The NFL has been testing the public-relations waters in floating an 18-game schedule.

Ryan Kelly is here for the counterpoint. The Pro Bowl center and NFLPA representative for the Indianapolis Colts spoke candidly against an expanded schedule on Wednesday. He’s “absolutely not” interested in an 18-game slate or commissioner Roger Goodell’s effort’s to push one.

“Yeah, 18 games sounds great when Roger is saying it on the Pat McAfee podcast,” Kelly said in a post-practice media scrum from Colts minicamp. “But until you’re the one going out there and putting a helmet on for 18 of those games, yeah, then come talk to me.”

Roger, in this instance, is Roger Goodell. Kelly, who’s also a vice president on the NFLPA’s executive committee, was referring to Goodell’s appearance on the “The Pat McAfee Show” in April at the NFL Draft in Detroit.

Speaking to McAfee in front a crowd of fans, Goodell took on the role of cheerleader in promoting an 18-game schedule.

“I think we’re good at 17 now,” Goodell said. “But, listen, we’re looking at how we continue. I’m not a fan of the preseason. I don’t think we need three preseason games anymore. I don’t buy it.”

Goodell then turned and pointed to the crowd.

“I don’t think these guys like it either,” he continued. ” … The reality is, I think I’d rather replace a preseason game with a regular-season game any day. That’s picking quality, right? If we got to 18-2, that’s not an unreasonable thing.”

Goodell got no pushback from a ginned-up crowd that showed up to watch the second day of the draft in person. Fans cheered on his proposal of a schedule of 18 regular-season and two preseason games.

Kelly didn’t find the proposal so reasonable. He lamented the creep of additional games while citing the league’s expansion from 16 games to 17 in 2021. That expansion was collectively bargained and made amid the backdrop of an increased awareness of the physical toll football takes on players that includes concussions and CTE.

“If people understood how hard it was to play 16, then they [add] another one, right?” Kelly said. “They get rid of preseason games. Well, OK. Who’s that gonna hurt? The guys who don’t have a shot, the undrafted guys or late-round guys that need to go out there and improve themselves.

“The fans see it as — they don’t watch the preseason games. But they have no idea what goes on inside the building, right?”

The back-and-forth on expansion is happening amid the backdrop of a reported NFLPA proposal to revamp the league’s offseason schedule. Some have speculated that the proposal is a precursor to inevitable schedule expansion.

The NFL, meanwhile, is taking cues from fans, who continue to consume as much football as the league will offer. Moving forward, that means multiple games on Christmas, including two in 2024 when the holiday falls on a Wednesday. Goodell clearly hopes that also means an 18-game schedule and the additional revenue it will produce.

Will the NFLPA ultimately sign off? Kelly’s not on board, but it appears inevitable. It will ultimately come down to a vote of players — who approved the expansion from 16 to 17 games — and whether ownership will offer enough concessions to entice them in the bargaining process.

GREEN BAY

Matt Schneidman of The Athletic on the dynamic of Green Bay’s receiver corps, which he says lacks at true WR1:

The Packers don’t have a No. 1 wide receiver.

On the surface, that may seem like a hindrance to an offense with Super Bowl aspirations. The two guys calling the shots disagree.

“I personally don’t think it matters,” head coach Matt LaFleur said.

“I think you don’t have to have a No. 1 receiver,” quarterback Jordan Love added.

In 2019, Davante Adams played only 12 games and still had 48 more catches, 520 more receiving yards and two more touchdown catches than any other wideout on the team. In 2020, Adams was named a first-team All-Pro with 115 catches, 1,374 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns. The next-highest totals at receiver in those categories on the team were 33 catches, 690 receiving yards and six touchdown catches. In 2021, his second consecutive first-team All-Pro season, Adams led Packers wide receivers in catches by 83, in receiving yards by 1,040 and in touchdown catches by three.

Let’s make one thing clear. Nobody is saying they don’t want Adams or a receiver like him, a bonafide No. 1. That’s a good thing. But the Packers see value in having five No. 2s and 3s, each of whom can play like a true No. 1 on any given day.

Last season alone, Jayden Reed led the team with only 64 catches as a rookie and Romeo Doubs had just five fewer. Reed led the team with only 793 receiving yards and Doubs was second with 674. Love ranked seventh in the NFL with 4,159 passing yards, so it’s not like those receiving yards were due to a quarterback who didn’t sling it. Reed and Doubs each caught a team-high eight touchdowns.

Then there’s Christian Watson, perhaps the closest thing to a true No. 1 when healthy, who missed eight games and still flashed No. 1 potential against the Chiefs and Lions during the Packers’ resurgent second half. Dontayvion Wicks showed that potential less so as a rookie fifth-round pick, but he’ll still be an integral piece of Green Bay’s offense capable of taking over a game. And don’t forget about Bo Melton, technically the Packers’ No. 5 wideout who authored the team’s first 100-yard receiving game last season in Week 17 against the Vikings and also caught a touchdown in the Divisional Round against the 49ers.

“I think if you just look at throughout the course of a season ago — and every season’s going to be a little bit different — but all those guys had their moments where they were the leading receiver in a game,” LaFleur said. “I feel really good about the collective unit. The hardest part is we feel so good about them, it’s hard to get everybody the amount of touches that you’d like to get, but that’s a good problem to have.”

Tuesday’s practice served as a microcosm for the Packers’ receiving depth since it was the speedster Melton hauling in a 75-yard touchdown pass from Love during 11-on-11 work on a perfectly thrown bomb down the middle while Melton ran a post route past the entire defense.

“It’s a lot of guys making plays,” Melton said of Green Bay’s wide receiver group. “We have a great staff who can draw the best plays up. When you have a lot of guys who do different things — speed, route-runners, physical guys — it could be dangerous for sure.”

“We’ve got so many guys in our room, man, you never know what could happen,” Reed added. “Somebody could go for a hundred every week, in my opinion.”

Only three teams last season had a leading receiver with fewer receiving yards than Reed’s team-high 793: the Broncos, Patriots and Giants, who ranked 24th, 28th and 31st in passing yards per game, respectively. The Packers, conversely, ranked 12th. Their lack of a dominant receiver isn’t for lack of a passing game, as was the case with those other three teams, but rather a testament to their depth at the position and not having a guy like Adams whom you should probably throw it to whenever you can.

Some would accuse Aaron Rodgers of locking in on Adams too much, like when he aired it out to a tightly covered Adams (and incomplete) on fourth down late in the fourth quarter of a 2021 Divisional Round loss to the 49ers when Allen Lazard appeared wide open underneath for a first down. Again, it’s not a bad thing to have a player like that, one that your natural instincts take you to more often than not, but there might be something to be said for simply running the play that’s called and being able to equally trust whoever’s on the other end.

“I think that’s one thing that I’ve always tried to do is just play the play,” Love said. “Play the play, go through my reads and find who’s open. Don’t try and force it because I feel like once you try and lock in on a guy and force it, not great things happen and then you might miss somebody who might be open on the play … play dependent, if there’s a certain guy I might want to look at matchup-wise and things like that, I’ll go to him, but I just like to play it out.”

At times, three defenders would be dedicated to Adams on a given play. He once counted them out with finger points after a play against the Bears. There’s nothing to that extent facing this Packers offense, though passing game coordinator Jason Vrable said teams doubled Doubs in the red zone early last season because of how many touchdowns he caught and doubled Watson in 2022 after his consecutive multiple-touchdown games. It’s a win-win for the Packers because if teams single up every guy, there are five receivers capable of taking over. If defenses double someone, the Packers can throw it to others who can look like a No. 1 for a game or run the ball into a light box with a guy in Josh Jacobs who would welcome that.

“The receiving corps is crazy, man,” Jacobs said. “I’m so excited just watching them. Any one of them can go at any moment.”

Will someone emerge as a true No. 1 wide receiver this season? It’s certainly possible. Watson might if he stays healthy and Reed could if his rookie season was any indication of the boom to come in Year 2. The Packers would welcome that, too, but they’re just fine with their receiving corps operating in relative anonymity while keeping opposing defenses guessing who they’ll need to worry about most in any given week.

“I think it works out well when you can spread the ball out and you got different guys making different plays and you can put ’em in different areas,” Love said. “I think it puts a lot more stress on the defense and the calls that they can get in, so I think in the long run it helps us not having a No. 1 guy, a true No. 1 guy, but I think all those guys can step up and be the one any given day.”

PHILADELPHIA

Veteran DE BRANDON GRAHAM doesn’t get specific, but he says the Eagles coaching staff was misaligned last year.   Myles Simmons of ProFootballTalk.com:

Eagles veteran defensive end Brandon Graham has been with the team for many years — long enough to know when there are issues that need to be solved.

Philadelphia’s defense clearly collapsed down the stretch last year, leading to the team suffering a blowout loss in the wild card round of the postseason. During his Wednesday press conference, Graham was talking about younger defensive linemen, noting they have a “good coach” leading the defensive line in Clint Hurtt when he began to discuss what happened to the defense as a whole in 2023.

“I really think that last year, we just didn’t — that’s what we didn’t have. We didn’t have all the right coaches in the right position, I would say,” Graham said. “You know, you can just see the guys just truly believing in what’s going on. I’m excited for the young guys who just came in, new rookies coming in — they’re really going to get a good shot and good taste of what it is to be in the NFL.”

Asked how early he noticed that coaches might not be properly placed, Graham said there was “little stuff” that came up — instances where individuals weren’t on the same page.

“It would pop up. But it popped up in a big way that last game,” Graham said. “It’s just like, [if there’s] anything I’ve learned, you always want to make sure that we just have the proper communication. So it’s real big communication going on right now — within the locker room, on the field, in the classrooms.

“I’m more excited about — just because we do have [Vic] Fangio, somebody experienced, real good. Not saying anything about the past, but it’s just more — you can just tell that everybody’s on the same page about stuff.”

Graham added that he knew General Manager Howie Roseman would be proactive in getting the issues fixed during the offseason, and that’s exactly what happened.

“He’s the wizard, I say, just trying to figure it out — where we went wrong, being honest, having those hard conversations,” Graham said. “And [he’s] not scared to make certain moves to make sure that when you’ve got a good team like we did, and good players, sometimes it doesn’t always reflect that [in the record] because of us not being on the same page.

“I think he did a good job of just bringing the guys in, really bringing some real good coaches … and I’m excited to see where we go.”

Graham said he’s already detected some positive results from having Fangio’s experience leading the defense during the offseason program.

“[T]he communication has been really good and flawless, almost,” Graham said. “We’ve got some work, for sure. But I love that everybody [is just] on the same page and talking the same language — every room on defense.”

TAMPA BAY

The Buccaneers made a somewhat surprising cut last week when they jettisoned their best returner WR DEVEN THOMPKINS.  This may be why.  Josh Alper ofProFootballTalk.com:

The estranged wife of former Buccaneers wide receiver Deven Thompkins accused him of abusing her in a social media post.

In a video, Maria Castilhos posted pictures of injuries to her face and arm that she says Thompkins caused and alleged that he “beat me really bad” on Valentine’s Day in 2023. Thompkins’s attorney Brett R. Gallaway issued a statement to the Tampa Bay Times regarding the accusations.

“First and foremost, Deven categorically denies the allegations levied against him by his estranged wife, Maria Castilhos,” Gallaway said in the statement. “Unfortunately, Deven and Maria have been going through a contentious divorce proceeding and child custody battle, and it appears that she thought it would help her case to release these false and defamatory videos. What she fails to mention on TikTok and other social media posts are her written admissions of ‘blackmail’ in connection with demands that Deven pay her increased alimony and other payments. Clear and significant exculpatory evidence exists to show that Deven did not physically or in any other way abuse Maria.”

The Buccaneers waived Thompkins with an injury designation late last month. Gallaway indicates that the accusations played a role in that decision by writing that the receiver is “disappointed the club released him before more facts became available” and said his client will comply with any league investigation.

– – –

The Buccaneers have impressively re-signed their own this year – QB BAKER MAYFIELD, WR MIKE EVANS, S ANTOINE WINFIELD, Jr., etc – and next up could be T TRISTAN WILFS.  Jenna Laine of ESPN.com:

– Tampa Bay Buccaneers All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs, who has been absent from OTAs during contract negotiations, will be in attendance for the mandatory minicamp next week, a source told ESPN on Wednesday.

If Wirfs and his agent can’t reach a new contract with the Bucs, he’ll play under the fifth-year option in 2024 and earn $18.244 million. Because he’s under contract at this time, should Wirfs decide to switch course and not participate in minicamp, the three-time Pro Bowler would be subject to a $101,716 fine for missing all three days.

To what degree he’ll actually participate in the mandatory minicamp is unclear at this time. Wirfs could still attend without practicing, participating in classroom instruction and meetings, for instance.

Last year, inside linebacker Devin White, who was also slated to play under the fifth-year option, requested a trade over failed contract negotiations, but the Bucs did not grant his request and no new deal materialized. He signed a one-year deal worth $7.5 million with the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason.

The Bucs have been motivated, however, to lock Wirfs up long term, believing he’s not only a cornerstone piece for the franchise but has the makings of a future Pro Football Hall of Famer.

“It was a big puzzle this year of how to fit it all in,” general manager Jason Licht said of Wirfs after the team re-signed safety Antoine Winfield Jr. to an extension. “Hopefully we can finish this off.”

ARIZONA

The DB has a hunch people are sleeping on QB KYLER MURRAY, who should be at his peak in season number six.  He’s saying the right things. Charean Wiliams of ProFootballTalk.com:

Kyler Murray is entering his sixth season since the Cardinals made him the No. 1 overall pick. Only four teammates none of them on offense, remain from his rookie season of 2019.

The other quarterbacks are younger than Murray, who turns 27 this summer.

“This is the first time I feel like I’m kind of the older guy,’ Murray said, via Darren Urban of the team website.

Murray spoke to the media Wednesday for the first time since the final game of last season. He is nearing the end of his first real offseason with head coach Jonathan Gannon and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, having spent last year rehabbing from a torn anterior cruciate ligament that ended his 2022 season.

“It’s the natural maturation of life,” Murray said of the rollercoaster nature of the past few years. “Going into year six, am I excited? Hell yeah, I’m excited. I feel good. Just to be healthy again is a blessing. Yes, I believe in what we can do.”

Gannon said the offseason work is going to take Murray’s game “to another level.”

“Confidence and understanding where to go with the ball and knowing what [the coaches] are doing, because I have been in the system a year, when you feel like that, the sky is the limit,” Murray said. “I’ve played QB my whole life, and when you’re at that point – and I really can’t explain it – it’s a good feeling.”

The Cardinals need Murray to be Murray again. He returned to play eight games last season and acknowledged Wednesday that his knee was sore sometimes and other times the flexion wasn’t as good.

He threw 10 touchdowns and five interceptions and rushed for 244 yards and three touchdowns.

His surgically repaired knee is healthy again, but it’s “something I have to stay on” in terms of prep.

Murray hasn’t made the Pro Bowl since 2021, which was the last time the Cardinals made the postseason. They aren’t expected to again this season, but Murray’s Super Bowl aspirations remain nonetheless.

“I don’t play for any other reason,” Murray said.

CLEVELAND

Only one current coach (not Sean McVay or Andy Reid or Sean Payton) has won multiple AP Coach of the Year Awards.  And that guy, still only 42, just got an extension. This from Dianna Russini, Jenna West and Zac Jackson of The Athletic:

The Cleveland Browns agreed to extensions with coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry, the team announced Wednesday.

The news comes after Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said in March the team was “close” to finalizing extensions for Berry and Stefanski.

Stefanski, 42, is entering his fifth season with Cleveland. The team has made two playoff appearances and gone 37-30 during his tenure. The Browns returned to the playoffs last season — where they lost to the Houston Texans in the wild-card round — after reaching the divisional round in Stefanski’s first year with the team (2020).

Stefanski won his second NFL Coach of the Year award in 2023 after Cleveland became the first team since 2015 — and just the seventh in the Super Bowl era — to win a game with four different starting quarterbacks. The Browns started five different quarterbacks last season until landing on Joe Flacco to lead the team toward the end of the season after losing Deshaun Watson to injury in mid-November.

Joe Flacco has found comfort in leading a Browns team he’s learning on the fly

Flacco had been contacted by no other team last season until Cleveland called him in mid-November and signed him to the practice squad.

“We are incredibly fortunate to have Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry leading the Cleveland Browns,” Jimmy and Dee Haslam said in a release. “Since the day they were hired, each has worked tirelessly to help the Cleveland Browns win.

“Last season was a prime example. Despite facing multiple player injuries and using five different starting quarterbacks, Andrew and his staff built a roster that adapted well, while Kevin and his staff led the team to its second playoff appearance in four years, earning Coach of the Year honors for the second time in that period.

“They are two of the brightest people we know, and selfless people who only care about what is best for the Cleveland Browns. We are thrilled that Kevin and Andrew will remain with the team for the future.”

Before his Browns hiring in 2020, Stefanski had spent his entire NFL career with the Minnesota Vikings, ascending from an administrative role to offensive coordinator.

Also in 2020, Berry returned to Cleveland after previously serving as the team’s vice president of player personnel from 2016 to 2018. He then worked as the Philadelphia Eagles’ vice president of football operations in 2019 before heading back to the Browns and taking control of the roster.

Berry and Stefanski are similar in a lot of ways, and one of them is that neither seeks much personal attention. This announcement was always going to be made in a low-key manner, and it came just before the team took the practice field near the end of a pretty nondescript offseason program.

Both Berry and Stefanski are being asked to see the team through new levels of sustained success: The key to that will be Cleveland’s huge investment in Watson paying off much sooner than later.

On the other hand, Stefanski has one total playoff win by 15 current NFL head coaches.

– – –

Browns RB NICK CHUBB says he’s on track for a full recovery.  Zac Jackson of The Athletic:

Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb doesn’t have an exact timetable for his return from a torn ACL and MCL, but he believes he’s making progress and will be on the field this upcoming season.

“I like where I am,” Chubb said of his rehab program. “I’m where I need to be.”

Chubb spoke to reporters Wednesday for the first time since suffering the injury in September. He needed separate surgeries to repair the torn MCL and ACL in his left knee, the same one that was previously repaired during his second college season at Georgia.

“I’ve been through it before,” Chubb said. “My whole goal is to be back out there.”

He won’t return to the practice field until training camp at the earliest. In April, Chubb progressed from stretching and pool workouts to running on land, and he’ll be closely monitored in the coming weeks.

“I just know Nick is working like crazy,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “He’s working like crazy and I get to witness it. I know everybody wants to know ‘when’ and all that, but he’s a huge part of what we do.”

When healthy, Chubb has been arguably the NFL’s best running back. Earlier this offseason, Chubb agreed to a pay cut in the final year of his current contract to ensure his return for at least this season.

The 2024 Browns have high expectations, and all involved know the chances of them becoming a true AFC contender increase if Chubb plays the way he has for most of his career.

PITTSBURGH

With his legal issues resolving themselves, apparently short of prison, CB CAMERON SUTTON has re-signed with the Steelers.  Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com on the former Lion:

Cornerback Cameron Sutton has signed a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team announced Wednesday.

Sutton’s deal is expected to be for the veteran minimum, league sources told ESPN.

Sutton, 29, who spent the first six years of his career in Pittsburgh, was released by the Detroit Lions earlier this offseason after the issuance of an arrest warrant for a domestic battery charge.

Although he cited the ongoing legal process for not expanding on questions about the arrest warrant and situation surrounding his release from Detroit, Sutton spoke publicly for the first time since that incident after Wednesday’s OTA practice in Pittsburgh.

“My job is not to appeal to someone else,” Sutton said answering a question about his message to fans who might question his alleged actions.

“My job is to be the best version of myself and how do I give that off to the mass or how do I give that off to everyone around me? I’m in full control of that.

“So, I’m never worried about a narrative. I’m never worried about what necessarily people say, because obviously, more than likely, they don’t know me more than anybody else. … It gets back to just your foundation, your morals, who you are individually as a human being and just what you stand on. Holding my head high. Everybody goes through adversity. Everybody goes through things in their life that can change in both directions. So, it’s all about how you stand on that and what you do from that.”

The warrant was issued March 7 after police in Florida responded to a call at a house where Sutton allegedly battered a woman before fleeing the scene. He was released by the Lions on March 21, a day after the team learned of the warrant.

“We’re just moving on,” Lions team president Rod Wood said at league meetings in Orlando, Florida. “I want to make sure everybody knows, we didn’t release him because of anything related to the cap or money that we may owe him. It was the right thing to do for the organization.”

Sutton evaded law enforcement for more than three weeks after the warrant was issued before turning himself in in Hillsborough County (Florida) on March 31.

Although the initial warrant charged him with a felony, Sutton was formally charged with misdemeanor battery. Sutton entered a pretrial diversion program in April to resolve his case, according to the Hillsborough County records.

Sutton said Wednesday that he couldn’t address where things stood with his legal case. He added that he’s been in communication with the league regarding potential discipline if he’s found to have violated the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

“It’s not as much that I can obviously talk about on the legal end or with the league on that stance,” Sutton said. “Whatever it comes down to, we are ready to move on in that direction.”

At the league meetings in March, coach Mike Tomlin was asked if he reaches out to players and former players like Sutton when they’re in trouble.

“I do, but those conversations are between us,” Tomlin said.

Tomlin bristled at a follow-up question asking specifically whether he had been in contact with Sutton.

“That’s none of your business,” he said.

Sutton said he’s been in communication with the Steelers throughout the offseason, but he declined to give specifics of his explanation to the organization about the alleged domestic violence incident.

“It was more of just general check-in, general wellness check-in, just make sure I’m fine, checking in with family, things like that,” Sutton said of his communication with the Steelers. “And then obviously opportunities lead to the next. The team was going through the draft and a lot of earlier seasonal things, and I’m just staying, on my end, just staying ready, staying in shape, running training, doing those things on a day-to-day basis and just ready for a call.

“Obviously that call presented itself, and I’m here now and just ready to keep moving.”

At the time of his release by the Lions, Sutton was one year into a three-year, $33 million deal signed in 2023. Sutton started every game with the Lions in his lone season in Detroit, recording 1 interception, 1 forced fumble and 50 tackles.

Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, one of the lone members of the current Steelers secondary who played with Sutton in Pittsburgh, said he stayed in touch with his former teammate after he signed with the Lions in free agency.

“We all have the stuff that we go through, and I think one of the best things about being in the locker room is that you got 53 or 52 other dudes that can help you get through whatever it is,” Fitzpatrick said. “And Cam is a great dude. We all have our flaws in our situations, but we’re going to embrace him with open arms and treat him like he never left.”

Before signing with Detroit, Sutton was a starting cornerback for the Steelers and racked up three interceptions in his final season in Pittsburgh.

“Adversity strikes everyone in life,” Sutton said. “So, it’s all about how you handle it, how you necessarily go through those phases, and just knowing who you are individually, not letting someone else dim your light.”

HOUSTON

Second round CB KAMARI LASSETER is the talk of Texans camp.  Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com:

The Texans struck gold in the 2023 draft by adding players like quarterback C.J. Stroud, edge rusher Will Anderson, and wide receiver Tank Dell to the lineup and Anderson thinks they did it again in the second round this year.

Cornerback Kamari Lassiter earned a reputation for being tough in coverage at Georgia and he’s shown the same knack when faced with trying to interfere with Stroud’s passes this spring. That’s put him in the mix for a starting job right out of the gate and Anderson gave a strong endorsement of what he thinks Lassiter can do in Houston’s secondary.

“I’ve been so amazed by him, man,” Anderson said, via Aaron Wilson of KPRC. “He’s been making plays left and right all over the field. He’s electric, man. Another young guy that we can’t wait to keep seeing grow and stuff like that. And I think he can do great things for this defense and be a part of something special that we have going on here.”

Head coach DeMeco Ryans called Lassiter “relentless and attacking” on the field, which has him “trending in the right direction” as the team wraps up their offseason work. Assuming he picks up where he left off come training camp, Lassiter’s likely to see a lot of action this fall.

MIAMI

There is less to QB TUA TAGOVAILOA then there was at the end of 2023.  Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com:

Salty Tua has yielded to Skinny Tua, and the transformation of the Dolphins quarterback has been a major talking point at the team’s ongoing mandatory minicamp.

Earlier this week, Tua Tagovailoa didn’t share any specifics about how much weight he has lost, or whether he’s trying to lose more.

“I don’t know,” he said when asked what he now weighs. “It’s whatever I’m down to right now.”

Why did he do it?

“I felt like I’d be better,” Tua said. “I feel better, quicker on my feet, more nimble, all of that.”

He hopes to use that mobility to better extend plays. As to whether he’s planning to lose even more weight, Tua said, “You’ll see during training camp, we’ll see.”

On Wednesday, coach Mike McDaniel addressed Tua’s significant body shrinkage.

“Honestly, it’s just Tua trying to find another level of his game and another level of being a professional,” McDaniel said. “It happens to a lot of players where all of a sudden you become pseudo-dieticians several years into your career but definitely not at the start. Seeing ways that he could maintain the strength but create some more flexibility and power, or however you want to look at it. . . . It wasn’t to correct something that needed fixed. It was an opportunity to get better, in his mind I think. And ultimately, we’ll see how he does at read option and if he’s trying to be an option quarterback, how svelte is svelte? But anything that helps you attack your job and solve problems — problems that he’s more aware of now than he was last year or the year before, just in terms of being a problem-solver at your position — you learn different things and you find value in different things. I think he’s maturing as a professional and really going after the annual offseason of, ‘How do we get better?’”

But how do you stay big enough to remain healthy? That was the goal in 2023 — to come up with ways to let him avoid concussions.

“It was a very concrete thing that we were trying to solve last year with regard to physical preparation,” McDaniel said. “That was his ability to be available as much as he can. But more importantly, for him to have the life that he wants and to play the quarterback position, and how to keep himself healthy, we identified the ground as the big opponent that we had to defeat.

“So strength training those particular things while also drilling stuff for the first time, we saw unbelievable results in terms of every situation that he was presented with. He was able to provide the technique and he had the strength to do it. So you don’t know what that is. It was uncharted territory to kind of like work on training stunt doubles or something how to fall. That was uncharted territory, but you establish the strength and how to protect yourself so now you can go back to what are the things that help me do my job to maximum ability, not shortchanging any sort of strength.”

This year, his priority is different, even if the goal is the same.

“He is really taking his diet serious,” McDaniel said. “And he hasn’t done things to lose weight, he’s done things to be in shape. I would be pumped about where he’s at now, maybe predisposed to a hair of body shaming from last year if you want to do that retroactively. But to be fair, not many people were going about things that way to be as proactive with something of that nature with jiu-jitsu. He was training jiu-jitsu and calling it something else I think at one point — judo. But he really went after it and then you find out new things. Just like every year, we’re trying our best to do the best football plays. We learn more about football plays and defenses and stuff, and we do new plays the next year a little bit. That maturation I think is an example of how he is as a professional, and understanding what his job is to the team and to the franchise. He’s going after it and controlling all of the things that he can control.”

One thing he can’t control is how teammates react. Receiver Tyreek Hill was blunt when joking about the differences between 2023 Tua and 2024 Tua.

“I ain’t gonna lie, when I saw Tua at the Pro Bowl, I was kind of scared — dude was fat as fuck,” Hill told reporters. “He was fat, he was chubby. I was like, ‘Hold on, bro. Hold on, bro.’ Ryan Clark said you were kind of thick, he wasn’t lying. But seeing him now and where he’s come from and how skinny he has gotten — what’s that stuff everybody is taking? Ozempic? He had to be taking that, I don’t know.

“What I’m seeing from him now is a lot of guys are getting together outside of here. Hanging out, running routes together, spending off-field time together, and Tua is going a great job of orchestrating that. That’s a beautiful thing, because our first few years, we would do it here and there. But this year, he’s really honing in on the guys, hanging out, building that camaraderie with each other, that’s a beautiful thing, man. For him to have such leadership within that and to be a family man, it’s a beautiful thing. He’s growing. He’s growing, and you can obviously see it whenever we step out on the field and we don’t have all of our pieces out there – with myself, with [Jaylen] Waddle in the mix, with Jonnu [Smith], all the guys, Raheem [Mostert], [De’Von] Achane, all of us clicking all at once. It’s going to be a beautiful thing man, I’m excited for this year.”

Waddle had some things to say, too.

“I told him — I missed chubby Tua, man,” Waddle joked with reporters. “I miss chubby Tua, man. I ain’t gonna lie, I didn’t like it when I saw him. I told him, I’m not fucking with it. I told him straight up, I’m not fucking with it. Eat some more or something, man.”

Waddle then said Tua is looking good. Last year, he was playing good. The goal is to keep him feeling good — good enough to keep playing good.

THIS AND THAT

NEW QB-COACH DUOS RANKED

Cody Benjamin of CBSSports.com decides to rank the 12 “new” head coach-QB duos 12 to 1. So no Reid-Mahomes or LaFleur-Love but if only one changed (such as the Bears or Vikings which have the same coach) it counts.

So which new duo is most promising? We’re ranking all 12 as the summer draws near. A few clarifiers:

A team needs just one new starting quarterback or coach to qualify (i.e. Justin Herbert has been the Los Angeles Chargers’ signal-caller for four years, but he’s paired with Jim Harbaugh for the first time). Last year, for reference, there were three teams to have both. This year, there are four.

Who qualifies as a “new” quarterback? Any projected starter who didn’t start Week 1 or multiple games for his team the year prior.

We’re ranking duos, not their respective teams. That said, quarterback-coach duos can be a good indicator of a team’s standing. Chances are, if your favorite team’s pairing is high on the list, they’re better positioned to overcome other weaknesses on the roster.

Now let’s get to it:

*New on team

12. Patriots: Jacoby Brissett (QB)*, Jerod Mayo (HC)*

Brissett is well regarded as a spot starter, showing a steady hand in unsteady situations. He’s also never posted a winning record in a top role. His conservative approach may pair well with Mayo’s defensive direction, but the ceiling feels inherently low here, which just makes No. 3 overall draft pick Drake Maye all the more intriguing. Could he take over sooner rather than later?

11. Raiders: Gardner Minshew (QB)*, Antonio Pierce (HC)*

Pierce has already earned rave internal reviews for restoring the Raiders’ culture, but we’ve only seen him lead nine games as interim coach, and he’s working with the definition of an “in-progress” quarterback situation: Whether it’s the gutsy journeyman Minshew or the old-school young incumbent Aidan O’Connell, Las Vegas once again feels as if it’s treading water under center.

10. Broncos: Bo Nix (QB)*, Sean Payton (HC)

The rookie Nix isn’t guaranteed the Week 1 gig, but at 24, with extensive college experience, he’s got the edge over Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson. All indications are his ultra-efficient approach aligns with Payton’s short-area attack. But he’s a projection, and Payton’s peak New Orleans Saints days of calling a dominant offense feel like an increasingly distant memory.

9. Commanders: Jayden Daniels (QB)*, Dan Quinn (HC)

Daniels oozes athletic upside, giving Washington arguably its most dynamic dual-threat passer since early-career Robert Griffin III. But durability is a concern, as it was with RG3, and Quinn may be an even bigger wild card: His defensive background is impressive, but he hasn’t overseen a winning team since 2017, when he deployed Matt Ryan and Julio Jones in their prime.

8. Panthers: Bryce Young (QB), Dave Canales (HC)*

Young was two steps behind NFL speed in a listless 2023 debut, and his smaller frame remains a concern, but the former No. 1 overall pick has a more inspiring advocate this time around. After maximizing Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield in separate stops, Canales could be just the energizer needed to lessen Young’s burden and restore the quarterback’s pocket poise.

7. Bears: Caleb Williams (QB)*, Matt Eberflus (HC)

As a “generational” talent and No. 1 overall pick, Williams is doing a lot of the heavy lifting here, considering Eberflus went 10-24 — and never steadied the exiled Justin Fields’ setup — before his arrival. But Eberflus did oversee a defensive rejuvenation late in 2023, and Williams’ supercharged gunslinging should be aided by an upgraded group of skill weapons.

6. Steelers: Russell Wilson (QB)*, Mike Tomlin (HC)

At 35, Wilson is no longer the ever-elusive big-play artist of his Super Bowl-winning Seattle Seahawks days, but he’s probably slightly steadier than he showed in his tumultuous Broncos stint. Working with an old-school, ground-and-pound leader like Tomlin feels like a perfect match. But the more tantalizing gifts of the young Justin Fields loom large in the background.

5. Titans: Will Levis (QB), Brian Callahan (HC)*

A big, bruising second-round rookie in 2023, Levis was erratic in nine starts to open his NFL career, but he’s got unteachable juice as both a power thrower and runner. Not only does he have improved weaponry going into his first full year as “the guy,” but a new coach in Callahan who had a direct hand in Joe Burrow’s confident start with the Cincinnati Bengals.

4. Vikings: Sam Darnold (QB)*, Kevin O’Connell (HC)

This is far too high for Darnold by himself; the ex-New York Jets prospect has only flashed in spurts, and first-round rookie J.J. McCarthy — a potential play-action savant — could usurp him sooner rather than later. But O’Connell got Grade-A stuff from Kirk Cousins, and his positive leadership is felt in that building. Minnesota is primed to compete regardless of who’s under center.

3. Seahawks: Geno Smith (QB), Mike Macdonald (HC)*

At 33, coming off a so-so, injury-dotted season, Smith may or may not be the long-term answer in Seattle. But he’s had a knack for timely darts since reviving his career with the Seahawks and still boasts solid weapons. Macdonald, meanwhile, should help give Smith and the offense some long-awaited defensive support after overseeing the fast, physical and versatile Baltimore Ravens.

2. Falcons: Kirk Cousins (QB)*, Raheem Morris (HC)*

Atlanta’s surprise top-10 pick of Michael Penix Jr. proved the club isn’t necessarily as sold on Cousins as we all thought back in March, but even approaching 36, coming off a torn Achilles, the ex-Minnesota Vikings captain brings much-needed stability to the focal point of a growing offense. Morris, meanwhile, is a likable leader whose defensive prowess should balance the lineup.

1. Chargers: Justin Herbert (QB), Jim Harbaugh (HC)*

Questions about Herbert’s reassembled supporting cast aside, this is easily the most talented and/or accomplished pairing of the bunch. While big-stage questions remain, Herbert has all the physical tools and early-career marks of a perennial Pro Bowl pocket passer. And Harbaugh, despite a nine-year hiatus from the NFL, has led triumphant programs wherever he’s gone. The former Michigan and San Francisco 49ers coach should bring added discipline and old-school toughness to Los Angeles, helping Herbert and Co. attack the AFC West with a new level of confidence.

We have no quibble with number 1.  The rest of it is a fascinating balancing act.