Football is hurtling back towards us. Training camp opens in the next couple of weeks for all 32 teams in the NFL, we’re less than a month from the Hall of Fame Game, and summer will be in the rearview mirror before we know it. Major questions are lingering around the league despite football almost being back, and we’ll only start to get answers when camp opens.
Let’s jump around the league to look at the biggest unknowns facing teams before we hit the first snaps of summer.
In what promises to be the saddest quarterback battle of the summer, the Cleveland Browns are having an open contest between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders. It’s a little bit like going out to dinner with your ex that you broke up with over red flags, and the person you were set up with whom you’re not sure you really like.
We know there’s going to be an open contest for who gets the job under center, but it will be fascinating to see which way the coaching staff is leaning as training camp opens. Not only that, but there’s a massive wrinkle to the battle which is largely being overlooked, and that is the fact Sanders is on a cheap rookie contract, while Watson is on the most overblown and devalued contract in the league.
The truth is that Watson is going to need to be drastically better than Sanders to get the job, and that makes the battle in camp all the more intriguing.
One of the biggest trades of the offseason finally got done, and the idea of giving Drake Maye the deep threat he’s so desperately needed is a fascinating proposition. That said, just because it looks good on paper doesn’t mean this is going to be a match made in heaven.
We saw last year that Brown isn’t afraid of piping up when he thinks something is being done incorrectly. It takes a strong quarterback to balance keeping a superstar receiver happy and executing on a game plan — which is something we haven’t seen Maye need to tackle yet. Their burgeoning relationship will determine if the Patriots can be a perennial Super Bowl threat, or if the trade ends up being subtraction by addition.
The Vikings have been floundering at their quarterback position for years, but always seem to find a way to put things together. That ended in 2025 with the decision to part ways with Sam Darnold after a mega year and turn the keys over to J.J. McCarthy. It could wind up being one of the most infamous decisions in recent memory — unless Kyler Murray can step up and become the guy.
It’s easy to forget how good Murray was with protection and a system that worked for him. We’re only a few years removed from him throwing for over 3,700 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Since that point it’s been an unceremonious tumble, making this his last best shot to stick in the NFL as a starting quarterback.
Publicly the Vikes have said there will be a competition between Murray and McCarthy, but we all know there is no comparison between the two players if Murray gels with this system. Our first chance to see whether or not that works out will be in camp.
This might be a question we can’t answer until the season really begins, but the first step is seeing how this young team progresses under John Harbaugh. Landing Harbs was a mammoth get for the G-Men, and following the NFL Draft they boast one of the scariest pass rushes in the league, if they can put it all together.
The Giants open their training camp in West Virginia with an eye on bonding and team building. That will be a crucial first step to see if these players can buy into the Harbaugh philosophy, and whether or not that translates on the field. If this all comes together then the Giants could be legitimate NFC East contenders, if not — well, it’ll be another disappointing season.
The Raiders are taking a cautious approach with the No. 1 overall pick to make sure he doesn’t have too much thrown at him at once. This means he will likely be splitting reps with Kirk Cousins at No. 1 in camp, with the ultimate plan to have Cousins start the season for the Raiders.
Still, how quickly Mendoza digests the playbook and integrates with his teammates will tell the story of how early we could see him this season. It’s unlikely the Raiders do anything but make some incremental improvement, because there’s a lot of work to do — but Vegas is also desperate to see some wins from this team, while also seeing their No. 1 pick take the field.
The Chicago Bears took a mammoth step under Ben Johnson in year one of the coach’s tenure, but the tough work starts now: Living up to expectations. There’s a firm belief that the Bears should be seriously contending in the NFC, and a sweetheart pick to win the NFC North — but it’s also one of football’s most brutal divisions.
Chicago will face a much tougher schedule in 2026, and how Caleb Williams rises to the occasion will set the tone for this entire organization. We know he has the athletic talent, but we’ve yet to really see how he can address going through the paces in a season where the Bears are expected to win a majority of their games.
We know what Jim Harbaugh likes when it comes to offense: He wants a no-nonsense running game, controlling the point of attack, and punctuating things with play action passes to generate chunk plays. It’s for this reason that the decision to hire Mike McDaniel to lead the offense was so fascinating/
McDaniel is an offensive genius, but he’s also all about some nonsense. An analytical disruptor, McDaniel’s philosophies on how to attack the field differ wildly from Harbaugh’s old school approach. In order to make this work the Chargers are going to need McDaniel to tone down his creativity a hair, while Harbaugh will need to put his trust in his OC. That could really work together, or everything could explode.
Football is hurtling back towards us. Training camp opens in the next couple of weeks for all 32 teams in the NFL, we’re less than a month from the Hall of Fame Game, and summer will be in the rearview mirror before we know it. Major questions are lingering around the league despite football almost being back, and we’ll only start to get answers when camp opens.
Let’s jump around the league to look at the biggest unknowns facing teams before we hit the first snaps of summer.
In what promises to be the saddest quarterback battle of the summer, the Cleveland Browns are having an open contest between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders. It’s a little bit like going out to dinner with your ex that you broke up with over red flags, and the person you were set up with whom you’re not sure you really like.
We know there’s going to be an open contest for who gets the job under center, but it will be fascinating to see which way the coaching staff is leaning as training camp opens. Not only that, but there’s a massive wrinkle to the battle which is largely being overlooked, and that is the fact Sanders is on a cheap rookie contract, while Watson is on the most overblown and devalued contract in the league.
The truth is that Watson is going to need to be drastically better than Sanders to get the job, and that makes the battle in camp all the more intriguing.
One of the biggest trades of the offseason finally got done, and the idea of giving Drake Maye the deep threat he’s so desperately needed is a fascinating proposition. That said, just because it looks good on paper doesn’t mean this is going to be a match made in heaven.
We saw last year that Brown isn’t afraid of piping up when he thinks something is being done incorrectly. It takes a strong quarterback to balance keeping a superstar receiver happy and executing on a game plan — which is something we haven’t seen Maye need to tackle yet. Their burgeoning relationship will determine if the Patriots can be a perennial Super Bowl threat, or if the trade ends up being subtraction by addition.
The Vikings have been floundering at their quarterback position for years, but always seem to find a way to put things together. That ended in 2025 with the decision to part ways with Sam Darnold after a mega year and turn the keys over to J.J. McCarthy. It could wind up being one of the most infamous decisions in recent memory — unless Kyler Murray can step up and become the guy.
It’s easy to forget how good Murray was with protection and a system that worked for him. We’re only a few years removed from him throwing for over 3,700 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Since that point it’s been an unceremonious tumble, making this his last best shot to stick in the NFL as a starting quarterback.
Publicly the Vikes have said there will be a competition between Murray and McCarthy, but we all know there is no comparison between the two players if Murray gels with this system. Our first chance to see whether or not that works out will be in camp.
This might be a question we can’t answer until the season really begins, but the first step is seeing how this young team progresses under John Harbaugh. Landing Harbs was a mammoth get for the G-Men, and following the NFL Draft they boast one of the scariest pass rushes in the league, if they can put it all together.
The Giants open their training camp in West Virginia with an eye on bonding and team building. That will be a crucial first step to see if these players can buy into the Harbaugh philosophy, and whether or not that translates on the field. If this all comes together then the Giants could be legitimate NFC East contenders, if not — well, it’ll be another disappointing season.
The Raiders are taking a cautious approach with the No. 1 overall pick to make sure he doesn’t have too much thrown at him at once. This means he will likely be splitting reps with Kirk Cousins at No. 1 in camp, with the ultimate plan to have Cousins start the season for the Raiders.
Still, how quickly Mendoza digests the playbook and integrates with his teammates will tell the story of how early we could see him this season. It’s unlikely the Raiders do anything but make some incremental improvement, because there’s a lot of work to do — but Vegas is also desperate to see some wins from this team, while also seeing their No. 1 pick take the field.
The Chicago Bears took a mammoth step under Ben Johnson in year one of the coach’s tenure, but the tough work starts now: Living up to expectations. There’s a firm belief that the Bears should be seriously contending in the NFC, and a sweetheart pick to win the NFC North — but it’s also one of football’s most brutal divisions.
Chicago will face a much tougher schedule in 2026, and how Caleb Williams rises to the occasion will set the tone for this entire organization. We know he has the athletic talent, but we’ve yet to really see how he can address going through the paces in a season where the Bears are expected to win a majority of their games.
We know what Jim Harbaugh likes when it comes to offense: He wants a no-nonsense running game, controlling the point of attack, and punctuating things with play action passes to generate chunk plays. It’s for this reason that the decision to hire Mike McDaniel to lead the offense was so fascinating/
McDaniel is an offensive genius, but he’s also all about some nonsense. An analytical disruptor, McDaniel’s philosophies on how to attack the field differ wildly from Harbaugh’s old school approach. In order to make this work the Chargers are going to need McDaniel to tone down his creativity a hair, while Harbaugh will need to put his trust in his OC. That could really work together, or everything could explode.
Football is hurtling back towards us. Training camp opens in the next couple of weeks…
In Super Bowl LX, the Seattle Seahawks did something that made absolutely no sense — and it worked like a charm.
Against a New England Patriots offense that had specialized in the power run game throughout the 2025 season, Seattle played base defense exactly 1.5% of the time. The Patriots played into that by using 11 personnel on 79.1% of their snaps, but still… when you play nickel (five defensive backs) on 44.8% of their snaps (14.2% below the NFL average) and dime (six defensive backs) on an astonishing 53.7% of their snaps (43.9% of the NFL average), something was afoot — and it made all the difference in Seattle’s 29-13 win.
The name of that something was Nick Emmanwori. The 35th overall pick in the 2025 draft out of South Carolina, the 6’ 3⅛”, 220-pound Emmanwori (who completely dominated the 2025 scouting combine) became head coach Mike Macdonald’s multi-position enforcer, in many of the same ways Kyle Hamilton filled that role back when Macdonald was the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive coordinator in 2022 and 2023.
“We’ve had him at 9-technique, 5-technique, he’s playing the slot,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said of Emmanwori last December. “We’re putting a lot on his plate. That’s part of my message to him, ‘You’ve got a lot on your plate, there’s a lot of expectations, and rightfully so, you’ve earned those opportunities. Go prepare your tail off so you can play the brand of ball you want to play. Then go let it rip, and if something happens throughout the game, we’ll fix it or we’ll put you out of that situation, but just go to the next one and keep rolling.’”
Overall, it worked very well. Emmanwori played 51% of his snaps last season in the box, 45% in the slot, 2% in the deep third, and 2% as an overhang defender. His success was the latest in a long line of do-it-all safeties that goes back to Charles Woodson, through Eric Berry, Tyrann Mathieu, Derwin James, and Hamilton. These types of players have never been more relevant in the NFL, and that proved itself out in the 2026 draft.
Now that these guys are in the NFL, what can they do for their new teams all over the field?
Last season for the Ohio State Buckeyes, Downs played 37% of his snaps as a two-deep safety, 30% in the slot, 17% as a single-high safety, and 9% as an outside cornerback or overhang defender. Overall, he had one sack, five pressures, 58 solo tackles, 35 stops, four tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and in coverage, he allowed 25 catches on 38 targets for 168 yards, 92 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, two interceptions, one pass breakup, and an opponent passer rating of 53.4.
Downs may be the most NFL-ready player in this class regardless of position; he ran the show in Matt Patricia’s NFL-conversant defense, and there’s no reason to believe that he can’t do that at the next level — especially in a new Christian Parker-led defense that takes its two-high shells, match coverage principles, and defensive back versatility from the Vic Fangio tree (Parker was the Philadelphia Eagles’ passing game coordinator & defensive backs coach in 2024 and 2025). Certainly a glow-up from whatever the heck it was that Matt Eberflus was doing with that defense last season.
“Premium instincts,” Parker said of Downs in early May. “You can tell his football intellect, the way he directs traffic out there, the way he reads and reacts, his brain is connected with his feet. It was constant. You’re watching three years of film, and there’s not a difference in the tape.
”He’s constantly making the right decision, constantly down in the football, constantly making contact with it, constantly just in the right spot. It’s just a smooth, smooth transition and smooth play.”
Last season for the Oregon Ducks, Thieneman played 54% of his snaps as a split safety, 22% as a single-high safety, 12% in the slot, 8% in the box, and 4% as an outside cornerback or overhang defender. He had four pressures, 72 solo tackles, 30 stops, three tackles for loss, and in coverage, he allowed 18 catches on 29 targets for 145 yards, 42 yards after the catch, three touchdowns, two interceptions, four pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 80.4.
“Range,” Bears Director of College Scouting Breck Ackley said when asked to detail Thieneman’s most impressive trait. “The versatility to play. He has nickel-flex. He has the versatility to play both free and strong. But the thing that stands out, if you can go back to his Purdue tape, 2023, when he had six picks, he’s really got some center field range stuff.
“Oregon used him a little bit in a rover role, and at times in a different role. Safety is one of those positions where you really have to watch a lot of tape, but there’s plenty of snaps for him. He can flip his hips, he can cover ground, and then you add in the versatility, the run support, the physicality. But I would say the range stands out.”
It is entirely likely that Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen will use Thieneman as his range guy in 2026 and beyond, because that is indeed his most impressive trait. Kevin Byard was the team’s primary free safety last season, and he signed a one-year, $7 million contract with the New England Patriots this offseason. Former Seahawks safety Coby Bryant is now in the fold on a three-year, $40 million deal, which gives the Bears some flexibility, but you can be sure that Thieneman’s particular range and coverage traits will be a big part of Allen’s defense.
Last season for the Toledo Rockets, McNeil-Warren played 45% of his snaps as a single-high safety, 20% in the slot, 19% as a split safety, and 2% on the outside. He had one sack, five pressures, 42 solo tackles, 17 stops, four tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and in coverage, he allowed six catches on 15 targets for 116 yards, 50 yards after the catch, one touchdown, two interceptions, five pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 50.3.
“I think what’s so special about Emmanuel is the versatility that he brings,: Assistant GM & Vice President of Football Operations Catherine Hickman said. ”You’re thinking of a player that can play high, can play low, a player that has excellent ball skills, size, strength, physicality. So really a player that the way we want to play defense, just gives our defensive coaches so many options. And they’re going to be extremely pleased to work with him.”
I have no doubt about that, and I was surprised that McNeil-Warren lasted until the second round. He has some things to work on like any draft prospect does, but he may also have the most pure athletic upside among these three players. At 6’ 3½” and 201 pounds, he has all the tools to be one of the new wave of complete safeties — the new type of player that every NFL team not only wants… but desperately needs.
In Super Bowl LX, the Seattle Seahawks did something that made absolutely no sense — and it worked like a charm.
Against a New England Patriots offense that had specialized in the power run game throughout the 2025 season, Seattle played base defense exactly 1.5% of the time. The Patriots played into that by using 11 personnel on 79.1% of their snaps, but still… when you play nickel (five defensive backs) on 44.8% of their snaps (14.2% below the NFL average) and dime (six defensive backs) on an astonishing 53.7% of their snaps (43.9% of the NFL average), something was afoot — and it made all the difference in Seattle’s 29-13 win.
The name of that something was Nick Emmanwori. The 35th overall pick in the 2025 draft out of South Carolina, the 6’ 3⅛”, 220-pound Emmanwori (who completely dominated the 2025 scouting combine) became head coach Mike Macdonald’s multi-position enforcer, in many of the same ways Kyle Hamilton filled that role back when Macdonald was the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive coordinator in 2022 and 2023.
“We’ve had him at 9-technique, 5-technique, he’s playing the slot,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said of Emmanwori last December. “We’re putting a lot on his plate. That’s part of my message to him, ‘You’ve got a lot on your plate, there’s a lot of expectations, and rightfully so, you’ve earned those opportunities. Go prepare your tail off so you can play the brand of ball you want to play. Then go let it rip, and if something happens throughout the game, we’ll fix it or we’ll put you out of that situation, but just go to the next one and keep rolling.’”
Overall, it worked very well. Emmanwori played 51% of his snaps last season in the box, 45% in the slot, 2% in the deep third, and 2% as an overhang defender. His success was the latest in a long line of do-it-all safeties that goes back to Charles Woodson, through Eric Berry, Tyrann Mathieu, Derwin James, and Hamilton. These types of players have never been more relevant in the NFL, and that proved itself out in the 2026 draft.
Now that these guys are in the NFL, what can they do for their new teams all over the field?
Last season for the Ohio State Buckeyes, Downs played 37% of his snaps as a two-deep safety, 30% in the slot, 17% as a single-high safety, and 9% as an outside cornerback or overhang defender. Overall, he had one sack, five pressures, 58 solo tackles, 35 stops, four tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and in coverage, he allowed 25 catches on 38 targets for 168 yards, 92 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, two interceptions, one pass breakup, and an opponent passer rating of 53.4.
Downs may be the most NFL-ready player in this class regardless of position; he ran the show in Matt Patricia’s NFL-conversant defense, and there’s no reason to believe that he can’t do that at the next level — especially in a new Christian Parker-led defense that takes its two-high shells, match coverage principles, and defensive back versatility from the Vic Fangio tree (Parker was the Philadelphia Eagles’ passing game coordinator & defensive backs coach in 2024 and 2025). Certainly a glow-up from whatever the heck it was that Matt Eberflus was doing with that defense last season.
“Premium instincts,” Parker said of Downs in early May. “You can tell his football intellect, the way he directs traffic out there, the way he reads and reacts, his brain is connected with his feet. It was constant. You’re watching three years of film, and there’s not a difference in the tape.
”He’s constantly making the right decision, constantly down in the football, constantly making contact with it, constantly just in the right spot. It’s just a smooth, smooth transition and smooth play.”
Last season for the Oregon Ducks, Thieneman played 54% of his snaps as a split safety, 22% as a single-high safety, 12% in the slot, 8% in the box, and 4% as an outside cornerback or overhang defender. He had four pressures, 72 solo tackles, 30 stops, three tackles for loss, and in coverage, he allowed 18 catches on 29 targets for 145 yards, 42 yards after the catch, three touchdowns, two interceptions, four pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 80.4.
“Range,” Bears Director of College Scouting Breck Ackley said when asked to detail Thieneman’s most impressive trait. “The versatility to play. He has nickel-flex. He has the versatility to play both free and strong. But the thing that stands out, if you can go back to his Purdue tape, 2023, when he had six picks, he’s really got some center field range stuff.
“Oregon used him a little bit in a rover role, and at times in a different role. Safety is one of those positions where you really have to watch a lot of tape, but there’s plenty of snaps for him. He can flip his hips, he can cover ground, and then you add in the versatility, the run support, the physicality. But I would say the range stands out.”
It is entirely likely that Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen will use Thieneman as his range guy in 2026 and beyond, because that is indeed his most impressive trait. Kevin Byard was the team’s primary free safety last season, and he signed a one-year, $7 million contract with the New England Patriots this offseason. Former Seahawks safety Coby Bryant is now in the fold on a three-year, $40 million deal, which gives the Bears some flexibility, but you can be sure that Thieneman’s particular range and coverage traits will be a big part of Allen’s defense.
Last season for the Toledo Rockets, McNeil-Warren played 45% of his snaps as a single-high safety, 20% in the slot, 19% as a split safety, and 2% on the outside. He had one sack, five pressures, 42 solo tackles, 17 stops, four tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and in coverage, he allowed six catches on 15 targets for 116 yards, 50 yards after the catch, one touchdown, two interceptions, five pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 50.3.
“I think what’s so special about Emmanuel is the versatility that he brings,: Assistant GM & Vice President of Football Operations Catherine Hickman said. ”You’re thinking of a player that can play high, can play low, a player that has excellent ball skills, size, strength, physicality. So really a player that the way we want to play defense, just gives our defensive coaches so many options. And they’re going to be extremely pleased to work with him.”
I have no doubt about that, and I was surprised that McNeil-Warren lasted until the second round. He has some things to work on like any draft prospect does, but he may also have the most pure athletic upside among these three players. At 6’ 3½” and 201 pounds, he has all the tools to be one of the new wave of complete safeties — the new type of player that every NFL team not only wants… but desperately needs.
In Super Bowl LX, the Seattle Seahawks did something that made absolutely no sense — and it worked like a charm.
Against a New England Patriots offense that had specialized in the power run game throughout the 2025 season, Seattle played base defense exactly 1.5% of the time. The Patriots played into that by using 11 personnel on 79.1% of their snaps, but still… when you play nickel (five defensive backs) on 44.8% of their snaps (14.2% below the NFL average) and dime (six defensive backs) on an astonishing 53.7% of their snaps (43.9% of the NFL average), something was afoot — and it made all the difference in Seattle’s 29-13 win.
The name of that something was Nick Emmanwori. The 35th overall pick in the 2025 draft out of South Carolina, the 6’ 3⅛”, 220-pound Emmanwori (who completely dominated the 2025 scouting combine) became head coach Mike Macdonald’s multi-position enforcer, in many of the same ways Kyle Hamilton filled that role back when Macdonald was the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive coordinator in 2022 and 2023.
“We’ve had him at 9-technique, 5-technique, he’s playing the slot,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said of Emmanwori last December. “We’re putting a lot on his plate. That’s part of my message to him, ‘You’ve got a lot on your plate, there’s a lot of expectations, and rightfully so, you’ve earned those opportunities. Go prepare your tail off so you can play the brand of ball you want to play. Then go let it rip, and if something happens throughout the game, we’ll fix it or we’ll put you out of that situation, but just go to the next one and keep rolling.’”
Overall, it worked very well. Emmanwori played 51% of his snaps last season in the box, 45% in the slot, 2% in the deep third, and 2% as an overhang defender. His success was the latest in a long line of do-it-all safeties that goes back to Charles Woodson, through Eric Berry, Tyrann Mathieu, Derwin James, and Hamilton. These types of players have never been more relevant in the NFL, and that proved itself out in the 2026 draft.
Now that these guys are in the NFL, what can they do for their new teams all over the field?
Last season for the Ohio State Buckeyes, Downs played 37% of his snaps as a two-deep safety, 30% in the slot, 17% as a single-high safety, and 9% as an outside cornerback or overhang defender. Overall, he had one sack, five pressures, 58 solo tackles, 35 stops, four tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and in coverage, he allowed 25 catches on 38 targets for 168 yards, 92 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, two interceptions, one pass breakup, and an opponent passer rating of 53.4.
Downs may be the most NFL-ready player in this class regardless of position; he ran the show in Matt Patricia’s NFL-conversant defense, and there’s no reason to believe that he can’t do that at the next level — especially in a new Christian Parker-led defense that takes its two-high shells, match coverage principles, and defensive back versatility from the Vic Fangio tree (Parker was the Philadelphia Eagles’ passing game coordinator & defensive backs coach in 2024 and 2025). Certainly a glow-up from whatever the heck it was that Matt Eberflus was doing with that defense last season.
“Premium instincts,” Parker said of Downs in early May. “You can tell his football intellect, the way he directs traffic out there, the way he reads and reacts, his brain is connected with his feet. It was constant. You’re watching three years of film, and there’s not a difference in the tape.
”He’s constantly making the right decision, constantly down in the football, constantly making contact with it, constantly just in the right spot. It’s just a smooth, smooth transition and smooth play.”
Last season for the Oregon Ducks, Thieneman played 54% of his snaps as a split safety, 22% as a single-high safety, 12% in the slot, 8% in the box, and 4% as an outside cornerback or overhang defender. He had four pressures, 72 solo tackles, 30 stops, three tackles for loss, and in coverage, he allowed 18 catches on 29 targets for 145 yards, 42 yards after the catch, three touchdowns, two interceptions, four pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 80.4.
“Range,” Bears Director of College Scouting Breck Ackley said when asked to detail Thieneman’s most impressive trait. “The versatility to play. He has nickel-flex. He has the versatility to play both free and strong. But the thing that stands out, if you can go back to his Purdue tape, 2023, when he had six picks, he’s really got some center field range stuff.
“Oregon used him a little bit in a rover role, and at times in a different role. Safety is one of those positions where you really have to watch a lot of tape, but there’s plenty of snaps for him. He can flip his hips, he can cover ground, and then you add in the versatility, the run support, the physicality. But I would say the range stands out.”
It is entirely likely that Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen will use Thieneman as his range guy in 2026 and beyond, because that is indeed his most impressive trait. Kevin Byard was the team’s primary free safety last season, and he signed a one-year, $7 million contract with the New England Patriots this offseason. Former Seahawks safety Coby Bryant is now in the fold on a three-year, $40 million deal, which gives the Bears some flexibility, but you can be sure that Thieneman’s particular range and coverage traits will be a big part of Allen’s defense.
Last season for the Toledo Rockets, McNeil-Warren played 45% of his snaps as a single-high safety, 20% in the slot, 19% as a split safety, and 2% on the outside. He had one sack, five pressures, 42 solo tackles, 17 stops, four tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and in coverage, he allowed six catches on 15 targets for 116 yards, 50 yards after the catch, one touchdown, two interceptions, five pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 50.3.
“I think what’s so special about Emmanuel is the versatility that he brings,: Assistant GM & Vice President of Football Operations Catherine Hickman said. ”You’re thinking of a player that can play high, can play low, a player that has excellent ball skills, size, strength, physicality. So really a player that the way we want to play defense, just gives our defensive coaches so many options. And they’re going to be extremely pleased to work with him.”
I have no doubt about that, and I was surprised that McNeil-Warren lasted until the second round. He has some things to work on like any draft prospect does, but he may also have the most pure athletic upside among these three players. At 6’ 3½” and 201 pounds, he has all the tools to be one of the new wave of complete safeties — the new type of player that every NFL team not only wants… but desperately needs.
In Super Bowl LX, the Seattle Seahawks did something that made absolutely no sense —…
We are on the verge of seeing one of the most fascinating summer transactions in NFL history. Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby is standing down from a drawn-out legal battle with the NCAA, announcing on Monday that he is opting to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft, rather than continue his attempt to win eligibility. It marks the first time in over 30 years that a legitimate top quarterback can be secured in the secondary draft, making it truly a once-in-a-generation opportunity to land a potentially elite talent on the cheap.
Sorsby was suspended by the NCAA in May of 2026 after entering a rehabilitation facility to treat gambling addiction. He admitted that he had lost over $90,000 placing bets on his own team, using the accounts of family and friends in an attempt to evade detection. The proliferation of sports betting, paired with college players having an influx of disposable income via NIL deals, means that Sorsby isn’t the first, and certainly won’t be the last player to have gambling problems.
That leads us to the moment right now. Sorsby is a 1st round quarterback talent who would have gone anywhere from the Top 5 to late-first round in 2027 — even in the middle of one of the most QB-rich classes in history. The raw talent is undeniable. Not only that, but Sorsby showed tremendous growth at Cincinnati, where he threw for 2,800 yards, 27 touchdowns, and only 5 interceptions in 2025. Those numbers would have only grown, considering he transferred to an explosive Texas Tech offense before his suspension.
There are only two questions left when it comes to Brendan Sorsby: “Who is going to bite?” and “What will the cost be?” There have been ample reports of teams willing to pony up a 3rd round pick in the supplemental for him, which either means they intend to bid a 2nd round pick — or stay out of the game altogether. As for where he should end up, that one isn’t quite as simple as picking teams out of a hat without a quarterback. There is a tanking class in the NFL right now which contains the Cardinals, Jets, and Dolphins, and I argue that none of these teams should throw their hats in the Sorsby ring.
Sure, it might be tempting to imagine landing Sorsby now, then getting an elite complementary piece like WR Jeremiyah Smith next April, but at the end of the day you’re still actively choosing to take a worse quarterback than you would at the top of the 1st round next year. While Sorsby is a really solid prospect, he’s still not on the level of Arch Manning, Dante Moore, or Julian Sayin.
Instead, the focus should be on teams in need of quarterback help who aren’t already in that tanking tier. The teams who normally would have no shot of landing a talent like Sorsby without trading up can now potentially get him in exchange for a Day 2 pick. For these teams it’s the opportunity of a lifetime, and worth diving into.
The Colts are taking their QB position year-by-year at this point, signing Daniel Jones to a two-year extension that shows they aren’t quite sold on making him their long-term starter. This doubt makes a lot of sense and opens an opportunity for Sorsby to enter the fold.
Finding a starting QB through circumstance is such a profoundly Colts move. This is the organization that landed Peyton Manning, and got to dovetail that into Andrew Luck. Getting Sorsby on the cheap would be extremely on-brand for them, and it makes a ton of sense to get out ahead of the draft not only to get a player of his caliber, but potentially mitigate their worries with Jones. Sorsby wouldn’t cost them anything against the cap like Jones would, making this a really great landing spot.
If they can then flip Anthony Richardson, even for a mid-round pick, then they’re playing with house money.
The Steelers will be a decent team this year. I don’t know if they’re a playoff team, but they’re going to be decent enough in Aaron Rodgers’ twilight to be picking in the late teens at the earliest. For each of the past two years we’ve been expecting the team to take a quarterback, and no Drew Allar doesn’t count.
Brendan Sorsby is so much better than anyone the Steelers could hope to get, especially if he only costs a 2nd or 3rd round pick. At this point nobody knows if Rodgers is going to play one more season, two more seasons — 20 more seasons until he crumbles into dust at the 50-yard-line. Regardless of his intentions, the Steelers need to bring in more quality bodies at the QB position so they’re not constantly in a state of being held ransom by the whims of Aaron Rodgers.
Giving Sorsby a year to sit and learn, then giving him an offense with D.K. Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. is a very, very good scenario for him.
Who knows what the Browns will be this year? I keep vacillating between thinking they might be the worst team in football and thinking they could notch five or six wins. That makes them really tricky to project in the Sorsby sweepstakes, but I also think it makes infinitely more sense for them than winning some game and needing to package 1st round picks to move up and get into that top tier of 2027 quarterbacks.
Sorsby is definitely better than Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel (especially Dillon Gabriel). The biggest risk here is adding to their island of misfit toys without a clear direction, but if Cleveland thinks Sorsby has the talent then Todd Monken is someone who can get it out of him.
Let’s go ahead and throw a big-old curveball. Sure, the Bucs have Baker Mayfield, and there’s seemingly no reason to change up that plan, but Baker is looking to get a massive payday, and Tampa seems really hesitant to give him that deal with their regime in flux.
The Bucs need to decide whether they think they can actually win with Mayfield under center, or if they need to rebuild. If the decision is the latter, then it’s worth them throwing their hat in the ring to land Sorsby on cheap deal, rather than potentially re-sign Mayfield to a top-dollar contract and stay on the treadmill of barely competing.
It’s a rare chance for a division-contender to get a young QB on the cheap.
I am a big, big fan of putting Kyler Murray in Minnesota — but there’s no guarantee this will work like it did with Sam Darnold a couple of years back. That means Sorsby would be a high-level contingency plan, should this go belly up and Murray is a middling quarterback in 2026.
The Vikings have shot themselves in the foot so many times by refusing to really rebuild at the QB position and trading up for J.J. McCarthy was a symptom of this. McCarthy has shown he’s not the guy, and maybe he can still be developed — but Sorsby has more physical tools that Kevin O’Connell can work with. A second or third rounder is worth taking the flier on adding to a needy QB room for a team that could easily win 10+ games this season.
The Falcons don’t have a lot of faith in Michael Penix Jr, and they sure shouldn’t have faith in Tua Tagovailoa. That means Sorsby is a “why not?” for Atlanta. There’s very little to show that either Penix or Tua can get the Falcons over the hump, and this team is not going to be bad enough to pick high for a quarterback.
This is the spot I feel the least-confident in, because ultimately I think new head coach Kevin Stefanski is going to want a year to evaluate his passers before making a determination, but there’s also a chance he’s already seen enough to warrant tossing a Day 2 pick into the supplemental draft to land a player Atlanta wouldn’t get otherwise.
We are on the verge of seeing one of the most fascinating summer transactions in NFL history. Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby is standing down from a drawn-out legal battle with the NCAA, announcing on Monday that he is opting to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft, rather than continue his attempt to win eligibility. It marks the first time in over 30 years that a legitimate top quarterback can be secured in the secondary draft, making it truly a once-in-a-generation opportunity to land a potentially elite talent on the cheap.
Sorsby was suspended by the NCAA in May of 2026 after entering a rehabilitation facility to treat gambling addiction. He admitted that he had lost over $90,000 placing bets on his own team, using the accounts of family and friends in an attempt to evade detection. The proliferation of sports betting, paired with college players having an influx of disposable income via NIL deals, means that Sorsby isn’t the first, and certainly won’t be the last player to have gambling problems.
That leads us to the moment right now. Sorsby is a 1st round quarterback talent who would have gone anywhere from the Top 5 to late-first round in 2027 — even in the middle of one of the most QB-rich classes in history. The raw talent is undeniable. Not only that, but Sorsby showed tremendous growth at Cincinnati, where he threw for 2,800 yards, 27 touchdowns, and only 5 interceptions in 2025. Those numbers would have only grown, considering he transferred to an explosive Texas Tech offense before his suspension.
There are only two questions left when it comes to Brendan Sorsby: “Who is going to bite?” and “What will the cost be?” There have been ample reports of teams willing to pony up a 3rd round pick in the supplemental for him, which either means they intend to bid a 2nd round pick — or stay out of the game altogether. As for where he should end up, that one isn’t quite as simple as picking teams out of a hat without a quarterback. There is a tanking class in the NFL right now which contains the Cardinals, Jets, and Dolphins, and I argue that none of these teams should throw their hats in the Sorsby ring.
Sure, it might be tempting to imagine landing Sorsby now, then getting an elite complementary piece like WR Jeremiyah Smith next April, but at the end of the day you’re still actively choosing to take a worse quarterback than you would at the top of the 1st round next year. While Sorsby is a really solid prospect, he’s still not on the level of Arch Manning, Dante Moore, or Julian Sayin.
Instead, the focus should be on teams in need of quarterback help who aren’t already in that tanking tier. The teams who normally would have no shot of landing a talent like Sorsby without trading up can now potentially get him in exchange for a Day 2 pick. For these teams it’s the opportunity of a lifetime, and worth diving into.
The Colts are taking their QB position year-by-year at this point, signing Daniel Jones to a two-year extension that shows they aren’t quite sold on making him their long-term starter. This doubt makes a lot of sense and opens an opportunity for Sorsby to enter the fold.
Finding a starting QB through circumstance is such a profoundly Colts move. This is the organization that landed Peyton Manning, and got to dovetail that into Andrew Luck. Getting Sorsby on the cheap would be extremely on-brand for them, and it makes a ton of sense to get out ahead of the draft not only to get a player of his caliber, but potentially mitigate their worries with Jones. Sorsby wouldn’t cost them anything against the cap like Jones would, making this a really great landing spot.
If they can then flip Anthony Richardson, even for a mid-round pick, then they’re playing with house money.
The Steelers will be a decent team this year. I don’t know if they’re a playoff team, but they’re going to be decent enough in Aaron Rodgers’ twilight to be picking in the late teens at the earliest. For each of the past two years we’ve been expecting the team to take a quarterback, and no Drew Allar doesn’t count.
Brendan Sorsby is so much better than anyone the Steelers could hope to get, especially if he only costs a 2nd or 3rd round pick. At this point nobody knows if Rodgers is going to play one more season, two more seasons — 20 more seasons until he crumbles into dust at the 50-yard-line. Regardless of his intentions, the Steelers need to bring in more quality bodies at the QB position so they’re not constantly in a state of being held ransom by the whims of Aaron Rodgers.
Giving Sorsby a year to sit and learn, then giving him an offense with D.K. Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. is a very, very good scenario for him.
Who knows what the Browns will be this year? I keep vacillating between thinking they might be the worst team in football and thinking they could notch five or six wins. That makes them really tricky to project in the Sorsby sweepstakes, but I also think it makes infinitely more sense for them than winning some game and needing to package 1st round picks to move up and get into that top tier of 2027 quarterbacks.
Sorsby is definitely better than Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel (especially Dillon Gabriel). The biggest risk here is adding to their island of misfit toys without a clear direction, but if Cleveland thinks Sorsby has the talent then Todd Monken is someone who can get it out of him.
Let’s go ahead and throw a big-old curveball. Sure, the Bucs have Baker Mayfield, and there’s seemingly no reason to change up that plan, but Baker is looking to get a massive payday, and Tampa seems really hesitant to give him that deal with their regime in flux.
The Bucs need to decide whether they think they can actually win with Mayfield under center, or if they need to rebuild. If the decision is the latter, then it’s worth them throwing their hat in the ring to land Sorsby on cheap deal, rather than potentially re-sign Mayfield to a top-dollar contract and stay on the treadmill of barely competing.
It’s a rare chance for a division-contender to get a young QB on the cheap.
I am a big, big fan of putting Kyler Murray in Minnesota — but there’s no guarantee this will work like it did with Sam Darnold a couple of years back. That means Sorsby would be a high-level contingency plan, should this go belly up and Murray is a middling quarterback in 2026.
The Vikings have shot themselves in the foot so many times by refusing to really rebuild at the QB position and trading up for J.J. McCarthy was a symptom of this. McCarthy has shown he’s not the guy, and maybe he can still be developed — but Sorsby has more physical tools that Kevin O’Connell can work with. A second or third rounder is worth taking the flier on adding to a needy QB room for a team that could easily win 10+ games this season.
The Falcons don’t have a lot of faith in Michael Penix Jr, and they sure shouldn’t have faith in Tua Tagovailoa. That means Sorsby is a “why not?” for Atlanta. There’s very little to show that either Penix or Tua can get the Falcons over the hump, and this team is not going to be bad enough to pick high for a quarterback.
This is the spot I feel the least-confident in, because ultimately I think new head coach Kevin Stefanski is going to want a year to evaluate his passers before making a determination, but there’s also a chance he’s already seen enough to warrant tossing a Day 2 pick into the supplemental draft to land a player Atlanta wouldn’t get otherwise.
We are on the verge of seeing one of the most fascinating summer transactions in…
And now the next chapter could be written in the NFL.
Sorsby was initially ruled ineligible for the 2026 season due to violations of the NCAA’s gambling bylaws. Through his attorneys, Sorsby challenged that ruling by the NCAA, alleging among other things that he suffered from a gambling addiction.
Despite a Texas judge granting Sorsby a temporary injunction against the NCAA, opening the door for Sorsby to play for the Red Raiders next season, the quarterback now plans to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft, according to multiple reports. Texas District Court Judge Ken Curry granted Sorsby’s injunction request, while implementing several conditions on the quarterback including a two-game suspension, while the legal battle between the NCAA and the quarterback remained on course for a full trial. But with that trial likely to occur after the college football season, Sorsby was on a path back to college.
However, in the days following that ruling, several schools had canceled athletic events that were scheduled against Texas Tech. That included Michigan on Monday, canceling a volleyball match that was scheduled against the Red Raiders.
In addition, the Big 12 itself filed a federal complaint against Texas Tech on Monday, seeking a declaratory judgment as well as an injunction in an effort to enforce the conference’s bylaws, and potentially sanction Texas Tech, in response to the Sorsby situation. That complaint also named Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as one of the defendants.
As part of this decision by Sorsby, his attorneys plan to withdraw the lawsuit against the NCAA, which would make him ineligible under the governing body’s ruling and therefore eligible to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft.
The deadline for players to apply for entry in the NFL Supplemental Draft is June 22. The NFL Supplemental Draft is expected to occur in late July.
And now the next chapter could be written in the NFL.
Sorsby was initially ruled ineligible for the 2026 season due to violations of the NCAA’s gambling bylaws. Through his attorneys, Sorsby challenged that ruling by the NCAA, alleging among other things that he suffered from a gambling addiction.
Despite a Texas judge granting Sorsby a temporary injunction against the NCAA, opening the door for Sorsby to play for the Red Raiders next season, the quarterback now plans to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft, according to multiple reports. Texas District Court Judge Ken Curry granted Sorsby’s injunction request, while implementing several conditions on the quarterback including a two-game suspension, while the legal battle between the NCAA and the quarterback remained on course for a full trial. But with that trial likely to occur after the college football season, Sorsby was on a path back to college.
However, in the days following that ruling, several schools had canceled athletic events that were scheduled against Texas Tech. That included Michigan on Monday, canceling a volleyball match that was scheduled against the Red Raiders.
In addition, the Big 12 itself filed a federal complaint against Texas Tech on Monday, seeking a declaratory judgment as well as an injunction in an effort to enforce the conference’s bylaws, and potentially sanction Texas Tech, in response to the Sorsby situation. That complaint also named Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as one of the defendants.
As part of this decision by Sorsby, his attorneys plan to withdraw the lawsuit against the NCAA, which would make him ineligible under the governing body’s ruling and therefore eligible to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft.
The deadline for players to apply for entry in the NFL Supplemental Draft is June 22. The NFL Supplemental Draft is expected to occur in late July.
And now the next chapter could be written in the NFL.Sorsby was initially ruled ineligible…
![Brandon Aiyuk’s 49ers divorce keeps getting uglier Brandon Aiyuk’s war of words with the San Francisco 49ers reached new heights on Tuesday.In a video posted to social media, Aiyuk blasted the organization as “stupid” for paying him, and “mad” at themselves for how the team was handling the situation.The video came after Aiyuk posted one over the weekend, where he called the 49ers “little-ass boys” who needed to “stop running from the bill.”The two videos are the wide receiver’s first lengthy public comments since the team placed him on the reserve/left team list back in December of last year. Aiyuk has not played in a game for the 49ers since midway through the 2024 season, when he suffered a torn ACL.Prior to the 2024 campaign, Aiyuk was a hold-in during training camp until he agreed to terms with the team on a new four-year extension worth up to $120 million.Head coach Kyle Shanahan, along with general manager John Lynch, continue to assert that Aiyuk has played his last snap for the 49ers. Speaking at the team’s end-of-season press conference in January, the coach indicated he had lost contact with Aiyuk, going on to say that “eventually you understand that it’s not going to change and you’ve got to move on with your football team.”On that January day, Lynch explicitly said that Aiyuk had “played his last snap with the Niners.”Then at the end of March at the league’s annual meetings, Shanahan maintained that stance, but did not put a timeframe on a resolution.“I don’t have a date for it, but I know eventually it’ll resolve itself,” Shanahan said in March. “Hopefully, we could get something for [him]. And I know we’re in no rush to do that. You’ve got to do what’s right for the Niners, and you’re not trying to hook up any other team as fast as you possibly can. Hopefully, we can get something for that, and it’ll take care of itself.”As far as what that resolution looks like, many believe Aiyuk will find a home with the Washington Commanders. Aiyuk played with Jayden Daniels at Arizona State, and over this past weekend did share a photos of himself wearing a Commanders hat.However, he is still technically under contract with San Francisco through the 2028 season. And while the 49ers did void the guaranteed money he was owed for 2026, the guaranteed money Aiyuk is owed for 2027 is still on the books.NFL insider Ian Rapoport addressed the situation on Monday.“First of all, here’s what the San Francisco 49ers would like: They have his rights, he’s not due any guaranteed money because he forfeited that by not showing up to his rehab,” said Rapoport. “So, they would like to trade him, probably to the Commanders, with his old friend Jayden Daniels and an organization that obviously knows him well, considering (Commanders general manager) Adam Peters was in San Francisco, and all that.“What the Commanders would like to do is sign him without having to trade him. … We’re in a situation where nobody wants to move at all. They’re all staring at each other. There’s really no deadline to make a move at all. So, until and unless everyone gets tired of Brandon Aiyuk sending Instagram messages, this is going to be a storyline that takes us through the summer.”Happy offseason, everyone. #Brandon #Aiyuks #49ers #divorce #uglier](https://i1.wp.com/platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/gettyimages-2183567424.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C78.534031413613&w=1200&ssl=1 "Brandon Aiyuk’s 49ers divorce keeps getting uglier Brandon Aiyuk’s war of words with the San Francisco 49ers reached new heights on Tuesday.In a video posted to social media, Aiyuk blasted the organization as “stupid” for paying him, and “mad” at themselves for how the team was handling the situation.The video came after Aiyuk posted one over the weekend, where he called the 49ers “little-ass boys” who needed to “stop running from the bill.”The two videos are the wide receiver’s first lengthy public comments since the team placed him on the reserve/left team list back in December of last year. Aiyuk has not played in a game for the 49ers since midway through the 2024 season, when he suffered a torn ACL.Prior to the 2024 campaign, Aiyuk was a hold-in during training camp until he agreed to terms with the team on a new four-year extension worth up to $120 million.Head coach Kyle Shanahan, along with general manager John Lynch, continue to assert that Aiyuk has played his last snap for the 49ers. Speaking at the team’s end-of-season press conference in January, the coach indicated he had lost contact with Aiyuk, going on to say that “eventually you understand that it’s not going to change and you’ve got to move on with your football team.”On that January day, Lynch explicitly said that Aiyuk had “played his last snap with the Niners.”Then at the end of March at the league’s annual meetings, Shanahan maintained that stance, but did not put a timeframe on a resolution.“I don’t have a date for it, but I know eventually it’ll resolve itself,” Shanahan said in March. “Hopefully, we could get something for [him]. And I know we’re in no rush to do that. You’ve got to do what’s right for the Niners, and you’re not trying to hook up any other team as fast as you possibly can. Hopefully, we can get something for that, and it’ll take care of itself.”As far as what that resolution looks like, many believe Aiyuk will find a home with the Washington Commanders. Aiyuk played with Jayden Daniels at Arizona State, and over this past weekend did share a photos of himself wearing a Commanders hat.However, he is still technically under contract with San Francisco through the 2028 season. And while the 49ers did void the guaranteed money he was owed for 2026, the guaranteed money Aiyuk is owed for 2027 is still on the books.NFL insider Ian Rapoport addressed the situation on Monday.“First of all, here’s what the San Francisco 49ers would like: They have his rights, he’s not due any guaranteed money because he forfeited that by not showing up to his rehab,” said Rapoport. “So, they would like to trade him, probably to the Commanders, with his old friend Jayden Daniels and an organization that obviously knows him well, considering (Commanders general manager) Adam Peters was in San Francisco, and all that.“What the Commanders would like to do is sign him without having to trade him. … We’re in a situation where nobody wants to move at all. They’re all staring at each other. There’s really no deadline to make a move at all. So, until and unless everyone gets tired of Brandon Aiyuk sending Instagram messages, this is going to be a storyline that takes us through the summer.”Happy offseason, everyone. #Brandon #Aiyuks #49ers #divorce #uglier")
Brandon Aiyuk’s war of words with the San Francisco 49ers reached new heights on Tuesday.
In a video posted to social media, Aiyuk blasted the organization as “stupid” for paying him, and “mad” at themselves for how the team was handling the situation.
The video came after Aiyuk posted one over the weekend, where he called the 49ers “little-ass boys” who needed to “stop running from the bill.”
The two videos are the wide receiver’s first lengthy public comments since the team placed him on the reserve/left team list back in December of last year. Aiyuk has not played in a game for the 49ers since midway through the 2024 season, when he suffered a torn ACL.
Prior to the 2024 campaign, Aiyuk was a hold-in during training camp until he agreed to terms with the team on a new four-year extension worth up to $120 million.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan, along with general manager John Lynch, continue to assert that Aiyuk has played his last snap for the 49ers. Speaking at the team’s end-of-season press conference in January, the coach indicated he had lost contact with Aiyuk, going on to say that “eventually you understand that it’s not going to change and you’ve got to move on with your football team.”
On that January day, Lynch explicitly said that Aiyuk had “played his last snap with the Niners.”
Then at the end of March at the league’s annual meetings, Shanahan maintained that stance, but did not put a timeframe on a resolution.
“I don’t have a date for it, but I know eventually it’ll resolve itself,” Shanahan said in March. “Hopefully, we could get something for [him]. And I know we’re in no rush to do that. You’ve got to do what’s right for the Niners, and you’re not trying to hook up any other team as fast as you possibly can. Hopefully, we can get something for that, and it’ll take care of itself.”
As far as what that resolution looks like, many believe Aiyuk will find a home with the Washington Commanders. Aiyuk played with Jayden Daniels at Arizona State, and over this past weekend did share a photos of himself wearing a Commanders hat.
However, he is still technically under contract with San Francisco through the 2028 season. And while the 49ers did void the guaranteed money he was owed for 2026, the guaranteed money Aiyuk is owed for 2027 is still on the books.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport addressed the situation on Monday.
“First of all, here’s what the San Francisco 49ers would like: They have his rights, he’s not due any guaranteed money because he forfeited that by not showing up to his rehab,” said Rapoport. “So, they would like to trade him, probably to the Commanders, with his old friend Jayden Daniels and an organization that obviously knows him well, considering (Commanders general manager) Adam Peters was in San Francisco, and all that.
“What the Commanders would like to do is sign him without having to trade him. … We’re in a situation where nobody wants to move at all. They’re all staring at each other. There’s really no deadline to make a move at all. So, until and unless everyone gets tired of Brandon Aiyuk sending Instagram messages, this is going to be a storyline that takes us through the summer.”
Happy offseason, everyone.
Brandon Aiyuk’s war of words with the San Francisco 49ers reached new heights on Tuesday.
In a video posted to social media, Aiyuk blasted the organization as “stupid” for paying him, and “mad” at themselves for how the team was handling the situation.
The video came after Aiyuk posted one over the weekend, where he called the 49ers “little-ass boys” who needed to “stop running from the bill.”
The two videos are the wide receiver’s first lengthy public comments since the team placed him on the reserve/left team list back in December of last year. Aiyuk has not played in a game for the 49ers since midway through the 2024 season, when he suffered a torn ACL.
Prior to the 2024 campaign, Aiyuk was a hold-in during training camp until he agreed to terms with the team on a new four-year extension worth up to $120 million.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan, along with general manager John Lynch, continue to assert that Aiyuk has played his last snap for the 49ers. Speaking at the team’s end-of-season press conference in January, the coach indicated he had lost contact with Aiyuk, going on to say that “eventually you understand that it’s not going to change and you’ve got to move on with your football team.”
On that January day, Lynch explicitly said that Aiyuk had “played his last snap with the Niners.”
Then at the end of March at the league’s annual meetings, Shanahan maintained that stance, but did not put a timeframe on a resolution.
“I don’t have a date for it, but I know eventually it’ll resolve itself,” Shanahan said in March. “Hopefully, we could get something for [him]. And I know we’re in no rush to do that. You’ve got to do what’s right for the Niners, and you’re not trying to hook up any other team as fast as you possibly can. Hopefully, we can get something for that, and it’ll take care of itself.”
As far as what that resolution looks like, many believe Aiyuk will find a home with the Washington Commanders. Aiyuk played with Jayden Daniels at Arizona State, and over this past weekend did share a photos of himself wearing a Commanders hat.
However, he is still technically under contract with San Francisco through the 2028 season. And while the 49ers did void the guaranteed money he was owed for 2026, the guaranteed money Aiyuk is owed for 2027 is still on the books.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport addressed the situation on Monday.
“First of all, here’s what the San Francisco 49ers would like: They have his rights, he’s not due any guaranteed money because he forfeited that by not showing up to his rehab,” said Rapoport. “So, they would like to trade him, probably to the Commanders, with his old friend Jayden Daniels and an organization that obviously knows him well, considering (Commanders general manager) Adam Peters was in San Francisco, and all that.
“What the Commanders would like to do is sign him without having to trade him. … We’re in a situation where nobody wants to move at all. They’re all staring at each other. There’s really no deadline to make a move at all. So, until and unless everyone gets tired of Brandon Aiyuk sending Instagram messages, this is going to be a storyline that takes us through the summer.”
Happy offseason, everyone.
Brandon Aiyuk’s war of words with the San Francisco 49ers reached new heights on Tuesday.In…
“Hammond, Indiana. Okay. If you’ve been to Soldier Field and you’ve been on the lakefront and you are somebody that is a romantic like myself, that’s where football should be played, on the lakefront right in front of those giant skyscrapers, right next to that big, beautiful park with the best coach in football, with one of the best young quarterback. But that ain’t happening. Grow up, Peter Pan. I’m talking to myself. Grow up, Peter Pan.”
“That ain’t happening. Okay. Arlington Heights. One of the most state-of-the-art beautiful property in the north suburbs. Arlington Heights. I don’t know if you’ve ever been there, but they have a racetrack that they demolished there that I said, ‘Oh, it’s a no-brainer. They would never knock down something of such historical significance to Chicago.‘ Well, it didn’t work. Hammond, Indiana is happening. Okay, now let’s let’s not play doom and gloom. Let’s do a little mental health check in and say, what are the positives here? The positives are it’s closer to downtown. It’s closer to downtown than Arlington Heights would be. It’s in fact 30 minutes closer to downtown than where the Bears training facility is on the north side in Lake Forest where I lived. You get the unique opportunity. It’s almost like I’m going to use the phrase, I don’t fully understand it, but I’m going to use the phrase manifest destiny. Okay? Remember when people were just moving west and they’re like, I’m going to put a flag down here.”
“This looks like a nice little hill. This is my hill. I’m going to call it Johnny’s Hill. You know, like I think about all the it’s the American dream. Well, you know what? It didn’t work out in Chicago. So, just follow that coast south down to Hammond, Indiana. And I can promise you this, if they do it the right way, like a number of these teams have done, you get the opportunity to have a state-of-the-art venue for anything that you want. You get the opportunity to own your stadium and the land around it outright. You get to make it exactly how you want to make it. And I’ve heard a lot of things about Hammond, Indiana. More often than not, not good things. But I can guarantee you this. There are people, there are kids, there are generations of Bears fans that are down there that are so excited to welcome you and show you that area with open arms and you get to make it yours.”
“Now, I know that’s a slap in the face to a lot of people, including myself, but it’s time to get to the next level. And they can do that there. Winning to me, what does success look like to me? It looks like a quarterback that’s on schedule in first and second down and continues to do what he does on third down and in the fourth quarter. I think building a defense that can stop the run and rush the passer on third down and got to have it rush downs. That would be great. I think everything is moving in the right direction and I think this Hammond, Indiana thing is a unique opportunity for the Bears to really take the next step.”
“I remember when St. Louis moved to LA, and granted, it was a lot more miles for that move. They become a serious contender overnight and the Bears already are a serious contender. So imagine what happens if you pump some caffeine into that.”
“Hammond, Indiana. Okay. If you’ve been to Soldier Field and you’ve been on the lakefront and you are somebody that is a romantic like myself, that’s where football should be played, on the lakefront right in front of those giant skyscrapers, right next to that big, beautiful park with the best coach in football, with one of the best young quarterback. But that ain’t happening. Grow up, Peter Pan. I’m talking to myself. Grow up, Peter Pan.”
“That ain’t happening. Okay. Arlington Heights. One of the most state-of-the-art beautiful property in the north suburbs. Arlington Heights. I don’t know if you’ve ever been there, but they have a racetrack that they demolished there that I said, ‘Oh, it’s a no-brainer. They would never knock down something of such historical significance to Chicago.‘ Well, it didn’t work. Hammond, Indiana is happening. Okay, now let’s let’s not play doom and gloom. Let’s do a little mental health check in and say, what are the positives here? The positives are it’s closer to downtown. It’s closer to downtown than Arlington Heights would be. It’s in fact 30 minutes closer to downtown than where the Bears training facility is on the north side in Lake Forest where I lived. You get the unique opportunity. It’s almost like I’m going to use the phrase, I don’t fully understand it, but I’m going to use the phrase manifest destiny. Okay? Remember when people were just moving west and they’re like, I’m going to put a flag down here.”
“This looks like a nice little hill. This is my hill. I’m going to call it Johnny’s Hill. You know, like I think about all the it’s the American dream. Well, you know what? It didn’t work out in Chicago. So, just follow that coast south down to Hammond, Indiana. And I can promise you this, if they do it the right way, like a number of these teams have done, you get the opportunity to have a state-of-the-art venue for anything that you want. You get the opportunity to own your stadium and the land around it outright. You get to make it exactly how you want to make it. And I’ve heard a lot of things about Hammond, Indiana. More often than not, not good things. But I can guarantee you this. There are people, there are kids, there are generations of Bears fans that are down there that are so excited to welcome you and show you that area with open arms and you get to make it yours.”
“Now, I know that’s a slap in the face to a lot of people, including myself, but it’s time to get to the next level. And they can do that there. Winning to me, what does success look like to me? It looks like a quarterback that’s on schedule in first and second down and continues to do what he does on third down and in the fourth quarter. I think building a defense that can stop the run and rush the passer on third down and got to have it rush downs. That would be great. I think everything is moving in the right direction and I think this Hammond, Indiana thing is a unique opportunity for the Bears to really take the next step.”
“I remember when St. Louis moved to LA, and granted, it was a lot more miles for that move. They become a serious contender overnight and the Bears already are a serious contender. So imagine what happens if you pump some caffeine into that.”
“Hammond, Indiana. Okay. If you’ve been to Soldier Field and you’ve been on the lakefront…
The trade we were all waiting for once June 1 arrived finally happened.
It just happened to be the second blockbuster deal of the day.
The jaw-dropping deal between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cleveland Browns stole the headlines, but A.J. Brown is finally on his way to the New England Patriots. New England is acquiring the wide receiver — and reuinting him with former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel — in exchange for a 2028 first-round pick, and a 2027 fifth-round pick.
Let’s hand out some grades.
The Patriots made a dream run to Super Bowl LX, and while they fell short in that game against the Seattle Seahawks, the future is certainly bright in New England.
And it starts with quarterback Drake Maye.
Yes, New England rode an historically easy schedule to the Super Bowl, and those opponents helped Maye put up numbers that made him an MVP candidate, but when you strip away the numbers and look at how Maye played the position a season ago, you see a franchise quarterback regardless of opponent. Maye’s ability to attack the middle of the field, as well as downfield in the vertical passing game, stand out when you study him on film.
And those traits certainly show in the numbers as well. Take this chart from Next Gen Stats:
One may quibble with the use of NFL Passer Rating, but here you see a quarterback that had success attacking over the middle, and down the field. In fact, one of his weakest areas last year — over the middle in the 10-to-20 yard range — is an area of the field where Brown thrives.
Greg Cosell, the long-time analyst, had this to say when contemplating a potential acquisition of Brown by the Patriots:
“When motivated, A.J. Brown is still a higher-level wideout in the league,” said Cosell, the NFL Films and ESPN “NFL Matchup” analyst. “He’s as physical as they come. He can work between the numbers as well as any receiver in the game because of his size, hands, competitiveness and ability to catch through contact.
“While he is not a burner by any means, he does have a great feel for attacking corners’ leverage and blind spots, and therefore, at times, can be a vertical dimension.”
When New England released Stefon Diggs, they created a big vacancy in the wide receiver room. They fill that with Brown, who can be a ball-winner at every level of the field in New England’s offense. And with the Patriots, Brown finds an offense that, on paper, looks to feature the passing game ahead of the running game.
This deal makes sense for both player and team. So much sense, that we were all waiting for it to happen.
The fact that everyone expected this deal to go down, means that Howie Roseman had some work to do.
Given the situation in Philadelphia — it was an open secret that there was frustration on Brown’s part with his usage in the Eagles’ offense — and the financial implications associated with a post-June 1 trade, the entire NFL world was waiting for this day, and this trade to arrive.
Throughout the process, there was a question over whether Roseman would get the first-round pick back in return for Brown. He was able to get that pick, but a 2028 first, and not a 2027 first.
So, while this was perhaps the best Roseman could have hoped for, it was not the deal Eagles fans were hoping to see.
Still, given the situation, and the fact that the Eagles were in this position, getting what they did for an unhappy player seems like a solid return.
The trade we were all waiting for once June 1 arrived finally happened.
It just happened to be the second blockbuster deal of the day.
The jaw-dropping deal between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cleveland Browns stole the headlines, but A.J. Brown is finally on his way to the New England Patriots. New England is acquiring the wide receiver — and reuinting him with former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel — in exchange for a 2028 first-round pick, and a 2027 fifth-round pick.
Let’s hand out some grades.
The Patriots made a dream run to Super Bowl LX, and while they fell short in that game against the Seattle Seahawks, the future is certainly bright in New England.
And it starts with quarterback Drake Maye.
Yes, New England rode an historically easy schedule to the Super Bowl, and those opponents helped Maye put up numbers that made him an MVP candidate, but when you strip away the numbers and look at how Maye played the position a season ago, you see a franchise quarterback regardless of opponent. Maye’s ability to attack the middle of the field, as well as downfield in the vertical passing game, stand out when you study him on film.
And those traits certainly show in the numbers as well. Take this chart from Next Gen Stats:
One may quibble with the use of NFL Passer Rating, but here you see a quarterback that had success attacking over the middle, and down the field. In fact, one of his weakest areas last year — over the middle in the 10-to-20 yard range — is an area of the field where Brown thrives.
Greg Cosell, the long-time analyst, had this to say when contemplating a potential acquisition of Brown by the Patriots:
“When motivated, A.J. Brown is still a higher-level wideout in the league,” said Cosell, the NFL Films and ESPN “NFL Matchup” analyst. “He’s as physical as they come. He can work between the numbers as well as any receiver in the game because of his size, hands, competitiveness and ability to catch through contact.
“While he is not a burner by any means, he does have a great feel for attacking corners’ leverage and blind spots, and therefore, at times, can be a vertical dimension.”
When New England released Stefon Diggs, they created a big vacancy in the wide receiver room. They fill that with Brown, who can be a ball-winner at every level of the field in New England’s offense. And with the Patriots, Brown finds an offense that, on paper, looks to feature the passing game ahead of the running game.
This deal makes sense for both player and team. So much sense, that we were all waiting for it to happen.
The fact that everyone expected this deal to go down, means that Howie Roseman had some work to do.
Given the situation in Philadelphia — it was an open secret that there was frustration on Brown’s part with his usage in the Eagles’ offense — and the financial implications associated with a post-June 1 trade, the entire NFL world was waiting for this day, and this trade to arrive.
Throughout the process, there was a question over whether Roseman would get the first-round pick back in return for Brown. He was able to get that pick, but a 2028 first, and not a 2027 first.
So, while this was perhaps the best Roseman could have hoped for, it was not the deal Eagles fans were hoping to see.
Still, given the situation, and the fact that the Eagles were in this position, getting what they did for an unhappy player seems like a solid return.
The trade we were all waiting for once June 1 arrived finally happened.
It just happened to be the second blockbuster deal of the day.
The jaw-dropping deal between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cleveland Browns stole the headlines, but A.J. Brown is finally on his way to the New England Patriots. New England is acquiring the wide receiver — and reuinting him with former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel — in exchange for a 2028 first-round pick, and a 2027 fifth-round pick.
Let’s hand out some grades.
The Patriots made a dream run to Super Bowl LX, and while they fell short in that game against the Seattle Seahawks, the future is certainly bright in New England.
And it starts with quarterback Drake Maye.
Yes, New England rode an historically easy schedule to the Super Bowl, and those opponents helped Maye put up numbers that made him an MVP candidate, but when you strip away the numbers and look at how Maye played the position a season ago, you see a franchise quarterback regardless of opponent. Maye’s ability to attack the middle of the field, as well as downfield in the vertical passing game, stand out when you study him on film.
And those traits certainly show in the numbers as well. Take this chart from Next Gen Stats:
One may quibble with the use of NFL Passer Rating, but here you see a quarterback that had success attacking over the middle, and down the field. In fact, one of his weakest areas last year — over the middle in the 10-to-20 yard range — is an area of the field where Brown thrives.
Greg Cosell, the long-time analyst, had this to say when contemplating a potential acquisition of Brown by the Patriots:
“When motivated, A.J. Brown is still a higher-level wideout in the league,” said Cosell, the NFL Films and ESPN “NFL Matchup” analyst. “He’s as physical as they come. He can work between the numbers as well as any receiver in the game because of his size, hands, competitiveness and ability to catch through contact.
“While he is not a burner by any means, he does have a great feel for attacking corners’ leverage and blind spots, and therefore, at times, can be a vertical dimension.”
When New England released Stefon Diggs, they created a big vacancy in the wide receiver room. They fill that with Brown, who can be a ball-winner at every level of the field in New England’s offense. And with the Patriots, Brown finds an offense that, on paper, looks to feature the passing game ahead of the running game.
This deal makes sense for both player and team. So much sense, that we were all waiting for it to happen.
The fact that everyone expected this deal to go down, means that Howie Roseman had some work to do.
Given the situation in Philadelphia — it was an open secret that there was frustration on Brown’s part with his usage in the Eagles’ offense — and the financial implications associated with a post-June 1 trade, the entire NFL world was waiting for this day, and this trade to arrive.
Throughout the process, there was a question over whether Roseman would get the first-round pick back in return for Brown. He was able to get that pick, but a 2028 first, and not a 2027 first.
So, while this was perhaps the best Roseman could have hoped for, it was not the deal Eagles fans were hoping to see.
Still, given the situation, and the fact that the Eagles were in this position, getting what they did for an unhappy player seems like a solid return.
The trade we were all waiting for once June 1 arrived finally happened.It just happened…
Alright everybody, your resident beacon of hope is here who has brought you such hits as the worst deals of free agency and worst potential fits for remaining free agents. Today, I build the worst possible team ahead of the 2026 season.
Now, we won’t be going player-by-player to build a 53-man roster. Instead, we’ll go by position groups on offense and defense to construct a unit that could potentially go 0-17. And don’t worry, I’ll be building the best team in the coming days. Enjoy.
What an interesting bunch of apples the Browns’ quarterback room is. One apple has a very successful father apple, who is in the apple Hall of Fame. However, that apple has since grown sour in the eyes of many fans for how he portrays himself since becoming the head coach of an apple school. But there are many cult-like fans of that apple, and those people should be avoided at all costs.
Then there’s the other apple who I’m not going to joke about because he allegedly did some really gross things and I don’t want to make light of that, but he is bad at football and the Browns gave him the largest fully guaranteed contract in NFL history after he allegedly did all of those things. What did $230 million buy them? Since 2022, amongst 77 quarterbacks to play 200 snaps, Watson ranks 69th in success rate. Dillon Gabriel, the third apple of this bunch, ranks dead last in 77th. What an impressively inept collection of bad football and worse PR.
Honorable mention: Arizona Cardinals
Travis Etienne left in free agency, signing with the New Orleans Saints. That leaves Bhayshul Tuten and Chris Rodriguez as the team’s top two running backs, respectively. Tuten could end up being a solid starter, but he had less than 100 carries in 2025. The pair of running backs combined for just 807 yards in 2025.
Honorable mention: Denver Broncos
Their top receiver is 5-foot-8 Malik Washington, who caught 46 passes in 2025. They added TuTu Atwell, who is 5-foot-9 and had six catches last season. Jalen Tolbert towers over them at 6-foot-1 and had 18 catches with the Cowboys a season ago. This could very well enter the conversation of worst receiving groups of all time.
Honorable mention: Carolina Panthers
Genuinely, this offense is going to be so fun to watch because of how bad it will be. Greg Dulcich is their No. 1 tight end – he’d be a No. 3 on a good team. They drafted two tight ends, Rookie Will Kacmarek is a blocker first and not much of a receiving threat while Seydou Traore was a fifth-round pick and it’s unknown what his role or ceiling will be. There is nothing on that offense not named De’Von Achane that will be worth watching, unless you’re the type of person who likes watching a nitroglycerin plant spontaneously combust 17 times.
Honorable mention: Tennessee Titans
Cam Ward was sacked 55 times in 2025, which was tied for the most in the league. Tennessee did next to nothing to improve their struggling unit, with their only moves being to sign long-time backup center Austin Schlottmann and draft Arkansas guard Fernando Carmona in the fifth round.
Honorable mention: Miami Dolphins
The Falcons ranked 26th in EPA per rush and 24th in success rate against the run. Had they not played six games against NFC South opponents, those numbers would likely be lower. Maason Smith, Zach Harrison, and Brandon Dorlus are projected to be their three starters up front, all of whom ranked outside the top 40 in PFF grades for defensive linemen in 2025.
Honorable mention: Washington Commanders
The Panthers gave Jaelan Phillips a contract equal to the GDP of the state of North Carolina, signing him to a four-year, $120 million deal – the richest contract of the offseason despite him never recording more than 8.5 sacks in a season, and that 8.5 mark came back in 2021. Nic Scourton is their No. 2, and he had five sacks last year. Now, sacks aren’t everything, of course, but you’d like to have more production from your pass rushers, especially for the hefty price tag on Phillips.
Honorable mention: Tennessee Titans
The Bengals relied heavily on rookies Demetrius Knight and Barrett Carter in 2025, both of whom were major disappointments. Knight had 18 missed tackles while Carter had 17. Knight ranked 83rd out of 88 qualified linebackers in PFF grades and Carter ranked 85th. While both are entering just their second years in the league, they need to make massive leaps forward.
Honorable mention: Indianapolis Colts
I promise this isn’t a bit, the Dolphins are just that bad. You could put the Cardinals here, seeing that they finished with a defensive drop back success rate that was 0.7 percent worse than the Dolphins, but Arizona at least has a promising piece in Will Johnson and a reliable veteran in Budda Baker. I like Chris Johnson, but the rest of Miami’s secondary is full of low-tier non-starters.
Honorable mention: Arizona Cardinals
Alright everybody, your resident beacon of hope is here who has brought you such hits as the worst deals of free agency and worst potential fits for remaining free agents. Today, I build the worst possible team ahead of the 2026 season.
Now, we won’t be going player-by-player to build a 53-man roster. Instead, we’ll go by position groups on offense and defense to construct a unit that could potentially go 0-17. And don’t worry, I’ll be building the best team in the coming days. Enjoy.
What an interesting bunch of apples the Browns’ quarterback room is. One apple has a very successful father apple, who is in the apple Hall of Fame. However, that apple has since grown sour in the eyes of many fans for how he portrays himself since becoming the head coach of an apple school. But there are many cult-like fans of that apple, and those people should be avoided at all costs.
Then there’s the other apple who I’m not going to joke about because he allegedly did some really gross things and I don’t want to make light of that, but he is bad at football and the Browns gave him the largest fully guaranteed contract in NFL history after he allegedly did all of those things. What did $230 million buy them? Since 2022, amongst 77 quarterbacks to play 200 snaps, Watson ranks 69th in success rate. Dillon Gabriel, the third apple of this bunch, ranks dead last in 77th. What an impressively inept collection of bad football and worse PR.
Honorable mention: Arizona Cardinals
Travis Etienne left in free agency, signing with the New Orleans Saints. That leaves Bhayshul Tuten and Chris Rodriguez as the team’s top two running backs, respectively. Tuten could end up being a solid starter, but he had less than 100 carries in 2025. The pair of running backs combined for just 807 yards in 2025.
Honorable mention: Denver Broncos
Their top receiver is 5-foot-8 Malik Washington, who caught 46 passes in 2025. They added TuTu Atwell, who is 5-foot-9 and had six catches last season. Jalen Tolbert towers over them at 6-foot-1 and had 18 catches with the Cowboys a season ago. This could very well enter the conversation of worst receiving groups of all time.
Honorable mention: Carolina Panthers
Genuinely, this offense is going to be so fun to watch because of how bad it will be. Greg Dulcich is their No. 1 tight end – he’d be a No. 3 on a good team. They drafted two tight ends, Rookie Will Kacmarek is a blocker first and not much of a receiving threat while Seydou Traore was a fifth-round pick and it’s unknown what his role or ceiling will be. There is nothing on that offense not named De’Von Achane that will be worth watching, unless you’re the type of person who likes watching a nitroglycerin plant spontaneously combust 17 times.
Honorable mention: Tennessee Titans
Cam Ward was sacked 55 times in 2025, which was tied for the most in the league. Tennessee did next to nothing to improve their struggling unit, with their only moves being to sign long-time backup center Austin Schlottmann and draft Arkansas guard Fernando Carmona in the fifth round.
Honorable mention: Miami Dolphins
The Falcons ranked 26th in EPA per rush and 24th in success rate against the run. Had they not played six games against NFC South opponents, those numbers would likely be lower. Maason Smith, Zach Harrison, and Brandon Dorlus are projected to be their three starters up front, all of whom ranked outside the top 40 in PFF grades for defensive linemen in 2025.
Honorable mention: Washington Commanders
The Panthers gave Jaelan Phillips a contract equal to the GDP of the state of North Carolina, signing him to a four-year, $120 million deal – the richest contract of the offseason despite him never recording more than 8.5 sacks in a season, and that 8.5 mark came back in 2021. Nic Scourton is their No. 2, and he had five sacks last year. Now, sacks aren’t everything, of course, but you’d like to have more production from your pass rushers, especially for the hefty price tag on Phillips.
Honorable mention: Tennessee Titans
The Bengals relied heavily on rookies Demetrius Knight and Barrett Carter in 2025, both of whom were major disappointments. Knight had 18 missed tackles while Carter had 17. Knight ranked 83rd out of 88 qualified linebackers in PFF grades and Carter ranked 85th. While both are entering just their second years in the league, they need to make massive leaps forward.
Honorable mention: Indianapolis Colts
I promise this isn’t a bit, the Dolphins are just that bad. You could put the Cardinals here, seeing that they finished with a defensive drop back success rate that was 0.7 percent worse than the Dolphins, but Arizona at least has a promising piece in Will Johnson and a reliable veteran in Budda Baker. I like Chris Johnson, but the rest of Miami’s secondary is full of low-tier non-starters.
Honorable mention: Arizona Cardinals
Alright everybody, your resident beacon of hope is here who has brought you such hits…
Brendan Sorsby was one of college football’s highest-paid players in the transfer portal, and he was considered a possible first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. The 6’3 quarterback left Cincinnati for Texas Tech after a tremendous junior season for a reported sum of $5 million. Just when the Red Raiders were celebrating the addition of one of the country’s top QBs, Sorsby was caught up in gambling allegations that sent him to rehab and likely ends his college career.
It now looks like the best bet for Sorsby’s immediate future is to turn pro through the NFL Supplemental Draft, which is expected to be held in mid July.
What is the Supplemental Draft? How much interest would Sorsby really draw? Let’s dive into the history of the NFL’s other draft, with more context on what makes Sorsby such an enticing prospect.
What, exactly, is the NFL Supplemental Draft?
Begun in 1977, the NFL Supplemental Draft is held for players that lost their remaining college eligibility after the league’s deadline to enter the NFL’s standard player entry draft. For those wondering, Al Hunter was the first player taken in an NFL Supplemental Draft in 1977, after the Notre Dame running back was suspended from the school for disciplinary reasons.
Perhaps the most notable NFL Supplemental Drafts have been in 1985 and 1989. In March of 1985, Miami (FL) quarterback Bernie Kosar announced that he planned on skipping his final two years of college to enter the 1985 NFL Draft.
But at that time, NFL rules only allowed college seniors and graduates to enter the NFL Draft. To work around this, Kosar had arranged an accelerated academic plan, where he would take 18 credits in the spring of 1985 and an additional six more in the summer, to meet the eligibility requirements.
During his announcement Kosar, who grew up in Ohio as a Cleveland Browns fan, made it clear he wanted to play for his hometown team.
However, Kosar was considered an elite prospect, and teams started angling for position in the first round for a shot at Kosar. Most notably the Minnesota Vikings executed a trade with the Houston Oilers to pick up a top pick in the first round, hoping to land Kosar.
Cleveland, however, quietly executed a trade with the Buffalo Bills, acquiring Buffalo’s first pick in the 1985 Supplemental Draft in exchange for first-round picks in 1985 and 1986, as wells as a third round selection in 1985 and a sixth-round pick in 1986.
Kosar did not meet the deadline to enter the 1985 NFL Draft, which came in April.
That is when the rest of the league learned about Cleveland’s trade with the Bills. The Oilers threatened to sue to stop the 1985 NFL Draft from taking place, as Houston also wanted a chance to draft Kosar. Teams implored NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle to reverse the trade between the Browns and the Bills. The quarterback’s agent warned that he would sue the league if Kosar was forced to enter the traditional draft.
Ultimately, Rozelle gave Kosar the choice between the two drafts, and the quarterback announced he was skipping the 1985 NFL Draft and entering the Supplemental Draft, where the Browns used their first selection to draft the quarterback.
The 1989 NFL Supplemental Draft was notable for having three players selected in the first round — quarterbacks Steve Walsh and Timm Rosenbach, and running back Bobby Humphrey.
To date, 46 players have been selected in an NFL Supplemental Draft, with safety Jalen Thompson in 2019 the most recent selection. Of those 46 players only one, wide receiver Cris Carter, has made the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Carter was suspended before his senior season for signing with an agent.
The chaos around Kosar in 1985 forced the league to adjust how the order is determined for the Supplemental Draft.
Previously, the order for the NFL Draft was the same as the order for the Supplemental Draft, but in the wake of Kosar, the league implemented the quasi-random ordering process that is in place today. Teams are divided into three pools — non-playoff teams with six or fewer wins, non-playoff teams with seven or more wins, and then the playoff teams — and teams “bid” on players, indicating in which round they would select that player. If no other team places a bid on a player in an earlier spot, then the team that placed the bid is awarded the player, and forfeits an equivalent pick in the next NFL Draft.
So when the Arizona Cardinals drafted Jalen Thompson in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Supplemental Draft, they forfeited a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
All of this leads us to Brendan Sorsby.
Last year at Cincinnati, Sorsby completed nearly 62% of his passes for 2,800 yards and 27 touchdowns, against just five interceptions. He also added another 580 rushing yards and nine touchdowns for the Bearcats. But he announced in December of last year that he was transferring, and became one of the most sought-after players in the portal. In fact, ESPN rated Sorsby as the top player in the transfer portal.
In January, after visiting Texas Tech and LSU, Sorsby announced he was joining the Red Raiders, with projections indicating he might surpass $5 million in NIL money.
Even in a crowded quarterback class for the 2027 NFL Draft, Sorsby was one of the favorites for a first-round pick next year. Consider this list from the various “way too early” mock drafts:
Then came word in late April that Sorsby was stepping away from Texas Tech to enter into a residential treatment program for a gambling addiction. A report from ESPN outlined that Sorsby made “thousands” of online bets across various sports via a gambling app, including games on Indiana football while Sorsby was a reserve quarterback for the Hoosiers. ESPN reported that Sorsby’s bets in 2022 were on Indiana to win games, and those bets did not include the one game where Sorsby saw the field for the Hoosiers.
See if you can tell, courtesy of NFL Mock Draft Database, when this news emerged:
Sorsby has not been ruled ineligible for the 2026 college football season, and the NCAA said in a statement to USA Today that the governing body would not comment on an ongoing investigation. But if he is ruled ineligible by the NCAA in the coming weeks, then the NFL Supplemental Draft would be an option for him.
And as you can see from the above, there is still a belief that if Sorsby is allowed to play next year, he would be a first-round pick, based on the early mock drafts for next year.
However, the clock is ticking. Sorsby has until June 22 to apply for the 2026 Supplemental Draft, and then the league would review the circumstances regarding his application. As noted by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Sorsby has hired attorney Jeffrey Kessler to try and maintain his college eligibility and perhaps speed up the process and/or negotiate a settlement on a suspension.
Which brings us to the latest development.
This story took another turn on Monday.
As first reported by ESPN Sorsby, through his attorneys, has filed for an injunction against the NCAA in Lubbock, Texas. In the filing, according to ESPN, Sorsby alleges that he is “currently ineligible to play for Texas Tech due to prior violations of the NCAA’s sports gambling rules” and that he would be “irreparably harmed” if the injunction were not granted.
It is worth noting that the NCAA has not issued any public statement, nor has the governing body made any penalty public. This would seem to indicate that Sorsby has been notified privately of a potential penalty from the NCAA.
In the injunction filing, which SB Nation has reviewed, Sorsby alleges that he suffers from a “clinically diagnosed” gambling disorder, and further states that is a “mental health condition.” The filing also alleges that the NCAA has “weaponized his condition to shore up a facade of competitive integrity, while simultaneously profiting from the very gambling ecosystem it policies.”
Furthermore, the filing states that:
When Mr. Sorsby took accountability for his NCAA gambling rules violations (which undisputedly did not raise any integrity issues, i.e., his bets did not threaten the fairness, honesty, and/or transparency of athletic competitions, or otherwise influence the outcome or athlete performance in those competitions), entered residential treatment, and offered to accept reasonable discipline (but not a full loss of eligibility for the upcoming season at Texas Tech), the NCAA responded not with the compassion its constitution (“Constitution” or “NCAA Constitution”) demands, but with stonewalling, pretextual information demands, delay, and silence. This is not what Texas law or common decency requires.
The filing also notes that “[t]ime is of the essence.” Specifically, Sorsby is in the final year of eligiblity, a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that, once lost, can never be recovered.”
Sorsby, through his attorneys, notes that:
If the NCAA refuses to reinstate him and he is not awarded temporary relief, Mr. Sorsby’s only alternative is the NFL Supplemental Draft, which requires him to opt in—and forgo any effort to restore his remaining college eligibility—by June 22, 2026. The NCAA has manufactured an impossible bind: it delays its reinstatement decision while the NFL deadline closes in, forcing Mr. Sorsby to choose between surrendering college eligibility he wants to retain, while risking the loss of a full year of competitive football entirely. This is not equity. Mr. Sorsby has diligently pursued every alternative avenue for relief, but he is not obligated to continue doing so in light of the irreparable harm he now faces. Only this Court can hold the NCAA to its own rules—and provide Mr. Sorsby and Texas Tech the timely relief they are owed.
The request for an injunction also seeks a hearing no later than June 15, so that “the Court has the opportunity to render a decision on his request for a temporary injunction prior to June 22, when Mr. Sorsby must determine whether to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft.”
![Brendan Sorsby’s gambling allegations could end his college football career. Is NFL Supplemental Draft next? Brendan Sorsby was one of college football’s highest-paid players in the transfer portal, and he was considered a possible first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. The 6’3 quarterback left Cincinnati for Texas Tech after a tremendous junior season for a reported sum of $5 million. Just when the Red Raiders were celebrating the addition of one of the country’s top QBs, Sorsby was caught up in gambling allegations that sent him to rehab and likely ends his college career.It now looks like the best bet for Sorsby’s immediate future is to turn pro through the NFL Supplemental Draft, which is expected to be held in mid July.What is the Supplemental Draft? How much interest would Sorsby really draw? Let’s dive into the history of the NFL’s other draft, with more context on what makes Sorsby such an enticing prospect.What is the NFL Supplemental Draft?What, exactly, is the NFL Supplemental Draft?Begun in 1977, the NFL Supplemental Draft is held for players that lost their remaining college eligibility after the league’s deadline to enter the NFL’s standard player entry draft. For those wondering, Al Hunter was the first player taken in an NFL Supplemental Draft in 1977, after the Notre Dame running back was suspended from the school for disciplinary reasons.Perhaps the most notable NFL Supplemental Drafts have been in 1985 and 1989. In March of 1985, Miami (FL) quarterback Bernie Kosar announced that he planned on skipping his final two years of college to enter the 1985 NFL Draft.But at that time, NFL rules only allowed college seniors and graduates to enter the NFL Draft. To work around this, Kosar had arranged an accelerated academic plan, where he would take 18 credits in the spring of 1985 and an additional six more in the summer, to meet the eligibility requirements.During his announcement Kosar, who grew up in Ohio as a Cleveland Browns fan, made it clear he wanted to play for his hometown team.However, Kosar was considered an elite prospect, and teams started angling for position in the first round for a shot at Kosar. Most notably the Minnesota Vikings executed a trade with the Houston Oilers to pick up a top pick in the first round, hoping to land Kosar.Cleveland, however, quietly executed a trade with the Buffalo Bills, acquiring Buffalo’s first pick in the 1985 Supplemental Draft in exchange for first-round picks in 1985 and 1986, as wells as a third round selection in 1985 and a sixth-round pick in 1986.Kosar did not meet the deadline to enter the 1985 NFL Draft, which came in April.That is when the rest of the league learned about Cleveland’s trade with the Bills. The Oilers threatened to sue to stop the 1985 NFL Draft from taking place, as Houston also wanted a chance to draft Kosar. Teams implored NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle to reverse the trade between the Browns and the Bills. The quarterback’s agent warned that he would sue the league if Kosar was forced to enter the traditional draft.Ultimately, Rozelle gave Kosar the choice between the two drafts, and the quarterback announced he was skipping the 1985 NFL Draft and entering the Supplemental Draft, where the Browns used their first selection to draft the quarterback.The 1989 NFL Supplemental Draft was notable for having three players selected in the first round — quarterbacks Steve Walsh and Timm Rosenbach, and running back Bobby Humphrey.To date, 46 players have been selected in an NFL Supplemental Draft, with safety Jalen Thompson in 2019 the most recent selection. Of those 46 players only one, wide receiver Cris Carter, has made the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Carter was suspended before his senior season for signing with an agent.How does the order work in the Supplemental Draft?The chaos around Kosar in 1985 forced the league to adjust how the order is determined for the Supplemental Draft.Previously, the order for the NFL Draft was the same as the order for the Supplemental Draft, but in the wake of Kosar, the league implemented the quasi-random ordering process that is in place today. Teams are divided into three pools — non-playoff teams with six or fewer wins, non-playoff teams with seven or more wins, and then the playoff teams — and teams “bid” on players, indicating in which round they would select that player. If no other team places a bid on a player in an earlier spot, then the team that placed the bid is awarded the player, and forfeits an equivalent pick in the next NFL Draft.So when the Arizona Cardinals drafted Jalen Thompson in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Supplemental Draft, they forfeited a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.Why might Brendan Sorsby need the NFL Supplemental Draft?All of this leads us to Brendan Sorsby.Last year at Cincinnati, Sorsby completed nearly 62% of his passes for 2,800 yards and 27 touchdowns, against just five interceptions. He also added another 580 rushing yards and nine touchdowns for the Bearcats. But he announced in December of last year that he was transferring, and became one of the most sought-after players in the portal. In fact, ESPN rated Sorsby as the top player in the transfer portal.In January, after visiting Texas Tech and LSU, Sorsby announced he was joining the Red Raiders, with projections indicating he might surpass $5 million in NIL money.Even in a crowded quarterback class for the 2027 NFL Draft, Sorsby was one of the favorites for a first-round pick next year. Consider this list from the various “way too early” mock drafts:USA TODAY Sports: No. 13 overall, Pittsburgh SteelersPro Football Focus: No. 8 overall, Pittsburgh SteelersCBS Sports: No. 8 overall, Pittsburgh SteelersBleacher Report: No. 10 overall, Atlanta FalconsNJ.com: No. 4 overall, Cleveland BrownsThen came word in late April that Sorsby was stepping away from Texas Tech to enter into a residential treatment program for a gambling addiction. A report from ESPN outlined that Sorsby made “thousands” of online bets across various sports via a gambling app, including games on Indiana football while Sorsby was a reserve quarterback for the Hoosiers. ESPN reported that Sorsby’s bets in 2022 were on Indiana to win games, and those bets did not include the one game where Sorsby saw the field for the Hoosiers.See if you can tell, courtesy of NFL Mock Draft Database, when this news emerged:Sorsby has not been ruled ineligible for the 2026 college football season, and the NCAA said in a statement to USA Today that the governing body would not comment on an ongoing investigation. But if he is ruled ineligible by the NCAA in the coming weeks, then the NFL Supplemental Draft would be an option for him.And as you can see from the above, there is still a belief that if Sorsby is allowed to play next year, he would be a first-round pick, based on the early mock drafts for next year.However, the clock is ticking. Sorsby has until June 22 to apply for the 2026 Supplemental Draft, and then the league would review the circumstances regarding his application. As noted by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Sorsby has hired attorney Jeffrey Kessler to try and maintain his college eligibility and perhaps speed up the process and/or negotiate a settlement on a suspension.Which brings us to the latest development.The injunction request, and what happens nextThis story took another turn on Monday.As first reported by ESPN Sorsby, through his attorneys, has filed for an injunction against the NCAA in Lubbock, Texas. In the filing, according to ESPN, Sorsby alleges that he is “currently ineligible to play for Texas Tech due to prior violations of the NCAA’s sports gambling rules” and that he would be “irreparably harmed” if the injunction were not granted.It is worth noting that the NCAA has not issued any public statement, nor has the governing body made any penalty public. This would seem to indicate that Sorsby has been notified privately of a potential penalty from the NCAA.In the injunction filing, which SB Nation has reviewed, Sorsby alleges that he suffers from a “clinically diagnosed” gambling disorder, and further states that is a “mental health condition.” The filing also alleges that the NCAA has “weaponized his condition to shore up a facade of competitive integrity, while simultaneously profiting from the very gambling ecosystem it policies.”Furthermore, the filing states that:When Mr. Sorsby took accountability for his NCAA gambling rules violations (which undisputedly did not raise any integrity issues, i.e., his bets did not threaten the fairness, honesty, and/or transparency of athletic competitions, or otherwise influence the outcome or athlete performance in those competitions), entered residential treatment, and offered to accept reasonable discipline (but not a full loss of eligibility for the upcoming season at Texas Tech), the NCAA responded not with the compassion its constitution (“Constitution” or “NCAA Constitution”) demands, but with stonewalling, pretextual information demands, delay, and silence. This is not what Texas law or common decency requires.The filing also notes that “[t]ime is of the essence.” Specifically, Sorsby is in the final year of eligiblity, a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that, once lost, can never be recovered.”Sorsby, through his attorneys, notes that:If the NCAA refuses to reinstate him and he is not awarded temporary relief, Mr. Sorsby’s only alternative is the NFL Supplemental Draft, which requires him to opt in—and forgo any effort to restore his remaining college eligibility—by June 22, 2026. The NCAA has manufactured an impossible bind: it delays its reinstatement decision while the NFL deadline closes in, forcing Mr. Sorsby to choose between surrendering college eligibility he wants to retain, while risking the loss of a full year of competitive football entirely. This is not equity. Mr. Sorsby has diligently pursued every alternative avenue for relief, but he is not obligated to continue doing so in light of the irreparable harm he now faces. Only this Court can hold the NCAA to its own rules—and provide Mr. Sorsby and Texas Tech the timely relief they are owed.The request for an injunction also seeks a hearing no later than June 15, so that “the Court has the opportunity to render a decision on his request for a temporary injunction prior to June 22, when Mr. Sorsby must determine whether to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft.” #Brendan #Sorsbys #gambling #allegations #college #football #career #NFL #Supplemental #Draft](https://i0.wp.com/platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-11-at-6.50.23AM.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=2400&ssl=1 "Brendan Sorsby’s gambling allegations could end his college football career. Is NFL Supplemental Draft next? Brendan Sorsby was one of college football’s highest-paid players in the transfer portal, and he was considered a possible first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. The 6’3 quarterback left Cincinnati for Texas Tech after a tremendous junior season for a reported sum of $5 million. Just when the Red Raiders were celebrating the addition of one of the country’s top QBs, Sorsby was caught up in gambling allegations that sent him to rehab and likely ends his college career.It now looks like the best bet for Sorsby’s immediate future is to turn pro through the NFL Supplemental Draft, which is expected to be held in mid July.What is the Supplemental Draft? How much interest would Sorsby really draw? Let’s dive into the history of the NFL’s other draft, with more context on what makes Sorsby such an enticing prospect.What is the NFL Supplemental Draft?What, exactly, is the NFL Supplemental Draft?Begun in 1977, the NFL Supplemental Draft is held for players that lost their remaining college eligibility after the league’s deadline to enter the NFL’s standard player entry draft. For those wondering, Al Hunter was the first player taken in an NFL Supplemental Draft in 1977, after the Notre Dame running back was suspended from the school for disciplinary reasons.Perhaps the most notable NFL Supplemental Drafts have been in 1985 and 1989. In March of 1985, Miami (FL) quarterback Bernie Kosar announced that he planned on skipping his final two years of college to enter the 1985 NFL Draft.But at that time, NFL rules only allowed college seniors and graduates to enter the NFL Draft. To work around this, Kosar had arranged an accelerated academic plan, where he would take 18 credits in the spring of 1985 and an additional six more in the summer, to meet the eligibility requirements.During his announcement Kosar, who grew up in Ohio as a Cleveland Browns fan, made it clear he wanted to play for his hometown team.However, Kosar was considered an elite prospect, and teams started angling for position in the first round for a shot at Kosar. Most notably the Minnesota Vikings executed a trade with the Houston Oilers to pick up a top pick in the first round, hoping to land Kosar.Cleveland, however, quietly executed a trade with the Buffalo Bills, acquiring Buffalo’s first pick in the 1985 Supplemental Draft in exchange for first-round picks in 1985 and 1986, as wells as a third round selection in 1985 and a sixth-round pick in 1986.Kosar did not meet the deadline to enter the 1985 NFL Draft, which came in April.That is when the rest of the league learned about Cleveland’s trade with the Bills. The Oilers threatened to sue to stop the 1985 NFL Draft from taking place, as Houston also wanted a chance to draft Kosar. Teams implored NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle to reverse the trade between the Browns and the Bills. The quarterback’s agent warned that he would sue the league if Kosar was forced to enter the traditional draft.Ultimately, Rozelle gave Kosar the choice between the two drafts, and the quarterback announced he was skipping the 1985 NFL Draft and entering the Supplemental Draft, where the Browns used their first selection to draft the quarterback.The 1989 NFL Supplemental Draft was notable for having three players selected in the first round — quarterbacks Steve Walsh and Timm Rosenbach, and running back Bobby Humphrey.To date, 46 players have been selected in an NFL Supplemental Draft, with safety Jalen Thompson in 2019 the most recent selection. Of those 46 players only one, wide receiver Cris Carter, has made the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Carter was suspended before his senior season for signing with an agent.How does the order work in the Supplemental Draft?The chaos around Kosar in 1985 forced the league to adjust how the order is determined for the Supplemental Draft.Previously, the order for the NFL Draft was the same as the order for the Supplemental Draft, but in the wake of Kosar, the league implemented the quasi-random ordering process that is in place today. Teams are divided into three pools — non-playoff teams with six or fewer wins, non-playoff teams with seven or more wins, and then the playoff teams — and teams “bid” on players, indicating in which round they would select that player. If no other team places a bid on a player in an earlier spot, then the team that placed the bid is awarded the player, and forfeits an equivalent pick in the next NFL Draft.So when the Arizona Cardinals drafted Jalen Thompson in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Supplemental Draft, they forfeited a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.Why might Brendan Sorsby need the NFL Supplemental Draft?All of this leads us to Brendan Sorsby.Last year at Cincinnati, Sorsby completed nearly 62% of his passes for 2,800 yards and 27 touchdowns, against just five interceptions. He also added another 580 rushing yards and nine touchdowns for the Bearcats. But he announced in December of last year that he was transferring, and became one of the most sought-after players in the portal. In fact, ESPN rated Sorsby as the top player in the transfer portal.In January, after visiting Texas Tech and LSU, Sorsby announced he was joining the Red Raiders, with projections indicating he might surpass $5 million in NIL money.Even in a crowded quarterback class for the 2027 NFL Draft, Sorsby was one of the favorites for a first-round pick next year. Consider this list from the various “way too early” mock drafts:USA TODAY Sports: No. 13 overall, Pittsburgh SteelersPro Football Focus: No. 8 overall, Pittsburgh SteelersCBS Sports: No. 8 overall, Pittsburgh SteelersBleacher Report: No. 10 overall, Atlanta FalconsNJ.com: No. 4 overall, Cleveland BrownsThen came word in late April that Sorsby was stepping away from Texas Tech to enter into a residential treatment program for a gambling addiction. A report from ESPN outlined that Sorsby made “thousands” of online bets across various sports via a gambling app, including games on Indiana football while Sorsby was a reserve quarterback for the Hoosiers. ESPN reported that Sorsby’s bets in 2022 were on Indiana to win games, and those bets did not include the one game where Sorsby saw the field for the Hoosiers.See if you can tell, courtesy of NFL Mock Draft Database, when this news emerged:Sorsby has not been ruled ineligible for the 2026 college football season, and the NCAA said in a statement to USA Today that the governing body would not comment on an ongoing investigation. But if he is ruled ineligible by the NCAA in the coming weeks, then the NFL Supplemental Draft would be an option for him.And as you can see from the above, there is still a belief that if Sorsby is allowed to play next year, he would be a first-round pick, based on the early mock drafts for next year.However, the clock is ticking. Sorsby has until June 22 to apply for the 2026 Supplemental Draft, and then the league would review the circumstances regarding his application. As noted by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Sorsby has hired attorney Jeffrey Kessler to try and maintain his college eligibility and perhaps speed up the process and/or negotiate a settlement on a suspension.Which brings us to the latest development.The injunction request, and what happens nextThis story took another turn on Monday.As first reported by ESPN Sorsby, through his attorneys, has filed for an injunction against the NCAA in Lubbock, Texas. In the filing, according to ESPN, Sorsby alleges that he is “currently ineligible to play for Texas Tech due to prior violations of the NCAA’s sports gambling rules” and that he would be “irreparably harmed” if the injunction were not granted.It is worth noting that the NCAA has not issued any public statement, nor has the governing body made any penalty public. This would seem to indicate that Sorsby has been notified privately of a potential penalty from the NCAA.In the injunction filing, which SB Nation has reviewed, Sorsby alleges that he suffers from a “clinically diagnosed” gambling disorder, and further states that is a “mental health condition.” The filing also alleges that the NCAA has “weaponized his condition to shore up a facade of competitive integrity, while simultaneously profiting from the very gambling ecosystem it policies.”Furthermore, the filing states that:When Mr. Sorsby took accountability for his NCAA gambling rules violations (which undisputedly did not raise any integrity issues, i.e., his bets did not threaten the fairness, honesty, and/or transparency of athletic competitions, or otherwise influence the outcome or athlete performance in those competitions), entered residential treatment, and offered to accept reasonable discipline (but not a full loss of eligibility for the upcoming season at Texas Tech), the NCAA responded not with the compassion its constitution (“Constitution” or “NCAA Constitution”) demands, but with stonewalling, pretextual information demands, delay, and silence. This is not what Texas law or common decency requires.The filing also notes that “[t]ime is of the essence.” Specifically, Sorsby is in the final year of eligiblity, a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that, once lost, can never be recovered.”Sorsby, through his attorneys, notes that:If the NCAA refuses to reinstate him and he is not awarded temporary relief, Mr. Sorsby’s only alternative is the NFL Supplemental Draft, which requires him to opt in—and forgo any effort to restore his remaining college eligibility—by June 22, 2026. The NCAA has manufactured an impossible bind: it delays its reinstatement decision while the NFL deadline closes in, forcing Mr. Sorsby to choose between surrendering college eligibility he wants to retain, while risking the loss of a full year of competitive football entirely. This is not equity. Mr. Sorsby has diligently pursued every alternative avenue for relief, but he is not obligated to continue doing so in light of the irreparable harm he now faces. Only this Court can hold the NCAA to its own rules—and provide Mr. Sorsby and Texas Tech the timely relief they are owed.The request for an injunction also seeks a hearing no later than June 15, so that “the Court has the opportunity to render a decision on his request for a temporary injunction prior to June 22, when Mr. Sorsby must determine whether to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft.” #Brendan #Sorsbys #gambling #allegations #college #football #career #NFL #Supplemental #Draft")
Brendan Sorsby was one of college football’s highest-paid players in the transfer portal, and he was considered a possible first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. The 6’3 quarterback left Cincinnati for Texas Tech after a tremendous junior season for a reported sum of $5 million. Just when the Red Raiders were celebrating the addition of one of the country’s top QBs, Sorsby was caught up in gambling allegations that sent him to rehab and likely ends his college career.
It now looks like the best bet for Sorsby’s immediate future is to turn pro through the NFL Supplemental Draft, which is expected to be held in mid July.
What is the Supplemental Draft? How much interest would Sorsby really draw? Let’s dive into the history of the NFL’s other draft, with more context on what makes Sorsby such an enticing prospect.
What, exactly, is the NFL Supplemental Draft?
Begun in 1977, the NFL Supplemental Draft is held for players that lost their remaining college eligibility after the league’s deadline to enter the NFL’s standard player entry draft. For those wondering, Al Hunter was the first player taken in an NFL Supplemental Draft in 1977, after the Notre Dame running back was suspended from the school for disciplinary reasons.
Perhaps the most notable NFL Supplemental Drafts have been in 1985 and 1989. In March of 1985, Miami (FL) quarterback Bernie Kosar announced that he planned on skipping his final two years of college to enter the 1985 NFL Draft.
But at that time, NFL rules only allowed college seniors and graduates to enter the NFL Draft. To work around this, Kosar had arranged an accelerated academic plan, where he would take 18 credits in the spring of 1985 and an additional six more in the summer, to meet the eligibility requirements.
During his announcement Kosar, who grew up in Ohio as a Cleveland Browns fan, made it clear he wanted to play for his hometown team.
However, Kosar was considered an elite prospect, and teams started angling for position in the first round for a shot at Kosar. Most notably the Minnesota Vikings executed a trade with the Houston Oilers to pick up a top pick in the first round, hoping to land Kosar.
Cleveland, however, quietly executed a trade with the Buffalo Bills, acquiring Buffalo’s first pick in the 1985 Supplemental Draft in exchange for first-round picks in 1985 and 1986, as wells as a third round selection in 1985 and a sixth-round pick in 1986.
Kosar did not meet the deadline to enter the 1985 NFL Draft, which came in April.
That is when the rest of the league learned about Cleveland’s trade with the Bills. The Oilers threatened to sue to stop the 1985 NFL Draft from taking place, as Houston also wanted a chance to draft Kosar. Teams implored NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle to reverse the trade between the Browns and the Bills. The quarterback’s agent warned that he would sue the league if Kosar was forced to enter the traditional draft.
Ultimately, Rozelle gave Kosar the choice between the two drafts, and the quarterback announced he was skipping the 1985 NFL Draft and entering the Supplemental Draft, where the Browns used their first selection to draft the quarterback.
The 1989 NFL Supplemental Draft was notable for having three players selected in the first round — quarterbacks Steve Walsh and Timm Rosenbach, and running back Bobby Humphrey.
To date, 46 players have been selected in an NFL Supplemental Draft, with safety Jalen Thompson in 2019 the most recent selection. Of those 46 players only one, wide receiver Cris Carter, has made the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Carter was suspended before his senior season for signing with an agent.
The chaos around Kosar in 1985 forced the league to adjust how the order is determined for the Supplemental Draft.
Previously, the order for the NFL Draft was the same as the order for the Supplemental Draft, but in the wake of Kosar, the league implemented the quasi-random ordering process that is in place today. Teams are divided into three pools — non-playoff teams with six or fewer wins, non-playoff teams with seven or more wins, and then the playoff teams — and teams “bid” on players, indicating in which round they would select that player. If no other team places a bid on a player in an earlier spot, then the team that placed the bid is awarded the player, and forfeits an equivalent pick in the next NFL Draft.
So when the Arizona Cardinals drafted Jalen Thompson in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Supplemental Draft, they forfeited a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
All of this leads us to Brendan Sorsby.
Last year at Cincinnati, Sorsby completed nearly 62% of his passes for 2,800 yards and 27 touchdowns, against just five interceptions. He also added another 580 rushing yards and nine touchdowns for the Bearcats. But he announced in December of last year that he was transferring, and became one of the most sought-after players in the portal. In fact, ESPN rated Sorsby as the top player in the transfer portal.
In January, after visiting Texas Tech and LSU, Sorsby announced he was joining the Red Raiders, with projections indicating he might surpass $5 million in NIL money.
Even in a crowded quarterback class for the 2027 NFL Draft, Sorsby was one of the favorites for a first-round pick next year. Consider this list from the various “way too early” mock drafts:
Then came word in late April that Sorsby was stepping away from Texas Tech to enter into a residential treatment program for a gambling addiction. A report from ESPN outlined that Sorsby made “thousands” of online bets across various sports via a gambling app, including games on Indiana football while Sorsby was a reserve quarterback for the Hoosiers. ESPN reported that Sorsby’s bets in 2022 were on Indiana to win games, and those bets did not include the one game where Sorsby saw the field for the Hoosiers.
See if you can tell, courtesy of NFL Mock Draft Database, when this news emerged:
Sorsby has not been ruled ineligible for the 2026 college football season, and the NCAA said in a statement to USA Today that the governing body would not comment on an ongoing investigation. But if he is ruled ineligible by the NCAA in the coming weeks, then the NFL Supplemental Draft would be an option for him.
And as you can see from the above, there is still a belief that if Sorsby is allowed to play next year, he would be a first-round pick, based on the early mock drafts for next year.
However, the clock is ticking. Sorsby has until June 22 to apply for the 2026 Supplemental Draft, and then the league would review the circumstances regarding his application. As noted by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Sorsby has hired attorney Jeffrey Kessler to try and maintain his college eligibility and perhaps speed up the process and/or negotiate a settlement on a suspension.
Which brings us to the latest development.
This story took another turn on Monday.
As first reported by ESPN Sorsby, through his attorneys, has filed for an injunction against the NCAA in Lubbock, Texas. In the filing, according to ESPN, Sorsby alleges that he is “currently ineligible to play for Texas Tech due to prior violations of the NCAA’s sports gambling rules” and that he would be “irreparably harmed” if the injunction were not granted.
It is worth noting that the NCAA has not issued any public statement, nor has the governing body made any penalty public. This would seem to indicate that Sorsby has been notified privately of a potential penalty from the NCAA.
In the injunction filing, which SB Nation has reviewed, Sorsby alleges that he suffers from a “clinically diagnosed” gambling disorder, and further states that is a “mental health condition.” The filing also alleges that the NCAA has “weaponized his condition to shore up a facade of competitive integrity, while simultaneously profiting from the very gambling ecosystem it policies.”
Furthermore, the filing states that:
When Mr. Sorsby took accountability for his NCAA gambling rules violations (which undisputedly did not raise any integrity issues, i.e., his bets did not threaten the fairness, honesty, and/or transparency of athletic competitions, or otherwise influence the outcome or athlete performance in those competitions), entered residential treatment, and offered to accept reasonable discipline (but not a full loss of eligibility for the upcoming season at Texas Tech), the NCAA responded not with the compassion its constitution (“Constitution” or “NCAA Constitution”) demands, but with stonewalling, pretextual information demands, delay, and silence. This is not what Texas law or common decency requires.
The filing also notes that “[t]ime is of the essence.” Specifically, Sorsby is in the final year of eligiblity, a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that, once lost, can never be recovered.”
Sorsby, through his attorneys, notes that:
If the NCAA refuses to reinstate him and he is not awarded temporary relief, Mr. Sorsby’s only alternative is the NFL Supplemental Draft, which requires him to opt in—and forgo any effort to restore his remaining college eligibility—by June 22, 2026. The NCAA has manufactured an impossible bind: it delays its reinstatement decision while the NFL deadline closes in, forcing Mr. Sorsby to choose between surrendering college eligibility he wants to retain, while risking the loss of a full year of competitive football entirely. This is not equity. Mr. Sorsby has diligently pursued every alternative avenue for relief, but he is not obligated to continue doing so in light of the irreparable harm he now faces. Only this Court can hold the NCAA to its own rules—and provide Mr. Sorsby and Texas Tech the timely relief they are owed.
The request for an injunction also seeks a hearing no later than June 15, so that “the Court has the opportunity to render a decision on his request for a temporary injunction prior to June 22, when Mr. Sorsby must determine whether to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft.”
Brendan Sorsby was one of college football’s highest-paid players in the transfer portal, and he was considered a possible first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. The 6’3 quarterback left Cincinnati for Texas Tech after a tremendous junior season for a reported sum of $5 million. Just when the Red Raiders were celebrating the addition of one of the country’s top QBs, Sorsby was caught up in gambling allegations that sent him to rehab and likely ends his college career.
It now looks like the best bet for Sorsby’s immediate future is to turn pro through the NFL Supplemental Draft, which is expected to be held in mid July.
What is the Supplemental Draft? How much interest would Sorsby really draw? Let’s dive into the history of the NFL’s other draft, with more context on what makes Sorsby such an enticing prospect.
What, exactly, is the NFL Supplemental Draft?
Begun in 1977, the NFL Supplemental Draft is held for players that lost their remaining college eligibility after the league’s deadline to enter the NFL’s standard player entry draft. For those wondering, Al Hunter was the first player taken in an NFL Supplemental Draft in 1977, after the Notre Dame running back was suspended from the school for disciplinary reasons.
Perhaps the most notable NFL Supplemental Drafts have been in 1985 and 1989. In March of 1985, Miami (FL) quarterback Bernie Kosar announced that he planned on skipping his final two years of college to enter the 1985 NFL Draft.
But at that time, NFL rules only allowed college seniors and graduates to enter the NFL Draft. To work around this, Kosar had arranged an accelerated academic plan, where he would take 18 credits in the spring of 1985 and an additional six more in the summer, to meet the eligibility requirements.
During his announcement Kosar, who grew up in Ohio as a Cleveland Browns fan, made it clear he wanted to play for his hometown team.
However, Kosar was considered an elite prospect, and teams started angling for position in the first round for a shot at Kosar. Most notably the Minnesota Vikings executed a trade with the Houston Oilers to pick up a top pick in the first round, hoping to land Kosar.
Cleveland, however, quietly executed a trade with the Buffalo Bills, acquiring Buffalo’s first pick in the 1985 Supplemental Draft in exchange for first-round picks in 1985 and 1986, as wells as a third round selection in 1985 and a sixth-round pick in 1986.
Kosar did not meet the deadline to enter the 1985 NFL Draft, which came in April.
That is when the rest of the league learned about Cleveland’s trade with the Bills. The Oilers threatened to sue to stop the 1985 NFL Draft from taking place, as Houston also wanted a chance to draft Kosar. Teams implored NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle to reverse the trade between the Browns and the Bills. The quarterback’s agent warned that he would sue the league if Kosar was forced to enter the traditional draft.
Ultimately, Rozelle gave Kosar the choice between the two drafts, and the quarterback announced he was skipping the 1985 NFL Draft and entering the Supplemental Draft, where the Browns used their first selection to draft the quarterback.
The 1989 NFL Supplemental Draft was notable for having three players selected in the first round — quarterbacks Steve Walsh and Timm Rosenbach, and running back Bobby Humphrey.
To date, 46 players have been selected in an NFL Supplemental Draft, with safety Jalen Thompson in 2019 the most recent selection. Of those 46 players only one, wide receiver Cris Carter, has made the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Carter was suspended before his senior season for signing with an agent.
The chaos around Kosar in 1985 forced the league to adjust how the order is determined for the Supplemental Draft.
Previously, the order for the NFL Draft was the same as the order for the Supplemental Draft, but in the wake of Kosar, the league implemented the quasi-random ordering process that is in place today. Teams are divided into three pools — non-playoff teams with six or fewer wins, non-playoff teams with seven or more wins, and then the playoff teams — and teams “bid” on players, indicating in which round they would select that player. If no other team places a bid on a player in an earlier spot, then the team that placed the bid is awarded the player, and forfeits an equivalent pick in the next NFL Draft.
So when the Arizona Cardinals drafted Jalen Thompson in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Supplemental Draft, they forfeited a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
All of this leads us to Brendan Sorsby.
Last year at Cincinnati, Sorsby completed nearly 62% of his passes for 2,800 yards and 27 touchdowns, against just five interceptions. He also added another 580 rushing yards and nine touchdowns for the Bearcats. But he announced in December of last year that he was transferring, and became one of the most sought-after players in the portal. In fact, ESPN rated Sorsby as the top player in the transfer portal.
In January, after visiting Texas Tech and LSU, Sorsby announced he was joining the Red Raiders, with projections indicating he might surpass $5 million in NIL money.
Even in a crowded quarterback class for the 2027 NFL Draft, Sorsby was one of the favorites for a first-round pick next year. Consider this list from the various “way too early” mock drafts:
Then came word in late April that Sorsby was stepping away from Texas Tech to enter into a residential treatment program for a gambling addiction. A report from ESPN outlined that Sorsby made “thousands” of online bets across various sports via a gambling app, including games on Indiana football while Sorsby was a reserve quarterback for the Hoosiers. ESPN reported that Sorsby’s bets in 2022 were on Indiana to win games, and those bets did not include the one game where Sorsby saw the field for the Hoosiers.
See if you can tell, courtesy of NFL Mock Draft Database, when this news emerged:
Sorsby has not been ruled ineligible for the 2026 college football season, and the NCAA said in a statement to USA Today that the governing body would not comment on an ongoing investigation. But if he is ruled ineligible by the NCAA in the coming weeks, then the NFL Supplemental Draft would be an option for him.
And as you can see from the above, there is still a belief that if Sorsby is allowed to play next year, he would be a first-round pick, based on the early mock drafts for next year.
However, the clock is ticking. Sorsby has until June 22 to apply for the 2026 Supplemental Draft, and then the league would review the circumstances regarding his application. As noted by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Sorsby has hired attorney Jeffrey Kessler to try and maintain his college eligibility and perhaps speed up the process and/or negotiate a settlement on a suspension.
Which brings us to the latest development.
This story took another turn on Monday.
As first reported by ESPN Sorsby, through his attorneys, has filed for an injunction against the NCAA in Lubbock, Texas. In the filing, according to ESPN, Sorsby alleges that he is “currently ineligible to play for Texas Tech due to prior violations of the NCAA’s sports gambling rules” and that he would be “irreparably harmed” if the injunction were not granted.
It is worth noting that the NCAA has not issued any public statement, nor has the governing body made any penalty public. This would seem to indicate that Sorsby has been notified privately of a potential penalty from the NCAA.
In the injunction filing, which SB Nation has reviewed, Sorsby alleges that he suffers from a “clinically diagnosed” gambling disorder, and further states that is a “mental health condition.” The filing also alleges that the NCAA has “weaponized his condition to shore up a facade of competitive integrity, while simultaneously profiting from the very gambling ecosystem it policies.”
Furthermore, the filing states that:
When Mr. Sorsby took accountability for his NCAA gambling rules violations (which undisputedly did not raise any integrity issues, i.e., his bets did not threaten the fairness, honesty, and/or transparency of athletic competitions, or otherwise influence the outcome or athlete performance in those competitions), entered residential treatment, and offered to accept reasonable discipline (but not a full loss of eligibility for the upcoming season at Texas Tech), the NCAA responded not with the compassion its constitution (“Constitution” or “NCAA Constitution”) demands, but with stonewalling, pretextual information demands, delay, and silence. This is not what Texas law or common decency requires.
The filing also notes that “[t]ime is of the essence.” Specifically, Sorsby is in the final year of eligiblity, a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that, once lost, can never be recovered.”
Sorsby, through his attorneys, notes that:
If the NCAA refuses to reinstate him and he is not awarded temporary relief, Mr. Sorsby’s only alternative is the NFL Supplemental Draft, which requires him to opt in—and forgo any effort to restore his remaining college eligibility—by June 22, 2026. The NCAA has manufactured an impossible bind: it delays its reinstatement decision while the NFL deadline closes in, forcing Mr. Sorsby to choose between surrendering college eligibility he wants to retain, while risking the loss of a full year of competitive football entirely. This is not equity. Mr. Sorsby has diligently pursued every alternative avenue for relief, but he is not obligated to continue doing so in light of the irreparable harm he now faces. Only this Court can hold the NCAA to its own rules—and provide Mr. Sorsby and Texas Tech the timely relief they are owed.
The request for an injunction also seeks a hearing no later than June 15, so that “the Court has the opportunity to render a decision on his request for a temporary injunction prior to June 22, when Mr. Sorsby must determine whether to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft.”
Brendan Sorsby was one of college football’s highest-paid players in the transfer portal, and he…
The complete NFL schedule for each team was released on Thursday night, and now we have a full picture of how things could shape up. There isn’t a lot when it comes to who “won” with their slate of games outside of favorable bye weeks, or easy opening runs to set up the season — but there are definitely a handful of teams who really got screwed over when it comes to their schedules.
These are the four teams that got an added layer of complexity added to their seasons due to scheduling.
The Cardinals will need to reconcile two opposing aims in 2026: Establishing Mike LaFleur as a winning coach, while also trying to ensure they tank the hell out of the season so they can find their quarterback of the future in the 2027 draft, because lol no, Carson Beck isn’t the answer.
It’s all well and good to say “just tank the year, and give LaFleur a season of grace,” but that’s easier said than done when you’re trying to establish a winning culture inside a locker room. The main issue is that there’s no good place on the Arizona slate where you can find them to at least grab a few wins and prove to themselves that the path is working.
An absolutely brutal run kicks the season off due to playing in the NFC West and getting a rough schedule as a result. Look at this opponent run up to the Week 14 bye: Chargers, Seahawks, 49ers, Giants, Lions, Rams, Broncos, Cowboys, Seahawks, Rams, Chiefs, Commanders, Eagles. That is just horrific for a team trying to find a way to win. I don’t know what the Cardinals did to deserve having FIVE divisional matchups before their bye.
The big thing with the Chargers’ slate is how well rested all of their opponents will be heading into their games. This chart really tells the whole story, with Los Angeles having an incredible 24 fewer days of rest over the course of the season compared to their opponents.
Not only this, but the Chargers have a bye week that falls too early in the season. They will be off Week 7, and still have the bulk of their games ahead of them. It’s especially rough when you factor in that the rest of the AFC West got fairly beneficial schedules for 2026 and that adds more difficulty for them.
The 49ers’ have two international games, kicking off in Australia against the Rams, then heading to Mexico City later in the season. That would be difficult enough with irregular travel adding to the challenges of playing in the NFC West, but San Francisco also had a brutal run after their game against the Vikings in Mexico City, which comes at a critical time when they will be eyeing the playoffs.
From Week 13 until the end of the season here are their opponents in order: Seahawks, Giants, Rams, Chargers, Chiefs, Eagles, Cardinals.
The only gimme on the slate is Arizona, with so many tough games coming on the road to the playoffs. It’s incredibly easy to hit a skid, lose confidence, and limp into the playoffs at best. In addition, the 49ers have some brutal travel with their trip to Australia, as well as heading cross-country to New York and Atlanta. Overall this was just a brutal lineup of games.
This has much less to do with the fact that the Bears face the toughest strength of schedule in the NFL, and far more to do with their game scheduling. Across the 17 game regular season we see Chicago play five games in primetime, two with 4:25 p.m. ET kickoffs, and they play on both holidays. This means that over half the season sees Chicago moving around days, slots, and zones — which is really difficult when you’re trying to build routine and consistency.
Obviously, Ben Johnson is the kind of coach who can get solid performances out of his players, but there’s no doubt this is a tricky way to operate in a season with all the pressure of national games, the attention they bring, and changing up preparation from week to week. Throw that in with a tough opponent slate and it might be tricky for the Bears to have as much success this season.
The complete NFL schedule for each team was released on Thursday night, and now we have a full picture of how things could shape up. There isn’t a lot when it comes to who “won” with their slate of games outside of favorable bye weeks, or easy opening runs to set up the season — but there are definitely a handful of teams who really got screwed over when it comes to their schedules.
These are the four teams that got an added layer of complexity added to their seasons due to scheduling.
The Cardinals will need to reconcile two opposing aims in 2026: Establishing Mike LaFleur as a winning coach, while also trying to ensure they tank the hell out of the season so they can find their quarterback of the future in the 2027 draft, because lol no, Carson Beck isn’t the answer.
It’s all well and good to say “just tank the year, and give LaFleur a season of grace,” but that’s easier said than done when you’re trying to establish a winning culture inside a locker room. The main issue is that there’s no good place on the Arizona slate where you can find them to at least grab a few wins and prove to themselves that the path is working.
An absolutely brutal run kicks the season off due to playing in the NFC West and getting a rough schedule as a result. Look at this opponent run up to the Week 14 bye: Chargers, Seahawks, 49ers, Giants, Lions, Rams, Broncos, Cowboys, Seahawks, Rams, Chiefs, Commanders, Eagles. That is just horrific for a team trying to find a way to win. I don’t know what the Cardinals did to deserve having FIVE divisional matchups before their bye.
The big thing with the Chargers’ slate is how well rested all of their opponents will be heading into their games. This chart really tells the whole story, with Los Angeles having an incredible 24 fewer days of rest over the course of the season compared to their opponents.
Not only this, but the Chargers have a bye week that falls too early in the season. They will be off Week 7, and still have the bulk of their games ahead of them. It’s especially rough when you factor in that the rest of the AFC West got fairly beneficial schedules for 2026 and that adds more difficulty for them.
The 49ers’ have two international games, kicking off in Australia against the Rams, then heading to Mexico City later in the season. That would be difficult enough with irregular travel adding to the challenges of playing in the NFC West, but San Francisco also had a brutal run after their game against the Vikings in Mexico City, which comes at a critical time when they will be eyeing the playoffs.
From Week 13 until the end of the season here are their opponents in order: Seahawks, Giants, Rams, Chargers, Chiefs, Eagles, Cardinals.
The only gimme on the slate is Arizona, with so many tough games coming on the road to the playoffs. It’s incredibly easy to hit a skid, lose confidence, and limp into the playoffs at best. In addition, the 49ers have some brutal travel with their trip to Australia, as well as heading cross-country to New York and Atlanta. Overall this was just a brutal lineup of games.
This has much less to do with the fact that the Bears face the toughest strength of schedule in the NFL, and far more to do with their game scheduling. Across the 17 game regular season we see Chicago play five games in primetime, two with 4:25 p.m. ET kickoffs, and they play on both holidays. This means that over half the season sees Chicago moving around days, slots, and zones — which is really difficult when you’re trying to build routine and consistency.
Obviously, Ben Johnson is the kind of coach who can get solid performances out of his players, but there’s no doubt this is a tricky way to operate in a season with all the pressure of national games, the attention they bring, and changing up preparation from week to week. Throw that in with a tough opponent slate and it might be tricky for the Bears to have as much success this season.
The complete NFL schedule for each team was released on Thursday night, and now we…