Cam Ward Will Get More Attention Soon

I’ve now seen 22 teams over the past four weeks, and that gives us plenty to cover this week in The MMQB Takeaways …

What you can’t see watching Cam Ward might be why everyone will be paying more attention to him soon. You know the narrative—there may never have been a more ignored rookie quarterback taken No. 1 in the draft than the Titans’ new starter.

There are theories about why. The fact that he plays in Nashville is a factor, as is the simple fact that the Shedeur Sanders story arc unfolding before us in Cleveland is much juicier and, as such, taking all the oxygen out of the rookie-quarterback room. That Ward himself is so soft-spoken and never played on the biggest college football stages is part of it, too.

The reality of Ward’s situation, though, is that none of that really matters for him or his team.

What does matter is actually taking place at 5:30 a.m., most mornings, in the Titans’ facility. Back in June, we told the story of Ward holding these meetings for the rookie skill-position players, most prominently the team’s draft picks at receiver (Chimere Dike, Elic Ayomanor), tight end (Gunnar Helm) and running back (Kalel Mullings). And those meetings, where Ward goes over the day’s practice script and the guys watch film together, are still going.

“To his credit, I’ve seen players come in during the offseason, in the spring, and they’re all gung ho—I’m gonna do this, and I’m gonna be here until eight o’clock,” Titans coach Brian Callahan told me. “And it lasts for a little bit. And, sometimes, it definitely falls away, and by the time you get to training camp, they’re right back in the normal routine like most players are. But Cam’s been impressive—he hasn’t. He hasn’t changed, and he probably never will.

“That’s just who he is. And that’s always cool when you can say, O.K., this is for real, this is who he is, it’s not an act, this is just his process. For a player his age to have a routine and a process that he sticks to is also impressive. A lot of guys are trying to figure it out—they’re trying to figure out what it looks like for them, and Cam very much already knows what it is.”

It’s been one of the best signs, and there have been a lot of good ones, that the Titans have gotten over the past four months that they got the first pick in the draft right. And the key, as Callahan said, is that it’s not some sort of try-hard act, which Ward can back up with the fact that he hardly just came up with it.

In fact, he actually brought it with him from college, thinking that the basis for it working at that level would easily apply in the pros.

“[The idea] really didn’t just come to me—I just did it, honestly,” Ward said. “Obviously, it’s helped me learn faster. At Washington State and Miami, it helped me build a process faster and also gave me more time to look at tape, being able to see different looks and coverages, and all that.”

As those experiences built a library of football knowhow in Ward’s head, and to those around him, the practice and his application of it revealed a very high football IQ.

Callahan’s been around enough quarterbacks to know what that looks like. He had Peyton Manning in Denver, Matthew Stafford in Detroit, Derek Carr in Oakland, and, most recently, Joe Burrow in Cincinnati. Dealing with Manning in his twilight was, obviously, pretty different from coaching Burrow in his NFL infancy. But there was commonality between all the guys on that list in their ability to handle whatever the coaches threw at them.

And, yes, Ward has it, too.

“I’ve been fortunate to be around really, really sharp quarterbacks,” Callahan said. “He belongs in the same conversation, in terms of his ability to conceptualize, understand, apply. That’s the key part. There are a lot of guys who can hear you and understand it. His ability to apply it in the moment pretty quickly after he learns it is impressive. And that’s where it’s been cool to have these different experiences with these quarterbacks, and I got them all at different points of their careers, and they all have different bases of knowledge, but they all play the position the way you’re supposed to.”

In this case, for Callahan, the most applicable example for Ward would be Burrow.

In 2020, the then rookie joined a team that was the worst in football the year before, with a young, second-year coaching staff returning. Ja’Marr Chase wasn’t there yet, and the offensive line was a mess. They were a year away from having a Super Bowl team, but no one knew it at the time—and a lot was on Burrow to turn things around. Burrow played well, gave Cincinnati some hope, then tore his ACL in November.

As such, Callahan has pulled out 2020 Bengals tape for Ward to study, showing him what Burrow did well that year, in what particular situations, and what Burrow was harsh with himself over. Callahan, for his part, is also using that experience (all the good and the bad) with Burrow to inform how he brings Ward along.

“It was interesting having the experience with Joe, because Joe, while he was certainly a prodigy, there were still things he was learning,” Callahan said. “But he was similar in that it didn’t take him long to learn it, and he could apply and process it really fast. And Cam is the same way. People ask all the time, the comparison—where they’re most similar is their ability to take the information, understand it, process it and then apply it without having to go through the ringer. They can just do it.”

And, again, for Ward, the process of getting himself there starts pretty early in the morning.

He’s building himself up. He’s building chemistry with teammates. He’s helping build a team.

“It helps me with everything,” Ward said. “Like, just me knowing where I want the receivers. Because I’ll never coach a receiver on how they run a route—as long as they get open, I don’t care. But it is about being in a certain spot when I need you to be there, just for timing purposes. … It builds relationships, as well. My position and the receiver position, it’s gotta be one of the most chemistry-driven relationships in the facility.”

Those, as Callahan said, are just two of a host of things Ward already has a keen understanding for. Which, of course, doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll make it and become an NFL star. 

But it sure should give him a nice head start in trying to get there.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni has some unique perspective on coming back off a championship. And a lot of it actually comes from before he even graduated college.

Sirianni was a receiver at Mount Union from 2000 to ’03. He was there at the height of the D-III power’s dynasty. He was part of national title teams his first three years. He was 55–0 going into the title game against St. John’s in ’03, with the Purple Raiders bidding for a fourth consecutive title. Mount Union lost the game, which means Sirianni’s first loss as a college football player came in his last game as a college football player.

Maybe that’s why, as he prepared to turn the page on the Eagles’ Super Bowl, his first call was to his college coach, the legendary Larry Kehres, who went 332-24-3 and won 11 national titles over 27 seasons. After all, few know more about the sort of spot that Sirianni is now in as a coach than the one he played for.

“He talked about a couple different things, but one thing in particular was when you get a new guy that’s coming into being a starter,” Sirianni said, relaxing on the couch inside his office before Wednesday’s practice with the Browns. “He talked about graduation and losing starters—sometimes, with those guys, you end up being like, Whoa, where was this guy? And they surprise.”

That, Sirianni continued, can help send the message to everyone that the current year’s team is a new one, with the previous year’s squad off to the record books.

The Eagles have a fair amount of that going on, particularly on defense. Milton Williams, Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham, Darius Slay and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson are no longer around, which opens the door for young vets such as Moro Ojomo, Jalyx Hunt, Kelee Ringo and Sydney Brown to play bigger roles. Ditto, on offense, for guard Tyler Steen stepping into the void left by Mekhi Becton. So, in these cases, Sirianni can lean into what’s happened organically.

Then, there are the more intentional pieces that Kehres raised to Sirianni.

The first was to embrace that the makeup of the team could be different, too. Kehres used examples of Mount Union’s titles in 1997 and ’98, coming in a run of seven championships in eight years. The first of those two was won with an offensive juggernaut—the Raiders scored a modern-day record 752 points in 14 games (53.7 per game). The second sustained significant graduation losses on that side, which meant Kehres had to lean on his defense early on. He did, and the offense would come around, and the result was the same.

The second example was even easier to accomplish.

“He talked about it like, Last year? Don’t talk about it,” Sirianni said. “I think he even said to me, Don’t wear the shirts. Instead, really look at it and go back to doing the things that got you there.”

What’s made that easier for Sirianni has been the infrastructure he has in place with guys such as Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith, Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, Zack Baun and Reed Blankenship—who don’t need to be told to do things that way, or to bring their teammates along with them in that effort.

So, yes, Sirianni did address last year in the spring. But since the start of camp, according to those there, it hasn’t been raised with the players once. Because the Eagles did their ring ceremony just before camp, and that was really the last time, within the confines of the team, that it even came up.

By the way, Kehres was just the first in a series of folks that Sirianni talked to about all this. He also reached out to Nick Saban, Geno Auriemma, Jay Wright, Peyton Manning, Nick Nurse and, when he came to visit camp, caught up with Jimmy Johnson on the topic. But he says the best advice might have actually come from his old defensive assistant Matt Patricia, who was on three Super Bowl–winning staffs in New England.

“A lot of people made really good points,” Sirianni said. “But it has to be what Matt Patricia said—you’re not defending anything. You’re not the heavyweight champion that still has the belt. Everyone’s 0–0. You don’t retain your belt until someone beats you. No, you start your season fresh, and you’re 0–0. You’re not defending anything. Don’t let anyone tell you you’re defending anything. You’re going out there and seeing if you can go 1–0 each week.”

We’ll see how it looks when Sirianni and his reigning (not defending) champs hit the field two weeks from Thursday night.

Joe Flacco is going to be the Browns’ starting quarterback. The 40-year-old warhorse came into the summer with a lead—and the first tell was how the coaches essentially gave him a first-round bye through the first phase of their QB competition in the spring. The second is how training camp has unfolded.

I maintained going in that there really was no way to have a competition where you get four guys equal reps and still have a chance to build your offense in a way that works for the other 10 guys in the huddle. As such, from the jump, the pecking order was clear. Flacco and fellow vet Kenny Pickett got the majority of the first-team reps, Dillon Gabriel got a few and Shedeur Sanders was more of the developmental guy for the Browns.

Injuries have somewhat altered that since, but the order, just in terms of the amount of work each guy is getting, hasn’t changed. And starting Flacco makes a ton of sense.

I understand fans who think a team in transition, like this Browns team, would be better off getting a look at its future than treading water with one of the oldest players in the league playing the most important position. However, in the NFL’s real world, you have a roster full of players who aren’t concerned with what your team looks like in two or three years. While that roster is still playing relevant football, you have to give them the best chance to win by putting the best players out there—or else you risk losing them.

The guys know Flacco is their best option, so Kevin Stefanski has to give it to them. For now, anyway. Having been at the Browns-Eagles joint practice Wednesday, it was pretty clear Flacco still has a lot of juice in his arm and command of Stefanski’s offense. Pickett, at this point, hasn’t practiced enough to overtake him. The rookies aren’t there yet.

The dynamic here could change.

One way would be that one of the rookies overtake the vets. The other would be that the season gets to a point where the playoffs are unrealistic, and that’s when it’s all right for coaches to start playing different guys—veterans do understand that part of it.

If you look at the first six games of the Browns’ schedule, you could see how that could happen earlier than it might for most teams. So if it does … where do the rookies stand now?

Sanders got the first crack at playing. As we’ve said, he had a lot of catching up to do when he reported in May, and he’s worked hard at getting there. His ability to operate the offense was behind the other three, and that’s why giving him first-team reps wouldn’t be fair to the veterans who are preparing for the season.

That said, he did some nice things in the preseason opener. It was mostly against the Panthers’ backups, and with the Browns’ baseline concepts, but he showed good instincts, accuracy and improved pocket movement—keeping his eyes downfield while he bought time for his receivers to become uncovered. He passed the test the Browns put in front of him and, as a result, the team planned to put more on his plate last week before he got hurt.

That injury opened the door for Gabriel to get extended time Saturday against the Eagles (he was playing against backups, too). He ran a smooth operation and played very efficiently, throwing accurately and into tight windows on the second level of the defense. He threw a pick-six that was a result of a spacing issue, so that one wasn’t totally on him. Overall, it was a good afternoon for Gabriel, at least as the staff saw it.

Soon, and maybe really soon, I see both being relegated to backup spots. The Browns are comfortable keeping four quarterbacks. Assuming there’s not a big trade market for Pickett, both could wind up being game-day inactives in Week 1. Which would mean this story that everyone has been obsessing over would go away for a while.

But … probably not for good.

I think Michael Penix Jr. has a shot to have a very big year. There are a couple of plays from his short cameo at the end of the 2024 season that I think illustrate why the Falcons think so, too.

The twist is, upon first glance, you might not know it.

• The first one came with 22 seconds left in the first half of the season finale against the Panthers. At the snap, Carolina showed a split-safety look, then rotated the safeties late to Cover 3. That alerted Penix to make Ray-Ray McCloud III, running a corner route on the backside of the play, his primary target. Penix then saw the corner to that side initially stayed down on an underneath route, and quickly unleashed a bomb to McCloud for a 42-yard gain, before the free safety could get over to him. It set up a touchdown two plays later to give the Falcons a 24–17 lead at the half.

• The second was also in that game, on first-and-15 with 10:47 left in the fourth quarter and the ball at the Panthers’ 16. If you watch the play, you can see the hitches. Penix is rifling through the progression—one, two, three, four, five. The result was a checkdown to Bijan Robinson, with space for Robinson to make a move and pick up five yards. How fast he saw the field was key. Carolina had everything covered. There were two defenders waiting for Robinson in the flat. Had Penix been a tick slower, they had Robinson dead to rights. Instead, Atlanta tied the game two plays later.

Both display what so many at Falcons camp see as Penix’s superpower, as I was told when I was there.

His field vision and processing speed are already at a high, if not elite, level. On the first play, those qualities allowed him to quickly diagnose a late change in the coverage and exploit it for a big gain. On the second, they allowed for Penix to collect a positive gain on a play that probably should’ve resulted in nothing—or worse. It was also the second time in three starts he’d gotten to No. 5 in his progression. For context, there are veterans, and good players at the position, who don’t get that deep into their progressions twice in a season.

Add to that Penix’s high-end arm strength, and ability to change speeds on his ball, and you can see why Raheem Morris’s Rams-centric staff got Matthew Stafford vibes studying and working out the ex-Washington quarterback before the draft, and why those have only gotten stronger since. He may not have all the arm angles or game-tested savvy that Stafford has yet, but there’s plenty of reason to be excited about where he’s headed.

He’s also playing behind a veteran line, has one of the best running backs in football behind him, and a solid group of receivers and tight ends alongside and well …

I’m getting to the point where I’d be buying Penix stock if someone was selling it.

The two lines of scrimmage tell the story of the Texans. In my opinion, it’s that DeMeco Ryans and Nick Caserio have the organization in a really good place. But it comes with a caveat, if we’re talking specifically about how far that will take the team in 2025.

So let’s dive in on that …

• The defensive line might be the best position room in the NFL—and I know how strong a statement that is. Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter are elite edge players. They have Denico Autry, Derek Barnett and Darrell Taylor behind them, all of whom have real pass-rush value. And inside, if they get healthy, they have similar depth with Sheldon Rankins, Tim Settle Jr., Mario Edwards Jr., Foley Fatukasi and Tommy Togiai.

I think they’ll keep 10 defensive linemen, and I think this defense is going to generate chaos, both on the front end (with sacks) and back end (with a top-shelf secondary, led by star corners Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter, creating turnovers).

The defense, to me, is also indicative of the way the Texans have weaved young and old into a lot of their position rooms, pulling every lever to try to build a champion. Receiver is another example of it, where you have a star No. 1 in Nico Collins and then an accomplished vet newcomer (Christian Kirk) competing with a younger vet (Xavier Hutchinson) and a couple of rookies (Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel) for playing time.

• The offensive line, meanwhile, might be as important a position group as any team has in the league—in that it could turn the Texans into a threat to break into the AFC’s elite group (they’ve been scraping up against that glass ceiling), or it could hold their season hostage.

In 2024, things got toxic in the room, so Caserio and Ryans made a significant change. Maybe Laremy Tunsil wasn’t the problem, but he also wasn’t going to be the solution, so he was traded to the Commanders, and the Texans started over. Now, like along the D-line, they have 10 guys competing, but for worse reasons. Can two starting tackles emerge from the group of Trent Brown, Cam Robinson, Blake Fisher and Aireontae Ersery? Who will start on the interior from the crew of Tytus Howard, Laken Tomlinson, Jarrett Patterson, Ed Ingram, Juice Scruggs and Jake Andrews?

One certainty is that Howard will start. He could play tackle if need be. Ersery is trending toward playing one of the tackle spots, too. The rest is still up in the air. My feeling is if new OC Nick Caley and line coach Cole Popovich get this figured out, C.J. Stroud will have a monster year and Houston will become a real threat to come out of the AFC. But that’s a big if.

So, the Texans are really interesting—and those two units are an illustration of why.

One thing I’ve found interesting the past couple of years is seeing the impact that Pete Carroll’s had on the NFL. There’s this one warmup drill, in particular, that I think typifies it. On its face, it’s a normal bag drill, with players doing high knees, side shuffles and other agility work—the kind you might see at any level of the game.

The difference with this one is the speed at which it’s conducted. It’s quite literally a race.

You have two groups, in most cases split by offense and defense, going through the drill at warp speed. The idea is to see which side can complete the work the fastest. It’s effective in getting guys’ energy up for practice, gets the team in and out of warmups faster, and more efficiently, and creates a fun element to what usually would be a pretty tedious activity for the group.

Anyway, you see Dan Quinn doing it in Washington, Brian Schottenheimer doing it in Dallas, Carroll himself doing it in Las Vegas and Dave Canales doing it in Carolina. It’s just one of a lot of elements with Carroll’s marks across the NFL (the Seahawks, under Ravens-bred coach Mike Macdonald, still have loud music and competitions in the meeting room). It’s one of those things you pick up on being at camps for a month, and I thought of it as I was talking to Panthers people Thursday, as I got to know their team a little better.

Canales, of course, probably has more background with Carroll than anyone in the league. The Panthers’ coach was brought into the world of big-time football by Carroll at USC in 2009, followed him to Seattle and worked his way from being an assistant strength coach with the Trojans to eventually becoming the Seahawks’ quarterbacks coach. He spent 14 seasons working for Carroll, and you can see all of it showing up in his build of Carolina.

The words that kept coming up in the way they described the newcomers to the roster: edgy, tough, competitive, relentless. It was hard not to tie it to what Canales was part of in Seattle.

After two offseasons with Canales, GM Dan Morgan and EVP Brandt Tilis at the helm, the roster is stocked with guys like that. It’s holdovers such as Chuba Hubbard, Austin Corbett, Derrick Brown, Adam Thielen and Jaycee Horn. It’s acquisitions such as Robert Hunt, Damien Lewis, Rico Dowdle, A’Shawn Robinson, Tershawn Wharton, Mike Jackson and Tre’von Moehrig. It’s with draft picks like Nic Scourton and Lathan Ransom, and young guys like Xavier Legette, Tetairoa McMillan and Princely Umanmielen allowing the program to bring it out of them.

It also applies to Bryce Young, for what it’s worth. As is the case with McMillian and a lot of other California-born players, Young’s drive looks a little different than it does with some other guys. But last year, it came out toward the end of the year, when the coaches noticed Young becoming more comfortable—and the staff tried to celebrate that.

Such celebrations aren’t uncommon, either. Just over the weekend, in the game against the Texans, receiver David Moore fumbled in the middle of the field, and reserve lineman Jarrett Kingston, a 2024 waiver claim from the 49ers, aggressively pounced on the ball. It was a play that the coaches highlighted for everyone in their meetings on Sunday.

So will it be enough to dig Carolina out of a seven-year playoff drought? Obviously, it’ll take a lot more than just that. But what can be said is everyone in Carolina is moving in lockstep, and they have a modest 2–1 bump from the end of a 5–12 season last year to build off. Carroll’s program has translated to success elsewhere in the past, which should give folks in Charlotte hope that there’s now light at the end of what’s been a dark tunnel.

Cam Heyward’s contract dispute highlights how new deals for veterans aren’t done in a vacuum. Fans can get frustrated with these things, and I get that. No one follows football looking for an economics lesson. But teams have rules, and draw lines for a reason, and the situation in Pittsburgh is a good explainer on why so often they can be rigid.

Just imagine being Heyward.

You’re going into your 15th season. You’ve given the franchise everything, but always were a bit shy of the top of the market. There was a six-year, $59.2 million extension done in 2015, then a four-year, $65.6 million extension in ’20, and most recently a two-year, $29 million deal to take Heyward through ’26 that looked like it could be his final contract as a pro when he signed it in ’24. Add it to his first-round rookie deal, and Heyward’s made over $130 million in his 14 seasons as an NFL player.

Again, that’s good money. But since he signed that deal, he’s seen the Steelers give T.J. Watt a new deal at the top of the nonquarterback market, sweeten Jalen Ramsey’s deal as part of a trade with the Dolphins and extend DK Metcalf as part of another trade with Seattle.

Those guys are all making a lot more than Heyward (as is Aaron Rodgers, for that matter). No one has the sweat equity Heyward does with the franchise. Heyward is now down to what are probably his last bites of the financial apple as an athlete. Pittsburgh is all-in for this year, with Heyward a big part of the equation.

So if you put together Heyward’s investment in the franchise, the franchise’s actions this offseason, his place in the financial pecking order and his leverage to get what he wants with so much on the line this year—asking for more makes sense.

That’s just business, the same way it would be if it was time for the team to say goodbye to the grizzled old vet. And, yes, they’ll wind up figuring something out.

The Colts’ quarterback decision is coming, and I’d pay close attention to what Shane Steichen has said over and over again in what he’s looking for in the competition. The coach was pretty clear with me (and others) about that from the start. He was also clear with Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones.

“I sat them both down. I talked about the consistency of the operation, not making mistakes on a continual basis. And the guy who does that will end up being the starter,” Steichen said, when we sat down in late July. “The way the reps have worked out, they both get reps with the ones every day. And the reason I’m doing that is because you might have a third-down day and I don’t want one guy to get all the third downs. Same thing with red zone and all that as we go through this thing. So rotating it that way, hopefully, it’ll show itself soon.

“It’s not making the same mistake twice, getting in and out of the huddle, making the right checks, audibles, all the things that we go over in the meetings and then making it all come to life here on the practice field.”

To me, the play Richardson dislocated his finger on in the preseason opener in Baltimore was pretty revealing. The result, of course, was unfortunate. However, it was also the result of Richardson—in his third year in the offense—failing to recognize the pressure, or that he was hot, and not unloading the ball quickly as he’d be expected to. Jones hasn’t been perfect, either, but I would say, based on what I’ve heard, he’s been less prone to mistakes like the one above by Richardson.

This is a critical year in Indy. There’s been an ownership change. The head coach is in his third year and hasn’t made the playoffs. The GM is in his ninth year and hasn’t won a very winnable division, with just one playoff win (seven years ago) on his ledger.

It’s winning time for those guys, and they see a team that had the league’s 29th-ranked defense last year and 29 giveaways last year, more than all but two other teams, and still won eight games. The hope is that new defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo can clean up the first of those issues. The quarterback has to be a big part of cleaning up the second one.

Right now, I’d say Jones is probably more equipped to be that guy, and the quarterback who’ll give Steichen what he’s clearly said he’s looking for.

It’s in the best interest of everyone to settle the Rashee Rice case now. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported the other day that the league wanted a 10-game suspension for Rice for the accident he caused street racing last year. Rice’s side has argued, after he pleaded guilty to two third-degree felonies (he was sentenced to 30 days in jail), that there’s no precedent for that length of suspension. So a hearing has been set for Sept. 30.

Waiting that long serves no one. The NFL, to me, should be motivated to come down on Rice here, if for no other reason than street racing has become a significant problem, not just with pro football players, but college football players as well. Putting a serious deterrent in place makes sense, given the gravity of the issue. At the same time, it’s also understandable that Rice’s camp wouldn’t want him to pay the price of being the example.

However, if they keep this case going into October—and it’s likely that a decision would take a little time after the hearing—that’s good for no one.

On the NFL side, it becomes a story connected to one of their most prominent teams. The Chiefs have four stand-alone prime-time games in the first six weeks of the season. If Rice is playing, the case would be a hard-to-avoid topic on those broadcasts (although we’ve seen some broadcasters in the past willfully avoid talking about stuff like this, which is another issue for another day).

On Rice’s side, let’s say he loses his appeal on Oct. 10. That would mean he wouldn’t be eligible to return until the Chiefs’ Christmas Day game against the Broncos, giving him minimal time to ramp up for the playoffs with his teammates. Which wouldn’t be good for him, or the championship-driven franchise he plays for.

So, yes, everyone needs to get together and figure it out. Preferably, for the NFL, before that first stand-alone game in Brazil, two weeks from this coming Friday.

We’re winding down to our last few camp stops. And we have the quick-hitters for you now …

• I’d say it’s fair to be concerned about Matthew Stafford’s back issue. As we said over the past couple of weeks, the Rams spent most of camp exhibiting as much caution as they could, not wanting to take unnecessary risk along the way—and having Jimmy Garoppolo gave them flexibility to let Stafford get back to 100%. Then, he worked out before the Rams’ first preseason game, and everything’s been quiet since. The opener is in 20 days against the Texans. There’s still time, and Stafford’s gotten past elbow and wrist injuries that were cause for concern in the recent past. But … yeah, that things got knocked off track the past couple of weeks, combined with how badly he wants be out there, should have your radar up.

• I believe Brian Daboll when he says he’s sticking with Russell Wilson as the Giants’ starting quarterback. But what Jaxson Dart—who’s been as impressive in practice as he is in preseason games—is doing now is shortening the leash on Wilson, should the veteran struggle when the season gets going. Dart has picked up the offense on the practice field and is translating it over to game day, where he has shown presence, instincts and toughness.

• The combination of Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers in a Chip Kelly offense is going to be something to see. Right off the jump in the team’s game against the 49ers, on the offense’s first play from scrimmage, Kelly split Bowers to the right, got him isolated on safety Ji’Ayir Brown and Geno Smith threw up a jump ball that Bowers easily collected for a 28-yard gain. The play showed Bowers’s unique skill set for a tight end, but also the versatility and football IQ to play different spots, which should also help open things up for Jeanty.

• The Patriots’ style of play under Mike Vrabel is evident even in a preseason setting, and you can see it in the way rookies TreVeyon Henderson and Efton Chism III are moving with the ball in their hands. There’s a violence and aggression to the way Vrabel’s teams played in Tennessee, and that it’s already showing up in preseason games is a pretty good sign on the direction of the team.

• Bengals OC Dan Pitcher said this week: “I believe Chase Brown is a top-10 running back in the league.” And based on what I heard when I went through there, I’d believe him. Brown rounded out his skill set with a lot of work this offseason in the passing game, and after being part of a committee last year, there’s little question whom the Bengals regard as their lead dog at the position. Brown’s going to get the ball a lot, and will be running into a lot of light boxes geared to stop Joe Burrow and Cincinnati’s high-octane aerial attack.

• If this is it for Calais Campbell—the Cardinals’ veteran defensive linemen said he’d be surprised if this wasn’t his last season—then I hope the big guy gets everything he wants out of 2025. You won’t find many better pros in sports than Campbell, who’s now back with the team that drafted him all the way back in ’08.

• I think Eagles backup QB Tanner McKee is going to generate some trade interest ahead of the Aug. 26 cutdown. I also think it’d take a lot for Philly to deal him—the Eagles are excited about where their 2023 sixth-round pick is headed going into his third season.

• Terry McLaurin getting back on the practice field is a good sign for the Commanders in a lot of different ways. Sometimes, these things need deadlines, and the big one is coming.

• The timing of the Browns’ pursuit of Isaiah Bond wasn’t great—Bond was just cleared in a sexual assault case, and the news that he could be signed came on the heels of rookie Quinshon Judkins being cleared of a domestic violence accusation. I can say there were folks, internally, who weren’t comfortable with it, particularly when combined with the team’s recent history with players facing such accusations.

• The Jets are excited about Braelon Allen, and Saturday night gave those on the outside a good illustration as to why. 

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