The 2023 regular season is just around the corner, and NFL Network has you covered with wall-to-wall training camp coverage each day starting at 10 a.m. ET. Follow along here for some of the best sights, sounds and moments from "Inside Training Camp Live" and around the NFL.
Mayfield to start Friday vs. Steelers
Tampa Bay's quarterback competition received its preseason plan on Wednesday.
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles announced that Baker Mayfield will get the start in this Friday's preseason opener versus the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kyle Trask will start next week against the New York Jets.
Asked if this decision is any indication of one being ahead of the other in the QB battle, Bowles said, "Not really."
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport says Mayfield getting the first start is "not a huge surprise."
"Baker probably has the inside track here at being the starting quarterback just considering the money that he's making, the sort of fanfare of his signing and, you know, where he's been in the NFL and the experience that he's had," Rapoport said on Inside Training Camp Live. "Kyle Trask, still very much, though, in the competition."
Rapoport added that the Bucs will likely make a decision on who wins the job ahead of the final preseason game.
The contest between Mayfield and Trask has been close with both QBs sharing first-team reps in training camp, with first-year Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales saying last week that the competition has "absolutely" tightened. Both QBs were listed as co-starters in the team's first unofficial depth chart of the 2023 season.
Mayfield, who's playing on his fourth team in two years, was signed on a one-year deal to be a potential successor to Tom Brady. The 28-year-old salvaged an otherwise disappointing season in 2022 after being released by Carolina and claimed by the Rams.
Trask, a second-round selection by Tampa in 2021, has very little playing experience in the NFL but is showing progress by simply staying in the race with Mayfield.
The showdown is one of the more impactful plotlines of the entire 2023 preseason and it will start with Mayfield's audition this Friday night in Tampa.
Tyreek eyeing 2K
Tyreek Hill is looking to do what no other NFL wide receiver has done by eclipsing the 2,000-yard receiving mark in a single season.
The Dolphins' star wideout joined Inside Training Camp Live on Wednesday to declare why he believes 2023 can be the year to achieve that lofty goal.
"The quarterback play that we have is amazing, as you can see Tua (Tagovailoa) has been delivering, I feel like, all training camp, and the way that our head coach and our OC design plays for us is ridiculous," Hill told NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe and Charles Davis. "My job is really easy; I just got to stay healthy, I just got to keep my attention to detail and just know where to be at on the field at all times for my quarterback. Then I'll be able to make those plays to get where I want to be at, which is 2K."
Hill wasn't too far off from that mark in his first season with the Dolphins, producing a career-high 1,710 yards (119 receptions; seven touchdowns). Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson set the NFL single-season record for receiving yards with his 1,964-yard effort (122 receptions; five TDs) in 2012.
Evidently, Hill is an ideal fit in head coach Mike McDaniel's high-flying offensive system, and he only figures to get better after a season under his belt. The 29-year-old credits McDaniel and WRs coach Wes Welker with allowing him to try different things in practice, which includes building a better rapport with Tua Tagovailoa and working on several different route combinations.
Wolfe captured that effort on Tuesday during the Dolphins' joint practice with the Atlanta Falcons:
Hill, who has yet to miss a Pro Bowl in his seven NFL seasons, certainly has the talent to get to the 2,000-yard mark. The achievement would certainly put him in the conversation of being one of the NFL's greatest wideouts, let alone producing the greatest season by a receiver.
Wolfe and Davis proceeded to ask Hill for his top-five WRs of all time, which goes as follows:
Antonio Brown, Terrell Owens, Torry Holt, Calvin Johnson and Randy Moss.
"A lot of people get mad at me because I don't put Jerry Rice in my category," Hill said. "I love Jerry Rice -- he played a long time in the NFL. He's like the alpha of our position. He wasn't playing in the sweet spot where I was able to watch. I was able to, in my rookie year, watch prime A.B. go out there and go for like 200."
Should Hill get to 2K, he may very well be on everyone's list.
Bills RG position battle 'really close'
Buffalo's ongoing competition between Ryan Bates and O'Cyrus Torrence for the starting right guard job is razor thin, according to Ken Dorsey.
"They bring a lot of different things to the table, obviously. It's still a great competition, we're still kind of evaluating that," the Bills offensive coordinator said Wednesday. "Right now, I would say it's really close between those guys."
Bates, the veteran of the contest, started 15 games at RG last season for a Bills team that produced one of the more efficient offenses in the NFL. The Bills went ahead and drafted Torrence anyway with the 59th-overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, bringing not only depth to the O-line but a healthy competition to camp.
"I think at times you definitely want to see him going in with the 1s and those types of scenarios," Dorsey said of Torrence. "We will have a good look at him in these preseason games as well. I think you really want to evaluate, especially someone new to the offense, but at the same time you don't want to short-change Ryan because a lot of times the competition is what can fuel guys to really surpass what they've been in the past. I think Ryan is doing a great job."
The Bills host their Indianapolis Colts in the 2023 preseason opener on Saturday.
Keenan Allen previews new Chargers offense
Kellen Moore takes over a talent-rich Chargers offense in 2023, and what his scheme does for quarterback Justin Herbert is an intriguing plotline this season.
Longtime Chargers wideout Keenan Allen won't get into the specifics of Moore's offense but indicated on Inside Training Camp Live that it will be an ideal fit for L.A.'s budding star.
"He's a quarterback-minded guy," Allen said Wednesday of the new Chargers offensive coordinator. "He knows what quarterbacks like to do, he knows the fun way of football, and I'm pretty sure he's gonna want to have it look fun."
How opposing teams will match up with an offense that features pass catchers like Allen, Mike Williams, Josh Palmer, first-round rookie Quentin Johnston and running back Austin Ekeler is a head-scratcher.
"Yeah, we've got a lot of gangsters in the room," Allen smirked.
Allen is the elder of the bunch, and while it's not lost on the 31-year-old that he's approaching the franchise's all-time records in receiving, it's a Super Bowl ring that he's eyeing. Having a young star like Herbert certainly gives the Chargers a chance to do that in 2023, and Moore's new offense seems to be rubbing off.
"I think this year he's way more comfortable than he's been," Allen said of Herbert, who recently signed a five-year, $262.5 million extension. "He's changing plays, he's more vocal in the groups, he's just settled in, and you can tell he's got that confidence and that swagger now to where he's ready to run this team."
Patterson to stay aggressive as kick returner in 2023
The NFL's all-time leader in kickoff return touchdowns isn't concerned with the new kickoff rules.
Joining Inside Training Camp Live on Wednesday, Falcons running back Cordarrelle Patterson said he won't be changing his mindset as one of the league's most exciting returners in 2023.
"Honestly, we had this talk as a team, really, and they know I'm going to bring it out," Patterson told NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe and Charles Davis. "No matter where the ball is kicked at, coach is giving me the green light no ifs ands or buts. That's what I bring back there. I'm trying to do whatever I can to help my team gain that momentum on offense."
Even if it's nine yards deep into the end zone?
"It's coming out," Patterson proclaimed. "So, make sure your kicker know how to kick it through the end zone."
In May the NFL approved a resolution that allows players to fair catch on kickoffs, with the resulting possession beginning at the team's own 25-yard line. The rule change will be for one year only, with the league citing "player safety" as a reason for its proposal.
Patterson set the NFL record for kickoff return TDs (nine) with a 103-yard score last season.
Atlanta has utilized Patterson in every which way it can since his arrival in 2021, and the do-it-all playmaker loves how head coach Arthur Smith has applied his skill set.
"Ever since I got here, Art, he's been putting me all over the place and I've been loving it," Patterson said. "Honestly, I've been loving it. The more you can do in this league; why play one position if you can play two or three? If they need me to play tight end, I promise you I'm gonna go out there and line up at tight end and make a play."
