It\u2019s that time of year: Everyone loves everyone.<\/p>\n
Broncos head coach Sean Payton is the 2025 NFL version of Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah\u2019s couch when it comes to his love for second-year quarterback Bo Nix and the rest of his Denver squad. When I stopped by a training camp practice this summer, Payton shared his gooey feelings: This might be his best team, and he isn\u2019t shying away from Super Bowl talk. In the Broncos\u2019 team meetings, there\u2019s a Lombardi Trophy backdrop splashed across presentation slides.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t subtle; this is a full-on public declaration of his belief in the 2025 Denver Broncos.<\/p>\n
Coach, I\u2019m a sucker for love, too, but I know better. In this league, you can fall in love fast \u2026 and fall out even faster. I\u2019m not saying Payton shouldn\u2019t be crushing hard \u2014 he has every right to be infatuated with his confident quarterback and his talented defense, led by the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Pat Surtain II \u2014 but in the NFL, relationships can change in a heartbeat.<\/p>\n
The Jets once loved Aaron Rodgers. He\u2019s gone. The Vikings were head over heels for Sam Darnold heading into last year\u2019s playoffs. He\u2019s in Seattle now. The Giants were smitten with the \u201cHard Knocks\u201d cameras documenting their 100th anniversary \u2014 until the episodes actually aired, and the Saquon Barkley negotiation debacle went viral. And Jerry Jones? He loved the Micah Parsons contract he thought was in place this past spring.<\/p>\n
Turns out, that love story didn\u2019t last, either.<\/p>\n
Football is back. Now the real question will be, who\u2019s still saying \u201cI love you\u201d come Thanksgiving? Or heck, maybe even Halloween.<\/p>\n
This week, I\u2019ll tell you what I\u2019m hearing on:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Let\u2019s start in the bright lights, big city: New York.<\/p>\n Speaking of love-drunk \u2026<\/p>\n New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll kept it short with his rookie quarterback. After Jaxson Dart had a strong preseason performance against the Jets, Daboll walked over, looked him in the eye, stuck out his hand, and delivered those three magical little words:<\/p>\n \u201cI love you.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n If you\u2019ve ever been around Daboll and his quarterbacks, such a declaration is hardly unusual. But make no mistake: This is more than just affection. Daboll is coaching for his job in New York. Owner John Mara made that clear at the end of last season when he chose to bring back both Daboll and GM Joe Schoen. The mandate? Show progress. Mara never defined exactly what \u201cprogress\u201d meant, but around the league, most equate it to another \u201cp\u201d word: playoffs.<\/p>\n Russell Wilson is the starter, and he has the confidence of his teammates and coaches. But that hasn\u2019t stopped the Washington Commanders from preparing for rookie Jaxson Dart entering Week 1. This past week, the Washington defense schemed for both quarterbacks \u2014 just in case Daboll decides to give the rookie some live action. We might not actually see Dart on Sunday, but the Giants have been throwing everything at him, treating him almost like a starter.<\/p>\n Dart\u2019s first training camp had a distinctly Bill Belichickian feel. Daboll spent years on Belichick\u2019s Patriots staffs, and he\u2019s borrowing some old tricks to test the rookie: having him hear plays shouted from the sideline instead of through a headset, making him go out for the pregame coin toss with no warning, and dropping him into uncomfortable practice situations just to see how he responds.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the philosophy Daboll learned in New England: Make practice chaotic, and Sundays start to feel easier.<\/p>\n So far, Dart has weathered it all. One source close to the Giants told me the rookie \u201ccan handle the moment.\u201d His early poise hasn\u2019t surprised the team, but it has impressed them. His personality is said to be a perfect match for Daboll, and he\u2019s soaked up all of the guidance and coaching he can, both from the staff and the team\u2019s veteran QBs.<\/p>\n And with one of the sharpest offensive minds in football guiding the 22-year-old, the quarterback subplot in New York is only heating up. If losses mount during a brutal early schedule, urgency will rise, and the pressure on Wilson\u2019s starting job will only grow.<\/p>\n The Jaxson Dart era might not just be part of a future story. It could begin very soon.<\/p>\n Before I get to the other New York team, I have to circle back to Belichick. I didn\u2019t expect to be making calls to people close to him and the Patriots to uncover pettiness that rivals my eighth-grade cafeteria drama \u2014 I still don\u2019t talk to Lauren \u2014 but here we are. Belichick is actively barring New England scouts<\/a> from attending North Carolina football activities.<\/p>\n The story goes that a Patriots scout \u2014 who happened to have gone to NC State \u2014 wanted to visit the Tar Heels. When he was denied, he thought the school was holding it against him for previously attending a rival school. Turns out, it wasn\u2019t the school \u2014 it was Belichick and UNC GM Michael Lombardi. They told the athletic department: No Patriots allowed on campus.<\/p>\n A source close to Belichick, meanwhile, was told that a Patriots staffer was informed in New England\u2019s weight room he should remove his UNC shirt. But a Patriots source pointed out that starting quarterback Drake Maye \u2014 who went to North Carolina \u2014 often wears UNC gear around the facility with zero issues.<\/p>\n THIS IS ALL SO IMMATURE.<\/p>\n Belichick, I\u2019m told, has no issue with his former linebacker Mike Vrabel, now the Patriots\u2019 head coach, or with New England executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf. This is all about his feelings toward his former bosses, Robert and Jonathan Kraft.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy would we let (Patriots staffers) in our home after how he\u2019s been treated since he left?\u201d a Carolina source said. \u201cThey get all our tape (and) can call our staff for player info.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will help our players, but being treated fairly is a two-way street.\u201d<\/p>\n As of Saturday morning, I was told, neither Vrabel nor Wolf had spoken to Belichick about this latest drama.<\/p>\n My advice to Belichick? Stop the childish games \u2014 and worry about building your program.<\/p>\n The Jets\u2019 former flame<\/p>\n The New York Jets on Sunday will face their former quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, who I\u2019m told, has quietly had a phenomenal training camp for the Steelers.<\/p>\n Rodgers, according to folks I\u2019ve talked with in Pittsburgh, looks refreshed, healthy, and ready to roll.<\/p>\n And while the Belichick-Patriots divorce remains messy, there\u2019s no sense of lingering bad blood between Rodgers and the Jets; both sides believe the split was the right move. But if the future Hall of Famer walks back into MetLife Stadium and lights it up in Week 1, it will be hard for owner Woody Johnson and even Jets fans not to think, \u201cWhat could have been\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n A sigh of relief in the Bay<\/p>\n Christian McCaffrey popped up on the injury report this week with a calf issue. That made it hard not to remember McCaffrey\u2019s lengthy injury history and wonder if this was a preview of what\u2019s ahead. But I\u2019m told he\u2019s not in a lot of pain, and the 49ers aren\u2019t overly concerned.<\/p>\n pic.twitter.com\/SPYnfSLRaM<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) September 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The centerpiece of San Francisco\u2019s offense seemed to have finally turned the corner after dealing with bilateral Achilles tendinitis last year, when his season was cut short after just four games by a PCL injury, among other maladies. The difference this summer was obvious \u2014 he was on the field every day in camp, not just managing things from the side.<\/p>\n If McCaffrey were to miss some time early, the 49ers wouldn\u2019t view it as a major setback. He\u2019s in shape, he\u2019s sharp, and they believe he\u2019d be able to step right back in when he\u2019s ready. Still, when it comes to McCaffrey \u2014 who has missed significant chunks of five seasons \u2014 every little issue is going to make a few hearts beat faster.<\/p>\n Micah\u2019s rose ceremony<\/p>\n It\u2019s often said that if you\u2019re a true superstar in the NFL, you basically have a built-in no-trade clause. No team is paying top dollar for a player who doesn\u2019t actually want to be part of an organization. So for anyone doubting Micah Parsons\u2019 desire to be in Green Bay just because the Packers offered up the best package \u2014 don\u2019t.<\/p>\n Once Parsons realized the Cowboys weren\u2019t moving off their offer \u2014 a five-year deal at $40.5 million per year with just one year guaranteed and a heavily backloaded structure \u2014 he started to face the reality that his days in Dallas were coming to an end. During the entire process, Dallas owner Jerry Jones never talked with David Mulugheta, one of the most powerful agents in the sport, despite Parsons\u2019 repeated requests. In the final days, he again asked the Cowboys to negotiate with Mulugheta. Dallas\u2019 answer? Take it or leave it.<\/p>\n It was already over for Parsons and the Cowboys, but this confirmed it.<\/p>\n As the relationship deteriorated, Parsons had two teams on his mind: the Packers and the Eagles.<\/p>\n Green Bay appealed for its small-town feel, a reminder of his Penn State days in State College. Philadelphia was the other obvious fit, because it\u2019s close to his Harrisburg home. But Dallas wasn\u2019t about to keep him inside the NFC East, even for a better offer (the Eagles have tons of draft ammunition).<\/p>\n About a week before the deal was finalized, word spread that the Cowboys\u2019 stance on dealing their star had shifted. \u201cWe\u2019re not trading Parsons\u201d had quickly become \u201cOK, what can we get?\u201d That opened the door. The Colts, Panthers, Bills and Patriots all made calls and were told the price: two first-round picks, a significant player, and, of course, a record-setting contract.<\/p>\n How does the back look? pic.twitter.com\/1VKtA8KU5C<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) September 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n As for everyone else? Potential suitors like the Vikings, Browns, Broncos, Texans, Bengals, Chiefs, Commanders, 49ers, Titans and Rams never engaged. The timing, the haul, and the money were simply too much.<\/p>\n Parsons wanted Green Bay, and he got it. Despite the back injury that limited him in practice, he\u2019s expected to be on the field with his new team Sunday afternoon against the Lions, per a source.<\/p>\n What\u2019s next for Shedeur?<\/p>\n For all the football conspiracy theorists out there trying to decode the real reason the Cleveland Browns drafted Shedeur Sanders, here\u2019s the truth: There is no big secret. The pick wasn\u2019t some master plan from ownership. It was GM Andrew Berry\u2019s call, rooted in his belief that Cleveland\u2019s coaching staff could bring out the best in Sanders and help him grow into an NFL quarterback. It will be a process, and the Browns want to keep developing him.<\/p>\n However, don\u2019t plan on seeing the fifth-round rookie on the field this season unless things get really weird. Cleveland believes in Joe Flacco\u2019s experience and Dillon Gabriel\u2019s development as the backup.<\/p>\n Sean McVay\u2019s insurance policy<\/p>\n Matthew Stafford is set to start for the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1 against the Houston Texans, despite dealing with a lingering back issue. The 17-year veteran missed most of training camp with an aggravated disc but is not listed on the team\u2019s injury report.<\/p>\n But what if Houston\u2019s ferocious front gets to Stafford? Remember when we talked about love? Well, the Rams have a lot of it for their backup, Jimmy Garoppolo.<\/p>\n At 33, Garoppolo is 43-21 as an NFL starter, with stops in New England, San Francisco, and Las Vegas. He led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2019 and has played in seven postseason games. Rams coach Sean McVay views Garoppolo as a starting-caliber quarterback \u2014 he\u2019s a natural passer with a quick release, and the Rams love the stability and skill set he brings to the table. The Rams want Stafford out there, but nobody will be panicking if Jimmy G. has to step in.<\/p>\n A safety spark<\/p>\n\n
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