| The NFL won the annual Monday Night in late October head-to-head with the biggest event in MLB. Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com: The NFL went head-to-head with the World Series and came out with more viewers on Monday night. ESPN announced that the Monday Night Football game between the Chiefs and the Commanders drew 17.6 million viewers. Fox announced that World Series Game 3 between the Dodgers and Blue Jays drew 11.4 million viewers. That’s a reversal from last year, when World Series Game 3 drew 13.6 million viewers, beating the 13.4 million viewers who tuned in to the Monday Night Football game between the Steelers and Giants. The World Series game, which lasted 18 innings and went deep into the night, saw its audience peak at 13.2 million viewers between 11:30 and 11:45 p.m. ET, suggesting a viewership bump of sports fans who tuned in after Chiefs-Commanders ended. MLB.com drops the counterpoint: With a Canadian team in the World Series for the first time in 32 years and two rosters filled with star international players, the 2025 World Series presented by Capital One is reaching large global audiences driven by viewership across the United States, Canada, and Japan. Game One of the 2025 World Series by Capital One averaged 32.6 million combined viewers in the United States, Canada and Japan. This marks the largest combined audience for an MLB game from those three countries since Game Seven of the 2016 World Series. The two game average of the three countries combined is 30.5 million viewers. Games One and Two averaged a combined audience of 19.8 million viewers in the U.S. and Canada, which is the largest combined audience from those two countries for the first two games of the World Series since at least 2016 and a +27% increase over last year (15.6 million). The World Series presented by Capital One could end Friday night in Toronto. |
| NFC NORTH |
| DETROITEDGE AIDAN HUTCHINSON, the number two pick in the 2023 draft, gets a huge deal. Zachary Pereles and Matt Zenitz of CBSSports.com crunch the numbers: The Detroit Lions and defensive end Aidan Hutchinson have agreed to a four-year, $180 million contract extension, per CBS Sports senior reporter Matt Zenitz. The deal includes $141 million guaranteed, a record for any non-quarterback. At $45 million per year, Hutchinson becomes the second highest-paid non-quarterback on an average annual salary basis; only Micah Parsons, who was stunningly traded from the Dallas Cowboys to the Green Bay Packers and then signed an extension with Green Bay before the season, is averaging more ($46.5 million). Hutchinson, 25, has quickly ascended to superstardom in the Motor City. He finished second in NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2022, made the Pro Bowl with 11.5 sacks in 2023 and was leading the NFL with 7.5 sacks through six weeks of the 2024 season before suffering a season-ending tibia and fibula fracture while sacking Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys. He has immediately returned to form in 2025. His 6.9 pressures per game lead the NFL, as do his four forced fumbles. He also ranks top 10 in the league in sacks (six) and pressure rate (19.2%). Since the start of last season, he is averaging an NFL-best 1.13 sacks per game and is the only player averaging more than one sack per game. His rise has coincided with the Lions’ rise as a whole. In Hutchinson’s four seasons in Detroit, the Lions are 41-17, the fourth-best record in the NFL. In the four seasons prior, the Lions were 17-46-2, the third-worst record in the NFL. Hutchinson is also a hometown hero of sorts. He was born and raised in Plymouth, Michigan, which is just west of Detroit, and he starred at Michigan, where he won Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and several national awards and was named an All-America selection in 2021. Edge rushers continue to get paid; who’s next?Salaries continue to explode across the NFL, and especially at edge rusher. Hutchinson is now one of 11 players at the position making at least $25 million per year, and eight of those 11 players signed their most recent contract this year. Player (AAV) Years/value Year signedMicah Parsons $46.5 million 4/$186M 2025Aidan Hutchinson $45 million 4/$180M 2025T.J. Watt $41 million 3/$123M 2025Myles Garrett $40 million 4/$160M 2025Danielle Hunter $35.6 million 1/$35.6M 2025Maxx Crosby $35.5 million 3/$106.5M 2025Nick Bosa $34 million 5/$170M 2023Trey Hendrickson $29 million 1/$29M 2025Josh Hines-Allen $28.25 million 5/$121.25M 2024Brian Burns $28.2 million 5/$121M 2024Nik Bonitto $26.5 million 4/$106M 2025 Edge rushers now own the top three largest contracts in terms of total value (Parsons, Hutchinson, Bosa) and in terms of AAV (Parsons, Hutchinson, Watt) among non-quarterbacks. This also sets the table for Texans edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. as next in line for a massive extension that pays him at or near the top of the market. Anderson won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2023, had 11 sacks last season and is leading the NFL in pressure rate this year. He is extension-eligible this coming offseason. Lions continue to nail draft classes but are getting expensiveAs mentioned above, the Lions have turned from NFL laughingstock to Super Bowl contender. They made the NFC Championship game in the 2023 season and had 15 wins last season despite being ravaged by injuries. This year, they are 5-2. Coach Dan Campbell deserves an enormous amount of credit for that success, but so, too, does GM Brad Holmes. Both arrived in 2021 and have led a revival in Detroit. It has started in the draft. The Lions’ first ever pick under Campbell and Holmes was right tackle Penei Sewell, who has gone on to be a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro. Also in that draft were star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and stalwart defensive tackle Alim McNeill. The next year, the Lions drafted not only Hutchinson but big-play wide receiver Jameson Williams and ballhawking safety Kerby Joseph. The next year, 2023, brought in running back Jahmyr Gibbs, linebacker Jack Campbell, safety Brian Branch and tight end Sam LaPorta. Gibbs, Branch and LaPorta have all been Pro Bowlers, and Campbell has started every game the last two seasons. Many of those picks, of course, were made thanks to the franchise-changing trade of Matthew Stafford for Jared Goff, and Goff resurrecting his career in Detroit has been the biggest piece of the Lions’ success, even with the terrific drafting and development around him. All that success comes with a price, though, and the Lions have a hefty pay sheet. Here are players with a top-10 AAV at their position. QB Jared Goff ($53 million per year)WR Amon-Ra St. Brown ($30 million per year)RT Penei Sewell ($28 million per year)DT Alim McNeill ($24.25 million per year)EDGE Aidan Hutchinson ($45 million per year)S Kerby Joseph ($21.25 million per year) That list doesn’t include significant contracts for Williams, running back David Montgomery, left tackle Taylor Decker, either. Gibbs, Campbell, Branch and LaPorta are extension-eligible this offseason. The Lions will have some tough choices to make and some restructuring to do. This season becomes especially important in that light. The pressure to win, though, is far better than the pressure to make the right choice with an early draft pick, a situation Detroit knew far too well before Campbell and Holmes arrived. We would note that the first pick of the 2022 draft was also an edge rusher – TRAVON WALKER taken by the Jaguars. Walker has had 26 sacks in 55 career games, Hutchinson 34.5 in 46 games. |
| MINNESOTAKalyn Kahler and Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com delve into the mysteries of PK WILL REICHARD’s strange field goal miss in London: Eighteen days after Minnesota Vikings kicker Will Reichard missed a 51-yard field goal attempt against the Cleveland Browns in London when his ball took an unexpected turn, Amazon Prime play-by-play announcer Al Michaels reminded viewers that the strange curve of the ball at Tottenham Stadium is still a sensitive subject for the league. “They’ve got a great kicker, Reichard is terrific,” Michaels said as the kicker prepared for his first field goal attempt with nine minutes left in the second quarter of Thursday night’s 37-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. “He comes in for a 54-yard attempt. His only miss this year was when he hit a wire — with the camera — in London!” Reichard made his field goal, and back at 345 Park Avenue, a seemingly resolved mystery sprang to life once again. Already, the NFL had rejected a request from Reichard’s agent to drop the miss from the kicker’s official statistics. The league’s football operations department thought it was important enough to warrant a video presentation at the October league meeting. Now, following Michaels’ on-air comments, NFL officiating and rules analyst Walt Anderson was pulled into the fray. Anderson, the former VP of officiating training and development and a 17-year referee, now quietly assists each network’s rules analysts during games. The league says his role is to help each network’s broadcasters sound smarter, but as with any job in the league office, the first duty is to protect the shield, and Michaels’ comment reignited a dormant controversy the league thought it had moved past. A league spokesperson said Anderson immediately called Amazon Prime rules analyst Terry McAulay and explained to him the league’s official stance on the London field goal: that Reichard’s ball did not make contact with the camera cable in London. A league spokesperson said the league’s broadcasting department was in touch with Amazon’s production team during the game as well. After a full quarter of game time, another field goal attempt and more than an hour of broadcast time, Michaels, with his trademark sarcasm, issued a correction. “The league wants to take my lunch away because I said before that Reichard’s only miss came when he hit a wire in London,” Michaels said. “The league says, ‘No, no, it was an optical illusion.’ [That’s] not what Reichard thinks.” Reichard, for the record, told ESPN on Monday that after his miss in London, his agent (Sportstars’ Jim Ivler) told him that he contacted the league office to ask about getting his miss removed from the official statistics. Reichard says that Ivler told him that his contact in the league office initially responded that his kick did hit the camera wire and that they would change his stats to 0-0 for the day, but then followed up later to say that the league couldn’t do that. “I guess they at first said that they would [change the statistic] and then came back the next day and said they couldn’t,” Reichard said. “But they admitted to it hitting. Take that for what it’s worth.” Ivler, who has represented NFL players for 32 years, confirmed to ESPN that he did reach out to the league office in an attempt to amend Reichard’s statistics, but he declined to name the specific league office employee he contacted. He said that the league office employee didn’t give him an immediate answer but followed up about a half hour later after talking with someone else in the office and indicated that he felt the ball hit the wire and they would be able to change the statistic. Ivler said the league office employee then reversed course a couple of hours later and said they would be unable to change the statistic because the play had not been reviewed in the game. An NFL spokesperson said in a statement to ESPN: “There is no video evidence of the football making contact with the broadcast cable. The day after the game, we were in touch with our colleagues who handled production responsibilities for the NFL Network broadcast. Those engineers, who were on site in London, verified that because of the position of the camera behind the kicker and where the cables were mounted in the stadium, it was not possible for the cables to interfere with the flight of the ball. The slow-motion replay of the kick that went to air was from a low-end zone camera on the tight end of its lens, which compresses the plane of focus. That’s why the football and one of the cables are visible in the same shot, but the ball in no way made any contact with the cable.” A league spokesperson declined to comment on Reichard and Ivler’s specific allegation that someone in the league office indicated to Ivler that Reichard’s statistics would be changed. Ivler said he was watching the Vikings’ London game on television at a Ravens tailgate when he saw Reichard’s ball take a spooky turn. “Will’s ball does not move like that,” he said. “I knew something was wrong.” He watched the replay multiple times and took a screenshot of the moment he believes Reichard’s ball hit the wire. “The wire clearly ripples unevenly,” he said. “The ball isn’t going end-over-end anymore but fluttering diagonally.” Per NFL Rule 15, Section 3, Article 11, Item 5: The ball touching a foreign object (scoreboard, guide wire, any other object) is a replay-reviewable play and a challengeable play. But the league’s replay department did not initiate a review of the play, and on the Monday after the London game, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said he didn’t notice anything in real time. He said field goals are tough to judge from his vantage point on the sideline anyway. “[Will] told me he thought he hit [the kick] well, and Will doesn’t end up that far off-line historically since our time having him here,” O’Connell said. “Not sure what to say on that one; it’s unfortunate if it did happen, and if it didn’t, so be it.” After Minnesota’s bye week following the London game, Vikings special teams coordinator Matt Daniels told reporters that the team submitted the play to the league office as one of its 10 allotted plays for review that prior week, but he deferred to O’Connell on the league’s response. O’Connell has not addressed the play publicly since the day after the game. “Maybe it did [hit the wire], maybe it didn’t,” Daniels said. “We will allow the league to work that out.” “The biggest question that I had, because I have seen Will hit a gazillion balls,” Daniels said, “Was just in terms of how it came off of his foot, and the trajectory of it and how it went off to the side. How did the ball end up doing that? I had a good conversation with Will, and he felt like he hit it clean.” Reichard told ESPN on Monday that it’s “really hard to tell” whether his ball hit the camera wire that day in Tottenham. “My ball doesn’t usually ever do that,” he said. Reichard’s missed field goal became a Rorschach test. Vikings fans and Ivler saw a football that clearly was impacted by a camera wire, and the Vikings coaching staff questioned it enough to submit it for the league office to review, while the league office saw no evidence to suggest that it did. The controversy generated enough conversation that the league issued a video defense to NFL owners and executives during the football update at the fall league meeting in New York last week. No one in the NFL wanted to perpetuate an idea that operations at an international game had impacted the on-field product. According to two sources in the room, the football operations staff brought up the controversial topic of camera wire interference with two different examples from Week 5. The football operations staff played Reichard’s mysterious miss in London and a play from the Cowboys at Jets game, where Jets quarterback Justin Fields’ pass was deflected into the camera. One source in the room said that NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent and Anderson said in the meeting that Reichard’s football looked as if it hit the wire but that it did not because the ball did not have “a weird spin.” The source said Vincent and Anderson said that Fields’ pass did hit the wire and that the officiating crew should have started the play over, as the rulebook mandates, instead of ruling an incomplete pass. A league spokesperson sent ESPN the video of Reichard’s kick that was shown to NFL owners and executives in the football update meeting. The 75-second video showed two angles of Reichard’s kick, the broadcast angle from behind the kick and a low sideline angle. In the broadcast angle, the league highlighted the four camera wires in red and blue to show the position of the wires in relation to the kick. Once Reichard kicks the ball, wires are no longer highlighted. In the low sideline angle, the league highlighted the ball in yellow to show its position in relation to the wire in red. In this angle, both the wire’s position and the trajectory of the ball lead off screen. “What really needs to be done is reevaluating how low those cameras and the wires can hang over a live play,” Ivler said. “That’s what the result of all this back and forth should be.” For his part, Reichard has not been as preoccupied with the mystery of his London kick. “I’ve gotten asked about it tons of times from friends, family,” he said.” I would just like to put it in the rearview at this point, you know? “ And he might have been able to three weeks ago, had the league’s strong defense not given this story legs |
| NFC EAST |
| DALLASThoughts from Coach Brian Schottenheimer from Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com: The Cowboys have the second-best offense in the NFL. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer does not care. In his mind, all that matters is the team’s record. “None of us have done good enough,” Schottenheimer told reporters on Wednesday, via Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News. “That’s real. Our scorecard is what it is. And that’s not just defensively. That’s offensively. We’re a football team that’s 3-4-1. You can take stats on offense and shove them up your ass as far as I’m concerned. It is what it is. We want to win.” The problem is that the defense has had the ball regularly shoved down its throat. The Cowboys’ have allowed the second-most yards per game, at 404.6. Only the Bengals, at 407.9 yards per game, are worse. And all that matters is points scored versus points allowed, as measured one game at a time. The Cowboys have lost four, won three, tied one. They’ve got plenty of work to do to become a playoff contender. The offensive performance doesn’t matter when the defense is every bit as bad as the offense is good. The Cowboys are 3-4-1, which you might think would be in striking range of the postseason. But Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com thinks they should pack it in, even with a surplus of picks: Dallas CowboysNotable trade candidates: WR Jonathan Mingo, RB Javonte Williams, DT Mazi Smith, DT Kenny Clark, Edge Sam Williams, Edge James Houston, K Brandon Aubrey Well, you’ve watched the Cowboys’ defense. At 3-4-1 and with a stretch of games against the Eagles, Chiefs and Lions later this season, it’s tough to envision the Cowboys making it to the postseason, let alone doing anything once there. Jerry Jones has proudly bragged about the draft picks the Cowboys got for Micah Parsons and how they might help Dallas land a handful of valuable players, but barring something unexpected, those picks aren’t going to make a difference in 2025. I would be stunned if the Cowboys traded away Aubrey, but I’m throwing him out here more as a thought experiment than anything else. A going-nowhere Cowboys team doesn’t have much use for Aubrey, and although kickers can play into their 40s, the former soccer player is already 30 years old. He’s obviously a valuable player, but Aubrey is eligible for an extension next offseason, and the Cowboys need to save money around Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb to address their defense. Most teams aren’t going to trade a premium pick for a kicker, but Aubrey is so good that I wonder whether all-in teams might be willing to make an exception. Would someone like the Rams be willing to offer the Cowboys a second-round pick for Aubrey? My guess is no, but it’s fun to think about. Williams, having a career season on a one-year deal at running back for a team that clearly sees running backs as replaceable in the post-Ezekiel Elliott era, would also have an interesting market. |
| NEW YORK GIANTSRB TYRONE TRACY, Jr. is next man up for the Giants. Nick Shook of NFL.com: The New York Giants lost a significant source of energy and hope when Cam Skattebo suffered a season-ending ankle injury last Sunday in Philadelphia. As the saying goes in the NFL, next man up. That man is a familiar face: second-year back Tyrone Tracy Jr. He’s no novice in pro football, having become the Giants’ lead back in his rookie season of 2024 and rushed for 839 yards and five scores in his debut campaign. Now, though, he’ll be asked to replace a player who had inspired both his teammates and Giants fans everywhere. “He’s seen a lot of stuff,” guard Greg Van Roten said Wednesday of Tracy, via The Associated Press. “He’s getting more comfortable in his role. So, it’ll be good for him to get back out there. I think he’s anxious to kind of show he’s still a good running back.” Such desire to prove himself is good for Tracy, the projected top back who found himself existing in the rookie Skattebo’s shadow in recent weeks. As opportunities prove scarce for the average player in the NFL, Tracy likely understands he must seize this one. “We had a good duo going,” Tracy said. “But for me to get back out there and get my opportunities, I’m just going to continue to do what I’m doing.” Fortunately, his teammates and coaches believe he can carry the load. It might not look the same as Skattebo’s hard-running, physical style, but Tracy is certainly capable of making a difference. “Tracy’s a really good football player,” Van Roten said. “We’re just excited for him to get back to form and kind of build on what he did last year because I think he’s a better player this year than he was last year.” Tracy will take over the top job with an advantage most players don’t have at this point in the season: He’s fresh. Tracy has only carried the ball 45 times this season, putting him on track for roughly 100 carries a year after he flirted with 200 totes in 2024. He’s also a capable pass catcher, hauling in 38 passes for 284 yards and a touchdown last season. Ultimately, it will be up to coach Brian Daboll, quarterback Jaxson Dart and the rest of the offense to collaboratively replace Skattebo’s contributions. They’ll hope Tracy plays a key part in that effort. |
| PHILADELPHIACharles McDonald of YahooSports.com assesses the Eagles on their bye week: Philadelphia hasn’t looked complete, but it hasn’t mattered yetThe Eagles haven’t been nearly as dominant as they were during their run to a Lombardi Trophy last season, but wins are wins at the end of the day and it’s hard to poo-poo too much about a 6-2 record and a convincing win against the division rival Giants, who beat them handily just a few weeks earlier. Jalen Hurts has finally put together some solid outings over the past two weeks, which should give the Eagles more confidence that they can find their groove on that side of the ball and start playing up to their talent level. Still, it will be fascinating to track this team’s roller-coaster ride as they try to continue stacking wins through the imperfections. Much has been made of the Eagles’ offense this season given their penchant for drama and conglomerate of superstar talent, but the defense hasn’t been nearly as sharp as the group was during last year’s dominant season. Philadelphia ranks 20th in points per drive, 24th in first downs per drive and 22nd in success rate, according to TruMedia. That’s far off from last season, when it was first or second in just about every major defensive category. Some of that is to be expected. The Eagles lost key contributors off of an otherworldly defensive line last season and have inserted some youth at key positions in the back seven. Last year, they picked up their play over the back half of the season, which is when they turned into a defensive monster, but they have yet to meet those heights this season. What will always be encouraging about this current iteration of the Eagles’ defense is that they have the high-end players to shut down offenses in high-leverage circumstances, but the overall production has dipped. Philadelphia is too talented for the vibes to feel as off as they have, but that comes with an outspoken team that’s experienced a ton of success. If the Birds want to get things together for another Super Bowl run, a jumpstart effort from their defense would go a long way in making it a reality. They certainly have the talent to make that happen and the offense showing consistent signs of life again in the passing game will give them a stronger cushion than they had at the start of the season. Teams like the Eagles can be confusing because they’ve played a lot of close games, which is usually the sign of a mediocre team, but there are too many proven quantities to be too down on them. No matter how their season ends, it will undoubtedly be entertaining. |
| WASHINGTONDavid Harrison of SI.com questions whether QB JAYDEN DANIELS is really back: Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels is always must-see-TV. The problem is that the show hasn’t been on the main stage nearly enough this season. He isn’t the only player who has been banged up this season, but there’s little argument that the Commanders’ missing Daniels for five of their eight games so far this season is at least partially to blame for their 3-5 start to the season. While backup quarterback Marcus Mariota has filled in admirably, it’s hard to replace the playmaking ability that Daniels brings to Washington, as it seems to help elevate not just the offense, but the entire team at times. A Cautious Return to PracticeThat influence the quarterback has is why everyone was so excited to hear that Daniels is not only expected to practice fully this week, but return to the field when his team hosts the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday Night Football in Week 9. Of course, hamstring injuries are tricky, which is why even Daniels had to temper expectations a bit, saying, “If all goes right, I would love to play.” ‘We Gotta Do What’s Best for Me and My Future’“I mean, I felt good towards the end of [last] week, but at the end of the day, we gotta do what’s best for me and my future,” Daniels continued. “I would’ve loved to be out there, but that just wasn’t a part of the plan. But I did feel good towards the end of the week, going into that game. And now we’re here, and if everything goes right, hopefully I’m out there on Sunday night.” With any injury there tends to be concerns about how effective a player will really be when coming back. With Daniels, specifically, that worry is enhanced by the position he plays, the way he plays it, and though it may not be completely logical, his franchise’s history with quarterback injuries in the past. ‘If I’m Out There, I’m Not Even Thinking About It’“Oh, I’m good. If I’m out there, I’m not even thinking about it,” Daniels said. “If I was worried about something, then I wouldn’t be playing. So, I go out there, if I’m out there on the field, I’m going to be confident in myself and my abilities to go out there and execute and play football.” Head coach Dan Quinn has repeated his stance on protecting the player’s future over everything when it comes to injury, but hearing Daniels also stand in front of his overall well-being over the short-term desire to play is also encouraging that when he is on the field, it’s because he’s truly ready to play, and not forcing the issue. And that’s what is so worrisome about soft tissue injuries, is that they can be incredibly fickle from day to day. “Obviously, those are very frustrating because you feel good and then something happens that’s out of your control.” So far, he’s had one practice he could take control of, and entering the second day of preparation for Week 9, there’s growing hope Daniels will be back in control of the offense when the Commanders and Seahawks take the field inside Northwest Stadium on Sunday night. |
| NFC SOUTH |
| TAMPA BAYBill Barnwell of ESPN opines on how aggressive the Buccaneers should be at the deadline. Tampa Bay BuccaneersBiggest needs: LB, OL, EdgeLikewise, GM Jason Licht and the Buccaneers can’t realistically expect to replace a half-dozen starters in the trade market. They mainly must hope to get healthy versions of Bucky Irving, Chris Godwin Jr., Luke Goedeke and Mike Evans between now and the end of the season. If the Bucs can find a lineman to help settle things down on the right side of their O-line or a pass rusher who can help deal with the absences of Calijah Kancey and Haason Reddick, they would have to consider it. The only spot they might look to upgrade in the starting lineup in the long term is linebacker, where SirVocea Dennis has been overmatched in coverage and stretched trying to tackle in the open field. With veteran Lavonte David, 35, playing on a series of one-year deals, the Bucs might need to acquire two new off-ball linebackers to start this offseason. Could they call up the Bengals about Logan Wilson or ask the Dolphins about Jordyn Brooks? |
| NFC WEST |
| SEATTLEIt seems that a chest injury won’t keep QB SAM DARNOLD from all of his appointed practice rounds. Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com: Sam Darnold popped up on the Seahawks’ injury report for the first time this season. He is listed with a chest injury but was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice. The Seahawks last played on Oct. 20, and Darnold took a hit from Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair on the sideline. Al-Shaair was penalized but not fined for the hit. Cornerback Devon Witherspoon (knee) is back to a full participant, but the Seahawks likely won’t have a fully healthy secondary. They haven’t had that since the first series of the season opener. Safety Julian Love (hamstring) didn’t practice on Wednesday had a “bit of a setback” last week in his rehab, coach Mike Macdonald said. Macdonald said Love could land on injured reserve. The Seahawks also practiced without tight end Eric Saubert (calf) and wide receiver Dareke Young (quad). Linebacker Derick Hall (oblique), linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence (rest), defensive tackle Jarran Reed (wrist) and defensive end Leonard Williams (rest) were limited. |
| AFC WEST |
| DENVERThe Broncos have bolstered their tight end room by signing MARCEDES LEWIS. Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com: Thwarted in their efforts to add a tight end via waivers (twice), the Denver Broncos had to find a free agent at the position. They found one in 41-year-old Marcedes Lewis. “You kind of follow his career, and I knew he’d been training, I knew he’s in great shape,” coach Sean Payton told reporters on Wednesday regarding the decision to add the 2006 first-rounder. “He’s a tremendous blocker. . . . So we brought him in for a workout, brought him on to our practice squad. I’m glad he’s here. He’s a tremendous leader. . . . He had been in the league long enough where the reports have just been unbelievable anywhere he’s been. Jacksonville, Green Bay, Chicago. It’s good to have him here.” Payton recognized the unusual nature of a position player having a 20-year NFL career. “I think he’s obsessed with taking care of himself,” Payton said. “That has a lot to do with it. I had checked on a mutual friend. He’s been training two times a day and then you can see that he’s in shape.” If Lewis plays for the Broncos on Sunday against the Texans, he’ll be going against a team coached by DeMeco Ryans, another first-round pick from the class of 2006. “I think when he’s 55, he’s going to be able to block the D-gap,” Payton said of Lewis. “We used to say that about Vinny Testaverde, like when he’s 60, he’s still going to throw a pretty ball. I just think that all the other things that come with him are assets for our team.” The team is otherwise doing very well, at 6-2. The Lewis signing addresses one of the Broncos’ few glaring needs. |
| KANSAS CITYScott Kacsmar is an ardent fan of QB PATRICK MAHOMES, but this is an interesting point: @ScottKacsmar2025 games scheduled against teams currently ranked in the top 10 in Super Bowl LX odds (better than +2500): Chiefs – 9 Eagles – 7Colts – 4Bills – 3Patriots – 3 This can’t go ignored if you’re talking MVP this season. |
| LAS VEGASThe Raiders will come back from the bye with TE BROCK BOWERS “ready to roll.” Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com: Tight end Brock Bowers is “ready to roll” after missing the past three games with a knee injury. He was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice. “The first part of the season was tough [and] not feeling 100 percent, but I’m closer now,” Bowers said, via Ryan McFadden of ESPN. He returned to practice as a limited participant on Oct. 17 and participated in both of the team’s practices during the off week last week. “He’s back,” Raiders coach Pete Carroll said. “Last week, he looked good every day, particularly good on the Monday practice, and he kind of stole the show a little bit. So, we’re thrilled to have him back.” After the season-opening win over the Patriots, an MRI showed Bowers injured the posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in addition to having a bone bruise, according to ESPN. He played through the injury for three weeks but made only 14 catches for 122 yards before being shut down to heal. “It sucked, to be honest,” Bowers said. “But it’s in the past. I’m excited to get back out there.”– – -Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com looks at Raiders trade candidates: Notable trade candidates: QB Geno Smith, WR Jakobi Meyers, G Jackson Powers-Johnson, RB Raheem Mostert, Edge Tyree Wilson, CB Decamerion Richardson Things haven’t gone as planned for Pete Carroll in his first season with the Raiders. Smith has struggled to protect the football, and the 35-year-old might not make it through the season with his job intact. The Raiders owe Smith $13.3 million over the rest of 2025 and have already guaranteed $18.5 million of what he’s owed in 2026, which makes a deal unlikely unless one of the league’s playoff contenders has its starting quarterback suffer a season-ending injury next week. It’s more likely that the Raiders will move on from a pending free agent like Meyers or some young players they inherited from the prior regimes in the desert. Wilson is likely to have his fifth-year option declined this offseason, and Richardson hasn’t played a single defensive snap after starting seven games a year ago. Powers-Johnson has frustrated the team at guard, and coordinator Chip Kelly doesn’t appear to see the former Rimington Trophy winner as an NFL center. He has already been benched this season, but there are undoubtedly teams around the league that had positive grades heading into the draft on a player who came off the board with the 44th pick. He could use a change of scenery. |
| AFC NORTH |
| BALTIMOREQB LAMAR JACKSON is back tonight. Frank Schwab of YahooSports.com: The rest of the Baltimore Ravens’ season will feel like the postseason. A 2-5 start has put the Ravens in an urgent state before Halloween. A win last week, with Tyler Huntley playing well off the bench to help beat the Bears, kept the Ravens alive as Lamar Jackson returns to the lineup from a hamstring injury. Baltimore isn’t in a terrible situation for a 2-5 team, just two games behind the first-place Pittsburgh Steelers, but they know there’s very little room for error. “Each and every game is going to be like a win or go home,” Jackson said this week. “It’s do or die right now, each and every week.” It’s not quite that dire, but the Ravens have to go 7-3 the rest of the season just to finish above .500. They can’t drop many more games. The Ravens should beat the Miami Dolphins, who are 2-6 after a surprising blowout at the Atlanta Falcons last week. But this has already been a weird season for the Ravens, with plenty of injuries and disappointing performances. Getting Jackson back allows the Ravens to dream big about the rest of the season. If he’s healthy, he’s still arguably the best player in the NFL. The Ravens’ hopes of finally getting to a Super Bowl with Jackson aren’t dead quite yet. But that dream might die quickly with a loss on Thursday night. Who needs it more?Well, this one is easy. The Dolphins are mostly just playing to see who will still be around in 2026. Ultimately, not many may survive unless there is a stunning second-half run. Meanwhile, a Ravens loss to the Dolphins would put them in an even worse situation. The Ravens should still feel like if they can win the AFC North, they can be a team that can make a deep playoff run. The Ravens don’t need to win out, but they do need to beat all remaining opponents on the Dolphins’ level. Key player: Ravens QB Lamar JacksonLet’s be real, the entire world will be keeping its eyes on one player Thursday night. Jackson’s ability to come back and play at his normal level is a major factor in the rest of the NFL season. Jackson has been out four weeks, counting the Ravens’ bye, with a hamstring injury. He had a weird stop-and-start in his return last week, when the Ravens misrepresented his practice participation on the injury report and he was ruled out on Saturday for Baltimore’s game the next day. If Jackson wasn’t ready to return on Sunday, is he definitely ready four days later? There isn’t a more important injury return this entire season than Jackson coming back to the Ravens’ lineup. |
| AFC SOUTH |
| INDIANAPOLISMuch of the memorabilia collection of the Colts late owner Jim Irsay is going on sale. The Irsay family will auction off the majority of the memorabilia collection owned by Jim Irsay — a compilation of items for which the late Indianapolis Colts owner once said he was offered more than $1 billion. The auction will be run by Christie’s starting in March, with the Irsay family planning to keep some select items and providing a portion of proceeds to charity. “This decision was not made lightly, but with deep reflection and love for the legacy he built,” the Irsay family said in a statement Thursday released by the Colts. “Our dad was a passionate collector, driven not by possession, but by a profound appreciation for the beauty, history and cultural resonance of the items he curated. From iconic instruments to handwritten lyrics by legends to rare historical artifacts and documents, each piece in the collection tells a story — and he was always so excited to share those stories with the world.” Largely known for its vast selection of musical instruments, including ones owned by members of the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Kurt Cobain and Eric Clapton, the collection has also contained such items as Muhammad Ali’s “Rumble in the Jungle” championship belt, the saddle used for Secretariat’s Triple Crown run and a more-than-200-year-old copy of the Declaration of Independence. Christie’s said the collection “includes extraordinary sports and movie memorabilia, U.S. presidential artifacts, extremely rare books, documents and manuscripts with a focus on American history, the ‘Beatnik’ movement and much more.” A selection of the collection had been used as part of a series of traveling exhibitions and concerts in recent years, including a one-year run at Indiana University that ended in September. Irsay said in 2023 that he thought the collection would “always be together” but noted that it ultimately wouldn’t be up to him. “Look, it’s not mine. I always say, you never see a hearse pulling a U-Haul,” Irsay said. “I mean, I don’t own anything. Someone else is going to own it, and someone else is going to be in here.” Irsay, who had owned the Colts since 1997, died in May at the age of 65. His three daughters have since taken over ownership of a team that is off to an NFL-best 7-1 start in 2025 behind quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Jonathan Taylor. |
