| Matt Verderame of SI.com gives us the five best guard pairings in the NFL: The forgotten men in the trenches. The ones who aren’t snapping the ball and aren’t on the edges, facing the big-name rushers screaming around the rail. It’s the guards who have more responsibility than people realize and yet don’t get the acclaim (and in most cases the pay) of their contemporaries. Often, it’s the guards leading the way on running plays or being asked to pull out into space with athleticism to set up a screen or sweep. And yet, from a financial standpoint, only six are being paid more than $80 million on their current contracts, while 14 tackles are above that threshold. Still, guards are beginning to get their just due. In 2025, Trey Smith, Tyler Smith and Will Fries all signed new contracts north of $87 million, with an average of $40.6 million guaranteed. It’s a good sign for a position that was long overlooked and is now starting to become more valued as the run game climbs back to the game’s forefront. But which teams have the best duos? Which are the ones suited most to dominate the interior? We’ll break down the top five pairings. 5. Kansas City Chiefs: Trey Smith and Kingsley SuamataiaWhile the Chiefs have had issues at tackle for years around Patrick Mahomes, the guard play has long been elite. From 2021 to ’24, Kansas City won a pair of Super Bowls and reached three with Smith and perennial All-Pro Joe Thuney flanking fellow All-Pro center Creed Humphrey. However, after trading Thuney before last season to the Bears, the Chiefs entrusted a second-year, converted tackle in Kingsley Suamataia to do the job. The result was excellent. Smith earned Pro Bowl honors for the second consecutive year on the right side while Suamataia became a plus-starter, anchoring the left side with 17 starts while only being whistled for five penalties. Going into his third year and second at guard, the BYU product is a good bet to continue ascending. 4. Atlanta Falcons: Chris Lindstrom and Matthew BergeronLindstrom has long been one of the standard-bearers at guard. A four-time second-team All-Pro, Lindstrom has been a tower of power for the Falcons since being drafted in 2019, only missing one game since his rookie campaign. All told, Lindstrom’s grade of 88.4 on Pro Football Focus ranked second among guards, while his 91.7 run-blocking mark topped the charts. As for Bergeron, he’s settled in nicely through three years, starting all but two games of his career. The Syracuse product also had top-30 PFF grades last year overall and for run blocking, showing the versatility of a player entering the final season of his rookie contract. 3. Los Angeles Rams: Steve Avila and Kevin DotsonThe Rams are the overwhelming favorite to not only reach but win the Super Bowl, and the power on their offensive interior is one reason why. In Avila, Los Angeles found a gem in the second round of the 2023 draft. Initially, Avila went from guard to center (his collegiate position) before sticking at guard in ’25 after the trade of Jonah Jackson to the Bears. Since making the transition, Avila has become one of the league’s top linemen regardless of position, starting 40 games over his three-year career. Last season, he allowed only two sacks and six quarterback hits. As for Dotson, he was a middling player in Pittsburgh before blossoming into a star with the Rams. Since coming to Los Angeles before the 2023 season, Dotson has played in 45 games, anchoring the line in front of MVP quarterback Matthew Stafford. If he’s allowed to hit free agency next winter, the 29-year-old is in line for a major payday. 2. Chicago Bears: Joe Thuney and Jonah JacksonIt’s rare that a guard gets into the Hall of Fame. In fact, only 16 players who primarily played that position are enshrined in Canton. Thuney is a terrific bet to eventually join that group, having won four titles with the Patriots and Chiefs, and earning three first-team All-Pro selections, along with two second-team nods. Despite being 33 years old, Thuney remains at the top of his game. He’s reached the Pro Bowl each of the past four seasons and has only missed two games throughout his 10-year career. On four occasions, he’s played 100% of the offensive snaps. Then there’s Jackson, who, like Thuney, was acquired by Chicago last offseason. Jackson, 29, played all 17 games for the Bears, committing only one holding penalty while garnering a 72.3 overall grade from PFF, ranking him 26th among guards (Thuney ranked eighth and first in pass blocking). 1. Denver Broncos: Quinn Meinerz and Ben PowersThe Broncos have a strong case for the best offensive line in the NFL, and the guards are the strength of this unit. Meinerz has developed from a third-round pick out of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2021 to the best guard in the league, earning first-team All-Pro honors each of the past two seasons. On PFF, Meinerz is credited with an NFL-best 89.1 grade, while also playing every game over the past three seasons. At 27 years old, Meinerz is the current standard for guard play. Then there’s Powers, who is a quality player in his own right. Signed away from the Ravens in 2023, Powers was limited to eight games last year due to a torn biceps, but when healthy is a powerful force on the left side, who has committed only 16 penalties in his seven-year career. |
| NFC NORTH |
| DETROITWR AMON-RA ST. BROWN is engaged to his high school girlfriend. Brianna Williams of ESPN.com: Amon-Ra St. Brown’s latest win came off the field. The Detroit Lions All-Pro wide receiver announced Tuesday that he and his longtime girlfriend, Brooklyn Adams, are engaged. Advertising St. Brown and Adams shared the news in a joint social media post captioned “Hard launch,” featuring a series of photos from the proposal. The announcement quickly drew congratulations from fellow athletes and celebrities. Among those commenting were noted Lions fan Taylor Lautner, fellow wide receivers Drake London and Keenan Allen, St. Brown’s quarterback Jared Goff, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and Haley Cavinder, who recently tied the knot with Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson. The proposal marks a major milestone for the couple, who have been together since high school, according to People. |
| NFC SOUTH |
| NEW ORLEANSAs you might expect, QB TYLER SHOUGH is excited about the possibilities with WR JORDAN TYSON in the Saints fold. Kevin Patra of NFL.com: The New Orleans Saints drafted receiver Jordyn Tyson in the first round, a high-talent player who was plagued by injuries during his college run, to give Tyler Shough a dynamic pairing with the rookie and veteran Chris Olave. Tyson’s dynamic upside complements Olave’s do-it-all ability, giving the second-year quarterback two receivers who can win one-on-one matchups and bust up zone coverages. During a recent episode of the “Green Light with Chris Long” podcast, Shough glowed about Tyson’s athleticism and what that can bring to the Saints offense. “I mean his brother’s an NBA player for the Cavs, Jaylen,” Shough said. “He’s kind of just like an elite hooper. Like he’s just going to go; he’s going to hoop regardless. Like he’s going to go jump out the gym on somebody. He’s going to get open in the most crazy way, but he’s also kind of got this grittiness to him that I feel like not a lot of people give him credit for.” Few questioned Tyson’s ability to make plays on the field. At Arizona State, the wideout was a dynamo, with twitchy athleticism that allowed him to make jaw-dropping plays. The concern entering the NFL was mainly about his injury history, which included a significant knee injury (ACL, MCL, PCL), a broken collarbone, an ankle injury and, most recently, a lingering hamstring issue. Tyson missed multiple games in each of his four college seasons. Shough likened Tyson’s injury issues to his own coming out of college. “I had some connections at Arizona State who said great things about him and his journey,” he said. “He had been injured quite a few times. You know, we’ve both broken collarbones. He’s had a knee, you know; he was battling kind of a hammy there at the end of the year. And that was kind of the story of me coming out of the draft was I had some injuries in the past, and I was like, man, screw this. I’m just going to go out there and be myself. And I feel like that’s the best part about him. Getting to know him is that he’s just one of one person, and you know, obviously kind of getting to work with him in camp as we kind of continue to go forward is going to be even more exciting.” If Tyson and Olave, who has his own injury questions, stay healthy, the Saints offense has the chance to be much more dynamic in Kellen Moore’s second season. |
| NFC WEST |
| LOS ANGELES RAMSIn LA County, charges have yet to be filed against OL ALARIC JACKSON after his arrest following a domestic dispute. Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com: No criminal charges have been filed against Rams offensive lineman Alaric Jackson, more than a month after he was arrested and accused of felony domestic battery. The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office told NBC Los Angeles that it does not have a criminal case filed against Jackson. The case is not closed and could be re-evaluated in the future, Jackson may be able to avoid facing charges by taking other actions such as attending a pre-trial diversion class, paying restitution or performing community service. Jackson was arrested on June 8 after police were called to his home over a call saying Jackson and a woman had an argument, Jackson thought the woman was recording him with her phone and allegedly tried to take the phone out of her hand. Police said the woman had scratch marks on her arms. The woman reportedly reminded Jackson during the altercation that she was pregnant, to which Jackson replied, “I don’t give a fuck.” Even if Jackson never faces criminal charges, it’s possible he could be disciplined under the NFL’s personal-conduct policy, depending on the outcome of the league’s own investigation. In 2024, the NFL suspended Jackson two games as a result of a woman reporting that Jackson recorded her during sex without consent, refused to delete the video and taunted her with it. The woman filed a lawsuit against Jackson in November. Last year the Rams signed Jackson to a three-year, $57 million contract extension. Jackson started 16 regular-season games and all three postseason games for the Rams last season. |
| SAN FRANCISCOFormer LB K.J. Wright is following in the path of DeMeco Ryans. Matt Barrows of The Athletic: During his retirement news conference in 2022, longtime Seattle Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright said he didn’t know what his future held but that he was sure he’d never get into coaching. It took roughly 18 months for him to change his mind. During the 2024 offseason, the San Francisco 49ers hired their former rival as a quality control coach, the bottom rung on the NFL coaching ladder. This spring, he took a major step up when he was promoted to linebackers coach. And it doesn’t appear as if Wright — warm, bright and teeming with energy — will stop there. “K.J. can take this as far as he wants to,” longtime mentor Ken Norton Jr. said in a recent phone interview. “He understands that if he’s gonna be a great coach, the little things matter. It’s the little things that take care of big things. He doesn’t have an ego that gets in the way. “If K.J. wants to be the greatest linebackers coach ever, if he wants to be a defensive coordinator, if he wants to be a head coach — it’s all out there for him.” Norton, the Washington Commanders’ linebackers coach, knows better than anyone what Wright is capable of. He had the same job in Seattle in 2011 when the Seahawks drafted Wright — who, at nearly 6 feet 4, had atypical size for a linebacker — in the fourth round out of Mississippi State. He immediately made the rookie his special project. Norton didn’t like Wright’s footwork. A linebacker’s steps should be short and precise so he can operate in tight spaces. Wright had long legs and deep strides. To Norton, he ran like a deer. “So I had him put these bands on his legs,” he recalled. “And they were like three, four inches apart. And I made him wear ’em to practice, made him wear ’em on special teams. And everybody was giving him a hard time: ‘What are you doing with braces on your legs? What’s wrong with you? You know slavery’s over, right?’” There was more ribbing in the linebackers’ meeting room, where Norton introduced segments he called “K.J.’s Quote of the Day” and “K.J. Says” — anything to put the then-22-year-old in the front of the room and get him used to communicating with his teammates. To Norton’s delight, Wright never balked at any of it. Instead, he was a bottomless well, taking as much coaching as Norton could pour into him. “This went on for the whole year,” Norton said of the leg bands Wright wore in practice. “And I mean everybody gave it to him. They just rode him. And he did not waver. He wore those things every single day. I realized he believes in what I’m telling him. He believes in me. And I was like, ‘I’ve got to make sure I show up for this guy. I’ve got to bring my A-game.’” Most linebackers struggle to learn one position during their initial season. Wright ended up starting games at all three spots in 2011, finishing with 65 tackles, 10 of them behind the line of scrimmage. “Rookies don’t do that,” Norton said. “He came in on a mission.” Wright’s footwork became one of the strongest facets of his game. He was adept at diagnosing offensive plays, often arriving to plug a hole at the line of scrimmage just as the ball carrier was trying to squeeze through it. And the sessions at the front of the linebackers’ room paid off, too, as his talented Legion of Boom teammates began to turn to him when they had questions about the defense. Norton said if there was an 8 p.m. team meeting the night before a game, Wright would show up at 6 p.m. On practice days, coach and protege would arrive at the facility at 6 a.m. The goal, Norton said, was to supply his mentee with as much information as possible, to give him total command. “I wanted him to feel invincible out there,” he said. Pretty soon, other teammates began coming in early for what Norton described as a daily breakfast club. “What I loved most about Nort was he took the extra time with me outside of that block that we have as a football team,” Wright said. “‘Hey, meet me here at 6 o’clock in the morning.’ That ain’t on the schedule. But he met with me there. He was honest with me. He embarrassed me sometimes in front of the room. I didn’t like it. But when you push a player, they have no choice but to rise to the occasion, or they’re gonna fold.” Wright, who turns 37 on July 23, said he’s started his own breakfast club with his pupils, especially Tatum Bethune and Jalen Graham, who are in his office every morning. The 49ers’ top two linebackers — Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw, both 29 years old — are firmly entrenched as starters. Beyond that, the unit is full of players who are 25 or younger, like Bethune, Graham, Nick Martin and rookies Jaden Dugger and Larry Worth III. Those linebackers will be jockeying for spots on the 53-man roster this summer, and it’s now Wright’s job to sort them out. Asked if he shows the youngsters clips of himself — the 49ers’ defense is similar to what the Seahawks ran 15 years ago — Wright admits he nearly did when putting together a recent edge-setting montage. “But I didn’t do it,” he said. “I probably do need to do it. ‘This is what it looks like, guys.’ … So that may come about. But I don’t want to be that coach, though.” Wright’s path seems similar to that of another decorated linebacker-turned-San Francisco assistant: DeMeco Ryans. Like Wright, the 49ers initially wanted Ryans to spend a couple of seasons as a quality control coach. That plan changed in 2018 when, a week after the 49ers hired Norton as their inside linebackers coach, he left for Seattle to become their defensive coordinator. Ryans took over as linebackers coach instead, was promoted to defensive coordinator three years later and was then hired as the Houston Texans’ head coach two years after that. Does Wright envision that kind of trajectory? “Ahhhhhhhh,” he said, pausing four seconds before answering. “I do know this,” he finally continued. “I do want to be a really good linebackers coach, and I do know I want to be a defensive coordinator. I for sure know that. And so I’m working toward that. And we’ll see. We’ll see once it gets past that point. Ask me again once I become defensive coordinator.” Ironically, Norton, who is Wright’s biggest champion, initially discouraged him from getting into coaching. “As a decade-plus player, the game is so hard on your body, you need to take a break, travel and see the world,” Norton advised. “There’s so many things to do. You’ve made enough money that you don’t have to do this. “That’s kind of the trick I play on them: I try to talk ’em out of it. And if he talks himself back into it, it lets you know how passionate he is, how seriously he wants to do it.” Wright said retirement simply didn’t fit his personality. Twenty-four hours felt like 48 to him. And hardly a year and a half after he vowed not to join the coaching ranks, he was signing a contract with the 49ers. His wife, Nathalie, understood. “She knows where my heart is,” he said. “She knows what I want to do. And she’s like, ‘Go. Get out of my house! You’re getting on my nerves! Go work!’ So I said, ‘All right, babe. I’m gonna try this thing.’” |
| AFC WEST |
| DENVERIn January, ESPN.com’s Seth Wickersham was embedded with Sean Payton and the Broncos during their playoff run. Six months later, he has released his report on what went on. Some highlights: PART IMonday, Six Days Before Kickoff SEAN PAYTON FORGOT about today’s 9 a.m. staff meeting, so he enters a few minutes late. He’s in a bad mood, six days before his Denver Broncos will face the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game. He was in a bad mood yesterday, too, after reviewing film of Denver’s overtime win over the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round. He hated that the Broncos couldn’t run the ball, which ultimately falls on him, or stop it, which ultimately falls on him, too. But what’s really set him off is invisible: that a practice squad lineman named Jordan Jackson didn’t see the field against the Bills on defense. Not one play — after the defensive coaches had fought for him to be active, arguing that Jackson could help against the run. NFL teams can only activate 48 players on game day. Dressing Jackson came at the expense of another player. Something nobody noticed about a player nobody has ever heard of has one of the most successful coaches in NFL history on edge with a Super Bowl at stake. Yesterday, Joe Vitt, a defensive assistant and one of Payton’s oldest and best friends, stopped by Payton’s office. He wanted to thank Payton for the opportunity before them: to be in the playoffs, to live with the intensity and energy of every minute, not knowing if the play at hand will end up being the play that decides the game and season, that defines a legacy. Payton wasn’t feeling sentimental. He ripped into him about Jackson. Vitt gave it a second try, thanking him again. That was a mistake. “You’re welcome!” Payton shouted. Vitt left. Payton takes his usual seat at the head of a conference table in the main meeting room for the Broncos coaches, a large and windowless space on the second floor of the building. Screens for watching game tape fill two walls; a whiteboard covers the third; portraits of Hall of Famers John Elway, Terrell Davis, and Shannon Sharpe playing in a Super Bowl win is the fourth. Payton sets the room temperature to 68 degrees, which he read somewhere is the ideal temperature to keep people alert. Coordinators, position coaches, and general manager George Paton sit alongside him at the table. Scouts, trainers, and operations staffers grab folding chairs around the perimeter. Seats aren’t assigned, but everyone sits in the same ones each day. It snowed a few inches overnight; the room has a foxhole feel. “Zero snaps,” Payton says. “F—ing criminal. This kid sits on the sideline.” Seconds pass. “Did we stop the run? We didn’t do that. We got our a– kicked in the first half.” Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph interjects, offering explanations. Payton cuts him off. “I love the turnovers,” he says, of the five the Broncos forced against the Bills. “Outside of the turnovers… we were worse than the worst defensive team this year in the NFL. I’ll do the numbers if you want.” Payton is just getting started, his eyes alternating between the words on his yellow notepad and the staff. During the meeting, he rails about communication issues. “Day One s—,” he says. “It’s a cluster on the headphones.” At one point, the Broncos had to burn a timeout because the defense had too many men. “Twelve on the field,” he says. “Why is that a problem?” “Should not,” Joseph says. “It’s been all year!” “It won’t be.” Some coaches nod. Some take notes. Some stare and remain still. The faint hum of air purifiers is the only sound. Those who go back with Payton — during his three years in Denver and even his 16 with the New Orleans Saints — know that it’s best to let his storms pass rather than debate him. Payton later tells Joseph that while he was legitimately angry, he was also sending a message to the staff. After all, the Broncos are in a kind of football crisis. In the meeting, Payton walks over to the wall-length whiteboard covered in magnets for a depth chart, with each player’s name and number. He picks up the magnet under QB that reads NIX — Bo Nix, Denver’s star second-year passer, the player to whom Payton has tied his Broncos fortunes — and slowly shifts it left, past the offensive linemen, past the receivers, past nearly everyone on the roster, to a category of unavailable injured players. Payton’s eyes stay on NIX for a beat. He slides back to QB, to the tile that reads STIDHAM — Jarrett Stidham, a 2019 fourth-round pick now on his third team in six years, with a total of four career starts and 197 passes thrown — and moves it up. Stidham is Sean Payton’s new starting quarterback. – – –BACK AT HIS desk, Payton pulls out his phone. He rarely looks at it during the workday. It sits on a charging station, in sleep mode. He’s barely aware of the news, within football and especially beyond. I’m jealous. He dials Bill Parcells, a friend and mentor for more than twenty years, dating back to his time on Parcells’ staff in Dallas. Parcells now splits his time between Florida and Upstate New York, where he races horses. Payton is among the last of the Parcells coaching tree, a group of men who dominated football for decades and are hardwired with an ethic that’s at once admirable and self-destructive. After Payton won the Super Bowl, Parcells left a voicemail that said “Welcome to the club.” Parcells answers after one ring. “Listen,” Payton says with a smile. “Trying to get in touch with you, but your schedule’s busy.” “No, no, no,” Parcells says. “I called you four times yesterday.” Parcells reached out after the Nix news broke, and not just because he won a Super Bowl in the 1990 season with backup quarterback Jeff Hostetler. He’s one of the few who knows what his former charge is feeling, and maybe more importantly, can articulate it. Talking about doubt makes it easier to live with and move beyond. There’s a way to win, Parcells says. Gotta figure out how. “Now, here’s what I tell the team… ” he continues. Present tense, despite being out of coaching since 2006. A coach doesn’t ever stop, at least not in his head. “I’m not worried about Hostetler. I’m worried about the rest of you.” There are no secrets left, only refreshers, and the encouragement that Payton has it within himself to pull this off. Parcells need not remind Payton that NFL history books don’t carry asterisks for losses due to quarterback injuries. Nobody cares. There are no excuses. That’s the working premise of both their adult lives. “This feeling — this exact feeling,” Payton says at one point, of coaching in the playoffs. “How do you replicate it when you’re done?” “The horses help,” Parcells says. “But there’s nothing like it.” Payton holds his phone after hanging up, sifting through messages. I notice that his hands are shaking and ask why. A mix of age and various medications, he says. They shake as he places his phone back on the charger. Shake as he holds a pen, making a quick note. Shake as he turns off the lights, closes the shades, pours a Coke into a cup of ice crushed small, which he does at all waking hours — “I’ll have 10 Cokes during the day, but I’ll only truly drink three” — and shake as he lights candles on his desk, making sure the glass casings touch, his routine and superstition, giving the room a meditative feel. On his computer screen is a file called Explosive Runs — 20 yards or more — against New England’s base 4-3 defense, Base Okie (3-4 defense), and nickel. He grabs an XOS software clicker and cradles it in his palm. His hands stop shaking.– – –“Paul?” he shouts. “Yes, Coach,” Paul says. Paul Kelly — “PK” — is Payton’s assistant. Every office has its sneaky power player, whose knowledge of the building exceeds their job title. In Denver, it’s Kelly. He knows Payton so well that he can hear his footsteps from downstairs. “Can you get Davis for me?” “Yes, Coach.” Davis Webb is the Broncos quarterback coach and, likely, a future head coach. He’s what Payton was 30 years ago — young and eager for a chance to make a statement. Payton misses that time of life dearly. He watches his old plays not just for a schematic reminder; it’s to feel that sense of innocence and fearlessness again, back when Parcells would review the offensive call sheet before games and stop at some fancy new one and say to Payton, “Trying to make a name for yourself?” Webb enters within minutes. The two go back and forth in their own complex shorthand, talking ideas and drawing up a pass concept. “I love it,” Webb says. “Okay,” Payton says. “That’s one touchdown,” Webb says as he exits. “Just gotta get three more.”– – –BEFORE THE PLANNING continues, Payton stands before the staff holding a printed copy of the Patriots media guide and a bucket of cold water. “This is for Orny,” he says. That would be the late Mike Ornstein, a former agent, executive for the Raiders and NFL office, and felon, infamous in sports circles for his temper and charm. Payton loved him, even though Orny turned up in the league’s Bountygate investigation, the pay-for-knockout system orchestrated by then-Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, which Payton wasn’t directly involved in but helped cover up, Roger Goodell concluded — all of which helped influence and inspire Payton’s suspicion of the league office, then and now. Orny had a superstition for upcoming opponents, which Payton never fully understood but feels is appropriate now. Payton dunks the guide in the water, soaks it for a minute, until it’s misshapen and bloated, and then puts it in the freezer in the meeting room fridge.– – –Payton points to a small picture of a small house in the corner of his office, a nondescript water-color painting alongside prominent photos of him with presidents, with Kenny Chesney, with his kids, of holding his Lombardi Trophy. It’s his boyhood home in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. The Paytons emigrated from Ireland to Scranton. His grandfather on his father’s side, Robert Thomas Payton, delivered milk and other dairy products. His job had a perk: Each night, he was allowed to keep half a gallon of chocolate ice cream. It became a near nightly tradition. He died when Payton’s dad, Thomas, was a boy, and the specter of despair hovered over the family. Thomas grew up in Depression America, and went to fight the Germans in Europe for the Navy, and he left pieces of himself in both places. Thomas sold insurance. The family moved around a lot. Thomas would overspend at Christmas, then worry for the rest of the year how to pay the bills. As a kid, Sean — third child to Thomas and Jeanne — came home from elementary school one day and saw police in the neighborhood. Then, he realized that they were at his house. Dad had gone missing. Sean had no idea that such a thing could happen. Thomas eventually came home, but those types of episodes — “cries for help,” Payton says — defined their life as much as Jeanne’s optimism did. Years later, one of Sean’s sisters pointed to a hole in the garage roof. That’s where their dad had planned to hang himself, she told him. When Sean went off to college at Eastern Illinois as a quarterback and started his career, first in the NFL as a strike replacement player in 1987 and then as a coach at San Diego State in 1988, he always wondered when the phone rang if it was the call. That call never came. Thomas Payton died of pneumonia in 1998. When Sean looks at pictures of his dad now, he sees a young man who looked like an old man before his time. Payton lives with an existential fear that everything he’s built will be taken away. That’s his psychological inheritance. Calling plays, and the process of finding the perfect design, the impossible struggle of it all, was not just Payton’s way out. It’s the best and worst of Thomas and Jeanne playing out on a national stage, the paranoia that it’ll all end coupled with the belief that it’ll work out, that it can work out. He has never been personally fired in the NFL, an astounding fact after almost 30 years in a cutthroat league, when coaches are often sacrificed, if only for optics. In-season, Payton rarely indulges himself. He doesn’t golf. Barely touches alcohol. Seldom eats out. But after some losses and every win… each precious and miraculous win, which allows him to keep going, if only for another week… he celebrates playing a child’s game and wagering an adult’s resources — time, infinite budgets, meaningful presence in the world — with ice cream.– – –HE KNOWS IT’S a big game when he sees a Gatorade bottle — a league sponsor — taped to the podium for his press conference. “It means NFL Network is broadcasting it,” he says. About 80 credentialed reporters and camerapeople are on hand today, four times more than usual. Media obligations bug him. Not the questions — although he can be needlessly petty and combative, sometimes if the question is far from reality, sometimes if it’s too close, sometimes simply if it’s an easy target and he can get the dopamine hit of a quick slaying. Last week, Luca Evans of the Denver Post asked him if it was good to have linebacker Dre Greenlaw healthy and able to “attack downhill.” Just to haze him, Payton replied, “What do you know about attacking downhill?” But the bigger the game, the more the league is involved, the more the mechanisms of it all piss Payton off. With so much media in town, veteran Broncos PR executive Patrick Smyth proposed moving the post-practice press conference inside rather than the usual spot outside. Payton vetoed it. Tomorrow, which is normally a day that Payton doesn’t talk, is a league-mandated media conference call. “Three questions,” Payton tells Smyth. “That’s it.” Over a bowl of cereal, Payton ends up taking four — and is vaguely annoyed about it when it concludes. “A beacon of accommodation and access!” Smyth says, spreading his arms. Even Payton laughs. Payton often tells players that “we don’t pay attention to [media] bulls—.” But the flatscreens in the cafeteria are tuned to ESPN, muted but with chyrons in bold type explaining why Denver has no chance. At one point, Stidham chats with Payton in the cafeteria, with the shows behind him weighing his competence — doubt literally hanging over his shoulder. Between meetings Payton pulls up a semi-viral clip of Patriots defensive lineman Milton Williams. When asked what he knows about Stidham, Williams said, “Nothing… They didn’t like him over Bo, so… “ “Why say that?” Payton says. “Belichick would have killed him.” Williams also isn’t wrong. But Payton isn’t feigning faith in Stidham. Never in any planning sessions does he say that he wishes he had Nix. It’s not because he thinks Stidham is better. And it’s not just because in Stidham’s first career start, for the Raiders in 2023, he threw for 365 yards and three touchdowns. It’s because of he and them. Stidham has Payton dialing up plays. Those two belief systems are inseparable. Parcells protected Hostetler in 1990 with a running game and a willingness to punt. Payton will protect Stidham — to a point. He wants him to throw because he knows he can. I ask Payton if he’ll show the Williams clip to the team, for cheap inspiration. No need. His response comes after practice, when he polls the players for who they want to perform at their Super Bowl party. NBA YoungBoy wins. Payton refuses to allow them to consider that Santa Clara is anything but fate, if they do their jobs. He later personally books YoungBoy over FaceTime, then spins to his computer. |
| AFC SOUTH |
| INDIANAPOLISPK Adam Vinatieri is heading to the Colts Ring of Honor. Stephen Holder of ESPN.com: Adam Vinatieri became perhaps the greatest kicker in NFL history by making some of the biggest kicks the game has ever seen. Accordingly, the postcareer honors are rolling in. Already scheduled to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame next month, Vinatieri on Wednesday was announced as the next player to be inducted into the Indianapolis Colts’ Ring of Honor. Vinatieri will become the 21st person associated with the franchise to receive that distinction when he is honored Oct. 18 during the Colts’ game against the Tennessee Titans at Lucas Oil Stadium. During a distinguished 24-year career with the New England Patriots and the Colts, Vinatieri became one of the most clutch performers ever at his position. He is most known for his New England playoff performances — including winning kicks in Super Bowls XXXVI and XXXVIII — but after joining the Colts as a free agent in 2006, Vinatieri continued to cement his legacy with an impressive run during Indy’s Super Bowl campaign that season. Vinatieri converted 14 field goals in that postseason, including five in a divisional round win over the Baltimore Ravens and three in the Super Bowl XLI win over the Chicago Bears. Vinatieri owns NFL records for points (2,673) and field goals made (599). One of his most remarkable records is his NFL-best streak of 44 consecutive field goals converted during the 2015-16 seasons. |
| JACKSONVILLEThe Jaguars think CB/WR TRAVIS HUNTER will be good to go in three weeks when camp opens. Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com: Coach Liam Coen said last month the Jaguars were unsure when Travis Hunter would be full go. The Jaguars apparently now know. Cameron Wolfe of NFL Media reports that the wide receiver/cornerback is expected to be fully cleared for the start of training camp on July 28. Hunter tore the lateral collateral ligament in his right knee during an Oct. 30 practice. He underwent surgery Nov. 11 in Dallas, with Cowboys team physician, Dr. Dan Cooper, and Jaguars team physician, Dr. Kevin Kaplan, performing the procedure. Hunter is now running over 20 mph, which is faster than the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner has ever run, per Wolfe. Hunter played 324 offensive snaps and 162 defensive snaps in seven appearances as a rookie before his season-ending knee injury. He had 28 catches for 298 yards and a touchdown on offense to go with 15 tackles on defense. He is expected to play even more on defense this season as the Jaguars have a need at cornerback. |
| AFC EAST |
| NEW ENGLANDQB DRAKE MAYE makes a complicated cameo at Fenway Park: Drake Maye made a surprise appearance at Fenway Park — one that was a highlight of the night for many fans. During the first of Noah Kahan’s four shows in Boston for “The Great Divide Tour,” the folk music superstar performed a skit where he stepped up to a pay phone on stage. He answered the phone and trolled Canadian rapper Drake before he was corrected. “Hello? Drake? I thought you got canceled or Kendrick [Lamar] beat you or something, why are you calling me?” Kahan said as flabbergasted fan reactions filled Fenway Park. “Well, I appreciate you coming to the show, I guess.” Little did fans know, he was talking to a different Drake. “Wrong Drake, brother. This is Drake Maye,” the New England Patriots quarterback said as he appeared on a videoboard, prompting cheers from fans. “I just want to welcome you to Boston; Fenway Park. I hear the crowd’s rocking right now. I hear the crowd, you’re the man. Go Pats.” Kahan wrapped up the call skit with: “Go Patriots!” Maye’s cameo served as a segue into Kahan’s song “She Calls Me Back” from the 2022 release of his third album, “Stick Season.” |
| THIS AND THAT |
| BOUNCE BACK SEASONSVikings QB KYLER MURRAY is among the 10 players Josh Edwards of CBSSports.comsays will “bounce back” in 2026: Development is not always linear, but neither are career trajectories. To a varying degree, several NFL players have had productive starts to their respective careers before facing adversity; whether that be injuries, coaching changes, etc. How they respond to that adversity sets the course for the remainder of their respective careers. Who are some of the candidates to restore their legacies in 2026? It should be noted that this does not include players who could surge for the first time. For example, Jaguars cornerback Travis Hunter Jr. is one who has more to give this season. Chargers center Tyler Biadasz and Eagles safety Reed Blankenship had also been considered, because of public narratives. Biadasz was outright released by Washington whereas Blankenship had been a sacrificial piece to the Eagles defense. Those are two good candidates to break through prior narratives, but neither had been down so bad last season that it would justify a ‘resurgence.’ Without further ado, here are the veterans who could experience a return to glory in 2026: RaidersOG Spencer BurfordAfter starting 29 regular-season games over his first two seasons, Burford has been limited to just nine starts between the 2024 and 2025 seasons with the 49ers. Playing alongside Trent Williams had been a good situation, but Burford now steps into a better situation sandwiched between Kolton Miller and Tyler Linderbaum. There are deficiencies in Burford’s game, but new head coach Klint Kubiak had done a good job relieving some of the stress his offensive line shouldered through the scheme. TexansWR Tank DellDell averaged 49 receptions each of his first two seasons out of Houston, but suffered a significant injury that cost him all of the 2025 season. He had been an explosive threat in the Texans’ offense and was a popular outlet for C.J. Stroud. There are suddenly more mouths to feed in the pass game after the team sunk Day 2 picks into Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel last offseason to go along with Nico Collins. The expectation should not be for Dell to be a high-volume target in his first season back, but the hope is that he can stretch the field and set the table for the rest of his career. 49erdLB Dre GreenlawGreenlaw parlayed a fruitful career with the 49ers into a lucrative contract from the Broncos. In his lone season with Denver, Greenlaw missed nine games, but had been productive in his limited availability. Durability has been an issue for the 29-year-old, but returning to the system that developed him, alongside Fred Warner, may help get back on an upward trajectory. Former Falcons head coach Raheem Morris was hired to replace new Titans head coach Robert Saleh. ChiefsCB Kader KohouKohou had been a bright spot in a deficient Miami secondary but he missed the entire 2025 season recovering from an injury. He had missed just four combined games over the first three seasons of his career. The Chiefs’ supporting cast will be better than his time with the Dolphins, so that could lead to more opportunities to turn over the ball. Kohou will be asked to fulfill a slot role that had previously been filled by Trent McDuffie and Chamarri Conner. L’Jarius Sneed had also been a consideration upon coming back to Kansas City following a brief stint in Tennessee. However, there is no guarantee he wins a starting position over Nohl Williams and Mansoor Delane. LionsTE Sam LaPortaLaPorta’s production has declined each year in the NFL following his breakout rookie season when he managed 86 receptions for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns. Last season, he missed eight games and finished with 40 receptions for 489 yards and three touchdowns. The entire Detroit offense suffered a setback last season post-Ben Johnson, but LaPorta should be revitalized by new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. Petzing’s own offense with the Cardinals and roots dating to Cleveland suggest the tight end will be heavily utilized in the pass game. Defensive tackle Alim McNeill was another who had been considered for the list. Availability has been an issue for him early in his professional career, but a healthy McNeil could play a vital role in the Lions re-establishing themselves as a contender in the NFC. BillsWR DJ MooreMoore was a feature outlet for the Bears prior to Ben Johnson’s arrival. He averaged 97 receptions in his first two seasons with the franchise. Johnson leaned more into the youth on his roster with Rome Odunze and, more recently, Luther Burden III. Over the first eight games of the 2025 season, the Maryland product had at least three receptions in each game. Over the last nine regular-season games, he had just three games with at least three receptions. Buffalo likely overpaid for the wide receiver via trade, but that is further justification to the team’s plans for utilizing him. Moore is closer to the end of his career than the beginning, but there is a lot of unrealized production as Josh Allen’s primary target. VikingsQB Kyler MurrayBetween the 2023 and 2025 seasons, Murray missed a combined 21 games. Despite Arizona releasing him for future salary cap relief, the Oklahoma native turns just 29 in August and now joins a head coach (Kevin O’Connell) who has been credited with rejuvenating the careers of Daniel Jones and Sam Darnold. Murray threw for 3,700 yards each of his first three seasons, but has just one such occurrence over the past four years. Minnesota’s supporting cast should be better than what Murray had in Arizona. In addition to O’Connell’s coaching, the Vikings have a better offensive line when healthy, as well as Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jauan Jennings and T.J. Hockenson in the pass game. CommandersCB Mike SainristilSainristil had a positive rookie season. Despite being small in stature, he spent a little less than 15% of the 2025 season working out of the slot, according to TruMedia. The team’s investment in Marshon Lattimore and Trey Amos was disrupted by injuries, which forced Washington to abandon its plan to play Sainristil more in the slot. New defensive coordinator Daronte Jones has not explicitly described the role to be filled by the third-year Michigan man, but he should benefit from the team’s improved front seven. JaguarsWR Brian Thomas Jr.Thomas was sensational as a rookie when he recorded 87 receptions and nearly 1,300 receiving yards. The encore was less impressive. Over the course of 14 games, he amassed 48 receptions for 707 yards and two touchdowns; zero 100-yard receiving performances. Jacksonville struggled to best deploy his skill set and that led to frustration and rumored trade availability. To this point, the Jaguars have rebuffed all trade offers and the franchise has publicly maintained its confidence in Thomas. Having ample time to incorporate Jakobi Meyers into the offense and not having to shoehorn Travis Hunter Jr., the team has better intel on how to best utilize all its weapons. JetsWR Garrett WilsonWilson is a bit of a technicality. He averaged 93 receptions and eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards each of his first three seasons. Last season was strange in the sense that he appeared in the first six games before succumbing to injury then played Nov. 9 and spent the rest of the season amidst public speculation regarding whether or not he was healthy enough to play. New York’s 2025 plan at quarterback entailed Justin Fields, Tyrod Taylor and Brady Cook. Geno Smith’s situation in Las Vegas was not ideal. Therefore, it is reasonable to question if Smith may be marginally better with a much-improved offensive line despite being a year older. |
