As Aaron Rodgers enters his final NFL season, he has a chance to reach several notable milestones. He already holds records for touchdown/interception ratio and passer rating, and is tied for the best career passer rating. Rodgers is also on the verge of joining an elite group of quarterbacks with over 70,000 career passing yards, needing 3,726 yards to do so. Despite an Achilles injury in 2023 that likely ended his chance to pass Brett Favre on the all-time passing list, Rodgers is still poised to achieve significant career statistical achievements in his final year
After practicing briefly with the Lions in training camp, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater decided that it’s time to retire. Bridgewater had an NFL career that spanned more than a decade with eight different teams, but it was one five-week stretch that two of his coaches recalled most when asked about his retirement this week. In 2019, Bridgewater was the backup quarterback with the Saints, and when Drew Brees missed five games, Bridgewater stepped in and led the Saints to a 5-0 record. At the time of Brees’ injury, the Saints were 1-1 and had just been blown out by the division rival Rams, and the season could have rapidly gone downhill. But Bridgewater made sure that didn’t happen. Lions head coach Dan Campbell, who was assistant head coach on that Saints team, said one of the reasons he wanted Bridgewater as his backup quarterback in Detroit was that he knew how dependable Bridgewater could be in a pinch. “I’ll never forget in 2019, when Drew got injured, we had just gone out to the Rams, got beat out there, Drew hurt his thumb and was out five weeks. Teddy stepped in and we won five in a row. That was Teddy,” Campbell said. Broncos head coach Sean Payton, who was the Saints’ head coach at the time. reflected on how much Bridgewater meant to that Saints team. “Our experience, my experience was fantastic,” Payton said. “We made a trade for him . . . He was a great asset. A really, really good teammate. He had some rare leadership skills. . . . He was important, he was on our team during a ton of wins. When Drew got hurt he went 5-0, and I think he’ll find his way back into coaching or some role with football. I’m proud of him, and the type of injury he had was significant, young in his career.” A devastating knee injury during a preseason practice with the Vikings in 2016 changed the trajectory of Bridgewater’s career, and he never became the franchise quarterback he was expected to be in Minnesota, or anywhere else. But no one doubted his hard work, leadership and character, and he had all the traits that coaches love in a backup quarterback. Those coaches are expressing their appreciation for Bridgewater as he walks away from the NFL
Hall of Famer Drew Brees will enter the Saints’ Ring of Honor on Oct. 11 during halftime for the team’s game against the Vikings, the team announced Tuesday. Brees also will receive his Pro Football Hall of Fame Ring of Excellence during the ceremony. “As we celebrate the 60th season of the New Orleans Saints in 2026, the Ring of Honor represents the very best of our franchise and those whose impact extends throughout the National Football League,” Saints owner Gayle Benson said in a statement. “We are thrilled to welcome Drew into this distinguished group in October. His extraordinary accomplishments on the field, his leadership, and his lasting contributions to the New Orleans community make this honor so well deserved. We look forward to celebrating Drew with our fans and honoring the extraordinary legacy he built with the Saints and throughout the New Orleans community.” Brees is the ninth person to join the team’s Ring of Honor, following owner Tom Benson (2018), kicker Morten Andersen (2016), offensive guard Jahri Evans (2024), linebacker Rickey Jackson (2013), quarterback Archie Manning (2013), linebacker Sam Mills (2021), offensive tackle William Roaf (2013) and defensive end Will Smith (2019). Brees spent the last 15 seasons of his playing career with the Saints, shattering all team passing records while breaking numerous NFL records. He led the Saints to their only Super Bowl championship. “It will be a privilege to recognize Drew as a member of our Ring of Honor in October,” Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis said in a statement. “Drew’s production and character both on and off the field sets him apart as the greatest Saint ever. This is a great opportunity for our organization and our fan base to show appreciation for his Hall of Fame career.” Brees celebrated his relationship with former coach Sean Payton and the city of New Orleans during his Hall of Fame speech on Saturday. He was a first-ballot Hall of Famer
Conversations have already begun as it relates to the 2027 Pro Football Hall of Fame class and the insane number of notable players who will be eligible for the first time. Among those players is former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger , whose career includes two Super Bowl wins, 60,088 passing yards and 418 touchdowns and the fifth-most wins in NFL history among starting quarterbacks. While Roethlisberger's status as a first-ballot Hall of Famer is up for debate , there is usually no arguing the fact that the Pittsburgh Steelers ' former quarterback is undoubtedly a future Hall of Famer. However, LeSean McCoy , a former All-Pro running back, doesn't think that Roethlisberger had a Hall of Fame career based on his lack of individual accolades. "You should never be in the Hall of Fame if you never had no All-Pros ," McCoy said on his podcast. "Think of how that sounds. All-Pro, for the guys that don't play football. All-Pro is the best in the league. You feel me? But I'm being serious, how the hell he not have (an) All-Pro? So, take him off." McCoy didn't change his opinion when it was pointed out to him that Roethlisberger likely would have garnered more individual honors had he played in a different era that didn't include Tom Brady , Peyton Manning , Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees. "For me, I can't push your Hall of Fame with the best players of all time if you never had an All-Pro," he said. "Think about that though. That mean you never was the best quarterback or never was the best player in your position ever." Roethlisberger's lack of individual accolades will likely be discussed when his candidacy is debated by the voters. And while McCoy doesn't agree, it almost won't, however, keep Roethlisberger out of the Hall of Fame altogether. Roethlisberger's individual numbers -- that include his impressive wins total -- are just too good for him not to earn induction at some point if he is not inducted in 2027. The third quarterback taken in the 2004 NFL Draft (behind Eli Manning and Philip Rivers ), Roethlisberger enjoyed one of the most successful rookie seasons in NFL history. He won his first 12 starts (an NFL record) en route to winning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. The following season, Roethlisberger became the youngest starting quarterback to win the Super Bowl after helping the Steelers become the first sixth seed to win it all. His game-saving tackle in Pittsburgh's divisional round playoff win over the Colts kept the Steelers' championship run alive. Three years later, Roethlisberger engineered one of the most famous game-winning drives in NFL history that culminated in his game-winning touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes at the end of Super Bowl XLIII. No. 12: 2008 Super Bowl XLIII - Steelers vs. Cardinals (Feb. 1, 2009) #NFL100 @Steelers 📺: NFL 100 Greatest Games on @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/LM12I8rwVt Two years later, Roethlisberger again helped led the Steelers to the Super Bowl, where they were defeated by Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers . And while they did not get back to another Super Bowl after that, Steelers continued to be a perennial contender for the majority following decade largely because of Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger also accumulated some big numbers over that span that included becoming the first player to throw six touchdowns in consecutive games (doing so in 2014). He also owns the NFL record for most 500-yard passing performances (four). From 2014-18, Roethlisberger won a pair of passing titles and was named to four Pro Bowls. He also led the NFL in average passing yards per game on three occasions over that span. On this day in 2014, Ben Roethlisberger threw six touchdowns for the second-straight week! 🔥 The Steelers beat the Ravens 42-23! #BovadaSportsHistory pic.twitter.com/KG43dkJ6vh In addition to his numbers, Roethlisberger's reputation as one of the toughest quarterbacks in NFL history to bring down also strengthens his Hall of Fame argument. Ben Roethlisberger had th
[... truncated ...]
Hello football friends, and welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! It doesn't seem possibles, but the regular season is just one month away. Actually, it's less than a month away because the opening game of the season will be coming on Sept. 9 when the Seahawks face the Patriots in the Wednesday night opener. The first game of the season is usually played on a Thursday night but the NFL threw a wrench into that tradition this year. There will still be a game on Thursday in Week 1, but it will be the one in Australia ( Rams vs. 49ers ), which will actually be played on a Friday due to the time difference. Basically, you have one month to prepare for the start of the season, but you have zero time to prepare for the start of today's newsletter because we're diving into it now. As always, here's your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here . Let's get to the rundown. The Pro Football Hall of Fame officially has five new members following an enshrinement ceremony over the weekend that saw Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald , Roger Craig, Luke Kuechly and Adam Vinatieri all get inducted. Kuechly became the second-youngest player to ever be inducted while Vinatieri became just the third kicker ever to get a bust in Canton. There were plenty of memorable and emotional moments during the ceremony. Here are a few that stood out, including an unfortunate announcement from Roger Craig: For all of the highlights from Canton, be sure to check out our full summary of the enshrinement ceremony here . With this year's class officially inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, now seems like a good time to go ahead and take a look at who might be in the class of 2027. CBSSports.com's Bryan DeArdo decided to make a prediction on who's going to get in next year and he sees six people getting enshrined: After getting snubbed this year, Belichick feels like a lock for 2027 and it would be fitting if he were to go in with Gronkowski. Peterson, Big Ben and Gronk headline a long list of players who will be eligible for the first time next year. Here are a few more names who will be on the ballot for the first time: DeArdo has a full breakdown of his HOF prediction and you can check that out here . After two months of waiting, it appears that Aaron Donald is finally going to make his decision about whether he's actually going to make a return to the NFL after two years in retirement. According to Pro Football Talk, Donald's decision is expected to come this week . And let me just say, that's not a surprise at all. Earlier this month, I was asked to make a prediction about whether Donald would return , and if so, when it would happen. My prediction was that he would make the announcement between Aug. 9 and Aug. 16. If you look at everything that's happened with Donald in the month of August, all signs are pointing to a return. Let's do a quick rehash of everything that has happened on the Donald front this month: If Donald does return, the Rams will have to quickly get his contract situation figured out. Donald is already under contract with the Rams, and after he makes the decision to return, his old deal will instantly become reactivated. At that point, the Rams will be on the hook for about $30 million to Donald in 2026, so the team might have to restructure his deal so that it can fit under the salary cap. There's only one MVP in the NFL each year and we'll be making our predictions on that at some point down the road, but today, we're going to focus on a different type of MVP. Jared Dubin is here to predict who will be the MVP for each NFC team this year, but with one twist: He can't pick a quarterback. So who are the most important non-quarterbacks for each NFC team? Let's check out what Dubin had to say for three different teams in the conference: If you want to see the other 13 MVPs in the NFC, Dubin has them here . With th
[... truncated ...]
The Detroit Lions will search for a new backup quarterback behind five-time Pro Bowler Jared Goff after announcing that Pro Bowl backup QB Teddy Bridgewater is retiring from football at age 33 after 11 NFL seasons. Detroit placed him on the reserve/retired list Sunday. "Teddy Bridgewater is going to step away," Lions head coach Dan Campbell announced on Sunday . "I've known Teddy a long time. Man, the human being is unbelievable. Certainly the player: everything that he is about, the type of teammate that he is, the way he prepares. Always played the game up here [in his mind] and had a huge heart. He is going to be missed." Bridgewater, a first-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in the 2014 NFL Draft , overcame a horrendous knee injury after dislocating his knee and tearing his ACL in practice before the start of the 2016 season. The injury derailed his tenure as Minnesota's franchise quarterback, but he rebounded with the New Orleans Saints as a fill-in for Pro Football Hall of Famer Drew Brees in 2019, when Campbell was the Saints' tight ends coach and assistant head coach. When Brees went down with a thumb injury that sidelined him for five games, Bridgewater balled out from Weeks 3-7, throwing for 1,205 yards, nine touchdowns and just two interceptions while completing 69.7% of his passes. New Orleans won all five games during that stretch. The Saints finished the regular season 13-3 and won the NFC South in part because of Bridgewater's heroics. That stretch propelled Bridgewater back into the ranks of full-time NFL starting quarterbacks, as he signed a three-year, $63 million contract with the Carolina Panthers in the 2020 offseason. Carolina traded him to the Denver Broncos in 2021. He eventually reunited with Campbell on the Lions on a one-year, $3 million contract in 2023 to serve as Goff's backup. Bridgewater retired for the first time at the end of that season before unretiring to rejoin the Lions in 2024. He left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2025 before returning to Detroit this offseason. Just a few weeks into training camp, Bridgewater decided to call it quits for good. He finishes his career with 15,182 passing yards, 75 touchdowns and 47 interceptions while completing 66.3% of his passes for a 90.3 passer rating in 83 games with 65 starts. "I'll never forget 2019 when Drew [Brees] got injured, and we had just gone out to the Rams and got beat out there. Drew had his thumb [injury], and we lost him for five weeks. Teddy stepped in, and we won five in a row, man," Campbell said. "That was Teddy. His time being with us [in Detroit] meant a lot, and it meant a lot to our guys. He's going to be missed."
The Lions need a new backup quarterback. Teddy Bridgewater has informed the club that he’s going to step away, with retirement likely. Bridgewater had not attended the last two practices. “ Teddy Bridgewater is going to step away ,” head coach Dan Campbell said in his Sunday press conference. “I’ve known Teddy a long time and, man, the human being is unbelievable — certainly the player. Everything that he’s about, the type of teammate he is, the way that he prepares, [he] always played the game up here, and had a huge heart. He’s going to be missed. “So, I’ll never forget 2019 [with the Saints] when Drew [Brees] got injured — we’d just gone out to the Rams, got beat out there, and Drew got his thumb, and we lost him for five weeks. And Teddy stepped in, we won five in a row, man. That was Teddy. And just his time being with us [with the Lions] meant a lot and it meant a lot to our guys. So, he’s going to be missed.” Campbell added that he thinks this time Bridgewater will stay retired. “His biggest worry was letting us down,” Campbell said. “That’s the type of guy he is. And he’s not.” But that means the Lions do now need a backup quarterback, as the only other QB on the roster aside from starter Jared Goff is undrafted rookie Luke Altmyer. “We’re going to add somebody,” Campbell said. “We like Luke. Luke is growing, he’s getting better. He just needs reps. He needs a million reps. With the reps that he has gotten at this point, he has improved. So, we like him. “But we are going to add somebody, and we’d like to add a veteran quarterback. We’re hoping maybe something happens tomorrow. We’ll see. But, yeah, that’s the plan.” Bridgewater signed with the Lions on a one-year deal back in March. He was previously with the club in 2023 and 2024 before spending the 2025 season with Tampa Bay. The No. 32 overall pick of the 2014 draft, Bridgewater appeared in 83 games with 65 starts, accumulating a 33-32 record as a starter. He appeared in games for Minnesota, New Orleans, Carolina, Denver, Miami, Detroit, and Tampa Bay
Drew Brees reminisced about his time with the Chargers, particularly his bond with LaDainian Tomlinson, during his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech. Brees highlighted their shared history dating back to high school and college, their parallel careers as draft picks, and their mutual success in the NFL, emphasizing how Tomlinson's presence significantly contributed to his own career accomplishments during their five years together in San Diego
Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly, Adam Vinatieri, and Roger Craig were inducted into the Hall of Fame, with their bronze busts unveiled at Tom Benson Stadium in Canton, Ohio
Class of 2026 Hall of Fame enshrinees Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly, Roger Craig and Adam Vinatieri shared their stories and thanks in emotional induction speeches
The day he retired, Drew Brees had to know he would be on this stage, on this day in Canton. He finished his 20-year career with 80,358 passing yards and 571 passing touchdowns, both second all time. He went to 13 Pro Bowls and won two NFL Offensive Player of the Year awards. He won Super Bowl XLIV and earned Super Bowl MVP honors. Brees, 47, was a no-brainer, first-ballot Hall of Famer, so as expected, he was the last of five inductees to make his speech Saturday. Brees made his 10 minutes last, turning his speech time limit into 25 minutes. “I don’t take for granted that I got to play the most coveted position in all of sports,” Brees said. “From as far back as I can remember, I wanted to play quarterback. I never saw the position as one of pressure, but rather one of great responsibility. . . . The quarterback is the distributor of hope and confidence. A master of probability. The ultimate problem solver. I’ve always seen the game of football and the quarterback position as a true art form like a song or a dance.” He spent the bulk of his speech on thanking the city of New Orleans and coach Sean Payton. Brees began his career as a second-round pick of the Chargers in 2001, but he became Drew Brees in his 15 seasons with the Saints. Brees’ severe shoulder injury in 2005 cast doubt on his career and sent him into free agency as damaged goods, with the Dolphins failing him on his physical. Payton wanted Brees, embraced Brees, welcomed Brees and turned Brees into a Hall of Fame quarterback. “Coach, you were brilliant,” Brees said. “I saw myself as an extension of you on that field. I always had something to prove to you, and I always wanted to make you right. And I know you trusted me, and that allowed us both to be great.” Brees helped New Orleans heal from Hurricane Katrina, and the city of New Orleans and the Saints helped Brees heal his career. “It doesn’t take you long to realize what makes New Orleans so special,” Brees said. “New Orleans has been through a lot to the point where in some cases the feeling was we may have lost everything. It may never come back the same. Storms teach us that our greatest treasures aren’t the things we own. They’re the people we love, and the way we show up for one another. It reminds us to hold our loved ones a little closer, to love a little harder, to laugh a little louder, and to never take a single day for granted. Sometimes it takes losing what can be replaced to truly appreciate the things that can’t. “New Orleans, you accepted me; you embraced me; you believed in me but more importantly, you trusted me with the soul of the city and I would have died to protect that calling,” Brees said. “The greatest teams in the history of sports are the ones who accept the responsibility of being a true representation of their city/country/community. I speak for all my Saints teammates when I say that’s what we were inspired to be every day for you. If you love New Orleans, it will love you back. There is no truer statement. “The Who Dat Nation, there are a few events in your life where you remember exactly where you were when it occurred. For Saints fans, it is the Steve Gleason blocked punt on Monday Night Football, reopening of the Dome September 25, 2006, and when the Saints won Super Bowl XLIV. It was your spirit that allowed us to be special, smell greatness and finish strong.”
Late in the first half of a Monday Night Football game against Washington during the 2018 season, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees walked to the line of scrimmage and surveyed the defense. The Saints faced a 1st-and-10 near midfield, with under three minutes to go in the first half. Seconds later, wide receiver Tre’Quan […]
Day 7 of Broncos Camp is complete, and they were back in the pads. Unfortunately, the injury bug struck again, this time getting three players, including wide receiver/returner Marvin Mims. Sean Payton left practice early so he could attend Drew Brees’s Hall of Fame ceremony, so we did not receive any updates on these injuries. […]
Data comes from cached Sleeper and KTC snapshots. Values update when the sync jobs run.
