🐺 Wolf Sports Weekly

College football is in full swing, and the 2024 NFL season kicks off in two days. We made it!

🏈 2024 NFL season preview

Check out our full 2024 NFL season preview for brief outlooks on all 32 teams, playoff and Super Bowl LIX picks, and award predictions. Here are the division winner, MVP, and Super Bowl selections, which are admittedly a bit chalk:

• AFC East: Bills

• AFC North: Ravens

• AFC South: Texans

• AFC West: Chiefs (top seed)

• NFC East: Eagles

• NFC North: Lions (top seed)

• NFC South: Falcons

• NFC West: 49ers

• MVP: Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes

• Super Bowl LIX: Chiefs over Lions

We focus mostly on Wolf Sports Weekly and written content on wolfsports.com, but if you’re a podcast fan you can listen to The Fantasy Consigliere Podcast for fantasy football and The Wolf Sports Show for basic NFL talk this season.

🙏 Ricky Pearsall OK after being shot

49ers rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall was on his way to a signing event on Saturday in San Francisco when he was shot by a 17-year-old in an attempted robbery.

• Pearsall was shot in the chest, but his mother Erin shared on Facebook that her son is “extremely lucky” the bullet went through his back without hitting any vital organs.

• He was said to be in “serious but stable” condition, but teammate Deebo Samuel posted on X, giving thanks to God that Pearsall was “good” quickly after the shooting.

• Pearsall, who even walked to the ambulance himself as shown in recorded video from the scene, was released from the hospital on Sunday.

• The 49ers placed Pearsall on the NFI list, so he’s out the first four games of the season.

This is the second recent incident of an NFL player being shot in a robbery attempt, as Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. was shot multiple times in Washington, D.C. in August 2022. In both cases, they were obviously very lucky to have not suffered long-term injuries—or worse. How sad is it that you have to be on high alert in cities like San Francisco and the United States capital?

🔒 Extensions before the season

After weeks of somewhat contentious negotiations that apparently included multiple near trades, the Niners signed receiver Brandon Aiyuk to a four-year, $120 million contract, keeping him with the team through the 2028 season.

Perhaps even bigger news is that All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams is back in the Bay Area. His brother Fred Williams recently posted on Instagram about it being Year 15 for Trent, and the 49ers are finalizing a revised contract for the weapon on the offensive line.

The Chargers signed Cameron Dicker “The Kicker” to a four-year extension that makes him a top-five highest-paid kicker in the league.

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel signed a contract extension, locking him up with the franchise through the 2028 season.

However, two big-name players remain in uncertain situations with the season kicking off this week:

• Jets DE Haason Reddick is still holding out for a contract extension.

• Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase basically returned to practice one day and then stopped practicing the next day, perhaps thinking his practice debut would lead to engagement on a contract extension. Remember, there’s precedent for Chase missing games, as he didn’t play his final season at LSU and instead prepared for the NFL.

📝 Recent player news

Rosters were cut to 53 players last Tuesday, so there was a ton of player movement and final roster decisions in recent days. The highlights:

• The Patriots officially named veteran Jacoby Brissett their starting quarterback over rookie Drake Maye.

• Recently given permission to seek a trade from the Rams due to extension talks not working out, LB Ernest Jones IV and a 2026 sixth-round pick were traded to the Titans for a 2026 fifth-round pick.

• The Chargers acquired QB Taylor Heinicke from the Falcons for a conditional late-round pick.

• The Giants re-signed veteran CB Adoree’ Jackson.

• After looking set to sign with the Jets, former first-round S Lewis Cine ultimately decided to sign with the Bills practice squad.

• After spending the offseason and summer with the Browns, QB Tyler Huntley re-signed with the Ravens practice squad to serve as the emergency No. 3 quarterback.

• WR Kadarius Toney (cut by the Chiefs) and CB Caleb Farley (cut by the Titans) are two former first-rounders seeking new squads.

Free agent receiver Michael Thomas was suspended one game for violation of NFL rules.

Officially out to start the year: Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson, Rams TE Tyler Higbee, Patriots WR Kendrick Bourne, and Chiefs DE Charles Omenihu (expected back in November) are all out at least the first four games of the season while on the PUP list.

Chiefs injuries: RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire has been placed on the reserve/non-football illness list and will miss the first four games of the season, and WR Hollywood Brown (shoulder) has been ruled out for Thursday night’s season opener.

Eagles DB James Bradberry suffered a lower leg injury in practice and is out several weeks.

Steelers G Isaac Seumalo will miss a few weeks with a pectoral injury.

Rams head coach Sean McVay told reporters that RB Kyren Williams will begin the season as the team’s primary punt returner.

📰 More NFL news

NFL owners officially voted to allow private equity to buy stakes in franchises, initially capping part ownership at 10 percent.

Sticking with team ownership, there are rules in place for Tom Brady’s potential part ownership of the Raiders given his role as a FOX Sports analyst.

• Brady is not permitted to attend other team’s facilities or practices.

• He cannot join the production meetings with teams, when networks talk to players and coaches to gather background and insights before calling a game.

• Brady also cannot publicly criticize game officials and other clubs—so basically, he probably can’t take things too far when calling a game.

• According to the AP, these Brady rules are immediately in effect despite Brady’s stake in the Raiders not yet being formalized.

Giants rookie WR Malik Nabers has received permission from the family of Giants legend Ray Flaherty to wear his No. 1 jersey. Flaherty’s number was the first to be retired in the history of professional football.

Ravens star defensive lineman Justin Madubuike will now go by his given name, Nnamdi.

Great expectations: Lions GM Brad Holmes, when asked about his 2024 expectations, said: “Win the Super Bowl.”

Bills QB Josh Allen was voted the most overrated player in the league in a limited survey of 103 NFL players, which also named him the best trash talker—prompting a response making light of the voting.

Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles and 49ers GM John Lynch were named to the NFL’s Competition Committee.

The Commanders signed an eight-year agreement with Northwest Federal Credit Union as the new name of their stadium: Northwest Stadium. Some have called it odd and ironic that a prominent East Coast team has this stadium name.

The Broncos broke ground on a new $175 million training facility set to open in 2026.

Other Sports Updates

💔 Heartbreaking. While riding their bikes on the eve of their sister’s wedding, NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were killed by a drunk driver. Our prayers are with the Gaudreau family.

🏈 Week 1 college football highlights:

• No. 1 Georgia dominated in the second half to top No. 14 Clemson, 34-3.

• No. 7 Notre Dame took down No. 20 Texas A&M on the road, 23-13.

• Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders threw for 445 yards and four touchdowns (three to two-way star Travis Hunter) in Colorado’s win over North Dakota State.

• Early video game numbers from Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty (267 rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns) and Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan (ten receptions, 304 yards, four touchdowns).

• Alabama’s 17-year-old true freshman WR Ryan Williams, who reclassified his class to play college ball a year early, caught 84-yard and 55-yard touchdowns on his first two college receptions.

• No. 23 USC defeated No. 13 LSU in a fantastic Sunday night game in Vegas, 27-20.

• Boston College upset No. 10 Florida State, dropping the Seminoles to 0-2.

• We have early candidates for flop of the year and catch of the year.

⛳️ Scottie Scheffler won the 2024 Tour Championship, becoming the only player to win The Players Championship, The Masters, and the Tour Championship in the same season.

🤔 Colorado football accused Oregon of hacking into their practice film and data after a blowout loss last year but did not provide evidence to the Pac-12, according to Front Office Sports.

🐶 Shohei Ohtani’s dog Decoy had a first pitch with Shohei ahead of a Dodgers game, and Ohtani became the first player in MLB history with 43+ homers and 43+ stolen bases in a season.

😂 The Phillies determined their fantasy draft order with a closest-to-the-pin competition at Citizens Bank Park. All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto won.

🐺 Found on wolfsports.com

• 2024 NFL season preview

• Early top ten 2025 NFL Draft prospects (🔒)

• Longshot fantasy sleepers (🔒)

• Building an NFL team with roster cuts

• NFL teams to surpass expectations

• Week 2 college football power rankings

• Hard Knocks Episode 4 recap

• TVs to consider ahead of football season

• Latest MLB power rankings