Month: August 2026

For the last four years a quarterback has been selected with the first pick in the draft.

Fernando Mendoza was the first pick this year and from 2023 to 2025, the first picks were Bryce Young of Carolina, Caleb Willilams of Chicago and Cam Ward of Tennessee. All three started as rookies and struggled at times.

But the Raiders are going a different route with Mendoza. He will start the season on the bench while Kirk Cousins begins the year as the starter.

It can be debated whether it is better to let a rookie sit for a year like Tom Brady did or even three years like Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love did. Or whether it is best for a rookie to be thrown into the fire.

Mendoza has accepted his role as a backup.

“I am just trying to do my part and focus on the next rep and do everything I possibly can  to prepare myself to b the best asset I can be for the team,” he said.

In his preseason debut against the Cardinals, he came in to replace Cousins in the fourth quarter and did well, completing 10 of 16 passes for 97 yards and one touchdown, but struggled in his follow-up against the Texans (including throwing an 80-yard Pick Six).

Mendoza knows he is not competing for a starting job now. The task for him is to learn on the bench and be ready when he gets chance.

These are the best of times for the NFL.

The money keeps rolling in: The Packers, a community-owned team and the only one to issue a public financial report, had a record total revenue of $753 million last year while reporting a net income of $132.5 million. They took in $453.2 million in national revenue before they sold a ticket. They did have a $1.1 million operating loss because of some new contracts along with paying the “dead” money of the contracts of departing players. But with a salary cap, it is almost impossible to lose money in the NFL. And franchise values keep going up. The Seahawks — hardly a marquee franchise despite their recent Super Bowl crown — recently sold for more than $9 billion. And revenue should keep going up because the league still gets the highest ratings of anything on TV.

Despite all that success, in the recent book called Football by Chuck Klosterman, he argues there is no guarantee the NFL will remain on top and noted that in the 1930s, the three top sports were baseball, horse racing and boxing. Obviously, they no longer are.

And Klosterman sees some red flags that could lead to a decline for the NFL. He starts with the fact that far fewer boys are playing high school football and as a result may not grow up to be big NFL fans. And then there is the violence coupled with players getting CTE, ALS and dementia that can turn off some fans.

And Klosterman asks what happens if advertisers decide it is just too expensive to buy advertising during NFL games, especially since there is no definite evidence that TV advertising still works except for introducing new products. If advertisers don’t keep paying, the NFL will have no leverage in future TV negotiations.

As a result, Klosterman argues that there could be a time — unthinkable as it seems at the moment — when “no one cares” about the NFL.

It seems hard to believe this scenario, but the football audience isn’t growing. The Sunday TV ratings haven’t increased since 1989, when the league averaged 19 million viewers. Last year it was at 18.7 million. And the NFL’s ratings are only the best in TV because — in an era of numerous TV channels, streaming and iPhones — no one drama or sitcom gets huge ratings like many did in the past, while the NFL ratings remain steady.

For now, the good times keep rolling for the NFL. Only future generations will know how long those good times last.

The annual Hall of Fame game in Canton is usually more about honoring the new inductees than watching the actual game since the starters rarely play.

But Caroline’s 33-30 victory over Arizona last Friday night turned out to be an exciting game featuring two third-string quarterbacks that was decided on the final play.

Undrafted rookie Haynes King scrambled five yards for the game-winning touchdown. He completed 21 of 34 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Fourth-string quarterback Kedon Slovis threw a one-yard TD pass to Bryson Green with 1:55 left to put Arizona ahead, then King led the game-winning drive.

King said it was a “dream come true” to play in front of so many Hall of Famers. King replaced backup Kenny Pickett in the second quarter and played the rest of the game.  

Carson Beck, the Cardinals’ third-round pick, started and completed 15 of 19 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown. He’s behind Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew on the depth chart, while King is behind Bryce Young and Pickett with the Panthers.

Nobody knows what the future holds for Beck and King. Beck as a third rounder is likely to have a brighter future, while the future for King is uncertain because he wasn’t drafted. But for one night on the Hall of Fame stage, both quarterbacks made the most of their opportunities.

Baker Mayfield is betting on himself.

The Buccaneers quarterback turned down a two-year, $100 million deal to play out the final year of his current contract at $40 million–$10 million in base salary and a $30 million bonus. He wanted the Bucs to commit to him for at least four years to give him security, but they declined probably because he suffered injuries last year and his play fell off.

Mayfield said in advance he would only negotiate until training camp started. When they didn’t reach a deal before camp opened, he said he felt “disrespected” and wouldn’t talk contract with the Bucs or with reporters until the season ended.

So now his future depends on how he plays this year. If Mayfield plays well, he will have leverage for the kind of contract he wants because he will be a free agent and can test the market. He said he feels like he is a franchise quarterback.

The Bucs are the fourth team Mayfield has played for. After being the first pick of the draft by the Browns in 2018, he spent four years there but didn’t live up to expectations. After the Browns made the ill-fated trade for Deshaun Watson, he was traded to Carolina, where he went 1-5 before being put on waivers. When Matthew Stafford was injured, the Rams then claimed him, and Mayfield went 1-3 as a starter.

The Bucs then needed a starter because Tom Brady retired in 2023 and signed him to a one year “prove it” deal. He played well enough to get a three-year, $100 million deal. He played ever better in 2024, but then struggled last year and Tampa Bay decided not to give him the long-term deal he wanted. The Bucs haven’t commented but ESPN reported they are unhappy he turned down their offer.

So everything is on the line for Mayfield this year.