NFL Fallout Week 8: Ravens Must Plan For A Future Without Lamar Jackson

Superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson once looked like he was headed toward a lucrative contract extension after this season. Some thought he might even be the first NFL player to hit $70 million per year. Such a deal once looked like a no-brainer for the Baltimore Ravens. But they can’t possibly justify giving him a contract like that anymore. Because as valuable as Jackson may be as a player, he is becoming more of a liability with his never-ending list of injuries. The Ravens quarterback has now torpedoed a second straight season in Baltimore after suffering what might be a season-ending thumb injury on his first pass Sunday in what resulted in a 36-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Baltimore's Week 8 showdown with Buffalo was supposed to be Jackson's grand return from a high ankle sprain that cost him three games. But instead of riding in like the cavalry and saving his team's season, he will instead land on injured reserve. And that leaves the Ravens reeling, again. They're now 1-3 when Jackson doesn’t play (or barely plays) this season, after going 2-2 last year when he was sidelined by hamstring and back injuries. (It's worth noting the Ravens went 1-4 without Jackson in 2021 and missed the playoffs entirely. In 2022, they went 2-4, which includes a wild-card loss.) Of course, even after he returned last season, he wasn’t the same player. He slumped in the passing game and wasn’t nearly as effective rushing. Baltimore went 5-4 in his final nine starts, losing its division lead and a playoff berth in the regular-season finale. And that’s the problem. A fully healthy Jackson is as good a quarterback as there is in football, but over the past two seasons he’s rarely been healthy. So the Ravens have to be concerned about his long-term future. He’s 29 now, and injury issues don’t usually get better with age. In a league where, as the cliché goes, availability is the best ability, they can’t hand him a $300 million-plus deal and spend the next half decade keeping their fingers crossed. That’s not to say the Ravens should be done with Jackson — not by a long shot. It was just three years ago that he won his second MVP award. Two years ago, he was runner-up. He’s always a threat to give an MVP-worthy performance when he’s on the field. But who knows at this point if he can ever get back to that level, or sustain it for long if he does? That’s why Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta must start thinking about the future and preparing for life without Lamar. Here's how, specifically: Let Jackson play on the final year on his contract in 2027 and prove he can stay on the field, while also identifying and grooming his potential replacement. Then, if Jackson stays healthy and looks like MVP self again in the first half of next season, the Ravens have options. They can try negotiating to bring him back on a somewhat reasonable deal. If that looks unlikely, they can always try and trade him before the 2027 deadline to a club that will give him what he wants (since Jackson has a no-trade clause). Or the Ravens can ride out his comeback campaign before letting him hit free agency. But at least by then they’ll be ready to move on if they have to. It’s an expensive and tricky play, of course. Jackson is due $51.25 million in salary and an $8 million Option bonus next season, when his cap hit will be an enormous $84.3 million. And with no extension — and no agent to help him out — it seems doubtful Jackson would be willing to help them out and restructure some of that cap hit into the three voidable years already in his deal. And the closer they push him toward free agency in March 2028, the less of a chance there will be that his next deal will be reasonable. He also has a clause in his contract that prohibits the Ravens from using the franchise tag on him. It’s possible that $70 million per year could look like a bargain for a player like him by then. But Jackson would be 31 by then, and there’s just no erasing his extensive injury history. Sure, it would hurt the franchise to watch a player as great as Jackson walk away. But it would hurt Baltimore even more to pay him as he stands on the sidelines. The Ravens have done way too much of that in four of the past six seasons and they should be tired of it by now. Jackson may be an integral part of their franchise, but they can’t afford to tie themselves down to an oft-injured quarterback. He may be capable of lifting them to great heights, but his constant absences just keep dragging them down. The shame of the Minnesota Vikings season is that they seem to have one of those truly special defenses capable of carrying a mediocre quarterback all the way to the Super Bowl. If only they had a mediocre quarterback. Kyler Murray is proving to be something worse. That’s why it’s time the Vikings end this quixotic experiment and do whatever they can to trade for a quarterback before the deadline next Tuesday. And their target seems obvious. They need to call the Raiders and try to shake Kirk Cousins free. Cousins, at age 38, is playing some of the best football of his career for a Raiders team that is going nowhere, even after they got back to .500 with a 38-35 win over the Jets on Sunday. He’s been a valuable addition for Las Vegas. He’s helped jumpstart new coach Klint Kubiak’s program. But he’s not the future and the Raiders aren’t going to sustain any success against a schedule that is about to get especially tough. But Cousins could help the Vikings straighten out an offense that has been one of the NFL’s worst despite occasional flashes of competence from the 29-year-old Murray. Overall, Murray has barely been an adequate game manager. Yes, he’s thrown only three interceptions, but he’s also thrown just five touchdown passes. The Vikings can’t survive in the postseason with a paltry output like that. And they have too many offensive weapons to keep letting Murray waste them. Justin Jefferson remains one of the league’s best wideouts. Receiver Jordan Addison, tight end T.J. Hockenson and running back Aaron Jones are dangerous, too. But Murray just can’t hit them with any regularity. He’s hesitant in the pocket, erratic under pressure, and most of his throws to even open receivers are painfully off the mark. Yes, the Vikings are 6-1, as Murray has done just enough to win on a few occasions. But more often than not, he hurts them, like he did Sunday in their first loss of the season at Detroit. Murray’s numbers looked OK — 17 of 29, 210 yards, two TDs, one interception — but his actual performance was ugly. He was missing targets constantly, despite opportunities being there. These Vikings should have a championship in their sights, and they just can’t count on Murray to lead them there. Carson Wentz, his backup, didn’t look like a viable option, either. But Cousins could be. And he wouldn’t take long to get up to speed since he was thriving in Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell's offense before tearing his Achilles midway through the 2023 season. Cousins might be a bit expensive, especially since the Raiders have given no indication they’re ready to trade him and hand over the reins to rookie Fernando Mendoza. The cost shouldn’t matter to the Vikings, though. They’ve never won a Super Bowl, and they haven’t been to one in 50 years. Their defense is giving them a real chance to end that drought this year. They can’t put a price on that. Jerry Jones has been hinting at defensive changes for weeks, even threatening to do something with his "old man" money to fix it. But at this point he only has one option and has to stop resisting it: He needs to fire defensive coordinator Christian Parker. It may be the only way to salvage the Cowboys’ season and save head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s job. The final straw should have come on Sunday when the Cowboys blew a 17-3 lead in the second half, ultimately losing 33-30 in overtime to the lowly Cardinals. The floodgates somehow opened when backup QB Gardner Minshew replaced Jacoby Brissett and led the Cardinals on four straight touchdown drives while covering 288 yards. The Cards added 44 more yards on their way to the game-winning field goal, but by then, the damage had been done. The Cowboys are averaging 27.4 points per game, but they are still just 3-5, staring at the backsides of the New York Giants in the standings solely because their high-priced defense stinks. The only trade Jones can make to fix this is to swap out Parker for Mike Pettine, the veteran coordinator who was hired as a senior assistant three weeks ago. Maybe he’ll have better luck than the 34-year-old Parker, who increasingly looks like an overmatched first-year coordinator. If nothing else, Pettine would give the Cowboys a much-needed fresh look. There is no shortage of teams interested in running back Jonathan Taylor if the Indianapolis Colts decide to trade him. But no team needs to get him more than the Green Bay Packers. It’s not just that the 27-year-old Taylor could be a huge boost to the Packers’ pathetic rushing attack, which is averaging a league-worst 60.6 yards per game. It’s clear that three-time Pro Bowler Josh Jacobs isn’t worth the tiny boost he can give them. He also might not be available much longer after the revelation over the weekend that three women had previously accused him of domestic violence, separate from the incident that landed him on the Commissioner’s Exempt List for the first six games of this season. The NFL says its investigation into Jacobs remains open and they’re looking into the new information. The Packers seem unlikely to do the right thing and punish him or cut him themselves. But he didn’t give them the kind of production in his first two games to make it worth the public relations flak they're facing. Acquiring Taylor would give them a clean break, not to mention one of the best running backs in football to go with a quarterback (Jordan Love) who is having an elite season and a strong defense that is about to get star pass-rusher Micah Parsons back. Taylor could be the missing piece for the Packers in more ways than one. The Colts apparently want a package similar to what the Panthers got when they traded Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers four years ago: a second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-round pick. It’s a high price to pay, but it would be worth it to both as a means to move on from Jacobs while getting their struggling running game on track. The Denver Broncos still have a Bo Nix problem. Yes, they are 6-2 and one of the best teams in the AFC. But the third-year QB looks nothing like he did a year ago when he helped lead Denver to the AFC Championship Game. The Broncos have now won four straight after rallying to beat the Chiefs, 28-24, on Sunday. Head coach Sean Payton continued to find ways to squeeze just enough out of his offense, and Vance Joseph’s defense made it hold up with a terrific, game-ending goal-line stand. But if the Broncos are going to make a Super Bowl run, they’re going to need more out of their 26-year-old quarterback. They can’t expect him to game-manage them through the powerful AFC all season long. And that’s what he’s doing. Even though they went out and got him speedy receiver Jaylen Waddle to add a new dimension to their offense, Nix hasn’t taken advantage. The 222 yards he threw for against the Chiefs in Week 8 was tied for his second-highest total of the season. In four of eight games, he didn’t even top 200 yards. Yes, Denver won three of those games, but too many of Nix's big plays are fluky or short throws that his running backs turn into big gains. At some point, almost all championship teams need their quarterbacks to carry them. Nix, who has been bailing out on too many plays and making too many questionable decisions, doesn’t look capable of that right now. The winning, of course, is good. So is him going five consecutive games without an interception. But the Broncos goals are much higher. If they want to reach them, they’ll need Nix to give them more. In NFL Fallout, Ralph Vacchiano breaks down the impact of the biggest events every Sunday.

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How Bears QB Caleb Williams Developed Into ‘A Jedi, Like Neo From The Matrix’

In Washington, D.C., on the night of Nov. 18, 2018, the lights started to go out for Gonzaga College High School’s football team. The Eagles, who’d trailed 20-0 in the first quarter, fought their way back into the conference championship game against rival DeMatha Catholic. A touchdown gave them a lead with 29 seconds left … but then they allowed an 80-plus yard kickoff-return score with 15 seconds remaining. Gonzaga trailed 43-40. No timeouts left. "We claw our way back into a winning position," John Marshall, a Gonzaga receiver at the time, told me, "and then we're kind of just like, 'wow.' A lot of defeat sets in on the sidelines." But with just 10 seconds left for the offense, Caleb Williams still saw opportunity. Between the time DeMatha scored and when his offense took the field, the sophomore quarterback — playing through a fractured ankle suffered on Gonzaga’s previous possession — exhorted the offensive line: "I need you guys to block for me." "I need a chance to get it down there." He went over to the wide receivers: "There's still a lot of time left." "We can make a play." Williams completed a deep out on the first play, leading his receiver out of bounds just inside the 50 to stop the clock at four seconds. Then he connected on a 53-yard Hail Mary heave to Marshall in the end zone as time expired, putting Gonzaga on the winning side of one of the greatest high school football games of all time. "I think he's always known, I guess internally, that he has been special," Marshall, who played college football at Navy, told me. "Understanding that, ‘I am special. I have these abilities, but I'm not gonna let it derail me from achieving more.’" This is the Caleb Williams that the NFL now knows. The "Iceman," who’s ascending into superstardom in Year 3 with the Chicago Bears, is arguably the NFL’s most clutch performer. In 2025, Williams engineered seven comeback victories in which the Bears trailed in the final two minutes of regulation, including the playoffs, the most in a season by any quarterback under the age of 25 in league history. "I feel more comfortable in those moments," the Bears quarterback said last year. "I think my heart rate drops. Everything kind of settles in. It's gotta-have-it moments. I think I've done a good job with that over my career in those gotta-have-it moments." This year, the Bears haven’t yet needed WIlliams’ heroics late in games. What we’ve seen, primarily, are the major leaps he’s made playing on schedule under head coach and playcaller Ben Johnson. But he's still lethal down the stretch. In his first primetime showdown of the season, the Bears’ 30-24 victory over the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football last week, Williams completed more than 76.4% of his passes and led two scoring drives in the second half of the one-score victory. "I love just where he is mindset-wise right now," Johnson said of his QB last week. "No one's more critical of him than himself at this point. … He's the first one to say it and we go through it and [detail] where [he] can improve while still highlighting the improvements we've already made along the way." Williams’ next challenge: Mike Macdonald’s vaunted Super Bowl defense, as the Bears (5-2) travel to Seattle to face the Seahawks (4-3) on Monday Night Football in a matchup of NFC heavyweights. Williams’ former coaches and teammates shared what makes the quarterback uniquely capable of rising to the occasion in high-stakes scenarios. Former USC offensive coordinator and O-line coach Josh Henson sat in on Williams' meetings with head coach Lincoln Riley and assistant Luke Huard, whose responsibilities were more directly tied to the quarterback. There were always mountains of film to watch. They talked through plays and coaching situations. Game knowledge was shared. These meetings were pushed, in part, by Williams. They didn’t force him to stay. He wanted to stick around until he felt he had all the answers he needed. That also meant randomly walking into Henson’s office, peppering him with questions: "Coach, can you teach me this protection you were talking to the offensive line about the other day?" "Can you teach me why you guys ID the front like this in the run game?" "That type of curiosity and wanting to know all there is to know about football … really served him well to be able to go make those plays in those [clutch] moments," Henson, now Purdue’s OC and tight ends coach, told me. So much so that those around him grew numb to it. Williams regularly did the spectacular in practices and games. At the start of his junior season in high school, Gonzaga hosted national powerhouse American Heritage School (Plantation, Fla.). The visitors were befuddled at the crowd’s "Merry Christmas!" chants after taking a 7-0 and later a 14-7 lead. They thought the home-team fans were crazy. The reality is that they just knew what was coming. They wanted to congratulate the opponent on tasting what it felt like to be up. Williams led a 26-0 unanswered run by Gonzaga for the victory. "The dude is almost like a Jedi," Randy Trivers, Williams’ coach at Gonzaga, told me. "He’s The One. He’s like Neo from ‘The Matrix.’ "It's an ordinary thing for Caleb to do extraordinary things." As a true freshman at Oklahoma, in his first extended action as a college football player, Williams replaced starter Spencer Rattler in the second quarter and led the Sooners on a 21-point comeback and the game-winning drive to beat Texas 55-48 in the 2021 Red River Rivalry game. "I think people deep down, at the end of the day, they can say what they want, but people either don't love those moments and don't relish them, or they do," Lincoln Riley, who coached Williams at USC and Oklahoma, told me. "And I think he has always relished those moments, wanted to be in them, and is willing to pull the trigger and be willing to kind of put himself out there to make the play, knowing that sometimes it's going to happen and that's great. And sometimes you're not going to make it, right? "There's going to be failure associated with that, too, and you can't be scared of that failure. And I don't think he ever has." USC pass-catchers would do extra conditioning to prepare themselves for whatever Williams might do during a game — or even in practice. In a third-down period in one USC practice, Williams got pressure from the right side, rolled left and instinctually switched hands to rip a left-handed pass, hitting a receiver over the middle. Receivers knew a routine dig route could turn into a 60-plus yard explosive play in a scramble drill. His offensive linemen knew to block for four to six seconds rather than three or four. "You never saw what was happening," Rams offensive lineman Justin Dedich, who blocked for Williams at USC, told me, speaking from the OL perspective. "You just knew something great was about to happen." Williams’ offensive coordinator at Gonzaga, Danny Schaechter, would always end his play calls to the quarterback with a similar message: "Stay on the beach." It was a reminder to remain even-keeled. There might be big waves and storms in the game action. But on the beach, we’re good. We’re enjoying this. All is calm. "I’ll still message him before games and stuff," Schaechter told me.  "Like, ‘Hey, man, have fun. Stay on the beach.’" Even without the reminders, that’s how Williams operated. He’s always had a stoic demeanor in high-stakes moments, according to former coaches and teammates. He treated practices like games. He took pride in how he went through his reads, how he’d look off defensive backs. He didn’t want to waste energy on anything except what was in front of him. "He would always tell us, ‘Everybody breathe. Take a deep breath,’" former USC wide receiver Brenden Rice told me. Williams wanted the whole game on his shoulders, badly. Texans Pro Bowl safety Calen Bullock remembers Williams’ first day at USC in 2022. The two went out to eat with a couple teammates. They sat in the car, talking and getting to know each other. Williams’ message to the group: I’m going to go win the Heisman. "He said it, and he went out and did it," Bullock told me. "I will always remember that." To understand Williams, Riley explained, you must know how long he’s been intentionally designing his life. "He decided a long time ago, he and his family, that this is what he wanted to do for a living," the USC coach told me. "And so everything they've done has been to try to position himself to be able to do it, and with the belief that he was going to be able to do it. And so I think a lot of his preparation started years and years and years ago, and it's kind of been just a big, constant, steady build-up to these moments now." That belief became fuel for others. "No question, it affects how you call a game or some of the decisions that you make in a game, knowing that you have a guy that is capable of, and is not going to be scared of, those types of moments," Riley told me. "I’m sure Ben [Johnson] would say the same thing right now. It's a huge advantage feeling like that. … If we can just get the ball and in this type of situation with the game in reach, we like our chances." In May, Gonzaga College High School unveiled a statue of a rising Eagle on campus. Inscribed at the bottom: "11.18.18," commemorating Williams’ last-second Hail Mary that won the school the conference championship that year. It’s meant to serve as encouragement for future generations of Gonzaga students. For the football world, it’s also a permanent reminder of what Williams is capable of at any moment.

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Best Fits For Jonathan Taylor: Which 6 Teams Make The Most Sense For Colts RB?

The Indianapolis Colts' fire sale is well underway, but will it continue in the coming days? After the firing of longtime general manager Chris Ballard, plus the trades of guard Quenton Nelson and defensive tackle DeForest, running back Jonathan Taylor might be the next to leave Indianapolis. The Colts are willing to trade Taylor, FOX Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer reported Sunday. Several teams have already been linked to Taylor. According to reports, the Colts are willing to trade Taylor, and multiple teams have expressed an interest in securing his services, including the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos and New York Giants. That list makes sense for Taylor, who, at 27 years old, remains one of the most talented and productive running backs in the league. And we have added two more teams that should be interested in trading for Taylor as we rank the six best destinations for the star running back. Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider decided not to bring back reigning Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III in free agency, and so far, his team’s running game has not been the same. Walker was the most productive runner in the league before his former teammates shut him down when Seattle gave the Kansas City Chiefs their first loss of the season last week. The Seahawks are averaging 3.86 rushing yards per play, ranking 23rd in the NFL entering Week 8. Sam Darnold needs a consistent running game to lean on, taking pressure off him to carry the offense in the passing game. Seattle already traded with Indianapolis for All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson and Schneider used to work with Colts interim general manager Dodds in Seattle, so the relationship is there to get something done. And Schneider has been active each year at the trade deadline. However, the Seahawks have first-round pick Jadarian Price (chest) and Zach Charbonnet (knee) returning from injury this week, so Schneider might want to hold off on making a significant investment at running back before seeing his plan for replacing Walker on the field. Quarterback Joe Burrow has (finally) stayed healthy and is playing elite football. The Bengals already have one of the most dynamic offenses in the league, led by Burrow, along with receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. And, defensively, the addition of Dexter Lawrence has made Cincinnati’s defense respectable. Chase Brown is a solid running back, but Taylor in the backfield paired with Cincinnati’s passing game would make them the team to beat in the AFC North. The Bengals have over $7 million in salary cap space, but would a traditionally thrifty owner like Mike Brown be willing to give up draft compensation and sign a player like Taylor on a long-term deal to justify the move? And would Taylor want to play in Cincinnati? The Packers have another quarterback playing at an MVP level in Jordan Love, and he's doing it with one of the worst running games in the league. Green Bay is averaging a league-low 60.6 rushing yards per game. Even the return of Josh Jacobs has not improved those numbers, as the Packers have shown an inability to get a push upfront in the running game with an offensive line ravaged by injuries. Speaking of Jacobs, his continued legal troubles could affect his availability later this year. Taylor’s dynamic running style, along with his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, would instantly create more balance in Green Bay’s offense. And the Packers have shown a willingness to execute splash trades recently, trading two first-round picks for Micah Parsons last year. The Packers need to make a move to keep up in the competitive NFC North. Broncos head coach Sean Payton has been looking for a workhorse running back, as he had in Alvin Kamara with the New Orleans Saints, since taking over as head coach in Denver. And Taylor would provide that resource for a Denver offense that needs to prop up a struggling Bo Nix. The Broncos are averaging just 95 rushing yards a game, ranking 24th in the league entering Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs. J.K. Dobbins has been a productive player in Denver’s offense but struggles to stay healthy. Rookie Jonah Coleman is an interesting piece in Denver’s running back room, but Taylor would give the Broncos an elite runner in the wide-open AFC West. Taylor, paired with the explosive running skills of Nix, gives the Broncos a more balanced offense. The Giants are surprisingly atop the NFC East in head coach John Harbaugh’s first year leading them. Even with New York losing starting quarterback Jaxson Dart for the season with a knee injury, general manager Joe Schoen already made a splashy move by replacing him at quarterback with another dual-threat guy in J.J. McCarthy, with satisfactory results. New York has already shown a willingness to make another big move, as Harbaugh reportedly reached out to Tennessee Titans owner Amy Adams-Strunk to woo defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons to New York. So why not trade for Taylor and bring him to The Big Apple? Cam Skattebo has done a respectable job leading New York’s running game when healthy and not putting the ball on the ground. Devin Singletary and Tyrone Tracy are nice complementary pieces. But the Giants, led by Harbaugh, believe they can win now, and Taylor provides a more dynamic player to lead the offense, taking pressure off a young quarterback like McCarthy. If I’m Taylor, Minnesota would be my top destination. Head coach Kevin O’Connell is one of the most innovative offensive minds in the game. The Vikings have two dynamic receivers in Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, along with a productive tight end in T.J. Hockenson. Yes, Kyler Murray has not been lights out in Minnesota’s offense. But like James Conner in Arizona, Taylor would provide a dangerous running threat that pairs nicely with the explosive running ability of Murray, making Minnesota’s offense more lethal. Add that to what the Vikings are doing on the other side of the football, with defensive coordinator Brian Flores leading a blitz-heavy defense that’s one of the best in the league, and the only undefeated NFL team in the Vikings would be dangerous this postseason.

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NFL DFS Week 8: Best Picks, Lineup Advice and Value Plays

Welcome back to our Daily Fantasy Football picks. Last week, we took Tony Pollard at $5,600, and he delivered three touchdowns to finish as the No. 1 running back on the main slate. Let’s carry that momentum into Week 8. On FanDuel, you’ll have $60,000 to fill out your lineup, with each player assigned a salary based on factors such as recent performance, matchup and expected production. The goal is to find the right mix of stars and value plays while staying under the cap. Here are our favorite DFS plays for Week 8’s main Sunday slate. This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence is coming off back-to-back 300-yard passing games and has 14 touchdown passes this season, tied for fourth in the NFL. Now, he gets an extremely favorable matchup against a struggling Colts defense that traded away two of its best players earlier this week. Through seven weeks, the Colts have allowed the 10th-highest passer rating and ninth-most touchdown passes in the NFL. Lawrence and the Jags offense should go off on Sunday. Running Back Derrick Henry is in a smash spot in a critical game in Buffalo. With Lamar Jackson still a bit banged up, Baltimore should continue to lean on Henry, who leads the NFL in carries through seven weeks. After averaging just three yards per carry over his last two games, Henry should feast against a Bills defense that ranks in the bottom half of the league in most statistical categories. This game should be back and forth, giving Henry plenty of opportunities to rack up points. Jaylen Warren has been the most underrated player in football this year. With 40+ rushing yards and 20+ receiving yards on Sunday, he would become the sixth player in NFL history to reach both marks in each of his first eight games of a season. Now, he faces a Browns defense that ranks 22nd in the NFL against the run and gave up three touchdowns to Tony Pollard last week. Expect Warren to keep his breakout season rolling and hopefully find the end zone a few times. Wide Receiver The frustrations from 2025 have carried over into this year for Justin Jefferson, but this is his get-right spot. The Lions rank last in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game (313.5) and have allowed 16 passing touchdowns this season. They’ve already given up huge games to Tetairoa McMillan (14 catches, 192 yards, two touchdowns), Chris Olave (10 catches, 182 yards) and Garrett Wilson (10 catches, 107 yards, one touchdown). Jefferson could go for 150-plus yards this week in a game where Minny may have to keep pace with the Lions’ high-powered offense. Parker Washington has emerged as the Jaguars’ WR1, and we’re going to stack him with T-Law in this great matchup against Indy. Washington has at least 80 receiving yards in three of his six games this year and is coming off an 11-target game against Houston. In his last meeting with the Colts last year, he exploded for eight catches and 115 yards. He should have a similar line in this one. Tight End It’s hard to put into words how bad the Lions defense has been against tight ends. Detroit has been the worst in the NFL across virtually every major metric. The Lions have allowed the most receptions (56), receiving yards (602), receiving yards per game (100.3) and receiving touchdowns (10) to tight ends, who have also drawn a league-high 73 targets against them. They’re the only defense allowing more than 85 receiving yards per game to the position, and no other team has allowed more than eight touchdowns. Detroit has given up at least one touchdown to a tight end in five of its six games, including multiple scores in four. Defense We're going to go with the Falcons as our punt defense option this week. While the Buccaneers are coming off a 43-13 win over the Panthers, Baker Mayfield threw for just 64 yards. The Falcons defense has forced nine turnovers this season, tied for 11th in the NFL. Mayfield has committed 12 turnovers in his last 10 starts. Look for Atlanta to force a few more here and maybe even run one back for six.

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Philip Rivers Reportedly Emerges As Focus Of NC State's Coaching Search

Could Philip Rivers return to his alma mater? After North Carolina State parted ways with former head coach Dave Doeren last week, Rivers has reportedly emerged as the "focus" of the Wolfpack's head coaching search. The Wolfpack dismissed Doeren after a 31-28 loss to Stanford in Week 8. The decision ended a 14-year tenure for the most successful coach in NC State history. After promoting Todd Goebbel to interim head coach, the program announced a wide-ranging search for its next full-time head coach. A week later, Rivers found himself at the center of speculation, though he denied the rumors. "There's nothing there at this point," Rivers said in an interview at St. Michael Catholic High School, the Alabama-based high school where he coaches. But, Rivers didn't entirely shut the speculation down. "Never say never," he added. The stars do align for Rivers to return to Raleigh. It would be a reunion 20-plus years in the making. Rivers was NC State's starting quarterback from 2000-2003. As a senior, he led the FBS in passing efficiency, completing 72% of his passing attempts. He led the ACC with 4,491 yards and 34 touchdowns. Rivers was drafted by the New York Giants in 2004 and immediately traded to the San Diego Chargers. He spent the next 16 seasons with the Chargers, remaining with the organization when it moved to Los Angeles. He led the team to an AFC Championship appearance in 2008. Rivers retired after one season with the Indianapolis Colts, but stayed in football, coaching his sons. Then last season, he came out of a four-year retirement to start three games for the Colts after they lost Daniel Jones to a season-ending achilles injury. He has since returned to his day job at St. Michael Catholic High School, coaching his son, Gunner. But those days could come to an end if North Carolina State comes calling. "You understand the chatter that's out there," he said. "You got to take it one day at a time."

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Tom Brady Isn't Sure If Defenders Are Being Treated Fair On Roughing The Passer Calls

Yes, Tom Brady understands the irony behind his disagreements with the roughing-the-passer penalties called in Sunday's Green Bay Packers-Detroit Lions game. That won't stop him from advocating for defensive players to get some more leeway when it comes to hitting quarterbacks, though. In the most recent edition of #AskTom, Brady said that quarterbacks should take some more accountability on certain hits, adding that it comes with the territory of playing the position. "On the field, I just think there's a level of aggressiveness that the defenders need to play with in order to do their job well — whether that's rushing the passer or closing on a receiver to knock the ball off them. I just think sometimes we're calling it a little too close," Brady said. "The quarterbacks, they have every right to get rid of the ball whenever they want. The faster they get that ball out of their hands, the less likely they are to get hit. "But if they want to hold the ball, part of the understanding is that you're gonna get hit." There were a handful of penalties that Brady expressed his displeasure with when he was on the call for the Packers-Lions game on FOX. When Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes hit Packers running back Marshawn Lloyd on a pass thrown his way and was called for unnecessary roughness, Brady blurted, "Oh, come on, man." "That’s allowed 99 out of 100 … it’s a bang-bang play," Brady added of the penalty called on Barnes at the time. The one that seemed to irk Brady the most, though, was the roughing the passer that was called on Packers defensive tackle Karl Brooks for his hit on Jared Goff during the Lions' final drive. It appeared that Brooks hit Goff in a split second after he threw it. "No, my goodness, what is that? There’s no way," Brady said of the penalty on Sunday's broadcast. "Brooks on the tackle kind of makes a great play. It’s a bang-bang play. He rolls off his body; it’s a great throw by Goff, that’s definitely not roughing the passer. "You’re just ripping through the line of scrimmage to try to get the quarterback on the ground," Brady continued. "Look, I love Goff standing there in the pocket, but you just can’t tack it on 15 yards." FOX Sports NFL rules analyst Dean Blandino agreed with Brady's assessment of the penalty, saying that Brooks' hit "wasn't late." That penalty helped Detroit get deep into Green Bay territory, allowing it to kick the game-winning field goal as time expired, which led Brady to call the penalty "a little bit controversial" on #AskTom. And as Brady criticized the officiating for calling roughing the passer penalties he thought were weak, he admitted that it's easier for him to feel that way now that he's retired. "Look, I understand. I'm self-aware," Brady said as some on social media thought he was a bit hypocritical for him to call out the officiating. "I'm sitting up in that booth. It's much easier for me to say it now that I'm sitting up in the booth, but that's what my job is. I'm a broadcaster now, right? I have these types of opinions." Brady's thoughts on some controversial penalty calls weren't the only thing that went viral from his call during Sunday's Packers-Lions game. When it appeared the Lions were going to pass the ball on one of the final plays from scrimmage, Brady blurted, "Don't tell me they're going to throw this? Oh my God, they're going to throw this." The Lions ended up running the ball on the ensuing play, which allowed them to bleed some more clock before kicking the game-winning field goal. But when Brady was asked about that call and the Lions' unsuccessful fourth-down attempt from deep in their own territory on #AskTom, he still shared some anxiety he had in those moments. "At that part, I did," Brady said when asked if he ever forgets that he's on a broadcast seen by millions of people. "After a while, you start thinking, 'Am I the one that is seeing this the wrong way? Did they just go for it in a tie game on their own 20-yard line? Is that what happened with the line? And they didn't get it? Oh my God.' "When you're not in on every thought or conversation going on those coaching headsets, a lot of these times, I'm just trying to speak out loud what exactly I'm seeing." And Brady thinks that the Lions might have gotten a bit lucky in their win over the Packers. "Look, I know they're an aggressive fourth-down team, but maybe the football Gods were looking after them a little bit this last Sunday, let's be honest," Brady said.

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NFL Trade Deadline: Is Saquon Barkley Next Star To Move? Who Execs Expect To Buy & Sell

There was once a time when the NFL trade deadline brought very little pomp and circumstance. That's no longer the case. This week has been a prime example that very few trade ideas are far-fetched. Three players with All-Pro talent have been traded in the last few days. The Indianapolis Colts traded guard Quenton Nelson and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers, respectively. Possibly the biggest deal of the deadline came on Thursday, though, when the Chicago Bears landed Tennessee Titans All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons for two first-round picks and a fourth-round selection. But will Simmons be the biggest name to be moved before the Nov. 10 deadline arrives? Should we expect more fireworks over the next couple of weeks? We asked those questions around the league to figure out which teams might be active and who might get moved. Here's what we learned. Ralph Vacchiano: The fire sale in Indianapolis has already begun. Expect sell-offs in Philadelphia and Los Angeles to follow soon. That’s what several NFL sources told me to expect between now and the Nov. 10 NFL trading deadline. It’s pretty clear the seasons are over for the Chargers (0-6) and Eagles (2-5), and both teams have expendable players who can bring them assets they can use when their offseason rebuilding begins. "It doesn’t sound like either team is there yet, but they will be soon. Or at least they should be," one NFL assistant general manager told me. "They’re not crazy enough to sit tight, especially with so many players on expiring deals." "Those teams have multiple tradeable players with value," another NFL executive told me. "You might see teams like the Titans or Bucs make an isolated trade. But if you’re looking for a sell-off, the Eagles and the Chargers might be it." Based on conversations with multiple executives and scouts, NFL teams are watching at least three players on each squad. For the Eagles, they are expected to at least field offers for cornerback Riq Woolen, guard Landon Dickerson and tight end Dallas Goedert, those sources told me. One scout added defensive tackle Moro Ojomo to the list, and at least two sources wondered about running back Saquon Barkley. "Woolen and Goedert are short-term rentals who can give a contender a boost at those spots down the stretch," the assistant general manager told me. "Dickerson might be more of a long-term play because he’s only 28 and has a couple of years left on his deal. I’d say the Eagles would be crazy to trade him, but it clearly looks like they’re going to rebuild their entire offensive line." As for the Chargers, the names that came up most were edge rusher Khalil Mack — whom the executive said was "old, but might be the best edge rusher to get traded in this cycle" — plus wide receiver Quentin Johnston and cornerback Donte Jackson. "The Chargers have to start from scratch in the offseason," the executive told me. "They’re not in a position to turn down offers on anybody at this point. Just get whatever picks you can get and move on." Vacchiano: The New York Giants have been waiting a long time for an opportunity like this, and many around the NFL don’t expect them to waste it. Off to a 4-2-1 start and staring at a crumbling NFC East, general manager Joe Schoen and new coach John Harbaugh could be strong buyers in the NFL trade market between now and the trade deadline. They already got things started when they traded a fifth-round pick to the Vikings for quarterback J.J. McCarthy last month to replace the injured Jaxson Dart. But with a lineup thinned by injuries — including season-ending ones to edge rusher Brian Burns and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds — there could be more deals to come. "From what I hear, they know they’ve got a really unique opportunity to pull away from a bad division, and they want to strike while they can," one NFL executive told me. "I honestly thought they were a year away, and might need to trade off a few guys for picks for the future. But here they are in first place, starting at a playoff berth. "When that’s there, you’ve got to grab it." Multiple NFL sources pointed to four areas the Giants might seek to improve: Defensive tackle, running back, edge rusher and interior offensive line. Of those, the consensus seemed to be that defensive tackle would be the Giants’ priority, unless they could add a top back — like perhaps Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor — at a reasonable price. "I’ve heard a lot of talk about them and Taylor, because Harbaugh is worried about [Cam Skattebo’s] ball security," one NFL assistant general manager told me. "I get it. It would give him his Derrick Henry (who Harbaugh coached in Baltimore). But I think JT’s going to be too expensive. "They can get a [defensive] tackle cheap. They need to shore up the middle of their run defense. They lost a lot when Burns and Edmunds went down. If they can get a big guy in the middle of that line to eat up blockers, and it only costs them a Day 3 pick, that could change everything about their defense." There is one problem for the Giants, though: They don’t have a fourth- or fifth-round pick in the 2027 draft, and may not have a seventh, which means that if they are looking at players with Day 3 pick values, they might have to get creative or hope those teams are OK with picks in 2028. And they have to be careful about overspending because they’re walking a fine line. A winning season, a division title and a playoff berth are all in reach. But nobody thinks they’re good enough to be real Super Bowl contenders. It’s still just Year 1 of the Harbaugh era, and they have to keep their future in mind. "Yeah, they don’t want to give up too many big assets — like, no first-rounders. It would be hard for them to justify trading a Day 1 or 2 pick, unless it’s something really big," the assistant general manager said. "But they have to act like contenders. "Because that’s what they are." Eric D. Williams: With less than two weeks remaining before the Nov. 10 trade deadline, the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks already took big swings to improve their teams. The 49ers brought back defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, giving up a fourth-round pick in a trade with the Indianapolis Colts. The Seahawks also made a deal with Indianapolis, improving their offensive line by giving up a 2027 third-round selection and a fifth-round pick in 2028 for All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson. "Both will pay huge dividends this season," an NFL front office executive told me. A league source told me it’s possible the Los Angeles Rams could be willing to join the arms race. It would make sense, considering that’s how Los Angeles has built championship contenders in years past, by giving up premium picks for premium players like Von Miller and Jalen Ramsey at the trade deadline. "The Rams could," a league source told me. "I would think the Chargers would look to make deals, but maybe not much to trade that would bring much back. The Cardinals less so, but they’re hard to predict. They have to be good deals." While the Rams might be tempted to dip their toes in the fray, Los Angeles has the least salary cap space of any team in the NFL. And the Rams don’t have many trade chips, with only four picks in next year’s draft. In essence, the Rams already made their big deadline acquisitions when they traded for Myle Garrett and Trent McDuffie in the offseason. Both are expected back from injury sooner rather than later, along with receiver Davante Adams before the end of the season. McVay confirmed that thought process, saying his team is more inclined to wait for frontline players to get healthy for the second half of the season. "What you look at is hopefully some of those trades will be guys getting back from injury that haven't played for us," McVay told reporters this week. "That’s the way that we look at it. Like I’ve told you in years past, you always think about it, but with the amount of guys that have not been available that are key and focal points for really both sides of the football, we look at those guys hopefully being able to return within a month. That’s where that value lies for us." Williams: For teams we did not expect to be leading the division at this point of the season, like the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns or Carolina Panthers, what happened to the Indianapolis Colts over the past year offers an important lesson of why it might be wise to pump the brakes on not pushing in all the chips. If you recall, the Colts traded two first-round picks for Sauce Gardner at the trade deadline last year after starting the season a surprising 7-2. Then quarterback Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending Achilles tear and Gardner also got hurt. The Colts cratered, losing eight of their last nine games in 2025 and were so desperate they signed 44-year-old Philip Rivers to lead the offense. Indianapolis never recovered, starting this season 2-5 and firing longtime general manager Chris Ballard last week. So, before you hope your team makes a big trade in the next couple of weeks, one league source I spoke to wants to send a reminder: not every deal for a star will work. "The Colts were a top contender last year — if Daniel didn’t get hurt, they had a real shot to win it all," a league source told me. "That was a worthwhile trade if you think Sauce is that good. Problem is, Sauce has gotten worse every year. He played his best ball as a rookie."

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