Welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend, because guess what? It was your final weekend without football until February. First, we have the Hall of Fame Game this week, which will be coming to you on Thursday, then we have the Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday, then the first full week of the preseason is here next week and then things won't stop until we hit Super Bowl LVIII in February.
This year's Super Bowl is in Las Vegas and it's airing on CBS, so it basically combines my two favorite things.
Anyway, the Super Bowl is still six months away, so let's get back to reality and talk about things that are happening right now, like all the crazy drama that's happening with Jonathan Taylor in Indianapolis. We'll be covering that today, plus more.
As always, here's your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. Let's get to the rundown.
1. Today's show: Breaking down the Chargers offseason and predicting how they'll do in 2023
Last week, I said it was the final week of our "All 32" series, but apparently, I can't count, because I was wrong. We're back again this week with more of our "All 32" series, and today, we'll be taking a look at the Chargers.
To talk about how things are going in Los Angeles, we brought on Eric Smith, who serves as the senior writer for the team's official website, so he currently has a front-row seat to everything that's happening with the Chargers.
Here are two topics that we covered today with Smith:
- Is the drama over with Austin Ekeler? Not only did Ekeler try to get traded away from the Chargers this offseason, but he's also a strong believer that running backs aren't being paid enough and he wants to change that. Although there was some drama with Ekeler, Smith says things are good now. "I think things are as resolved as they can be right now," Smith said. "He got the extra incentives a couple weeks ago, so I think that kind of quells the waters a little bit headed into the year. He'll probably just play out this final year and see how he does." Basically, Smith doesn't think Ekeler will be any sort of distraction. The Chargers added $1.75 million in incentives to his deal and he's still scheduled to hit free agency after the 2023 season, so he'll have a chance to sign a big money deal at that point ... unless he gets hit with the franchise tag.
- Will the Chargers ever stop Chargering? The last time we saw the Chargers on the field, they were blowing a 27-0 lead in a wild-card loss to the Jaguars. It almost feels like the Chargers are jinxed at this point, but Smith says the never-ending bad luck that seems to haunt this franchise isn't something that anyone in the organization really thinks about, although he did acknowledge that the stigma is there. "It's been something that the team and the franchise has been trying to answer for a while," Smith said. "The current coaches and players don't really think about that, but they get questions about it, especially with how the playoffs ended last year. Brandon Staley kinds of shoos it away when he gets questions about that. He wants that challenge [to be the guy] who gets the team over the hump."
Smith spent roughly 15 minutes talking about the Chargers, and if you want to hear everything he had to say, you can listen to today's show here. You can also watch today's show on YouTube by clicking here.
2. Jonathan Taylor situation goes off the rails after running back demands trade
I'm not a marriage counselor, but I'm starting to think that Jonathan Taylor and the Colts might be headed for a divorce and that's mostly because Taylor and Colts owner Jim Irsay seem to hate each other. The drama started after Taylor demanded a trade and then things got uglier by the hour over the weekend.
So how ugly have things gotten? Let's rehash everything in chronological order:
- Taylor wants a new contract. The Colts running back, who's headed into the final year of a rookie deal that will pay him $4.3 million this year, was hoping to get an extension before the start of the 2023 season. As recently as June, Taylor even said he wanted to be a "Colt for life."
- Irsay takes a shot at all running backs. With running backs struggling to get paid over the past few years, Irsay threw fuel on the fire by basically telling them to stop complaining. In a tweet on July 26, Irsay essentially said that the players negotiated a CBA and that running backs need to just deal with what's happening to them. He also said agents of running backs are selling "bad faith."
- Taylor's agent says the relationship can't be fixed. Less than 24 hours after Irsay's tweet, there was talk that maybe the relationship could be fixed, but Taylor's agent, Malki Kawa, threw cold water on that with three simple words: "I doubt it." Also, in response to Irsay's "Bad faith" tweet, Kawa had this to say: "Bad faith is not paying your top offensive player." Yikes.
- Taylor and Irsay have a meeting. When you need to hash things out, talking to the other person face-to-face usually helps, but not in this case. After the two guys met on Irsay's bus over the weekend, things actually got worse. Following the meeting, Irsay still was insistent that Taylor wouldn't be getting a new deal.
- Taylor demands a trade. Since he can't get a new deal with the Colts, Taylor finally decided to demand a trade, and, well, let's just say that didn't go over well with Irsay.
- Irsay has bizarre response to trade demand. First, it should be noted that Irsay guaranteed that he won't be trading Taylor. He then also added a bizarre quote about how life will go on no matter what happens in this situation. "If I die tonight and Jonathan Taylor is out of the league, no one's gonna miss us," Irsay said, per The Athletic. "The league goes on. We know that. The National Football [League] rolls on. It doesn't matter who comes and who goes, and it's a privilege to be a part of it."
- Colts threaten to put Taylor on Non-Football Injury (NFI) list. According to Colts beat writer Mike Chappell, Indy is now thinking about putting Taylor on the NFI list. If that happens, and it's justified, then the Colts wouldn't have to pay Taylor a dime this year. It would also make a messy situation even messier.
- Taylor responds to NFI report. Apparently, Taylor was going to go on the NFI list due to a back injury he suffered while working out on his own during the offseason. Taylor's response to that? "Never had back pain. Never reported back pain." There is a new twist in this situation every three hours.
That is the short version of everything that has happened over the past few days. If you want the longer version, feel free to read out entire story on Taylor here.
The problem for Taylor is that the Colts have almost all the leverage in this situation, so he's not going to be traded unless Irsay changes his mind, and Irsay doesn't seem like a guy who's going to change his mind unless another team blows him away with a trade offer.
3. Sean Payton drama continues: Aaron Rodgers calls out Broncos coach for his recent comments
If you like drama, then this was definitely the weekend for you in the NFL. Not only did we have the situation in Indianapolis, but we also had Aaron Rodgers call out Sean Payton. During an interview last week, Payton ripped Nathaniel Hackett, saying that he pulled off "one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL" while coaching the Broncos last year.
Rodgers spent three years with Hackett in Green Bay, and this year, Hackett is Rodgers' offensive coordinator in New York. Rodgers was asked about the Payton comments on Sunday, and here's what he had to say:
- The Jets QB was shocked. "Those comments were very surprising, for a coach to do that to another coach. My love for [Hackett] goes deep," Rodgers told NFL Media. "We had some great years together in Green Bay, kept in touch. Love him and his family. He's an incredible family man, an incredible dad."
- Rodgers takes a shot at Payton for being insecure. "It made me feel bad that someone who has accomplished a lot in the league is that insecure that they have to take another man down to set themselves up for some sort of easy fall if it doesn't go well for that team this year."
- Rodgers ended with a message for Payton. "Thought it was way out of line, inappropriate and I think he needs to keep my coaches' names out of his mouth."
This is where I mention that everyone should probably go ahead and circle Oct. 8 on their calendar, because that's when Rodgers and the Jets will be playing the Broncos. Payton did end up saying that his comments were a mistake during an interview on Friday, but Rodgers didn't seem to care.
4. NFL Under 25 Team: Best offensive players under the age of 25
Someone once said that football is a young man's game, and now that Tom Brady is retired, I think I actually believe that. With that in mind, we're going to take a look at some of the best young players in the game over the next two days by looking at the best offensive and best defensive players under the age of 25.
Jordan Dajani had the honor of putting together our All Under 25 Team on the offensive side of the ball, and here's what he came up with at the skill positions:
QB: Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars
RB: Jonathan Taylor, Colts
WR: Justin Jefferson, Vikings
WR: Ja'Marr Chase, Bengals
WR: CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys
TE: Pat Freiermuth, Steelers
My main takeaway with the group above is that the NFL is pretty set at the receiving position for the foreseeable future. That position is loaded with young talent. Also, I'm not sure if it will help Taylor get paid, but someone should send this list to Irsay.
Anyway, if you want to see the full All Under 25 Team on the offensive side of the ball, then be sure to click here.
5. Five players who could come out of nowhere to have a breakout season
Sometimes, you can see a breakout season coming from a mile away. For instance, if a young player has a strong finish to the prior season, that player will become a popular candidate to have a breakout year the following season. But you can ignore everything I just said, because that's not what we're doing here. Today, we're going to take a look at five breakout players who could come out of nowhere to have a big season in 2023
Here's the list from Chris Trapasso:
- QB Sam Howell, Commanders. "Do I think Howell has an enormous ascension up quarterback rankings, jumping many established, high-profile names in the process? No. But he is positioned for a Year 2 breakout that will leave no questions about who the future starter is in Washington."
- RB Jordan Mason, 49ers. "Yes, Christian McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell are ahead of Mason on the 49ers' running back depth chart, which we have to keep in mind. But Mason earned this nod because of the spectacular showing he put forth in his short audition as a rookie in 2022, averaging 6.0 yards per tote while forcing a stunningly good 10 missed tackles on his 45 attempts."
- LB Nakobe Dea, Eagles. "With familiar faces in front of him at defensive tackle, Dean will break out as a star on Philadelphia's high-caliber defense in 2023 after barely playing a season ago."
- WR Skyy Moore, Chiefs. "No way I'm ready to quit Moore yet. ... In 2023, I expect Moore to be a 70-to-80 catch producer who'll play with a noticeable comfort on Sundays en route to becoming somewhat of a household name."
- DB Damontae Kazee, Steelers. "Kazee led football with seven picks as a rookie in 2017 with the Falcons and has 14 career picks on his professional resume to date, including two with the Steelers last season in just nine games. ... The Steelers added exactly zero safeties in free agency or the draft, signaling their confidence in Kazee as Fitzpatrick's running mate at safety."
For a full look at Trapasso's list, be sure to click here.
6. Extra points: Eagles unveil their Kelly Green uniforms
It's been a busy 24 hours in the NFL, and since it's nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you.
- Eagles to wear their Kelly Green uniform for two games this year. The Eagles' Kelly Green look is one of the most iconic in NFL history and it will be returning for two games this year. The Eagles will debut the throwbacks in Week 7 (against the Dolphins) and then rock them again in Week 12 (against the Bills). If you want to see what the new Kelly Green uniform and helmet look like, you can do that here.
- Sony Michel shockingly retires. The two-time Super Bowl champion has decided to hang up his cleats for good after just five NFL seasons. The 28-year-old won a Super Bowl with the Patriots in 2018 before winning another one with the Rams in 2021. You can read more details about Michel's surprising retirement here.
- Danielle Hunter gets new one-year deal from Vikings. There was some speculation that Hunter might be traded before the start of the season, but that won't be happening anymore after the Vikings gave their star pass-rusher a new deal. The one-year contract will pay Hunter up to $20 million and includes $17 million in guarantees (Under his old deal, Hunter was going to make just $4.9 million in 2023). The contract also forbids the Vikings from using the franchise tag on Hunter in 2024.
- Dolphins sign Eli Apple. With Jalen Ramsey now likely out until at least December, the Dolphins decided to add some depth over the weekend by signing Eli Apple, The former Bengals corner actually has a bitter rivalry with Tyreek Hill, but after signing with Miami, Apple said the two are "all good."
- Ezekiel Elliott visits with Patriots. The free agent running back took a visit to New England over the weekend. It's not clear how the visit went, but Elliott was spotted eating dinner with Mac Jones on Saturday night.
- Bengals sign XFL QB. With Joe Burrow set to miss several weeks due to a calf strain, the Bengals brought in some reinforcements over the weekend by signing QB Reid Sinnett. The former XFL QB has spent time with both the Eagles and Dolphins, but he's never played a regular-season snap. In a fun twist, Sinnett did once throw a preseason Hail Mary against the Bengals, which you can see here.
- Jerry Jones doesn't sound interested in paying Zack Martin. The Cowboys offensive lineman is currently holding out and it doesn't sound like that's going to end anytime soon. Over the weekend, Jerry Jones said the Cowboys need the money for other things. "It's not about precedent. It's about facts," Jones said Saturday, via ESPN. "We need the money to pay [Micah] Parsons. We need the money to pay the players that we got to pay in the future." This puts Jones at odds with Dak Prescott, who wants the Cowboys to "pay the man."
