NFL Catchup: Rookie QBs Shine In Debuts, Another Donald Update, Cowboys Make A Splash

The first full weekend of NFL preseason action provided a pair of standout rookie quarterback performances while a pair of defensive linemen are making noise off the field. Los Angeles Rams rookie Ty Simpson and New York Jets rookie Cade Klubnik posted efficient outings, and the Cleveland Browns continued their quarterback rotation. Veteran pass rusher DeMarcus Lawrence announced his upcoming retirement over the weekend, and Sean McVay provided an update on Aaron Donald, who worked out with the Rams for the second time this month. Here's what you should know about what happened in the NFL this weekend. Rookie quarterbacks Ty Simpson and Cade Klubnik delivered strong initial performances during preseason games this weekend. Simpson completed 21 of 25 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns in a Los Angeles Rams victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday. "I definitely felt more comfortable than I ever had coming into a game," Simpson said. It's certainly a promising showing for Simpson, whom the Rams surprisingly took with the 13th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, as he's competing with Stetson Bennett for the backup role behind Matthew Stafford. Rams head coach Sean McVay liked what he saw out of his rookie quarterback. "I thought he took what the defense gave him," McVay told reporters following Saturday's game. "I thought he read the plays out, read with his feet. I thought he did a really good job overall. "I thought he kept the ball in play. That's the biggest thing: Keeping the ball in play." New York Jets rookie quarterback Cade Klubnik made a surprise start in Friday's preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after starter Geno Smith was held out due to a sore ankle. Klubnik delivered, though. He led the Jets to scoring drives on both of his possessions, finishing 5 of 7 for 56 yards before handing over quarterback duties. "I was definitely excited," Klubnik told reporters. "I knew Geno was only going to play maybe eight to 10 plays and I was ready to go in early after that. "So in my mind, I just got to go in eight to 10 plays earlier." Smith is expected to be the Jets' starting quarterback for much of the season. However, if Klubnik, who the team took in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft, continues to perform like he did on Friday, it's reasonable to think that he could make a push to start games at some point this season. In fact, our Ralph Vacchiano floated the idea that Klubnik could start games for the Jets this season after the first week of training camp. Deshaun Watson outshined Shedeur Sanders in the Cleveland Browns' preseason loss to the Chicago Bears on Saturday. Watson, who got the start, completed 11 of 15 passes for 126 yards with zero touchdowns or turnovers. Sanders, on the other hand, completed 6 of 11 passes for 79 yards with zero touchdowns and an interception. However, Browns head coach Todd Monken offered a measured perspective after the team's quarterback competition moved into live action on Saturday. "I do believe the season is a marathon," Monken said to reporters. "That marathon starts in Jacksonville. We are still in training." The Browns plan to start Sanders next week against the Buffalo Bills as the competition continues. "Again, I did feel going into last game that it was relatively close in terms of both having an opportunity at the starting position, so it would be unfair to not go into the next game and give Shedeur that same opportunity," Monken said. "We owe it to both players who have handled it well and competed at a high level." Aaron Donald took another step toward a potential NFL comeback on Sunday, appearing on the league transaction wire after completing his second workout with the Los Angeles Rams this summer. Rams head coach Sean McVay addressed Donald's potential return following Saturday's preseason victory against the Chiefs. "He's put himself in a position to be able to say yes or no," McVay said to reporters. "I think he's earned that right to have clarity on that. We're not at that point quite yet." McVay noted that internal discussions remain ongoing while Donald evaluates his physical benchmarks for the upcoming season. "I feel great about our football team as it currently stands, and I know he'll add value if he decides to come," McVay said. Veteran pass rusher DeMarcus Lawrence confirmed that the 2026 season will mark the end of his 13-year NFL career. Lawrence, who spent 11 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys before joining the Seattle Seahawks, returned for one final campaign to defend Seattle's title. "This will be my last year," Lawrence told Yahoo Sports. "Through the grace of God, I'm able to play another year and soak it all up one more good time before I hang it up." A v Lawrence has racked up 503 tackles, 67.5 sacks, 146 quarterback hits, 108 tackles for loss, 24 forced fumbles, 11 fumble recoveries in 157 career appearances (139 starts). Lawrence recorded six sacks during the regular season last year and added two fumble recoveries returned for touchdowns. After spending the entire offseason revamping their defense, the Dallas Cowboys are still making some moves on that side of the ball. The Cowboys have signed eight-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Von Miller. The 37-year-old had a productive year for the Washington Commanders in 2025, logging nine sacks and playing in every single regular-season game for the first time since 2018. Miller is just one of many new faces on Dallas' defense this offseason. The Cowboys kicked off the offseason by poaching defensive backs coach Christian Parker from the Philadelphia Eagles to make him their defensive coordinator. They also traded for Green Bay Packers edge rusher Rashan Gary and signed Los Angeles Rams cornerback Kobie Durant before using first-round picks on safety Caleb Downs and edge rusher Malachi Lawrence in the 2026 NFL Draft. Just seven months after tearing his Achilles, San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle remains hopeful that he'll be ready for the start of the 2026 regular season. While Kittle has yet to practice in a full capacity in training camp, he expressed optimism that he'll be able to play in the Rams' season-opening matchup against the Rams on Sept. 10. "I have a chance," Kittle told reporters on Sunday. "We're running around a lot, hitting top speeds. Hopefully, we're back in pads practicing sooner than later. Just trying to check the boxes and not be a dumbass." Kittle also said he's "very confident" he won't open the 2026 season on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) List. If the 49ers placed him on the list, he would be forced to miss the first four games of the regular season. Kittle's comments are much-needed good news for San Francisco, which has been dealt a slew of injuries so far in training camp. Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall has already undergone season-ending surgery, while running back Christian McCaffrey has missed a week's worth of practices due to a hamstring injury.

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Why Mike McCarthy Still Sees a Championship-Caliber QB In Old Friend Aaron Rodgers

LATROBE, Pa. — Aaron Rodgers learned last season that he can’t outrun the clock. He’s slower in his 40s than he used to be. His arm strength isn’t there as consistently as it once was, either. It’s his mind, though, that really keeps him going at age 42, in his 22nd — and, as he vowed, his last — NFL season. It’s why his new (and old) coach, Mike McCarthy, is convinced they can make one more run at Super Bowl glory together. And it’s the quirky Rodgers’ best chance to out-maneuver the passage of time. "His mind’s incredibly sharp," McCarthy, the Steelers coach, told me before practice on Sunday at St. Vincent College. "But I’ll be honest with you, his ball play in this camp has been top-notch. Obviously, I’ve coached a lot of football with him, but his ability to place the football … I’m not saying he lost any velocity on the ball, but if he has, it’s definitely made up for with his anticipation. "So he’s getting the ball where it needs to be, on time. He’s having a hell of a camp." McCarthy would know. This may be his first season coaching his hometown Steelers, but he spent 13 wildly successful seasons as Rodgers’ head coach in Green Bay. They went to the playoffs eight times, won a Super Bowl together, and he helped Rodgers develop into one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play the game. The late-career reunion between the 62-year-old coach and his former protégé has been "super cool," McCarthy told me. But it’s a lot more than just a trip down memory lane. He still sees Rodgers as a quarterback who can help him win. "It’s super cool, just to be able to be part of his final chapter. It’s awesome," McCarthy told me. "But I think he definitely fits the culture here. So yes, I think it’s a great story. "But I think we just want to win. Let’s go win and do the things that we need to do to win. And he’s such a competitor. I love the time, once we cross the white lines, when we get to just go out there and compete. And he is one of the greatest to ever play the game." Notice, he didn’t say "was" — a purposeful choice of words. Rodgers, by his own standards, was just OK last season, completing 65.7% of his passes for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions. His age was showing, even as he dragged the Steelers to 10 wins and the AFC North title. He looked like a good quarterback overall, but not one capable of doing any of the magical things he used to do. But his mind, his processing skills and ability to see what others can’t in a defense, give him and the Steelers an enormous advantage. And that’s where the magic really happens, McCarthy said. "His mind is off the charts," McCarthy told me. "His anticipation and ability to throw people open, his instincts … and he also matches it with his release, the way he’s able to get the ball out of his hands so quickly and throw through the open window where (defenders) are running through. That’s the way you have to play and win in this league, because people are always covered. It’s the job of the quarterback to throw them open." Even in practice, it’s clear that Rodgers still does that better than anyone. He has the patience to let a play develop, the wisdom to see what is about to happen, and the skills to put the ball in the only place it can go. And after almost every rep on Sunday, he was talking to his coaches, receivers and linemen, explaining to them exactly what he saw. Whether it all translates into wins, a playoff berth, or even one last run at a Super Bowl, probably depends on Rodgers’ 42-year-old body, and whether he can keep it from breaking down. But don’t bet against that, even at his age, since he’s played near-full seasons in seven of the past eight years. And if he can do it one more time, then maybe — just maybe — his mind is what will matter most, and he and McCarthy have enough left for one more magical run. The Steelers' defense was middling last season (17th in scoring), but they did have a surprisingly potent pass rush. It was "surprising" because they got 48 sacks (sixth in the NFL) despite a down year from T.J. Watt, their longtime star. He had only seven sacks — just his third season not reaching double-digits (and his worst total in a full season). It’s safe to say Pittsburgh expected more when it signed him to a three-year, $123 million extension last July. So he really needs to show that his two-year statistical decline isn’t irreversible even though he’ll be 32 in October. Last season, his sack total was still the third-highest on the team. Imagine how potent the pass rush could be if Watt — who had 19 sacks in 2023 and 11.5 in 2024 — gets anywhere near his old form. The Steelers need that from the eight-time Pro Bowler. They know their quarterback will need as much support as he can get. Backing him with an aggressive, disruptive defense, preferably led by Watt, might be the best thing they could do to help Rodgers out. "I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t think I could win a Super Bowl. Once you lift that trophy up, there’s nothing else in this business." — Steelers coach Mike McCarthy told me Everything Is Riding On Aaron Rodgers’ 42-Year-Old Arm There’s a lot to like about this team that McCarthy inherited from Mike Tomlin. It’s the core of a team that won 10 games last season, after all. And they should get a boost from McCarthy. Nothing against Tomlin. He had a phenomenal record in Pittsburgh over the past 19 years. But it’s possible that what he was preaching probably got a little stale. To get that new-coach boost, McCarthy will need T.J. Watt to bounce back, so the defense can be a little bit more like it's used to being in the Steel City. And the addition of Dowdle, who McCarthy developed into an RB1 in Dallas, could give Pittsburgh the running game it was missing last year. But winning all comes down to the same thing it came down to last year. The Steelers have an old quarterback, who’s not quite what he used to be. And they need a lot from Rodgers at age 42. He’s still good and smart and capable of some big plays. But he’s not the one-man show that he was a decade ago, or the error-free maestro he was five years ago when he won back-to-back MVPs. He’s no longer even a top 10 quarterback in the NFL. Last year, he was good enough to lead this team to the playoffs. But this year, the division could be much tougher if Lamar Jackson stays healthy in Baltimore and Joe Burrow is around for a whole season in Cincinnati. Getting to 10 wins again could be quite the challenge for Pittsburgh. Eight seems like a more realistic goal. And finishing better than third in the division could be pretty tough, too. First of all, Cleveland rocks. I don’t care what people say about it, it’s always been an underrated city. OK, not always, but it certainly has become one. And I’m sure Berea, Ohio — home of the Browns — rocks, too. If only it had a football team to match. I’m sure new Browns coach Todd Monken thinks there’s something positive about the team he’s assembling on the shores of Lake Erie, and I’ll travel three hours through the hills of Western Pennsylvania and the Ohio valley to find out — apparently through a horrendous rain storm that is about to hit. (By the time I get there, by the way, I’ll have driven almost 1,400 miles on this trip. I think I’ve passed 1,400 Sheetz gas stations along the way, too. Not nearly as many Flying J’s, though, so it’s probably good that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam sold all those.) Anyway, back to Haslam’s Browns: Myles Garrett is gone. There’s still no viable quarterback in place. It’s hard to have faith in either Shedeur Sanders or what’s left of Deshaun Watson. But people have underestimated and overlooked Cleveland the city, so maybe we’re all doing it to the Browns, too? I doubt it. But I’m certainly on the lookout for positives. I’m just not expecting to see many at practice on Monday afternoon.

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Rams' First-Rounder Ty Simpson Delivered An Impressive Preseason Debut vs. Chiefs

After the skepticism surrounding the Los Angeles Rams' decision to select quarterback Ty Simpson No. 13 overall in April's NFL Draft, the former Alabama star answered with an impressive preseason performance against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Rams headed to Kansas City for their first preseason game of the year on Saturday and finished with a 20-12 win. Simpson finished the day with a solid stat line, throwing 21-for-25 for 190 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Especially after a slow first half with a 6-6 tie, Simpson's two second-half touchdowns gave the Rams a last-minute lead over the Chiefs, who never found the end zone. Simpson’s first score came from a quick four-play drive, where he found rookie running back Dean Connors for a nine-yard touchdown pass. Shortly after, Simpson led the Rams on an eight-play drive that resulted in a second touchdown throw to Connors, securing the Rams' win over Kansas City. While the majority of Simpson’s training camp experience was spent playing behind quarterback Stetson Bennett for second-team reps, his preseason entrance allowed him the chance to showcase his skillset. Additionally, Simpson has had the chance to learn from MVP quarterback Matthew Stafford, who’s entering his 17th year in the NFL and his fifth season with the Rams. Coming off an impressive season with Alabama in 2025, Simpson finished his time with 3,948 total passing yards, 33 total touchdowns and five interceptions. Simpson also led the Crimson Tide to their first College Football Playoff and SEC title game appearances under head coach Kalen DeBoer. The Rams are shaping up to be a heavy Super Bowl favorite entering this season, especially after their overhaul in the offseason. Los Angeles added Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns in June, as well as Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie from the Chiefs in March. Offensively, the Rams return star wide receiver pair Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. Even if Simpson will have to patiently wait his turn to become the Rams go-to guy, his preseason performance is an impressive start. The Rams kickoff their 2026 campaign in Australia facing NFC West rival San Francisco 49ers on Thursday, September 10.

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Seahawks Reportedly Make Devon Witherspoon Highest-Paid CB In NFL History

Step aside, Trent McDuffie. The Seattle Seahawks have signed cornerback Devon Witherspoon to a four-year, $132 million extension, that includes $101 million guaranteed, ESPN reported on Saturday morning. The $132 million in total money and $33 million average annual value are each NFL records for a cornerback. The previous record for a cornerback in total money was McDuffie, who signed a four-year, $124 million deal with the Los Angeles Rams after being acquired from the Kansas City Chiefs in March. Cleveland Browns cornerback Denzel Ward held the previous record for average annual value at the position ($31.1 million). Witherspoon, a Pro Bowler in each of his three seasons in the sport, totaled one interception, seven passes defended and 72 combined tackles across 12 regular-season games in 2025; he missed five games due to a knee injury. Witherspoon led NFL cornerbacks with an 89.9 overall grade and 10 total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. He earned second-team All-Pro honors. The fourth-year defensive back was part of a Seahawks' defense that was first in the NFL in opponent points (17.2 per game), third in opponent rushing yards (91.9 per game), sixth in opponent total yards (285.6 per game) and 10th in opponent passing yards (193.9 per game) en route to Seattle winning Super Bowl LX. The Seahawks selected Witherspoon, a 2022 All-American, with the No. 5 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Illinois. As for other contractual matters across the league, fellow fourth-year cornerback and 2025 Pro Bowler Christian Gonzalez is in the midst of extension talks with the New England Patriots. Team owner Robert Kraft revealed in July that the team offered Gonzalez a contract that would be the richest in both Patriots history and for an NFL cornerback in league history.

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With Fernando Mendoza, The Odds Are On The Raiders' Side That They Have Franchise QB

Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas) — It's hard to beat the odds here. The Raiders are 7-27 over the last two years, the second-worst such mark in the NFL. In their six seasons in Las Vegas, they've had a winning record once, and as a franchise, they have not won a single playoff game in the 22-year lifetime of their rookie quarterback, Fernando Mendoza. They are trying to climb out of the bottom of a division with a Denver Broncos team that was the AFC's top seed last year, a Kansas City Chiefs team that's been to five Super Bowls in seven years and won three of them, and a Los Angeles Chargers team that might be better than both of those this season. Their hometown oddsmakers give them 18-to-1 odds to win the AFC West. It's the exact same odds as rolling an 11 with two dice, and yet it seems even harder with the 11 the Raiders have been rolling with on any given play. But Thursday, in just a relief appearance in a preseason game, Mendoza gave Raiders fans a bit of hope, a sign that better days are coming. And once you've won a Heisman Trophy and a national championship at Indiana, what exactly constitutes a long shot? "He shows up every day, works his ass off," Raiders Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby told me about Mendoza in the locker room at Allegiant Stadium. "He's doing a great job. He's been a great addition to the locker room, and I'm super excited for him. He's done it exactly the right way. He's putting his head down and working, building relationships, just soaking up knowledge and getting better." Thursday's preseason debut was Mendoza's first chance to soak things up more actively. Training camp practices can go a long way, but this was his first chance to truly feel the speed of the NFL, to appreciate how much harder it is than the college football world he dominated in a 16-0 breakout season last year. On one play, Mendoza scrambled to his right, tried to avoid a sack and ran upfield before he went out of bounds, instead taking a hit and sailing the ball onto the sidelines. It was a lesson that some of the things he could get away with in college, he can't in the NFL, at least right now. "There was one play where I scrambled to the right, and usually sometimes I'll be able to get the edge, maybe scramble for 2 or 3 yards, and it's like 'Wow, it got there a little faster than I thought,'" Mendoza said at the podium. "I'm really trying to get around them, try to throw the ball away, make the smart play to best serve my teammates. So I would say definitely faster, and they hit harder. So surprise, but no surprise." Unlike most No. 1 overall picks, Mendoza hasn't been handed the Raiders' starting job. First-year Las Vegas coach Klint Kubiak said after Thursday's loss that the job is still veteran Kirk Cousins' to lose, potentially making Mendoza wait until he's more prepared. That's not the norm. The last six quarterbacks to go No. 1 overall were all Week 1 starters, and the last that wasn't was Baker Mayfield with the Cleveland Browns in 2018. So, Mendoza watched from the sidelines Thursday as Cousins marched the Raiders down the field, with the veteran completing an efficient 5 of 6 passes for 50 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Michael Mayer. Mendoza came in without all the starters in front of him, and his first drive was scuttled by a holding penalty. His second drive, though, was what Raiders fans wanted to see, starting with a 19-yard dart between two defenders and ending with a 6-yard touchdown pass on third-and-goal to receiver Jack Bech. The touchdown pass was the highlight of a strong night for Mendoza. He completed 10 of 16 passes for 97 yards and led the Raiders into scoring territory in the final of the four possessions he played, which ended in a missed kick. All those No. 1 picks that started in Week 1, none of them threw a touchdown pass in their preseason debut. Cam Ward, Caleb Williams, Bryce Young, Trevor Lawrence and Kyler Murray all combined for zero in their first taste of the NFL. In just a summer of practices and a few weeks of training camp, Mendoza has impressed the most decorated of his new teammates. "He's the same guy that we see in practice that went out there and competed on the game field," center Tyler Linderbaum told me after his own Raiders debut. "He's a kid that works really hard, wants to get better, wants the best for the team, and that's all you can ask for." Rookie quarterbacks don't exactly have a residency of success with the Raiders. This is the franchise of Todd Marinovich and JaMarcus Russell, of great prospects that never found NFL success. Derek Carr went 3-13 in his first year, and no Raiders rookie quarterback has ever managed a winning record as a starter. That might be asking a lot of Mendoza, as Las Vegas has managed four and three wins in the last two seasons, putting it on its sixth head coach in six seasons, including interims. But Kubiak has a chance to change that, balancing the win-now aspect of playing Cousins with the long-term development of taking lumps with Mendoza and the greatness that could await. "He led a good scoring drive, as far as getting in and out of the huddle and commanding the group and getting play calls down," Kubiak said, measured in his praise. "I saw the same guy we've seen in practice. I see an ascending player, and we've just got to keep getting better." The Raiders need more than Mendoza to turn things around. Linderbaum's arrival will help their run game, which will lean on second-year pro Ashton Jeanty and could get a spark from rookie Mike Washington Jr., who broke loose for a 53-yard run Thursday. The defense is still very much a work in progress — the Cardinals scored touchdowns on their first three drives against the Raiders, completing their first 15 passes and converting their first six third downs. And if being the No. 1 pick isn't pressure enough in today's NFL, Mendoza takes the field under the watchful eye of Raiders minority owner Tom Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl winner tasked with helping to bring a championship mentality back to the silver and black. There were moments Thursday that showed why Mendoza was the No. 1 pick — careful, accurate throws, with a nice pump fake here, a well-executed play-action handoff there and the confidence to stay in the pocket and be patient in an entirely new experience. His personality has not changed — a genuinely positive, squeaky-clean wholesomeness that won over his teammates at Indiana. Can Mendoza find the same success in the NFL? Thursday offered nothing to suggest that can't happen for him, just a question of how quickly. "Today was an invigorating experience," Mendoza said. "There's not many moments where you feel fully alive, and on the field you feel fully alive, especially in the NFL atmosphere. So I want to give thanks to that. It was great to get out there, get my feet wet. That first drive, it felt a little sped up because so much anticipation and excitement. However, I feel like my teammates around me protected me very well, and they helped me. They helped slow me down, and I think it was a good experience."

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Former NFL Lineman Jared Odrick Finding 'New Purpose' In Racing

Markham, Ontario — Jared Odrick is about 50 pounds lighter than when he was playing in the NFL at around 300-315 pounds. But the 38-year-old still stands at 6-foot-5. And for a man that tall who weighs about 250 pounds, getting into a race car can be tough. In fact, when he was in Las Vegas several years ago and attended a racing experience, he could only fit into a GT3 Porsche. But it was that trip that helped fuel his love of fast cars. He later bought a 901.1 Porsche Cup so that he could compete in SCAA amateur racing about four years ago. Odrick has progressed to a successful racer in TransAm and will make his second career NASCAR Canada Series start on Saturday on the streets of Markham, where INDYCAR is the headliner this weekend. "We had to move the footbox back a few inches," Odrick said during a virtual news conference earlier this week. "The seat was good. The height was good. But just the length for the legs had to be adjusted. ... Sliding through the window is kind of difficult. "I have a former football injury where I tore my labrum in my right shoulder, so I have some scar tissue there. But I also have a little bit of extra flexibility that I might not be able to have unless I had that happen that allowed me to get into the car." Having played seven years in the NFL where he totaled 170 tackles (135 solo) for the Miami Dolphins and the Jacksonville Jaguars, the 2010 first-round pick from Penn State finished 22nd in his series debut last week at Trois-Rivieres. He was running well until getting collected in a wreck. "The competition was high, but we were so happy to see how competitive we were in a racing situation and how good the car was late in the race," Odrick said. Odrick would love to race Cup one day but he isn’t focused on it. Currently driving for BC Race Cars in NASCAR's stock car series in Canada, he just wants to keep competing no matter the series, whether it's in NASCAR’s international series or in any national series. He does feel he could compete on any level if given the time to properly train and prepare with a team. He has competed against some of the top NASCAR prospects on road courses. "Everybody says they want to get to Cup, especially with the young drivers I’m driving against in TransAm," Odrick said. "Sometimes when you’re competing against 15-, 16-year-old kids — whether it’s the Tristan McKees, Thomas Annunziatas and Brent Crews and stuff like that — sometimes you look and feel silly that your goals and aspirations are the same as a 16-year-old kid who hasn’t got a chance or is trying to actively prove themselves as a man. "Then you sit there. ‘Did I not do that with the NFL?’" With a home in Toronto near the clinic and a doctor who has treated him throughout his athletic career, Odrick said he wants to show he can switch to another sport. "I don’t miss playing the game," Odrick said about football. "It’s a young man’s game, and I think if I missed it at 38 years old, I’d be doing something wrong. ... Racing definitely has given my life new meaning, new purpose. "And it feels like a lot of the discipline that I missed as a young 20-something professional football player, I’m definitely thinking about a lot."

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Commanders Star Jayden Daniels Reportedly Issues NIL Cease And Desist To LSU

The important thing is this isn't awkward. An attorney representing Washington Commanders star and former LSU Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels informed LSU that it can no longer use Daniels' name, image and likeness (NIL). This comes in the wake of LSU sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett changing his number to No. 5, which Daniels wore over his two years with the Tigers from 2022-23. "The Daniels family is deeply disappointed and feels profoundly disrespected by LSU's decision to give Jayden's number to another player," an Aug. 5 statement from Daniels' spokesperson read, according to ESPN. "Jayden and his family had every reason to believe that his number would remain a meaningful part of his LSU legacy and would be honored and protected in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the university. … "Jayden made it clear that he did not want his number given to another player, and he believed his wishes would be respected. His Heisman Trophy-winning season and everything he accomplished on and off the field cemented his place in LSU history. To see his number given to another player is incredibly disappointing and feels like a failure to honor the significance of what Jayden accomplished at LSU." Pickett, a consensus five-star recruit, wore No. 3 last season, with him recently changing to No. 5, which LSU head coach Lane Kiffin said the defensive back was "promised" he could wear when being recruited by the school in 2024. The No. 5 isn't retired by LSU. "Accordingly, LSU must immediately cease and desist from any further issue use, display, publication, distribution, promotion, commercialization, or other exploitation of Mr. Daniels' NIL in any manner or medium," attorney Adam Kenner wrote. "Any use of Mr. Daniels' NIL occurring after LSU's receipt of this notice will be deemed knowing and willful and will be pursued vigorously through all available legal and equitable remedies, without further notice." As for what he did on the field last season at LSU (2025), Pickett totaled three interceptions, three passes defended, two sacks and 37 combined tackles in his 2025 freshman campaign. Regarding Daniels, he transferred to Baton Rouge after three seasons with the Arizona State Sun Devils (2019-21) and was the Tigers' starting quarterback for two seasons (2022-23). In his second year at LSU, Daniels put together one of the best seasons by a quarterback in college football history, capped off by winning the 2023 Heisman Trophy Award. Across 12 games, Daniels totaled 3,812 passing yards, 40 passing touchdowns, four interceptions and a 208.0 passer rating, while completing 72.2% of his passes. His 40 passing touchdowns and 208.0 passer rating each led the SEC, while Daniels also rushed for 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns. Daniels was then selected by the Washington Commanders with the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and proceeded to lead them to a playoff win for the first time since 2005 and to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1991, when Washington won Super Bowl XXVI. In doing so, Daniels won 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, totaling 3,568 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, nine interceptions and a 100.1 passer rating in the regular season, while completing 69.0% of his passes. Meanwhile, Daniels rushed for 891 yards and six touchdowns. Daniels was limited to seven games in 2025 due to ankle, knee and elbow injuries, posting an 88.1 passer rating and completing 60.6% of his passes. The Commanders missed the playoffs at 5-12. LSU is entering its first season with Kiffin, who previously went 55-19 as the head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels from 2020-25, as its new coach.

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