# The Insiders Podcast: Tua Tagovailoa ruled out for Sunday at Steelers + Remembering the victims of 9/11

An episode of [NFL: The Insiders](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1543090622), 12 Sep 2026, 43 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/0414225e-5167-477f-9f83-ae390070e4d2/c09d4041-3ac9-420f-af17-b4c3001364b5/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=3e412703-0644-468e-9001-ae390070e4db

Patrick Clayborn is joined by NFL Insiders Ian Rapoport, Judy Battista, and Jeremy Fowler to talk about today's headlines. Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has been ruled out for Sunday at Steelers as Cooper Rush will start. Wide receiver for the New York Giants Malik Nabers questionable with a knee injury ahead of the Sunday Night Football game against the Cowboys. San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan agrees to a multi-year contract extension. And the NFL remembers the victims of 9/11 on the 25th anniversary of the tragedy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:08] Speaker 1: The Falcons have to rush in a replacement as their
[0:10] Speaker 1: starting quarterback in week one. We'll talk about that process
[0:14] Speaker 1: as we process a return for Odell Beckham Jr., what
[0:17] Speaker 1: his second stint will be like in New York, and
[0:20] Speaker 1: was it a bad process for the Rams in Australia?
[0:22] Speaker 1: Those stories and more on this edition of The Insiders. Hey, everybody,
[0:26] Speaker 1: Patrick Claibon here on this Friday edition of The Insiders
[0:28] Speaker 1: with the real-life NFL Network insider Ian Rappaport with me
[0:31] Speaker 1: here in Los Angeles. Ian, it is good to see you.
[0:33] Speaker 2: Welcome.
[0:33] Speaker 1: We've also got Judy Batista here. And Jeremy Fowler, as
[0:36] Speaker 1: all offseason, we've been chronicling the twists and the turns
[0:39] Speaker 1: of the quarterback situation in Atlanta for months. We added
[0:43] Speaker 1: another one today as an injury shifts those circumstances. We
[0:46] Speaker 1: see Tua Tagovailoa go down with an oblique injury. That
[0:50] Speaker 1: means Cooper Rush is going to be the starting quarterback.
[0:53] Speaker 1: The head coach, Kevin Stefanski, addressing that earlier today.
[0:57] Speaker 3: There's been great guys over the course of history. that
[1:01] Speaker 3: do an excellent job of staying ready so they don't
[1:04] Speaker 3: have to get ready and step in and the reason
[1:09] Speaker 3: you're able to do that is because you work so
[1:11] Speaker 3: hard in the meeting room and on the practice field
[1:12] Speaker 3: to stay up to speed. Now in an ideal world
[1:15] Speaker 3: would you love to have gotten every rep? Of course
[1:17] Speaker 3: that's a no-brainer but I do think there's examples of
[1:21] Speaker 3: guys that come in with no reps and sometimes it's
[1:24] Speaker 3: after you know the first play sometimes it's on play
[1:27] Speaker 3: 59 whatever it is and and you're expected to compete,
[1:31] Speaker 3: and you're expected to hold the standard of the room,
[1:34] Speaker 3: in this case, the quarterback room. So Cooper's been a
[1:38] Speaker 3: backup in his career. He's been a starter. He knows
[1:40] Speaker 3: how to prepare. This is football. Welcome to the NFL.
[1:45] Speaker 3: Guys need to step up and And we need to
[1:47] Speaker 3: rally behind guys, and that's just how it operates.
[1:50] Speaker 4: Is there kind of a part of you, though, that's like,
[1:51] Speaker 4: I can't believe this, like you have a whole competition,
[1:54] Speaker 4: a whole summer, you name a starter on Monday, and
[1:56] Speaker 4: a few days later he gets hurt.
[1:57] Speaker 5: There's a part of that that just feels unbelievable, no?
[2:00] Speaker 3: Not for me.
[2:02] Speaker 1: Kevin Stefanski living through this once again. They signed Cooper
[2:04] Speaker 1: Rush July 29th. Now he starts, Ian, in week one.
[2:07] Speaker 6: And I was actually there at Falcons camp July 29th.
[2:11] Speaker 6: So here's what happened. They needed a backup quarterback, right?
[2:14] Speaker 6: Everyone was injured, which basically is the situation now. Cooper
[2:17] Speaker 6: Rush came in. He did the walkthrough. He essentially learned
[2:22] Speaker 6: the offense on the fly, ran practice, impressed them, and
[2:26] Speaker 6: had a really good day. And it was like, oh, okay,
[2:27] Speaker 6: this guy's pretty good. They obviously signed him, and we're like,
[2:30] Speaker 6: you know what? This is a guy who's going to
[2:31] Speaker 6: be part of our future, maybe in the kind of
[2:34] Speaker 6: immediate sense. And then, of course, he's much more of
[2:37] Speaker 6: their present than they ever realized.
[2:39] Speaker 1: So, yes, here's what happened.
[2:40] Speaker 6: Tua Tagovailoa had an oblique strain on Thursday, went down.
[2:45] Speaker 6: You saw him in pain there. He had an MRI,
[2:48] Speaker 6: described his day-to-day.
[2:49] Speaker 1: But if you have an.
[2:49] Speaker 6: Oblique strain, you are simply not going to play that week.
[2:52] Speaker 6: And we'll see if he's even going to play next week.
[2:54] Speaker 6: Michael Penix Jr., who would be the starter if he
[2:56] Speaker 6: was healthy, is just not healthy. We'll see if he
[2:59] Speaker 6: is next week, but as of now, he is not.
[3:02] Speaker 6: So it is Cooper Rush, who we've seen play well
[3:05] Speaker 6: for the Cowboys when they absolutely have to have it.
[3:08] Speaker 6: This is a guy who's done it, but Fowler, I
[3:10] Speaker 6: would say this, for the Atlanta Falcons, the realistic expectations
[3:15] Speaker 6: probably got down a couple notches.
[3:17] Speaker 7: Yeah, but Kuparashian is done at 9-7 as a career
[3:20] Speaker 7: starter in 16 relief appearances, and they know what they
[3:23] Speaker 7: want him to do. Get the ball to B. John Robinson,
[3:26] Speaker 7: Kyle Pitts, Drake London, and get out of the way.
[3:28] Speaker 7: So they do have playmakers that can support him. So
[3:31] Speaker 7: this is a bit of a curveball. Kevin Stefanski is
[3:33] Speaker 7: used to that. In Cleveland, you had to start several
[3:35] Speaker 7: quarterbacks pretty much every year. So he's adaptable. He knows
[3:39] Speaker 7: what to do here. You mentioned Michael Penix. It's interesting
[3:42] Speaker 7: because he's been playing, he's been practicing for months doing
[3:45] Speaker 7: seven-man work, then graduated to 11-man work the last few weeks.
[3:48] Speaker 7: Still needs to clear that final hurdle of being comfortable
[3:51] Speaker 7: to take and absorb contact in a game setting. Once
[3:54] Speaker 7: he does that, like you said, the runway is clear
[3:57] Speaker 7: for him to play. And then it's Cooper Rush for
[4:00] Speaker 7: this week, maybe next week, depending on how Tua responds.
[4:03] Speaker 7: But Judy, as we're seeing, the body has gone through
[4:06] Speaker 7: a lot with Tua Tungabailoa just in the last few weeks.
[4:10] Speaker 8: Yeah, there's a very real possibility we never see Tua
[4:13] Speaker 8: as the Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback, right?
[4:16] Speaker 9: Oblique injuries tend to linger.
[4:18] Speaker 8: And for quarterbacks, of course, they need that torque ability
[4:21] Speaker 8: to not.
[4:21] Speaker 9: Be in pain. So for however long the oblique.
[4:25] Speaker 8: Lasts, as long as it's bothering Tua, then you have
[4:28] Speaker 8: to wonder when is Penix going to be ready? He
[4:30] Speaker 8: was described as close this week, maybe 90 percent. So
[4:34] Speaker 8: we will see how long it takes Tua. for Penix
[4:36] Speaker 8: to get back. But it's very possible we don't see
[4:40] Speaker 8: Tua ever get this job. He had a very narrow
[4:43] Speaker 8: window to seize this job. He wasn't able to do
[4:46] Speaker 8: it in the summer. That was because of his performance.
[4:48] Speaker 8: And now, of course, he had an opportunity to start,
[4:51] Speaker 8: and he's injured. Very unfortunate for Tua. I mean, it's
[4:54] Speaker 8: possible even that the Falcons could release him. Would they
[4:57] Speaker 8: keep four quarterbacks once everybody is healthy? I kind of
[5:00] Speaker 8: doubt it. So we will see what Chua's future holds.
[5:03] Speaker 8: Of course, best case scenario for Chua, he feels good
[5:05] Speaker 8: next week and he's in there.
[5:06] Speaker 1: Let's go over to the home team, Jeremy, because they
[5:09] Speaker 1: have the defense that's going to face off against Cooper Rush.
[5:13] Speaker 1: Some issues of their own. What's the status of Joey
[5:14] Speaker 1: Porter's search for a new contract?
[5:17] Speaker 7: Well, the clock is ticking, Patrick, on Joey Porter and
[5:20] Speaker 7: the Steelers. They got less than 48 hours to try
[5:22] Speaker 7: to work out a long-term deal. The Steelers have that
[5:24] Speaker 7: long-standing rule. They don't negotiate in season. Now, GM Omar
[5:28] Speaker 7: Khan has been known to get deals done in these
[5:31] Speaker 7: final hours, but Porter himself said in the locker room
[5:33] Speaker 7: today he is not optimistic. I haven't sensed optimism in
[5:37] Speaker 7: this situation throughout, even though the Steelers seem to be
[5:40] Speaker 7: trying a.
[5:40] Speaker 2: Little bit this week.
[5:41] Speaker 7: But The player has been frustrated to the point where
[5:43] Speaker 7: he's had to entertain his options about a potential trade,
[5:47] Speaker 7: or does he play? He's gone through all those emotions
[5:49] Speaker 7: in recent weeks. Now, he's been practicing, but it's been slow.
[5:53] Speaker 7: It's been sort of a ramp-up situation. So they have
[5:56] Speaker 7: Asante Samuel Jr., who's in his own contract year, who
[5:59] Speaker 7: could be the starter on Sunday, whether Porter is ruled
[6:02] Speaker 7: out or not.
[6:03] Speaker 1: Yeah, a lot of changes on that side of the
[6:05] Speaker 1: ball for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Oddly enough, one team that
[6:08] Speaker 1: didn't have a lot of contract dispute issues this offseason,
[6:10] Speaker 1: the Dallas Cowboys. They play host to John Harbaugh's Giants
[6:13] Speaker 1: coming up on the season opener of Sunday Night Football.
[6:17] Speaker 1: And we are looking at a questionable Malik Nabors, who
[6:22] Speaker 1: is coming off of multiple surgeries on his knee after
[6:26] Speaker 1: that injury last season. Looking over at Odell Beckham Jr.,
[6:30] Speaker 1: who will be back for the Giants this season. Look
[6:33] Speaker 1: at the career for Odell just in those 59 games,
[6:38] Speaker 1: all-time ranks among Giants, fourth in reception, second in receiving yards,
[6:42] Speaker 1: fourth in receiving touchdowns. Here's a part of his conversation
[6:46] Speaker 1: with Jordan Renan earlier today.
[6:49] Speaker 10: It's been almost 3,000 days since you last came out
[6:53] Speaker 10: in a Giants jersey for a game. What do you
[6:56] Speaker 10: expect the atmosphere to be like and that feeling to
[7:00] Speaker 10: be like for you?
[7:02] Speaker 11: My heart flutters a little bit just thinking about it.
[7:07] Speaker 11: This is a special place to me. I think that
[7:10] Speaker 11: it's been a lot of love, you know, and I
[7:12] Speaker 11: want to be able to give my all to this organization,
[7:14] Speaker 11: this city, and that's kind of why I came back.
[7:17] Speaker 10: What are your expectations for a John Harbaugh Giants team?
[7:21] Speaker 11: I know who he is as a man and as
[7:23] Speaker 11: a coach, so I expect a very physical team, a
[7:26] Speaker 11: very sound team who's discipline in the details and we
[7:31] Speaker 11: all want big things here and that just that comes
[7:33] Speaker 11: with you know a lot of hard work so I'm
[7:35] Speaker 11: expecting us to have a good season and I just
[7:37] Speaker 11: want to do my best to contribute let me.
[7:39] Speaker 10: Take you back real quick yeah 12 years ago yeah
[7:42] Speaker 10: this stadium happened to be the first time you played
[7:45] Speaker 10: the Cowboys here the catch right the most memorable play
[7:49] Speaker 10: you know probably you've mentioned before changed your life yeah
[7:53] Speaker 10: How much is this full circle? How much does that
[7:55] Speaker 10: mean that you get to come back against the Cowboys
[7:58] Speaker 10: in your first game back in the second time around?
[8:01] Speaker 11: It's like words don't even do justice. You know, it's
[8:03] Speaker 11: like this is a crazy situation. And, you know, when
[8:07] Speaker 11: I when I kind of first signed, I was seeing
[8:09] Speaker 11: all the things happening. And then the schedule came out
[8:12] Speaker 11: and it's like September 13th, you know, 13. My number
[8:15] Speaker 11: like Dallas Cowboys Sunday night. So it's definitely a full
[8:19] Speaker 11: circle moment. And I'll just try and be present and
[8:21] Speaker 11: live you know in the moment You know not so
[8:24] Speaker 11: much the past and all those things, but I'm excited.
[8:28] Speaker 10: Last one What is it that you're most excited about
[8:31] Speaker 10: here for this season for this comeback?
[8:35] Speaker 11: I definitely think a lot of it is the fans.
[8:37] Speaker 11: You know the the people of New York I want
[8:41] Speaker 11: to give them everything that I got and let's you
[8:44] Speaker 11: know bring Giants football back to where I feel like it.
[8:48] Speaker 1: Belongs and Numerologist Jeremy around the world reacting to all
[8:51] Speaker 1: the 13s and the symbolism. What's the role going to
[8:54] Speaker 1: be like for Odell Beckham Jr.? What's the deployment like
[8:57] Speaker 1: for these wide receivers in New York?
[8:59] Speaker 7: Well, Patrick, Odell Beckham enters a new phase in his career.
[9:02] Speaker 7: Role player, really fringe roster spot player. He was close
[9:05] Speaker 7: to not making the 53-man roster and worked his way on.
[9:08] Speaker 7: over the last few weeks before cutdowns. And so I
[9:11] Speaker 7: talked to a team source who said if he embraces
[9:14] Speaker 7: that and doesn't try to be the star anymore, he
[9:16] Speaker 7: can really help the New York Giants. By all accounts,
[9:19] Speaker 7: in recent weeks, he certainly has. The team has stressed that, that, hey,
[9:22] Speaker 7: you can be a part of this. Certainly Malik Nabors,
[9:24] Speaker 7: if he plays, or other players will be more prominently
[9:27] Speaker 7: featured in the offense.
[9:28] Speaker 2: But they feel like.
[9:29] Speaker 7: Beckham has shown enough where he can at least help,
[9:31] Speaker 7: and that's a start. So he's got the blonde hair,
[9:34] Speaker 7: but it's a different output than he's used to with
[9:36] Speaker 7: those one-handed catches. And so Beckham's going to play a
[9:39] Speaker 7: role on Sunday, whether they have Malik neighbors or not,
[9:41] Speaker 7: because they're really short.
[9:42] Speaker 2: He's going to have to help them.
[9:43] Speaker 7: They have four active receivers, Braxton Berrios, they can bring
[9:46] Speaker 7: up off the practice squad. A lot hinges on what
[9:49] Speaker 7: Malik neighbors can do and what he decides. My understanding
[9:52] Speaker 7: is he's going into the weekend and has to make
[9:54] Speaker 7: a decision. The team is leaving it up to him
[9:56] Speaker 7: and his comfort level with whether he wants to play.
[9:58] Speaker 1: He's looked awesome.
[9:59] Speaker 7: He's been a full-time participant all week so the stage
[10:02] Speaker 7: is certainly set but neighbors has to make that call.
[10:04] Speaker 6: Yeah I think like a lot of people this decision
[10:06] Speaker 6: is really going to be made not just for week
[10:08] Speaker 6: one but for you know November December and into January
[10:13] Speaker 6: that's part of the long-term decision making that goes into
[10:15] Speaker 6: it but man to listen to you guys talk about
[10:18] Speaker 6: Odell listen to Odell himself This has suddenly become a
[10:21] Speaker 6: feel-good character in the New York media, and I'm here
[10:24] Speaker 6: for all of it. What I'm also here for is
[10:26] Speaker 6: this Dallas Cowboys defense, and we've spent the last year
[10:30] Speaker 6: or more seeing this Dallas defense as a little bit
[10:32] Speaker 6: of a punching bag, and a lot of it was deserved.
[10:35] Speaker 1: Last year, you know, pretty bad. This year, they bolstered
[10:38] Speaker 1: the personnel.
[10:39] Speaker 6: They got a young defensive coordinator that is really, really
[10:42] Speaker 6: good in Christian Parker. And they drafted Caleb Downs in
[10:45] Speaker 6: a place where he can be an immediate decision maker.
[10:48] Speaker 1: I cannot wait to see what it is going to
[10:50] Speaker 1: look like.
[10:51] Speaker 6: It's been quite a while since I've thought about enjoying
[10:54] Speaker 6: watching this Cowboys defense.
[10:57] Speaker 12: That's what I'm here for.
[10:58] Speaker 1: I'm excited about it. Yeah, get the confluence of the
[11:00] Speaker 1: future and the past with both franchises coming up on
[11:04] Speaker 1: Sunday Night Football. Speaking of the past, today marking 25
[11:07] Speaker 1: years since September 11, 2001. NFL players and teams taking
[11:11] Speaker 1: to social media today to look back at that day
[11:13] Speaker 1: as well as subsequent ones that have impacted the world.
[11:16] Speaker 1: ever since. We've heard from several coaches on the topic today,
[11:20] Speaker 1: including Dan Campbell, who was a tight end on the
[11:23] Speaker 1: Giants back in 2001. He looked back at people risking
[11:26] Speaker 1: their lives unknowingly at the time to help others.
[11:31] Speaker 4: It's something you never forget, you know, being up there.
[11:34] Speaker 4: It was a little bit of the, you know, you
[11:39] Speaker 4: get the worst of humanity and you get the best
[11:42] Speaker 4: all in a matter of minutes, really. And One of
[11:45] Speaker 4: the most inspiring things that you could ever witness be
[11:52] Speaker 4: around is in the middle of a tragedy, especially in
[11:56] Speaker 4: New York, where people, man, they're in a hurry, right?
[11:59] Speaker 4: And it's about getting to one spot to another, and
[12:03] Speaker 4: you've got places to go, things to do. And that happens, and, man,
[12:08] Speaker 4: everybody just pitches in to help. they just want to
[12:13] Speaker 4: help and, uh, do whatever it takes and not, not
[12:16] Speaker 4: just the people there, but people in the country that are, uh,
[12:22] Speaker 4: sacrificing their time, um, being away from family to just
[12:26] Speaker 4: go help. And anybody that was up there at that
[12:29] Speaker 4: time to even want to go help to get into
[12:32] Speaker 4: the city after that, um, that, that took a lot
[12:36] Speaker 4: just to even get up there. So, um, it was, uh,
[12:40] Speaker 4: It definitely pulled our country together and it was one
[12:44] Speaker 4: of those things that you just don't ever forget. So,
[12:49] Speaker 4: you know, a lot of people, you know, lost, you know,
[12:57] Speaker 4: there was a lot of loss. And those are those
[13:00] Speaker 4: things you don't forget. And I can't believe it's been
[13:02] Speaker 4: 25 years.
[13:04] Speaker 1: The Bills' first performance of the Joe Brady era comes
[13:07] Speaker 1: against the defense that landed their worst performance a year ago.
[13:10] Speaker 1: Cam Wolfe on the new look Bills when we come back.
[13:13] Speaker 1: And the 49ers victorious in the first ever NFL game
[13:16] Speaker 1: in Australia. But there's something else you can congratulate one
[13:18] Speaker 1: Niner on. We'll tell you what, coming up as the
[13:21] Speaker 1: Insiders continues. Back here on the Insiders, looking back to
[13:28] Speaker 1: the first ever NFL game in Australia at the Melbourne
[13:32] Speaker 1: Cricket Ground. Miles Garrett coming over from the Browns in
[13:36] Speaker 1: the trade. We get the third and.
[13:38] Speaker 12: Ten in the second quarter.
[13:39] Speaker 1: Matthew Stafford picked off by Bernardo Green at the 13-yard line.
[13:44] Speaker 1: Looking to the third quarter now. Kyle Shanahan dialing up
[13:46] Speaker 1: this on third and goal. Throw it to Mike Evans.
[13:49] Speaker 1: That's a successful play. Mike Evans gets the touchdown grab.
[13:52] Speaker 1: He'd finished with six catches and 49 yards in his
[13:55] Speaker 1: 49ers debut. Ensuing Rams drive.
[13:57] Speaker 12: Fourth and goal. 38-year-old quarterback sneak. Unsuccessful.
[14:04] Speaker 1: As things would get very sideways after that for the Rams,
[14:08] Speaker 1: the 49ers win it convincingly 27-7. As we see Brock
[14:15] Speaker 1: Purdy with time. Finds Debo Samuel. They would add a
[14:19] Speaker 1: field goal.
[14:20] Speaker 12: 27-7.
[14:22] Speaker 1: Rams fall in the opener. The Super Bowl favorite starts
[14:25] Speaker 1: off 0-1. Ian, we were so excited about this Rams defense. Ultimately,
[14:29] Speaker 1: they couldn't get enough to stop Brock Purdy and the 49ers.
[14:32] Speaker 1: They couldn't.
[14:33] Speaker 6: And there was certainly some concerning things about this Los
[14:35] Speaker 6: Angeles Rams defense. I should add that Aaron Donald was
[14:39] Speaker 6: not part of it.
[14:39] Speaker 1: One of the biggest.
[14:41] Speaker 6: signings one of the biggest moves of the entire offseason
[14:43] Speaker 6: was Aaron Donald coming out of retirement and rejoining the
[14:46] Speaker 6: Rams only to not play week one so everything we
[14:48] Speaker 6: do every judgment we're going to make in this Rams
[14:50] Speaker 6: defense is not going to involve one of the greatest
[14:52] Speaker 6: defensive linemen ever to play who obviously was not playing
[14:55] Speaker 6: and the Miles Garrett we saw was not the Miles
[14:59] Speaker 6: Garrett that the Rams hope they're going to see in
[15:01] Speaker 6: weeks let's say five six and seven and You know,
[15:04] Speaker 6: we heard one of the sideline reports for our old
[15:06] Speaker 6: friend Tom Palacero saying that Myles Garrett was.
[15:08] Speaker 1: Winded during the game. That is real. He has barely practiced.
[15:13] Speaker 6: He's been dealing with knee soreness. This is going to
[15:16] Speaker 6: get better. And the fact that it wasn't a snap
[15:18] Speaker 6: your fingers and suddenly, Judy, this defense is the best
[15:21] Speaker 6: in the NFL. We should have expected it. It's really
[15:24] Speaker 6: on us where the expectations were just crazy.
[15:28] Speaker 1: But still not the way the Rams wanted to look
[15:29] Speaker 1: week one.
[15:30] Speaker 9: Certainly not.
[15:31] Speaker 8: And of course, everybody's going to extrapolate that it had
[15:33] Speaker 8: something to do with everybody's travel arrangements.
[15:36] Speaker 9: How this game went.
[15:37] Speaker 8: Who knows if that's true? This game could have gone
[15:39] Speaker 8: the same way if they had played it at SoFi.
[15:41] Speaker 8: But one of the reasons that the Rams went in
[15:44] Speaker 8: so late, 28 hours before kickoff, and then got out
[15:48] Speaker 8: right away, was not just because that was the best
[15:50] Speaker 8: way to approach Week 1, but it was because they
[15:52] Speaker 8: thought that was the best way to recover from Week
[15:54] Speaker 8: 1 and then go into Weeks 2, 3, 4... etc. Basically,
[15:58] Speaker 8: don't ever adjust to Australia time. Just stay on California time.
[16:02] Speaker 8: So they are winging their way back to Los Angeles.
[16:06] Speaker 8: And they have a game on Monday night at home
[16:09] Speaker 8: against the New York Giants.
[16:10] Speaker 9: So they do get the extra day to recover.
[16:11] Speaker 8: So they're not really adjusting to the time zone difference
[16:14] Speaker 8: because they never really adjusted. But certainly flying 15 hours
[16:18] Speaker 8: each way takes a toll on the body.
[16:20] Speaker 9: Did that impact the way they played? Who knows? We
[16:23] Speaker 9: will see what they say.
[16:24] Speaker 8: As for the 49ers, they do have to adjust, but
[16:26] Speaker 8: they have three straight home games now, so they've got
[16:29] Speaker 8: a good long period in their own bets.
[16:32] Speaker 1: A period in their bets where they can have a celebration,
[16:34] Speaker 1: albeit this already happened, but we found out, once again,
[16:37] Speaker 1: thanks to our friend Tom Pelissero, that Kyle Shanahan actually
[16:40] Speaker 1: signed a multi-year contract extension that will keep him in
[16:43] Speaker 1: Santa Clara, where he's been since 2017, amassing two conference
[16:46] Speaker 1: championships and an overall record of 83-67. That tenure has
[16:51] Speaker 1: been marred, though, by several injuries to key players during
[16:54] Speaker 1: some of those losses. Added another one yesterday as rookie
[16:57] Speaker 1: Dejon Stribling had an ankle injury that took him out
[16:59] Speaker 1: of the opener. He's undergoing some tests, but he is
[17:01] Speaker 1: expected to miss game time. Seahawks getting relatively good news
[17:06] Speaker 1: regarding Sam Darnold's hip as he's expected to miss the
[17:09] Speaker 1: team's Week 2 game against the Cardinals, but they feel
[17:11] Speaker 1: that he avoided a long-term serious injury that would require IR.
[17:15] Speaker 1: Drew Locke to back up the winner in the opening
[17:18] Speaker 1: performance against the Patriots. An opener that saw an injury,
[17:21] Speaker 1: the new Patriots receiver A.J. Brown is going to go
[17:23] Speaker 1: on injured reserve, meaning he will miss at least four
[17:26] Speaker 1: weeks where the Patriots have the Steelers, the Jags, the Raiders,
[17:30] Speaker 1: and the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo Bills, one of the, in fact,
[17:35] Speaker 1: the only team in NFL history to win a playoff
[17:37] Speaker 1: game in six straight seasons, but not make a Super
[17:41] Speaker 1: Bowl as we look at their exits since 2020. And
[17:45] Speaker 1: joining us now, it's Cam Wolfe, head of the Bills-Texans. Cam,
[17:50] Speaker 1: it's still Joe Brady's offense and now his team, but
[17:52] Speaker 1: Jim Leonard takes over on the defensive side of it.
[17:56] Speaker 13: Yeah, Patrick, a big part of this Bill's season is
[17:58] Speaker 13: can they get over the hump with these new coaching changes?
[18:01] Speaker 13: So I spent a lot of time this summer figuring
[18:03] Speaker 13: out how a Joe Brady-led team will be different. Deion
[18:06] Speaker 13: Dawkins told me he's going to be full of South
[18:08] Speaker 13: Florida swagger, full of energy, full of caffeine, and he's
[18:11] Speaker 13: going to bring that urgency to us. That's different than
[18:14] Speaker 13: what we had under Sean McDermott. And I talked to
[18:17] Speaker 13: their general manager, Brandon Bean, about the interview process. He said,
[18:20] Speaker 13: we really focused a lot on game management. This is Brady,
[18:23] Speaker 13: who's going to be a play caller and a head coach.
[18:25] Speaker 13: He excelled in that area. He really showed an ability
[18:28] Speaker 13: to think on his feet, make quick decisions, really thrive
[18:31] Speaker 13: in high-pressure moments. And really, this Buffalo Bills team is
[18:35] Speaker 13: immediately in a high-pressure moment. They've got to win now.
[18:38] Speaker 13: and they face a Houston Texans team that has been
[18:40] Speaker 13: their kryptonite. I think Brady will be a guy that
[18:42] Speaker 13: can help them when it comes to those game management situations.
[18:45] Speaker 13: Think 13 seconds. I think he can thrive in those
[18:49] Speaker 13: type atmospheres. As far as Jim Leonard, it may be
[18:52] Speaker 13: a little bit of an interesting unknown early, bringing a
[18:55] Speaker 13: different style of defense, but being described him to me
[18:58] Speaker 13: as stealth mode, whereas Brady is full of emotion. Leonard straight-faced,
[19:03] Speaker 13: and Bradley Chubb, their new big-edition pass.
[19:06] Speaker 12: Rush, said that we're going to be attacking. We're going
[19:08] Speaker 12: to do a lot of.
[19:08] Speaker 13: The things that I did under Vance Joseph my rookie year,
[19:11] Speaker 13: so think about all that pass rush they've had in Denver.
[19:15] Speaker 13: So their hope is they can get C.J. Stroud off
[19:18] Speaker 13: with pressure, with confusing elements, and they hope that a
[19:21] Speaker 13: different style of Buffalo Bills team will be enough to
[19:24] Speaker 13: get Josh Allen over the top.
[19:25] Speaker 1: Yeah, that was one of the worst performances by the
[19:28] Speaker 1: Buffalo Bills last year against this Houston, Texas team. We'll
[19:30] Speaker 1: see how it goes this time. What's another game you're
[19:32] Speaker 1: looking at this weekend, Cam?
[19:33] Speaker 13: Yeah, I want to see the Carolina Panthers versus Chicago Bears. Look,
[19:36] Speaker 13: let's call it what it is. This is Bryce Young's
[19:38] Speaker 13: prove it year. He's got a show worthy of being
[19:41] Speaker 13: this franchise quarterback, worthy of getting a contract extension. From
[19:44] Speaker 13: what I understand, that's not going to happen at the
[19:47] Speaker 13: start of the year. Most likely, that's a 2027 offseason.
[19:50] Speaker 14: Decision.
[19:50] Speaker 13: Their owner, David Tepper, came out and said, I believe
[19:52] Speaker 13: in Bryce Young, but I want.
[19:54] Speaker 12: To see more consistency.
[19:55] Speaker 13: So talking to people there, there's three areas where Bryce
[19:58] Speaker 13: has to be a lot better with his consistency. Number one,
[20:01] Speaker 13: Dave Canales told me he thinks that Bryce can be
[20:03] Speaker 13: a high 60s, low 70% passer. He thinks his accuracy
[20:07] Speaker 13: is his superpower. The key to that, taking the check
[20:10] Speaker 13: down when you can. Number two, a new play caller
[20:13] Speaker 13: in Brad Izzik. He wants to run a lot more
[20:15] Speaker 13: tempo and diverse formations within the scheme.
[20:18] Speaker 1: It's up to.
[20:19] Speaker 13: Bryce to be able to have control, have comfort, to
[20:22] Speaker 13: be able to thrive in that. One example is Tedrow
[20:24] Speaker 13: McMillan playing a lot more in the slot. Can Bryce
[20:27] Speaker 13: thrive in a changing atmosphere? And the third, Will Herringer
[20:31] Speaker 13: is his quarterback coach, his guy. He really preaches decisiveness
[20:36] Speaker 13: solves all problems. And Herringer is a guy that we
[20:39] Speaker 13: should know a lot more because he's going to be
[20:41] Speaker 13: in Bryce's room throughout the way. He's really focused on
[20:43] Speaker 13: telling Bryce everything. trigger, get rid of the ball, whether
[20:46] Speaker 13: it's the check down or the deep pass, make a
[20:49] Speaker 13: quick decision.
[20:49] Speaker 12: We will live with it. We're going to follow those
[20:52] Speaker 12: three areas.
[20:52] Speaker 13: If he can improve there, then maybe he has a
[20:54] Speaker 13: big paycheck coming at the end of 2027.
[20:56] Speaker 1: Yeah, it's not just the pressure of pursuing a new deal.
[20:59] Speaker 1: He was in the bottom 10 in terms of facing
[21:02] Speaker 1: pressures last season. They have to replace Ike Ikuonu. at
[21:06] Speaker 1: tackle as well. We'll be back with Cam later on.
[21:08] Speaker 1: On the other side of that game, we got news
[21:10] Speaker 1: on Bears running back DeAndre Swift. This coming courtesy of
[21:13] Speaker 1: ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter. A three-year deal could be
[21:17] Speaker 1: worth up to $ 33. 75 million for Bears running back DeAndre Swift.
[21:24] Speaker 1: When we come back, it's the first time we'll see
[21:26] Speaker 1: Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray against the Packers. What to
[21:30] Speaker 1: expect from their offense and from their opponent injury-wise. It's
[21:33] Speaker 1: coming up next as we continue on the Insiders. Saturday
[21:43] Speaker 1: on ABC at 7.30 Eastern, Jeremiah Smith leading number one
[21:47] Speaker 1: Ohio State into Austin to take on Arch Manning and
[21:49] Speaker 1: number four Texas in a big early season test for
[21:53] Speaker 1: these two national title contenders. And here on NFL Network,
[21:58] Speaker 1: Sunday is game day. I'll start them with game day morning,
[22:00] Speaker 1: followed up by game day live, and then game day highlights.
[22:03] Speaker 1: And on game day morning, we'll see our Kurt Warner
[22:05] Speaker 1: sit down with Packers quarterback Jordan Love.
[22:10] Speaker 14: Every team believes they can win the Super Bowl.
[22:12] Speaker 1: Tell me why you believe this Packers team can do that.
[22:15] Speaker 14: Just the guys we got in the locker room. This
[22:17] Speaker 14: is a hungry team we got on both sides, offensively, defensively.
[22:21] Speaker 14: Anytime you get a consistent group like we have on offense,
[22:24] Speaker 14: the guys who've been together for a couple years now,
[22:27] Speaker 14: I think it puts you at a good spot. I
[22:28] Speaker 14: think we got the right mindset. We got the right
[22:30] Speaker 14: leaders on the team. And it's just about staying consistent
[22:33] Speaker 14: and going out there and executing.
[22:35] Speaker 1: As we are back with Jeremy Fowler, the Packers. Angel
[22:38] Speaker 1: and Love looking forward to getting Tucker Kraft back on
[22:40] Speaker 1: the field. Also, Tucker Kraft hoping to make sure his
[22:42] Speaker 1: next few years are in Green Bay. What's the latest
[22:45] Speaker 1: with his contract search?
[22:47] Speaker 7: Well, Tucker Kraft and the Green Bay Packers have been
[22:49] Speaker 7: discussing his contract. They are working to potentially get something
[22:53] Speaker 7: done on a new deal before Sunday.
[22:55] Speaker 2: That is not a slam dunk.
[22:57] Speaker 7: Talks have been a bit stagnant, but they are continuing
[22:59] Speaker 7: to talk and should through the weekend. At some point,
[23:01] Speaker 7: they have to decide, are we going to do this
[23:03] Speaker 7: Or do we need to break it off? And the
[23:04] Speaker 7: tight end market is interesting because that's the only position,
[23:07] Speaker 7: offense or defense, that's below $ 20 million per year for
[23:10] Speaker 7: the highest paid. So it kind of needs a boost.
[23:13] Speaker 7: Perhaps Tucker Kraft is the one to do it. Detroit's
[23:15] Speaker 7: Sam Laporta, also a player to watch in the coming weeks.
[23:17] Speaker 7: He's coming back from an injury just like Kraft is.
[23:20] Speaker 7: But both players could get paid eventually. Kraft would be
[23:23] Speaker 7: the one who's nearest to a new deal.
[23:26] Speaker 2: Then, you know, when you're.
[23:26] Speaker 7: Dealing with the Packers offense, you're dealing with Josh Jacobs,
[23:29] Speaker 7: who is still out, remains on the commissioner exempt list.
[23:32] Speaker 7: He has pled no contest to misdemeanor charges, was in court,
[23:36] Speaker 7: and now he's in a situation where he needs to
[23:38] Speaker 7: make restitution with his ex-girlfriend, which I'm told is a
[23:41] Speaker 7: process that's been ongoing. So he's trying to wrap up
[23:44] Speaker 7: his legal matters here as soon as he can, but
[23:46] Speaker 7: he will miss this game. He stays on the exempt list.
[23:49] Speaker 7: At some point, the feeling around the league is that
[23:51] Speaker 7: he will receive a suspension, but Maybe it's two games,
[23:54] Speaker 7: four games, six games, whatever it is, but the Packers
[23:56] Speaker 7: hope to get him back at some point this season.
[23:59] Speaker 2: Right now that remains in flux. And then lastly, you have.
[24:03] Speaker 7: Micah Parsons, you see his old team there, the Dallas Cowboys.
[24:06] Speaker 7: They play the Cowboys week six. Micah Parsons is out
[24:09] Speaker 7: for four games. We know that coming off the ACL
[24:12] Speaker 7: reconstructive surgery on a nine-month time frame. That would put
[24:15] Speaker 7: him back by early October if he can make it.
[24:18] Speaker 7: And by all indications, everything's going great. The Packers are
[24:21] Speaker 7: notoriously cautious with injuries, so they're not going to rush
[24:24] Speaker 7: him back. But perhaps that mid-October game with Dallas would
[24:27] Speaker 7: be the perfect time for Parsons to make his reintroduction.
[24:31] Speaker 6: Yeah, one of the things, if he were playing this week,
[24:34] Speaker 6: he'd be chasing around Kyler Murray, the starting quarterback for
[24:36] Speaker 6: the Minnesota Vikings, and really one of the more interesting
[24:39] Speaker 6: quarterbacks that we are going to see this year. Obviously,
[24:41] Speaker 6: did not finish his season last year with the Arizona Cardinals.
[24:45] Speaker 1: It was rough.
[24:46] Speaker 6: And the fact that he comes here, gets to reinvent himself,
[24:50] Speaker 6: gets to reinvent himself as a starting quarterback in an
[24:52] Speaker 6: offense that has succeeded for years without.
[24:55] Speaker 10: A true QB1 success.
[24:57] Speaker 6: Really makes you wonder if he can now become the
[25:00] Speaker 6: new Minnesota Vikings franchise quarterback. And, in fact, that would
[25:03] Speaker 6: really be best-case scenario for each side. The Vikings would
[25:06] Speaker 6: stop searching for the first time in several years. Kyler
[25:08] Speaker 6: could get another franchise quarterback-type contract and kind of unlock
[25:13] Speaker 6: some of the fun things that this offense can do,
[25:16] Speaker 6: considering the way he uses his legs, how mobile he is,
[25:19] Speaker 6: scrambling to throw, all of the things that make Kyler
[25:22] Speaker 6: Murray himself special. This is going to be an interesting
[25:24] Speaker 6: watch on Sunday.
[25:26] Speaker 1: Also, one with big implications as they are in the division.
[25:28] Speaker 1: We've got another NFC divisional game as we've got the
[25:31] Speaker 1: Washington Commanders and the Philadelphia Eagles. Both quarterbacks had some
[25:37] Speaker 1: issues down the stretch of their last seven games, including
[25:39] Speaker 1: the playoffs. 2-5 for Jaden Daniels, 3-4 for the Super
[25:43] Speaker 1: Bowl champion in Jalen Hurts. As we can kind of
[25:47] Speaker 1: look at... These scenarios where they both got new play
[25:49] Speaker 1: callers coming in, a lot of pressure to be successful
[25:52] Speaker 1: here in 2026, Jeremy.
[25:55] Speaker 7: Yeah, both quarterbacks, Daniels and Hurts, will be in new
[25:58] Speaker 7: offenses that feature more under center work, more play action,
[26:01] Speaker 7: which is foreign to what they were doing in the past.
[26:03] Speaker 7: And Ian knows when he was on that training camp tour,
[26:05] Speaker 7: I felt like everywhere you went, because there are so
[26:07] Speaker 7: many new offensive coordinators around the league, they're talking about
[26:10] Speaker 7: their quarterback being under center more. That is the trend
[26:13] Speaker 7: and what's in vogue in the league right now. So
[26:14] Speaker 7: both of these quarterbacks will do it. You see Hurts there.
[26:17] Speaker 7: I'm told he really took to the footwork part of it,
[26:19] Speaker 7: the fundamentals part of being under center more early in
[26:22] Speaker 7: the offseason.
[26:22] Speaker 2: That helped him and O.C.
[26:24] Speaker 7: Sean Mannion get to work on figuring out how they
[26:27] Speaker 7: can move the ball. They know they have to be
[26:29] Speaker 7: able to run the ball. The 2024 Eagles with Saquon
[26:32] Speaker 7: Barkley were breaking off 20-yard runs all the time, and
[26:35] Speaker 7: that helped Jalen Hurts in the passing game.
[26:36] Speaker 2: It opened things up. They really hope to replicate that.
[26:39] Speaker 7: They feel like Hurts is up to the challenge, and
[26:41] Speaker 7: this can unlock him a little bit as a passer.
[26:44] Speaker 7: And then Jaden Daniels, the commanders feel like him being
[26:46] Speaker 7: under center is really helpful because with Cliff Kingsbury in
[26:48] Speaker 7: the past offense, that suited him, but he kind of
[26:50] Speaker 7: did everything, looking at the sideline, being in shotgun watching
[26:54] Speaker 7: all his receivers and watching the field that way now
[26:57] Speaker 7: he's getting in the huddle he's relaying the plays that
[26:59] Speaker 7: feel like that's slowing things down for him to be
[27:02] Speaker 7: able to be calculated and figure out exactly where the
[27:04] Speaker 7: ball can go because they know he's such a good
[27:06] Speaker 7: decision maker that if he can handle the rest and
[27:09] Speaker 7: be protected with a good running game and coming from
[27:11] Speaker 7: under center with his back turn to the defense that's
[27:13] Speaker 7: going to help him be a better quarterback One.
[27:16] Speaker 1: Of Jalen Hurts' former play callers in Shane Steichen will
[27:21] Speaker 1: hope to have a bounce back season, at least a
[27:22] Speaker 1: better end of the season for his Indianapolis Colts. Let's
[27:25] Speaker 1: look at the injury report for their season opener against
[27:27] Speaker 1: the Baltimore Ravens. Notable Nnamdi Matabike out for this game,
[27:32] Speaker 1: and the Colts are expecting to have star receiver Alec
[27:35] Speaker 1: Pierce available tonight. in this matchup. Jeremy, the Ravens get
[27:40] Speaker 1: their two-time MVP with a new play caller. He won
[27:43] Speaker 1: those MVPs when he got new play callers in the past.
[27:46] Speaker 1: If he does it again, he might be in line
[27:47] Speaker 1: for some money.
[27:50] Speaker 7: He is in line for some money whenever he chooses
[27:52] Speaker 7: to be. The Baltimore Ravens want to sign him to
[27:54] Speaker 7: an extension. They would do that today if they could,
[27:56] Speaker 7: and maybe in the next few days they could make
[27:58] Speaker 7: him an offer he can't refuse. But it seems like
[28:00] Speaker 7: right now he's going to play out this year. He's
[28:03] Speaker 7: two years from free agency. He doesn't have a franchise
[28:06] Speaker 7: tag clause, so he can be a true free agent
[28:08] Speaker 7: in 2028. He's got a cap hit of like $ 80
[28:10] Speaker 7: million next year. So he holds a ton of leverage,
[28:14] Speaker 7: which begs the question, can he be the league's first
[28:16] Speaker 7: $ 70 million a year quarterback? Seems crazy, but now you
[28:19] Speaker 7: have Patrick Mahomes at $ 64 million.
[28:21] Speaker 2: You got all those star.
[28:22] Speaker 7: Rookies, some we've talked about, Jaden Daniels, Drake May, Caleb Williams,
[28:27] Speaker 7: Bo Nix, all eligible for extensions next offseason. If CJ
[28:31] Speaker 7: Stroud bets on himself and has a big year and
[28:33] Speaker 7: helps the Houston Texans make a move into the playoffs,
[28:36] Speaker 7: he'll be in that mix as well. So you have
[28:38] Speaker 7: some cash kings coming on the quarterback position. Lamar Jackson
[28:42] Speaker 7: would probably be at the top of that list, especially
[28:44] Speaker 7: if he balls out with new OC Declan Doyle.
[28:47] Speaker 2: So he's in a position to make a ton next year.
[28:50] Speaker 1: And that drive for that new deal starts Sunday, 1
[28:52] Speaker 1: o'clock Eastern, in Indianapolis. We will be back here on
[28:56] Speaker 1: the Insiders to figure out what makes this season different
[28:58] Speaker 1: for Joe Burrow and the Bengals. And now that Baker
[29:01] Speaker 1: Mayfield has a contract, what happens to the disrespect that
[29:04] Speaker 1: he felt? We've got more Insiders when we come back
[29:08] Speaker 1: on NFL Network. Back here on the Insiders, there's your
[29:15] Speaker 1: Tampa Bay Buccaneers injury report as they will take on
[29:18] Speaker 1: the Cincinnati Bengals in their season opener. Doubtful for Sean Tucker.
[29:22] Speaker 1: And the only one listed on the Bengals injury report
[29:25] Speaker 1: is the defensive end, Shamar Stewart. He is doubtful for
[29:29] Speaker 1: their season opener. As we look back at the last
[29:31] Speaker 1: three seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals and the linkage of
[29:34] Speaker 1: those results to whether or not Joe Burrow was able
[29:37] Speaker 1: to be on the field, missed nine games, and in
[29:40] Speaker 1: 2025 as they went six and 11. The quarterback sat
[29:43] Speaker 1: down with Marty Smith to discuss how players and coaches
[29:46] Speaker 1: alike are playing for their jobs, including Joe Burrow.
[29:55] Speaker 5: I've read a lot coming into this about you and
[29:59] Speaker 5: this team. this organization, there is at least some narrative
[30:03] Speaker 5: out there that it's put up or shut up time.
[30:06] Speaker 5: What would you say to anyone who has that opinion?
[30:09] Speaker 15: Yeah, I'm right there with them. I think, you know,
[30:13] Speaker 15: I've tried to instill an urgency in the room that
[30:17] Speaker 15: a palpable pressure because we have guys playing and coaching
[30:21] Speaker 15: for their jobs this year.
[30:22] Speaker 14: And that's how, you know, I'm looking at it.
[30:25] Speaker 15: I'm playing for my job this year. I think guys
[30:28] Speaker 15: want to go out and be great If you don't
[30:30] Speaker 15: have urgency on the day-to-day to get better and go
[30:35] Speaker 15: and attack every single drill and rep with the intent
[30:39] Speaker 15: to get better, you're not going to get there. So
[30:42] Speaker 15: we have the team to do it this year, and
[30:43] Speaker 15: so we have to take advantage of the opportunity.
[30:48] Speaker 1: On the other sideline in week one, it's Baker Mayfield
[30:50] Speaker 1: who played for and lobbied for his job this offseason.
[30:53] Speaker 1: He finally got it this week, agreeing to a deal
[30:56] Speaker 1: that gets him $ 110 million in new guarantees and has
[30:59] Speaker 1: him in Tampa Bay through 2029. As we say hello
[31:02] Speaker 1: and good evening to our friend Sarah Walsh. The quarterback
[31:05] Speaker 1: wasn't shy about it, Sarah. He felt that the offers
[31:08] Speaker 1: that came before this were disrespectful, said he had chips
[31:11] Speaker 1: on both shoulders. He was going to prove everybody wrong.
[31:13] Speaker 1: So what happens to all that motivation for Baker Mayfield
[31:16] Speaker 1: now that they got the deal done?
[31:18] Speaker 16: Well, I think everyone thought when Baker came out and
[31:19] Speaker 16: said those things, there is nobody that plays better with
[31:22] Speaker 16: a chip than Baker. I mean, this is how this
[31:23] Speaker 16: guy has thrived. And he brought that up this week
[31:26] Speaker 16: when he talked about finally getting the deal, that there
[31:29] Speaker 16: was a time when he used a lot of the
[31:30] Speaker 16: negative stuff to fuel him. And he says he doesn't
[31:33] Speaker 16: need to do that necessarily anymore. That fire comes from within.
[31:36] Speaker 16: And that contract isn't a this is I've made it
[31:39] Speaker 16: kind of contract. He still says He has a lot
[31:41] Speaker 16: to prove. So I asked him specifically, and the obvious answer, obviously,
[31:44] Speaker 16: is a Super Bowl ring. But I said, specifically, what
[31:47] Speaker 16: do you feel like you have to prove? And he
[31:49] Speaker 16: said that they've had a lot of... hot starts, but
[31:52] Speaker 16: it's the way that they have not been able to
[31:54] Speaker 16: finish the season at times. They had lulls last year
[31:58] Speaker 16: after they got off to the quick start and the
[31:59] Speaker 16: really thrilling finishes at the beginning of the year, and
[32:02] Speaker 16: they found ways to make those plays. And then he
[32:04] Speaker 16: said late in the year, they weren't able to find
[32:06] Speaker 16: those same plays. So he said it's really about consistency.
[32:09] Speaker 16: And one note for this game on Sunday that's concerning
[32:12] Speaker 16: is that You've lost Mike Evans now with the 49ers.
[32:16] Speaker 16: You have Chris Godwin back. You have Emeka Abuka who's
[32:18] Speaker 16: going to play. But Jalen McMillan, you just put up
[32:20] Speaker 16: that injury report. He is now doubtful, probably not expected
[32:23] Speaker 16: to play. He has been limited all week. And we
[32:25] Speaker 16: really have not seen him for a while now in
[32:27] Speaker 16: this preseason because of a knee issue. Clearly, this is
[32:30] Speaker 16: a guy that had injuries last year, so they don't
[32:32] Speaker 16: want to rush him back. But it is more than
[32:34] Speaker 16: likely that Baker Mayfield is going to be without one
[32:37] Speaker 16: of those receivers, and it would be Jalen McMillan on Sunday.
[32:40] Speaker 1: Well, the health of Baker Mayfield, a big part because
[32:42] Speaker 1: we could talk motivation all we want when he was
[32:44] Speaker 1: healthy and he started the season. It was eight touchdowns
[32:47] Speaker 1: and one pick. For Baker Mayfield, Sarah will be back
[32:50] Speaker 1: with you in a moment as we look elsewhere in
[32:51] Speaker 1: the NFC South. The Saints have the Lions this week
[32:55] Speaker 1: as we look at Tyler Shuck and the way that
[32:58] Speaker 1: he finished the 2025 season, weeks 15 through 18, throwing
[33:02] Speaker 1: for about 300 yards a game, five touchdowns, one pick,
[33:04] Speaker 1: passer rating north of 100. As we welcome in Stacey Dales,
[33:09] Speaker 1: there's belief and excitement back in New Orleans as a
[33:12] Speaker 1: lot of it is related to their second-year quarterback.
[33:15] Speaker 17: Yeah, Patrick, I would say this is the most excited
[33:17] Speaker 17: the Saints have been at the quarterback position since Drew
[33:20] Speaker 17: Brees departed in 2020.
[33:22] Speaker 9: It is shucks season in New Orleans.
[33:23] Speaker 17: He has captivated the community already heading into his second year,
[33:27] Speaker 17: and he has certainly captivated this football team. You just
[33:30] Speaker 17: mentioned the nine games that he finished last season. He
[33:34] Speaker 17: had a four, five and four record, but he went
[33:36] Speaker 17: four and one in those final five games with a
[33:39] Speaker 17: near 70 percent completion rating. And Chris Alave was certainly
[33:43] Speaker 17: a benefactor with a career high season in receiving yards.
[33:46] Speaker 17: Doug Nussmeier, the offensive coordinator, said that he could see
[33:49] Speaker 17: everything last year. His eyes could see things. He just
[33:52] Speaker 17: wasn't getting there fast enough. That has evolved. He has
[33:56] Speaker 17: taken a leap. And when I spoke to Chris Alave
[33:59] Speaker 17: this week, he said the thing that separates Shuck, his preparation, mental,
[34:03] Speaker 17: physical and emotional preparation. And they think he is really
[34:06] Speaker 17: good in the clutch and they also think he's really.
[34:08] Speaker 9: Good in the two minute drill.
[34:09] Speaker 17: So he'll be put to the test, certainly against the
[34:12] Speaker 17: Lions in a very loud environment at Ford Field on Sunday.
[34:16] Speaker 17: The Lions defensively, Ali McNeil, defensive tackle told me up
[34:19] Speaker 17: front they got to pester him. They got to annoy
[34:22] Speaker 17: him and certainly hit him for four quarters. They are
[34:24] Speaker 17: concerned about his legs. They think he breaks the pocket
[34:27] Speaker 17: very well. So do not underestimate that despite just being
[34:31] Speaker 17: his second year in the league. Now, Tyler Shuck will
[34:34] Speaker 17: have to deal with Aiden Hutchinson. You guys see the
[34:37] Speaker 17: numbers there at the bottom of the screen. Tops in
[34:40] Speaker 17: the NFL in terms of the QB pressures, the 14
[34:42] Speaker 17: and a half sacks, I believe, ranked fourth in the NFL.
[34:46] Speaker 9: And a lot they told me, you know.
[34:48] Speaker 17: On the other side of the football, they got to
[34:50] Speaker 17: have heavy hands on him defensive in terms of what
[34:54] Speaker 17: they do offensively and trying to block and contain this guy.
[34:57] Speaker 17: But understand his whereabouts at all times. Alim McNeil told
[35:01] Speaker 17: me that. The impact that Aiden Hutchinson has up front,
[35:05] Speaker 17: it is really special. It's just a different mentality, Patrick,
[35:08] Speaker 17: when he steps on the field. As Aleem told me,
[35:10] Speaker 17: it doesn't matter who it is. It doesn't matter who
[35:12] Speaker 17: he's going against, what day of practice it is.
[35:15] Speaker 9: He is coming out to destroy you.
[35:17] Speaker 17: And I think we're going to see an especially good
[35:19] Speaker 17: Aiden Hutchinson coming in here because he came back from
[35:22] Speaker 17: the injury last season and still had 14 and a
[35:24] Speaker 17: half sacks.
[35:25] Speaker 1: Yeah, he did that. As you mentioned, coming back from
[35:27] Speaker 1: the injury, he had the highest fourth quarter pressure rate
[35:29] Speaker 1: since 2018 last year. Looking forward to this game. Both teams,
[35:33] Speaker 1: a lot of excitement. Thank you to Stacey Dales. for
[35:36] Speaker 1: your work here today on The Insiders. Deshaun Watson won
[35:39] Speaker 1: the starting job in Cleveland. His prize is a road
[35:42] Speaker 1: start against one of last season's best defenses. We preview Browns, Jacks,
[35:46] Speaker 1: coming up next on NFL Network. Back on The Insiders,
[35:54] Speaker 1: we tour Tug of Iowa dealing with an oblique injury.
[35:56] Speaker 1: It's Cooper Rush set to start for the Falcons in
[35:59] Speaker 1: Pittsburgh on Sunday. Rookie quarterback Jack Strand will serve as
[36:03] Speaker 1: the backup quarterback. Deshaun Watson will start for the Browns
[36:07] Speaker 1: against the Jags Sunday after their quarterback competition in the preseason.
[36:11] Speaker 1: As we welcome back Sarah Walsh. Sarah, how do the
[36:15] Speaker 1: Jags plan to approach this Browns offense with Deshaun Watson
[36:18] Speaker 1: as the quarterback?
[36:20] Speaker 16: Look, Deshaun's not going to have to contend with a
[36:22] Speaker 16: Cleveland crowd, but that Jacksonville defense presents plenty of problems.
[36:27] Speaker 16: This week, Watson specifically pointed out the front four. He
[36:31] Speaker 16: said they're very active, they're very instinctive, they're very smart.
[36:34] Speaker 16: All of those accolades are true. He said we are
[36:37] Speaker 16: going to have to find a weakness there. figure out
[36:40] Speaker 16: a way to move the ball and put up points.
[36:42] Speaker 16: A weakness would not be stopping the run for the Jaguars.
[36:45] Speaker 16: They're the top-ranked rush defense from a season ago, and
[36:48] Speaker 16: I talked to the leader of that.
[36:49] Speaker 9: Defense, Josh Hines-Allen. He told me they're.
[36:52] Speaker 16: Focused on stopping the run early. They want him one-dimensional.
[36:55] Speaker 16: He said, we want to see quarterback Deshaun Watson, not
[36:59] Speaker 16: Deshaun Watson handing off the ball, not Deshaun Watson going
[37:03] Speaker 16: to screens. He also faced Watson a ton of times
[37:05] Speaker 16: when he was in the division with Houston. And Heinz
[37:08] Speaker 16: Allen said he was at his peak and he was
[37:10] Speaker 16: something else. He also told me that they want him
[37:14] Speaker 16: to be forced to really need that offensive line. And
[37:18] Speaker 16: can they hold up for four quarters? This is an
[37:20] Speaker 16: entirely new revamped Cleveland offensive line. Can he trust them?
[37:24] Speaker 16: Because Heinz Allen tells me cam that they are going
[37:28] Speaker 16: to be hunting on every play.
[37:31] Speaker 12: Sarah, I love that. Hunting, we're in football mode.
[37:33] Speaker 13: And for me, I get excited about this game because
[37:36] Speaker 13: it's the Travis Hunter Bowl to me. Ten months since
[37:39] Speaker 13: knee surgery, must anticipate a return. And hey, he gets
[37:42] Speaker 13: to face the team that traded away the rights to
[37:44] Speaker 13: draft him a year ago to the Jags.
[37:47] Speaker 12: GM James Gladstone, the Jags.
[37:49] Speaker 13: GM, told me 100% he would still make the same
[37:52] Speaker 13: trade today, and he can't wait to see what Hunter
[37:54] Speaker 13: could do fully healthy for the Jags. Now, I've talked
[37:57] Speaker 13: about this since February. It'll look different for Travis Hunter.
[38:00] Speaker 13: He'll be primarily defense this year. Expect close to 100%
[38:04] Speaker 13: of the reps on defense side of the ball. He'll
[38:06] Speaker 13: still play some offense, more packages. One thing to be clear,
[38:10] Speaker 13: week one will look different than week 18. So I
[38:12] Speaker 13: expect him to be limited on offense early on, but
[38:15] Speaker 13: they think eventually they can give him more and more.
[38:19] Speaker 13: And in fact, they think that his ability to handle
[38:22] Speaker 13: more is one of his best attributes. And one thing
[38:24] Speaker 13: I've learned about Travis, he donated 500 gown sets to
[38:29] Speaker 13: the Wolfson Children's Hospital earlier this week, and it was.
[38:33] Speaker 12: Important personal calls for him. Listen to this.
[38:36] Speaker 13: He and his wife, Liana- had a son that was
[38:39] Speaker 13: born two months premature last year. So during training camp,
[38:43] Speaker 13: during pre-season, early in the season, every day he would
[38:46] Speaker 13: go to this hospital after practice to see his son,
[38:50] Speaker 13: see how he's doing. And these nurses were there helping him.
[38:53] Speaker 13: No one knew about it. He kept it private. He
[38:55] Speaker 13: kept working towards playing two ways as his rookie year.
[38:58] Speaker 13: And so for people who say Travis can't do this,
[39:00] Speaker 13: Travis can't do that, he's already handled so much and
[39:04] Speaker 13: the Jags expect him to handle so much more this year,
[39:06] Speaker 13: even if it looks a little different.
[39:08] Speaker 12: Than it did in 2025.
[39:09] Speaker 1: They're already a big part of that community there in
[39:12] Speaker 1: Duval County, thanks to Sarah Walsh and Cam Wolfe looking
[39:15] Speaker 1: ahead at the Browns and the Jacksonville Jaguars. We have
[39:18] Speaker 1: a status update as we look over at some coaches
[39:22] Speaker 1: making their NFL debuts against other coaches making their NFL debuts,
[39:26] Speaker 1: which gives us a chance to put Al Groh on
[39:28] Speaker 1: a graphic, which I love. Back in 2000, he's taking
[39:32] Speaker 1: on Mike Sherman. Of course, they're at the top. It
[39:34] Speaker 1: is Jeff Halfley and Clint Kubiak going head-to-head. And we
[39:37] Speaker 1: got an update from that game as Raiders running back
[39:39] Speaker 1: Ashton Denty, who had an ankle injury in practice a
[39:42] Speaker 1: couple of weeks ago, will play Sunday in Las Vegas today.
[39:45] Speaker 1: against those Miami Dolphins. You have another running back update.
[39:50] Speaker 1: Number three overall pick, Jeremiah Love, listed as questionable with
[39:53] Speaker 1: an ankle injury for Sunday's season opener here in Los
[39:56] Speaker 1: Angeles against the Chargers. Head coach Michael LaFleur, who is
[39:59] Speaker 1: also making his head coaching debut, says Love will be
[40:03] Speaker 1: a game-time decision. Monday Night Football will bring us an
[40:07] Speaker 1: AFC West battle. Both Bo Nix and Patrick Mahomes coming
[40:10] Speaker 1: back from late season or postseason injuries. We'll tell you
[40:13] Speaker 1: what we're watching for coming up next on The Insider.
[40:20] Speaker 1: Back on the Insiders, here's our Saturday SEC on ABC
[40:23] Speaker 1: College Football Tripleheader. Number 8, Texas A & M plays
[40:25] Speaker 1: host to Arizona State at noon Eastern, followed by number 13,
[40:29] Speaker 1: Alabama and Kentucky in Lexington. Then at 7.30, number 1,
[40:33] Speaker 1: Ohio State taking on number 4, Texas in a big
[40:35] Speaker 1: early season test for both. Each game available also on
[40:39] Speaker 1: the ESPN. While we push forward and look forward to
[40:43] Speaker 1: the Monday Night Football season premiere of the Broncos taking
[40:46] Speaker 1: on Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs as we
[40:51] Speaker 1: look forward to that and look forward to a familiar sound.
[40:54] Speaker 12: At the start.
[40:57] Speaker 15: Of the game.
[40:59] Speaker 2: Everybody's got their eyes on this one. Had this one
[41:01] Speaker 2: circled for months and now it's finally here.
[41:06] Speaker 12: It's time.
[41:09] Speaker 1: Loot it.
[41:10] Speaker 18: Monday night magic, closing out the weekend. Luda on the mic,
[41:14] Speaker 18: it's football season. Broncos, Chiefs, game lock, no ransom. Put
[41:18] Speaker 18: them in the air, new year, new anthem.
[41:21] Speaker 1: Monday night. Oh, and Monday night football means good morning
[41:31] Speaker 1: football on the road, live from Kansas City, Monday at
[41:34] Speaker 1: 8 a.m. Eastern, as it is now, Ian, the opportunity
[41:39] Speaker 1: for the Chiefs to be the chaser in the AFC
[41:42] Speaker 1: West as they try to catch up to the... Denver Broncos,
[41:45] Speaker 1: who won the division last year. What are you looking
[41:46] Speaker 1: forward to? That's crazy.
[41:47] Speaker 6: I'm looking forward to seeing Bo Nix and how actually
[41:50] Speaker 6: healthy he is. He's had kind of a tumultuous offseason,
[41:52] Speaker 6: a couple surgeries to fix that ankle that he injured
[41:55] Speaker 6: in dramatic fashion at the end of last year. Rob,
[41:58] Speaker 6: just of seeing essentially a real title game, how healthy
[42:01] Speaker 6: is he and what are we going to see from
[42:03] Speaker 6: Bo Nix? I would also say, just as we get
[42:05] Speaker 6: a little selfish here, I stashed Jonah Coleman on my
[42:07] Speaker 6: fantasy ride.
[42:08] Speaker 2: There it is.
[42:09] Speaker 6: I'm just kind of curious to see what kind of
[42:10] Speaker 6: role he has here. The Broncos really like him, Judy,
[42:12] Speaker 6: but I'd like to see him out there in a
[42:13] Speaker 6: major way, not just because I drafted him, but just because,
[42:16] Speaker 6: you know, I drafted him.
[42:17] Speaker 14: Thanks so much, guys.
[42:20] Speaker 8: I do not have any of these players on a
[42:22] Speaker 8: fantasy team because I don't play fantasy, but I am
[42:24] Speaker 8: looking forward to seeing.
[42:26] Speaker 12: I don't.
[42:27] Speaker 8: I am looking forward to seeing Patrick Mahomes. I think
[42:29] Speaker 8: the entire nation is looking forward to seeing Patrick Mahomes.
[42:32] Speaker 8: Remarkable recovery from his knee injury. I want to see
[42:36] Speaker 8: just where he is. He has been ahead of schedule
[42:38] Speaker 8: basically since right after he got hurt.
[42:40] Speaker 9: He had the surgery and then we were hearing he
[42:42] Speaker 9: was way ahead, way ahead. I want to see what
[42:45] Speaker 9: he's doing in training camp. He looked great. He was moving.
[42:49] Speaker 9: He was rolling to his left. He was planting. I
[42:51] Speaker 9: just want to see where he's at. Is he 100 percent?
[42:54] Speaker 9: Is he 90? 90 percent of Patrick Mahomes is still awesome.
[42:57] Speaker 1: Pretty good. Yeah, and it gives us an opportunity to
[42:59] Speaker 1: ask a question and answer a question that we have
[43:02] Speaker 1: now is one of the more important questions. When is
[43:04] Speaker 1: Judy Batista going to have a fantasy team? I can't
[43:07] Speaker 1: believe that. And who will she draft?
[43:08] Speaker 9: Why do you not have a fantasy team?
[43:09] Speaker 1: Were you just terrible? I'm terrible.
[43:11] Speaker 12: I helped my daughter.
[43:12] Speaker 2: I helped my daughter.
[43:13] Speaker 1: Insiders is going to be back on Tuesday. Enjoy a
[43:18] Speaker 1: full Sunday.
[43:19] Speaker 4: Week one.
[43:19] Speaker 1: We'll see you coming up on Tuesday. Have a good week, everybody.

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