For the fourth year in a row, all 32 NFL teams are kicking off training camp by holding practices with club-led fan events, and NFL Network, NFL+ and NFL.com will provide complete coverage through Back Together Weekend on Saturday and Sunday. Eric Edholm provides his takeaways below from Sunday's camp offerings.
1) Justin Fields starting to make a move on Russell Wilson?
With Russell Wilson sidelined with a calf injury for another day of training camp practice, the door remains ajar for Justin Fields to make a run at the starting job.
Wilson has been sidelined since Thursday, with head coach Mike Tomlin indicating Saturday that he's erring on the side of caution with a quarterback he's still getting to know. The plan is for Wilson to have his calf tested again Monday, NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo reported, but until he's cleared to practice, he'll be resigned to "mental reps," trying to keep pace while absent from the field.
Wilson exited organized team activities as the presumed QB1, with Tomlin indicating Wilson had the "pole position" in the battle this offseason. He also had taken nearly all the first-team reps to start training camp, and as recently as last week Tomlin indicated that “nothing has changed” in the QB hierarchy.
But the big news has been that Fields has made the most of the extended opportunity to this point. Fields has responded with a strong few days of practice. His pretty deep ball Thursday to Van Jefferson drew a roar from the fans in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Then on Friday, Fields hit George Pickens on another long crowd pleaser.
Sunday was merely a walkthrough, but it was the fourth straight practice Wilson has missed. According to Garafolo, Steelers players and coaches alike have seen Fields' steady improvement.
There's a new offensive coordinator in Arthur Smith, and both quarterbacks are trying to learn the system. Neither man is an incumbent; both started elsewhere last season. Sure, Wilson is the more established QB, but Tomlin proved last season he'll ignore pedigree for proficiency when he kept Kenny Pickett on the bench for Mason Rudolph, who played better down the stretch.
So could a QB change come? It's possible, even if this battle appears to have a long way to go before it's decided. Either way, things in Pittsburgh appear to be a lot more interesting now.
2) Drake Maye, Jacoby Brissett in 'true competition'
There's another simmering QB battle in New England, where rookie Drake Maye is doing what he can to knock assumed starter Jacoby Brissett off his perch.
Maye has had some terrific highlights so far in camp, including a few pretty deep balls – namely one to JuJu Smith-Schuster and another one to Kayshon Boutte. The Patriots appeared to give Maye a bit more work Sunday in what Boston Herald reporter Andrew Callahan called the "the longest, most competitive practice" of Patriots camp.
Does Maye actually have a chance to win this job prior to Week 1?
"It's a true competition," Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo told NFL Network's Marc Ross on Sunday on Back Together Weekend. "You know, what I will say is Jacoby is the most pro-ready guy. I don't want to say, 'obviously,' but he's the most pro-ready guy and he shows it on a day-after-day basis.
"But it is a competition. I think Jacoby has handled it (well). You know, he's still mentoring these young quarterbacks and at the same time competing against them, and he's a very selfless individual and really helping these guys along, including Drake."
Mayo loves what he's seen from his rookie quarterback to this point, embracing the challenge of unseating a veteran with 36 NFL starts under his belt.
"Just his competitive nature," Mayo said of Maye. "He's one of those guys that grew up in a house full of boys, right? And so you know, those guys would compete all the time. But he brings that element to everything that he does.
"And you know, I've been around a lot of great players and all of those players are competitive in everything whether it's shooting a ball in the trash can, or being out here in this 4th and 5 and having to make a play, so he definitely displays that."
Let's file this battle as TBD. But the fact that Mayo made clear that Maye and Brissett are competing for the job, means this one can't be called yet whatsoever.
3) Worthy effort: Chiefs rookie hauls in another deep ball
Another day, another Xavier Worthy highlight in Chiefs camp.
Worthy opened training camp with a deep-ball touchdown that lathered up Chiefs faithful who made the trip to St. Joseph, Missouri, last week, and those who attended Sunday's practice saw a repeat performance with Worthy hauling in yet another Patrick Mahomes beauty -- something we should prepare ourselves for this coming season.
There was a little concern when Worthy missed a pair of practices last week with an illness, but Sunday's connection put that memory straight into the dustbin.
4) Tyreek Hill tries to set speed record straight
Speaking of speed, the debate over who the fastest Miami Dolphins player is rages on, going on two-plus years now. And Tyreek Hill doesn't appear to be ready to hand over fastest-man honors to Jaylen Waddle or any of his other Dolphins teammates.
Although some of it is shrouded in mystery, Hill and Waddle are believed to have raced multiple times. Former Dolphins WR Robbie Chosen recently revealed that Waddle actually beat Hill in their most recent race, although Hill attempted to clear the air on that with some context.
"You want me to set the record straight? The Cheetah is still the fastest, no matter what," Hill told NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe. "All I'm gonna say is, on that race Jaylen jumped the count. It was a false start."
No word yet from Waddle or his camp on the matter. The NFL used to have a “fastest man” competition, and if there ever was a time to bring it back, it would be now.
But Hill wasn't done with his hot speed takes. Given that we're now headlong into the Summer Olympic Games, it was only appropriate Wolfe asked Hill who would make up all four legs of his personal 4 x 100 meter relay team if the Dolphins were competing in Paris. Interestingly, Hill didn't choose himself or Waddle for the anchor role.
"Well, obviously I'm putting (myself) first, man," Hill said. "My start is tremendous. Then I'm gonna go with my guy Raheem Mostert at two, Waddle at the three and (De’Von) Achane at the four. Ethan Bonner, that's my alternate."
Just how fast are the Dolphins as a squad? Hill didn't even mention wide receiver Anthony Schwartz, a former high-school track legend who had Olympic sprinting dreams as recently as the 2020 Summer Games, as one of his top five options for the relay.
5) No panic yet on Trevon Diggs
Much of the focus on the Cowboys this offseason has centered around Dak Prescott's contract status, CeeDee Lamb's holdout and the pressure facing head coach Mike McCarthy in a critical year.
But don't forget cornerback Trevon Diggs, who suffered a season-ending torn ACL last season and remains on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. To this point, the team has been cautious with Diggs in his return to the field.
McCarthy said he's not concerned, however, indicating that Diggs could be on-ramping to live action soon.
"We're in a return-to-play mode," McCarthy said Sunday of Diggs. "I don't have an exact date or timeline, but really, it's the same answer I gave you back in the spring. We're going to be smart with him. He looks great. I think if he was standing here, he'd tell you he'd be ready to go. Caution is probably, from my chair, the way I look at it."
Diggs is an underrated piece for these Cowboys, two years removed from an 11-interception season. They were 2-0 with Diggs on the field last season, turning in two dominant performances prior to him suffering the ACL tear in practice prior to Week 3.
The Cowboys were never quite the same defensively after that, even with DaRon Bland emerging as a top playmaker in Diggs' absence. Dallas can weather Diggs' slow return for now, but the closer the regular season inches, the more anxious the team will be to see him back at practice.
6) Mic'd-up Jim Harbaugh is always fun
Ever wonder what it would be like to have a conversation with new Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh? Sunday might give you a little taste.
Harbaugh was mic’d up for a recent practice, and in two minutes you can see why he might be in the running for the NFL's most interesting coach.
"This is where you get the medicine, in my opinion," Harbaugh told Chargers cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. while Samuel got ready for practice. "Outside. Football. All these days count. And those are the ones that matter."
The glib Harbaugh made the rounds before and during practice, offering slightly different sounds that rose above the sometimes cacophonous din of training camp. Whether it's dapping up Derwin James or complimenting young players such as Stone Smartt or Tarheeb Still.
"I feed off of guys like you, Derwin," Harbaugh said, "and it's an all-you-can-eat buffet."
There was even some breaking news of sorts, as Harbaugh appeared to claim that Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker has had a perfect offseason so far.
"I'm enjoying our field goal kicker making every single kick," Harbaugh said of Dicker. "I haven't seen him miss one all offseason. (Special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken), has he missed one?"
Ficken said no. Then Dicker apparently nailed another one.
"Can't jinx this guy, you can't!" Harbaugh said. "Can't be done."
Dicker is an astounding 52-of-55 on field-goal tries in his NFL career, including 31-for-33 last season, so perhaps Harbaugh shouldn't be so surprised.
But there's plenty more in the clip, and if you're a Chargers fan – or just a big Harbaugh enthusiast – it's a must-watch two minutes. Even if you're not a fan, you at least have to admit he's a little different from the rest of the pack. The NFL got a little more interesting the offseason with Harbaugh coming back.
7) B.J. Hill goes blond after Joe Burrow goes first
When Joe Burrow was “bored” and decided to bleach his hair blond prior to training camp, the star quarterback earned a lot of, ahem, buzz for the vast departure from his once-flowing locks.
But the story contained a subplot some might have missed the first time around. Burrow might have been first to do it, but there was an expectation that one of his teammates would follow suit with the blond makeover.
Burrow made it clear last week from whence the challenge came – defensive lineman B.J. Hill – and that his time was coming.
"B.J. said if I buzzed it and bleached it, he would do it, too," Burrow said then. "So now everybody's gotta hold him accountable 'cause he's gotta do it in the next week."
For a few days, Hill wasn't biting, even when egged on by fans – and the Bengals’ social media department. But we can only assume the training camp pressure got the better of him. Now there's one bleached-blond Bengal on each side of the ball.
Give Hill credit for following through – and for doing it well within the week allotted with the challenge. He paid up, style be damned, and you at least have to tip your hat at that.
So, what might it take for, say, head coach Zac Taylor to go platinum blond? NFL Network's Bridget Condon asked Taylor Sunday on NFL Network's Back Together Weekend if a Super Bowl win would make him bleach his hair.
Said Taylor: "I'd do anything for a Super Bowl win."
