| This: Sam Block@theblockspotBaker Mayfield is 5-1.The Browns are 1-5. Daniel Jones is 5-1.The Giants are 2-4. Sam Darnold is 4-2.The Jets are 0-6. Stop blaming the talented young QB. Put another way: @Alex_KozoraJustin Fields is the first QB to have 9+ sacks and 9 or fewer completions since….Justin Fields in 2021. – – -We wonder what the preseason MVP odds were for QBs BAKER MAYFIELD, DRAKE MAYE and DANIEL JONES? The latter would be especially astronomical. Here’s what they are at the moment: Josh Allen: +185Patrick Mahomes: +225Baker Mayfield: +425Matthew Stafford: +1500Jared Goff: +1500Justin Herbert: +1800Jordan Love: +1800Jayden Daniels: +2200Drake Maye: +2500Lamar Jackson: +3000Dak Prescott: +3500Daniel Jones: +4000Sam Darnold: +5000Jalen Hurts: +5000Aaron Rodgers: +7500Trevor Lawrence: +8000Caleb Williams: +10000Bo Nix: +10000 |
| NFC NORTH |
| DETROITMike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com expects significant discipline for Detroit S BRIAN BRANCH for starting a fight with the Chiefs after Sunday night’s loss. Detroit Coach Dan Campbell won’t stand in the way of it: A brawl marred the completion of Sunday night’s Lions-Chiefs game. The league undoubtedly will have plenty to say about it. Lions coach Dan Campbell had the first word regarding the melee that unfolded after Lions safety Brian Branch struck Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster in the face as Smith-Schuster was extending a hand to him. “I love Brian Branch but what he did is inexcusable,” Campbell told reporters. “And it’s not gonna be accepted here. It’s not what we do, it’s not what we’re about. I apologize to Coach [Andy] Reid and the Chiefs and, you know, [Smith-]Schuster. That’s not OK. That’s not what we do here. And it’s not gonna be OK. He nknows it. Our team knows it. That’s not what we do.” The league undoubtedly will pick through the many available camera angles in order to decide which players will be fined, and whether any should be suspended. If there are suspensions, they should begin with Branch. The game was over. The time for any and all physical contact had ended. Although the NFL went relatively easy on former Washington tackle Trent Williams for striking former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman in the face after a 2012 playoff game (Williams was fined only $7,875), the league has emphasized sportsmanship this season. There’s no bigger display of bad sportsmanship than for players to attack each other after the clock has reached zero. At a time when players should be saying “good game” to each other, hitting an opponent (and sparking a full-blown fracas) is the worst possible look. The NFL claims to take seriously the messages that the highest form of football sends to all lower levels. If that’s the case, it will have no choice but to send the strongest possible message to Branch — and to anyone else who threw a punch or attacked another player following the conclusion of the game.– – -Florio is also all over the “illegal motion” that enabled the Chiefs to wipe out a Lions TD: On Sunday night, Detroit took the opening drive down the field and scored a touchdown. Until they didn’t. A trick play on fourth and goal from the one, featuring quarterback Jared Goff going in motion before (barely) catching a touchdown pass from running back David Montgomery, was wiped out by a penalty. Illegal motion. Five yards. The Lions settled for a field goal. The relevant provision (as confirmed by the NFL) appears at Rule 7, Section 4, Article 2, Item 3: “It is legal for a T-Formation Quarterback to go in motion, whether he has placed his hands under center, on his knees, or on the body of the center. However, it is a false start if the action is quick and abrupt. If the player fails to come to a complete stop for at least one full second prior to the ball being snapped, it is illegal motion.” Goff failed to come to a stop for at least one full second before the snap. That prompted the penalty. For the Lions, the error came either from the play design or from the execution by Goff. Either way, he needed to stop for at least one full second before the ball was snapped. He didn’t. Which made it a penalty. So it wasn’t that he stopped, it was that he didn’t stop. And the penalty would not have matured until the ball was snapped, so the play had to go on. |
| GREEN BAYRB JOSH JACOBS persevered despite the flu as the Packers won at Lambeau. Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com: Josh Jacobs had a feeling he might be headed for a big game on Sunday. That’s because he wasn’t feeling well, and there’s some vomit on Lambeau Field to prove it. Despite throwing up before and during Sunday’s 28-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, the Green Bay Packers running back churned out 150 yards from scrimmage and ran for two touchdowns while also running for a place to puke. “I just kind of woke up this morning just not feeling my best,” Jacobs said. “But I told ’em, ‘The last time that I felt that way, I had 130 [yards] and two touchdowns.’ So, it is what it is.” While Jacobs couldn’t recall exactly which game that was, he said it was during his time with the Raiders. He also had a two-touchdown performance for Alabama in the 2018 SEC Championship Game, so no wonder he felt good about feeling bad. “I was miked up, so I don’t know if they’re going to put that in there or not,” Jacobs said. “But it was a couple times I was on the field, I was like coughing, everybody like, ‘Man, are you all right?’ I’m like, ‘We’ll figure it out.'” After a slow start for the Packers’ running game early in the season, Jacobs has been on a roll the past two games. He rushed 18 times for 93 yards on Sunday, including touchdown runs of 3 and 4 yards, and caught five passes for 57 yards. This after a strong finish in the Week 4 tie against the Dallas Cowboys when he rushed for 86 yards (including 70 in the fourth quarter and OT) with two touchdowns and caught four passes for 71 yards. Jacobs became just the sixth player in Packers history with at least 150 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns in consecutive games, and the first since Ahman Green in 2001. Jacobs, however, didn’t get the game ball after the Packers improved to 3-1-1. That went to kicker Lucas Havrisik, a last-second fill-in for Brandon McManus, who was held out because of a right quadriceps injury. Havrisik, who had not kicked in an NFL game since the 2023 season and signed with Green Bay one day earlier, made all five of his kicks, including a 39-yard field goal with 1:52 left in the fourth quarter to make it a nine-point Packers lead and essentially put the game away. That was just fine with Jacobs, even though he said he did not know Havrisik’s name. “I feel bad saying that, but he came in and made some big-time kicks for us,” Jacobs said. “So, man, he got the game ball. He deserved it.” |
| NFC EAST |
| DALLASScoring points has not been the problem for Dallas. Todd Archer of ESPN.com: Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott did not want to hear it. Neither did coach Brian Schottenheimer, the offensive playcaller. The Cowboys’ offense doesn’t need to be perfect for Dallas to win, they said. But it sure seems that way. In their past three games, the Cowboys have scored 40, 37 and 27 points. However, they are 1-1-1 in those games after Sunday’s 30-27 loss against the Carolina Panthers, as former Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle rushed for 183 yards on 30 carries and added 56 yards on 4 catches. Prescott has 11 total touchdowns and no interceptions during that stretch, making him the first quarterback since starts were first tracked in 1950 to have 11 or more TDs, 0 turnovers and a non-winning record over a three-start span. He has completed 72% of his passes and thrown for 817 yards. He has had a 100-yard receiver in each of those games, George Pickens twice (134 yards vs. the Green Bay Packers, 168 yards vs. the Panthers) and Ryan Flournoy (114 yards vs. the New York Jets). Pickens has scored in each of the past five games, including a 34-yard catch against Carolina. Tight end Jake Ferguson has a touchdown in each of the past three games, including a 19-yard reception versus Carolina. The Cowboys are doing this without their top playmaker, Pro Bowl wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, who has missed the past three weeks because of a high ankle sprain and could return Sunday against the Washington Commanders (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox). “I don’t look at it that way,” Schottenheimer said when asked if it is demoralizing to think the offense has to be perfect. “You’re just playing the game. And our defense made some big stops in the fourth quarter. We weren’t able to punch the ball in. And when they stop them, we got to capitalize.” “I don’t ever go out there thinking, ‘Let’s punt the ball,’ or after a first down we’re good,” Prescott said. “So, if we don’t score, the last thing I’m doing is being frustrated with the defense. That’s my problem. That’s our problem. That’s somebody on offense or something that we didn’t do better. You guys know me, I’m a ‘look in the mirror’ type guy before I ever point a finger.” So, Prescott and Schottenheimer were left lamenting a pair of goal-to-go drives, in the first and fourth quarters, that ended in Brandon Aubrey field goals, and a three-and-out after the defense’s only fourth-quarter stop. |
| PHILADELPHIAEDGE Za’DARIUS won’t be around to help the Eagles pull out of their skid. He announced his retirement on Instagram Monday. |
| NFC SOUTH |
| CAROLINARB RICO DOWDLE tore into his former team and carried Carolina to a victory that put the Panthers at 3-3. David Newton of ESPN.com: Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle didn’t hesitate when asked what his postgame message was to the Dallas Cowboys after telling his former team to “buckle up” heading into Sunday’s 30-27 victory at Bank of America Stadium. “They wasn’t buckled up,” Dowdle deadpanned. Not even close. Dowdle had a team-record 239 scrimmage yards against the team that chose not to re-sign him after the 2024 season, making him the seventh player in NFL history to have at least 230 scrimmage yards in consecutive games. His 473 scrimmage yards the past two games smashed the team two-game record of 416 held by Christian McCaffrey and helped Carolina (3-3) reach the .500 mark for the first time since it was 5-5 in Week 10 of 2021. Dowdle’s effort also opened up a conversation about who will start once Chuba Hubbard returns from a calf injury that has sidelined him the past two weeks. “A great question,” coach Dave Canales said after Carolina improved to 3-0 at home this season with a road game against the 0-6 New York Jets next. “We’re going to figure that part out. But I know Rico is doing a great job, and he will be a big part of what we’re doing.” The Cowboys (2-3-1) and their league-worst defense weren’t ready for Dowdle from the outset. Dowdle had 21 yards rushing on his first two carries and caught a 13-yard pass on Carolina’s fourth play to set up a field goal. He had a 36-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Bryce Young less than two minutes into the second half to put the Panthers up 20-17. He celebrated that one by spinning the ball and then pretending to shovel dirt on a grave. Burying Dallas wouldn’t be as easy as Dowdle bowling over defenders seemed. The Panthers needed a walk-off 33-yard field goal by rookie Ryan Fitzgerald to get the win. That’s ultimately what Dowdle wanted the most. “Definitely,” said Dowdle, who spent his first five seasons in Dallas after being an undrafted free agent out of South Carolina in 2020. “I’ve been saying all week the main thing is I just wanted to get that win. “Big, big for me, but also big the organization. Getting to .500 and protecting the home field … just got to keep building.” Dowdle admitted the game was “a little personal” after the Cowboys didn’t meet his financial demands following his first 1,000 yard rushing season a year ago. Young, whose five touchdown passes in two games tied for the most he has had over that span since being the top pick of the 2023 draft, smiled when asked if he noticed the game meant more than normal to Dowdle. “Yeah, of course,” he said. “Rico is a competitor. That just speaks to the dawg he is. We knew it was personal. We wanted to have his back. That’s our brother. … If it’s personal to him, it’s personal to us.” It almost became historical. Dowdle was 17 yards rushing shy of becoming only the fifth player since 1970 to have 200 in consecutive games. O.J. Simpson did it twice. Earl Campbell, Ricky Williams and Jay Ajayi did it once each. Dowdle’s 230-plus yards in consecutive games put him in the company of Jim Brown (Browns), Walter Payton (Bears), Marshall Faulk (Rams), Deuce McAllister (Saints), Josh Gordon (Browns) and Le’Veon Bell (Steelers). This from a back who had 33 touches, 103 yards and one touchdown in the first four games. “I didn’t realize that part,” Dowdle said of the historical nature of his feat that included breaking McCaffrey’s single-game team record (237) for scrimmage yards. “But definitely special to be able to come here and get in the history books.” Dowdle wasn’t perfect, though. He took full blame for a lateral from wide receiver Xavier Legette that turned into a fumble, pleading with Legette to toss him the ball on a play that initially looked like a bad decision by the receiver. “That’s on me,” Dowdle said. “I told the coaches the same thing. [Coach] told me don’t make that stuff up.” Dowdle’s storybook run that could land him in the starting lineup is something you can’t make up either. It’s something few, if any, anticipated when he signed a one-year, $3 million deal that could reach $6.5 million with incentives to back up Hubbard. It certainly got the attention of the Cowboys. “He told us to buckle up,” quarterback Dak Prescott said. “He got the last laugh.” |
| TAMPA BAYWR EMEKA EGBUKA left Sunday’s game with the 49ers with a hamstring and Tampa Bay’s offense needed a band aid. Along came the services of Johnson and Johnson. WRs KAM JOHNSON and TEX JOHNSON. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: The Buccaneers came into Sunday’s game light on offensive stars and they lost another one during the game when Emeka Egbuka hurt his hamstring, but that wasn’t enough to keep them from picking up their fifth win of the season. Baker Mayfield threw touchdowns to Tez Johnson and Kameron Johnson while running backs Rachaad White and Sean Tucker ran for scores while filling in for Bucky Irving in the 30-19 victory over the 49ers. Mayfield completed two passes to Egbuka before his injury and was 15-of-21 for 232 yards outside of those plays, which showed that he was able to adjust to the situation by believing in the players that were able to play. “I truly, genuinely trust the guys that are in there,” Mayfield said, via the team’s website. “They’re ready. We talk throughout the week. Guys are on the same page. I trust these guys, even though some of them may not have played a whole lot of ball, but when we’re on the same page, good things happen. You don’t have to have the perfect play when all your guys are fighting for each other and on the same page and that’s an example of that. Defense played great, special teams as well, and so it’s complementary football.” Mayfield also called his own number on one of the most memorable plays of the game. On a third-and-14 late in the third quarter, Mayfield evaded a heavy pass rush, took off downfield and dove to pick up a first down that set up one of his touchdown throws. It’s the kind of play that finds itself on an MVP reel and Mayfield’s ability to keep the offense rolling through adverse situations is only helping build the buzz for Mayfield as a contender for that prize. |
| NFC WEST |
| LOS ANGELES RAMSWill WR PUKA NACUA be able to go Sunday in London? Initially it seemed unlikely, but Monday’s early report is a bit more optimisitic: Los Angeles Rams star wide receiver Puka Nacua is considered day-to-day with an ankle sprain he suffered in a Week 6 win over the Baltimore Ravens, coach Sean McVay said Monday. It is not known yet if Nacua will be able to play in the Week 7 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. Nacua, who leads the NFL with 54 receptions, landed awkwardly while attempting to catch a touchdown in the second quarter and was initially deemed questionable to return with a foot injury. Nacua eventually returned in the second half, though he did not log any stats while playing a limited number of snaps. The Rams play in London in Week 7 and then have a bye the week after that, allowing them to re-evaluate Nacua’s status before a game against the New Orleans Saints on Nov. 2. But Ian Rapoport of NFL Network says he is out. |
| SAN FRANCISCOLB FRED WARNER had been immune to the wave of injuries that has swept over the 49ers the last few years – until Sunday. Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com: – Since entering the league in 2018, San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner has missed only one game out of a possible 122 because of injury. Which is why, when Warner departed Sunday’s 30-19 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because of a broken and dislocated right ankle in the first quarter, his teammates were in disbelief. Warner’s injury will require season-ending surgery, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game. “He’s one of our best players, also a huge leader, so obviously, a huge blow,” Shanahan said. “I feel bad for Fred right now.” Warner suffered the devastating injury with just under eight minutes left in the opening quarter. On first-and-10 at Tampa Bay’s 36, running back Rachaad White ran off left tackle for a gain of 10 yards. As Warner attempted to corral White, who cut inside him, Niners safety Ji’Ayir Brown brought White down and Brown’s legs rolled into the back of Warner’s ankle. Brown reacted quickly, knowing that Warner might be seriously hurt, and teammates quickly put their hands on their heads and dropped to a knee as they watched San Francisco’s medical staff surround Warner. After the game, Brown was emotional, describing the loss of Warner, a player he said has been like a “big brother” to him. “I was right there when it happened,” Brown said. “Seeing him go down, a guy that doesn’t go down, you know what I mean? It’s draining. I think it kind of drained the stadium. Everybody felt that.” A couple of minutes after Warner’s injury, Niners medical and training staff placed his right foot and ankle in an air cast, and he was taken to the locker room on a cart. Before he departed, Niners players wished him well as the seriousness of the injury seemed to hit them. Wide receiver Jauan Jennings said he had to take some nausea medicine because he was “sick to his stomach” watching Warner leave with the injury while others noted the shock at seeing a player, who has made a career of being available, in such condition. “It’s heartbreaking,” left tackle Trent Williams said. “Fred, not only is he one of the best linebackers to ever play the game, but he is the heart and soul of this team, not just the heart and soul of this defense. It’s one thing to see somebody go down and go to the blue tent, and nobody really knows what’s going on. When you see a guy that’s injured like that, it’s really like a gut punch. It’s really hard to continue the intensity and playing that game like that never happened.” With Warner in the locker room, the 49ers turned to second-year linebacker Tatum Bethune to play middle linebacker, though weakside linebacker Dee Winters handled communication with defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. Although the 49ers gave up touchdown drives to the Bucs on three of their first four full possessions after Warner’s departure, Bethune led the team in tackles with 10. Shanahan indicated after the game that Bethune will get the first opportunity to replace Warner for the rest of the season. Bethune, who was a seventh-round pick in the 2024 draft, has one NFL start, the 2024 season finale in Arizona, in which he had three tackles on 39 defensive snaps. “You prepare as a starter for reasons like this,” Bethune said. “Fred getting hurt was unfortunate, but this is why we are all professionals and we’ve all got a job to do.” Even as Warner was taken to the locker room on the cart, teammates said he was going out of his way to encourage them to try to beat the Bucs. Warner stayed in Raymond James Stadium for the entire game, and Shanahan had him address the team in the locker room when the game was over. Warner’s message: There’s a lot of football left and a lot of things the Niners can accomplish, even without him. “It’s obviously tough losing him and he’s our brother and it sucks, but we have got a lot of football left,” linebacker Luke Gifford said. “And we’ve got the tools to win games.” Warner’s injury wasn’t felt just in the Niners’ locker room. Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield opened his postgame news conference by sending thoughts and prayers to Warner. Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles echoed that sentiment. “It was sickening,” Bowles said. “He’s one of the best players in the league. A great guy on top of that. You hate to see something like that happen. Hopefully, he has a speedy recovery. That kind of breaks your heart, no matter what side of the ball you’re on.” Warner has been the leader of San Francisco’s defense since his arrival in 2018 and was positioned to break Hall of Fame linebacker Patrick Willis’ franchise record for tackles in a career Sunday before the injury. Warner needed five tackles to reach that mark and had one at the time of the injury. |
| SEATTLEJohn Boyle of Seahawks.com on the big week for DL BYRON MURPHY II. On Thursday, two days after Byron Murphy II became a father, veteran defensive tackle Jarran Reed joked that his fellow defensive lineman was going to add “dad strength” to his already impressive skillset. And whether or not it was dad strength powering Murphy on Sunday, the second-year lineman was a force to be reckoned with throughout the Seahawks’ 20-12 win over the Jaguars. Murphy got things started early, chasing down Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence for a sack on the game’s first play from scrimmage, and he never let up. Murphy finished his day with a career-high 2.0 sacks, leading the charge for a dominant effort for Seattle’s defensive front, which recorded seven sacks and 15 quarterback hits against an offensive line that had yielded just six sacks through its first five games. Murphy, who had four of those quarterback hits, also had seven pressures according to NFL Next Gen Stats, tied for the team lead along with DeMarcus Lawrence, who also had a pair of sacks. The game was a continuation of what has been a breakout season for Murphy, Seattle’s first-round pick last year. Any coach or teammate asked about Murphy’s rookie season was quick to point out how well he was playing despite a lack of statistical production, but now this year the numbers are there to back those assertions up. After finishing his rookie season with half a sack, 36 tackles, two tackles for loss and one quarterback hit, Murphy is up to 4.5 sacks, 23 tackles, three tackles for loss and nine quarterback hits through his first six games this season. “Byron had seven on his own” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said of Murphy’s pressure numbers. “That’s pretty good. I’m going to claim that I was right on Byron as I’ve been telling you for two years.” Asked about his jump in production this year, Murphy said, “I feel like I’m playing better, I’m getting better week in and week out. I’ve just got to keep going, keep preparing how I’m preparing, trust in the coaches and the game plan, and also my guys around me. I’ve just got to keep going.” And Murphy wasn’t just disruptive in the passing game, he was also a big part of team effort against the run, with the Jaguars managing just 59 yards on 19 attempts for a 3.1 yards-per-carry average, number that were well below their numbers coming into the game, with Jacksonville ranking fifth in the league in rushing yards (137.0) and sixth in rushing yards per carry (4.9) prior to Sunday. “He’s a young bull,” DeMarcus Lawrence said. “He’s the man in the middle, making sure he’s taking care of the run. I believe he’s our No. 1 run defender, hands down. He comes to work each and every day, and that young spirit brightens up us older guys in the room to come to work with him.” And as Murphy shared after the game, his big performance on Sunday was far from being the biggest moment of his week. On Tuesday, Murphy’s fiancé, Maya, gave birth to the couple’s daughter, Danee’ Azaria, who was born three months early, weighing just two pounds, five ounces. That meant daily visits to the neonatal intensive care unit, but fortunately their daughter is breathing on her own and making good progress. “It was hard getting a lot of sleep,” Murphy said of his week. “I was at the hospital pretty much every day this past week. My daughter, she’s doing good, but she’s in the NICU right now. She was three months early, but she’s breathing on her own, she’s doing very well. She’s developing pretty fast.” Murphy added that Maya is “doing great. She’s doing good.” Asked about the balance between doing his day job and worrying about a premature newborn who is still in the NICU, Murphy said, “I just keep reminding myself that I still have a job to do, and also checking on my baby girl to make sure she’s good. I was able to balance that really well.” |
| AFC NORTH |
| BALTIMOREBill Barnwell of ESPN.com studies the issue of whether longtime Ravens coach John Harbaugh might be in trouble if the 1-5 start morphs into something like 5-12. John Harbaugh, coach, Baltimore RavensWeek 6: Lost 17-3 to the Rams, dropping the Ravens to 1-5. Even the league’s best coaches have seen many of their legendary tenures come to ignominious ends. Andy Reid was run out of town in Philadelphia by Eagles fans who were convinced their veteran coach would never get them over the Super Bowl hump. Bill Belichick was fired after winning six Super Bowls in New England. Any coach who doesn’t win a Super Bowl over a 12-year span in the same job is going to inspire some grumbling here and there, and every fan base fires its coach on social media after every loss. But Sunday was really the point where frustrations about Harbaugh came to the surface in Baltimore. After a Zay Flowers fumble and a quick touchdown drive by the Rams put the visitors up 17-3 in the third quarter, a notable portion of the crowd launched into a chant that hasn’t been heard very often over the past two decades: “Fire Harbaugh.” Of course, I recognize that Ravens fans didn’t suddenly decide that they’re frustrated with Harbaugh after five losses before the end of October. This is partly about the frustrations of the Lamar Jackson era, where the Ravens have been the best team in football during the regular season and made it past the divisional round only once in seven tries. It is about trying to find something to change about a team that felt as if it was inevitably going to come up short when things mattered most, even before their previously lofty floor collapsed amid a brutal run of injuries. It is also somewhat about the fact that Harbaugh is one of the league’s CEO coaches, which means it’s more difficult to tie his performance to one particular side of the ball. If Harbaugh had a background as an offensive or defensive assistant and called plays, it would be easy to marry his job performance to the performance of that unit. With Todd Monken in charge of the offense and Zach Orr running the defense, Harbaugh’s most visible when it comes to making fourth-down decisions. And while I agreed with his decisions Sunday, the Ravens failed on four of their six fourth-down attempts against the Rams, including a goal-to-go sequence that ended with Derrick Henry getting stuffed for a loss. That’s not going to thrill fans. Having said all that: I believe Harbaugh is a really good coach. The Ravens are 1-5 out of some combination of tough close-game luck against very good competition and a horrific run of injuries. If a pass doesn’t deflect into Keon Coleman’s hands or Henry doesn’t fumble down the stretch in Week 1, is Harbaugh a better coach? Baltimore’s rookie class isn’t off to a great start, but the Ravens have brought through young talent for many years under Harbaugh with a lot of success. That has to mean something. Is there something innately lacking in Harbaugh that prevents the Ravens from winning a Super Bowl? I’m not sure I loved that argument with Reid in Philadelphia or with any other consistent playoff-visiting coach who came up short of the Super Bowl without Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes at quarterback. Regardless, it certainly shouldn’t apply to Harbaugh, who actually did win a Super Bowl. And unlike Reid, who started winning them after he landed a future Hall of Famer at quarterback, Harbaugh won his title with something less than the best version of those Ravens teams. His 10-6 squad ran through the AFC as the fourth seed, winning road games in Denver and New England along the way. I would argue the Ravens and Harbaugh can be a little slow to recognize the need for some changes. Remember the last time Harbaugh’s job security was in question? It was 2018, when the Ravens had missed the playoffs in three consecutive seasons and were seemingly about to do so for a fourth consecutive year. Harbaugh had stuck by struggling starter Joe Flacco all season and refused to even publicly consider inserting Jackson, but when Flacco suffered a hip injury, Harbaugh was left with no choice. The 4-5 Ravens went 6-1 the rest of the way with Jackson under center and haven’t looked back. The Ravens should get Jackson back from his hamstring injury after the bye, which should help the offense dramatically. The team has turned the ball over six times in two games after turning it over just 11 times all season in 2024. Monken’s offense was operating at a high level before the injury. While the run game needs to get more consistent and Jackson needs to stop taking sacks at triple the rate he did a year ago, I’m not concerned about the offense. Can the defense get back on track? Harbaugh has already said that he doesn’t plan on firing Orr, which means the change will have to come from within. With Kyle Hamilton and Marlon Humphrey returning to the lineup, this Baltimore defense was much improved on what we saw last week against Houston, albeit with the help of some missed passes, difficult weather and a midgame injury to Puka Nacua. If anything, we could see minor changes. The Ravens swapped Odafe Oweh for Alohi Gilman last week, a reflection on the reality that they just needed responsible adults in the secondary. Gilman played 82% of the snaps in his Ravens debut, which meant much less T.J. Tampa and Keyon Martin. Roquan Smith will be back after the bye and take over for Trenton Simpson. I wouldn’t be shocked if the Ravens looked to add a veteran or two off the waiver wire or on the bottom of another team’s roster to upgrade their thin defensive line. The biggest reason things should get better, though, is that the schedule is about to get much easier. After the bye, the Ravens play their next six games against teams that are a combined 9-24. They’ll face at least one backup quarterback in Flacco of the Bengals, and it would hardly be a surprise if they faced a couple more along the way owing to likely benchings. There will be a lot of winnable contests ahead. But if the Ravens lose a bunch of these games to the likes of the Browns, Jets and Dolphins over the next two months? That’s a different story. Until then, though, I don’t think that Harbaugh’s job should be in question. And frankly, as the crowd chanted “Fire Harbaugh” on Sunday, I suspect that there were a few owners and executives around the league who were quietly joining in, hoping that one of the best coaches in football might come available for them to hire. |
| CINCINNATIEven though the Bengals lost the game in Green Bay, Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin still feels it was a shrewd trade from the Cincinnati side. And after playing the Browns Sunday, he is perplexed by the Browns’ thought process. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin shared some strong feelings about the Browns’ decision to trade quarterback Joe Flacco within the division last week. Flacco was sent to the Bengals, who had lost three straight games with Jake Browning filling in for the injured Joe Burrow. They lost again to the Packers in Flacco’s debut on Sunday, but Tomlin is still scratching his head about Browns General Manager Andrew Berry’s choice to move the quarterback to an AFC North team that was reeling. “To be honest, it was shocking to me,” Tomlin said. “Andrew Berry must be a lot smarter than me or us, because it doesn’t make sense to me to trade a quarterback that you think enough of to make your opening starter to a divisional opponent that’s hurting in that area. But that’s just my personal feeling.” Tomlin went on to say that the trade “certainly made sense from the Cincinnati perspective” and called Flacco a “saavy” player who should be “significantly better” in Thursday night’s game against the Steelers because he will have more time to absorb the offense. Whether that will be enough to beat the Steelers, who beat the Flacco-less Browns 23-9 on Sunday, remains to be seen, but Tomlin’s overall feelings about the trade couldn’t be any clearer. |
| CLEVELANDSome are saying it’s time to give QB SHEDEUR SANDERS a chance. Jason Lloyd of The Athletic takes the opposite tack: Baker Mayfield ranks fourth in the NFL in passing yards. He’s third in passing touchdowns and he’s tied for sixth in Expected Points Added per Dropback, according to TruMedia. He is thriving in late-game situations, which was once an enormous knock against him, and he has enjoyed a complete career renaissance since leaving Cleveland and landing in Tampa Bay. He has the Buccaneers atop the NFC South and is now widely considered one of the early favorites for the league’s Most Valuable Player award. I hesitate to mention Mayfield and Cleveland because of the vitriolic emotion it brings out of Browns fans. There is a lot of revisionist history tied to the Mayfield saga these days in Northeast Ohio. Nevertheless, it’s worth mentioning Mayfield within the context of the current Browns quarterback room because there are only two reasons I can find for why Shedeur Sanders is still on this team. Either the owner is requiring it or there is a fear held by someone in the building that Sanders will develop elsewhere and turn into this franchise’s next Mayfield horror story. There really is no other explanation at this point, and neither is a strong enough reason to keep him around. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has proved time and again that he cannot trust himself to make football decisions, and the odds of Sanders developing into that rare fifth-round quarterback in NFL history to have any career of substance (Mark Brunell? Steve Grogan?) are slim. It’s time for the Browns and Sanders to part ways. The sooner the better, and certainly before next month’s trade deadline. I’m tired of writing about and mentioning Sanders, a player who hasn’t taken a meaningful snap since Aug. 23. I thought it was outrageous we’re into October and still wasting so much time discussing the third-string quarterback of any NFL team. But now that the Browns have traded Joe Flacco, their former starter and team captain, another Sanders conversation is at least warranted this time because he should theoretically move up and become the backup behind rookie Dillon Gabriel. The Flacco trade took me by surprise because I thought they saw value in him being there as a veteran presence. So it wasn’t all that surprising when Browns coach Kevin Stefanski went out of his way Wednesday to say without saying that Bailey Zappe will likely be promoted from the Browns’ practice squad to be the backup quarterback beginning this week at the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since they already had three quarterbacks on the active roster, the only reason to even carry Zappe on the practice squad was to move him ahead of Sanders in the event there was an opening at backup quarterback. Now there is. “I always have to be mindful of our players, and our players’ development, and I want to make sure that I’m always doing what’s best for our players and, of course, our team,” Stefanski said when asked if Sanders will be the backup. “But with young players … you have to think long and hard about that, because these are young players that you’re so invested in their development. So I’ll let the week play out and make a decision later on.” That hardly screams anything close to Sanders becoming the backup. The Browns are adrenaline junkies who thrive on car crashes. They have been driving without brakes and seat belts for generations. From Jeff Garcia’s Playboy playmate girlfriend’s bar fight to the Johnny Manziel disaster, from Odell Beckham Jr. begging opponents during games to come rescue him from Cleveland to the Deshaun Watson debacle, the Browns have more tire fires than Goodyear. Now it’s Sanders and all the unwanted attention on their third-string quarterback. At what point is it enough? At what point will the Browns grow up enough to leave the kids’ table and sit with the other adults? The Browns deserve no benefit of the doubt when it comes to evaluating quarterbacks. Gabriel represents the 41st starter they’ve had since 1999, a grotesque figure that is worthy of constant heckling. That number is likely to grow by at least one more next year since they have two picks in the first round. But this isn’t just one inept team saying Sanders isn’t ready. It’s easy to find people around the league, and within the Browns, who will tell you Sanders isn’t a good NFL quarterback right now. What you’ll struggle to find is a team that believes he is ready to help them win games right now. If one existed, Sanders wouldn’t have fallen to the fifth round. Sanders’ legion of fans would rather believe it’s the incompetent team he is with and not the idea that he just might not be a very good NFL quarterback. Given Cleveland’s history, the skepticism is warranted. But if Bailey Zappe — Bailey Zappe! — is more trustworthy to a team that has spent 25 years searching for competent quarterback play, then what are we really doing here? Cut Sanders, just as the Philadelphia Eagles did with sixth-round quarterback Kyle McCord and countless other teams do every year with countless other late-round rookie quarterbacks, and end this silly madness. McCord returned to Philadelphia on the practice squad. The Browns are protecting Sanders on their 53-man roster so another team can’t pluck him off their practice squad, yet they’re about to promote Zappe from the practice squad ahead of him. When else has that ever happened? Stefanski is constantly peppered with questions about the third-string quarterback. Gabriel, whom the Browns spent a third-round pick on and whom they actually like, is constantly badgered with questions about his backup. Stop forcing Gabriel into this untenable position where every word out of his mouth is judged as to whether it’s a shot at Shedeur. Stop forcing the head coach to field questions about the third-string quarterback every week. Just stop. If the Browns could get fifth-round picks for both Kenny Pickett and Flacco, they ought to be able to recoup the fifth they spent on Sanders last spring. I had one member of the organization tell me a few weeks ago that they should’ve traded him for a draft pick immediately after his preseason showing against the Carolina Panthers. We already know the Ravens and Eagles were ready to take him in the fifth round. Maybe the Ravens will still want him. Is it a risk trading him within the division? Of course. But at this point, it feels like a risk keeping him in the building. Cut him. Trade him. Whatever. Let him become someone else’s daily topic of conversation. At 1-4, the Browns have enough problems. Clearly, he isn’t viewed as one of the solutions. |
| AFC SOUTH |
| INDIANAPOLISThe Colts won despite losing two players to pregame injuries. CB CHARVARIUS WARD sustained a concussion after colliding with TE DREW OGLETREE. Here is what happened to QB ANTHONY RICHARDSON: – Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. is likely to miss multiple games after suffering an orbital fracture in a freak pregame incident on Sunday, according to multiple sources. Richardson, the primary backup to starter Daniel Jones, was hospitalized after a pole that he had affixed an elastic stretch band to snapped during his pregame routine, resulting in the pole forcefully impacting his face. It left Richardson badly injured, a source told ESPN. The swelling is so significant that Richardson’s vision is temporarily impaired, though there is not believed to be any damage to his eye. The bands are used by all of the Colts quarterbacks in the same manner before all practices and games. When used on the field, the bands are often tied to the goal posts. But Sunday’s incident occurred in the locker room, where the stretching routine sometimes takes place. One source described the incident as “just a freak accident.” Meanwhile, the Colts are deliberating on how to proceed at quarterback in Richardson’s absence. Rookie Riley Leonard, a sixth-round pick from Notre Dame, is the only remaining quarterback on the roster. |
| JACKSONVILLEQB TREVOR LAWRENCE went down 7 times Sunday. This from Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com: @ESPNdiroccoPer ESPN Research, Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence was pressured on 27 of his 50 dropbacks (54%), the most pressures a QB has faced in a game since 2022 when the Titans pressured Patrick Mahomes 28 times in Week 9. |
| TENNESSEEThe Titans players say a week of poor practice led to a poor game in Las Vegas. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: After Sunday’s loss to the Raiders, Titans head coach Brian Callahan said that the team “felt good coming into the game” but that doesn’t appear to be a universal assessment of everyone’s frame of mind. Defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons had a different take after the 20-10 loss. Simmons called the Titans’ performance while falling behind 17-0 “bad football” and that it came after a week that left him feeling like the team was not ready to build off of their Week 5 win over the Cardinals. “In this league, you have to learn how to stack wins,” Simmons said, via Buck Reasing of 104.5 The Zone. “To be able to carry that momentum over — it started at practice. If I’m being honest, this was one of our worst weeks of practice. Came out flat Thursday and things like that — sometimes things carry over. In this league, you have to prove it every week and reprove it.” Quarterback Cam Ward agreed with Simmons about the team coming out flat at practice and said that they played the same way against a Raiders team that came into Sunday with a four-game losing streak. The practice habits could improve this week, but it’s unclear if there will be a significant change in the results without larger changes around the team. Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com looks at whether Coach Brian Callahan is indeed in trouble: Brian Callahan, coach, Tennessee TitansWeek 6: Lost 20-10 to the Raiders, dropping the Titans to 1-5. Last Sunday’s win was supposed to be the light at the end of the tunnel. Yes, the Cardinals essentially regurgitated their fourth-quarter lead and handed a victory to the previously winless Titans in Week 5. No, it would be foolish to assume that every team was going to be as indifferent to the football as Arizona was near the end zone. On a day where the Titans’ defense slowed down the Cardinals for three quarters and Cam Ward hit a number of big-time throws to Calvin Ridley in key moments, though, Callahan could credibly go to his locker room and say that Titans at least had something to build upon, even if it was built on something resembling a house of cards. It’s still very dark in Nashville. After their dramatic victory, how did the Titans respond? Jeffery Simmons admitted to ESPN’s Turron Davenport after the game that the team had one of its worst weeks of practice. They came to Las Vegas to face a reeling Raiders team and went down 17-0 before responding. With Ridley sidelined early on by a hamstring injury, the Titans racked up just 22 net yards on their first five drives before a sixth drive at the end of the second quarter ended with a brutal interception from Ward, who held the ball too long and had his pass tipped.. The offensive line was supposed to be the strength of this team, both by virtue of coaching (legendary coach Bill Callahan, Brian’s father, arrived along with his son in 2024) and investment. The Titans used consecutive first-round picks on Peter Skoronski and JC Latham and spent big to sign Lloyd Cushenberry III, Kevin Zeitler and Dan Moore Jr. in free agency. Latham has been out since the opener, and replacement John Ojukwu was arguably playing like the worst player in the league before being benched himself. Still, Latham’s return to the lineup was supposed to solidify things Sunday. Instead, Latham allowed two sacks and six pressures. He appeared to be at fault on a brutal strip sack of Ward in the second quarter, when nobody blocked Devin White as the linebacker rushed through the B-gap, handing the Raiders a short field that led to a touchdown. Playing against Maxx Crosby is tough, but the Titans took Latham with the seventh pick in the draft. They rely on him. He struggled badly in pass protection at left tackle a year ago and has now allowed three sacks in two games on the right side this season. And Moore leads the NFL with six sacks allowed, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Some of that is on Ward, but the Titans can’t be too shocked, given that Moore also led the league in sacks allowed last season. The tough part for Brian Callahan is that he has already ceded responsibilities. His father presumably plays a big role in designing the run game, which ranks 28th in the league in EPA per play on designed runs. He also handed over playcalling duties to Bo Hardegree at 0-3. The offense didn’t move much; it was 32nd in EPA per play with Callahan calling the plays and jumped all the way to 30th after the shift, though that’s mostly been a product of the Browns and Ravens changing quarterbacks below them. In terms of game management, it’s hard to argue that Callahan has been up to the task. He was involved in a bizarre controversy in Week 1, where he neglected to challenge an incomplete pass call on Titans receiver Elic Ayomanor because he had only an elbow inbounds. (One elbow, as you probably know, equals two feet.) In Week 2, the Titans were lined up for a 57-yard field goal, only for Callahan’s indecisiveness to lead to a delay of game penalty, with the ensuing 62-yarder getting blocked. In Week 4, while trailing 26-0 to the Texans and inside his own 5-yard line with 1:50 to go, Callahan handed the ball to Tony Pollard three consecutive times, putting unnecessary hits on the 28-year-old’s body. Callahan’s role is likely dependent on how he does developing Ward. Six games isn’t an entire picture, but so far, Ward’s 25.0 QBR ranks last in the league by a comfortable margin. The guys directly ahead of him have either been benched (Jake Browning, Russell Wilson or Joe Flacco) or seem to be in real danger of losing their job (Geno Smith, Justin Fields). Ward has a talented arm, and he has made some excellent throws this season, but the Titans haven’t done enough to insist that their young QB get the ball out quickly. That has led to pick-sixes, strip sacks and unnecessary hits. Some of Ward’s most successful plays have been wildly dangerous passes across his body. Those are fun, but there’s no consistency to the Titans’ offense. Ward is taking sacks on nearly 11% of his dropbacks, which was supposed to be an area where the Titans would improve after Will Levis was taken down on 12% of his dropbacks in 2024. All of the easy buttons the Titans should be able to hit for their young quarterback aren’t working. They’re last in the league in EPA per play on screens at an almost-unbelieveable minus-0.42 mark. On Sunday, their five screens picked up a total of 8 yards. On four of those five screens, there was at least one blown block or major blocking mistake that led to the play not succeeding. Those plays all look good on paper, and the Titans had blocking advantages on a number of them. If the players repeatedly can’t or don’t execute, is that on them or the coaching staff? I can see the argument for not forcing a change. Bad organizations get caught in a cycle of swapping out coaches at the first sign of struggles from their young quarterbacks, resulting in a steady stream of new voices, new concepts and unfamiliar rules. Callahan came from Cincinnati, where Zac Taylor was 10-29-1 at the bye of his third season with the team. The Bengals went 5-3 down the stretch, got hot in the postseason and made it to the Super Bowl. They made it to the AFC Championship Game the following season. What has happened since suggests that Taylor probably isn’t as good as he looked in 2021 and 2022, but he also wasn’t as overmatched as he seemed in 2019 and 2020, either. Without arguing that the Titans should fire Callahan, though, there needs to be some consistent signs of improvement. The offensive line needs to look as if they can reliably pass-block. There needs to be some semblance of a run game. Ward needs to look as if he is improving. The game management can’t be a major drag on operations. Since hiring Callahan, the Titans have changed the quarterback, the running back, their top two wide receivers and four of the five starters along the offensive line. They’re the worst offense in the NFL. If Callahan is part of the solution moving forward, that has to change. |
| AFC EAST |
| MIAMI The Dolphins suffered an embarrassing blowout at the hands of the Colts in Week 1. Since then they have beaten the Jets and suffered four one-score losses to teams that are now at .500 or better. The last two have been excruciating, losing leads in the final two minutes (in the final five seconds yesterday). With that backdrop QB TUA TAGOVIALOA took to the postgame podium and called out unnamed teammates. Bobby Kownack of NFL.com: The Dolphins are feeling the heat in South Beach. Miami dropped to 1-5 on the season thanks to Sunday’s 29-27 loss to the Chargers, the second straight defeat in which the team has seen a lead evaporate in the final two minutes of a game, necessitating quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to field a question about how to avoid a “woe is me” attitude postgame. Tagovailoa pointed to leaning on leaders, though as he continued, he revealed a potential culture crisis in the locker room. “I think it starts with the leadership in helping articulate that for the guys, and then what we’re expecting out of the guys,” Tagovailoa said, via team transcript. “We’re expecting this. Are we getting that? Are we not getting that? We have guys showing up to player-only meetings late. Guys not showing up to player-only meetings. There is a lot that goes into that. Do we have to make that mandatory? Do we not have to make that mandatory? So it’s a lot of things of that nature that we got to get cleaned up. It starts with the little things like that.” Asked for clarification that he was really saying teammates were late or missing players-only meetings, Tagovailoa said, “Late. Yeah.” Players not prioritizing meetings held by their peers to stay on the same page is troubling, and has foreshadowed the Dolphins not showing up when most needed throughout the 2025 season on the field. That includes Sunday, when the Dolphins’ offense was beset by turnovers and their defense allowed the Chargers to convert a 44-yard game-winning field goal drive after holding a lead with 46 seconds to play. A back-and-forth affair was kept that way partly due to Tagovailoa’s poor performance, as the QB went 21 of 32 for 205 yards, one touchdown and three picks — though one was in desperation late. He did rebound, leading two fourth-quarter TD drives to jump ahead 27-26 after trailing by 13 during the final frame, but it was too little, too late after continually handing the Chargers momentum earlier in the game. With the result on the line, Justin Herbert went to work, and a Bolts offense battered by injuries stormed into field-goal range on the strength of a 42-yard reception by Ladd McConkey. Cameron Dicker converted on the 33-yard kick to win it, helping send the Fins to their worst start through six games during the Mike McDaniel era. The Dolphins endured similar woes early last year, but much of it was because of Tagovailoa missing games, and they stormed back from 2-6 to make an ill-fated but gutsy playoff push before finishing 8-9. While such a turnaround still has time to happen this year, the vibes in Miami have seemed off for months — highlighted by edge rusher Bradley Chubb saying in June the team was “lying” about culture change the season prior and by Tagovailoa’s recent admission regarding attendance at players-only meetings. Though the Fins reside above the winless Jets in the AFC East — the only team Miami has beaten this season — they’re a distant third behind the Patriots and Bills. The situation is far removed from McDaniel’s first two seasons in charge, when the club made consecutive playoff trips from 2022-2023 for the first time since the 2000 and 2001 campaigns. “Player-led meetings are extra things outside of what I demand,” McDaniel said on Sunday when asked if he was aware of what had been going on regarding Tagovailoa’s comments. “We’ve been very accountable to me. It sounds like there was something on his mind with regard to the specific meetings with a couple individuals that he was trying to get corrected by being direct with communication. I think that’s the only way to lead. As far as where we’ve been at as a program, I think we’ve opened the air on all of that and it’s very clear how we hold people accountable and what’s non-negotiable with all those things. Clearly he’s sending a message, but from my standpoint, everything that I’ve asked of the guys, they have delivered on and so I’m sure whomever he’s talking to, they’ll deliver as well as he’s a direct communicator with his teammates.” While some might lay the blame at the head coach’s feet, pointing to an offense that’s stagnated mightily in recent years, it can’t be ignored that players are shirking players-only meetings, which would logically be more of a reflection of the leadership from someone such as their franchise quarterback, as well. The first step is to recognize and address the issue of needing to put more emphasis into leadership, though, something that Tagovailoa did following another painful loss. If the Dolphins lock in and make meaningful change this week, their next chance to translate it to the field will be Week 7 against the Browns. It’ll be a tall task, regardless of the outcome, to climb from a 1-5 start into playoff contention. |
| NEW YORK JETSInteresting: @fbgchaseIn the last 5 years, there have been just four instances where a QB threw at least 15 passes and finished with as many sacks as completions All four were by Justin Fields and Zach Wilson |
| THIS AND THAT |
| TRADE CANDIDATESCharles Robinson of YahooSports.com, writing before Sunday’s games, has nine players who could be shipped out from their losing teams in trades: For the first time since 2014, we’ve entered Week 6 of the NFL season with zero undefeated teams remaining on the board. Much like that season — which boasted five 12-4 franchises and a 7-8-1 Carolina Panthers team that qualified for the playoffs — parity has gripped the league and muddled the Super Bowl picture. The historically elite Kansas City Chiefs? They’re 2-3 and wheezing on offense. The annually downtrodden Indianapolis Colts? They’re 4-1 and have the widest point differential in the league (+74). The Detroit Lions are on pace to score nearly 600 points, while the Baltimore Ravens are on pace to surrender more than 600. And seemingly everyone is interested in trading, with 11 different teams consummating seven deals through five weeks of the season. That’s a lot of early activity. Typically the NFL trade market doesn’t get really interesting until mid-October, when teams start to see their holes more clearly and assess the opportunities to patch them with pieces from other rosters. Take last season for example. Unlike this year, there wasn’t a single in-season trade completed prior to Oct. 15. Then the dam let loose, with 19 deals executed by the Nov. 5 deadline. Much like unfathomable futility, widespread parity also tends to drive teams to the trade table. And this year — with no clearly dominant teams rising to the surface after five weeks — some will be looking for an edge that can separate them from the ranks of good-but-not-great. There’s also a fair share of candidates to feast on, with eight teams sitting at 1-4 or worse heading into Week 6. With that in mind, here’s a look at eight teams that could be deadline sellers and their likely top draw on the block when we get deeper into the dealmaking zone this month … Baltimore Ravens: Tight end Mark AndrewsOutside linebacker Odafe Oweh would have been the candidate here, but he was flipped to the Los Angeles Chargers earlier this week in a move that hints the Ravens will be open for business going into the trade deadline. Most especially if they drop Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams and sink to 1-5. Conversely, if the Ravens can right themselves over the next few weeks, they could flip into deadline buyers with the salary cap flexibility that was opened up by the Oweh deal. If they’re sellers, I think it’s Andrews who will get some calls. Tight end was a popular spot at least year’s deadline, with teams like the Denver Broncos and Chargers making calls to try and add a mismatch opportunity to their playoff rosters. That could be the case again at this deadline, albeit with different teams. Andrews is in the final year of a four-year, $56 million extension. Given his limited impact thus far and turning 31 next season, he’s a likely free agency departure in March. Keep a close eye on the Rams and Seattle Seahawks for a tight end rental down the stretch. Cleveland Browns: Tight end David NjokuCornerback Greg Newsome would have been at the top of this list had he not been dealt to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Wednesday. I thought the Lions might make a call on Newsome this week with the Terrion Arnold shoulder injury initially looking like it might be season-ending. That prognosis got better and it removed the need for cornerback push. Even after moving Newsome and quarterback Joe Flacco, I don’t think the Browns are done quite yet. Cleveland has several candidates worthy of moving at the deadline who would otherwise be heading to free agency in the offseason. That reality has only strengthened by a strong rookie class that looks capable of stepping in and playing at a high level for cheap salaries. One of the rookies is tight end Harold Fannin Jr., who came out of the gates strong and immediately opened the possibility of the Browns dealing Njoku at the deadline. Interestingly, the Browns got some trade interest in Njoku last year at the deadline, but refused to part with him. This time around, they have his replacement in hand and a tight salary cap situation to deal with in the offseason. Like Andrews, I could see Njoku getting calls again at this deadline. Las Vegas Raiders: Wide receiver Jakobi MeyersOf all the potential trades at the deadline, this one seems like a layup. Meyers wanted a contract extension in the offseason and didn’t get it from the new regime. He then requested a trade, which head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek effectively ignored. With the Raiders’ quarterback issues and an offensive line that is a root problem of Las Vegas’ productivity, ignoring deadline interest in Meyers wouldn’t make sense. He’s leaving in free agency and there are always a handful of teams looking for serviceable wide receiver help at the deadline. If they’re in the thick of things near the end of October, I’d keep an eye on the Arizona Cardinals, who have a need at their No. 2 wide receiver spot. Don’t rule out the Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers and several other franchises that could look to help their quarterbacks with a wide receiver rental down the stretch. Miami Dolphins: Outside linebacker Bradley ChubbThe wheels feel like they’re ready to come off in Miami after last weekend’s collapse to Carolina after leading 17-0. With the Dolphins sinking fast, it could actually have a chilling effect when it comes to trades, largely because there is a possibility that ownership engages in a clean sweep round of firings that ultimately guts the coaching staff and front office. If that specter is looming, there’s little logic in trading away veteran players for draft capital that the coaching staff and front office knows it will never be able to use. Think of it like the New York Jets last year. They could have moved multiple players at the deadline and didn’t, largely because there was little motivation to do so. Everyone in the building thought they were getting fired. If that sense hasn’t sunken in for the Dolphins’ braintrust yet — or if ownership directs some salary dumping in the face of a total reboot in the offseason — the team still has plenty of talent to be popular on the trade deadline speed dial. The 29-year-old Chubb is one of the more intriguing targets as he plays out the last year of his deal in Miami. He’s still providing a pass rush impact in Miami and can be a quality starter elsewhere so long as he stays healthy. There’s little doubt he’s departing in free agency, and adding pass rush help for a playoff run is an automatic conversation starter for virtually every team in the league. New Orleans Saints: Wide receiver Rashid ShaheedEveryone is going to point to running back Alvin Kamara as the top deadline candidate in New Orleans, but that’s not the sense I’ve gotten picking the brains of some personnel sources across the league this week. Instead, I think there’s a growing belief that Kamara is nearing fumes at this point — especially where it concerns his ability to create explosive plays in the running game. He hasn’t had a run of longer than 27 yards since the 2021 season, and his receiving productivity has bottomed out to an all-time low in 2025. That said, the Saint who has caught the eye of talent evaluators is Shaheed, who has played a very serviceable second fiddle to Chris Olave this season and has also shown a history of providing explosive plays when he’s healthy. Of course, he’s never played a full season in his four years in the league, so health continues to be a concern. But the upside of Shaheed that is attractive to teams is that he turned 27 in August and should have a good window of prime years still on the table. He’s currently on a one-year, $5.2 million deal and becomes an unrestricted free agent in March. If he plays out the entire season with good health, he will have a solid free-agent market waiting for him. Teams are always looking for explosive receivers to give them an adrenaline shot down the stretch. From a test-run standpoint, Shaheed will be an intriguing trade target that could be coveted by teams targeting a long-term No. 2 next offseason. New York Giants: Quarterbacks Russell Wilson, Jameis WinstonYou’re going to see edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux on a lot of speculative trade deadline lists like these. But talking to people around the league, I do not get any sense whatsoever that the Giants are going to be interested in unloading him at this deadline. He’s under contractural control through 2026 and looks like he’s turning the corner on the field this season. Yes, the Giants drafted Abdul Carter and it creates some flexibility to move Thibodeaux, but the assessment that his value is at its highest at this trade deadline is incorrect. In reality, if he continues his current trajectory, his highest value will be next offseason. He’ll be exiting 2025 on an upswing, and pass-rush needy teams will have the ability to deal for Thibodeaux and then acclimate him into their defensive system over several months. Also, the Giants still have no idea what they have in Carter at this early juncture. Keeping Thibodeaux in the fold preserves their options along the defensive line. So who does that leave? If Jaxson Dart is still the starting quarterback in late October — which I fully expect he will be — it makes no sense for the Giants to sit on both of their veteran backups in Wilson and Winston. Of course, if nobody wants either of them, then the Giants’ hands are tied. But I would expect New York to aggressively float the availability of either heading into the deadline, in hopes of landing a late-round draft pick. It’s worth noting, Winston is actually signed through 2026 and has been the model backup quarterback at multiple stops. Wilson is signed through only 2025 and there is little doubt he still wants to remain a starter. The move here would be to prioritize the dumping of Wilson rather than Winston. But the buyer sets the trade market here, so the Giants have to be open to anything. New York Jets: Running back Breece HallThe Jets are off to the kind of start where virtually any veteran on the roster without a significant dead cap hit is available for calls. That basically eliminates wideout Garrett Wilson, cornerback Sauce Gardner and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. Outside of the new regime’s 2025 draft class, I’m not sure there’s a player on the roster who wouldn’t be available going into this deadline. That’s what a reboot looks like, and the 0-5 start is very suggestive of the next offseason being the next leg of a massive overhaul. It’s not exactly what Jets fans want to hear, but here we are. While I don’t think the Jets are going to run around the league pushing Hall’s availability, I don’t think he’s written into the team’s long-term plans, either. Granted, he’s shown an uptick in production this season after several consecutive years of diminishing returns, but I don’t think it has been enough for the Jets to offer him the long-term extension that never came last offseason. He hasn’t proven to be a unicorn running back, so his next contract is going to be challenging for whoever signs him as a free agent in March. The one complication to a trade for the Jets is the recent knee injury of Braelon Allen. Had the Jets traded Hall, Allen would have been the natural successor to carry the load. Now Allen is sidelined for as long as the next three months — and possibly the season — which makes keeping Hall a necessity unless New York is willing to flush the running game and lean into eventually earning the No. 1 pick in the draft. This will be an interesting one to watch unfold. Tennessee Titans: Defensive tackle Jeffery SimmonsI’m not quite sure what to make of the reimagined front office of the Titans just yet, so that leaves a lot of options on the table. I don’t see them taking away anything from quarterback Cam Ward, who is the top focus of getting the franchise anchored. That eliminates draining the offense with any moves, unless there’s a concerted effort to open up some opportunities for, say, rookie tight end Gunnar Helm, who could end up being a big bright spot from the 2025 draft. What I am sure of is that Simmons turns 29 before next season and he’s playing on a contract extension that really has one good opportunity to hold out and push for an adjustment. That opportunity comes this offseason, with a likely change in the coaching staff and the front office either seeking some stability with veterans or trading away big contracts in a remodeling effort. Simmons has a very tradable deal — both at this deadline and in the coming offseason. His level of play is still high enough to interest suitors and draw a solid draft pick in return. If the Titans signal they’re open to moving Simmons, I think they’d get interest from more than one trade partner. |
