The fixture list is already built in

One of the simplest advantages is having the day’s sport laid out in front of you. Football, tennis, basketball, cricket and other events can be organised by competition and start time, so the app becomes an easy place to check what is actually on. That is particularly useful on weekends when several European leagues overlap. You may download Betway to look at one Premier League match and notice a LaLiga game starting later, a tennis match already underway or another fixture you had forgotten about completely. The sportsbook becomes a schedule almost by accident.

Live scores are useful even when you are not betting

A lot of people open betting apps during matches simply to see what is happening elsewhere. If you are watching one game on television, the phone can keep track of the others. Scores update, match clocks move and live markets usually react to important events as they happen. You do not necessarily need to place anything to find that useful. It is especially handy during the last day of a group stage, a crowded league weekend or any situation where several results matter at once.

Lineups can save a separate search

Starting lineups are one of those pieces of information bettors and ordinary fans both want at roughly the same time. Once they appear, they can change the way a match looks immediately. A striker being left out, a goalkeeper returning from injury or several players being rested can matter whether you are thinking about a bet or simply trying to understand what the manager is doing. Having that information inside the same app means fewer trips to social media hoping somebody has posted the team sheet correctly.

Statistics make the app useful during the match

Live statistics are another reason a betting app can stay open long after kickoff. Possession on its own may not tell you much, but shots, corners, cards and other match numbers can help explain what is happening when you are not watching the game directly. A 0-0 score can hide a very lively match. Ten shots and a pile of corners tell you more than the scoreline alone. For someone following several fixtures at once, those little bits of information are useful even before betting enters the conversation.

Everything sits close to the actual market

This is where a betting app differs from a normal scores app. The information and the betting market are sitting beside each other. You can see the fixture, check the lineup, look at the live score and then see how the odds have reacted without leaving the same place. That does not make a sportsbook a replacement for proper sports journalism. If you want interviews, transfer reporting or deeper analysis, a dedicated sports outlet is still the better place to go. For the quick stuff around matchday, though, the convenience is hard to ignore.

Sometimes you open it and never place a bet

That may be the clearest sign of how betting apps have changed. You can download Betway for the sportsbook and end up using it regularly just to see what is on, who is playing and what the score is. The bet may still be the main reason the app exists.

Las Vegas said this was the plan all along, and they didn’t blink. Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick, will have to wait his turn.

New head coach Klint Kubiak wasn’t shy about this. Back in March – a full month before the Raiders even drafted Mendoza – he was already talking about sitting a rookie quarterback.

“I think it does help [a rookie QB] if they can sit behind a mature adult and watch how they run the show,” Kubiak said at the league’s spring meetings that month. Keep in mind, the Raiders hadn’t even signed Cousins yet. That happened a week later.

History says the Raiders are doing something unusual here. Mendoza becomes the first No. 1 overall quarterback since Baker Mayfield in 2018 to not start his team’s season opener. Mayfield and Jared Goff (who sat two years before that) were outliers too – the first top picks at quarterback to open on the bench since JaMarcus Russell back in 2007.

Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2026 NFL season

For a minute this preseason, it looked like the plan might change. Mendoza struggled against Houston’s backups, and Kubiak still wouldn’t commit to a starter. He said he didn’t want “anyone to be comfortable in their job.”

Eleven days later, Cousins got the nod for Week 1 against Miami. He shouldn’t get too comfortable either – everyone knows Mendoza is the future in Las Vegas. The question is just how far off that future actually is.

The itchy-trigger-finger option

Some coaches can’t wait to throw a rookie into the fire. Doug Pederson was one of them once. His Eagles drafted Carson Wentz second overall, and the plan was for Wentz to sit behind veteran Sam Bradford – until Philly traded Bradford to Minnesota and Wentz became the Week 1 starter almost overnight.

Pederson made his opinion on Mendoza pretty clear in July: the Raiders should start Mendoza immediately.

“Let’s get this guy out there Week 1, let’s start having our growing pains Week 1,” Pederson said, via CBS Sports. “Let’s not prolong it into October or November or later in the season. Let’s get him out there now. Let’s get him working with the guys that he’s going to be working with.”

Is a September promotion realistic? Recent history suggests it’s not out of the question. Draft position tends to matter a lot.

Look at the five draft classes from 2021 through 2025. Seventeen quarterbacks went in the first round. Ten of them started Week 1 as rookies. Four more got the job within their first four games.

That leaves just three who waited longer. Kenny Pickett didn’t start until Week 5. J.J. McCarthy missed his whole rookie year with a knee injury. And Michael Penix Jr., coming off an ACL tear, was always expected to sit behind Cousins in Atlanta.

The pattern is obvious. First-round rookies play, and they play early. That’s exactly why a start sometime in the season’s first quarter or third isn’t far-fetched for Mendoza.

Miami might look like a manageable Week 1 matchup, but Cousins’ Falcons actually lost to the Dolphins last year. Things don’t get easier after that either – back-to-back road trips against the Chargers and Saints, then the Chiefs at home, a trip to New England, and home dates with the Bills and Rams.

Vegas is favored in the opener. After that? Underdogs in six straight. A 1-6 start wouldn’t shock anyone, and if it happens, expect the calls for a quarterback change to get loud fast – even if Cousins isn’t really the problem.

Don’t put too much stock in how enthusiastically (or not) Kubiak talks about Mendoza publicly. Coaches play their own game with information, and they’re not handing out details for free.

Sound familiar? A year ago, Giants coach Brian Daboll gave Jaxson Dart some pretty measured praise after naming Russell Wilson his starter. He talked about needing to see growth. It read like a coach trying to give his new veteran some room to operate.

Three games and an 0-3 start later, Dart had the job. Sometimes that rope is shorter than it sounds.

The his-time-will-come plan

Let’s take Kubiak at his word for a second. Maybe the Raiders really are ready to be the next 2003 Bengals, who parked Carson Palmer on the bench behind Jon Kitna for an entire season.

What happens if Cousins actually plays well? What if Las Vegas starts winning some of these games nobody expects them to win? Suddenly this decision gets a lot more complicated for Kubiak.

Cousins wasn’t bad down the stretch in Atlanta last season. A team sitting at 4-8 in December somehow flirted with a playoff spot. Outside of one bad loss to Seattle, he was playing solid football.

Las Vegas doesn’t have Atlanta’s overall talent at the skill positions, but tight end Brock Bowers is a legitimate difference-maker, and there’s some other useful pieces around him too. Kubiak’s offensive system fits this roster reasonably well.

Every single one of Cousins’ drives in the preseason ended in points this August. Field goals mostly, not touchdowns – but points nonetheless.

“I see a guy that’s leading the offense,” Kubiak said.

So Cousins playing well factors into this equation. But Kubiak has also said Mendoza will get his shot when he’s ready, and not because of anything happening around him. Mendoza’s preseason was inconsistent, and it wasn’t always against first-string competition. His rough outing against Houston came versus their second-teamers.

The last thing Kubiak wants is to pull a decent Cousins and hand the job to a Mendoza who isn’t ready yet. The long-term picture matters most, sure, and Mendoza can’t sit forever – but a first-year head coach doesn’t want to find himself flipping back to Cousins after making the switch too early.

Here’s a natural breaking point: Las Vegas has its bye in Week 13. Not exactly perfect timing, but it’s there. Think of this as basically the floor for when Mendoza debuts – coming off the bye against the Chargers at home, kicking off a stretch of three straight home games. That would leave him five games to close out the season and build some momentum heading into 2027.

Somewhere right in the middle

If September feels too soon and December feels way too late, there’s a middle ground worth considering.

Week 8. At the Jets.

Why there? It’s the first spot on the schedule that makes real sense, assuming Cousins hasn’t completely fallen apart by then. Even a hot 2-1 start for Las Vegas probably doesn’t survive the Chiefs-Patriots-Bills-Rams stretch that follows the opener.

There’s a fun angle here too – Mendoza was born in Boston and grew up idolizing Tom Brady, even after his family moved to Miami. Starting his first career game at Foxborough would make for a nice story. But that can’t be the reasoning. This has to be a football decision first. You don’t want Mendoza trading haymakers with Josh Allen one week and then facing down Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald the next.

The Jets represent about as low-pressure a landing spot as this schedule offers. It sits roughly at the midpoint of the season. Starting there would give Mendoza 10 starts as a rookie – six on the road, four at home. The bye week lands right in the middle of that stretch too, giving both Mendoza and the coaching staff a chance to regroup before a friendlier December slate. If Mendoza still isn’t ready by Week 8, that’s probably a bigger concern for the franchise than just this season.

None of this means Mendoza needs to be wrapped in bubble wrap. He’s going to have to go up against elite defenses and star quarterbacks eventually, and getting a taste of that as a rookie makes sense. But there’s a real difference between throwing him to the wolves too early and not giving him enough snaps before year two starts.

Kubiak has a balancing act ahead of him. But one thing should be non-negotiable: Mendoza has to play meaningful snaps this season. Everything else is secondary.

The numbers are significant. Schefter reports the deal is worth $75 million, with a max value of $78 million – and $47 million of that is guaranteed. Wilson was already locked into the final year of his rookie deal this season, set to earn roughly $3.9 million, according to Spotrac.

That average annual salary of $25 million puts him firmly in the league’s upper tier at the position; Wilson now sits among the top 25 receivers in the NFL by pay.

A breakout year made this happen

It’s easy to see why Arizona wanted to lock him up. Wilson, 26, put together a breakout third season – 78 catches, 1,006 yards, and 7 touchdowns across 17 games, though he only started 13 of them. That production led all Cardinals receivers.

He didn’t just pad stats early and disappear either. Wilson caught fire down the stretch, piling up 775 receiving yards over Arizona’s final eight games of the season.

For context: tight end Trey McBride actually led the team in every major category, hauling in 126 catches for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns. Wilson’s emergence gave Arizona a legitimate one-two punch.

Here’s what really stands out though – Wilson passed Marvin Harrison Jr. on the depth chart. That’s notable considering Harrison was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 draft. Wilson, on the other hand, came into the league as a third-round pick out of Stanford in 2023, listed at 6-foot-2 and 213 pounds.

This extension didn’t happen overnight.

Wilson and the Cardinals had been negotiating for months, according to ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss. Wilson and his camp reportedly weren’t satisfied with Arizona’s early offers, believing they didn’t reflect what he’d shown on the field.

Joining an exclusive class

Wilson’s 1,000-yard season puts him in select company from his draft class. He’s now the third wideout from the 2023 group to hit that mark, joining Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Zay Flowers.

And just like those two, Wilson has cashed in with a multiyear extension of his own.

Some changes amount to fine-tuning. Others could transform how an offense looks on Sundays. Baltimore, Los Angeles, Kansas City and New Orleans provide four particularly intriguing examples, each taking a different route toward becoming more difficult to defend.

A New Ravens Offense Takes Shape Around Lamar Jackson

Baltimore doesn’t need to reinvent Lamar Jackson. The challenge for new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle is finding additional ways to maximize his dual-threat quarterback strengths while preserving the physical identity built around Jackson and Derrick Henry.

Doyle has described physicality, detail and explosiveness as the three pillars of his offense. That philosophy should allow Baltimore to maintain its formidable ground game while introducing greater schematic variety across different formations to create opportunities elsewhere.

One adjustment is already visible. More than 80% of Jackson’s dropbacks last season came from shotgun or pistol, but Baltimore has worked on getting him comfortable under center. With Henry behind him, that could create more convincing play-action opportunities.

Different formations should also make Baltimore harder to diagnose before the snap. Jackson has praised Doyle’s creativity and attention to detail, and giving defenses more possibilities to process could make an already distinctive Ravens offense even more difficult to contain.

Mike McDaniel Brings a New Dimension to the Chargers

Mike McDaniel and Jim Harbaugh make for an intriguing partnership. Harbaugh favors physical football, while McDaniel has built his reputation around movement, timing and creating space through varied formations. Justin Herbert sits at the intersection of those ideas.

McDaniel has already adjusted Herbert’s shotgun footwork, asking the right-handed quarterback to line up with his left foot forward. The goal is a quicker release that gets the ball to playmakers earlier within McDaniel’s passing game and creates more opportunities after the catch.

Small changes can have noticeable effects. A five-yard completion can become eight if Ladd McConkey receives the ball a fraction earlier, turning difficult second downs into manageable situations for Herbert and the offense overall and helping the Chargers sustain drives.

Los Angeles is changing up front, too, with McDaniel’s wide-zone scheme emphasizing offensive-line movement while Herbert works on anticipation. McConkey and Omarion Hampton could benefit from the extra space, with September providing the first real test.

A More Balanced Chiefs Offense Takes Shape in 2026

Eric Bieniemy’s return to Kansas City brings familiarity, but expecting an exact recreation of his first spell would miss the point. From 2018 through 2022, the Chiefs led the NFL in points per game, total touchdowns, third-down percentage and yards per game.

Patrick Mahomes remains the centerpiece, but the supporting structure now offers different possibilities. Kenneth Walker III is the most notable addition after rushing for 1,027 yards at 4.6 yards per carry in 2025, giving Kansas City another established backfield threat.

A productive running game can strengthen play-action, create favorable situations on later downs and prevent defenses from focusing too heavily on Mahomes. Those changes also add another layer to expectations surrounding Kansas City’s early matchups.

NFL betting lines provide additional context on upcoming games through moneylines, spreads and totals. Greater balance doesn’t mean taking the ball away from Mahomes, but giving defenses another problem to solve before he attacks the weaknesses that remain.

The Saints Are Taking a Different Route on Offense

New Orleans enters this conversation from a different starting point. Rather than redesigning an established contender, Kellen Moore and his staff are building on the encouraging foundation Tyler Shough established during his promising first NFL season.

Shough went 5-4 across nine starts, completing 67.6% of his passes for 2,384 yards and 10 touchdowns during an encouraging rookie campaign. Those numbers give the Saints something tangible to develop rather than another quarterback question to answer.

The supporting cast has changed, too. Travis Etienne Jr. joins Alvin Kamara in a flexible backfield after recording three 1,000-yard rushing seasons, while New Orleans also added much-needed additional speed and depth at receiver through the draft.

Multiple capable backs should allow the Saints to vary formations and responsibilities without major substitutions across different offensive personnel packages. Shough remains the key, with his development determining whether those additions can create a more versatile offense.

What These Offenses Could Reveal About the NFL in 2026

The common thread is not one particular scheme. Instead, these four teams demonstrate how differently NFL offenses can pursue the same objective of becoming more difficult for opposing defenses to contain through greater versatility and unpredictability.

Baltimore is creating more variety around Jackson, while Los Angeles wants Herbert operating faster within its new system. Kansas City is adding another dimension around Mahomes, and New Orleans is giving a developing quarterback more ways to distribute the football.

Adaptability could therefore become one of 2026’s defining offensive themes across the league. Following the latest NFL news and trends provides additional context around injuries, changing player roles, matchups and other developments affecting these offenses.

Ultimately, real games will reveal much more than offseason diagrams. How quickly each offense adapts to opposing defensive adjustments should provide the clearest indication of whether these changes can deliver meaningful improvements in 2026.

The First Few Weeks Will Reveal What Really Changed

Week 1 will provide evidence rather than definitive answers. New systems need time, while defenses will adjust once fresh concepts appear on film. Formation choices, pre-snap movement and quarterback comfort should reveal more than any single scoreline.

By the end of September, backfield workloads, play-action and offensive execution should provide a clearer picture. For Baltimore, Los Angeles, Kansas City and New Orleans, the real intrigue is discovering which changes genuinely make their offenses better.

*Content reflects information available as of 31/08/2026; subject to change

The Rams’ new pass rushing menace becomes only the third defensive player to win “NFL Top 100” in the show’s 16 years running. J.J. Watt did it back in 2015. Then Aaron Donald – now Garrett’s own teammate in Los Angeles – grabbed the honor in 2019.

Garrett’s climb up these rankings tells its own story. He fell all the way to 20th after the 2022 season, then bounced back to fifth in 2024, landed at eighth last year, and now sits at number one. What changed? Well, he broke the NFL’s single-season sack record with 23 sacks in just 17 games, took home Defensive Player of the Year, and earned first-team All-Pro honors – all while playing for a Browns team that couldn’t buy a win.

Cleveland ended up trading him to Los Angeles. The return? Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-rounder, and a conditional pick in 2029.

Behind Garrett, Bills quarterback Josh Allen came in second. Falcons running back Bijan Robinson took third. Rounding out the top 10: Rams QB Matthew Stafford, Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey, Rams WR Puka Nacua, Packers EDGE Micah Parsons, Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs, and Broncos CB Patrick Surtain II.

Did the voters actually get this one right?

These rankings always spark debate. And they’ve historically leaned hard toward offensive players at the top – quarterbacks have won this thing nine separate times. Interestingly though, the two winners right before Garrett weren’t QBs at all: Tyreek Hill took it in 2024, Saquon Barkley in 2025.

This time, though? The voters might have nailed it.

Think about the context here. Garrett just put together one of the best individual defensive seasons anyone’s seen in years – and he did it on a Browns team that finished 5-12, losing six games by double digits or worse. None of that explains why the Rams paid such a steep price to get him heading into his age-31 season. Actually, it explains everything. Combine him with the talent already on that roster, and it’s easy to see why Los Angeles enters 2026 as the favorite to win Super Bowl LXI.

Listen to how opposing players talk about him. They don’t see Garrett as just another good pass rusher – they see him as something different entirely, a problem that breaks game plans. His burst off the line, his first step, all of it remains elite. Offensive linemen genuinely gauge their own performance by how they hold up against him, even with a second blocker helping out. And most offenses won’t even try running their base plays without adjusting for where he lines up.

That’s what real impact looks like on a football field. Sure, those 23 sacks probably tipped the scales in Garrett’s favor over Allen. Would the vote have gone differently if Buffalo had actually won the Super Bowl? Maybe. That’s not saying a few extra playoff wins would’ve made Allen a better player – just that these votes tend to get swayed by how a season ends, not just what happened during it.

Garrett’s spot at number one feels earned, which isn’t something you can say about every past winner. Barkley’s selection last year raised plenty of eyebrows. And Hill topping the list two years back? That might go down as the most questionable call in this award’s history.

There’ve been stranger jumps too – Lamar Jackson going from unranked entirely to number one in 2020, or Cam Newton somehow topping the list in 2016 after sitting at 73rd the year before. Compared to those, this year’s pick feels grounded, even if Allen’s fanbase pushes back hard.

Not everybody’s going to agree that Garrett deserves the top spot. That’s fine – these things rarely get unanimous support. But the timing feels right, and the résumé backs it up. If the Rams go on to win it all this season, with Garrett playing the role everyone expects, this ranking will look even more justified in hindsight.

Kirk Cousins is the guy under center for the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1. Head coach Klint Kubiak made it official Wednesday morning, confirming what most people around the team already expected – Cousins will start against the Miami Dolphins.

Kubiak didn’t hold back when explaining the decision.

“[Cousins] played really good football,” Kubiak said. “I’m really happy with all three of our quarterbacks. Kirk’s had a really good offseason, very good camp and he’s earned it.”

That praise came through in a separate report too, backing up just how comfortable Kubiak feels with Cousins running the offense right now.

This isn’t exactly a surprise. The Raiders took Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick back in April, sure – but nobody thought a rookie quarterback was walking into a Week 1 starting job over a guy with Cousins’ resume.

Cousins is set to make his first start with Las Vegas since leaving the Atlanta Falcons last season. The Raiders brought him in on a one-year deal knowing exactly what the plan was: he’d open the year as the starter and help Mendoza get acclimated to the speed of the NFL along the way. Last season in Atlanta, Cousins went 5-3 as a starter, throwing for 1,721 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions.

Training camp made things pretty clear early on. Cousins was named the starter right out of the gate, and Kubiak was singing his praises all the way back in July.

But here’s the thing – Kubiak never officially locked in Cousins as the Week 1 starter until now. He left that door open through the entire preseason. Cousins got his second preseason start against the San Francisco 49ers, though he only played two drives. Makes sense, really; the guy is 38 years old and entering his 15th season in the league. Nobody needs him grinding through extended preseason snaps.

Mendoza, meanwhile, got way more playing time. And it showed – both good and bad.

He threw a rough interception early against the Houston Texans in preseason. Then he threw another one on just his second play against the 49ers. He finished that game 7-of-14 for 57 yards, numbers that won’t turn many heads.

“[Mendoza] needs another three preseason games,” Kubiak said after the loss, via ESPN. “All those rookies do, and now that the season’s starting, the practice reps get smaller, and that’s just life. But as coaches, we’ve got to get them ready to play, keep developing them.”

Mendoza simply hasn’t shown enough yet to force Kubiak’s hand.

That moment will come eventually, though – just not in Week 1.

It’s easy to forget how dominant Mendoza was at the college level considering how rocky his preseason has looked. He led Indiana to an undefeated season last year and the program’s first-ever national title, beating Miami in the championship game. He capped it off by winning the Heisman Trophy after throwing for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns against just six interceptions all year.

Given that kind of season, it’s no wonder Mendoza went into draft season as the presumptive No. 1 pick. Once the Raiders landed that selection, there wasn’t much debate about who they’d take.

Eventually, this becomes Mendoza’s team. That much feels inevitable. But there’s real value in not rushing him into the fire right away – he gets to ease into professional football while learning from a veteran instead of getting thrown to the wolves in Week 1. And with Kubiak stepping into his first year as an NFL head coach while trying to rebuild this whole operation, there’s zero incentive to speed up Mendoza’s timeline.

Nobody knows exactly when Mendoza takes over. But it’s coming.

The ACC was the last domino to fall, adopting a policy that bars that kind of comeback. And it’s happening fast – several members of the 2022 high school class, hoping for a fifth year of eligibility, have already taken their fight to the courts, challenging a new NCAA eligibility model that leaves them out in the cold.

The Big Ten kicked things off on Tuesday. Football players are now ineligible if they signed a pro contract, appeared on an NFL roster, or declared for the draft as an underclassman without withdrawing.

Following meetings with the Presidents, Chancellors, and Athletics Directors of the Southeastern Conference, the SEC will enforce the following policy: pic.twitter.com/LohWnb7G1J— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) August 25, 2026

“The conference continues to evaluate potential rules restricting professional athletes in other sports from conference competition,” the league said in a statement.

The penalties aren’t small, either. The Big Ten later revealed that violators face a coach suspension covering half the season, plus an institutional fine.

By Tuesday afternoon, the SEC jumped in too – but went a step further, applying the same rule to both football and basketball programs.

Notre Dame didn’t wait around either. Officials there informed both the Big Ten and SEC that the Fighting Irish would fall in line with a similar policy.

Then came Wednesday, when the Big 12 passed its own version – one that stretches across every sport, not just football and basketball.

The ACC’s language mirrors the SEC’s approach pretty closely, shutting the door on pro football and basketball players looking to return.

“The Board’s action reflects the ACC’s commitment to preserving college sports as an opportunity for college students that is clearly distinct from professional sports, protecting opportunities for current and future student-athletes and promoting competitive equity,” the ACC said in a statement.

This isn’t just a Power Four thing, by the way. The Mountain West rolled out an identical policy just hours after the ACC made its move.

Where this all started

None of this happened in a vacuum.

Reports surfaced that former Cleveland Browns tight end Dae’Quan Wright and former New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Zxavian Harris were planning to leave their NFL futures behind for a shot at LSU. Both players spent time under Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin back when he was at Ole Miss.

Kiffin didn’t shy away from the topic on Monday. During a press conference, without confirming any actual signings, he defended going after pro-level talent, saying flatly: “[They’re] either going to play for you or they’re going to play for someone else around the country.”

That same Monday, SEC presidents held a virtual meeting to hash out their stance on the issue – and made it clear they weren’t interested in welcoming pros back into the college ranks.

“College athletes, not former professional athletes, have been at the heart of the Southeastern Conference. Individuals who choose to leave college athletics, sign professional playing contracts, and compete professionally should not then be permitted to return to college competition,” the SEC’s statement read in part.

Once Tuesday’s vote went through, SEC schools lost the option entirely – no more rostering athletes who fit that description, whether in football or basketball. Commissioner Greg Sankey now holds what’s being described as “full and unlimited authority” on the matter, including the power to suspend a school from competition altogether, according to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger.

More legal challenges on the way?

Here’s the thing though – putting up these guardrails doesn’t make the conferences bulletproof. If anything, it paints a target on their backs.

Instead of the NCAA fielding all the lawsuits like it has in the past, the conferences themselves could soon become the defendants.

Dellenger flagged this exact concern earlier in the week:

“Important to note that league-wide rules do not absolve a conference from legal challenges,” Dellenger wrote on Tuesday. “In fact, conferences will likely now be sued by athletes as defendants in separate lawsuits or added as defendants in existing lawsuits, many times in front of the same judges.”

And if it turns out these conferences can’t actually enforce what they’ve just passed – if their hands get tied by the courts – commissioners and presidents will need to figure out a totally different approach. They’d have to find some way to sanction individual schools directly for fielding an athlete who doesn’t meet the new eligibility rules, per Dellenger.

Court records show Romo was cited for first-offense operating while intoxicated, unsafe passing on the right side, and having open intoxicants in his vehicle. That’s on top of a citation he already received on July 27 for refusing a breathalyzer test after police pulled him over.

Four citations total now.

Romo is scheduled to appear in court for all of them on Sept. 21.

His representatives issued a new statement to the Journal-Sentinel addressing the situation:

“Tony accepts full responsibility for his actions and has taken proactive steps to ensure that this isolated civil matter is properly resolved. We are working with local authorities to bring this matter to a close and we are communicating with CBS about next steps.”

Here’s how it went down: police say Romo was pulled over on a Milwaukee highway on July 23 and failed a field sobriety test at the scene.

CBS didn’t wait long to react. The network placed Romo on indefinite leave shortly after news of the arrest broke, and there’s still no clear timeline for when – or if – he’ll return. Network president David Berson was asked about it by reporters earlier this month and wouldn’t commit to a decision date.

A Contract Already Under Scrutiny

Romo signed a 10-year, $180 million deal with CBS back in 2020, a record-breaking contract at the time and a clear signal of how much the network valued him as a broadcaster.

That shine had already faded some, arrest or not. Fans had grown tired of his rambling, overly casual commentary style well before this incident.

Now there’s real speculation that CBS could use this as an exit ramp. The Athletic reported that his contract includes a morals clause – language that could let the network void the deal entirely if his conduct is deemed embarrassing to the company.

Whatever happens with Romo, the show goes on without him for now. CBS is opening the season with J.J. Watt paired alongside Jim Nantz in its top broadcast booth.

Jayden Higgins tore his ACL during Tuesday’s joint practice with the Las Vegas Raiders, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. That’s it for his season.

The injury happened during 11-on-11 drills. Higgins was running a route, hit the ground awkwardly in the end zone, and walked off under his own power – though not without a limp, according to ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime. Medical tests later confirmed the torn ACL.

A rookie season cut short

Houston took Higgins with the No. 34 overall pick in this year’s draft, landing him out of Iowa State. He didn’t waste any time making an impact.

Through his rookie campaign, Higgins hauled in 41 receptions for 525 yards and six touchdowns. Not bad production for a guy who was never meant to be the No. 1 target – that job belonged to Nico Collins, with tight end Dalton Schultz rounding out the trio as Houston’s top three pass-catchers.

Collins, for what it’s worth, kept doing what he’s done for three straight years now; he finished 2025 with 1,117 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 120 targets, his third consecutive 1,000-yard season. The Texans rode that production to a 12-5 record and their third straight playoff appearance, though they fell short in the divisional round.

Now Higgins is done for the year.

That leaves quarterback C.J. Stroud with some rebuilding to do in terms of who he’s targeting downfield. Xavier Hutchinson figures to see more snaps, and so does Tank Dell – assuming he’s actually healthy enough to contribute.

Dell’s own situation is worth watching closely. He missed all of 2025 recovering from a knee injury, so there’s real uncertainty about how much he can handle right out of the gate. Jaylin Noel isn’t fully in the clear either; he’s been dealing with a broken finger and a hamstring issue that’s lingered throughout training camp.

Depth was already a question mark for this receiving room. Losing Higgins just made it a bigger one.

Houston opens its regular season on Sept 13 against the Buffalo Bills – a game that now carries a bit more intrigue given how thin the receiver depth chart suddenly looks.

“At some point, there will be NFL teams outside the USA,” Goodell told Germany’s RTL/ntv during an interview with former NFL player Markus Kuhn. “I have no doubt that this will happen one day.”

Notice the wording there. Teams, plural.

The international push isn’t new

The NFL has been playing games outside U.S. borders since 2007, and that footprint keeps expanding. Next season alone will feature nine international games, with stops in Melbourne, Paris, Mexico City and several other host cities still being finalized.

That number could climb even higher soon. Owners already voted this year to allow up to 10 international games per season starting in 2027 – basically clearing the runway for the league to keep pushing its product overseas.

So where does a Super Bowl fit into all this? Could the league’s biggest game ever land on foreign soil?

Goodell thinks it’s possible, but he’s not ready to skip steps.

“There are definitely international cities that could host something like that,” Goodell said. “But we would like to see an NFL team in such a city first.”

That’s a pretty clear signal about sequencing. Get a franchise established abroad first, then worry about hosting the championship game there. Peter O’Reilly, the NFL’s executive vice president of club business, downplayed the idea back in May, calling an international Super Bowl “not a front-burner issue” for the league right now.

Still, Goodell keeps bringing this topic up, and not just in passing interviews. Ahead of Super Bowl LX, he said a non-U.S. franchise wasn’t “off the table,” adding that he believed it was “very possible some day.” That’s the kind of language commissioners don’t use unless something’s actually being discussed behind closed doors.

And it turns out something is. Reports surfaced earlier this year that the NFLPA (the players’ union) has been examining the pros and cons of international teams – travel logistics, competitive balance, roster rules, the whole picture. Goodell himself acknowledged that league officials have discussed the concept of an international division, not just a random team scattered somewhere overseas.

Whether that means London, Germany, Mexico or somewhere else entirely gets a franchise first is anyone’s guess. But between the expanded international schedule, the league’s own admission of internal discussions, and Goodell’s increasingly direct comments, it’s looking less like a hypothetical and more like a matter of when, not if.

The Bears running back went down with a right knee injury during Sunday’s practice, and now he’s facing several weeks on the sideline with what’s being called a hyperextended knee. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler broke the news, though nobody’s put an exact timeline on his return just yet.

Here’s the silver lining, though: the MRI results are apparently coming back positive.

That’s the good news. The bad news? Monangai’s recovery timeline puts him squarely at risk of missing Chicago’s regular-season opener against Carolina.

So how did this happen? According to the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs, Monangai got tangled up with defensive tackle Grady Jarrett near the sideline, right at the tail end of a run. This wasn’t some intense, physical practice either – the Bears were in shorts and shells, just a day removed from a 34-10 preseason win over Cleveland.

Biggs described it as a “freak incident.” Monangai stayed down for a few minutes before slowly making his way into the practice facility on his own.

What This Means for Chicago’s Backfield

The Bears drafted Monangai in the seventh round back in 2025 out of Rutgers, and he immediately made an impact. As a rookie, he racked up 783 yards and five touchdowns, playing alongside starter D’Andre Swift for most of the season.

That duo turned into one of the league’s best rushing tandems. Chicago finished with the third-best rushing offense in the NFL last season, averaging 144.5 yards per game on the ground – trailing only Buffalo and Baltimore, two teams built around explosive run games.

The Bears rode that ground attack all the way to an 11-6 record and an NFC North title. From there, they went on their deepest playoff run since 2010.

Now Chicago opens its season on Sept. 13 against the Panthers in Charlotte. If Monangai’s knee doesn’t cooperate over the next month, the Bears could be walking into that game without their proven second option in the backfield – the same player who helped carry one of the league’s most productive rushing attacks a year ago.

The Minnesota Vikings safety went down during Saturday’s preseason opener, and it turns out the injury is worse than anyone hoped. Head coach Kevin O’Connell confirmed on Monday that Adams tore his right quadricep and will need surgery soon. That means Adams is looking at a return sometime in 2027 — not this year, not next year.

Here’s the strange part: it’s the same injury Adams suffered back in 2022 with the Seattle Seahawks. Different leg this time (right instead of left), same outcome.

Adams barely got going before it happened. He’d played just 11 snaps in Minnesota’s 13-10 win over the New York Giants when he went down attempting to defend a pass in the second quarter. No contact involved — he just fell to the turf. Jaxson Dart had thrown a 15-yard touchdown to Malachi Fields on the play, and Adams was carted off the field shortly after.

“You feel his passion every single day. Certainly felt it, spent a few moments with him before they took him in,” O’Connell said just after halftime of the preseason contest. “You’re just crushed for him. The role that he was kind of paving for himself, and then just having a personality, experience, toughness that he brought in such a short amount of time. We’re going to miss him.”

Minnesota brought Adams in right before training camp started last month. He’d spent last season with the Las Vegas Raiders, appearing in 17 games and racking up 45 total tackles along with a sack.

The Jets took Adams No. 6 overall out of LSU back in 2017. He spent three years in New York before getting traded to Seattle ahead of the 2020 season.

Injuries have followed him for a while now, though.

Despite three Pro Bowl selections earlier in his career, Adams played in fewer than nine games in three straight seasons before landing in Las Vegas. Now he’s dealing with another setback, and at this stage of his career, it’s fair to wonder how much more his body can take.

As for the Vikings, they’re still trying to get back on track after finishing 9-8 last season and missing the playoffs — O’Connell’s fourth year at the helm, and still no postseason trip to show for it. They’ll kick off the regular season on Sept. 13 against the Green Bay Packers, minus one of the defensive pieces they’d hoped would make a difference.

Dallas has agreed to terms with linebacker Von Miller, the team confirmed Sunday night. The deal is a one-year contract worth $5.5 million, according to NFL Network – though Miller could see that number climb to $7.5 million with incentives.

Miller’s 37 now. He’s been doing this for 14 seasons, and it all started in Denver, where he became one of the most feared pass rushers in the league. That run included a Super Bowl title after the 2015 season, capped off by an MVP performance against the Carolina Panthers. He wasn’t done there, either – Miller picked up a second ring with the Rams in 2021.

Last year he was in Washington, and honestly, he still had something left. Miller posted 26 tackles and nine sacks with the Commanders, his best sack total since that 2021 season with the Rams. He signed with Washington on a one-year deal last offseason after things ended poorly in Buffalo, then spent this entire summer as a free agent before Dallas came calling.

This isn’t some random landing spot for him, though.

Miller grew up in DeSoto, just outside Dallas, and played his college ball at Texas A&M before Denver took him second overall back in 2011. He won Defensive Rookie of the Year that season and has racked up eight Pro Bowl selections and three first-team All-Pro nods since. Coming home to play for the Cowboys is about as full-circle as it gets.

Is he still the same player who terrorized quarterbacks a decade ago? No, probably not. But Dallas isn’t asking him to be that guy – they just need him to help stabilize a pass rush that fell apart last season. The Cowboys managed just 35 sacks as a team in 2024, a number that ranked near the bottom of the league. Miller, meanwhile, still holds the title of the NFL’s active sacks leader with 138.5 for his career.

Whether he can still get there consistently at this stage remains the real question.

Dallas finished 7-9-1 last season and missed the playoffs entirely, marking a rough start for new head coach Brian Schottenheimer. They’ll open this season on Sept. 13 against the Giants, and if Miller’s presence means even a modest jump in that sack total, it could go a long way toward keeping Dallas competitive early on.

It’s being called the “Brady rules” for a reason. The league put these restrictions in place after Brady – part owner of the Las Vegas Raiders – started calling games for Fox. That ownership stake raised obvious conflict of interest questions, so the NFL stepped in.

Aikman’s situation isn’t identical, but it’s close enough. He’s been consulting for the Miami Dolphins on the side, and reportedly had a hand in the team’s decision to hire general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley this past offseason.

That kind of dual role – broadcaster and front-office advisor – is exactly what triggered these rules in the first place.

What the restrictions actually mean

Neither Brady nor Aikman will get access to team practice facilities or practices themselves. NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy laid out the specifics to Front Office Sports:

“Both may attend production meetings virtually but will have no access to practice facilities or practices. They may conduct interviews outside team facilities with football personnel and players. They could conduct the interview at the team hotel in an area separate from other football personnel. They could broadcast games involving their own club.”

So there’s some flexibility built in. Interviews can still happen – just not on team property. And yes, both guys can still call games featuring the teams they’re tied to.

Aikman already knew this was coming. He addressed it back in early August during an appearance on Dallas Dialogue with Dale Hansen, saying he understood exactly why the league was applying these limits to him.

As for Brady, the league seems satisfied with how things have gone. McCarthy noted there haven’t been any issues over his first two seasons at Fox. If anything, Brady’s grown into the role – he’s set to begin his third season behind the mic this year.

It wasn’t always this smooth, though. When Brady first signed with Fox back in 2024, the NFL initially kept him out of production meetings entirely. That got walked back by the end of the year, and Brady’s been allowed to join those meetings ahead of games ever since.

Aikman’s a different case in one big way: he’s been doing this far longer than Brady has. Between his years of broadcasting experience and his familiarity with how to prep for a game, these new restrictions probably won’t slow him down much heading into this season.

That season opener comes against the New Orleans Saints at home, and it’s still months away – plenty of time for Pacheco to heal up.

Detroit signed the 27-year-old running back this offseason on a one-year deal worth $1.81 million, bringing him in specifically to back up starter Jahmyr Gibbs.

Pacheco’s Road to Detroit

This is Pacheco’s fifth season in the league. Kansas City took him in the seventh round back in 2022 (251st overall pick), and he didn’t waste time proving that draft slot wrong.

As a rookie, he ran for 830 yards and added another 130 through the air, finishing with five total touchdowns. Not bad for a seventh-rounder.

He followed that up in 2023 with an even better season – 935 rushing yards, 244 receiving yards and nine touchdowns combined. At that point, it looked like the Chiefs backfield belonged to him going forward.

Then 2024 happened.

A fractured fibula in Week 2 cut his season short, and he never really got back to the player he’d been the two years prior. Kansas City decided not to bring him back, letting him walk in free agency once his rookie deal ran out.

Filling David Montgomery’s Role

Detroit needed a veteran backup after trading David Montgomery to the Houston Texans this offseason, and Pacheco fit that need. Gibbs remains the unquestioned starter and will carry the bulk of Detroit’s rushing attack – that much hasn’t changed.

What has changed, at least temporarily, is who’s next in line behind him.

Pacheco was brought in to spell Gibbs and keep him fresh over a long season, not to compete for touches. But with him nursing a knee injury, the Lions now have to figure out who can step up if he’s not ready by kickoff on Sept. 13.

Detroit may bring in outside help at running back before the season starts. If they don’t, the depth chart options already on the roster include Raheem Blackshear, Kye Robichaux, Jacob Saylors, Jabari Small and Sione Vaki – any of whom could get a look as the No. 2 back while Pacheco recovers (Detroit Lions official roster).