NFL training camps are opening across the United States, signalling the return of football and a period where the smell of hope hangs in the air from sea to shining sea.
I’m about to head off on a training camp tour with the Sky Sports NFL crew and we are visiting the Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers.
There will be plenty of stories at those particular teams, but the headlines will be coming thick and fast from across the league over the next month or so. Here are some storylines worth monitoring this summer.
QUARTERBACK BATTLES
The NFL doesn’t seem to produce as many genuine quarterback training camp battles as in bygone eras, but there will be plenty in 2024. Let’s touch on a few of them for a moment or two, starting in the Big Apple.
The New York Giants are paying Daniel Jones $40 million per year to be their quarterback. So, why don’t they seem convinced that he is their guy? Strong training camps from either Drew Lock or cult hero Tommy DeVito could make things very interesting come opening weekend. This should be Jones’ job to lose, but he might do just that.
In Las Vegas, there is an open competition between Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew. Whoever wins that job is going to have to win over a sceptical fan base because neither option sets pulses racing. In Minnesota, veteran Sam Darnold has the inside track on the Minnesota Vikings’ job, but first-rounder J.J. McCarthy is surely going to get a look sooner or later? In Denver, rookie first-rounder Bo Nix will look to hold off Jarrett Stidham or former top-five pick Zach Wilson, who is hoping for a career revival in the Rocky Mountains.
Then there are some intriguing situations that will need to be navigated by veteran quarterbacks and their coaches. Kirk Cousins was brought to Atlanta to lead a playoff charge and is being paid handsomely in the process ($180 million over four years). But the Falcons also drafted Michael Penix Jr. in the first round, creating a potentially-awkward and dramatic backdrop to training camp. And in Pittsburgh, will it be Russell Wilson or former Chicago Bears first-rounder Justin Fields? It looks like Wilson for now, but Fields has no desire to wait in the wings.
DRAMA IN DALLAS?
It wouldn’t be NFL training camp season if there wasn’t a bright spotlight being shone on America’s Team. But let’s be honest, the Dallas Cowboys do bring a lot of that attention upon themselves. Earlier this offseason, owner Jerry Jones said his team would be “all in” when it came to roster building after last year’s embarrassing home playoff defeat to the Green Bay Packers.
It has hardly panned out that way and that means pressure is building on management but also head coach Mike McCarthy. For a start, the team’s three biggest stars – quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and edge rusher Micah Parsons – are all fishing for new deals and that will put a real strain on team finances and relationships.
And the other big moves failed to materialise during the offseason, leaving Dallas with the likes of Jalen Tolbert, Brandin Cooks and KaVontae Turpin alongside Lamb at receiver. In the backfield, the previously-cast-aside Ezekiel Elliott returns to share the load with Rico Dowdle. It’s hardly inspiring stuff and the Cowboys need to have a positive training camp heading into the new campaign in order to shake off a pretty dismal offseason.
WILL OTHER BIG STARS GET PAID?
There are other big-name players whose cloudy contract situations are going to hang over their respective training camps. Perennial 1,000-yard receiver Brandon Aiyuk has demanded a trade away from the San Francisco 49ers, but I think the team has no interest in sending Brock Purdy’s favourite target to pastures new. I would imagine a deal gets done between the player and the team at some point during training camp. If it were me, I would be looking at keeping Aiyuk over Deebo Samuel at that position.
Then there is the case of Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins. Tua is next in line to be paid when it comes to NFL quarterbacks, but there is a reason the Dolphins have allowed him to enter the fifth and final year of his rookie deal. They still have some uncertainty, particularly if they have to pay Tua the going rate of more than $55 million per season.
Tua has produced tremendous regular season numbers over the past couple of years, but he and his team have shrunk in big games and in playoff contests. The Dolphins are in an awkward spot – they probably want to keep Tua but don’t want to automatically make him the highest-paid player in NFL history just because it is his turn. Watch this space.
RUNNING BACKS IN NEW PLACES
It’s close to impossible to gauge running back effectiveness in training camp because there is very little tackling to the ground, especially when it comes to the big-name stars. That said, I still believe there will be a lot of intrigue surrounding three familiar faces in new places.
Saquon Barkley has moved from the New York Giants to the Philadelphia Eagles, former NFL rushing champ Josh Jacobs has gone from the Las Vegas Raiders to the Green Bay Packers and Derrick Henry is now a Baltimore Raven after terrorising that team as a member of the Tennessee Titans in the past.
All three will have an impact, but I’m fascinated to see how dominant Henry will be in Baltimore. It feels like an ideal fit and one that could propel the Ravens to the Super Bowl. And Barkley should be really special in Philly… we will just have to wait until the regular season begins to truly see it.
JIM HARBAUGH RETURNS
It’s been 10 years since the quirky, tough and talented Jim Harbaugh coached in the NFL. Now, his return with the Los Angeles Chargers is going to shine a light on a team that disappointed in 2023.
What kind of team will Harbaugh field? How well will Justin Herbert develop under a head coach who is a former NFL quarterback himself? And who will Herbert throw the ball to after the offseason departures of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams?
All those questions and more will be asked and answered – we hope – over the summer as the Chargers become one of the league’s more interesting follows.
RODGERS RUNS NEW YORK… TAKE TWO!
I was in New York last summer and the excitement in the air at Jets camp was palpable. And it was all created by the arrival of Aaron Rodgers, who lasted just four plays into the season opener before snapping his Achilles and being sidelined for the remainder of the campaign.
That injury rocked Rodgers, the Jets and, let’s be honest, the entire NFL world. It heaped serious pressure on the Jets and they did well not to completely unravel, to stick together and to somehow win seven games. Now, it’s Rodgers in the Big Apple… the second act! And with one of the best rosters in the league around him, the future Hall of Famer will be under pressure to deliver. If he doesn’t, jobs could be on the line, starting with head coach Robert Saleh.
The Jets don’t really know what they’re going to get with a quarterback who skipped some offseason work this year and who is coming off a serious injury at the age of 40. But let’s not forget that Rodgers is one of the best this game has ever seen – if he can play anywhere close to his best, the Jets are playoff-bound and who knows after that?
So, the stakes are high and the coming weeks are going to see every Aaron Rodgers snap, dropback, throw and press conference scrutinised to the absolute max in the intense media spotlight of New York. It’s going to be your classic NFL summer drama and I’m here for all of it!
BRING ON THE SAVIOURS
Rookie quarterbacks enter the NFL every season and the first-rounders are often placed in an immediate media goldfish bowl where we monitor their every move on and off the field. But, 2024 feels likely to be even more intense – Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye are not just entering the NFL as first-year players, they are coming in with the expectation of being the saviours of their respective franchises.
Williams has Chicago Bears fans excited as he looks to work explosively with receivers such as D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze and Keenan Allen. If the first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft lives up to expectations, the Bears have a genuine shot at being a playoff team in 2024 and the demands on their young passer will be high.
The Washington Commanders have started 27 different players at quarterback since 2000 and none have proven to be the long-term answer capable of delivering championship glory. That’s incredible turnover at the position when you consider Washington were formed in 1932 and have started 70 quarterbacks during that time. Daniels will be expected to provide some stability for years to come.
The same will be asked of Maye with the New England Patriots, although Jacoby Brissett could start early in the season while the rookie is brought along slowly. It’s a new era in Foxboro and Maye can benefit from not being the guy who replaced the guy. That was Mac Jones and he is now gone and backing up Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville
SPECIAL TEAMS TRIALS
The NFL will unveil its new and ground-breaking kick-off rules in 2024 and training camp will be the time for teams to work out kinks and to see what does and doesn’t work. I spent a lot of time with Jacksonville Jaguars special teams coordinator Heath Farwell earlier this summer and it is clear that the entire league is not quite sure how things will pan out, even with a tremendous amount of work having already been put in.
Don’t expect teams to get too cute during actual preseason games where film can and will be shared. They’re likely to experiment during the periods of practice where those of us in attendance are not allowed to film or reveal specific tactical details. It will be the same during combined workouts between teams. That will be where the bulk of the kick-off rule tinkering gets done.
If a team figures out a major advantage, they’re definitely keeping it under their hat until the regular season gets underway. This rule change and how teams deal with it could be one of the biggest headlines of the upcoming campaign, but not quite so much during training camp.