Pressure on Anthony Richardson and new kickoff, so far
Scoop City is The Athletic’s daily NFL newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered straight to your inbox.
Yesterday, Sean Payton named Bo Nix the first rookie QB to start for the Broncos since John Elway in Week 1. It was only a matter of time after Nix’s first two preseason games, when he led Denver into scoring position on six of seven drives, with no sacks or interceptions. As for the rest of the NFL:
- 📺 Today’s preseason assignments
- ✍ Dianna about Brandon Aiyuk
- 🔬 Take a closer look at the new Kickoff
- 💎 49ers bargain in the third round?
Storylines for Colts-Bengals, Bears-Chiefs tonight
There are two games on the program tonight: Colts at Bengals at 8 p.m. ET (Amazon) And Bears at Chiefs at 8:20 p.m. ET (NFL Network). A note for each team:
Watch Colts QB Anthony Richardson: “He just throws to certain spots,” Bengals S Geno Stone yelled when Richardson struggled in joint practice. “He doesn’t see his receivers.” Richardson has a chance at redemption tonight if the Colts plan to use their starters until the second quarter. As film guru Ted Nguyen wrote, this Colts offense is a potential force. They should look better tonight against secondary teams.
Listen to the updates on WR Ja’Marr Chase: With the Bengals already looking ready to open the season, they are expected to rest their core players tonight. Chase – who has two years left on his contract – was present at practice but is not participating as he hopes to secure a lucrative contract extension. Bengals president Mike Brown said the team would “do everything possible” to sign Chase, but so far nothing has happened. Adam Schefter called it “mysterious.”
Watch the Chiefs receivers. With HC Andy Reid saying he’ll “probably bench the starters,” this is the final audition for receivers of all kinds: former first-round pick Kadarius Toney, second-round pick Skyy Moore, Super Bowl hero Mecole Hardman (tough deal), and promising UDFAs Justyn Ross and Nikko Remigio. In Nate Taylor’s recent roster projection, he left out Toney and Moore. Ugh. Maybe Kansas City should have had someone else scout/trade the receivers?
Watch the film with Bears HC Matt Eberflus: “Most” of the starters — including Caleb Williams — won’t play tonight, Eberflus said. If you’re not following RB Roschon Johnson’s potential preseason debut, read what happened when Eberflus joined The athlete to analyze some key defensive moves from last season.
And now to Dianna, who tells us the latest on a (seemingly endless) situation:
What Dianna hears: Brandon Aiyuk’s waiting game
This seems like a good time to review Aiyuk’s ongoing deficit with the 49ers, even if the only real news is the lack of such a deficit.
The 49ers are still waiting for a response from the insolvency administrator on their latest contract proposal, which has improved from the original average of $26 million per year, but is now around $30 millionMeanwhile, the Steelers’ trade offer to San Francisco remains in place in case Aiyuk rejects this latest offer.
Kyle Shanahan wants this resolved. The Steelers would like to have this resolved, too, especially since they may be signing a new player about two weeks before the season opener. But everyone just needs to be patient while they wait for Aiyuk.
And in case you missed it, I talked about the latest things I’m hearing in the latest Scoop City podcast (linked here).
Back to you, Jacob.
The new NFL kickoff, two weeks later
“Two thousand additional plays per season” was just one of the reasons why NFL officials, the players’ association and coaches supported the new kickoff rules, which were introduced as a one-year test after the league averaged only a modest 22 percent return rate last season.
But will these kickoffs be as boring as a touchback? After two weeks of preseason training, the verdict is still out. The NFL claims the response rate is around 78 percent, but we’ve already seen a lot of that:
Most returns looked similar: The returner took a few seconds to decide which wall to run into. Not fun. But there is hope. Tashan Reed’s article on the new kickoff made many important points, including:
- This preseason, the average kickoff return was only two yards longer than the 23 yards per return last season. Oh well. But…
- In 33 preseason games, 39 kickoff returns were 30 yards or more, more than once per game (and nearly three times as often as last year). Promising!
But as Parker Washington’s 74-yard return last weekend proved, it seems like it’s difficult to return those kickoffs far. Returners quickly find themselves surrounded by a mass of defenders, requiring many missed tackles before they can make an above-average return.
Besides, it’s too early to say if the new rule is safer for players, and I’m slowly getting used to the oddity of everyone standing still after the ball is shot.
No, I’m not convinced yet. But I expect we’ll see more creativity once the regular season begins. That creativity could come from the league itself, as Tashan noted that the NFL is open to further adjustments.
49ers’ timely commitment
We want to hear from you! Send us your questions here. Today a reader asks:
What do you think of the 49ers O-Line? It seems like they haven’t invested much in improving a subpar line from last year. Or am I wrong?
💬 Matt Barrows: “No, you’re right, and the 49ers have admitted it in recent months: They place more value on playmakers than offensive linemen, especially early in the draft.
“One exception to this is Dominick Puni, a 2024 third-round pick who has been used as right guard due to injuries and has not looked out of place so far. Over the years, the 49ers have tended to fill the right guard position with migrant workers like Mike Person, Daniel Brunskill and Jon Feliciano. Of course, it’s still early and rookie mistakes are inevitable. But it seems like Puni could be the most talented player at the position in a long time.”
Keep an eye on Puni, who is even impressing Fred Warner and is a timely addition with All-Pro OT Trent Williams still holding out.
Matt also shared a thought on each offensive player on the 49ers. Brandon Aiyuk: “You have to wonder how quickly he gets into shape. Last year he was the best player on the field in spring and summer training, and he used that momentum to have the best season of his career.”
All about the NFL
Panther HC Dave Canales is not yet ready to say whether the regular players will play in Buffalo. Carolina’s regular players – which of course includes Bryce Young – have not yet played a preseason game.
eagle DB Cooper DeJean, who they selected in the second round of this year’s draft, seemed to be fully present at practice yesterday.
A history lesson includes Steve Buckley’s look at the Patriots Decision whether Drake Maye should start in Week 1. One thing is clear: New England does not yet know the answer.
The Shades of brown has traded reserve player Cade York to the Commanders for a conditional seventh-round pick. The trades are underway as the August 27 roster reduction draw nears.
Most clicked yesterday: Dane Brugler’s big board for the 2025 NFL Draft.
Sign up for our other newsletters:
The bounce 🏀 | The winding ⚾ | Full time ⚽ | Prime tires 🏁 | Until Saturday 🏈
(Photo: Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
