I’ve got separate pieces up on the site with my takeaways and one on Patrick Mahomes’s extension. To wrap up your Monday, here are some quick-hitters …
Tennessee Titans
A lot of teams shut things down for the summer by the end of last week, but Titans coach Robert Saleh decided to continue his first offseason program in Nashville into this week, the last week allotted for teams to do it. He had an interesting reason—there’s a quirk in the calendar.
This is the year we happened to go from having the earliest possible Labor Day (which was Sept. 1, 2025) to having the latest possible Labor Day (Sept. 7, 2026). Labor Day, of course, dictates the start of the NFL season, which always comes the weekend after that, which is why this year we’ll have the latest Super Bowl ever, in the sixth season of the 17-game format. That’ll come on Valentine’s Day in Inglewood. Meanwhile, the end of the previous season determines when teams can start their offseason program.
So this is the year the gap between the NFL’s spring and summer is biggest.
For that reason, Saleh decided that having a few things this week, just to keep what everyone learned in his first offseason fresh enough in everyone’s minds for camp, would be the smart move. It’s a little thing, sure. And maybe one that only interests me, but one that also could be beneficial for an exceedingly young team.
Unsigned draft picks
Just two first-round picks remain unsigned, and both are the quarterbacks, the Raiders’ Fernando Mendoza and the Rams’ Ty Simpson. Quarterbacks, of course, have the power to ask for different provisions in their contracts, and it’ll be interesting to see what concessions Mendoza can score (and whether that might trickle down to Simpson).
Falcons’s QB battle
It’s at least interesting that Kevin Stefanski and his crew haven’t steered anyone away from the idea that Tua Tagovailoa will have a shot to come in and swipe the starters’ job from Michael Penix Jr. Penix, as we’ve said, has done everything but 11-on-11 work. And, of course, it’ll be tough for the new guys to get a full read on him until they see him in that setting.
Broncos’ stability
It’s amazing the stability that the Broncos suddenly have with Sean Payton and George Paton both signed through 2030, and the wealthiest ownership group in the NFL in place. It wasn’t long ago that the franchise was in a decade-long post–Peyton Manning malaise, with no answer at quarterback, infighting in ownership and instability in football ops. Good on Greg Penner’s group for getting so much fixed in such a short period of time.
Seahawks’ sale
While we’re there, Seattle has fallen a bit behind the timeline set by Denver in 2022 and Washington in 2023, when it comes to a team sale. The Walton-Penner family entered into an agreement to purchase the Broncos on June 7, 2022. Josh Harris finalized his agreement to buy the Commanders on May 12, 2023. Both were approved at special midsummer league meetings. That said, I still think there’s a chance someone like Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos or Celtics investor Aditya Mittal will be approved by the season opener.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Joe Burrow restructure does illustrate the shift the Bengals have made this offseason, and the urgency they have after three seasons out of the playoffs. I, for one, am on board with the idea that Dexter Lawrence II could wind up being this offseason’s best player acquisition.
Dontayvion Wicks
I’ll continue to say that I wouldn’t sleep on Dontayvion Wicks as a key piece to the Eagles’ puzzle to replace A.J. Brown. Talent was never his issue in Green Bay.
Lions’ OL
Since we mentioned Frank Ragnow in the takeaways, mark me down as having Lions center Cade Mays as a key under-the-radar guy for training camp. If the import from the Panthers delivers on his promise, and Detroit gets its line back closer to where it was pre-2025, then Dan Campbell has a very real contender again. And Ragnow was more important to make that whole group, which was at the center of the team’s DNA, go than most people realize.
Aaron Brewer
Speaking of centers, Aaron Brewer’s three-year, $52.5 million extension in Miami affirms what a lot of people in the league know—he’s a freakish talent who quietly became an All-Pro level player at the position last year.
Wanya Morris
Finally, the Chiefs’ trade of Wanya Morris to Atlanta didn’t garner much attention, but I do think it’s a good sign that they’re pretty comfortable with where Josh Simmons and Jaylon Moore are at tackle, which is a pretty big deal considering what they’ve been through at that position over the past two years.
