I’m guilty of it. I think a lot of us are.
Doomscrolling on our phones, moving so fast we miss the good stuff. But this week, I slowed down, and what I saw reminded me there are a lot of big hearts in the NFL.
In New Jersey, Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart showed up at Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital in Hackensack dressed as Superman, spending his afternoon coloring with 5-year-old Giuseppe Maneiro, who’s battling leukemia.
In Charlotte, Panthers rookie Tetairoa McMillan went full Maui from Moana with the wig, bodysuit and fake muscles to surprise kids at the Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital.
The Vikings’ offensive line hosted a Halloween fashion show for kids at M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital.
Up in Foxboro, Drake Maye lit up the Patriots’ family event as Dragonite, while Marcus Jones took questions about his contract extension dressed as Sonic the Hedgehog.
In a league built on business, high stakes and ego, it was a good reminder that the guys who spend Sundays hitting and sacrificing their bodies are still human beings who can drop their guard, be a little silly and make someone’s day.
It’s a nice reset in a season that’s already barreling into Week 9.
While the players were out handing out treats, front offices are up to their usual tricks. The trade deadline is near, conversations are intensifying and several teams are quietly preparing to shake things up.
This is what I’m hearing on:
- Final days of trade chatter
- Why Mike McDaniel remains
- The tush push killer?
- The Patriots’ best decision
- A Houston revival
- San Francisco’s haunted house
- Cameras rolling in the NFC East
The latest trade deadline intel
The trade deadline is just days away, which means it’s time to reset what we know and what I’ve been hearing heading into Tuesday. (And remember: When a coach or GM insists publicly that a player isn’t on the block, that doesn’t mean they’re not taking calls.)
Team and league sources tell me the following:
- Cleveland star Myles Garrett is not getting traded. Teams have checked in, but as one high-ranking source texted: “He’s a Brown and will remain a Brown.”
- Miami has received interest from the Eagles, 49ers, Patriots and others on OLB Jaelan Phillips (The Dolphins are looking for at least a third-rounder in return). They’re also getting calls on DE Bradley Chubb and OLB Matthew Judon.
- The Eagles need an edge rusher and asked the Jets about Jermaine Johnson. It makes sense, considering former Jets GM Joe Douglas drafted him in New York and is now Philly’s senior personnel director. However, New York has held a high asking price of a second-round pick or better.
- Many teams, including the Rams, 49ers, Lions, Colts and Eagles, have called the Bengals on numerous players, including LB Logan Wilson, CB Cam Taylor-Britt and, of course, DE Trey Hendrickson. For now, some teams don’t believe Cincinnati has any real interest in moving its core pieces.
- The Bills were one of the teams that inquired in recent weeks about Saints WR Chris Olave. New Orleans is still expected to retain its top wideout.
- The Raiders have fielded calls from the Steelers and Bills on WR Jakobi Meyers, but Las Vegas has set a high price. Pittsburgh is looking at other wide receiver options, too.
- The Giants do not plan to move pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux. They previously told inquiring teams that the price would be a first-round pick.
- The Patriots are searching for a pass rusher but feel good about their offensive weapons. Running back could be a possibility because of recent injuries.
- The Seahawks and Chargers are exploring potential offensive line additions.
- The Lions are looking for help at safety and defensive line.
- The Commanders are in the market for a pass rusher.
- The Broncos are monitoring the tight end market, even after signing Marcedes Lewis to their practice squad.
- The players the Titans are fielding the most calls on: DE Arden Key, LB Dre’Mont Jones, RB Tony Pollard and DT T’Vondre Sweat.
- The Chiefs have been actively searching for defensive line help.
- The Colts need corners and have been calling. The Ravens and Packers are also looking for corners.
- The Jaguars are looking for a defensive tackle. They have received lots of interest in WR Brian Thomas Jr., but no substantial offers. Most around the league believe it would take a first-round pick and then some to land the 2024 Pro Bowler.
- The Jets have been getting calls on RB Breece Hall for a while, and while there is interest, New York is looking for at least a third-round pick in return. Hall is in the final year of his rookie deal. Teams are also continuing to monitor DT Quinnen Williams, despite a high price tag.
Miami moves on
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross on Friday made the decision to part ways with general manager Chris Grier, who had been part of the Dolphins organization for 26 years, but Ross remains committed to head coach Mike McDaniel.
Mike McDaniel remains the coach of the Miami Dolphins despite a slow start and a 2-7 record. (Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)
It was explained by a team source that Ross is not simply holding on to McDaniel as a placeholder before an offseason shake-up but genuinely hopes to see McDaniel keep this group competing as Miami simultaneously begins shaping a refreshed vision for its front office. There is still confidence from ownership and the locker room that McDaniel is the right coach for the Dolphins, despite the team’s 2-7 record.
Last call for the tush push?
Eight weeks into 2025, we’ve finally found the Brotherly Shove’s kryptonite, and it’s not a defense (nice try, though, Brian Flores, with that unorthodox alignment).
It’s the officials.
Last offseason, the Packers submitted a proposal to outlaw the tush push, a play that the defending champion Eagles have perfected. The league came close to banning it, but with an assist from Jason Kelce’s impassioned in-person plea, teams ultimately voted in favor of keeping the play.
But eight weeks into this season, the thing that might actually kill the tush push is the league’s inability to officiate it properly.
As one high-ranking league source put it this week: “How embarrassing for the league to say we have to take away a totally legal play because we’re not good enough to officiate it.”
Don’t be surprised if this becomes one of the most hotly debated rule discussions of the offseason, again.
Not the same old Josh McDaniels
“He’s the Vic Fangio and Steve Spagnuolo of offensive coordinators. One of the best play callers in our game, and he will be as long as he’s coaching.”
That’s how one rival GM described Josh McDaniels, New England’s ace offensive mind, who looks like he’s writing a whole new chapter.
For years, the book on McDaniels was simple: He was a brilliant mind, a surgical schemer, but he lacked the ability to connect with his locker room. He thrived as Tom Brady’s offensive coordinator, but that didn’t transfer into being a successful head coach. The whispers followed him first to Denver and then Las Vegas.
Now back in Foxboro, it’s evident the 49-year-old McDaniels has grown.
When the Patriots searched for an offensive coordinator this offseason, it came down to three names: McDaniels, then-Vikings OC Grant Udinski (who came highly recommended by Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell) and former Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown. Brown crushed his interview; multiple people in league circles told me he “blew the doors off.” But after some long conversations with trusted voices in Mike Vrabel’s orbit, New England leaned back into the familiar … and then strengthened it.
Despite interest elsewhere, Vrabel convinced Brown to join the staff as passing game coordinator, working with McDaniels every day.
I’m told McDaniels’ impact is directly seen in his ability to adjust and outsmart opponents. “Look at the halftime adjustments in Buffalo, Tennessee and Cleveland,” one league source observed. “They stand out. This past Sunday, against Cleveland’s defense, it was perimeter touches for TreVeyon Henderson that flipped the tone.”
That’s experience and understanding.
This isn’t the Brady era, the old Foxboro install. McDaniels has built a system around Maye’s mobility and off-platform ability, using his legs as a weapon.
It’s the new Patriots.
Josh McDaniels, left, has been a huge part of New England’s revival under head coach Mike Vrabel. (Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
Offensive assistants Brown, Todd Downing and Doug Marrone all have their fingerprints on this creation. The Patriots didn’t just bring McDaniels back. They built a new collaborative ecosystem around him.
When I visited camp this summer, McDaniels was glowing when he talked about Maye. The quarterback beamed right back.
“He knows the system so well,” Maye told me. “He knows the answers. He sees it before we even talk about it.”
Not every accomplished coordinator becomes a great head coach. But this is what it looks like when an elite play caller finds the right seat, and the 6-2 Patriots are reaping the rewards.
Keep an eye on the Texans
It’s been one of the mysteries of this season: What exactly is going on in Houston? After a sluggish start, the Texans have quietly won three of their last four and are coming off one of their best offensive performances of the year against San Francisco.
With seven new starters on offense and a first-year play caller in Nick Caley, there were always going to be bumps. Between injuries, turnovers and early miscues, it took time for this group to find its rhythm. But the Texans look like they’re starting to figure it out.
C.J. Stroud threw for 318 yards against the 49ers without his top two receivers — the first time in 21 games he topped 300 yards. Nine skill players caught passes, and the ex-Iowa State trio of Xavier Hutchinson, Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel combined for 14 catches, 166 yards and two touchdowns. Caley’s adjustments have been clear: simplify the scheme, lean on play action and let his young quarterback play loose again.
DeMeco Ryans’ defense is still elite, allowing the fewest points and yards in football. But if Caley’s offense keeps trending upward, the Texans won’t just be a fun story in November; they’ll be a real factor down the stretch.
For the 49ers, an eerie return
San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy won’t start on Sunday against the New York Giants, still recovering from the turf toe injury that has limited him to two starts this season. Mac Jones will once again get the nod. The 49ers had hoped Purdy’s return would come sooner, but they’re walking into MetLife Stadium like it’s a haunted house. And honestly, who could blame them?
If you’re a Niners fan, you don’t need reminding. It was Week 2 of 2020, when San Francisco played the Jets in East Rutherford, N.J., and the turf devoured its season. Both Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas tore their ACLs in a costly win. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo left early with a high ankle sprain, and running back Raheem Mostert went down with an MCL injury.
The 49ers suffered a rash of injuries during a 2020 game against the Jets at MetLife Stadium, including one to Nick Bosa. (Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
A week later, the 49ers had to return to that same field to face the Giants. And since then? They’ve stayed far, far away.
The good news is, the turf’s since been replaced at MetLife. The bad news is the injuries haven’t gone anywhere for San Francisco. As the 49ers head back to MetLife for a Week 9 matchup with Big Blue, their health is once again a major storyline. Robert Saleh’s defense, already without Bosa and Fred Warner, lost three more starters last week against Houston, including linebacker Dee Winters.
The 49ers don’t want to waste time discussing what could happen, but make no mistake, it’s on their minds.
So yes, Halloween might be over. But for the 49ers, MetLife still feels like the one house on the block where nobody wants to trick-or-treat.
A look inside the NFC East soap operas
We’re always trying to piece together what’s going on in Philly, and I fully admit I’ve spent time picturing what a Brian Daboll-Jaxson Dart film session looks like when they are both fired up.
Now we might actually get to see it.
“Hard Knocks” is back in the NFC East. The HBO cameras have returned to team facilities to begin some early shooting and will be going full throttle in about a month for the December in-season series that will focus on the Cowboys, Commanders, Giants and Eagles. I’m going to take a wild guess and say that GM Joe Schoen will be avoiding any extra camera time this time around.
Ding Dong
Our neighborhood kids have been completely obsessed with the 2025 version of ding-dong ditch this Halloween season. It’s called getting boo’d (this may just be a New Jersey thing because when I explained it to my friends in other states, they looked at me like I had three heads).
When it gets dark, parents pile their kids into the car and drop them off in front of a house. The kids ring the doorbell, leave behind candy or a toy and sprint away like they just robbed the place.
It’s harmless fun … well, mostly harmless … unless you’re a mom desperately trying to get two children under five in bed by 8 p.m. Sleep is never in the cards anyway during the NFL season, and honestly, isn’t getting “boo’d” kind of what football feels like right now? Every Sunday, it’s just a bunch of teams sneaking around, dropping surprises at our doorstep and running off before we can make sense of it.
Lastly, the best news I heard all week: Shout-out to my colleague Jacob Robinson, who writes our very popular Scoop City! newsletter (you can sign up here), for getting the greatest news scoop of all: He’s cancer-free!