hasn’t been without bumps. He’s adjusting to a new scheme under offensive coordinator Matt Nagy that requires him to operate more from under center, a shift from the shotgun-heavy looks he ran as a rookie. He also drew a coaching rebuke earlier in camp after flipping the ball at a defender’s helmet following a red-zone touchdown, a moment Harbaugh treated like a live penalty by having the offense replay the snap.

Still, there have been signs of progress. Dart connected with running back Devin Singletary on a wheel route and hit rookie receiver Malachi Fields in 7-on-7 work during a recent padded practice, SI reported.

Dart’s Rookie Season Set the Bar High

The 23-year-old former Ole Miss standout gave Giants fans plenty to like as a rookie, even as the team stumbled to a 4-13 finish. Dart took over as the starter in Week 4 and started 12 of his 14 appearances.

Those numbers, first reported in detail by outlets covering his Week 18 finale against Dallas, made him one of the more productive rookie dual-threat quarterbacks in recent memory. His nine rushing touchdowns set a Giants franchise record for a quarterback in a single season.

Weapons Are Trending in the Right Direction

Whenever Dart does take the field this season, he’ll have more to work with than he did for most of his rookie year. Wide receiver Malik Nabers, who tore his ACL early in 2025, has been progressing through camp, and running back Cam Skattebo is also working his way back. Add Beckham and tight end Isaiah Likely, who followed Harbaugh from Baltimore, and the skill-position group looks considerably deeper than the injury-riddled unit Dart leaned on last fall.

None of that resolves the more immediate question hanging over MetLife Stadium this weekend: how much, if any, of Saturday’s action Dart will actually see. Harbaugh’s answer, for now, is that fans will have to wait for it.

Bo Nix won’t take a snap in Atlanta this week. Broncos head coach Sean Payton confirmed Wednesday that his starting quarterback will sit out Denver’s preseason opener against the Falcons on Friday, even though Nix’s recovery from a broken ankle has gone better than expected. According to ESPN, Payton was direct about it after practice: “Bo won’t play in this game; he’ll play next week.”

The move isn’t about health. It’s about the floor Nix would be playing on.

Why Payton Is Holding Nix Back

Mercedes-Benz Stadium runs artificial turf for Falcons games, and Denver isn’t willing to send its franchise quarterback out on a surface that doesn’t forgive a sharp cut the way grass does — not with a surgically repaired ankle still in the picture. Nix fractured the ankle late in the Broncos’ AFC divisional-round win over the Buffalo Bills in January. He had surgery to fix the fracture almost immediately, then needed a second procedure in April to clean up bone spurs in the same joint.

That kept him out of most of Denver’s offseason program and limited his reps at mandatory minicamp in June. Since training camp opened, though, Nix has practiced without restriction, taking the same number of camp snaps he took last summer.

Payton was blunt that the QB is ready. “If we were playing a [regular-season] game — he wants to play; he’ll play the next two weeks,” Payton said, according to NBC Sports. It’s not hesitation. It’s just math — no reason to gamble a healthy ankle on a meaningless snap count against a turf field.

Mile High Report framed the logic the same way: Nix has shown he’s moving well and fully cleared through camp, so there’s simply no upside to testing that on the road in a dome. He’ll travel with the team to Atlanta and stand on the sideline rather than stay behind in Denver for treatment, which is the group Payton reserved for players who aren’t yet cleared to play.

Grass at Home Changes the Calculus

Nix’s preseason debut will instead come at Empower Field at Mile High, where the Broncos play on natural grass. He’s expected to see the field in both of Denver’s remaining exhibition games — against the Green Bay Packers on Aug. 21 and the Minnesota Vikings on Aug. 28, both at home, according to Broncos Wire.

It’s a small scheduling detail that carries real weight for a quarterback coming off two ankle surgeries in six months. Turf tends to grip a cleat and hold it, which is exactly the kind of resistance you don’t want testing a joint that’s still finishing its recovery. Grass gives. That’s the difference Denver is managing around.

Stidham and Ehlinger Split the Reps

With Nix out, the backup competition takes center stage Friday. Jarrett Stidham is set to start and play the first half, with Sam Ehlinger taking over for the second, per ESPN. The two have been trading second-team reps throughout camp as they compete for the No. 2 job behind Nix, and Friday’s game is the first real look at how that battle translates against outside competition.

Denver’s other starters are expected to play roughly 10-15 snaps Friday, a standard preseason-opener workload. The game also marks the first time offensive coordinator Davis Webb calls plays in a live Broncos game. Payton handed him the playcalling reins this offseason after promoting him from quarterbacks coach — a title Webb had held on Payton’s staff since 2023 before adding passing-game coordinator duties in 2024 — a notable departure for a head coach who called plays himself for nearly two decades in New Orleans and Denver, according to ESPN.

What It Means Going Forward

None of this changes Denver’s plan for Week 1 of the regular season. Payton has been clear Nix is on track and expected to be the unquestioned starter when it counts. Sitting him Friday is about protecting a long-term asset from a short-term, low-value risk — not a red flag on his recovery.

The bigger storyline to watch now shifts to Stidham and Ehlinger. Whoever handles himself better against Atlanta’s competition will have the edge in a backup battle that matters more than usual, given how much Denver leaned on its QB2 spot during Nix’s absence in the AFC title game loss to New England last season.

Kyler Gordon’s absence from Chicago Bears training camp has stretched into its third week, and according to one local radio host, the frustration inside Halas Hall is starting to show.

Gordon, Chicago’s starting nickel cornerback, opened camp on the physically unable to perform list on July 25 because of a soft-tissue calf injury, and he still had not returned to practice as of this week. Adam Hoge, who covers the Bears for 104.3 FM The Score in Chicago, said on air Tuesday that the mood around the situation has shifted.

“This Kyler Gordon situation has veered into Nate Davis territory,” Hoge said, via a clip posted by 104.3 The Score on X on August 12. “There were valid reasons why he wasn’t on the field, and then it eventually just got to the point where everybody is a little fed up the guy’s not out there. That’s the vibe you get in the building.”

Hoge added that head coach Ben Johnson’s message to Gordon has essentially been simple: get healthy. That message hasn’t translated into results yet. Johnson told reporters Thursday, Gordon’s eighth missed practice of camp, that there was “no update” and that the cornerback was “continuing to rehab,” according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.

How Gordon’s Injury Saga Reached This Point

Gordon’s absence isn’t new. He missed 14 of Chicago’s 19 games last season, including nearly the entire regular season, while dealing with groin, hamstring and calf injuries. He returned for both playoff games and made an impact immediately, tallying 10 tackles and two passes defensed as the Bears reached the divisional round for the first time since 2010. But he wasn’t on the field when Chicago closed out the NFC North title in January against the rival Green Bay Packers, sidelined by the groin issue that had plagued him for weeks.

The pattern carried into the offseason. Gordon largely sat out organized team activities and June minicamp with what the team described as a soft-tissue injury. General manager Ryan Poles addressed it directly at minicamp in June, saying he and the organization were frustrated but committed to getting Gordon right. By the time training camp opened in late July, the injury had shifted specifically to his calf, and Poles struck a more pointed tone with reporters.

“A little bit of a repetitive situation that we’ve got to get fixed. And then when he gets back, he’s going to have to earn that trust back and that dependability,” Poles said.

That comment is worth sitting with. A general manager publicly saying a player needs to “earn trust back” is not standard injury-report language — it signals real friction, even if Poles stopped short of threatening Gordon’s roster spot outright.

Why the Timing Matters

The Bears open the preseason on August 15 against the Cleveland Browns, and the regular-season opener against the Carolina Panthers is roughly five weeks out. With Gordon sidelined, the slot cornerback reps have been split among Josh Blackwell, rookie Malik Muhammad and Cam Lewis — though Lewis has since shifted to safety duty after starter Coby Bryant suffered a knee injury expected to keep him out roughly two months. That reshuffling has effectively left Gordon competing only with Muhammad for the job whenever he does return.

There’s a financial layer to this, too. Gordon signed a three-year, $40 million extension in April 2025, and a reported $10 million of his 2027 salary becomes fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2027 league year in March. The guaranteed money is part of why Chicago has little practical choice but to keep working toward getting him back rather than moving on, even amid the visible frustration.

There’s a small sign of optimism, though it remains unconfirmed by the team. A fan-shot clip circulating from Thursday’s practice showed Gordon signing autographs and telling fans he expects to be ready “next week,” which would line up roughly with Chicago’s preseason opener. Neither Johnson nor Poles has confirmed that timeline publicly, and given how often Gordon’s target dates have slipped in the past, it’s fair to treat that as hopeful rather than official.

What It Means Going Forward

Gordon isn’t Chicago’s top cover cornerback — that’s Jaylon Johnson’s job, and it isn’t in question. But Gordon has been a legitimate difference-maker in the slot when healthy, breaking up 12 passes across his first two seasons before injuries started piling up. Losing that skill set for extended stretches, again, is a real problem for a defense that has to deal with Jared Goff and the Lions and Jordan Love and the Packers twice a year apiece.

If the calf issue lingers past the start of the regular season, the conversation inside the building could shift from frustration to something more serious. For now, per Hoge’s reporting, the vibe at Halas Hall is one of fatigue — a team that likes the player but is running out of patience with the pattern.

The Kansas City Chiefs are grinding through training camp at Missouri Western State University, and George Karlaftis wants everyone to know this year feels different. Not because the drills changed. Because the stakes did.

Kansas City finished 6-11 last season, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2014 and posting a losing record for the first time since 2012, according to team records. Nine of their 11 losses came by seven points or fewer. Then, in Week 15, Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL and LCL against the Los Angeles Chargers, ending his season and any lingering playoff hope.

That’s the backdrop for Karlaftis and this defense as they retool for 2026. The fifth-year edge rusher spoke about the team’s mentality heading into the season, framing it as a collective reset up front.

“This year is all about mindset and mentality for us. We feel like it starts with our group. It starts upfront. We can take this defense wherever we want as a front,” Karlaftis said, per 104.7 The Cave.

He added that stopping the run and clearing space for the linebackers and defensive backs is the group’s early focus, with an eye on getting the pass rush back to form.

A Defense Trying to Find Its Bite Again

Karlaftis has been part of the Chiefs’ core since Kansas City drafted him 30th overall out of Purdue in 2022. He’s started every regular-season game he’s been available for and has posted at least six sacks in each of his four NFL seasons: 6.0 as a rookie, 10.5 in 2023, 8.0 in 2024, and 6.0 last year, per Pro Football Reference.

Last season didn’t go the way Karlaftis or the Chiefs wanted. He opened 2025 with 4.5 sacks through his first five games and looked like he might set a career high. Then production slowed. He finished with 48 tackles and 6.0 sacks across 16 games, per CBS Sports.

Chris Jones led the group with seven sacks, and the Chiefs as a team finished near the bottom of the league in that department. Jones was blunt about it this offseason, telling reporters, “We’ve got to get more sacks,” per Yardbarker, citing Pete Sweeney of The Kansas City Star.

Why the Pass Rush Matters So Much This Time

The math is simple. A defense that can’t get pressure puts more on a quarterback coming back from a major knee injury. Mahomes is working his way back from a torn ACL and LCL, and the Chiefs need their front to hold up on its own so the offense isn’t playing from behind. Kansas City brought in reinforcements up front this offseason, drafting Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods in the first round and Oklahoma pass rusher R Mason Thomas in the second, while longtime veterans Mike Danna and Derrick Nnadi moved on in free agency.

That leaves Karlaftis and Jones as the clear veteran anchors of a line that’s otherwise gotten younger. Spagnuolo’s defense has leaned on that pairing before — the two combined for 57.0 sacks as a unit back in 2023 — and Kansas City needs something closer to that version of the front seven if it wants to be a factor in a loaded AFC.

Circling Back to Denver

Kansas City opens the season at home against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football on Sept. 14, a rematch of a rivalry that swung hard toward Denver last season. The Broncos swept the season series and snapped the Chiefs’ run atop the AFC West. Both teams could be breaking in quarterbacks working back from major injuries — Mahomes from his knee, and Denver’s Bo Nix from a fractured ankle suffered in the playoffs.

It’s an early measuring-stick game for a Chiefs team trying to prove last season was the exception, not the new normal.

Rashan Gary spent seven years learning defense in Green Bay. Now he’s in Dallas, and he can’t stop talking about his new play-caller. The Cowboys edge rusher joined The Rich Eisen Show this week and didn’t hold back on defensive coordinator Christian Parker, calling him a “magician” who understands both sides of the ball better than anyone he’s played for.

Gary is entering his first season with the Cowboys after Dallas acquired him from the Packers this offseason, a move that reshaped the edge room heading into Week 1. He’s made it clear in multiple interviews that he wants people to judge him on tape once the games start. But on Eisen’s show, the topic shifted from his own game to the man calling shots behind him.

Gary Breaks Down What Makes Parker Different

Asked about his early impressions of Dallas’ defense, Gary didn’t hesitate.

“Man, what can he not do? He understands the back, and he understands the fronts,” Gary said. “He understands how offense wants to, you know, attack our defenses, and on top of that, he understands how to maximize his players. And that’s in terms of, you know, freeing up more one-on-ones or finding an opportunity to get a linebacker on a running back, you know, mixing up the coverage to play. Clouding the quarterback’s mindset. I don’t want to say too much, but he’s a magician with what he does.”

NFL on ESPN posted the exchange on X, sharing a clip of Gary praising Parker directly: “What can he not do? … He’s a magician at what he does”

"What can he not do? … He's a magician at what he does."

—@RashanAGary on how good Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker is 🏈

(via @RichEisenShow) pic.twitter.com/SCmnZMWpUz

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) August 12, 2026

A Different Defensive Identity Than Green Bay

Gary spent his entire career under a defense built primarily around a 3-4 base in Green Bay. He noted Parker’s scheme in Dallas isn’t married to one look. The Cowboys are mixing fronts, shifting between three-man and four-man lines depending on the situation, and doing more with coverage disguises on the back end.

“You know, a little big more 3-4, so you’re able to have mixing, but 3-4, four-down fronts, and just different things we’re doing the back end,” Gary said.

That kind of flexibility matters against modern NFL offenses built to identify a defense’s tendencies and attack the weak spot before the snap. A defense that can present multiple fronts out of the same personnel grouping makes it harder for a quarterback to diagnose the play pre-snap, and harder for an offensive line to set protections with confidence.

Parker’s Rise From Secondary Coach to First-Time Coordinator

Parker, 34, comes to Dallas after building his reputation in the Philadelphia Eagles’ secondary room, where he worked under defensive-minded head coach Vic Fangio. According to ClutchPoints, Parker helped the Eagles finish with the eighth-fewest passing yards allowed and the fewest passing touchdowns allowed in the NFL in 2025 before Dallas hired him away in January to run its own defense.

Running the full defense as a first-time play-caller is a different job than coaching one position group, and Parker has been candid about the pressure that comes with it. Speaking to The Athletic earlier this year, Parker said he doesn’t view himself as the reason the Cowboys defense turns things around this season.

“Because it’s about the collective,” Parker said, according to ClutchPoints’ report on the interview. “I think that we’re all equally responsible for that, for the good and the bad.”

What It Means for the Cowboys Defense

Dallas overhauled its defense this offseason after finishing among the league’s weaker units in 2025. Beyond Gary, the Cowboys added pieces across multiple levels, giving Parker more tools to work with than his predecessor had. If Gary’s read on the scheme holds up once the pads come on for real, opposing quarterbacks may see a defense that looks different from series to series rather than one predictable shape.

Whether that translates to wins is still unproven. Parker has never called plays in a regular-season NFL game, and there’s typically a learning curve for any first-time coordinator, no matter how well-regarded the scheme looks in practice reps. Gary’s praise is real, but it’s also one player’s early impression during camp, not a finished product tested against a real opponent.

Deshaun Watson will start Cleveland’s preseason opener Saturday against the Chicago Bears, the Browns announced Wednesday, handing the veteran his first game action since he tore his Achilles during the 2024 season. Shedeur Sanders will get the reverse assignment the following week, starting against the Buffalo Bills as Cleveland’s quarterback competition edges toward a decision.

For Watson, it’s a checkpoint nearly two years in the making. He hasn’t taken a live snap since October 2024, when two separate Achilles ruptures wiped out most of two seasons.

“I’m super excited,” Watson said, according to the team’s website. “All the hard work that I put in with the training staff, with my team, my personal team, to get to this stage has been tremendous for me. So, I’m super excited for those opportunities and can’t wait for it.”

Watson is expected to play the first half Saturday and see a two-minute drill before giving way to the rest of Cleveland’s quarterback room. Sanders will follow the same script against Buffalo on Aug. 22.

Outside Noise Grows Louder

The decision to start Watson first hasn’t gone over well nationally. Former NFL quarterback Chris Simms spent much of this week arguing Cleveland should already be handing the job to Sanders outright, calling continued reps for Watson pointless, according to ClutchPoints. ESPN analyst and former NFL executive Mike Tannenbaum raised similar questions about why Cleveland would prioritize starting reps for Watson over its younger passer this late in camp.

Watson, 30, has had a difficult run in Cleveland since the Browns acquired him in a blockbuster 2022 trade and signed him to a fully guaranteed $230 million deal. A season-ending shoulder injury in 2023 was followed by the first Achilles tear in 2024, then a second rupture during his recovery. He appeared in just one game last season before the setback ended his year again.

Sanders, meanwhile, took over as Cleveland’s starter for the final seven games of 2025 as a rookie, throwing seven touchdowns against 10 interceptions and posting a 68.1 passer rating for a team that finished 5-12. It wasn’t a flawless stretch, but it was enough to make him the fan favorite entering this summer’s competition.

Monken Won’t Tip His Hand

Browns head coach Todd Monken has pushed back repeatedly on the idea that the QB battle is already decided, even as Watson has taken the bulk of first-team practice reps in recent days.

“I have my reasons for how it’s going to go, and it’s still a competition,” Monken said. “We’re excited to watch guys practice today, let alone on Saturday, and then next week against Buffalo, and we’ll get a chance to see them both. Every week we’ll assess it. It’ll be a little bit more difficult with the player that doesn’t play as much this week or the other quarterbacks, right? We’ll be able to assess the quarterback that started and how he played and when the other quarterbacks came in and then the opposite will be next week against Buffalo.”

The plan, in other words, is to give each quarterback a controlled look under game conditions — first half of one preseason game apiece, plus a two-minute situation — before comparing notes. Monken has said he expects a clearer picture after both games, with a joint practice against Buffalo the week of Aug. 20 adding another data point before Cleveland opens its regular season against Jacksonville on Sept. 13.

Whether Monken’s evaluation model holds up against the pressure campaign from national media remains to be seen. But for now, the Browns are letting the two quarterbacks settle it the way position battles are supposed to get settled — on the field, one series at a time.

TJ Watt has said it before. He said it again this week, and this time it came out raw.

The Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker sat down with former teammates James Harrison and Joe Haden on their Deebo & Joe podcast Tuesday at St. Vincent College, where the Steelers are running training camp under new head coach Mike McCarthy. The conversation started calm. It didn’t stay that way.

“We wanna play our best football as the season goes on and try to find ways to stay fresh and healthy down the road,” Watt said, according to Steelers Now.

Then the tone shifted.

“I have not won a freaking playoff game in my whole career,” Watt said. “Sitting up here next to guys like you, Deebo, that’s just unacceptable. Yeah, that needs to change, and I sound like just a broken record, but that’s what it is.”

Harrison and Haden both won Super Bowls in Pittsburgh. Watt, sitting across from them, hasn’t won a single playoff game in ten NFL seasons.

A Decade Without a Postseason Win

Watt didn’t stop there. He kept going, according to ClutchPoints, laying out just how far the drought stretches.

“Isn’t that crazy? Yeah, the farthest I have ever made it in the playoffs was when we lost to Jacksonville, when we had that first-round bye,” Watt said. “That’s something, as a Pittsburgh Steeler for 10 years, man. You look back at your legacy as a team and what you accomplished. I think that’s a box that’s left unchecked right now.”

The numbers back up the frustration. Pittsburgh’s last playoff win came against the Kansas City Chiefs in January 2017 — months before the Steelers drafted Watt 30th overall that spring, per SteelerNation. Every postseason trip of his career has ended the same way: Pittsburgh walking off the field beaten, usually after digging an early hole it couldn’t climb out of.

Why This Season Feels Different

Watt isn’t just venting into a podcast mic for no reason. The Steelers walked away from the Mike Tomlin era this offseason, hiring McCarthy — a coach with a Super Bowl ring from his time in Green Bay — to try to break the pattern that’s followed the franchise since 2016.

The roster around Watt has changed too. Pittsburgh added depth at cornerback, upgraded its receiving room and kept continuity in other key spots, giving the defense fewer obvious holes than in recent years. Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig now share the pass-rush workload with Watt, which could mean fewer snaps and more juice left in the tank come January — a shift from years when Watt was asked to carry the rush alone.

There’s also the Aaron Rodgers factor. The 41-year-old quarterback is expected to be entering his final season in the league, which adds urgency to a Steelers team built to win now rather than develop for later. That urgency runs both directions — Rodgers wants a ring before he walks away, and Watt wants the exact same thing.

The Weight of a Decorated Career Without a Ring

Watt’s individual résumé isn’t in question. Eight Pro Bowl nods. Four First-Team All-Pro selections. The 2021 Defensive Player of the Year award, won the same season he tied Michael Strahan’s single-season sack record. None of it has translated into a playoff win, and Watt has made clear that gap bothers him more than any trophy case ever could.

Sitting next to two Super Bowl champions on a podcast set at his own training camp, that gap was impossible to ignore. Watt didn’t dodge the moment. He leaned into it.

Whether 2026 is the year that changes will depend on health, scheme fit under new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, and whether a deeper roster finally gives Pittsburgh the depth to survive January instead of bowing out early again.

The Baltimore Ravens are handing the keys to their offense to a 30-year-old first-time play-caller, and ESPN analyst Louis Riddick says that comes with real stakes. Appearing on NFL Live, Riddick said new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle is under pressure to get the most out of a talented, veteran-laden roster as the 2026 season approaches.

Doyle was hired by first-year head coach Jesse Minter to run Baltimore’s offense after spending the 2025 season as OC in Chicago under Ben Johnson. He’s now one of the youngest play-callers in the league.

“Declan Doyle needs to unlock all of the different weapons that they have on this offense … and really get this team over the hump.”

NFL on ESPN’s official X account posted the clip on August 12, 2026, capturing Riddick’s comments on the pressure facing Baltimore’s new coaching staff heading into the season.

Riddick Points to a Loaded Offensive Roster

Riddick laid out exactly what Doyle has to work with. Quarterback Lamar Jackson is a two-time MVP. Wide receiver Zay Flowers gives him a proven downfield threat. Running back Derrick Henry, in Riddick’s words, remains “an alien” in the backfield even as he pushes deeper into his 30s.

Then there’s the retooled offensive line. Riddick specifically called out rookie guard Vega Ioane, Baltimore’s first-round pick out of Penn State, as “an absolute monster.” Ioane didn’t allow a sack over his final two seasons with the Nittany Lions and is expected to start as a rookie, giving Jackson a more secure pocket after he was sacked 36 times last season.

“Well, I think there’s always pressure, especially considering you have a guy who’s a two-time MVP like Lamar Jackson,” Riddick said. “You have guys like Zay Flowers. You have an offensive line that you’ve rebuilt, you know, via the draft in particular with Vega Ioane, their first-round pick from Penn State, who’s an absolute monster. And when you’ve got an alien like Derrick Henry running the football in the background, there’s a lot to work with right there.”

Why the Coaching Change Happened

Riddick tied the pressure directly to Baltimore’s recent playoff history. The Ravens have repeatedly built talented rosters that stumble in January, and that pattern is a big part of why the front office overhauled its coaching staff this offseason.

“One of the reasons why…there was significant change made this off-season with the coaching staff, was the fact that they keep getting…They keep stalling out,” Riddick said. “They get to the postseason, stall out. They just are not able to go ahead and get over the hump and win the big games and lock in and dial in and be their best when their best is needed. And so now, here comes Declan Doyle, here comes Jesse Minter, here comes Anthony Weaver on the defensive side. I think collectively, there’s a lot of pressure on this football team to take this team to the next level.”

That’s not just talk. Jackson has been sacked at a high rate in recent years, the Ravens have fallen short of a Super Bowl appearance despite years as an AFC contender, and Minter’s decision to bring in a first-time play-caller in Doyle was, by multiple reports, a deliberate swing for a different kind of offensive identity rather than a safe hire.

What It Means Going Forward

Doyle inherits a roster most coordinators would envy on paper. But translating that talent into postseason wins is the exact problem Baltimore has failed to solve in recent years, and Riddick’s comments frame Doyle’s task less as building something new and more as finally cashing in on pieces that are already in place.

The pressure will get its first real test soon. The Ravens open the 2026 regular season on the road against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, September 13, at 1 p.m. ET.

The Los Angeles Rams are managing two significant injury situations as training camp winds down, with defensive end Myles Garrett and wide receiver Puka Nacua both banged up heading into this week’s preseason opener. Neither injury appears serious, but head coach Sean McVay and the Rams’ training staff are choosing patience over risk with two of the roster’s biggest names.

Garrett missed his second straight practice Tuesday during a joint session with the Dallas Cowboys, watching from the sideline in a sleeve on his left leg. McVay told reporters Garrett is dealing with swelling in his knee and estimated the two-time Defensive Player of the Year is at around 85 percent, according to Athlon Sports. The coach was unsure which knee was bothering him, though McVay stressed there have been no setbacks in the recovery.

“We just erred on the side of caution,” McVay said, via SI.com.

It’s not an isolated incident. Garrett had already missed four consecutive practices earlier in camp with what McVay called lower-body soreness before briefly returning to the field. Tuesday marked the sixth day of camp the pass rusher has sat out in total, per Yahoo Sports. The Rams landed Garrett in a blockbuster June trade, sending Jared Verse and three future draft picks to Cleveland to acquire the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who racked up an NFL-record 23 sacks last season, according to Heavy.com.

Nacua’s afternoon carried its own scare. The All-Pro wide receiver left the joint practice early, walking off with the training staff, after something happened during the session that even McVay couldn’t immediately explain. Quarterback Matthew Stafford tried to calm nerves in real time.

“I’m not really sure what the issue was, but nobody ran up to me in a panic,” Stafford said, via Larry Brown Sports. “So I don’t think it was anything too major.”

Stafford’s read on it held up. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport later reported that Nacua was dealing with minor soreness in his groin and that the Rams were simply being cautious with their star receiver’s workload.

Nacua enters his fourth season off a league-leading 129 receptions for 1,715 yards and 10 touchdowns, earning his first All-Pro nod, per Yahoo Sports. Losing him for any real stretch would be a significant blow to an offense built around the Stafford-McVay-Nacua core that’s carried Super Bowl expectations into the 2026 season.

Why the Rams Are Playing It Safe

None of this is about hiding something serious. It’s about math. Training camp reps in mid-August matter far less than having your best defender and top receiver at full strength in September — and especially a month from now, when the Rams open a stretch that includes a high-profile matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. There’s no reason to push a player through a nagging knee or a sore groin when the practice being missed is against an opponent, not a division rival in Week 1.

That logic explains why Garrett has been in and out of the lineup all camp rather than shut down outright, and why Nacua’s exit Tuesday didn’t turn into a bigger story once Rapoport’s report landed. The Rams practice facility at Warner Center in Woodland Hills has become a low-stakes environment by design this time of year — exactly where teams want their stars operating with margin for error.

What’s Next

Los Angeles opens its three-game preseason slate Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs, with kickoff set for 4 p.m. ET on NFL Network, according to the Rams’ official site. Neither Garrett nor Nacua figures to see significant preseason snaps regardless of their health, which only reinforces why the team isn’t rushing either player back this week.

Christian Gonzalez missing a Patriots practice was always going to raise eyebrows. The star cornerback has been eligible for a contract extension all camp, so when he sat out New England’s joint session with the Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday, the obvious question followed: was this a hold-in?

According to a report by Greg Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal, it wasn’t. Gonzalez came down hard on a contested end zone throw to Romeo Doubs during Monday’s practice, and the absence a day later appears tied to that, not to the ongoing negotiation. He didn’t need medical attention on the field and left Tuesday’s session without any obvious limitation, according to Pats Pulpit.

ESPN’s Mike Reiss laid out the same uncertainty in real time, before Bedard’s report clarified things. Appearing on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday, Reiss said Gonzalez had fallen hard in Monday’s end zone coverage drill against Doubs, and that it was hard to know in the moment whether the absence was about a sore ankle or a message being sent about the contract.

"Christian Gonzalez didn't participate yesterday and he had fallen hard at practice on Monday..

It's hard to know if he didn't participate because he was sore or because of his contract..

He has been a full participant and in my view their best player throughout training camp"… pic.twitter.com/zLfIbLwfMr

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 12, 2026

Reiss added the detail that matters most for Patriots fans trying to read the situation: up to that point, Gonzalez hadn’t just been present, he’d been the best player on the field. “If it was the contract, why he wasn’t out there, that would be a sharp change in direction for him,” Reiss said, “in terms of approach this training camp.”

That framing lines up with how the rest of camp had gone. The Boston Globe reported that Gonzalez had taken every scheduled practice rep and stayed out of the media fray on his own negotiation right up until Tuesday, when backup corners Karon Prunty, Kobee Minor and Kindle Vildor filled in against Colts quarterback Daniel Jones. It was, in the Globe’s words, the first real crack in an otherwise perfect training camp attendance record.

Where the Contract Talks Actually Stand

The injury explanation doesn’t make the contract situation go away. Owner Robert Kraft said publicly in late July that the Patriots had put a record offer on the table, one that would make Gonzalez the highest-paid cornerback in the league and the highest-paid player in franchise history. Gonzalez has since declined to discuss it, telling reporters, “It’s something we don’t want to handle in the media. We want to keep that with the team and my team and go on about that,” per the Boston Globe.

Since then, the timeline has stretched. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport has suggested a new deal may not get finalized until after the 2026-27 season, according to ClutchPoints. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer has separately described the talks as being in a “holding pattern,” pointing to Gonzalez’s camp seeking a deal that resets the market at multiple levels, a dynamic Breer said would require “some level of compromise” from both sides.

The numbers explain the urgency on New England’s end. Trent McDuffie is currently the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback at roughly $31 million per year. Gonzalez, entering his fourth season, is playing on a rookie-scale salary well under $5 million in 2026, with a cap number that jumps to $18.1 million in 2027 if nothing changes. In three NFL seasons, he’s recorded 145 combined tackles, three interceptions, 24 pass deflections and a fumble recovery, and he allowed just a 64.4 passer rating when targeted last season, one of the stronger marks among qualifying corners.

Not the First Sign of Frustration

Gonzalez hasn’t said much publicly, but he hasn’t been entirely silent either. On the same day he missed practice, he posted an Instagram story captioned with a Gunna lyric reading “should have been done by now,” a detail first surfaced by 98.5 The Sports Hub. It’s a small thing, but in a situation this quiet, it’s one of the only public signals of how he actually feels about the pace of talks.

New England hasn’t practiced since Tuesday. The team held a closed walkthrough Wednesday, and Gonzalez’s next chance to appear publicly comes Thursday night, when the Patriots host the Colts to open the preseason at Gillette Stadium. Coach Mike Vrabel has already ruled out starting quarterback Drake Maye for that game, so even if Gonzalez is fully healthy, there’s no guarantee either side treats a preseason opener as the moment to test his ankle.

For now, the injury explanation is the one with reporting behind it. The contract question isn’t going anywhere.

The San Francisco 49ers are running it back with Eli Apple. Again.

San Francisco re-signed the veteran cornerback to a one-year deal Wednesday, according to the team’s official announcement. It’s a quick turnaround. The 49ers waived Apple on August 3. Nine days later, he’s back in the building.

General manager John Lynch didn’t stop there. San Francisco also signed running back Zamir White and defensive lineman Xavier Thomas the same day, per the team. To make room, the 49ers waived wide receiver Junior Bergen and punter Jack Bouwmeester, and released defensive lineman K.J. Henry with an injury designation.

The moves land in the thick of training camp, one day before San Francisco opens its three-game preseason slate against the Minnesota Vikings.

Why Apple Is Back So Soon

Apple never really left the 49ers’ orbit this year. He was with the team through the offseason program and into training camp before getting cut. Now he’s filling a need heading into game action. 49ers reporter David Lombardi of The San Francisco Standard wrote on X that the timing lines up with San Francisco resting most of its starters against Tennessee. “Since the 49ers will be sitting most starters tomorrow against the Titans, they need guys like Eli Apple to ensure that they have enough CBs to finish the game,” Lombardi wrote.

That practical need comes right after a chippy week on the practice field. San Francisco and Tennessee’s joint sessions produced multiple scuffles, including two Titans offensive linemen getting ejected at one point. Kyle Shanahan pulled a pair of players from later work as a result, per ClutchPoints. Depth at cornerback matters more when practices get physical and bodies pile up.

Apple appeared in two games for San Francisco in 2025, logging one tackle on special teams while working mostly off the practice squad. He’s not walking into a starting job. He’s walking into a numbers game the 49ers need solved before Thursday night.

A Career Built on Second Chances

Apple has made a career out of finding the next opportunity. The Giants took him 10th overall in the 2016 draft, and he spent three seasons in New York before getting traded to New Orleans midway through 2018. From there it was Carolina, then Cincinnati, then Miami, then the Chargers — and now a second stint in San Francisco. That’s seven franchises across a decade in the league, tying him among the more well-traveled first-round picks of his draft class.

His most visible stretch came with the Bengals from 2021 to 2022, when Cincinnati rode a stout defense to the AFC Championship and a trip to Super Bowl LVI, a game the Bengals ultimately lost to the Rams. Apple has bounced from roster to roster since, never quite locking down a long-term home, but he keeps getting calls. This one came fast.

At 31, Apple isn’t changing what he is at this point in his career: a depth piece who can play special teams and hold down a roster spot when injuries or scheme need a body. The 49ers clearly think he’s worth having around for one more preseason, at minimum.

The New York Giants wrapped training camp at The Greenbrier in West Virginia last week, but the story dominating the building this week happened back in New Jersey. On Wednesday, the Giants hosted free agent cornerback Terrion Arnold for a visit and workout — a player currently facing eight felony charges, including kidnapping and armed robbery, tied to an alleged February incident in Florida. He’s out on bond and awaiting trial.

Arnold, a first-round pick by the Detroit Lions in 2024, was released by that team in June once the charges became public. Since then he’s made the rounds: the Seattle Seahawks, Houston Texans, New Orleans Saints, and now the Giants have all brought him in. According to Yardbarker, at least four teams have scheduled visits, with more interest reportedly circling beyond that group.

Head coach John Harbaugh addressed the visit directly after Wednesday’s practice, and he didn’t dodge the obvious question. “We want to be aggressive in every way, whatever we can do, find anything out we can about any situation or player that can help us be better,” Harbaugh said, according to NBC Sports. “The margins are tight in the NFL. … We’re looking for players that can help us all the time. He’s a player that can help us.”

Harbaugh added that the organization isn’t treating this as a rubber-stamp decision. “The organization has looked at it in depth,” he said, per NBC Sports. “If there is a decision to be made on any player that you don’t want to go there with, then this organization won’t go there.” NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo posted video of Harbaugh’s comments on X, writing that the coach said the team wants to “find anything out we can about any situation or player that can help us be better”

#Giants HC John Harbaugh on Terrion Arnold’s visit today: “We want to be aggressive in every way, whatever we can do, find anything out we can about any situation or player that can help us be better.” pic.twitter.com/6JaW0oiSwH

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 12, 2026

matching the on-record quote given to reporters in East Rutherford.

Signing Arnold wouldn’t guarantee he plays. If the Giants or any team signs him before his legal process resolves, the NFL could place him on the commissioner’s exempt list, which would make him ineligible to play — a real complication for any roster calculation, according to NBC Sports.

Why the Giants Are Even Looking

The Giants have real churn at cornerback right now. Slot corner Dru Phillips and free-agent addition Greg Newsome have each missed practice time with knee injuries, and Paulson Adebo — a free-agent signing this offseason — sat out the last two practices before the visit. Harbaugh called Adebo “day-to-day” but didn’t detail the injury, per Big Blue View.

That depth question is layered on top of a defense that’s already reshaping itself around a major trade. In April, the Giants sent star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II to the Cincinnati Bengals for the No. 10 overall pick in this year’s draft, a package that also included a one-year, $28 million extension for Lawrence from Cincinnati, according to ESPN. Lawrence had requested a trade after talks on a new deal stalled, and it was the first time in the common draft era that the Bengals had dealt a top-10 pick for a player, per ESPN Research.

Losing a three-time Pro Bowler at the position most fans expected to anchor the defense looked like a step back on paper. ESPN’s Mina Kimes doesn’t see it that way. “I think they should be improved, even with the loss of Dexter Lawrence, and that is a massive loss, literally,” Kimes said, according to ClutchPoints. Her reasoning centers on the linebacker group New York has built around Abdul Carter and Brian Burns, and on the idea that faster, more athletic players at that level can offset losing an interior anchor. Fellow analyst Marcus Spears made a similar point, noting Harbaugh’s track record of building defenses that “swarm” the ball, per the same report.

A Quiet Ending in West Virginia

The Arnold news broke just days after the Giants closed out their 12-day camp at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia — the team’s first camp away from East Rutherford while its Quest Diagnostics Training Center undergoes renovation. By the final practice, the traveling press pack had thinned to just four reporters, including ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. Harbaugh gave them a standing ovation. “The guys that made it all the way through, right? Impressive. Make sure you brag about that in your columns,” he said, according to ClutchPoints.

The lighter moment came during a camp that Harbaugh, in his first year running it, made noticeably tougher than the version players experienced under previous coach Brian Daboll, per ESPN. Running back Cam Skattebo participated in all 10 practices as he continues working back from a fractured ankle, and Harbaugh downplayed a minor injury scare late in camp, saying it wasn’t anything serious.

What Comes Next

Nothing about Arnold is settled. His case remains in the pretrial stage, and Harbaugh’s comments Wednesday were about gathering information, not announcing a signing. Whether the Giants — or any other team — actually add him will likely hinge on how his legal situation develops in the coming weeks, and on what New York’s front office decides after digging into the details Harbaugh said the organization has already been studying.

The San Francisco 49ers reinforced their running back room Wednesday, announcing on their official website that they signed running back Zamir White to a one-year deal. The move comes as star back Christian McCaffrey sat out practice for a second straight day.

McCaffrey missed Monday’s session and then Tuesday’s joint practice against the Tennessee Titans with what the team is calling general tightness. According to the Associated Press, offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak said the absence was about workload management, not a new injury concern. “Christian always kind of has his rep count in any camp,” Kubiak said. “In terms of his rep load, we’re right on track where we want to be. He’s a veteran player, so you got to monitor him and get him ready for the first week.”

That explanation tracks with what head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters, according to NBC Sports Bay Area: the 49ers aren’t worried yet. But the timing stings. Quarterback Brock Purdy ran San Francisco’s first joint practice against Tennessee on Tuesday without his top four running backs. McCaffrey wasn’t the only one missing — rookie Kaelon Black is working through an adductor injury, Jordan James is recovering from a rib fracture, and Isaac Guerendo is also making his way back from injury, per NBC Sports Bay Area. That left Khalil Herbert, Patrick Taylor Jr. and Sincere McCormick as the only healthy scholarship backs on the field for a stretch this week.

Enter White. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the signing on X: “Former Raiders RB Zamir White is signing with the 49ers.”

Former Raiders RB Zamir White is signing with the 49ers.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 12, 2026

White spent all four of his NFL seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders after they took him in the fourth round of the 2022 draft out of Georgia. He appeared in 45 career games, carrying 198 times for 736 yards and two touchdowns, adding 25 catches for 152 yards. His best stretch came in 2023, when he rushed for 451 yards, but he never carved out a full-time role in Las Vegas and was benched during a rough 2024 season. His rookie contract expired after 2025, and he went unsigned for most of the offseason before working out for San Francisco this week alongside fellow free agent Nyheim Miller-Hines.

White wasn’t the only addition. The 49ers also announced one-year deals for cornerback Eli Apple and defensive lineman Xavier Thomas. Apple’s signing is notable mostly for its timing — Yahoo Sports notes the 49ers waived him just ten days earlier, on August 2, before bringing him back into the fold. Thomas, a 2024 fifth-round pick, appeared in 18 games over two seasons with the Cardinals and has 2.5 career sacks.

To make room, San Francisco waived wide receiver Junior Bergen and punter Jack Bouwmeester, and waived/injured defensive lineman K.J. Henry, according to the team’s own announcement. The punter move effectively ends the Bouwmeester competition and hands the job to Corliss Waitman.

Why the 49ers Moved Now

None of this happens without the injury pileup at running back. San Francisco leaned hard on McCaffrey in 2025 — he led the NFL with 413 touches from scrimmage last season, per the Press Democrat, and finished with 1,202 rushing yards and 924 receiving yards. That workload is exactly why the coaching staff restructured this year’s camp schedule to avoid stretches of three straight full practices, and why an off day for a 30-year-old entering his 10th season reads as caution rather than alarm.

Still, McCaffrey’s injury history makes every absence worth watching. He’s dealt with calf issues, bilateral Achilles tendinitis and a PCL injury in recent seasons, limiting him to just four games in 2024. San Francisco isn’t going to say much more until he’s back on the field — but adding a fourth-string body who can absorb reps behind Herbert, Taylor and McCormick buys the staff flexibility while Black, James, Guerendo and McCaffrey all work their way back from various ailments.

For White, the opportunity is straightforward: a crowded room got thinner overnight, and a strong showing in joint practices and the preseason opener against the Vikings on Thursday could be the difference between a 53-man roster spot and a trip home. He’s unlikely to threaten for real regular-season touches with McCaffrey healthy, but if San Francisco manages its star back cautiously all September, depth like White’s becomes more than camp filler.

Michael Penix Jr. got the kind of news Wednesday that quarterbacks recovering from major knee surgery dream about. According to NBC Sports, Penix told reporters his surgeon looked at his reconstructed left ACL and didn’t hedge. The verdict, relayed first by D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “This is an amazing ACL. You should never have any more knee problems for the rest of your career.”

For a quarterback with Penix’s medical file, that sentence carries weight. He tore his right ACL twice during college at Indiana, then tore the left one last November on a third-down hit against Carolina — his third ACL reconstruction before turning 27. A doctor closing the book on future knee trouble isn’t a throwaway line. It’s the reassurance the Falcons front office has been waiting on since November.

Camp Reality Still Doesn’t Match the Optimism

The medical praise is real. Full team reps are not — not yet. Penix has been cleared for individual drills and 7-on-7 work since Falcons OTAs in late May, but he still hasn’t taken a single 11-on-11 snap through the first two weeks of training camp in Flowery Branch. Head coach Kevin Stefanski told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Penix is “hitting every single checkpoint,” but stopped short of naming a return date.

Speaking to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler earlier in camp, Penix struck the same measured tone he’s kept all offseason. “I feel great. I’m right where I need to be,” he said. “I’m just taking it one day at a time and trying my best to get better each day.” That’s a quarterback managing expectations, not one guessing at a calendar.

Asked by Josh Kendall of The Athletic when he’d be cleared for team drills, Penix gave an answer that’s become something of a running theme at camp: “It could be any day. I am not really chasing a timeline. I’m chasing trying to be better every day.” He’d offered nearly identical language to reporters a week earlier, per Sports Illustrated’s Falcons coverage, when he said doctors had floated a four-week window that “could be earlier” depending on how his body responds through camp.

Why the Falcons Are Still Taking It Slow

Standard recovery from ACL reconstruction runs nine to 12 months. Penix had surgery in late November, which puts the early edge of that window right around the start of camp and the late edge into November — essentially the whole season. Atlanta has no reason to rush a player with his injury history back onto contact reps before the medical staff signs off, and this camp has already delivered a hard reminder of why: linebacker Jalon Walker tore his own ACL during a two-minute drill, ending his season before it began.

That injury, more than anything, explains why the Falcons are letting Penix’s return stay open-ended instead of penciling in a Week 1 declaration. Stefanski has repeatedly deferred the final call to the medical staff rather than his own coaching judgment — a stance that reads as caution, not concern.

Penix vs. Tagovailoa Complicates the Timeline

The competitive picture adds another layer. Atlanta signed veteran Tua Tagovailoa as a free agent this offseason, and he’s currently slated to start Friday’s preseason opener against Denver. Tagovailoa has dealt with back tightness of his own during camp, which has briefly opened the door for backups Cooper Rush and undrafted rookie Jack Strand to log extra reps — but nothing suggesting the starting competition has shifted.

Penix, for his part, isn’t treating any of it as a race. Asked about the quarterback battle on the “4th & 1 Show with Cam Newton,” per Pro Football Network, he kept the focus on his own recovery rather than the depth chart. That framing has been consistent all camp: control the process, let the clearance come when it comes.

Nothing here is confirmed as a setback. It’s simply where Penix is: a positive medical report on the knee itself, paired with a coaching staff unwilling to put a hard date on when he plays through contact again. Both things are true at once, and neither changes until the medical team says so.

The New England Patriots made a move in their running back room on Wednesday, signing veteran Hassan Haskins and waiving rookie Myles Montgomery with an injury designation. The corresponding transaction comes just ahead of New England’s preseason opener against the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium.

Haskins, 26, isn’t a new name in Foxborough. He faced the Patriots as a member of the Los Angeles Chargers in New England’s playoff win last season, and now he’s on the other side of the ball. According to NBC Sports, it’s his last game action against the Patriots that made this reunion feel familiar rather than random.

Haskins’ Path Back to New England

The Titans drafted Haskins in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, No. 131 overall, out of Michigan — back when current Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel still ran the show in Tennessee. He made 15 appearances as a rookie, ran 25 times for 93 yards, then lost the 2023 season to injured reserve. Tennessee released him during 2024 roster cuts, and the Chargers claimed him off waivers.

He spent the last two seasons in Los Angeles under Jim Harbaugh, his old Michigan coach. It wasn’t a featured role. Haskins operated mostly as a depth back and special teams piece behind Los Angeles’ primary ball-carriers, and his contract with the Chargers simply expired without a new deal this offseason.

Now he walks into a building with several familiar faces. Beyond Vrabel, Haskins also overlaps with Patriots running backs coach Tony Dews and vice president of player personnel Ryan Cowden from his time in Tennessee, according to Pats Pulpit.

The Numbers Behind the Depth Move

Haskins isn’t walking in as a workhorse option, and the tape backs that up. In 44 career regular-season games with one start, he has carried the ball 76 times for 229 yards and two touchdowns — a 3.0 yards-per-carry average. He’s added 18 receptions for 199 yards and a third touchdown through the air, plus 28 kickoff returns for 646 yards, per the Patriots’ official transaction announcement.

Those aren’t numbers that win a starting job. They’re numbers that describe a role player who has stuck around the league by doing the unglamorous work — picking up blitzes, running the right route on third down, and covering kicks. That’s the profile New England is betting on here.

Why the Move Makes Sense Now

Timing matters. New England is one day from its preseason opener, and preseason games are where fringe roster hopefuls get their best look. Haskins joins a backfield that already includes Rhamondre Stevenson, TreVeyon Henderson, Terrell Jennings, Lan Larison and Jam Miller, according to Yahoo Sports, which also reported the Patriots worked out three other running backs — JaMycal Hasty, Shane Watts and Leshon Williams — before choosing to sign Haskins.

Stevenson and Henderson remain the clear top of the depth chart. Haskins isn’t walking into a competition for touches. He’s walking into a competition for a roster spot, and special teams reps are usually how that fight gets won in August. A back who can protect the quarterback on passing downs and hold up on kick coverage gives a coaching staff more flexibility on final cutdown day than a back who only offers rushing volume.

The Corresponding Move: Myles Montgomery

To make room, New England waived Montgomery with an injury designation. The 23-year-old signed with the Patriots as an undrafted rookie free agent out of UCF in May, following three seasons at Cincinnati before his transfer. He appeared in 41 collegiate games and was a team captain for the Knights.

Per Yahoo Sports, Montgomery is expected to revert to New England’s injured reserve list if he clears waivers, which would end his rookie season before it started. It’s a tough break for an undrafted player who had reportedly been in the mix for a depth role of his own before the injury.

New England’s practice field has been the only real proving ground for its backs so far this camp, and joint contact work has been limited — which makes Thursday’s preseason opener a more useful evaluation tool than anything the Patriots have seen from their running backs this summer.

What Comes Next

Haskins will get his chance to make an impression against the Colts and in the preseason games that follow. Nothing about his signing suggests a guaranteed roster spot. It’s a camp body with a real special teams track record, added at a position where New England wanted more competition heading into final cuts.

If he runs well when his number is called, handles his blocking assignments, and shows the same special teams reliability he flashed in Los Angeles, he gives the coaching staff a reason to keep him around in September. If not, he joins a long list of players who got a training camp look and didn’t make the 53.

Bijan Robinson has seen three different head coaches run the Atlanta Falcons since the team drafted him in 2023. So when the star running back says Kevin Stefanski has stood out early, it carries some weight.

Robinson joined NFL Network’s Steve Smith Sr. and Sara Walsh on Wednesday to talk about his new coach, just days before Stefanski leads the Falcons into game action for the first time. Atlanta hosts the Denver Broncos in its preseason opener Friday at 7 p.m. ET at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the first real test of the Stefanski era.

Robinson has played under three coaching staffs in four seasons — Arthur Smith, Raheem Morris, and now Stefanski, who was hired by the Falcons in January after six seasons with the Cleveland Browns. He said the constant change taught him something about the position, even if it wasn’t the path he expected.

“It’s definitely a learning lesson just learning from all three different coaches, obviously different schemes,” Robinson said. “So, I think for me as a player it helped me a lot just to see how coaches react to players, how coaches run their programs, and run the offenses, defenses — just everywhere around the building.”

Robinson posted on X: NFL Network shared the interview clip Wednesday, writing that “the Kevin Stefanski era in Atlanta is off to a strong start.”

The Kevin Stefanski era in Atlanta is off to a strong start, per @Bijan5Robinson 🤩@Sara_Walsh | @SteveSmithSr89 | @AtlantaFalcons pic.twitter.com/MyNwzD1Ni6

— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) August 12, 2026

Robinson was careful to note that none of this has been tested in a real game yet. Still, he pointed to how Stefanski has framed leadership inside the building as a reason for early optimism.

“With Kevin being the guy that we have, he’s been great,” Robinson said. “I know we haven’t played a season game but from what I’ve been seeing so far and how he wants us to be leaders and carry out our leadership and what we’re trying to do for this team is pretty cool. I’m really excited to work with him and I know he’s excited to get out on the field Friday and to start our preseason campaign. It’s cool to see all the guys here accept him and him just lead us the right way.”

The comments come during a significant stretch for Robinson off the field as well. He ended a training camp hold-in last week by agreeing to a three-year extension worth up to $75 million, according to ESPN, making him the highest-paid running back in NFL history. The deal includes $51 million guaranteed, the largest guarantee ever given to a back.

Stefanski inherits an offense already built around Robinson, who led the NFL in yards from scrimmage last season and earned first-team All-Pro honors. He’ll now try to fold that production into a new scheme, with an unsettled quarterback competition between Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa still playing out behind him.

Friday’s game won’t count, but it’s the first chance to see how Stefanski’s version of the Falcons offense actually looks on the field — and whether the early praise from his best player translates once the pads come on for real.

Mike McDaniel didn’t hold back when asked what drew him to the Chargers. Four years after taking over as Miami’s head coach, and seven months after getting fired, he’s found a locker room he says matches his own drive heading into the 2026 season.

“This team is really hungry. I’m not sure if the team is hungrier than I am, or vice-versa,” McDaniel said, via Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic, who caught up with the Chargers offensive coordinator at training camp this week. “It was a great fit in that way. There was a lot of ambition moving forward. This group of people has a great chance to be there very best versions of themselves. The best players on this team are elite human beings.”

Rodrigue posted video of the exchange on X: “This team is really hungry. I’m not sure if the team is hungrier than I am, or vice-versa.”

“This team is really hungry. I’m not sure if the team is hungrier than I am, or vice-versa.”

Los Angeles Chargers OC Mike McDaniel joined us at camp this week and man he really brought it: pic.twitter.com/MCETqWo76e

— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) August 12, 2026

A Fresh Start Built on Shared Frustration

McDaniel went 35-33 across four seasons in Miami before the Dolphins moved on from him in January. He landed with Los Angeles less than three weeks later, taking over as offensive coordinator under head coach Jim Harbaugh. The timing lines up with a Chargers team that has its own unfinished business.

Los Angeles has reached the playoffs in three of the last four seasons — 2022, 2024 and 2025 — and been bounced in the Wild Card Round every single time. The most recent exit came this past January, a 16-3 road loss to the New England Patriots that ended an 11-6 season. The Bolts controlled stretches of that game defensively but never found any rhythm on offense, managing just a field goal.

That’s the backdrop for McDaniel’s hire. A team that keeps getting to the dance and going home early isn’t short on talent — it’s short on results. McDaniel’s job is to close that gap.

What McDaniel Inherits on Offense

The pieces are already in place. Justin Herbert anchors a unit that finished 12th in the NFL in total offense last season at 333.8 yards per game, according to ClutchPoints. That’s a respectable floor, not a ceiling — and it’s exactly the kind of number McDaniel built his reputation trying to push higher in Miami, where his motion-heavy, outside-zone scheme helped turn Tyreek Hill and the Dolphins into one of the league’s most explosive offenses in 2022 and 2023.

Now he’s applying that same identity to a roster with its own set of weapons, and the early returns from camp suggest he’s leaning into it. He’s spoken openly this offseason about building the scheme around Herbert’s strengths rather than asking the quarterback to bail out shortcomings elsewhere — a dynamic that defined stretches of the last two Chargers seasons.

Two Things to Prove

There’s more than one storyline running through this pairing. McDaniel wants to help the Chargers finally get past the Wild Card Round. He also wants to show the league that his offensive mind is still the reason he got a head-coaching job in the first place, even after Miami’s four-year run ended without a playoff win after the 2023 season.

Those two goals point in the same direction. If the Chargers offense takes the step McDaniel is promising, both sides get what they’re chasing — him a path back toward a head-coaching seat, the Chargers a shot at finally winning a playoff game they haven’t won since 2018.

Camp is still in its early weeks, and the real test starts with preseason games and then the regular-season opener. But if McDaniel’s read on the room is right, Los Angeles enters 2026 with a coordinator and a roster pulling in the same direction — both, in his words, running on hunger.

Lamar Jackson spent four seasons watching Trey Hendrickson wreck offenses from the other sideline. Now the pass rusher lines up behind him at Ravens training camp, and Jackson isn’t shy about how much he’s enjoying the change of scenery.

Speaking with Jacob Hester on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Jackson opened up about what it’s meant to have Trey Hendrickson in a Ravens uniform instead of across the line of scrimmage twice a year as a Bengal. “Just to have him on our side, man, and don’t have to face him twice a year, it’s extraordinary,” Jackson said, according to SiriusXM NFL Radio. “I’m loving it… He’s just a wreck. He’s doing the job at a high pace. I’m glad he’s on our team. I’m glad he’s on our team.”

Jackson didn’t stop there. He made clear that Hendrickson isn’t easing into his new team — he’s already causing problems in practice reps against Baltimore’s own offense. “He’s gonna make the opposing teams’ difficult on offense,” Jackson continued. “He’s already making our life difficult on offense in training camp, and, man, it’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous with him. I love it. I love it, though.”

SiriusXM NFL Radio posted the interview on X: “I’m glad he’s on our team….. Lamar Jackson says he’s very pleased to have Trey Hendrickson with him now after going against him for so many years.” —

"I'm glad he's on our team….."

Lamar Jackson says he's very pleased to have Trey Hendrickson with him now after going against him for so many years.

📻 https://t.co/1S6vayal9l@Ravens I #RavensFlock I @JacobHester18 pic.twitter.com/MRE03aBpQe

— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) August 12, 2026

How Hendrickson landed in Baltimore

The Ravens signed Hendrickson to a four-year, $112 million contract in free agency this past March, with $60 million fully guaranteed. The move came together fast. Baltimore had been closing in on a trade for Las Vegas edge rusher Maxx Crosby, but that deal collapsed over medical concerns, and general manager Eric DeCosta pivoted to Hendrickson within hours, according to NFL.com.

Hendrickson arrived in Baltimore after two straight offseasons of extension talks with Cincinnati that never got over the finish line. He held out ahead of the 2025 season before agreeing to a raise, but the Bengals ultimately let him reach the open market rather than tag him again. That history means Hendrickson now chases former teammate Joe Burrow twice a year instead of the other way around, and he stays inside a division he already knows well.

The pass rusher’s numbers speak for themselves even after a rough final year in Cincinnati. He enters his 10th NFL season with 236 combined tackles, 81.0 career sacks and 15 forced fumbles. He led the league with 17.5 sacks in 2024, made four straight Pro Bowls and earned first-team All-Pro honors. But hip, pelvis and core-muscle injuries limited him to just seven games in 2025, and he underwent core-muscle surgery in December before Cincinnati moved on.

What it means for the Ravens defense

Baltimore’s pass rush was tied for third-fewest sacks in the league last season, and that’s the exact problem Hendrickson is being paid to fix. Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver has already compared his demeanor on the field to J.J. Watt, whom Weaver coached for five seasons, saying Hendrickson’s competitiveness shows up the moment anyone questions his effort.

The early returns through camp back that up. Hendrickson beat a double team late in one practice to get home on Jackson, and coaches have given him rest days alongside veterans like Derrick Henry and Ronnie Stanley to manage his workload as he builds back from surgery. For a quarterback who’s used to game-planning around Hendrickson twice a year, watching him do the same thing to Baltimore’s own line in camp is proof the investment is real, even before the pads fully come on.

Emeka Egbuka’s toe injury has a name now, even if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers still don’t know how bad it is. Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka suffered a toe sprain during Wednesday’s joint practice against the New York Jets, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, who reported the team is still waiting on imaging results to determine severity.

Egbuka limped off the field after getting rolled up on during a joint session at the Jets’ facility in Florham Park, New Jersey. He was examined by trainers on a sideline table for several minutes before eventually walking back to the bench with both cleats off, watching the rest of practice from the sideline.

What Happened at Wednesday’s Practice

NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo was on-site and tracked the injury in real time. He first reported that Egbuka was still being evaluated and hadn’t returned to the field. Garafolo posted on X: “#Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka’s injury that cut his practice today is a toe issue that’s considered minor, source says.” He added —

#Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka’s injury that cut his practice today is a toe issue that’s considered minor, source says. That jibes with RB Bucky Irving telling @MJD earlier during our interview, “I think he’s pretty good. He just got rolled over on.”

Thumbs up 👍 on Egbuka’s toe. pic.twitter.com/P8355zqSms

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 12, 2026

Garafolo’s early report lined up with what Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving had told him and fellow NFL Network analyst Maurice Jones-Drew during a separate sit-down earlier that day. Asked about Egbuka, Irving said simply, “I think he’s pretty good. He just got rolled over on.”

The scene at the joint practice had some tension to it. Bucs-Jets sessions this week have featured multiple skirmishes between the two rosters, and Egbuka’s injury came in the middle of that physical atmosphere, according to ClutchPoints.

Toe Sprains Vary Widely in Severity

A toe sprain — often referred to as turf toe when it involves the big toe joint — can range from a minor tweak that costs a player a few days to a serious ligament injury that ends a season. Doctors typically grade these injuries on a three-tier scale.

The concern around toe sprains isn’t hypothetical for NFL wide receivers. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow dealt with a turf toe injury that initially looked minor before an MRI revealed a severe tear, ultimately ending his season. Green Bay Packers receiver Matthew Golden suffered a toe sprain during this same training camp window and returned within days, an example of how quickly a lower-grade sprain can resolve.

Early indications from people around the Buccaneers point toward a milder outcome for Egbuka, but Stroud’s reporting makes clear the team isn’t ready to put a number on it until imaging comes back.

Egbuka Will Miss Friday’s Preseason Opener

Regardless of the eventual grade, Egbuka now looks certain to sit out Friday’s preseason opener against the Jets at 7 p.m. ET on NFL Network. That’s a softer blow than it might sound — the Buccaneers were already planning to rest most of their starters, including quarterback Baker Mayfield, for the exhibition game, according to ESPN.

Head coach Todd Bowles did not offer an update on Egbuka’s status when he addressed reporters after Wednesday’s session, per NBC Sports. That silence isn’t unusual for training camp injuries still being evaluated, but it left Garafolo’s sourcing as the most concrete information available through Wednesday night.

Why This Matters for Tampa Bay’s Offense

Egbuka isn’t just another name in a crowded receiver room. The 19th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft caught 63 passes for 938 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie, finishing fifth in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting. With Mike Evans now with the San Francisco 49ers, Egbuka is projected to step into a larger share of Mayfield’s targets alongside Chris Godwin, second-year receiver Jalen McMillan and rookie Ted Hurst.

Tampa Bay is also managing injuries elsewhere in the receiver room. Wideouts Tez Johnson (groin) and David Sills (knee) have both been banged up during camp, according to Sports Illustrated. A lengthy absence for Egbuka on top of those issues would thin out an already-stressed position group heading into the regular season.

The Buccaneers went 8-9 last season and missed the playoffs. Egbuka flashed his upside again during Tuesday’s joint practice session, making what multiple outlets described as a standout catch against Jets defenders — a reminder of what’s at stake if his toe injury turns out to be more than minor.

What Comes Next

The clearest picture of Egbuka’s timeline will come once imaging results are back and graded. A Grade 1 sprain would likely keep him out only briefly, with a return to practice possible as soon as next week. A more serious diagnosis could push his return closer to the regular season or beyond. The Buccaneers have not set a target return date, and Bowles has not commented publicly on the injury as of Wednesday night.

Aaron Glenn walked into his first training camp as an NFL head coach talking about the Super Bowl. He walked out of that season with a 3-14 record, a defense that didn’t record a single interception all year, and a quarterback situation that never settled. Now, as the New York Jets open Year 2 under Glenn, longtime Jets beat writer Rich Cimini of ESPN says the 54-year-old head coach is showing up as a noticeably different person.

Cimini joined Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team to break down what’s changed in Florham Park, and the picture he painted wasn’t subtle. Glenn, by Cimini’s account, has dropped the edge that defined his rookie season and replaced it with something closer to self-awareness.

Cimini: Glenn Is “Not as Combative” This Camp

“As for Aaron Glenn, yes, he absolutely sounds a little bit different,” Cimini said. “He’s not as combative at the press conferences as he usually is. Last year, we had a couple of run-ins. He was prickly last year. He came in with a chip on his shoulder. I think we see a more relaxed coach. A coach who acknowledged some shortcomings.”

Ari Meirov posted the exchange on X, writing that Glenn is “coming across as a different person this year” and that he “challenged himself to figure out what went wrong in Year 1 and make the appropriate changes”

#Jets HC Aaron Glenn is coming across as a different person this year, and it really seems like he challenged himself to figure out what went wrong in Year 1 and make the appropriate changes.@RichCimini breaks it down: https://t.co/7taYoizgQZ pic.twitter.com/dgB28EOvAF

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 12, 2026

That tracks with what Glenn has said himself. Speaking with reporters at camp, Glenn pointed to a specific in-game decision from 2025 he now regrets. “I didn’t call the defense last year. That was not a good decision by me,” Glenn said, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini. That admission lines up directly with the defense’s historic struggles — New York failed to intercept a single pass in 2025, a stunning number for a coach who built his reputation as a defensive mind in Detroit.

Why the Game Management Complaints Mattered

Cimini also flagged Glenn’s in-game decision-making as an area of real concern last season, and said the coach has spent the offseason trying to fix it directly.

“His game management last year left a lot to be desired,” Cimini continued. “So, I think he’s really tried to concentrate on that in the offseason. He’s got a more experienced coaching staff this year. I think he added some more wise, experienced guys to the staff, and I think he recognizes some of those issues, and that needed to be corrected.”

The staff turnover backs that up. Glenn replaced roughly half of his original 22-person coaching staff, including both coordinators, and will call the defense himself in 2026 — something he didn’t do as a first-year head coach leaning on delegation. New offensive coordinator Frank Reich and the retooled staff give Glenn two experienced playcallers in the building instead of one first-timer, as was the case a year ago.

Jets general manager Darren Mougey has noticed a shift too. “There’s a better comfort level going into Year 2,” Mougey said. “My relationship with AG has only gotten stronger and better. We have dialogue every day. We’re just much more in sync; time on task with anybody does that for you.”

A Different Tone From Day One of Camp

The contrast showed up immediately when camp opened in Florham Park. A year ago, Glenn mentioned the Super Bowl twice in his opening remarks to the media. This time, according to ESPN, there was no such talk. “No slogans, no hype speeches,” Glenn told reporters on Day 1, framing the goal simply as improvement.

None of this guarantees results. Glenn still has to manage games in real time, and his new assistants still have to install systems and develop a roster that just finished one of the worst seasons in franchise history. But the early read from the reporter who has covered this team for decades is that Glenn has actually done the work of diagnosing what went wrong.

What’s Next for the Jets

New York opens the 2026 season on the road against the Tennessee Titans on September 13, a matchup with an obvious subplot: former Jets head coach Robert Saleh now runs Tennessee’s sideline. Saleh went 20-36 in his tenure with the Jets before being fired five games into the 2024 season, and several former Jets players followed him to Nashville, including defensive linemen John Franklin-Myers and Solomon Thomas.

It’s an early measuring-stick game for a Jets team trying to prove that what’s different about Glenn in meeting rooms and press conferences translates to what happens on Sundays.

Kevin O’Connell got a scouting report from the world’s No. 1 golfer, and it had nothing to do with the Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback competition. Instead, Scottie Scheffler told the fifth-year head coach to stop playing it safe off the tee.

O’Connell shared the story during a sit-down with host Kevin Clark on ESPN’s This Is Football, recounting his round with Scheffler at the 3M Open pro-am on July 22 at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota. Kevin Clark posted a clip of the exchange on X on August 12, and it quickly made the rounds among Vikings fans.

“AWESOME story from Kevin O’Connell about what he learned golfing with Scottie Scheffler,” Clark wrote on X. “KOC wanted to play ‘responsible.’ ‘He walked up to me on the third tee and said what are you doing? Hit your driver, hit as far as you can and we’ll go find it.’ Then he played well” —

AWESOME story from Kevin O'Connell about what he learned golfing with Scottie Scheffler.

KOC wanted to play "responsible."

"He walked up to me on the third tee and said 'what are you doing? Hit your driver, hit as far as you can and we'll go find it.'"

Then he played well😂 pic.twitter.com/CxIB3ePmnp

— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) August 12, 2026

A 6:40 a.m. Tee Time With the World No. 1

The round teed off early on a Wednesday morning, just days after Scheffler wrapped his run at The Open Championship in England. According to Golf.com, O’Connell told Clark he expected Scheffler might simply go through the motions given the quick turnaround. That’s not what happened.

“It was better than you could imagine,” O’Connell said, according to Golf.com. “It was a 6:40 tee time on a Wednesday morning after the Open Championship. He could have easily shown up and just hit golf balls. But the best part about it was he was an even better guy. Fun to hang out with, engaging with the group, talking to them any time anyone hit a good shot.”

The pairing wasn’t just O’Connell and Scheffler. O’Connell’s 11-year-old son, Kaden, walked the nine holes with them, along with 3M CEO Bill Brown, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. A small gallery of fans — roughly 20, per the same report — showed up before 7 a.m. to watch, and O’Connell needled that the crowd’s cheers for him were slightly louder than the ones for Scheffler when they were introduced on the first tee.

The Advice That Changed O’Connell’s Round

Golf-wise, O’Connell said he came in playing conservatively, laying up with 3-woods instead of pulling driver. Scheffler wasn’t interested in watching that.

“He walked up to me on the third tee and said, ‘what are you doing? Hit your driver, hit as far as you can and we’ll go find it,'” O’Connell said, per the clip shared by Clark. “I said, oh, that makes sense, and I started playing okay.”

It’s a simple piece of advice, but it lines up with how Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 ranked golfer, actually plays. The Star Tribune reported O’Connell was struck watching Scheffler work the course up close, including a 20-foot birdie putt he made look routine on the first hole. “It’s just him and his ball and his club out here,” O’Connell told reporters after the round. “The way he’s able to work his way around the course is unbelievable.”

No Vikings Questions, Despite Scheffler Being a Cowboys Fan

Given the setting — Minnesota’s head coach walking nine holes with a global sports star days before training camp — there was an obvious temptation to talk shop. O’Connell said he resisted it.

“I wasn’t going to just start hammering him with questions about football,” O’Connell said, according to the Star Tribune. For his part, Scheffler is a self-described Cowboys fan, which O’Connell was quick to needle him about. “He’s a Cowboys fan. I won’t hold that against him,” O’Connell joked.

Scheffler, who went on to headline the 3M Open field in his Minnesota debut, offered his own read on O’Connell after their round together, telling reporters he came away impressed. “You can tell why he’s such a good coach, seemed very smart,” Scheffler said, according to the Star Tribune. “I got to ask him a few questions and he told me some stuff.”

Why O’Connell Was Even Available

The timing lines up with the Vikings’ offseason calendar. O’Connell’s round came the week before training camp opened, giving him a rare window to step away from football obligations. He had also played in the American Century Championship celebrity golf event earlier in July, according to the Star Tribune, so the 3M Open pro-am wasn’t his only outing on the course this offseason — but it was clearly the one that stuck with him.

Travis Kelce isn’t hiding how he feels about having Eric Bieniemy back in the building. With the Kansas City Chiefs deep into training camp, the veteran tight end says Bieniemy’s return as offensive coordinator has restored something the offense has been missing for three years: intensity.

Kelce told reporters this week that he missed the edge Bieniemy brings to the coaching staff, and he didn’t sugarcoat what the past three seasons had lacked. Speaking with media Wednesday, according to Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team, the 36-year-old tight end made clear the Chiefs never fully replaced that level of demand from their coaches.

Kelce Doesn’t Hold Back on What Bieniemy Brings

“One, you got intensity. Intensity is the first thing. And that intensity is infectious,” Kelce said. “It makes you want to scream ‘Motherf***’ at everybody doing the wrong thing. I love that s***. I don’t think there’s enough of that in this world, let alone in this building.”

Ari Meirov posted the comments on X: “TE Travis Kelce says Eric Bieniemy returning as OC has brought back tough love”

#Chiefs TE Travis Kelce says Eric Bieniemy returning as OC has brought back tough love:

“The intensity is infectious. It makes you want to scream ‘motherf***’ at everybody doing the wrong thing. I love that sh*t. I don’t think there’s enough of that in this world, let alone in… https://t.co/MJ9XiDQ48A pic.twitter.com/t1tLNNg5XQ

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 12, 2026

Kelce went further, framing Bieniemy’s demanding style as something the roster needs to buy into rather than resent.

“I think [Bieniemy] is one of those guys where his accountability is gonna piss you off,” Kelce said. “But if you treat it the right way and you act the right way, respond the right way with it, you’re gonna become better because of it, and it’s gonna make the team a better team because of it. It’s one of those things I think we really missed here in Kansas City.”

Why the Chiefs Brought Bieniemy Back

Kansas City moved on from Matt Nagy as offensive coordinator after the 2025 season, and rather than bring in an outside voice, the Chiefs turned back to a familiar one. Bieniemy officially signed on to return in January, marking his second stint calling plays in Kansas City after running the offense from 2018 through 2022 — a stretch that included two Super Bowl titles and some of the most efficient offensive football in the league.

In between, Bieniemy spent 2023 as Washington’s offensive coordinator, took an assistant head coach role at UCLA in 2024, and then coached running backs for the Chicago Bears in 2025 before Kansas City brought him home.

None of that history is lost on Kelce, who has been with the organization since 2013 and has already worked under Bieniemy once before. He’s the longest-tenured player on the roster and one of the few who remembers exactly what that offense looked like at its peak.

The Numbers Behind Kelce’s Frustration

Kelce’s comments land against the backdrop of a Chiefs offense that hasn’t looked like itself. The team still won two Super Bowls (2023 and 2024) without Bieniemy on staff, but last season was a different story. Kansas City missed the playoffs, and Kelce’s own production has slipped for three straight years.

Kelce finished the 2025 season with 76 receptions, 851 yards and five touchdowns — the third straight year he’s fallen short of 1,000 yards after reaching that mark in seven of the previous eight seasons. It’s a steep drop for a player who spent most of his career as the league’s most productive tight end, and it’s easy to see why he’d welcome a coach who pushes for more out of the offense.

What It Means Going Forward

Bringing back a coordinator with Bieniemy’s track record is a bet that continuity and familiarity can jolt the offense out of its recent slide. Andy Reid still runs the show, Patrick Mahomes already knows the system inside and out, and now Bieniemy is back pushing the daily standard that Kelce says the building had been missing. Whether that translates into results will depend on execution once the season starts, but for now, the energy in camp appears to be exactly what Kelce was hoping for.