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| Thursday, July 18, 2024 |
| Welcome to what we have unofficially dubbed "training camp week." Summer break is about over as most rookies are set to report for their franchises this week, while one team in the Houston Texans is already completely underway, with their first day of training camp taking place on Wednesday. |
| Before we jump into all the news and notes to digest, go ahead and subscribe to our newsletter right here, and make sure to tell your friends and family to check it out as well. Let's jump in. |
| 1. Top NFC QBs under pressure entering 2024 |
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| Every starting quarterback is under pressure every season, but there are some who are really feeling the heat. Daniel Jones has to prove that the New York Giants made the right decision in sticking with him, Jared Goff has to keep the Detroit Lions in contention after he was awarded a massive contract extension this offseason and then No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams has everyone talking about the Chicago Bears. But who are the top five NFC quarterbacks under pressure entering 2024? |
| That's what our man Cody Benjamin sat down to figure out this week, and he included an interesting name in Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts: |
| "One year after landing a then-record $255 million deal, and two years after going toe-to-toe with Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl, Hurts isn't going anywhere. He's still got top-tier mettle as the even-keeled face of the Eagles. Still, there is immense pressure on Philadelphia to capitalize on an all-world skill group and return to title contention following a historic 2023 collapse. That starts with Hurts, whose more mercurial follow-up to 2022's breakout helped facilitate Kellen Moore's arrival as the new offensive coordinator. Hurts' trajectory in the new system could determine the fate of coach Nick Sirianni as well." |
| For Benjamin's full list, click here. |
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| 2. NFL players who would excel in Olympic events |
| The 2024 Summer Olympics begin this month, so Josh Edwards created a list of NFL players who would dominate in specific events for our country. It's a pretty creative project. Check out some of the connections he made: |
| Equestrian: LB Devin White, Eagles |
| "Growing up in rural Louisiana, White learned to ride horses at an early age and has had a passion for it ever since. He now owns several horses and a property to house them. There are multiple elements of equestrian, like dressage, cross country, jumping, etc. ... so White could focus on one discipline." |
| Freestyle wrestler: DL Gable Steveson, Bills |
| "Steveson is the only gold medalist on this list. He won the medal in the 125kg weight class as part of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. Steveson was a two-time national champion wrestler at Minnesota and is now using his leverage exposure to deconstruct blocks in the NFL." |
| Golf: WR Adam Thielen, Panthers |
| "It is often the quarterbacks that find the most success playing golf, but Thielen is well-documented as being a great golfer. Thielen has played in several pro-am tournaments to this point in his career, including a seventh-place finish at last weekend's American Century Championship over players such as Harrison Smith, Derek Carr, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan and Josh Allen. One report stated that his handicap is a 0.6." |
| For Edwards' full list, click here. |
| 3. Terrell Owens' comeback bid ignored by Tom Brady? |
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| Remember when Tom Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and several other free agents followed him to Florida? Every point scored by the Bucs in that Super Bowl LV victory was scored by a player who wasn't on the team the year prior -- down to kicker Ryan Succop! There was another star player who wanted to join Brady in Tampa, but he was apparently ignored. |
| During a recent appearance on the "Bubba Dub Show," Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens said that he reached out to Brady in 2021 to ask for a shot to play on the Bucs in the playoffs, but Brady never responded. |
| "Tom Brady ignored me," Owens said, via Pro Football Talk. "The year that AB went crazy ... they just needed somebody to fill some holes with AB leaving at the receiver position. I reached out to him through Randy [Moss] and some other people, just to come in and play third down and red zone situations. This dude ignored me. It just shows you the lack of respect there, but then when they get in front of you they want to act like they respect you." |
| Check out our full story on this wild claim, here. |
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| 4. Every NFL team's biggest roster hole entering 2024 |
| Just because training camp is here doesn't mean the offseason is over. We can expect to see some surprise cuts and more movement in free agency in the coming weeks, as every NFL team could stand to improve in some way before we get to August. |
| This week, Jared Dubin took a look at where each of the league's 32 teams are still lacking. Division-by-division, he highlighted the biggest roster hole or question mark for every squad in the NFL. Here's what he wrote for the AFC North: |
| Baltimore Ravens: Offensive line shuffleCincinnati Bengals: Running back/Tight endCleveland Browns: QuarterbackPittsburgh Steelers: Quarterback/Wide receiver |
| "The Ravens seemingly always figure things out up front; but with Morgan Moses, Kevin Zeitler and John Simpson leaving, and Ronnie Stanley both experiencing lingering effects of his knee issues and not playing at as high a level as he once did, there are a lot of balls up in the air. The Bengals moved on from Joe Mixon and are looking to replace him with Zack Moss (who has looked like a starter-quality back for like three or four weeks during his career) and Chase Brown, who didn't get on the field much last year. And they are the latest team to try Mike Gesicki at tight end. There's a lot of uncertainty there. |
| "Deshaun Watson hasn't been good since 2020. It is wholly unreasonably to count on him being good this year. Can the Browns keep winning if he keeps disappointing? And then the Steelers both no longer have Diontae Johnson to soak up targets, and are counting on either a Russell Wilson bounceback or Justin Fields taking a significant step. Either of those things feels pretty dicey." |
| To read Dubin's full list, click here. |
| 5. UFL drafts six QBs, including two from Indianapolis Colts |
| The United Football League held its 2024 UFL College Draft Wednesday, and five teams dipped into NFL rosters to address the quarterback position. A total of six quarterbacks were drafted, headlined by Jason Bean at No. 1 overall, and John Rhys Plumlee at No. 3 overall. The other signal-caller selected were Kedon Slovis, Rocky Lombardi, Tanner Mordecai and Sam Hartman. |
| These quarterbacks were eligible to be selected by UFL teams because they went undrafted in the 2024 NFL Draft. What's interesting is that two Colts quarterbacks were selected in Bean and Slovis. Maybe Indy's front office has an eye for quarterbacks with potential. |
| For Benjamin's breakdown on what's next for these UFL draft picks, click here. |
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| 6. Extra points! |
| Jaguars introduce 'Prowler' throwback jerseysFive breakout candidates for Patriots in 2024 Why Darius Slayton believes Giants rookie Malik Nabers is a clone of Ja'Marr ChasePackers training camp preview: Storylines, players to watch, top position battles, what to know |
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