NFC NORTH

CHICAGO

Kalyne Kahler of ESPN.com on the personality re-boot from Bears coach Matt Eberflus:

Matt Eberflus panicked. He looked down at the barber’s cape and saw several inches of his wet hair clinging to the navy fabric.

“Funk, that seems like a lot off.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said his barber, Lawrence Funk. “Let me do it.”

Eberflus laughed and surrendered. He had a new lease on his coaching life, so he might as well try out a new look.

He’d walked into the barber shop at Halas Hall that Tuesday in February armed with a few reference photos. He’d worn a traditional gentleman’s cut for years but his wife, Kelly, really wanted him to go shorter. He kept his hair long with a short sideburn and slicked it back with a shiny gel every day, and he kept a clean shave. He always hated when the longer hair above his ear wouldn’t cooperate and his daughters would laugh at him when it looked like he had wings flapping out of the back of his headset when the cameras caught him on the sideline.

Eberflus hadn’t had a news conference in a month, so there had been no reason to shave. And when Funk saw the silver stubble combined with Kelly’s ideas for a shorter cut, he saw a brand new Bear.

Funk convinced Eberflus to keep the beard, lined it up and blended it into the now short sides of his hair. Two days later, Eberflus took to the lectern to introduce his two new coordinators for the 2024 season, but the fans commenting on the livestream had more to say about his new look than the new hires. Just a month earlier, this same comment section had been calling for his head.

Matt Eberflus got a beard now?!?! It’s official. We’re winning the division

– – –

Funk was at his salon downtown while Eberflus met the media in Lake Forest. His phone rang, and it was former Bears guard Kyle Long, who wasted no time.

“Did you cut Flus’ hair?”

“Yeah, on Tuesday.”

“I knew it bro,” Long said. “That’s a gorgeous man.”

The response was so overwhelmingly positive that the coach even bought himself the Dyson hairdryer, a luxury styling tool that retails for around $429. Funk explained to him he wouldn’t be able to get the volume he wanted if he didn’t blow dry it first. Then he experimented with fashion and wore white jeans and a navy collared sweater to the NFL owners meeting.

“When you look nicer and you dress nicer, people respect you more,” Funk says. “Flus had the longer pushback hair that was kind of dangling when the wind’s blowing and he looked stressed out. You go from that and get a shorter haircut, grow a beard. He’s got some sun. He looks like a new person.”

Flus’ glow-up became the talk of the town. “The first thing I said [on the air] was, I know this is weird. He looks smarter!” says 670 The Score radio host Dan Bernstein.

And smarter was a big win for Eberflus, who had hemmed and hawed his way through many of his media appearances. A haircut and beard alone can’t change a team’s trajectory, but in the Super Bowl wasteland that is Chicagoland, a beard that has yet to win a game is already the stuff of legend.

Late last season, Eberflus was firmly on the hot seat as the team went 7-10 and locked in the No. 1 overall pick from the Panthers, their best chance to draft their long-awaited franchise quarterback. Was the defensive coach with a 10-24 record really the best person to develop a rookie quarterback?

“Now look at where we’re at,” Funk says. “A full conversation about how much better he looks.”

Chicago is the new center of the NFL universe. Training camp tickets sold out for the first time, just two minutes after they became available. The team president is gunning for a new stadium to match his lofty vision for the charter club that has been stuck in the past, rookie quarterback Caleb Williams has vowed to end the decades-long championship drought, “Hard Knocks” cameras are rolling, and Eberflus finally projects the part.

And this on Chicago’s new media relations team helping Eberflus:

Late last season, while grinding mind-numbing news conference tape, one pro scouting director for an AFC team tracked a very different kind of change. Chicago’s head coach actually looked comfortable?

“He was always very uptight and nervous when he had to talk,” the scouting director said. “And now he is more chill and relaxed and he’s not fumbling over his words or contradicting himself.”

The scouting director noticed the improvement in Eberflus sometime around Week 15, when the team collapsed late to the Cleveland Browns, a loss that dropped them to 5-9. He watched Eberflus explain the loss with more clarity. “I figured he really must have worked on this and found someone who could guide him,” the scouting director said.

Eberflus told the Chicago Sun-Times in June he didn’t get consultation or training on public speaking. But one source with direct knowledge of Eberflus’ media preparation told ESPN that Eberflus did overhaul his media prep, and that the coach went outside the organization during the season to enlist extra help after a viral news conference mishap in Week 9 where he struggled to answer simple questions about injured quarterback Justin Fields’ game status. Fields was listed as doubtful, not out, the day before the game, even though Eberflus began the presser by saying Fields would not be playing. He stumbled through answers ranging from no, he’s not medically cleared but he’s close, to he might warm up, to “the chances are doubtful, 51% that he’s in or out and we’ll see where it is.”

Reporters were frustrated. Fans were confused.

“The Chicago market is just like New York,” said the AFC pro scouting director. “You can’t say, I’m not talking about that, because you’re going to get crushed. He was trying to massage it, but at the same time, you need to be savvy enough to beat around the bush and give them something without giving them anything.”

Eberflus’ agent, Trace Armstrong, declined to comment on whether Eberflus had received extra help. “Many coaches are driven, competitive people, and the really good ones continue to adapt, evolve and improve,” Armstrong said.

That bumbling presser on Fields’ status was the last of a run of uncomfortable moments for Eberflus, who earlier last season was so caught off guard by questions about an inactive Chase Claypool that a public relations staffer had to alert reporters that he misspoke about the receiver 30 minutes after the postgame news conference ended. And before that, he had to answer for the mysterious and sensationalized absence of defensive coordinator Alan Williams during Week 2, when it would have been more appropriate for the team president or owner to take questions first.

“Especially with the more controversial things, it doesn’t reflect only on Eberflus,” said Bernstein, the radio host. “Bears fans found it indicative of an organizational issue. If the coach is this confused, what does that say about how they’re doing business?”

Bears team president Kevin Warren spent his first year on the job taking notes on what the organization was missing. In March, he remodeled the front office to meet his standards.

“I’m respectfully greedy for this organization,” Warren told ESPN. “I want every single department in this organization to be viewed as the best in the industry.”

He fired the VP of public relations who had been responsible for preparing Eberflus for his daily news conferences, and gave those duties to director of football communications Aaron Clark. Warren shifted the SVP who oversaw football communications to a new role overseeing public and governmental affairs and hired Ted Crews away from the Chiefs for a newly created senior executive role overseeing corporate and football communications.

Crews was involved in the Netflix “Quarterback” series that featured Patrick Mahomes, and Warren said having Crews in the building is one reason he felt comfortable opening the doors to “Hard Knocks,” an opportunity that Warren sees as a way to “message” to the fan base as they “evolve as an organization, especially into the 21st century.”

Each NFL club is primarily responsible for setting up the coach for media success, but not all clubs prioritize public relations equally. For some organizations, the idea of consistency in messaging is more of a marketing concept that doesn’t extend to the coaches and players who give information to the media on a regular basis.

DETROIT

The Lions have lost PK MICHAEL BADGLEY for the season.  Eric Woodyard ofESPN.com has the details:

Detroit Lions kicker Michael Badgley will miss the rest of the season after suffering a “significant injury” during Thursday’s practice.

Badgley suffered a torn hamstring, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The team will place Badgley on injured reserve and he’s expected to have surgery, according to Lions head coach Dan Campbell.

“We feel awful for Badge,” Campbell said. “He worked his tail off to get ready for this season. He was having a good spring and was ready for camp. It’s tough.”

Badgley converted all seven of his field goal attempts in the 2023 regular season and postseason after being re-signed by Detroit last February. He is 56-of-58 (96.6 percent) on field goal attempts inside of 40 yards throughout his career and was named the NFC Special teams Player of the Week in Week 13 of the 2022 season.

The Lions will now look to rely on Jake Bates, the former UFL kicker who was signed to a two-year contract in the offseason. Detroit has already hosted a workout to take a look at other kickers for training camp, but Campbell says they’re not in a hurry to add anyone else either with Bates on the roster.

“If we find the right guy that helps us for competition for camp then we’ll do that,” Campbell said.

NFC EAST

WASHINGTON

The early reports are good on QB JAYDEN DANIELS.  Josh Alper ofProFootballTalk.com:

Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said earlier this week that the team will know when it is the right time to anoint Jayden Daniels as their starting quarterback and that time has not come after a few days of training camp.

Quinn said on Friday morning that the Commanders “have an effective plan” in place for the second overall pick and that they are “really gonna stay true” to that plan over the course of camp. Quinn said that will remain the case even as Daniels shows the team what they were hoping to see in practice.

“He’s doing outstanding,” Quinn said at a press conference. “We’re really pleased with where we are, but we’re not changing the timelines or the guidelines on how we’re gonna approach things.”

While the timeline for reaching it isn’t clear, the finish line in Washington is well known and Daniels is well on his way to getting there after a few days of training camp.

AFC NORTH

PITTSBURGH

QB RUSSELL WILSON has given QB JUSTIN FIELDS an opportunity.

Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com:

Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson missed the team’s first training camp practice with a tight calf. The Steelers have named Wilson their starting quarterback, but it was Justin Fields who got the first-team snaps Thursday.

“It was good to get back out there and knock the dust off a little bit,” Fields said, via Teresa Varley of the team website. “I felt like everybody’s excited and anxious to get back on the field. It was pretty good, then tomorrow work again and get better.

“I was definitely trying to take advantage of each and every rep that I got today. I am just looking forward to getting better tomorrow.”

The Steelers traded with the Bears for Fields this offseason as they turned over their quarterbacks room. The 11th overall pick in 2021 has started 38 games in his career, but he hasn’t changed his approach as the backup for the first time in his career.

“I just tried to do my job for my teammates, but I’m not really changing anything,” Fields said. “I try to come out here the same guy every day. I feel like it was all right. There’s always room for improvement. I got some good reps in for sure.”

Wilson and Fields talked a lot during the session, and Fields expects Wilson’s openness and their budding friendship to remain all season despite his eagerness to start again.

“Any question that I have, I can always go to Russ asking for advice,” Fields said. “He’s going to give his knowledge. He’s been in the league for a long time. Any advice he has for me, I’m always open and willing to take that.”

Longtime QB Chase Daniel tweeted this out after watching some of Fields’ work in practice:

@ChaseDaniel

I promise you by October Justin Fields will be leading the Steelers. Bookmark it

AFC SOUTH

INDIANAPOLIS

We always think its funny when an NFL quarterback emerges with a rare running ability that sets him apart – Steve Young, Michael Vick, Lamar Jackson – and NFL “experts” fret that they shouldn’t use that ability.  QB ANTHONY RICHARDSON is the latest, and he is quite aware of what makes him special.  Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com:

Steve Steichen said the team won’t limit Anthony Richardson’s running. The Colts coach compared his quarterback’s running ability to that of Steph Curry shooting 3-pointers.

Richardson is cleared to run despite the injuries he had in the four games he played last season, including a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 5 after leaving the pocket. He vows to continue to run.

“My legs [have] always been one of my superpowers,” Richardson told beat reporters Thursday. “So, trying to take that away from me, I don’t think that’s a good thing for this offense. It’s just more so me playing a little bit smarter, and learning how to take care of myself and my teammates. Knowing when to make the right play and knowing when to try to get the extra few yards. Don’t take my legs away, but being more smart.”

Richardson, who ran a 4.43 in the 40-yard dash at the 2023 Scouting Combine, averaged 5.4 yards per carry last season. He ran 25 times for 136 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie while passing for 577 yards and three touchdowns.

He knows Steichen isn’t going to put him in harm’s way with his play-calling.

JACKSONVILLE

Jeff Howe of The Athletic checks in on QB MAC JONES, now a member of his hometown Jaguars.

Mac Jones understands the deal.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ backup quarterback has embraced an opportunity to smash the reset button for his hometown team. After a rocky exit from the New England Patriots, who selected him with the No. 15 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Jones exudes the air of a new man.

He looks and sounds refreshed. He has gained perspective. He’s all in on his rebuild.

“The whole change of scenery definitely helped,” Jones told The Athletic on Wednesday after his first training camp practice. “I’m just having fun playing football. I’m at my best when I’m keeping it loose, letting it rip and having that gunslinger mindset that I maybe had lost a little bit of. But I got it back here, and you’ve just got to be consistent with it. It’s good days, bad days and everything in between.”

The Patriots traded Jones for a sixth-round pick in March, marking the unceremonious end to a project that failed on many levels. Drafted with the hope of becoming the franchise’s long-term heir to Tom Brady’s throne, Jones immediately beat out Cam Newton for the starting job and played in the Pro Bowl as a rookie.

Of course, it all fell apart soon thereafter in ways that have already been well documented. And with the Patriots starting over this offseason, it was time to also split with Jones.

However Jones’ career plays out from here — and however long he remains with the Jaguars — there might not have been a more ideal situation for him in 2024 than landing in Jacksonville. He can mentally reload with his family and friends nearby. He can unburden himself from any shouldered weight by sticking firmly behind Trevor Lawrence on the depth chart. And Jones can rebuild his confidence in head coach Doug Pederson’s quarterback-friendly offense.

That last part is the most important segment of the equation.

“I think the change of scenery for him is good,” Pederson told The Athletic. “Coming back home to Jacksonville is good. He’s in a great (QB) room. He’s being taught ball here. (Quarterbacks coach) Mike McCoy does a great job of getting guys equal reps. There’s something to be said for … (starting over). In this case, I think it’s a positive to change venues.”

There’s symmetry between Pederson, Lawrence and Jones. Lawrence acknowledged the need to rebuild his confidence after a tumultuous rookie season under former Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer, and Pederson proved to be the right man for the job, in personality and football acumen.

Jones and Lawrence have already confided in each other about how Pederson has helped reshape their outlooks.

“We’ve both been through a lot in our own ways,” Jones said. “(Lawrence) has done a good job getting back on his feet, obviously, with the (recently signed five-year, $275 million) contract, taking them to the playoffs (in 2022) and playing really good football. I think it just shows you football is a game of ebbs and flows. At some point, it’s going to come your way if you just keep working for it. I know that’ll happen.”

Aside from Pederson’s system, Jones has appreciated the coaching staff’s firsthand understanding of how his position is played. Pederson and McCoy are former NFL quarterbacks, and offensive coordinator Press Taylor played in college.

So when they preach about certain fundamentals or reads or throws, there’s a high level of trust from the players that the message is coming from a place of relatable experience.

“They know what it’s like to be back there,” Jones said. “Not just the quarterbacks, but everyone kind of thinks like a quarterback in this offense. You’ve got to be smart. You’ve got to know what the quarterback is thinking. It also allows the quarterback to be free and play fast. You can see that with Trevor the past couple of years.

“You’ve got so many voices in there who are helping you see the game through a quarterback lens, and I think that really helps.”

The Jaguars wanted Jones to boost the depth chart in case Lawrence deals with the injury bug that derailed the second half of his 2023 season. So while the story of a hometown reclamation project has a slice of entertainment value, there’s a business purpose to this union. If Jones is ever a play away from jumping into the huddle, it’s everyone’s job to ensure he’s ready.

And if that opportunity doesn’t present itself, Jones is still trying to make himself as valuable as possible. He proved to be a fiery scout-team QB during his time at Alabama, and he’ll gladly harness that role if called upon. In any case, as the backup, he’ll be working with a lot of the younger players, and it’s been his mission to help them however necessary.

If they need to catch extra passes or stay later to watch more film, Jones has volunteered to work with them. He likened it to his rookie season with the Patriots when an inexperienced group forged a strong bond to exceed expectations to reach the playoffs.

“I just want to go out there and put on a show and bring other people with me,” Jones said. “Bring maybe a rookie undrafted kid who has a chance to make the team: ‘Hey, how can you get better? How can I help you?’ Whatever I can do to bring those guys (along). I think when you elevate the young guys, it pushes everybody.”

Jones mentioned some semblance of “putting on a show” multiple times during the interview. On the surface, it at least felt like a throwback to a free-spirited playing style that was on display during that successful 2021 season when he danced during games and on the practice field. He was unabashedly himself.

Everything was much stiffer over the past two seasons. Matt Patricia’s offense never got off the ground in 2022, and there were elements of over-coaching, such as one-read play calls with no flexibility for the quarterback to make a change regardless of the defensive look. The constant threat of a benching cast an ever-present cloud for two years, and the lack of winning crushed the spirit of everyone inside Gillette Stadium.

Jones, of course, wasn’t an innocent party as the Patriots spun out of control. His frustrations, however understandable, could have been better managed under the focus of such an intense spotlight. But those on-field outbursts, or the occasions of a defeated demeanor after losses, were evident of a player who had lost his moxie.

The Jaguars have seen the more relaxed version of Jones. Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke immediately praised Jones’ energy and enthusiasm on the field and in the meeting rooms. Baalke referred to Jones as a “football junky.” Lawrence, who has known Jones since high school through mutual friends and recruiting circles, has enjoyed getting Jones’ perspective on various reads.

But “the show” Jones mentioned also had a deeper meaning. It was an all-encompassing definition of the position’s responsibilities.

“Honestly, it’s most importantly putting points on the board and getting fans and your teammates excited,” Jones explained. “Try to get them the ball. Try to let them score. That creates the energy.

“It’s all about putting on a show. You’re out there (as) a performer, right? You’re the quarterback orchestrating a performance. You’ve got to have the receivers in the right places. The line has to block. The running back has to get open. You should do that if you’re on the scout team or if you’re playing in a playoff game. It doesn’t really matter to me. … It’s a game we all love. Just go out there and have fun with it.”

Jones is playing in the final year of his rookie contract, and there’s no telling what awaits him after his first season with the Jaguars. For every former starting quarterback who successfully revived their career, there have been many more who remained stranded in the backup circuit.

But in this very moment, Jones looks more like the carefree QB who entered the league by strutting to the stage on draft night.

For this self-rebuild to have any chance, that’s a refreshing place to start.

TENNESSEE

Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com likes the look, no make it loves the look, of Titans QB WILL LEVIS:

– Some of the top things to do in the Tuscany region of Italy are to enjoy a wine tasting in a Tuscan castle or maybe visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Or even hit the beaches with their crystal-clear waters nestled on the rocks for a day of relaxation.

There probably isn’t a spot on most people’s itineraries where they make time for football-throwing sessions with dad, who is a former Division III tight end, or hopping the fence to get in some sprint work on a locked-up soccer field.

That was indeed part of the itinerary for Will Levis on his visit to Italy in early July, so much so that the second-year Tennessee Titans quarterback actually scouted out the soccer fields and a gym for his workouts before making the trip with his extended family.

“We were 45 minutes from Siena, which is kind of the big city, so I went to a gym there and I thought it was Gold’s gym, but it turns out it was Gold Gym,” Levis said. “First gym I ever saw that opened at 10 a.m. I had to wait until 10 a.m to go there every day. I was doing stuff in there that nobody in there has probably ever seen, just in terms of the football stuff we do. It was funny. There were a couple soccer fields I scouted out beforehand. One of those I had to jump the fence to go on. I had the cops called on me. I got out of there before anything crazy happened.”

There was no arrest, although Levis said he had to use a translator app to help get him out of the situation since nobody really cared he was an NFL quarterback. He can laugh about it now, but the whole situation goes to show a lot about who he is as a quarterback and why he will be a special one.

We know the skill set is there by watching his throws as a rookie last year, the power arm and the quick release. But it’s the drive and determination of scheduling workouts in paradise that will make him into a big-time NFL quarterback.

The great ones all have it. Peyton Manning was legendary for his workouts on the road and Levis is no different. It doesn’t mean he will be in that class, but it sure doesn’t hurt to work like him.

“This is important to him,” Titans first-year coach Brian Callahan said. “Being a good quarterback matters to him. He wants to be great. He does everything in his power to do that. I respect that. It’s not fake. It’s real. He’s willing to do whatever it takes. When your have that mindset, you can solve a lot of problems like that.”

Callahan knows a lot about working with special quarterbacks. In his career, he’s coached Manning, Matthew Stafford, Derek Carr and Joe Burrow the past four years when he was the offensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals. Callahan is considered a quarterback guru of sorts and certainly knows what it takes to be a good one.

He sees that in Levis. In fact, Levis was a big reason why he was drawn to the Titans job.

“I was excited as hell to come down here and work with him,” Callahan said.

Why wouldn’t he be? Levis impressed as a rookie last season after taking over as the Titans starter eight games into his rookie season, showing off his big arm and his ability to stand in and make throws in the face of constant pressure. To say Levis was beat up is not doing it justice when it comes to how may hits he took.

Yet he never backed down. Not once. Even when he had games that might not be impressive on paper or on tape, the one thing that never wavered was his toughness and his ability to stare down the gun barrel.

“Playing quarterback, toughness is one of the most important parts,” Callahan said. “You are going to get hit and teammates needs to know you can bounce up after a hit and make a throw the next time when everything is collapsing around you. The pocket it going to be muddied and you have to navigate it. That was the most impressive thing about him last year. For a quarterback who hadn’t played much to do that, take hits, get back up and play hard, was impressive. He did so some dumb things like lowering his shoulder into people, stuff like that. But he was trying to earn the respect of this teammates so they would ride with that guy.”

Levis said he felt those hits after the season. The shots took their toll.

“There are things I can learn from and not take as many hits,” Levis said. “My body was pretty beat up. I have to be better in that area.”

He paused for a second and chuckled.

“I have yet to slide in a game,” he said. “I have to implement that.”

Despite playing behind a bad offensive line, with not much help in terms of speed on the outside, the second-round pick did enough to show that he can be the Titans’ long-term answer. He led the Titans to a 3-6 record in his nine starts with eight touchdowns and four interceptions. The numbers aren’t gaudy, but when you see his throws on tape, especially in the comeback victory against the Miami Dolphins late in the season, it’s easy to understand why the Titans feel they have a real franchise quarterback.

When Levis came into the draft last year, I had him ranked as my top quarterback. I saw a kid who played in a bad system as a senior at Kentucky with little around him, yet despite an injury he continued to play most of that season and took a beating.

His stock crashed some and his reputation also took a beating. He became the quarterback everybody loved to rip that year. It reminded me of another quarterback who seemed to have a lot of the same draft cult analysts ripping him to shreds during the draft process a few years back.

That quarterback is Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills. Like Allen, Levis didn’t have big-time completion numbers and accuracy was something many scouts said would hold him back. Like Allen, I thought he would get past it.

Levis fell to the second round. He saw Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson all go before him. Stroud had a special rookie season for the Texans last year, but Levis was as good as the other two, especially since Richardson was limited to four games because of injury.

I see a similar trajectory for Levis as Allen. Yes, that’s high praise, but I believe that’s where he is headed.

Levis also had to overcome doubts about him away from the field heading into the draft. Many NFL personnel people and draft analysts questioned his persona. Was he mature enough? That’s because he had some social media stuff that made him seem different, such as eating a banana with the skin on. That made people question him.

“Rightfully so with some of that stuff,” Levis said. “A lot of people might have been perturbed by how I handled myself on social media. They thought I was drawing too much attention to myself. It was just something I enjoyed doing, something I could make some extra money from since I wasn’t making anything from NIL. When people get to know me and see the real person, that’s what people on the internet don’t get to see.”

Callahan admits he heard some of those pre-draft critiques of Levis, even though the Bengals had Burrow and Callahan didn’t do a deep dive on the 2023 quarterback class.

“All I knew about Will as a person is what I heard and I heard all the stories of him being kind of quirky and weird,” Callahan said. “Everybody heard them. But Will has done a really good job of being himself. He is really comfortable with who he is. He has grown up since then. There was some growing up that had to happen. I don’t see Will Levis, the college kid. I see Will Levis, the pro quarterback. His demeanor and the way he communicates and speaks is much different than a lot of the stuff that was out there.”

Tightly wound was another knock on Levis by some scouts. They said he was too hard on himself, which would make it tough to get past the bad plays that all quarterbacks have, even the great ones. Levis admits now he’s worked on that part of his game, sometimes even catching himself when he is too tough on his play.

That happened Tuesday. Levis walked off the field thinking he had a tough time. After watching the tape following practice, he saw it a lot differently.

“Looking at the tape, I had a pretty good day,” he said. “Coming off the field, I didn’t think it was close to that. I have to do a better job of that. You have to take the good with the bad and move one.”

You can tell watching practice that the misses bother him. He missed a big-time throw down the field Wednesday, and after practice he said he could have thrown a better ball. Oh, well. The good news was he seemed to quickly move on from it and had a good practice.

That’s because he’s much more comfortable in his skin. It’s his team now — and he knows it. That’s why he got a group together to go to Cabo this summer to work out when the team was away from the facility. It was part workout, with a lot of bonding.

“He’s taken the next steps to be the face of the franchise and the responsibilities that come with that,” Callahan said. “He’s done a nice job building on that. Going to Cabo was part of that.”

“It took me a little time to realize that,” Levis said. “I still have to earn a lot of stuff. Being the starting quarterback gives me a lot of grace. As the starter, I feel a lot more confident and a lot less nervous than last training camp. I wasn’t sleeping at night because I was worried about fumbling a snap or getting the play call wrong. I don’t even think about those things anymore. I am a lot more confident.”

Levis did work on his footwork this offseason, both at the facility and with his quarterback coach away from it. That has tightened up his ability to get the ball out — with force. If you thought his arm was big last year, you should see it now.  The release is quick, the ball on the receiver in a hurry.

“We wanted him to get his base wider so he could play a little bit better from the ground to generate power with his legs,” Callahan said. “He has natural arm strength, but it doesn’t have to be that hard. It helps get the ball out quicker and he can be more efficient in his movements.”

“I can see the results too,” Levis said.

So could those watching practice thus far in camp. Levis has been sharp, the ball out quickly and accurately. The team didn’t want him throwing deep passes early in camp, in large part to keep the receivers from running those deep routes as they get acclimated to being back on the field. But on one play Tuesday, the read was for a deep throw and Levis ripped it. He missed the throw, but there seemed to be some route issue against that four-deep coverage. Levis blamed himself, but did mention that he wasn’t supposed to throw deep at all.

“That’s the right read against that coverage,” he said. “So I let it go.”

That’s the gunslinger in him. The big arm will show off a lot this season, but it’s clear he’s much more comfortable in this new Callahan offense. It’s why you can expect big things from him and the rebuilt receiver room that includes Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd to go with DeAndre Hopkins.

The table is set and Callahan is excited to see where his second-year quarterback can go as a player. He has his ideas, so when I asked him what the ceiling could be for Levis, he didn’t hesitate.

“I think he can be one of the top-five quarterbacks in football,” Callahan said. “He has everything you need to get to that point. Now he has to prove it. The good thing is he’s trying to prove to people who believed in him they were right rather than trying to prove people wrong. It’s been a fun offseason coaching him. He’s everything you want. He’s readily coachable and he has a good sense of the things he can and can’t do.”

Levis echoed some of the same sentiments when asked about his belief in himself.

“I never doubted myself,” he said. “I always felt I was the No. 1 guy coming off that draft and I still feel that way. I don’t want to prove (the many doubters) wrong. I just want to prove myself right.”

Stroud has a big head start in that race to be the best, but the way I see it Levis is Josh Allen 2.0. Allen started his career slowly and then took off and is now one of the top-two quarterbacks in the league. The draft cult was wrong about him and they will be wrong again.

Will Levis will be a star — provided he doesn’t get locked up trying to work out in some foreign country.

The content on this site is for entertainment purposes only and CBS Sports makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the information given or the outcome of any game or event. There is no gambling offered on this site. This site contains commercial content and CBS Sports may be compensated for the links provided on this site.

AFC EAST

BUFFALO

Will TE DALTON KINCAID be an elite tight end this year, both in real football and Fantasy?  Joe Busiglia of ESPN.com:

From a fantasy football perspective, the Buffalo Bills have had a pretty steady cast of characters in recent years. It’s always been Josh Allen, one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the game, his top receiver, Stefon Diggs, and the boom-or-bust Gabe Davis. Now, Diggs and Davis are gone and only Allen remains as the Bills will be going through the biggest change to their receiving corps since 2019.

With it comes uncertainty but also opportunity for others, especially second-year tight end Dalton Kincaid. Could he become Allen’s favorite target and, at the same time, an elite player at his position? Let’s examine.

Pros

Kincaid’s appeal is tantalizing because the competition for targets has almost wholly departed. With Diggs and Davis gone, only slot receiver Khalil Shakir remains from the 2023 receiver depth chart. The Bills added veteran Curtis Samuel, who will likely start, though he’s had only one season with more than 800 yards receiving. Buffalo drafted Keon Coleman with the first pick in the second round in April, but he’s only 21 years old. In his final college season at Florida State, he averaged merely 4.2 receptions and 54.8 yards per game in 12 outings. Shakir came on nicely in 2023, but Kincaid (91) more than doubled Shakir’s targets (45) last season.

All of those are good signs. A segment of the 2023 season could conjure up even bigger dreams about what Kincaid’s second year could hold. From Weeks 8 to 12, tight end Dawson Knox went on injured reserve with a wrist injury. Over those five games, Kincaid saw his snap share jump to 74 percent. He was a consistent target of Allen’s throughout that span, leading all Bills receivers with 31 receptions, finishing second in targets (37, 7.4 per game) behind only Diggs (43) and racking up 281 yards — 42 percent of his yardage production for the entire season. That five-game stretch would have put Kincaid on a 105-catch, 955-yard pace for the season.

Under coach Sean McDermott, it’s rare for a rookie to earn the role and impact that Kincaid had. He showed an immediate rapport with Allen through the spring and summer of his rookie season. And it recently came to light that, during the 2023 NFL Draft, Allen texted only two words to general manager Brandon Beane before their first-round selection: “Dalton Kincaid.” The only thing standing in the way of his becoming an elite fantasy asset is the coaching staff and how it views his role in 2024.

Cons

The biggest potential pitfall is how much the Bills will commit to Kincaid being an every-down player. Though it was great to see his snap share increase with Knox sidelined, it fell upon Knox’s return. Over the final six games, Kincaid had just a 53.6 percent snap share. Knox even outsnapped him in two of those games. Kincaid had a pair of big weeks, but his average output over those six games was 3.3 catches on 5.0 targets for 47 yards and only one touchdown. That was under offensive coordinator Joe Brady, the Bills’ play caller again this year.

The bad news is that Knox, another Allen favorite, remains on the roster. On the positive side, Kincaid did get 59 percent of the offensive snaps in the playoffs when it mattered most. Despite Kincaid’s usage increasing in the playoffs, Knox remained a factor and played 41 percent of the snaps.

If Kincaid were to hit his ceiling outcome, his 2024 production involves a projection that one of two things must happen:

1. The Bills commit to 12 personnel more often after trading away Diggs.

2. Kincaid turns Knox into a bit player who gets, at most, 20 to 30 percent of snaps.

Conclusion

Kincaid’s easy route running, good hands, ability to read zone defenses and win short and intermediate routes immediately made him a favorite of Allen’s in 2023. That should continue in 2024. And when you extrapolate his output during Knox’s absence from the lineup, few tight ends in the league can offer what he could become.

However, with Knox’s presence, or until we get a better idea of how the Bills intend to use their personnel packages, it will take a certain leap of faith with Kincaid as the current No. 7 tight end and No. 57 in ADP.

Kincaid has the talent to make that ranking worth it and could even best it as one of the top producers at his position. However, when spending that type of pick on him, you must also be mindful of his potential obstacles.

NEW ENGLAND

An extension for DB JABRILL PEPPERS.  Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com:

Veteran safety Jabrill Peppers is ready to commit to playing in New England beyond this season.

The Patriots and Peppers are finalizing a three-year contract extension with a base value of $24 million, according to Field Yates of ESPN.

The 29-year-old Peppers had been heading into the final year of his contract, but now it appears he’s not going anywhere any time soon.

Peppers had one of his best pro seasons last year, starting 15 games for the Patriots. He’s had an up-and-down career with stints on the Browns and Giants before arriving in New England, but the Patriots believe they’ve found a good fit for him as a starter on their defense, as well as getting key contributions on special teams out of him, and they want him around for a few more years.

THIS AND THAT

ORNY

Mike Ornstein, who we don’t believe ever wrote the autobiography his life so richly deserved, has passed away at his home in Los Angeles.

A quick list of his timeline –

* Made his way to Oakland where his first association with NFL was talking his way into running the Raiders offseason basketball team.

* Recognizing a kindred spirit, Al Davis hired him as a multi-faceted executive for the Raiders.  He was best known for his appearance on a live CBS pregame show at Super Bowl 18 accosting Irv Crossa and telling him to get off Raiders turf.

* As an associate of Davis, he was the bane of the NFL office – until suddenly during the war with the USFL, when fighters were needed, he became a key NFL executive.  In that role, he did marketing deals for most of the NFL stars of the time, that supplemented their income at a time the USFL was attempting to sign them.  His time at the NFL ended in the mid-90s when he pleaded guilty to mail fraud.

* Became a marketing agent for Reggie Bush among others in the 2000s – and parlayed that into a close and enduring friendship with Sean Payton and other Saints figures.

* Spent eight months in a federal prison for “conspiring to scalp Super Bowl tickets”. He never named any of his clients who gave him the tickets.

Here is what longtime NFL reporter Jason Cole had to say:

JasonCole62

Mike Ornstein was a truly unique man. He once threatened to kill me when

@CharlesRobinson  and I proved he was paying @ReggieBush. He apologized, we became friends. He witnessed an amazing amount of NFL history, a lot that many people want to remain secret. Fiercely loyal. RIP

Adam Schefter:

@AdamSchefter

The incomparable Mike Ornstein was one of the most colorful and unique characters in NFL history. He had close friends across the league, in the NFL office, in every city, everywhere. Orny was beloved. He fought for a long time; now he can rest easy. He never will be forgotten.

We knew Orny a bit – and he had some amazing stories to tell.  We imagine his closest friends heard a lot more.  His book would have been a bestseller.

Jane Slater of NFL Network agrees:

@SlaterNFL

Orny, not sure if I’ve ever met a more interesting person. Story time was my favorite time every time I saw you and I always joked I wanted to write your story for Netflix. You had 9 lives. This is so sad 💔

BROADCAST NEWS

ESPN has a new rules analyst, who has never officiated an NFL game.  But hiring Russell Yurk makes a lot sense.  Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com:

When a network hires a rules analyst, it’s typically someone whose name plenty of fans know.

As to ESPN, the replacement for John Parry will prompt many to dial up a Conor McGregor gif.

Via FootballZebras.com, Russell Yurk will serve as the rules analyst for Monday Night Football.

Unlike the usual rules analysts, who are hired away from current employment with the league, Yurk is a former NFL replay executive. He took a leave of absence in 2021, apparently because (many believed) he refused to get a COVID vaccination.

Yurk then surfaced as the Big Ten’s centralized replay supervisor in 2023.

The fact that many will have never heard of Yurk will have no relevance to his performance. But it raises the stakes. He’ll need to show quickly that he’s good at spotting the issues and explaining them to a broad audience in real time. If not, ESPN will inevitably be looking for someone else to do the job in 2025.

– – –

Steve Buckley in The Athletic checks in on media sensation Bill Belichick:

Bill Belichick landed his first NFL coaching gig in 1975 as a “special assistant” on Ted Marchibroda’s Baltimore Colts. To put that in perspective, it was so long ago that 48-year-old George Blanda — George Blanda! — was still playing in the NFL. It was so long ago that Robert Kraft was the little-known part-owner of the Boston Lobsters of World Team Tennis. It was so long ago that most NFL fans under age 50 have no memory of the Colts being based in Baltimore.

This is the Bill Belichick of 2024: He’s a combination rock star/raconteur on tour, mobbed everywhere he goes as he talks about the inner workings of football (and lacrosse!) and spins tales about his experiences from a half-century in the NFL.

If you’ve ever seen the movie “History of the World: Part 1,” you may remember Mel Brooks saying, “It’s good to be the king.” And so it is with Belichick. It’s good to be Bill. Yes, it must be noted for bookkeeping purposes that Belichick was fired as head coach of the New England Patriots following the conclusion of the 2023 season, but for the time being it looks as though he enjoys being liberated from the stresses of being an NFL sideline boss.

He’s wealthy, and he looks healthy. Belichick, 72, has been spotted in the company of a younger woman, prompting reactions ranging from pearl-clutching to attaboys in the public opinion peanut gallery. He’s been signed up for a smorgasbord of well-compensated media gigs. He was spotted taking in a spring football practice at the University of Washington, where his son Steve is the Huskies’ new defensive coordinator. He attended a Northwestern University women’s lacrosse game against Ohio State.

Oh, and there was that springtime visit with the Nebraska football program, which included a clinic with the players and a long, in-depth skull session with the coaching staff. For those who didn’t catch Cornhusker coach Matt Rhule bubbling over Bill, here are some highlights:

“He is so smart, has seen so much, that he can make the complex so simple, that it humbles you and embarrasses you,” Rhule said. “I was embarrassed yesterday listening to him, how smart he is, how simple it was.

“He went 4 1/2 hours just with the coaches — forget the clinic,” said the Nebraska coach, who was born on Jan. 31, 1975, which is right around the time Belichick was settling at Wesleyan University for the spring semester of his senior year. “He came in and met with our coaching staff. Three-and-a-half hours in, I was, like, ‘Coach, would you like a water? Or coffee? Would you like to use the restroom?’ Because I desperately had to use the restroom.

“And he’s like, ‘I’m fine, man,’” Rhule said. “And I was, like, yesssss sir. Just sitting there and just talking, and his recalls from things 15 years ago … the only reason why we don’t get through more information is because he’s having to slow down to make sure you know what he’s saying.”

See? Good to be Bill. For anyone who thinks he’s locked away on Nantucket, twirling ball bearings in his hand and pining for the glitz and glitter of the NFL, that doesn’t appear to be the case.

And yet … it makes sense that Belichick eventually will resurface as a head coach, and sooner rather than later. All it’ll take is one owner to get their blood boiling over an early season, late-in-the-afternoon loss, and then, presto: There’s Bill Belichick at the introductory news conference, saying how happy he is to be the new head coach of (enter team name here).

The what’s-in-it-for-Bill part, besides a truckload of dough, is that Belichick desperately wants to surpass the late Don Shula for all-time NFL coaching victories. That’s mostly true, sure. Shula amassed 347 head-coaching victories (playoffs included) during his 33 seasons with the Miami Dolphins (1970-1995) and the old Baltimore Colts (1963-1969), and Belichick, with 333 coaching victories, needs just 15 more happy postgame handshakes to move into the top spot.

If you’re wondering why I’m putting it out there that this is mostly true, it’s because some context is required. Yes, we all have egos, and as such, geez, to be recognized as the all-time NFL leader in anything is pretty cool.

There’s also the crowd that believes Belichick is looking to reach into the hereafter and deliver Shula some sort of celestial payback. Shula, remember, had some rather unflattering things to say after Belichick’s 2007 Patriots were caught secretly recording defensive signals being relayed by Jets coaches.

“The Spygate thing has diminished what they’ve accomplished,” Shula told the New York Daily News. “You would hate to have that attached to your accomplishments. They’ve got it.”

Shula was also quoted as referring to Belichick as “Beli-cheat.” Not very original, but extra weighty considering Shula’s place in NFL history.

But that very word — history — is why Belichick wants to coach in the NFL long enough to break the record. Keeping in mind Bill hasn’t invited me down to the island so we can talk this over while munching on grilled paillard of king salmon at Ships Inn, I believe it’s the history that calls to him.

We’ve all heard the stories about Belichick and football history, how he owns an extensive collection of weighty tomes on the subject. We’ve heard about his Friday news conferences during the Patriot years and how, with the game plan for Sunday having been mapped out, the media questions having all been asked, the interview room now reduced to sturdy beat writers who actually know a thing or two about football, Belichick would meander to football history. It was Story Time with Bill, and he could tell those stories without notes.

Belichick has already made plenty of history. Good heavens, he’s been the coach of six Super Bowl-winning teams. And it’s eight Super Bowl-winning teams if you count his years as a defensive wizard with the New York Giants under Bill Parcells.

We can talk ego if you’d like. We can talk Shula payback. But I say it’s the history that inspires Belichick, that motivates him. Until then, there’s Nebraska football and Northwestern women’s lacrosse, along with “Inside the NFL” on The CW, the “Manningcast” on ESPN and other heavy-coin TV gigs.

It’s good to be Bill, all right. For Belichick, it will be even better when he’s registered his 348th coaching victory.