WR · MIN
analyst
Jordan Addison Continues to Struggle in Week 7
Jordan Addison's fantasy performance continues to be a concern, but a favorable matchup in Week 8 offers hope for improvement
Sam Bradford
QB · FA · 33 yrs · exp 11 · Oklahoma
Status
- Game status
- Inactive
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Stories linked to this player — newest first.
general
Best Kalshi promo code CBSSPORTS55 in California: Get $55 bonus for Chargers, Rams, 49ers Week 6 NFL games
With the best Kalshi promo code CBSSPORTS55, California sports fans can receive a $55 bonus after trading $25 or more at one of the best prediction market apps . There are three NFL California teams and they're all in action this week. The Los Angeles Chargers face the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Rams will face the Arizona Cardinals , with those games taking place Sunday afternoon. The San Francisco 49ers are on Monday Night Football against the Washington Commanders to wrap up Week 6. Get started with the best Kalshi promo code CBSSPORTS55 and get a $55 bonus: View our Kalshi promo code review page for the terms and conditions of this NFL Kalshi offer. This has been a bad start to 2026 for the Chargers. After going 11-6 and making the playoffs last year, they're 0-5 and are looking to get their first win out of the way. That will be tough in Week 6 when they visit the Chiefs, who are both 4-0 and coming off a bye as they look like a Super Bowl contender after a down 6-11 2025 season. The Chargers win in 21% of the SportsLine Projection Model's simulations. The model simulates every NFL game 10,000 times. A Los Angeles win is trading at $0.22 per share at Kalshi, and a K.C. win is priced at $0.79. Get a $55 bonus with the best Kalshi promo code CBSSPORTS55: Rams to win vs. Cardinals: Yes $0.88, No $0.13 The Rams entered the season as a top Super Bowl contender, but they're 2-3 after falling to Buffalo on Monday in overtime. Los Angeles will try to get to .500 when the Cardinals come to town. Arizona is 1-4 after winning in Week 1, and while the Cardinals have shown flashes, things have not been good of late, especially on defense. The Rams win 76% of the time in this matchup, per the SportsLine model's simulations. A Rams win is trading at $0.88 per share at Kalshi, and a Cardinals win is $0.13. Trade with the best Kalshi promo code CBSSPORTS55 for a $55 sign-up bonus: 49ers to win vs. Commanders: Yes $0.78, No $0.23 The 49ers host the Commanders on Monday Night Football to conclude Week 6, and these teams enter the game in different form. San Francisco got a big 32-29 win in Seattle last week to move to 5-0. Washington, however, completely mismanaged the clock in overtime against New York last week, resulting in a stunning tie. The 49ers can become the NFL's first 6-0 team this week as the 4-0 Chiefs had a bye last week, and the 5-0 Vikings are on bye this weekend. The 49ers win in 68% of SportsLine simulations. A 49ers win is $0.78 per share at Kalshi, and a Commanders win is trading at $0.23. Make trades with the best Kalshi promo code CBSSPORTS55 for a $55 sign-up bonus: Kalshi wants to help keep its users safe, and the platform offers risk management tools for traders that can be used at any time. These options include trading breaks, voluntary opt-outs and a personalized funding limit. Prediction Markets are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) - an independent agency of the U.S. federal government. Event contracts trading involves a risk of substantial loss and is not suitable for all investors. Participation in prediction markets is subject to applicable eligibility requirements. Participation may be restricted or prohibited in certain jurisdictions and participants are responsible for ensuring their participation complies with applicable laws and regulations in their jurisdiction
general
Fernando Mendoza is first No. 1 QB since Baker Mayfield who won't start Week 1
The Raiders naming Kirk Cousins their starting quarterback to open the 2026 season was hardly a surprise. While Las Vegas had been projected to draft Fernando Mendoza at No. 1 overall for months, the team’s brass had said publicly that its preference was for a rookie quarterback to sit and learn behind a veteran. But now that it’s official, Mendoza has become a member of a rare group of quarterbacks from recent years. Mendoza is the first quarterback since Baker Mayfield in 2018 not to start Week 1 after being selected at No. 1 overall. Mayfield’s situation was not particularly unusual at the time, as Jared Goff had been through the same thing in 2016. But since then, Kyler Murray (2019), Joe Burrow (2020), Trevor Lawrence (2021), Bryce Young (2023), Caleb Williams (2024), and Cam Ward (2025) have all been their respective club’s Week 1 starter after being selected at No. 1 overall. Since Matthew Stafford was selected at No. 1 overall in 2009, only Goff, Mayfield, and Mendoza have started the season as QB2. Sam Bradford (2010), Cam Newton (2011), Andrew Luck (2012), and Jameis Winston (2015) all started the season opener. Mayfield made it into a game by Week 3, taking over for an injured Tyrod Taylor to lead the Browns to their first victory since 2016 with a 21-17 victory over the Jets. He took over as Cleveland’s starter the following week. It took longer for Goff to ascend to QB1 for the Rams in 2016, as he began his tenure as Los Angeles’ starter in Week 11 with a 14-10 loss to Miami. Mendoza’s development will remain a priority for the Raiders, even as he won’t receive starters’ reps in the regular season. “ Early work, late work. More meetings ,” Kubiak said on Wednesday. “Plenty of time on the field between drills with [QBs] coach [Mike] Sullivan and [offensive coordinator] coach [Andrew] Janocko. Every player that is not starting the first game, that is helping us on the look team, we’re just trying to find every edge we can find to continue to get him better and his teammates better.” Aside from those selected at No. 1 overall, there are plenty of QBs who haven’t started early and ended up being successful. “I think there are so many examples both ways,” Kubiak said. “I think the most important thing with the quarterback room or any other position is to build competition within the room. That makes players so much better faster than coaching, when they have a guy in front of them that they can look up to and see how something’s done — that’s going to accelerate their growth.” We’ll see when Mendoza becomes Las Vegas’ starter. If Cousins plays well and the Raiders are winning, that might not be until 2027. But history suggests Mendoza will be on the field sooner or later as a rookie
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Cowboys countdown to kickoff: Top 100 iconic games – Day 50
Yahoo Sports NFLSource ↗
It is Day 50 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff. We are looking back at the 100 most iconic games in Dallas Cowboys history. The countdown will leads us right up to the opening game of 2026. Our look back doesn’t depend on just one criteria for our rankings. We take into consideration things like how big the game was for the organization, how memorable the game was, games that had unusual events take place, games that are a part of NFL lore, Cowboys firsts, and games where the Cowboys just plain dominated. Variety is the spice of life and we have all different kind of Cowboys games to review. At the bottom, we’ll link each day of the countdown so you can go back and check out any you missed. We’re now at the halfway point, Day 50. of our 100-day countdown to kickoff, so let’s make this one special and revisit a game that combined a comfortable Cowboys win with a major franchise milestone. Dallas hosted the St. Louis Rams in Week 3 of the 2013 season needing a bounce-back performance after a road loss to Kansas City . The Cowboys got exactly that behind DeMarco Murray ’s rushing, Tony Romo ’s efficiency, and a defensive front that overwhelmed Sam Bradford all afternoon. But this game also became the moment a franchise record was set. The tone was set early. Dallas opened with a strong Murray-led drive, and Romo finished it with a two-yard touchdown pass to Dez Bryant . Dan Bailey added a short field goal later in the first quarter, and the Cowboys led 10-0 after holding St. Louis to only two total yards in the opening period. That was the shape of the game from the start. The Cowboys kept building in the second quarter. Murray continued to punish St. Louis on the ground, and Dallas put together a 10-play, 67-yard drive that ended with Murray diving to the pylon for a touchdown. By halftime, the Cowboys led 17-0 and had turned the game into exactly the kind of physical, low-stress afternoon Jason Garrett’s team needed. The third quarter brought more of the same. Murray ripped off a 41-yard run early in the half, setting up Romo’s 24-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Gavin Escobar . The Rams finally got on the board when Bradford found Austin Pettis for a touchdown, but that was their only real scoring threat of the day. Dallas answered in the fourth quarter when Romo hit Dwayne Harris for a 24-yard touchdown, closing out the 31-7 rout. Murray was the offensive star, rushing 26 times for 175 yards and a touchdown. Romo did not need volume to control the game, finishing with 210 passing yards and three touchdown throws to three different receivers. Jason Witten led Dallas with five catches for 67 yards, while the Cowboys’ offense finished with 396 total yards and controlled the game from the first drive. But the lasting headline belonged to DeMarcus Ware. Ware had two sacks, giving him 115 for his Cowboys career and moving him past Harvey Martin for the most sacks in franchise history. His first sack tied Martin’s mark, and his second put the record in Ware’s hands alone. For one of the greatest defensive players the franchise has ever had, it was a fitting record-setting performance. This game belongs on the countdown because franchise records matter, especially when they involve a player like Ware passing a legend like Harvey Martin. The Cowboys have had elite defenders across generations, from Martin and Randy White to Charles Haley, Ware, and Micah Parsons . On this day, Ware officially climbed to the top of the sack list, while Dallas turned the Rams into a footnote on a milestone afternoon. So for this halfway point of the countdown, we dedicate it to great and powerful Demarcus Ware. Ware finished with two sacks, six tackles, and two additional quarterback hits. His second sack gave him 115 career sacks, passing Martin for the franchise record, where that record still stands today. Countdown To Kickoff by day: 1 00 , 99 , 98 , 97 , 96 , 95 , 94 , 93 , 92 , 91 , 90 , 89 , 88 , 87 , 86 , 85 , 84 , 83 , 82 , 8 [... truncated ...]
general
Rams 1 of 4 teams waiting to sign their rookie quarterback
Ty Simpson isn’t the only early 2026 draft pick who still hasn’t signed their first contract. In fact, four quarterbacks and seven selections total still haven’t put pen to paper. The first four quarterbacks drafted this year, including Fernando Mendoza (first overall), Simpson (13th), Carson Beck (65th) and Drew Allar (76th) are all without a deal so far, although it’s still far too early to be genuinely concerned about this. Since the rookie wage scale was implemented in 2011, every draft pick has a specific value each year. In other words, before the draft even starts, the total value of every pick’s contract is already set. Unlike the pre-2011 lockout world, when draft picks could negotiate salaries and early picks would eat up massive amounts of cap space, every team already knows what their picks will make, at least in terms of general value. Matthew Stafford , for example, got a six-year contract with a total value of $72 million when he was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 2009, with $41.7 million guaranteed. The salary cap was also just $123 million in 2009. For an example even closer to home, Sam Bradford ’s holdout and subsequent massive contract he signed following the 2010 draft was the final nail in the coffin for the old way of doing things. Needless to say, that’s not what’s happening with Ty Simpson and his fellow top-three round quarterbacks this year. For comparison’s sake, Mendoza’s eventual contract will be fully guaranteed, but will only be worth $57.3 million total value over four years. Simpson’s total value will be right around $25.4 million. In recent years, the hang-ups for draft pick deals have generally involved things like offset language or other relatively minute details. Rookies don’t hold out often anymore, even though there was an example of it last year when Shemar Stewart of the Cincinnati Bengals held out intro training camp. While we don’t have exact details yet, this is likely just the newest relatively minor mutation of the rookie wage scale era. As far as the first-round picks go, Simpson and Mendoza, there hasn’t been much change in how those contracts are done in recent years. The top-overall selection’s contract has been fully guaranteed since the scale was implemented, when Cam Newton signed for $22 million . Both of those aforementioned passers will get fully guaranteed deals this year, too. But the other fine-print details are the likely sticking points, and will likely set a precedent for next year’s class and those beyond it as well. It’s even easier to guess what’s going on with Beck and Allar, the third and fourth quarterbacks taken in this year’s draft. If you recall last year, almost every second-round pick held out well into July (right around this time last year, right before training camp, fittingly). That was entirely about guaranteed money and how much they were going to get after past second rounders only received partial guarantees on their rookie deals. Now, this year’s 64th-overall pick ( Bud Clark for the Seattle Seahawks ) has a rookie contract valued at $7.9 million with $5.4 million guaranteed, or, in other words, 68% of the deal is guaranteed. Last year, the 65th pick in the draft, Darius Alexander of the New York Giants , had just under $1.6 million of his $6.7 million overall contract guaranteed, or just below 24%. That’s a sizable disparity. Needless to say, you can understand why a quarterback drafted in that position wants a bigger guarantee. And next year, non-quarterbacks taken in the third round will want a guarantee commensurate with those of their classmates, and the process will continue down the line later and later into the draft. Deadlines spur action, and with training camp looming there’s a soft deadline on the horizon to work these contracts out. At this point it would be shocking if these quarterbacks don’t get on the field soon. The next time someone asks you why these deals aren’t done and should they be worried about it, you can [... truncated ...]
general
Super Bowl-winning head coach explains why Raiders should start Fernando Mendoza immediately
The Las Vegas Raiders used the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on whom they hope will be the future of the franchise in quarterback Fernando Mendoza . The Indiana signal-caller cemented himself as a college football legend, as he led the Hoosiers to an undefeated season and College Football Championship while picking up the Heisman Trophy along the way. Only three other players have ever won the Heisman Trophy and were selected No. 1 overall: Cam Newton , Jameis Winston and Joe Burrow . All three players were immediately thrown into the starting lineup for their respective teams, but that will not be the case for Mendoza. The Raiders went out and signed veteran Kirk Cousins to start the season, and mentor the young Mendoza. Some of the best quarterbacks in the NFL did not start right away. Patrick Mahomes sat almost his entire rookie season while learning behind Alex Smith , Aaron Rodgers sat for three years behind Brett Favre, and Jordan Love behind Rodgers for two seasons. Even the great Tom Brady sat for over a full year backing up Drew Bledsoe. So, what is the best course of action? Former Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson, who coached Philly to its Super Bowl LII victory against Brady's New England Patriots in 2017, believes that Mendoza should start right away. Pederson faced this same dilemma in 2016, when his Eagles drafted Carson Wentz No. 2 overall. It appeared Wentz was going to sit behind Sam Bradford as a rookie, but the Eagles changed course and shipped Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings prior to the start of the regular season. That opened the door for Wentz to play immediately. As Pederson explains it, he truly believed Wentz was going to be his franchise quarterback, and he wanted to get the growing pains out of the way early. He believes the Raiders should do this with Mendoza. "Let's get this guy out there Week 1, let's start having our growing pains Week 1," Pederson said. "Let's not prolong it into October or November or later in the season. Let's get him out there now. Let's get him working with the guys that he's going to be working with. Making the calls at the offensive line, getting Ashton Jeanty the ball. I think Klint Kubiak's system is going to allow for that, with the play-action pass, the run game, all these things that helped Seattle win a championship last year. But let's get Fernando on the field. I think it's very beneficial..." Pederson said Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott called him in 2018 to ask for advice on how to handle his new quarterback, Josh Allen . Pederson told him if McDermott was completely sold on Allen being the future of the franchise, he should play right away. "I think you put him on the field Day 1." Doug Pederson thinks the Raiders should start Fernando Mendoza at QB Week 1. pic.twitter.com/dfjB8Emd9e Wentz went 7-9 for the Eagles as a rookie, and then started his second season 11-2 before tearing his ACL. Wentz looked like an MVP candidate during that 2017 campaign prior to his injury with 33 passing touchdowns in 13 games. He clearly built confidence after playing a full year in the NFL. If there's one former player you should listen to when it comes to handling quarterbacks, it's Raiders minority owner Tom Brady. The seven-time Super Bowl champion is a proponent of sitting and developing young quarterbacks. He lamented the state of the quarterback in today's NFL during a 2024 interview. "I didn't start my first year. I think it's just a tragedy that we're forcing these rookies to play early," Brady said. "But the reality is, the only reason why they are is because we've dumbed the game down which has allowed them to play. It used to be thought of at a higher level..." . @TomBrady on the tragedy that is being forced on rookie QBs in today’s NFL pic.twitter.com/IReSLdYL1R Since 2020, we've seen 11 rookie quarterbacks start immediately, and every single one of them had growing pains. Even the great Burrow, [... truncated ...]
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