| NFC NORTH |
| CHICAGOThe Bears, and the Jaguars, are two teams that broke out in 2025, but the world seems to think they will shrink in 2026. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: Liam Coen and Ben Johnson oversaw major turnarounds in their first seasons as NFL head coaches in 2025 and they’ve been linked again by the topic of motivating their teams for the coming season. In a recent interview, Coen said it has been easy to motivate his players with the Jaguars by pointing out how they’ve been overlooked despite a 13-win season. Coen said on 1010XL that he doesn’t see any discussion of his team while scrolling the NFL’s website, but sees 40 pictures of Bears quarterback Caleb Williams. During a Friday press conference, Johnson was asked if he’d heard Coen’s comments and whether he feels he has the opposite problem with the Bears because there is more hype around the team. “We’re the number one regression candidate, so I think we’ve got plenty of motivation ourselves,” Johnson said. “We talked about Caleb in the past. He’s used to handling a lot of attention, so I’m not worried about that.” There are plenty of cases in NFL history of teams that take big strides one season without being able to sustain that growth in the years to come. Coen and Johnson are coming at that challenge from different angles, but both will have to succeed in order to set themselves up for long runs in their current jobs. |
| GREEN BAYFormer Packers RB Ahman Green has Parkinson’s disease. Garrett Podell of CBSSports.com: Green Bay Packers all-time leading rusher Ahman Green announced he is fighting Parkinson’s disease. Green, who is 49-years-old, announced on the “Go Long with Tyler Dunne” podcast that he was diagnosed with the early onset of the disease in January of 2025. It took him a while to come to terms with his condition, only revealing it to close friends and family. He called his short-term memory “trash” as a result of the disease. “I had a little bit of the feet twitching when I’m in my sleep and stuff like that,” Green said. “I mean, I knew something was going on long before that. I just got a hold of some doctors [and] was able to get in contact with and get the diagnostics, get the testing, and finally got it tested … I’ve got to remind myself of things. When I meet somebody for the first time, it’s like a name. I hear that name, then I repeat it. I try to repeat it or write it down. And if I don’t, I’ve got to follow up with them.” Green is the owner of the Packers’ records in career rushing yards (8,322), rushing yards in a single season (1,883 in 2003) and rushing yards in a single game (218 against the Denver Broncos in 2003). He earned four Pro Bowl selections in his first stint with Green Bay across seven seasons after arriving in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks. Upon a return to Green Bay for the final season of his NFL career after two years with the Houston Texans in 2007 and 2008, he surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Taylor’s career rushing record of 8,207. That season allowed him to cap his career, having played with both Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers as his Packers starting quarterbacks. He unfortunately joins Favre as the second player from his Green Bay days who announced a Parkinson’s diagnosis. “It needs to be upfront,” Green said about discussing Parkinson’s among ex-players. “It needs to be a topic that’s always hit.” Now, Green is working to control what he can: his diet and his body care, in addition to medical treatments with doctors. “I got the reins,” Green said. “I’m in control. I’m not going to let this control me. There is some medicines that I’ve been taking from the doctor’s side of it, so I made sure [to stay] on my protocol there but on my side, the food is my medicine… I’m ahead of it right now. For the doctors that examine me, they said really, if they didn’t know what they knew about the early signs, they would have thought I was in great [shape] … until they really sat me down, between taking my vitals to having me walk in front of them and what they saw in my walk, in my gait and the way my shoulders hang.” While many could easily get discouraged by a battle with Parkinson’s, Green views it as his next battle, much like he viewed challenges as an NFL running back. “I know that, unfortunately, there is a day when eventually our clock stops ticking,” Green said. “The way I look at it is my clock is going to stop ticking when I want it to stop ticking. That’s how I’m looking at it. I’ve always been like that. The way I ran the ball, you’re going to have to break both my legs to stop me running the ball.” |
| NFC EAST |
| DALLASThe Cowboys players are feeling good about their offense. Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com: The Cowboys are talking the talk. Can they back it up? Dak Prescott showed up to training camp wearing a Super Bowl XXX championship T-shirt. That’s the last Super Bowl the franchise won, which came more than 30 years ago. “It’s just a manifesting thing,” Prescott said Thursday, via Fox 4. “Going into year 11, I’m not going to shy away from it. When you don’t have it, it sucks. “Why shy away from that now? Why shy away from asking people to hold me to the same standard that I believe I can accomplish and that this team can accomplish?” Prescott also revealed the nickname for the team’s offense this season: GOTI. It stands for: Greatest Offense There Is. Prescott presented the idea to the offensive skill players during their annual bonding trip, which this summer was held in Park City, Utah. It was well received. “We were close to some historic things last year,” Prescott said, via Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “And when you have the guys [on the offense], why can’t we be? Let’s be the Greatest Offense There Is. You’ve heard of the Greatest Show On Turf and all of the other nicknames. We take pride in it, and it’s the way we’ve been practicing.” The Cowboys finished second in total offense (391.9 yards per game) to the Rams last season, and Dallas was seventh in scoring (27.7 points). The Cowboys have their entire starting offense back this season. |
| PHILADELPHIAMike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com breaks down all the money the Eagles gave to DL JALEN CARTER: Earlier this week, Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter became the highest-paid interior defensive lineman in NFL history. The full details are now out. Here’s the breakdown, per a source with knowledge of the terms: 1. Signing bonus: $22.5 million. 2. 2026 base salary: $1.145 million, fully guaranteed. 3. 2026 weight bonus: $250,000, fully guaranteed (but must be earned). 4. 2027 option bonus: $14.94557 million, fully guaranteed. 5. 2027 offseason workout bonus: $500,000, fully guaranteed (but must be earned). 6. 2027 base salary: $1.26 million, fully guaranteed. 7. 2027 weight bonus: $250,000, fully guaranteed (but must be earned). 8. 2028 option bonus: $27.435 million, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed in March 2027. 9. 2028 offseason workout bonus: $500,000, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed in March 2027. 10. 2028 base salary: $1.305 million, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed in March 2027. 11. 2028 per-game roster bonus: $510,000 total, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed in March 2027. 12. 2028 weight bonus: $250,000, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed in March 2027. 13. 2029 option bonus: $33.39 million, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed in March 2028. 14. 2029 offseason workout bonus: $500,000, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed in March 2028. 15. 2029 base salary: $1.35 million, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed in March 2028. 16. 2029 per-game roster bonus: $510,000 total, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed in March 2028. 17. 2029 weight bonus: $250,000, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed in March 2028. 18. 2030 option bonus: $35.26 million. 19. 2030 offseason workout bonus: $500,000. 20. 2030 base salary: $1.48 million. 21. 2030 per-game roster bonus: $510,000 total. 22. 2030 weight bonus: $250,000. 23. 2031 option bonus: $35.215 million. 24. 2031 offseason workout bonus: $500,000. 25. 2031 base salary: $1.525 million. 26. 2031 per-game roster bonus: $510,000 total. 27. 2031 weight bonus: $250,000. The four-year extension has a base value of $152 million, for a new-money average of $38 million per year. The contract includes a $4 million escalator for 2030 and a $4 million escalator for 2031, pushing the total potential value to $160 million. With two remaining years and a payout of $30.85057 million, the total base value over six years is $182.85057 million. That’s a per-year average from signing of $30.475 million. The structure makes the first two years — $40.85057 million — fully guaranteed. The timing of the 2028 an 2029 guarantees makes the first four years — $106.85057 million — guaranteed as a practical matter. |
| NFC SOUTH |
| ATLANTAFalcons DC Jeff Ulbrich and the Falcons are mourning the passing of his wife, Cristina, after a battle with cancer. Kari Anderson of YahooSports.com: Cristina Ulbrich, the wife of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, has died after a battle with cancer. The Falcons announced the news in a statement on Thursday. “The Atlanta Falcons are heartbroken by the passing of Cristian Ulbrich, beloved wife of defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, after her courageous battle with cancer,” the statement read. “Cristina was a devoted wife, mother, and friend whose strength, grace and resilience touched all who knew her. She was a constant source of love and support to Jeff, their family, and the broader Falcons community.” The team did not say whether Ulbrich would be taking time off from the team, but asked for the Ulbrich family’s “privacy to be respected as they grieve this profound loss.” The Ulbrichs have three children together, per the Falcons’ website: a daughter, Samantha, and two sons, Jax and Jace. Jeff Ulbrich joined Atlanta as their defensive coordinator ahead of last season, after spending five years in the Falcons’ defensive staff earlier in his coaching career. Prior to returning to Atlanta, Ulbrich coached four seasons with the New York Jets, including a stint as their interim head coach to end the 2024 season. She was only 48. Jeff met Cristina while he was a student athlete at Hawaii in the late 1990s and they had been together ever since. |
| NEW ORLEANSWR CHRIS OLAVE has been a productive receiver for the Saints, but we must admit to being surprised a bit by the huge contract the team has given him. Grant Gordon of NFL.com: New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave has agreed to terms on a four-year contract extension that is worth up to $132 million, ESPN reported on Thursday. The deal includes $90 million guaranteed. The Saints subsequently announced they had agreed to a multiyear extension with Olave. Olave’s good news was expected, as the wide receiver noted during organized team activities that he was anticipating an extension and was hopeful it would be worked out prior to training camp. Saints general manager Mickey Loomis also expressed optimism a deal would get done earlier this week. Entering the final year of his rookie contract, Olave attended voluntary organized team activities and reported to training camp on time, but didn’t take part in drills initially this week. That’s likely to change now. Olave’s new deal comes following those to fellow ’22 first-round wide receivers Garrett Wilson (No. 10 overall) with the New York Jets, Jameson Williams (No. 12) with the Detroit Lions and Drake London (No. 8) with the Falcons. The latter was worked out on June 2, with New Orleans’ archrival Atlanta perhaps inadvertently — or not — driving up the price for Olave, the No. 11 overall pick in 2022. Having overcome concussion concerns and a recent scare due to a blood clot, Olave turned in his best season to date in 2025 with 16 starts, 100 receptions, 1,163 yards and nine touchdowns each standing as career bests, Following his sensational showing last season, Olave has solidified himself as a crucial component in the Saints’ plans for the future, a notion underscored by his second career contract.In the aftermath of an eight-game 2024 season in which he suffered multiple concussions, Olave turned in a masterpiece of a 2025 campaign. Olave’s outstanding output helped secure quarterback Tyler Shough’s status as the franchise’s hopeful QB of the future. The precarious 2024 campaign drew doubts about Olave’s playing future overall. The Ohio State product who so quickly showcased his talents with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons to start his career responded in sterling form and has now been rewarded. Olave, 26, is firmly entrenched at the forefront of a receiving corps that now includes 2026 first-round pick Jordyn Tyson and also features Devaughn Vele, Bub Means, Ja’Lynn Polk and rookies Bryce Lance and Barion Brown. There is far more promise and youth than experience in the WR room. Olave however, maintains all those attributes. Despite Olave’s good fortune, his injury history will remain a concern. He suffered concussions in each of his first three seasons and the end of last year was clouded by a blood clot in his lung that caused him to miss the final game of the season. Ultimately, Olave has lived up to the expectations of his draft status and penned an inspirational story so far. |
| TAMPA BAYQB BAKER MAYFIELD doesn’t hide his disappointment in Tampa Bay’s approach to a new contract. Jenna Laine of ESPN.com: Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield said Thursday that he felt “disrespected a little bit” that he and the team could not reach an agreement on a new contract before his imposed deadline of the start of training camp, and that he and his agent were “not presented with an offer that’s appealing whatsoever.” He said that all contract discussions would cease until after the 2026 season concludes. “That’s really the disappointing part — to feel undervalued after thinking you’ve earned it,” said Mayfield, who led the Bucs to back-to-back NFC South titles in 2023 and 2024 before an injury-marred season derailed his and the team’s efforts in 2025. He said even if the Bucs wanted to continue to try to negotiate, he said he won’t be speaking to the organization and that, his agent is “not going to be bothering him with it unless he’s actually recognized for his value.” “If you’ve waited this long to take care of your franchise quarterback, that’s too bad because it’s only going to get worse from here. I’m going to have a really big year,” Mayfield said. Mayfield, 31, got into specifics with ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, saying that the team offered him a two-year deal, which was “probably the most disappointing part,” he said. He wanted a long-term commitment. He also felt the guarantees were low on both the initial offer and a second offer. When asked about being among the top 10 or in the $50+-million-per-year club, Mayfield told Fowler he “needed to be put in that category” and the Bucs were “pretty far” from it. He added that he never sought to reset the market and was realistic. He also said that he never considered a holdout or a hold-in. The Buccaneers felt their offers in the final days of the negotiation were competitive, including a two-year deal worth slightly above $100 million in total, sources told Fowler. Several factors went into Mayfield turning down the Bucs’ overtures, sources told Fowler: * Mayfield felt the structure of the contract was not suitable, mainly the guaranteed money. * Mayfield was adamant about wanting a longer commitment than two years. * Mayfield used contract comps such as Green Bay’s Jordan Love ($55 million per year), Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence ($55 million) and San Francisco’s Brock Purdy ($53 million) during the negotiation process. Mayfield’s camp felt Mayfield was among the league’s best bargain players in recent years, ranking third in passing yards (12,237) and second in touchdown passes (95) since 2023. That had to change. And, perhaps mainly, Mayfield was long dismayed by the team’s low initial offer in June, to the point that one source close to him wondered whether that fueled his direct tone in his press conferences weeks later. By the time the Bucs were set to report Tuesday, Mayfield called things off. Still, even without hitting Mayfield’s direct number, the Bucs felt they were closer in range than perceived, sources told Fowler. “It’s disappointing,” Mayfield said. “I’m not the first one to go through it like this. This is kind of historically how they’ve done negotiations. It’s disappointing when you think you’re a cornerstone of the franchise to be treated like that. But disappointing, I know the contract and salary cap, what’s going on. Franchise tag isn’t exactly in play for them. There’d be a lot of dead money. So it is what it is. And like I said, I’m fortunate, but on the side — I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in, in a really good place.” “This is not a ‘poor me’ thing. There’s a lot other people that have it way worse off, but I can sit here and look at other quarterbacks and peers and evaluate myself based on that and put myself in certain categories that I deserve to be compensated for that,” Mayfield said. “And I think I’m a franchise quarterback. I’ve been told I’m a franchise quarterback. It’s been said publicly from ownership down here. And so to not have a deal done is very disappointing. But I said the deadline was a deadline, and I addressed the team to let them know I meant that. It’s all ball.” At the microphone on Thursday, Mayfield also used his chance to advocate for the re-signing of Pro Bowl nose tackle Vita Vea, who requested a trade recently after failing to reach a new contract agreement. Vea has been a training camp hold-in and has not been practicing with teammates because of that, in addition to what coach Todd Bowles said was a tweaked back during the team’s conditioning test Tuesday. “He deserves that,” Mayfield said. “I mean he’s the second-longest tenured Buc behind C.G. [Chris Godwin Jr.] and Vita deserves that. He’s the anchor of our defense and so I hope they take care of him.” Vea appeared on the “Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams” on Thursday but was not asked about his trade request. As the DB hears it, the offer of only two years is the big sticking point for Mayfield. The money offered may have actually exceeded $50 million per, but if he plays out this year and is franchised, he still gets over $50 next year anyway. Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com has more and clears up that the offer was thru 2028. Here’s one: Did the Buccaneers offer him a “two-year deal” or did they offer him a two-year extension to his existing contract, making it a three-year deal? Mayfield has reportedly characterized it as a two-year deal. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, it was a two-year extension. It’s a subtle but significant point. Mayfield believes he was “disrespected.” An offer of a two-year deal seems less respectful to a reasonable person with no skin in the game than an offer of a three-year deal. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that the Buccaneers ultimately offered Mayfield “a two-year deal worth slightly above $100 million in total.” While not mentioned in the ESPN article, this necessarily means it was a two-year extension; given the manner in which veteran contracts are analyzed, a two-year, $100 million deal would have a “new-money” average of $72.5 million, based on the “old money” of $27.5 million. That’s where the disconnect may be coming from. Mayfield may be looking at the offer in total average from signing, and the Bucs may be looking at new-money average. In this specific case, a two-year extension worth more than $100 million has a new-money APY of more than $50 million. The three-year deal would have a real average from signing of $42.5 million. While none of it apparently matters at this point, given the lingering impasse that Mayfield currently has no desire to attempt to resolve, it underscores the reality that teams and players often interpret contract offers very differently. Mayfield’s goal is to get the fans to agree that he was indeed “disrespected” and “undervalued.” Characterizing the Buccaneers’ offer as a two-year “deal” and not a two-year “extension” is one way to tip public opinion his way. Will it work? In a question of laundry versus person wearing the laundry, the fans typically get behind the laundry. And if the ultimate fight is whether the contract will have a value from signing that is closer to $50 million than $40 million, most fans won’t be persuaded to alter their habit of rooting for the laundry. Matt Verderame of SI.com sides with the Buccaneers: Prosperity is earned in life, not given. Certainly not owed. The latest example of this truth can be seen in the situation brewing between Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers. On Thursday morning, Mayfield took the podium at Tampa Bay’s training camp and publicly criticized the organization, stating he feels his play has earned him another contract. It’s the kind of honesty we all appreciate from our athletes because it’s so rare. Yet in this case, perhaps Mayfield should have reconsidered his stance after a look in the mirror. The Buccaneers are coming off a bitterly disappointing 8–9 season, one that many thought could end up in the Super Bowl after Tampa Bay began 5–1, including wins over the Texans, Seahawks and 49ers. At that juncture, Mayfield was garnering MVP talk, and the Bucs were in the early race for home-field advantage. If that’s where the season ended, or if it were only the beginning of a magical journey, Mayfield would have had a great argument for another contract despite being 31 years old and on his fourth team. But that’s not how 2025 ended. Over the final 11 games of the season, Tampa Bay went 3–8 and unfathomably lost the NFC South race to the Panthers. Over that span, Mayfield threw 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, contributing to one of the biggest meltdowns in franchise history. The analytics back up the notion that Mayfield was a problem. He finished 20th in EPA at -3.6, sandwiched between rookie Jaxson Dart of the Giants and the Falcons’ Michael Penix Jr., who played in only nine games. Only four times did he post a QB rating higher than 100.0, with three of those performances coming in Week 6 and before. For general manager Jason Licht, extending Mayfield after that would have been a fool’s errand. In three seasons clad in pewter, Mayfield has won a single playoff game. For his career, he has won two. His record in Tampa Bay is 27–24 despite being surrounded by receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Emeka Egbuka, left tackle Tristan Wirfs and running back Bucky Irving. Additionally, with the Bucs coming off an abysmal season, what’s the rush for Licht? If Mayfield and the team bounce back, Licht can extend his quarterback after the season or slap the franchise tag on him, which will be approximately $50.3 million (for one season) next winter. For Mayfield, the security of future guaranteed money and a long-term contract would be ideal, but playing on the tag would be far from a disaster. If he was earning the aforementioned $50.3 million this year, that would rank 12th in the NFL among quarterbacks. That seems awfully fair for a player who has thrown for 4,000 yards just twice and 30 touchdowns once. Furthermore, there’s an opportunity cost in extending Mayfield now for the Buccaneers. If Tampa struggles again, now it’s locked into an expensive quarterback on the wrong side of 30 with two bad years as a tail wind. And with the rookie class of 2027 projecting as generational for signal-callers, potentially including Arch Manning (Texas), Dante Moore (Oregon), Julian Sayin (Ohio State), LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina) and others, Licht should be prioritizing flexibility at the sport’s most important position. Going into the weekend, the Buccaneers have the 20th-longest Super Bowl odds at +5000, tied with the Commanders. While Mayfield is far from the chief reason Tampa Bay is looking at a long road back to championship contention, he’s also not keeping the team in the annual discussion as other top quarterbacks do for their teams. If Mayfield wants to be extended, here’s a golden chance to earn it. In a division where the Falcons, Saints and Panthers are all somewhere between average and poor, the Buccaneers can run away and hide while Mayfield leads them to a division title with his take-no-prisoners approach. That didn’t happen last season, and if history repeats itself, what’s the argument for making a sizable investment into Mayfield’s mid-30s? While it’s understandable Mayfield feels disrespected after making Pro Bowl appearances for Tampa Bay in 2023 and ‘24, he should take a glance around the league for perspective. The Ravens once let Lamar Jackson go into the offseason without a deal before placing the non-exclusive franchise tag on him, this despite his having won an MVP award. Currently in Houston, the Texans haven’t extended C.J. Stroud, who in three seasons has helped them to the divisional round each campaign. Jackson is inarguably better (and younger) than Mayfield, while Stroud is 24 years old and contains oceans of potential. Although Mayfield deserves credit for throwing 41 touchdowns and totaling 4,500 yards in 2024, the NFL is a recency-focused business. And recently, he hasn’t played in a fashion that would force Licht’s hand. In life, nothing is deserved. Everything is earned. And coming off an 8–9 debacle to which he heavily contributed, it’s time for Mayfield to earn the money he seeks. |
| NFC WEST |
| SAN FRANCISCOWR DEEBO SAMUEL has circled back to the 49ers. Grant Gordon of NFL.com: Deebo Samuel is heading back to The Bay. Samuel is signing a one-year, $7 million deal to re-join the San Francisco 49ers, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Thursday night. With the 49ers dealing with a potentially serious injury to Ricky Pearsall, and free-agent addition Christian Kirk also banged up, San Francisco had a need at receiver and is calling on an old friend. Samuel was a 2019 NFL Draft second-round choice of the 49ers and was a focal point for Kyle Shanahan’s offense through the 2024 season before joining the Washington Commanders last season. Once a bruising wide back who offered a diverse skill set and options aplenty for the 49ers to throw at the opposition, Samuel has slowed, but he did produce 72 receptions for 727 yards and five touchdowns last season with Washington. Ranked 61st in Gregg Rosenthal’s Top 101 free agents, Samuel stuck around all offseason as one of a number of notable veteran wide receivers remaining on the market into the summer (Keenan Allen and Stefon Diggs are still available). Samuel, 30, went to the Pro Bowl and was an All-Pro — for the only time in each instance — following a 2021 season in which he tallied his only 1,000-yard season, which saw him score 14 scrimmage touchdowns (eight rushing; six receiving). He has 406 career receptions for 5,519 yards and 27 touchdowns, along with 1,218 rushing yards and 21 rushing scores, having become the first NFL wide receiver to score 20 career receiving and rushing touchdowns. Many have compared 49ers rookie wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling to Samuel in terms of skill sets. How Samuel mixes with veteran add Mike Evans, Stribling and a young WR corps remains to be seen. Regardless, quarterback Brock Purdy has a familiar target to throw to and Shanahan has some recognizable relief in his receiver room. |
| AFC NORTH |
| CLEVELANDEDGE JARED VERSE is excited about playing with fellow pass rusher JADEVEON CLOWNEY: Myles Simmons of ProFootballTalk.com: The Browns are interested in bringing back veteran defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. Fellow edge rusher Jared Verse would be a big fan of the move if it happens. “Clowney’s obviously one of the best rushers I’ve ever watched,” Verse said Thursday, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “Watching his film from college and everything like that, that’s one of the biggest reasons I even ever played D-end. So, having that dude in the room would be monumental for me. But I will say having that vet presence is probably even bigger than just my personal honor of him. “Having that vet presence, someone that’s been around the game, someone that can teach you things like that. That’s why I went to the Sack Summit to be around Von Miller, Maxx Crosby, all these high-end rushers because you can learn so much from them.” Verse added that Clowney can “100 percent” help him expand his set of pass-rushing moves. “I mean, obviously we’re signing him to help on the field and to help the team develop as a whole,” Verse said. “But I think me personally, selfishly, I think it would be very helpful to have that vet presence around.” Verse, who has finished his first two seasons with 4.5 and 7.5 sacks, wants to start converting more of his pressures into sacks, and feels Clowney can help him do that. “When you look at the numbers and everything like that, I’m never a big stat guy, big number guy, but to be [transparent] with it and to talk about the statistics over there, I’m one of the highest pressure rates,” Verse said. “But pressures don’t mean anything if you can’t finish. Getting to the quarterback means nothing if you can’t finish. Yeah, it throws him off a little bit and messes with his head, but sacks are what puts them back a little bit. Finishing is just my biggest part.” |
| AFC SOUTH |
| JACKSONVILLEJacksonville’s breakout 2025 season was achieved without much help from CB/WR TRAVIS HUNTER for whom they played a special price. Now, he’s back from injury and 10 pounds heavier. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: Travis Hunter’s mixture of size and speed made him a two-way player at Colorado and it led the Jaguars to trade up to take him with the second overall pick of the 2025 draft, but that didn’t stop him from changing his body ahead of his second NFL season. Hunter spent his first full pro offseason working his way back from the knee injury that ended his rookie season and he told reporters on Friday that he also worked to bulk up. Hunter said that he put on 10 pounds while working out and that initial concerns that he might hamper his speed turned out to be unwarranted. “I was scared at first. I was like ‘Oh, dang, I ain’t never played at this weight. I’m gonna feel heavy, not going to be able to do what I do,’” Hunter said. “Training and being able to put those months in, not just on the grass but in the weight room too. Just putting in that work, it made me feel lighter on my feet when I finally touched the grass. I’m just happy to be at this weight and continue to play at this weight.” Hunter said he’s been clocked at 22.6 miles per hour since putting on the weight, which is a new high for him and he hopes to keep adding speed before resuming his roles as a wide receiver and defensive back in Jacksonville this fall. |
| AFC EAST |
| MIAMI$179 million in dead cap space????? Jeff Howe of The Athletic on the immense anchor dragging down the 2026 Dolphins: — Ghosts of the Miami Dolphins’ past hovered Wednesday, as the team’s latest incarnation conducted its opening practice of training camp at the Baptist Health Training Complex. While there’s no doubt reason for excitement about this new era under first-year general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and first-year coach Jeff Hafley — the tandem of former Green Bay Packers who have been chosen to lead an unprecedented rebuild in Miami — they also recognize that to reach the fortunes of a better future, the Dolphins must become unshackled by the errors of their all-too-recent past. And that’s going to take time. And money. The Dolphins’ $179.2 million in dead salary cap is the most in NFL history, and they’re at a distinct financial disadvantage with their books clogged by players who currently ply their trade elsewhere, if anywhere at all. With roughly $120 million in cap space projected to their top-53 players, according to Over The Cap, the Dolphins are essentially rostering a team under the salary cap constraints of the 2011 season — a time when Tom Brady and Peyton Manning paced the quarterback market with contracts worth $18 million annually. The Dolphins are realistic about their timeline, and they were willing to let the accounting department (and ownership) take one on the chin in the short term. Even so, there was a clear method behind the mayhem. Tua Tagovailoa became the first $50 million quarterback to lose his job for performance. Tagovailoa, who accounts for $55.4 million in dead money in 2026, was a necessary cut to symbolize a new era. From there, the Dolphins released wide receiver Tyreek Hill ($28.2 million in dead money), linebacker Bradley Chubb ($11 million) and traded wideout Jaylen Waddle ($23.2 million) for a first-round pick and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick ($13 million) in a cap dump. Since the 2025 trade of Jalen Ramsey ($20.8 million) and the retirement of tackle Terron Armstead ($10.7 million) are still on the books, seven of the Dolphins’ nine biggest cap hits currently belong to players who won’t play a snap for them this season. To put it another way, the Dolphins’ $179.2 million in dead cap space would equate to the fifth-most expensive unit in the NFL. Sullivan knew what he was getting into when he took the job, however, and he and the Dolphins were decisive. Rather than slow-playing the teardown to spread out the financial burden, the Dolphins jettisoned every remaining highly paid star from the previous regime. They are willingly taking on an historic cap beating in 2026 and will still be forced to navigate around $56.7 million in dead money in 2027. Beyond that, they’re unburdened. If Sullivan and Hafley can develop their deep 2026 draft class in the meantime, the Dolphins could have a new core in place and a clean slate with the books. In the much shorter term, the Dolphins have focused on culture. And with 40 players signed to one-year contracts, the Dolphins are stocked with guys who have something to prove. That suits their overall purpose just fine. “We brought in a lot of culture guys who we feel are wired right for what we’re trying to build,” Sullivan told The Athletic this week. “It’s a starting point. I like the culture we have, and that’s a testament to the guys we brought in, both your rookies, as well as some of the vets who are on one-years and some of the guys who were already here. “I think (Hafley) has done an incredible job of being very upfront and messaging the team in terms of what we’re going to be about, which is mental resilience, physical resilience, work ethic, toughness. I’ve said it a million times over again. We’re going to move a certain way here, and we’re going to weed out the guys who don’t belong.” They’ll have to be a blue-collar team because, relatively speaking, that’s who they are. Defensive lineman Zach Sieler ($11.4 million) and linebacker Jordyn Brooks ($10.9 million) own the largest cap hits on the team. Miami doesn’t have another player on the roster with a cap hit north of $7 million. There are 316 active players in the NFL — an average of about 10 per team — with a cap hit of at least $7 million, according to Spotrac. Seiler and Brooks rank 172nd and 180th in the NFL, respectively. The Dolphins are truly a team in cap jail. To break it down further, the Dolphins predictably rank last in both offensive and defensive cap investments, but the disparity between their peers is alarming, according to Spotrac. They’ve got $61.9 million in offensive cap spending, while the New York Jets rank No. 31 with $96 million; the Cleveland Browns are 30th with $116.1 million. Nearly every team in the league has spent at least twice the cap space on offensive players, while the Rams, Bucs and Cowboys have tripled the Dolphins’ offensive cap spending. Defensively, the Dolphins’ $57.6 million in cap spending trails the 31st-ranked Philadelphia Eagles by $10.7 million, while 18 teams have spent at least twice as much. The Pittsburgh Steelers ($163.6 million) tripled the Dolphins’ defensive cap spending. Keep in mind, the Dolphins have just $11.7 million in cap space, so they’re doing what they can. Unsurprisingly, the Dolphins are also ranked near the bottom of cap spending at the premium positions. They’re 30th at quarterback ($8.5 million), where Malik Willis is a full-time starter for the first time. They rank last at wide receiver ($13.2 million), 31st on the offensive line ($31.2 million) and the edge ($12.2 million) and 30th at cornerback ($15.4 million). Sullivan and Hafley will focus on the foundation, both on the field and in the financials. They’ll continue to be deliberate, an approach that’s well-ingrained in Sullivan after 22 years with the Packers. And they’ll work to try to ensure this historic bout with dead money was worth the unprecedented challenge. |
| THIS AND THAT |
| ROMO REPLACEDAfter his DUI charge in Wisconsin, analyst Tony Romo has been benched indefinitely by CBS. Bernie Zilio of the New York Post: Tony Romo has been sidelined from his job following his arrest for allegedly driving while intoxicated. “Tony Romo is on leave from his role at CBS Sports until further notice,” a rep for the network told Page Six on Friday — just over a week after the retired NFL star was nabbed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Romo has yet to address the matter publicly, and his reps have not responded to our repeated requests for comment. “Tony Romo is on leave from his role at CBS Sports until further notice,” a rep for the network told Page Six on Friday. Following his April 2017 retirement from playing football, Romo began working for CBS Sports and is currently the network’s lead NFL game color analyst. Last Thursday, he was pulled over by a Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office deputy for “unsafe passing” while he was driving southbound I-43 on the high-rise bridge. |
