I’m on my NFL training camp tour visiting camps all over the country. But you sent me your questions and I’ll give you my answers. Let’s go!
From gm18 (@Gm18Louis): If the Saints wind up with the No. 1 pick, what are the chances that Arch Manning decides to come out and play for his hometown team?
GM, I like the question, because I do think it has merit.
Now, I’m on the record on two things. First, I don’t think Arch Manning intends to declare for the 2026 draft. There is, of course, history with his uncles exhausting their college eligibility before becoming No. 1 picks, as well as the track record of how he and his immediate family have handled his career in an old-school manner. There’s also not enough to go on, outside of physical ability, to deem him first-pick worthy at this point.
Does he have the size, athleticism and arm strength to get there? Sure. Did he look really good in the action he got last year? Yes. But there’s this assumption that he has all this athletic ability on top of what his uncles had in terms of feel for playing the position and ability to translate football IQ to the field, and that’s a big assumption, in my mind at least, to make on a player with two college starts. For what it’s worth, I think the Mannings would agree with that assessment at this point.
Your premise, though, would make things interesting. If Manning plays well enough to be a lock to be the first pick by the time we get to January. There’s an enticing situation in front of him (New Orleans is, of course, his hometown, and the Saints do have some nice young pieces on offense already, plus a new quarterback-friendly head coach), so I guess it’s possible he could decide to go pro.
From Sara McNamee (@Sara__No_H): Who will be the Browns’ starting QB?
Sara, I feel like this is the question I’ve been asked more than any other over the past three months. My answer, as things stand right now, would be Joe Flacco.
That answer is based on how Flacco’s presence has resonated with his teammates, how the coaches more or less gave him what I’ve called a first-round bye through the spring in the quarterback competition, and his experience in Kevin Stefanski’s system. On the flip side, because his practice reps have been so limited, and while the coaches have confidence in him, it’s hard to say exactly how effective he’s going to be.
I’d reiterate, then, what I’ve said for a few months now, and that’s that Shedeur Sanders still has the most ground to make up, and starting Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel would likely lead to more scheme/play-calling adjustments versus what it would be with Flacco or Sanders taking the snaps. Which, to me, indicates it’d be best if the Browns could narrow the competition early in camp, if it doesn’t happen right away.
From AtticusFinch (@Atticus58113746): Chances either rookie QB for Browns goes to practice squad?
Atticus, the Browns could try that, but it’d be risky. Any team then would have the chance to add a quarterback on a rookie deal at no additional cost via the waiver wire. Let’s say, for argument’s sake, a team had a fourth-round grade on Sanders, but spent its fourth-round pick in April on another player because that player was higher on the board. If Sanders, then, were available on waivers at the cutdown (Aug. 27), with the Browns getting him to the practice squad, that other team would have a chance to get a second fourth-round pick.
For that reason, to me, to try and get either Gabriel or Sanders through waivers, you’d have to be at the point where it’d be hard to see the quarterback in question making a tangible contribution to the team for the foreseeable future. If there was another young player at another position of need, it’d be easier to keep that player than one of the quarterbacks.
Either way, it wouldn’t reflect well on the camp performance of the guy hitting waivers.
From Gambling Avenger (@GamblingAvenge1): Has the NFL completely abandoned Canada as part of their international push?
Avenger, this is an interesting question. The Bills played games annually in Toronto from 2008 to ’13, and the last of those—a 34–31 overtime loss to the Falcons on Dec. 1, ’13—was the most recent regular season game the NFL played on Canadian soil.
The reality of it comes down to what everything else comes down to with the NFL, and that’s the opportunity to make money. The league sees it in a huge way in Europe, South America and Australia. That’s why the NFL’s so deeply invested in London, having played games in Munich, Frankfurt and São Paulo, and is going to Berlin, Munich and Dublin this year, and is headed for Melbourne next year.
Canada, on the other hand, is somewhat similar to Mexico in its NFL presence. Suppose they can put games there; that would be great. However, I’m not sure they see as much money to be made, and in both places there are established fan bases that aren’t going away, which they may take for granted to a degree.
From MR (@MRKemp71) What was your greatest Ozzy Osbourne moment or memory? If you don't have one, go with that.
I’ll give you a football-related one. Ozzy played live after Green Day at the first NFL game I ever covered, the 2005 Kickoff Game between the Patriots and Raiders, performing Crazy Train—New England’s long-standing entrance song—as the home team came out.
From Noel P. DC Destiny (@RonaldoNoNo89): How important do you think it is for Terry McLaurin to be in the fold during training camp as they work out a new deal?
Noel, I think it’s essential for every player to be in camp, but for McLaurin, maybe less so.
He’s nearly 30, is the ultimate pro, and has been in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense for a year now, and had a career-high 13 touchdowns in it in 2024. Kingsbury’s worked to streamline the offense, and lean into its strengths from last year, so it’s not like he’ll return to a group looking to reinvent the wheel whenever his contract situation is settled.
I’d say the thing I’d be concerned about is keeping him healthy while he’s being ramped up whenever he gets back (we’ve seen holdouts and hold-ins get hurt in recent years after returning to practice). But I’d bet he’ll be ready whenever the time comes.
From Maxwell Hagedorn (@Hagedornmax): Do you think players will ever get fully guaranteed deals? If so, who will be the first?
Maxwell, the first fully guaranteed contract of this era, was Kirk Cousins’s deal with the Vikings in 2018. Then, of course, there was the Deshaun Watson deal in ’22. After each, I was asked if this was the beginning of a paradigm shift. In each case, I said it depends on the next set of deals done.
The reality is that no CBA in major North American sports mandates that all players have guaranteed contracts, or that they can’t have them. In baseball, basketball and hockey, players got there through individual negotiations, which set market precedents and standards. In football, they’ve failed to get there through individual talks.
That’s why the collusion case was so important to the NFLPA, at least until Lloyd Howell took the reins. The Watson deal—a fully guaranteed, five-year, $230 million contract—was only going to be a trend-setter if it started a trend. Instead, as evidence showed, the NFL’s management council and the commissioner actively discouraged owners from following the Browns’ lead. Then, the tenor of Russell Wilson’s negotiation in Denver changed, and the ill-fated text conversation between owners Dean Spanos and Michael Bidwill happened.
So, the only way it happens is one contract at a time. And based on the owners’ determination not to let it happen, I’d be surprised if it came any time soon.
From Joe (@Losers_Limp): Are other teams around the league surprised about Josh Simmons’s injury recovery? Was it expected that he would be back for OTAs and to start training camp? If it was known he was going to be a full participant in camp, where would he have gotten drafted?
Joe, during the winter, I don’t think anyone thought he’d be full go to start training camp. The idea, as I’d heard it, was maybe he could be back at some point in August after sustaining the torn patellar tendon last October, an injury that’s more serious than even a torn ACL, and is even harder on big men. And, yes, that certainly was part of the picture, though not the only one, in Simmons sliding to the bottom of the first round.
That said, the Chiefs have an established, championship program that can help a player like Simmons mature, and afford him the time to recover if needed. Which is to say, they were positioned to take him in the first round in a way a lot of other teams weren’t.
Call it a side benefit of their success. And one that could fix the left tackle issue that haunted them through the balance of the 2024 season.
From Kent Schrag (@TheBlockO): Were others passing on Shemar Stewart because of his agent?
Kent, no. I think it was more that the production didn’t match the talent with Stewart.
From doug mccready (@dgmccready): Lions addressed the interior DLine in the draft but did not add an edge other than bringing back Davenport. Is this a huge miss by Holmes?
Doug, they’re pretty high on Marcus Davenport right now. He looks faster, more fluid and more athletic than he has on tape at any point over the past three or four years. They’re legitimately excited about where he’s at. But the big question is, of course, whether he can stay on the field. While he’s worked his tail off, the fact remains that he’s never played a full season without missing a game, and has only played in six over the past two years.
If he doesn’t work out, the Lions always have the option to make an in-season move like they did last year in acquiring Za’Darius Smith. And Aidan Hutchinson, for what it’s worth, actually looks better than he did before his injury, according to the people in Detroit.
From brandon (@JayDanielsMVP): What’s the hold up with Terry not getting paid? Is his age the main factor why the team doesn’t want to pay over $30M?
Brandon, I’d say this is pretty simple. He will be turning 30 in September, the receiver market has exploded, and he’s coming off a career year. This might be his final bite of the financial apple.
If you’re the Commanders, how far do you take the guarantees? Are you willing to go into the 30s like the Jets just did with Garrett Wilson? At what level are you comfortable with McLaurin’s projected production in 2027, when he will be 32?
I think this gets done. McLaurin means too much to the franchise, and vice versa. He’s perfect for what coach Dan Quinn and GM Adam Peters have worked to build over the last 18 months. Even if he loses a mile or two off his fastball, because of his work ethic, talent and the type of game he plays, I think it’s unlikely that Washington will regret a deal they do with him now. So, it’ll get done. Sometimes, it’s just messy getting there.
From Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25): Hey, Albert, the Jets have been handing out contract extensions to keep their core. An interesting dilemma exists on the horizon, with both of their starting guards set to be free agents in 2026: John Simpson and Alijah Vera-Tucker. Do they sign either to deals before the season or even midseason? Or do they let things play out this year and figure it out in 2026 when they're free agents?
Paul, I’d say, Simpson, you let go, and Vera-Tucker is in the Breece Hall bucket, where you explore getting a deal done now, with the knowledge that it may or may not work out. With Wilson and Sauce Gardner now done, GM Darren Mougey has a bunch of negotiations like that on his plate. Which is a challenge, of course, but also a good sign that the cupboard wasn’t left bare by Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as NFL Mailbag: Why Arch Manning Could Declare for the Draft If Saints Have No. 1 Pick.
