The Kansas City Chiefs will open their attempt for a three-peat when they host the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL’s annual prime-time season opener, the league announced Monday.

The matchup, to be played Thursday, Sept. 5 at Arrowhead Stadium, is a rematch of last season’s AFC Championship Game, which the Chiefs won 17-10 before defeating the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII.

The Chiefs are playing in the Thursday night opener at Arrowhead Stadium for the third time in five seasons. They defeated the Houston Texans in 2020 and lost to the Detroit Lions in 2023. They are 2-1 in the NFL Kickoff Game since it was introduced in the 2002 season.

The Ravens lost their only previous Kickoff Game appearance when they were beaten by the Denver Broncos on the road to start the 2013 season.

The full NFL regular-season schedule is expected to be released Wednesday.

We also know that Green Bay meets Philadelphia in Sao Paolo, Brazil on Friday night in Week 1 (Eagles home game).

For the next few days, you can follow @NerdinOnNFL for schedule leaks, rumors and actual news.  An example:

NFL Schedule Update

@NerdingonNFL

NFL SCHEDULE RUMOR

Steelers at Falcons – Week 1

Andrew Fillipponi

@ThePoniExpress

Keep an eye on the Steelers opening the season on the road. At the Falcons.  Wilson vs Cousins.

CHICAGO

Coach Matt Eberflus did not wait to confirm the inevitable about the status of QB CALEB WILLIAMS.  Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com:

Ahead of rookie minicamp Friday, Bears coach Matt Eberflus wasted no time in naming Caleb Williams as Chicago’s starting quarterback.

“No conversation,” Eberflus said. “He’s the starter.”

Eberflus’ declaration confirmed the inevitable decision for the Bears after they drafted the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner with the No. 1 pick last month. Williams was the only quarterback the Bears hosted on a top-30 visit, and Chicago was the only team Williams visited ahead of the draft. Bears coaches began teaching the former USC quarterback their offense ahead of his pro day in Los Angeles and again while Williams visited Halas Hall in early April.

Williams also took it upon himself to work with his private quarterback coach, Will Hewlett, on the fundamentals of the Bears’ offense before taking the field for this weekend’s minicamp.

“You always want to get ahead if you can, and so with those things that they gave me, I would take it to my QB trainer and we would use the cadence, we would use the drops, we would use all those things so that’s not something that’s on my mind throughout the process of when I actually got here,” Williams said.

Eberflus said the Bears gave Williams and Hewlett the basics of the offense, which the quarterback said included the verbiage, route tree, cadence, and how to operate in and out of the huddle.

The head start has given Williams the confidence to help others learn the offense at the rookie minicamp.

“Right now I feel pretty good,” Williams said. “Obviously we’ll go out here today, and we’re going to have a few mess-ups, probably, and things like that, working to do, eliminate those as fast as possible. But you need those things to grow and progress throughout the time and years and things like that. So excited, but I feel pretty good right now.”

Eberflus said the Bears have several benchmarks they expect Williams to reach over the next few months ahead of training camp.

“Full understanding of the concepts: run, pass, checks and his fundamentals,” Eberflus said. “The fundamentals that we have in place for him, which, he’s really good fundamentally, but we have some things we want him to work on and improve as well.”

MINNESOTA

John Beck, once a borderline NFL QB, is QB J.J. McCARTHY’s personal coach.  He spoke with Alec Lewis of The Athletic:

In 2011, legendary coach Mike Shanahan invited John Beck into his office. The quarterback had been in the NFL for four years and was with Shanahan in Washington then. Shanahan’s offense fascinated Beck, so the quarterback asked questions. Somehow, the conversation drifted into a discussion about quarterback athleticism.

“I don’t need the most athletic guy,” Shanahan told him. “I just need an athletic guy.”

By then, Beck understood the core philosophies of Shanahan’s offense: stretch the defense laterally, then run vertically; or fake like you’re stretching the defense laterally and running vertically, but instead place precise passes over defenders’ heads. Beck figured out why Shanahan preferred his quarterback to have enough athleticism: The more fluidity the QB played with on the move, the more space he could create for passes at the second level.

Beck never forgot that sentiment — or the conversation in general. Shanahan’s words created a model for what Beck saw as the ideal quarterback.

A decade later, in 2021, following a few training sessions in Ann Arbor, Mich., with an incoming freshman quarterback named J.J. McCarthy, Beck believed his model had come to life.

Beck returned to California, where he’d started a family and become a private quarterbacks coach working with the 3DQB training group, and when his colleagues asked for his impressions of McCarthy, Beck responded, “All of the coaches in the Shanahan tree are going to love this kid.”

His colleagues asked him for a comparison.

“The very same things that made Mike Shanahan like Jay Cutler and take him as a first-rounder are going to be some of the things people in this tree will see when he comes out of college,” Beck said.

Speaking now, a couple of weeks after the Minnesota Vikings selected McCarthy with the No. 10 pick, Beck is sticking with his initial impression: “He has a combination of arm strength, being able to drive balls to certain locations on the field, tied together with the ability to utilize athleticism in the keeper and play-pass game.”

Combine that with McCarthy’s child-like innocence and joy, and Beck, who prepared McCarthy in the pre-draft process (and has worked with C.J. Stroud, Dak Prescott, Bryce Young and many others), said McCarthy has “loads of talent.” Thinking forward, he likens McCarthy’s development to baking a moist and delicious chocolate cake.

“You have so many good things in J.J. McCarthy,” Beck said. “Don’t rush the recipe. Don’t hurry through trying to get this cake baked and out of the oven as fast as you can.”

This opinion pairs perfectly with the perspective of Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and coach Kevin O’Connell. It’s why they signed an experienced option like Sam Darnold to a one-year deal worth $10 million and spent time individually with quarterbacks in the meeting room and on the field during the pre-draft process. Build an optimal environment for long-term success, and identify the touch-ups the quarterback must make before being thrust into the fire of the NFL’s results-based environment.

Few people on Earth understand McCarthy’s strengths and weaknesses as well as Beck. His primary job during the pre-draft process was to accentuate the positives and mask the negatives. His expertise mostly lies in mechanics.

Beck said McCarthy is like a high school pitcher who throws 98 mph. Scouts flock to the ballpark. They plop down on the metal bleachers. They lift their radar guns, read the number and mutter, “Holy s—.” They see a skill set you cannot teach and begin to dream about the projection. Watch the tape, and you’ll notice how easily McCarthy lasers a pass from the opposite hash to the sideline. He topped out at 61 mph in the velocity drill at the combine, which was the second-best mark behind former Tennessee rocket launcher Joe Milton III.

“There have been a lot of high-90s guys who enter the minors, and when they start, they realize real quick: ‘I need to add some Greg Maddux to my game if I really want to be successful,’” Beck said.

Maddux changed speeds. He pinpointed locations all around the plate. And he knew what to throw in what situation — a different superpower entirely.

Just like pitchers, quarterbacks generate their power from the ground. The lower and upper body combine to create a coil that unravels and releases the ball. McCarthy, Beck said, throws with a substantial amount of upper-body strength, which is a biomechanical movement pattern that likely stems from McCarthy’s days as a hockey player. This can cause McCarthy to rely on his arm for torque, making it harder to dial back the velocity and add touch to fit passes in certain windows. A chunk of Beck’s work was to create a practice environment in which McCarthy could develop a better feel for those abilities.

Golf is another way to illustrate McCarthy’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s as if he has thrived so far simply hitting the ball straight and on a line. Now, he must learn how to hit a fade and draw, to open the clubface and to play creative lob shots.

“What we’ve worked on is, ‘Let’s add more clubs to the golf bag. Let’s let you play with a full set of clubs,’” Beck said.

So, how will McCarthy continue to add to his bag? Beck thinks the answer is to put him in as many situations as possible. Layer the ball all over the practice field this summer, and then, once training camp begins, try some alternate trajectories. And don’t be afraid to miss.

“Failure during some of these camps should be welcomed with open arms,” Beck said. “Try to fit the ball in, and if you can’t, you can’t. Your decision-making (experience) grows. Your ability to know what you can and can’t do grows.”

There are some challenges to this, though. Miss passes, and McCarthy could feel like he’s losing. Managing failure again and again is a challenge for hypercompetitive people. Will teammates notice? Will the media? What will they think?

And how about this overarching question: How much preparation time is enough? Can you know if a young quarterback is ready until he’s tossed into a real game?

“That’s the tricky thing about navigating these waters,” Beck said.

That’s now the challenge for O’Connell and his coaching staff: structuring McCarthy’s daily work in a way that leads to recognizable growth.

This past weekend’s rookie minicamp was the equivalent of a trip to the driving range. Cart over, grab a spot and hack away with the stakes as low as possible.

The next step is mandatory minicamp, which is like taking the shots to the course, dropping a bunch of balls and hitting shots with little to no stress.

Training camp is like a practice round, the season a tournament.

“J.J. McCarthy’s goals are to win games on a tour like the Masters and the PGA,” Beck said. “You’re not going to win those tournaments if you don’t have the full arsenal of clubs in your bag and are elite with all of them. He knows that. The Vikings do, too.”

PHILADELPHIA

DC Nick Fangio hopes that the Eagles are the last stop of his coaching career.  Nick Shook of NFL.com:

Vic Fangio’s final stop — hopefully — was written in the stars decades ago.

The new Eagles defensive coordinator explained as much Thursday.

“Well, it was exactly 40 years ago when I started my pro coaching career across the street at Veterans Stadium, and I thought it would be cool to hopefully end it here,” Fangio said, via team transcript. “So, 40 years later, here I am.

“A lot of things change, and a lot of things don’t. One of the first things I’ve done, several times, I still go to the Philadium down on Packer [Avenue] for my meals, just like I did way back then. Phillies are still playing good. You guys didn’t clobber them for losing one game yesterday, did you? But no, just to come back, my kids live two hours south of here. My mother, who’s 97, lives two hours north of here. So, a lot of family considerations.

“I was a big Philly fan growing up in all sports. It was a thrill for me to go to work every day at Veterans Stadium 40 years ago because I used to go to games there all the time. And now it’s a good thrill to come back 40 years later and hopefully finish it out here.”

As he listed, it’s all right there in Philadelphia for Fangio. Family? Check. Roots? Check. Past fandom and favorite local eateries? Check.

In fact, it’s only a surprise such a pairing didn’t happen sooner. Fangio revealed he “basically” left Miami with the intent to join the Eagles, who were in need of a new defensive coordinator following a nightmarish one-year trial with Sean Desai, and eventually, Matt Patricia, who took play-calling over from Desai in mid-December.

When asked if Fangio — who had served as a consultant in 2022 before leaving for the Dolphins’ DC job — might have taken the Eagles’ job in 2023 if the timeline for coaching changes was different, Fangio simply replied “I think that’s a fair assumption.”

Alain Poupart of SI.com with some of the issues from the Miami side:

While Fangio had the Dolphins defense ranked as high as fourth in the NFL before injuries decimated his unit, not every one of his players was sad to see him “mutually part ways” with Miami on Jan. 24 and quickly took over as Eagles DC three days later.

Among the issues that troubled players were the handling of pass rusher Emmanuel Ogbah, who sparingly played despite contributing five sacks and an interception when worked into the defense; the defense’s unwillingness to have cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey or Xavien Howard shadow the opposition’s best receivers; and the treatment of rookie cornerback Cam Smith, who entered Fangio’s doghouse before the season and never exited despite Miami’s struggles at the position.

Jevon Holland posted a quickly deleted “kick rocks” video shortly after the Fangio departure news broke.

So Fangio was asked Thursday for his perspective of the idea of fractured relationships with at least some of his players.

“I didn’t see that at all, really,” Fangio said. “Anything we do, whether there, here, or anywhere else I’ve been, is what we think is the best for the team and best for the defense, specifically, to stop somebody. Wherever that falls, that’s where it falls.”

Fangio later discussed the changes in dealing with players these days, something that appeared to clash with his old-school approach.

“That’s a good question,” he said. “We can stay here all day and answer that, but I’m going to give you the cliff-note version of that: They really haven’t changed very much at all.

“What’s changed is the people around them. People are not expecting as much out of players as we used to expect. These players will work and give you everything they’ve got within reason. It starts at an early age, when they’re in high school, college, everybody — less-is-more type of thing, preserve your energy. You guys here in the NBA, load management. I’ve talked to coaches from other sports that I know, and it drives them crazy. The players are willing to work. Never had an issue with that. And they’re still willing to work. But we as the so-called adults in the room need to push them.”

WASHINGTON

More foot surgery for DT JOHNNY NEWTON, the Commanders 2^nd round pick.  John Keim of ESPN.com:

Washington Commanders second-round pick Johnny Newton will undergo surgery within a week to repair an injury to his left foot — about four months after the defensive tackle had a procedure done for a similar injury on his right foot.

Newton suffered a partial Jones fracture of his right foot sometime during the past season at Illinois and underwent surgery in January. During a recent checkup on the repaired foot — it’s uncertain when that occurred — Commanders coach Dan Quinn said doctors determined he had a similar issue with his left foot.

Newton did not participate in Washington’s rookie minicamp practices this weekend, standing off to the side and wearing a walking boot on his left foot.

Newton was projected as a possible first-round pick; Washington selected him with the 36th pick.

Quinn said he’s glad that Newton will have the procedure now rather than “the end of August or in September where it sets you back.” Quinn did not want to provide a timetable for when Newton might be ready to return. After having the surgery in January, Newton did not participate in drills at the scouting combine in late February but did take part in his personal pro day on April 16.

On the night he was drafted Newton said, “I’m fully healed now. I’m fully ready to go. The injury happened midseason, got surgery on it in January, healed up, fully healed, then I did a pro day back in Illinois and ever since then I’ve been ready to go.”

Quinn said, “It’s just an unfortunate act that he had and we’ll get him right.”

Newton told the Illini Inquirer in February that he was unsure when he hurt his right foot, though he said it likely occurred during the middle of the season. It did not deter him from eventually being named the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the year. In four years, Newton recorded 27 tackles for a loss and 18 sacks.

“Man, do we have high hopes for him,” Quinn said. “He’s such a kick-ass competitor.”

– – –

A couple of feathers on a shirt worn by Coach Dan Quinn ruffled social media.  Jeff Kerr at CBSSports.com tries to explain what went on without using a word that starts with R:

Dan Quinn sent some waves around the Washington Commanders organization Saturday when he debuted a T-shirt that had the team’s logo — with a mix of the old Washington logo that was disbanded in 2019. The feathers from the old logo were attached to the “W” in the Commanders logo, a bit of a throwback to the logo the Washington franchise had for decades.

According to the Commanders in a team statement, there’s “no organizational comment” on Quinn’s shirt (via Pro Football Talk). NBC 4 Sports has also assured the team has no plans to bring back the old name after social media reaction to the shirt. Quinn’s T-shirt also isn’t officially licensed by the team.

The Commanders abandoned the original team name in 2019 and rebranded as the Washington Football Team in 2020 before settling on a new name in 2022 — the Washington Commanders.

Washington’s new ownership group, led by managing partner Josh Harris, have silenced rumors of a name change since the group purchased the team last year — yet there will undoubtedly be speculation of a potential name change based on Quinn’s shirt.

“Obviously, I grew up in D.C. and I was there during the glory years, so I understand why fans love the former name,” Harris said last September, via Sports Illustrated. “But look, there was a portion of our fanbase that felt disrespected by the former name.

“Sports are supposed to bring people together and not be a distraction. I don’t want distractions … I thought it was important that we end the conversation.”

Harris has referenced the glory days of the franchise, but never discussed changing the name back. Harris was also asked this offseason of another rebrand of a name other than Commanders, but pushed that aside toward other tasks the franchise needs to work on.

Getting a new stadium and practice facility, for example.

“Working on the next improvements to our stadium, in terms of fan experience, in terms of premium areas, and fixing a lot of different things and investing in the stadium,” Harris said in January, via USA Today. “Then, we’ve got obviously our new home and thinking about that.

“Right now, our focus today is on sports first and foremost, and then these other things and so, those are our focuses right now.”

Even if the Commanders would entertain a name change, that’s not on the docket. Of course, Quinn’s T-shirt fanned the flames of a name change instead of extinguishing them.

We await word from those aggrieved by the old name for the ruling on whether the subtle use of a Native American symbol without any words is culturally offensive.

DENVER

So far so good in Broncos camp for QB BO NIX.

As first-round draft pick Bo Nix worked through his first rookie minicamp with the Denver Broncos this weekend, coach Sean Payton said Saturday he already gave the No. 12 pick of the draft a little welcome to the NFL ribbing.

“I went into the quarterback meeting and I was just having fun with Bo and I said I want to talk to the quarterback that’s got 160 touchdown passes and he rushed for 30 — 190 total,” Payton said. “So we Wikipediaed him.”

That quarterback was not Nix, but rather Colorado School of Mines’ John Matocha, who is at the Broncos’ rookie minicamp as a tryout player this weekend. Matocha finished his four-year career with the Division II Orediggers as college football’s all-time touchdown leader when he threw for 162 touchdowns and rushed for 29 more.

It was a first day of school moment for Nix, who went through the second of three full practices with the team’s other rookies Saturday. The expectations for Nix, who the Broncos made the sixth quarterback selected in the first round of the draft last month, — 12th pick overall — are already swirling.

But Nix said at the moment, he’s just trying to get through the playbook and find all of the meeting rooms he needs to find.

“Everything’s new, you’re learning a new offense, new teammates, new coaches, new practice style, everything’s new,” Nix said. “Everything’s new, you don’t really know where to go, you have to kind of follow your position coach around.”

“So much of it is huddle, snap count, break the huddle, under center, shotgun, it’s a process,” Payton said after Saturday’s practice. ” … He’s handling the install well, he had a pretty good practice today, he’s grinding through it, he’s doing good with it.”

The rookies will go through another minicamp practice Sunday before they all are folded into the Broncos’ offseason workouts with the rest of the players. Payton said Saturday he saw, in the early going, many of the same qualities he saw when the Broncos made Nix the team’s highest quarterback selection since they picked Jay Cutler at No. 11 in 2006.

“He had two or three down the field throws [Saturday],” Payton said. “It’s almost like watching a good golfer when you watch his game … there’s a patience to how he plays, the ball comes out.”

“[You] learn as much as you can, and not make the same mistake twice,” Nix said.

Payton, in what is likely a preview of the team’s OTAs, mandatory minicamp and training camp, was asked Saturday about how the quarterback competition will unfold in the weeks ahead. And he simply said:

“We’ll figure it out, we’ll figure it out … We’ll have a rotation and we’ll go from there.”

LAS VEGAS

In Vegas, it’s a good thing to be a dog.  Paul Guitierrez of ESPN.com:

Brock Bowers was a two-time John Mackey Award winner as the nation’s top tight end at Georgia.

Across the country at Oregon, Jackson Powers-Johnson was awarded the Rimington Trophy as college football’s best center. Then there is Air Force’s Trey Taylor, feted with the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back.

And don’t forget about Dylan Laube, a Walter Payton Award finalist who also was also a first-team all-purpose All-American at FCS New Hampshire and led the nation in all-purpose yards the last two years.

While the quartet represents half of the Las Vegas Raiders’ first draft class under general manager Tom Telesco, assistant GM Champ Kelly and coach Antonio Pierce, it also epitomizes a philosophy that permeated the Raiders’ draft — take the best player available, especially if he fits a distinct mold. And, yes, even if the choice raises more than a few eyebrows.

“We didn’t necessarily go out to attack the national award winners, but production was important for us,” Kelly said this week as the Raiders prepared for rookie minicamp. “Getting guys that would come in and contribute, [who] were selfless and understanding the team concept. … We’re excited to get them here and allow them to get acclimated into our environment.”

Now, conventional wisdom dictates that draft classes cannot be judged fairly until those respective players are in their third or fourth year in the league.

But where’s the fun in that?

The NFL draft is all about immediate gratification, so when it comes to the honors dripping from the facemasks of the newest Raiders, Las Vegas gets more than a passing grade in this knee-jerk exercise.

In fact, it’s one of the most accomplished and impressive draft classes in the NFL when seen through that lens … for now.

And it’s one that, at least according to their pre-draft plan, mirrors the hard-driving and ultra-intense Pierce, elevated from interim coach to the full-time gig by Raiders owner Mark Davis after he guided the team to a 5-4 finish while bringing back a long-lost, recognizable swagger to the locker room.

“Hey, coach,” Laube told Pierce on the phone after the Raiders used a sixth-round selection (No. 208 overall) on him, “you got a dog.”

“Hey, Dylan,” Pierce barked back, “that’s our culture here — just a bunch of dogs.”

The 5-foot-10, 208-pound Laube led the nation with 209.5 all-purpose yards per game in 2023 and was second with 18 total touchdowns but projects more as a kick returner after averaging 31.1 yards per return last fall.

“And I’m super excited, man, just because it’s just a bunch of gritty, hard-nosed dudes, man,” said Laube, who also caught 68 passes for 699 yards and seven touchdowns and said he models his game after Christian McCaffrey.

“It’s going to be so fun. I can’t wait to suit up in the Black and Gray.”

Come again? The what, exactly?

Cut the rookie some slack for his Silver and Black slip-up. He’ll get the message soon enough.

Taylor, who somehow fell to the seventh round, felt a similarity between the mountains of the Air Force Academy and the streets of Silver and Blackdom.

“You can tell they run a tight ship, and I love that,” said Taylor, a 6-foot, 210-pounder selected with pick No. 223 after intercepting six passes and racking up 205 tackles in three seasons for the Falcons. “I love that … it fits me well coming from the Academy, and I feel like I’m a killer on the field.

“Like, I have a different instinct when I get on the field and I brought that from the Academy, and I’m hoping to bring it onto this team. And I feel like there’s a lot of people who have the same mentality on [the Raiders].”

“When you look at our head coach and what he’s looking for and his mentality, you’ve got to kind of match that and fit that culture,” Telesco said. “And we feel like most of these guys have that.

“Our scouts who are on the road, they not only have to look at the football player between the white lines, but everything else about the person.”

The Raiders also drafted the Big Ten’s linebacker of the year — Ohio State’s Tommy Eichenberg — in the fifth round. Eichenberg, a 6-2, 239-pound thumper, was one of three team captains the Raiders selected, along with Bowers and Laube.

Las Vegas’ other three picks checked its old-school boxes of either being big (third-round Maryland tackle Delmar Glaze checks in at 6-5, 323 pounds), fast (Pittsburgh cornerback M.J. Devonshire’s 4.45 40-yard dash time helped the 5-11, 190-pound seventh-rounder with a school record-tying three career pick-sixes) or big and fast (Mississippi State cornerback Decamerion Richardson, taken in the fourth round, is 6-2 and ran a 4.34 40 at the combine).

Yeah, the Raiders’ draft trend was as palpable as it was vintage.

Because while Powers-Johnson was the nation’s best center, he’s switching to guard — the Raiders have an opening on the right side, though he worked exclusively on the left side at the start of rookie minicamp Friday — and the 6-foot-3, 320-pound road grader with a massive hamburger named after him in Eugene, Oregon, is only too happy to make the switch.

Yes, even with his resume.

“Anywhere that the Raiders want me to play, I’m going to play,” said Powers-Johnson, the Raiders’ only unsigned draft pick who played guard his first two seasons at Oregon. “If they want me to throw the ball, I’ll throw the ball.”

He was joking.

Which brings us back to where we started, Bowers, whose first-round selection by the Raiders at No. 13 had many fans and observers wondering if they were being pranked when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell read his name.

After all, quarterback and right tackle were the two top needs on the Raiders’ draft board. So after six QBs went in the top-12 selections and Oregon State right tackle Taliese Fuaga there for the taking, the Raiders’ pick seemed academic.

Alas … another tight end?

The consensus No. 8 overall prospect according to ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., Matt Miller, Jordan Reid and Field Yates, the 6-4, 240-pound Bowers was simply too enticing for Telesco, Kelly, Pierce and Co. after he caught 175 passes for 2,538 yards and 26 TDs in 40 games over three seasons for the Bulldogs.

Yeah, a transcendent talent and three-time first-team All-American at a position far from a need fit the Raiders’ mold … even though the team used a second-round pick on Michael Mayer last year and signed veteran Harrison Bryant in free agency.

“I feel like I’m a hard-working guy and I’m always competing,” said the versatile Bowers, who can also line up wide and in the slot as well as in the backfield as an H-back.

“I love to compete. And I feel like that’s something I bring to the table every day in practice. I’m going to be trying to just win every rep.”

Did we mention he fit the Raiders’ mold?

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS

The Chargers are signing EDGE BUD DUPREE.  Kris Rhim of ESPN.com:

Free agent outside linebacker Bud Dupree signed with the Los Angeles Chargers, the team announced Saturday.

Dupree, 31, had a career renaissance last year, notching 6.5 sacks and 39 tackles with eight tackles for loss and eight quarterback hits for the Atlanta Falcons. He quickly emerged as the team’s top stand-up edge rusher in Atlanta’s defensive scheme, often playing on many vital snaps.

He joins an outside linebacker group that features two of the league’s best in Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack. Mack had the best season of his career last year, finishing fourth in the NFL with a career-high 17 sacks. The Chargers also have outside linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu, who emerged as one of the team’s most consistent players with Bosa sidelined for eight games last season.

Tuipulotu finished with 4.5 sacks last season, tied for seventh among rookies. The Chargers, who lack a dominant interior pass rusher, could feature Dupree and Tuipulotu in sets with three outside linebackers, where one of them line up on the interior.

Last season, that package was effective for the Chargers, including a Week 2 game against the Tennessee Titans when Tuipulotu drew in two linemen to free up a sack for Bosa.

Dupree, a 2015 first-round pick, spent his first six seasons with the Steelers, and a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Saturday night that Pittsburgh was a close consideration for the veteran. But the Chargers sold Dupree on three-rusher sets with Bosa and Mack on the field together, the source said.

NEW ENGLAND

Coach Jerod Mayo is not gushing over rookie QB DRAKE MAYE.  Veteran scribe Mike Reiss of ESPN.com:

First-year New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo might not be as hard-lined as Bill Belichick when answering questions from reporters, but he delivered a Belichick-type response when asked his first impressions of quarterback Drake Maye at rookie minicamp.

“He has a lot to work on. A lot to work on,” Mayo said Saturday, repeating himself. “But I have no doubt that he will put the time in. He was here all night trying to get on the same page as everyone else.”

Mayo has said that his legacy — as well as that of newly appointed executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf, who officially was named to the position Saturday — will be tied to the team’s selection of Maye third overall in last month’s NFL draft.

Friday and Saturday marked Maye’s first practices as a Patriot, as he donned jersey No. 10, the same as former Patriots first-round pick Mac Jones.

Reporters were present for Saturday’s hourlong session, which featured a heavy emphasis on footwork fundamentals. Specifically, Maye spent the first few periods of practice taking snaps directly under center instead of the shotgun, which he mostly used the past two seasons at North Carolina.

“It’s been good, kind of the first day feeling it out and just getting more and more reps,” Maye said. “That’s all something new takes — getting more reps at it. I felt pretty good out there today, so just have to keep working.”

Is QB JOE MILTON III playing the role of Kirk Cousins to QB DRAKE MAYE as Robert Griffin III?  More from Reiss:

The Patriots’ executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said on “The Adam Schefter Podcast” that University of Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton III had “too much talent” to pass over him in the sixth round of the NFL draft (No. 193), even though the Patriots had already selected North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye at No. 3.

Few had a closer behind-the-scenes view of Milton’s talent than Joey Halzle, who enters his fourth season on the Tennessee coaching staff — first as the quarterbacks coach (2021-2022) and then offensive coordinator (2023-present). Halzle, 38, played QB at Oklahoma (2006-2008) before starting his coaching career at the school. And he has shared quarterback rooms — as either a player or coach — with Sam Bradford (2010 first-round draft pick), Landry Jones (2013 fourth round), Drew Lock (2019 second round) and Hendon Hooker (2023 third round), among others.

“He is physically the most talented quarterback I’ve been around, and I’ve been around a lot of guys that have been drafted really high,” Halzle said of Milton. “The arm talent, everybody knows about. The strength, flexibility, ability to run — high, high, high-level athlete. He’s a physical specimen on the football field.”

He tells the story of a 2021 summer practice in the Volunteers’ indoor facility in which Milton was executing a play-action pass from the left hashmark and throwing a ‘go’ ball down the right sideline. Milton’s delivery ended up in the rafters, hitting one of the spinning fans.

“It was like, ‘Oh, that’s a little bit different right there,'” Halzle said. “That was the first of many; the ball coming off his hand is absolutely insane.”

Wolf took note of the same thing while watching Milton warm up before last season’s Tennessee-Vanderbilt game.

But at the same time, it takes more than a powerful arm to be a successful quarterback, which Halzle relayed was one of the first conversations he had with Milton when he transferred from Michigan in 2021. They talked about being judicious with “things that showed off his arm” and committing to a laser focus on fundamentals.

“He was an upper-body thrower when [he came to Tennessee] and one goal was to make him a lower-body thrower — driving off the back foot and letting the arms put the ball where it needs to go,” Halzle said, identifying the change as a catalyst for Milton’s improved accuracy over time.

“It was all about ‘You have to invest in parts of the game that wasn’t just a natural gift to you. You have to invest in understanding defenses. Understanding the offensive scheme. Understanding protections.’ I think he always did, but he took that to a different level last year.”

Milton, in his first full season as a starter, finished 229-of-354 for 2,813 yards, with 20 touchdown passes and five interceptions. He added 78 rushes for 299 yards and seven touchdowns.

In explaining the Patriots’ thinking in drafting Milton after already landing Maye, coach Jerod Mayo noted Milton’s “cannon for an arm” and how the team is “in the business of trying to get good football players through the door” as its strategy.

“One thing that we preach is competition. Nothing is given. All of it’s earned,” Mayo said, adding that Milton could also potentially provide value as a scout-team quarterback because “having a guy that size, we’re going to play some of those [type of QBs] as well.”

With veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett and Maye locks to be on the 53-man roster, Milton and third-year pro Bailey Zappe could be competing for one spot. That is, unless the Patriots take the unconventional step of keeping all four, similar to what the team did in 2000 with Drew Bledsoe, John Friesz, Michael Bishop and sixth-round pick Tom Brady.

Few expected much from Brady that year as the 199th pick, which is similar to the spot where Milton — who along with the rest of the rookie class arrived in town Thursday — finds himself.

Halzle pointed out that even though Milton is 24 years old, he has less experience than other prospects, in part due to “a little bit of a bad shake” in which injuries contributed to him twice losing his grip on the No. 1 spot on the depth chart — first at Michigan, then initially at Tennessee.

“To me, it’s less about the age and more about how many times have you stood back there behind center,” Halzle said. “I think one of the main things for the fan base to know he’s still a project and very, very new to full-time starting at the position, so the ceiling for this guy is very high.”

The roles kind of seem reversed as Milton shares more characteristics with Griffin including the “III” at the end of the name, but we recall in 2012 that Griffin was picked second overall by Washington, which then followed up with the still-thriving Cousins in the 4^th round.

It has been speculated that then-owner Daniel Snyder picked Griffin and then-coach Mike Shanahan took the QB he really wanted in Cousins.

And we’ve seen that “ownership” is said to have been running at least the early portions of the Patriots draft this year.

THIS AND THAT

BROADCAST NEWS

John Parry is no longer the ABC rules analyst.  Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com:

ESPN rules analyst John Parry is leaving the network. According to FootballZebras.com, Parry will become officiating liaison for an NFL team.

The team is not currently known.

Parry said he’ll assist the coaching staff on replay decisions and rules matters. He declined to name the team in his comments to FootballZebras.com.

“Officials look at the game so differently than players, coaches, and fans,” Parry said. “So to have somebody up [in the booth]: Hey, this is the mechanic, this is why that person made that call. And no matter what happens to this replay, if they flip it, here’s where the ball will be spotted. Here’s the down in distance. The clock’s gonna start in the ready for play, or it’s a 10-second runoff, so you could take a timeout. So you better start thinking about that, will you take one? Will you not?”

It could become a new employment path for game officials who are ready to move on, especially if teams value that position more than the NFL values officials.

That’s the reality for the network jobs. The league’s broadcast partners pay better than the league does, generally speaking. And it sounds as if a team lured Parry away from ESPN, possibly in part by offering more money.

It’s unknown whether ESPN will replace Parry right away.

BANDWAGONS FORMING

Gennaro Felice of NFL.com identifies the bandwagons, both team and individual, that are acquiring riders this offseason:

We’re in a transitional stage of the NFL offseason. Free agency has gone from “THAT guy went THERE?!?” to “That guy’s still out there?” All 257 picks of the 2024 NFL Draft are in the books, and report cards are out. So, as the Northern Hemisphere shifts from spring to summer, the football world moves on from roster reconstruction to …

HYPE SEASON!!

Yep, with the 2024 schedule release apparently imminent — Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay revealed that he caught the scent on Tuesday — we’re heading into an annual period of propaganda. Over the next couple months, no games will be played, roster moves will be minimal, and the football news cycle will enter a general state of calm. But the TAKES? Oh, those babies will flow with relentless fury. And with every team eyeing the clean slate that a new campaign provides, optimism abounds across the league.

Long story short: Bandwagons are forming, people. Which ones will offer the most satisfying ride? That’s what I’m looking to spotlight today. Here are 11 bandwagons — of the player, coach and team variety — you should hop on immediately.

Chicago Bears

2023 record: 7-10

This isn’t just about Caleb Williams, but that’s the natural place to start. As a raw thrower of the football, the No. 1 overall pick has every club in the bag. Which is why he draws lofty comparisons to Patrick Mahomes. But the question is how deftly he’ll be able to deploy — and, at times, rein in — his explosive arsenal. That’s what makes Mahomes so special these days: his ability to shape-shift from gunslinger to game manager, depending on what each game/drive/play calls for. Mastering this nuance of the position will take time for Caleb, but one thing that could expedite the process is Chicago’s supporting cast on offense. Williams is flanked by versatile playmakers at running back (D’Andre Swift and Khalil Herbert), receiver (DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and fellow rookie top-10 pick Rome Odunze) and tight end (Cole Kmet and Gerald Everett). The offensive line is more of a question mark, but there’s reason for optimism. LT Braxton Jones, LG Teven Jenkins and RG Nate Davis each missed at least a month of action last season due to injuries. With better health luck — and a potential upgrade at the pivot in trade acquisition Ryan Bates — Chicago’s young O-line could blossom in 2024 under new coordinator Shane Waldron, who’s no stranger to inexperience and injuries up front, having dealt with both over the last three years as Seattle’s OC.

Defensively, the Bears really hit their stride in the second half of last season, which is probably the biggest reason why head coach Matt Eberflus still holds his post today despite a 10-24 record on the job. And the major impetus for that uprising appears to have been GM Ryan Poles’ savvy trade-deadline acquisition of defensive end Montez Sweat. When that move was made, Chicago ranked 28th in scoring defense (27.3 ppg) and 23rd in total defense (341 ypg). From that point through the end of the regular season, Chicago ranked sixth in scoring defense (17.9 ppg) and 10th in total defense (309.2 ypg). With most of the band back together for the coming season, Eberflus and Co. should field another stout defense.

What’s stopping me from coming right out and predicting Williams and the Bears will go worst to first like the C.J. Stroud-led Texans just did? The division. The AFC South was there for the taking last season. In 2024, the NFC North very well could be the best division in football.

Anthony Richardson

Indianapolis Colts · QB

Shane Steichen significantly burgeoned his reputation in Year 1 as a head coach. Not only did he field a top-10 scoring offense despite losing his starting quarterback for the season in Week 5, but his old offense in Philadelphia took a step back without his steady hand on the tiller. With all due respect to everyone’s favorite swashbuckling slinger, Gardner Minshew, I can’t wait to see what kind of play Steichen can induce from his handpicked signal-caller, who just so happens to be one of the freakiest athletes we’ve ever seen at the position.

Richardson’s injury-abbreviated rookie campaign consisted of just 173 snaps, but within that small sample size, he flashed the kind of dual-threat ability that’s something of a cheat code, in fantasy and real life. Packing elite arm strength and explosive running ability into his 6-foot-4, 244-pound frame, AR feels like some kind of superhero. But that’s the rub: He might actually think he’s a superhero, playing with the devil-may-care attitude of an invincible entity. But the man is indeed mortal, as we saw in his debut season, when injuries sidelined him during three of the four games he played and a concussion caused him to entirely miss a fifth contest. Richardson MUST protect himself better or the tantalizing traits will waste away in the training room. If he does learn to rein in the recklessness? He could follow in the footsteps of Trevor Lawrence and C.J. Stroud, giving the AFC South a first-time Pro Bowl quarterback for the third straight season.

Jim Harbaugh

Los Angeles Chargers · HC

Let me get one thing straight right off the bat: This is not a call to hop on the CHARGERS bandwagon. Could the new head coach flip the script in Year 1 and get this team to punch a playoff ticket for just the third time in 15 years? Sure. Might it take more time to exorcise this snake-bitten franchise’s demons and field a legit contender? Also possible. I’m not here to express a strong opinion on which way that will go in 2024. What I’m imploring you to do today, dear reader, is buy a ticket to the Jim Harbaugh experience. Hop on the Baugh bandwagon! It’s a wild ride. Just ask his former fan bases in the San Francisco Bay Area and Ann Arbor, Michigan.

I don’t intend to overlook his proven track record of winning and undeniable talent as a turnaround artist — all of that is self-evident. But at the end of the day, sports are entertainment, and this is just a fascinating human being. From the old-school approach to the deliciously absurd quotes to the sui generis controversy, Harbaugh is a content machine.

Trent McDuffie

Kansas City Chiefs · CB

Remember Revis Island? How about Darrelle Revis’ beef with Richard Sherman? Or Sherman’s beef with Patrick Peterson? Maybe it’s just me, but it sure feels like yesterday’s star cornerbacks used to drive more discussion, routinely engendering debates over shutdown supremacy. No disrespect to young studs like Sauce Gardner and Pat Surtain II, but the position just isn’t moving the needle like it used to. So, I’m here to sing the praises of a talented CB who could be on the verge of superstardom.

McDuffie isn’t as outspoken as many lockdown corners of the recent vintage, but his play speaks volumes. A scheme-versatile cover man who can blanket receivers in the slot or out wide, as well as rush the passer, the 2022 first-rounder absolutely stuffed the stat sheet this past season with 80 tackles, nine QB hits, seven passes defensed, five forced fumbles and three sacks. He just started — and won — his second Super Bowl in as many seasons, masterfully eliminating Deebo Samuel in a transcendent performance on the game’s biggest stage. While McDuffie earned first-team All-Pro honors as a slot cornerback, his dominance isn’t just limited to nickel duties. And in the wake of L’Jarius Sneed’s free-agent departure, I can’t wait to see how Steve Spagnuolo deploys the 23-year-old eraser in his third season. Dark-horse Defensive Player of the Year candidate? The campaign starts here!

Nico Collins

Houston Texans · WR

Stefon Diggs is the fun new toy in Houston’s receiving corps, but I believe he’ll complement Collins in the Texans’ aerial attack. With better quarterback play and health than he experienced in his first two NFL seasons, Nico broke out in Year 3, snagging 80 balls for 1,297 yards (a healthy 16.2 yards per catch) and eight touchdowns. PFF grading isn’t a perfect measurement — what is? — but it’s a helpful tool for contextualizing individual performance in this team sport. Check out this past season’s top 13 receivers according to that metric:

Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins

Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers

NICO COLLINS, Houston Texans

Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions

Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings

CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys

Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins

Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams

A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles

DJ Moore, Chicago Bears

Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers (now Chicago Bears)

Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers

Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals

That’s a who’s who of the receiver position, and Collins took home the bronze medal. It’s not a coincidence — 6-4, 215-pound wideouts don’t typically move like this. Or boast this kind of route polish. C.J. Stroud should make sweet music once again in 2024, with Nico playing lead guitar.

Arthur Smith

Pittsburgh Steelers · OC

Some coaches are just better as coordinators than head men, and that could be the case here. Hailed for his play-calling in Tennessee, Smith fielded a pair of top-10 scoring offenses in two seasons as Titans coordinator. But he didn’t come close to replicating that success during his three-year tenure as the head honcho in Atlanta, with the Falcons’ scoring offense ranking 26th, 15th and back at 26th this past season.

Now, part of Smith’s struggles in ATL can be attributed to subpar quarterback play, but that’s why I’m bullish on the coach’s new marriage with the Steelers. In Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, Smith has two options that are vastly superior to the signal-callers he toiled with over his final two years with the Falcons. And speaking of tandems, Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren comprise one of the better 1-2 RB punches in the league. Not to mention, Pittsburgh just spent its first two draft picks on Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier, a pair of plug-and-play maulers who fortify the offensive line.

Simply put, Pittsburgh’s fully leaning into Smith’s vision of a quarterback-friendly offense that pounds the rock to set up the play-action passing game. And I see this working well in the Steel City.

Brian Flores

Minnesota Vikings · DC

While offensive-minded head coach Kevin O’Connell rightfully earned widespread acclaim for keeping Minnesota in the playoff race deep into last season despite starting four different quarterbacks, Flores deserved more flowers for his inspired effort on the other side of the ball.

The 2022 Vikings went 13-4 in spite of their defense, which finished 28th in points allowed and 31st in yards allowed. After replacing Ed Donatell last offseason, Flores swiftly slashed those rankings in half to 13th in points allowed and 16th in yards allowed. And the defensive lineup didn’t even change all that much from 2022 to ‘23 — the difference was Flores, who aggressively flummoxed opposing quarterbacks with an evil stew of exotic formations and personnel groupings, mixing all-out blitzes with simulated pressures while employing a potpourri of zone coverages in the back end.

This offseason, Minnesota’s defense has seen significant roster turnover, including what essentially amounted to a full line change in the edge-rushing department: out went Danielle Hunter, D.J. Wonnum and Marcus Davenport; in came Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel and first-round pick Dallas Turner. At inside linebacker, the Vikings swapped out steady veteran Jordan Hicks for a younger model in Blake Cashman, who’s fresh off a breakout season for the Texans. How will these changes affect Coach Flo’s game plan? I don’t know, but I’m sure this mad scientist has something interesting up his sleeve.

Brock Bowers

Las Vegas Raiders · TE

Las Vegas’ selection of Bowers at No. 13 overall raised some eyebrows, considering the Raiders just spent a high second-round pick on tight end Michael Mayer in the 2023 draft. Personally, I loved the pick, whether or not it was the result of a literal coin flip. It made plenty of sense for two simple reasons:

Put me in the camp of those who believe Bowers is a special prospect, offering supreme spatial awareness and extraordinary burst at a touch over 6-3 and 243 pounds. This man is an offensive weapon who can absolutely coexist with Mayer, the traditional in-line tight end. I see this as a statement of intent from Antonio Pierce: His Raiders will look to bully opponents with a whole heap of 12 personnel. That said, Bowers is a better blocker than you might’ve heard, so he will not be a scheme-specific gimmick. Vegas can — and should — move him all over the field, fully exploiting the mismatches he’ll spawn. And remember, the Raiders released Hunter Renfrow back in March. Brock Bowers, BIG slot? Yes, please!

Xavier Worthy

Kansas City Chiefs · WR

In my first mock draft back in February, I predicted that Worthy would blaze the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine and then land with the Chiefs on draft night. I love it when a plan comes together!

Mr. 4.21 arrives in Kansas City with plenty of fanfare and a diverse game that provides far more than simple field-stretching. Concentration drops were a knock on his prospect résumé, though some of Worthy’s most high-profile flubs could be attributed to him playing with a broken hand in 2022. But given Kansas City’s bout with butter fingers last season, it was unsurprising to see a small-scale freakout in Chiefs Kingdom after Worthy opened rookie minicamp with a drop. Let’s clean that up, X. The bigger concern with the No. 28 overall pick — acquired via trade with the Bills, of all teams — is his slight frame. But the guy has some undeniable dog in him. And today’s NFL isn’t as hostile to smaller pass catchers as it used to be.

Honestly, I’m just smitten with Worthy’s ability to separate — especially considering he’s now joining forces with the best quarterback on the planet. Pairing Patrick Mahomes with this kind of home run hitter is a dream for the Chiefs … and a nightmare for everyone else.

Cordarrelle Patterson

Pittsburgh Steelers · KR

At first blush, a 33-year-old return specialist doesn’t seem like a leading candidate for this list. But lest we forget, the league just approved a new hybrid kickoff rule for use on a trial basis in 2024. So, with this significant alteration promising to bring kick returns back from the verge of extinction, it’s only natural to spotlight the all-time leader in kick-return touchdowns. Patterson, who’ll be playing for his sixth NFL franchise in his 12th pro season, has nine such scores. I want double digits!

Yeah, I know Jaylen Warren just spilled the beans on QB Justin Fields potentially being an additional option for the Steelers on kick returns. Fun idea, but I’ll believe that when I see it. For now, we’ll just have to settle for an all-time great in the role.

Buffalo Bills

2023 record: 11-6

Wait, what? Isn’t this the bandwagon everyone’s hopping off? Yup. But the mass exodus seems rash — and it’s opening up all the premium seating!

Look, it’s not hard to see why the vibes are down. In January, Buffalo was knocked out of the playoffs by Kansas City for the third time in the past four seasons. In March, the cap-strapped Bills hemorrhaged a number of longtime core players, including C Mitch Morse, WR Gabe Davis, CB Tre’Davious White and S Jordan Poyer. In April, the Stefon Diggs drama ended with a trade to Houston.

Despite all that, though, Buffalo still has two major assets: an elite quarterback and a head coach who annually fields a strong defense. Josh Allen and Sean McDermott have another thing working in their favor, too: AFC East ownership, with the Bills boasting four straight titles. And looking around the division, they still feel like the cream of the crop to me. The Jets could certainly make a push, but that roster’s full of potential pitfalls. The Dolphins ultimately proved to be a paper tiger last season, and now they’re hollowed out in the trenches. Lastly, the Patriots are clearly rebuilding.

It’s been a difficult 2024 for the Bills thus far, but hopping off the bandwagon feels premature. After all, if you’ll allow me to close out this offseason hype vehicle with a good old-fashioned cliché, it’s always darkest before the dawn.