đŸș Wolf Sports Weekly

One more week of exhibitions

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Wolf Sports
August 20, 2024

After this week, the next games will count. (Be sure to check out our referral program at the bottom of this email, which will allow you to earn free stuff for getting friends to sign up for Wolf Sports Weekly!)

🏈 Preseason Week 2 recap

In a time when teams aren’t playing their starters as much in the preseason, quarterbacks that do play naturally come into focus. After neither really separated themselves versus the Cowboys on Saturday night, Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce named veteran Gardner Minshew the team’s starting quarterback over Aidan O’Connell.

  • Pierce is a no-nonsense coach, and he bluntly said after the game: “I wish it had ended better for both gentlemen, and it just didn't.”

  • While neither played well in the second preseason game, Minshew made an effort to push the ball downfield following his strong preseason opener the week before.

  • Also, Minshew was brought in on a relatively surprising two-year, $25 million deal this offseason—so perhaps Vegas wanted to go with the investment and experience in a battle where you can argue no one separated himself.

Keep in mind: Raiders star receiver Davante Adams is a fan of O’Connell, and Pierce said both guys must remain ready to play this season.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin called his quarterback competition an “incomplete study” following the second preseason game, a 9-3 loss to the Bills, during which Russell Wilson could not get much going in his team debut (8/10, 47 yards, sacked three times). Meanwhile, Justin Fields ran around and made some plays with his legs, which might be key if Pittsburgh’s offensive line struggles in pass protection.

Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix shined again in Week 2 of the preseason, going 8/9 for 90 yards and a touchdown with the first-team offense. But head coach Sean Payton is not ready to name a starting quarterback, wanting to ensure the rookie is not handed anything.

Giants rookie receiver Malik Nabers had an insane high-point catch at the sideline versus the Texans. Also for the Giants, undrafted rookie Elijah Chatman showed tremendous hustle in a must-watch play.

And you probably heard about Patrick Mahomes’ behind-the-back pass to Travis Kelce, which he—perhaps half-jokingly—claimed it was spontaneous and not by design.

đŸ€• J.J. McCarthy headlines injuries

Vikings first-round rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy is out for the season with a torn meniscus. It was the expectation, but this locks in Sam Darnold as Minnesota’s starting quarterback.

  • The tenth overall pick in this year’s draft, McCarthy reported knee discomfort after Week 1 of the preseason.

  • It turns out he had a meniscus injury, and surgery revealed that a full repair was required.

  • The good news is that a full repair—compared to a partial repair that would have allowed him to return this season—is seen as better for the long-term health of the player.

  • The Vikings are of course going to talk positively during a tough time for him, but the national champion at Michigan sounds like he genuinely impressed the team during training camp—with head coach Kevin O’Connell declaring, “We’ve got our young franchise quarterback in the building.”

Bills All-Pro linebacker Matt Milano tore his bicep and is out indefinitely. The hope is that Milano can return sometime in December, but the horrible injury luck continues for Buffalo’s defense. And receiver Curtis Samuel is week-to-week with turf toe.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell says that running back Jahmyr Gibbs (hamstring) and rookie defensive back Terrion Arnold (pec) should be “good” and are expected to be fine for Week 1.

Steelers injuries: Projected starting center Nate Herbig has a torn rotator cuff and could miss the entire season, and running back Jaylen Warren (hamstring) is out multiple weeks and his Week 1 status is in doubt.

As for positive injury news, Jaguars defensive lineman Arik Armstead and Eagles rookie defensive back Cooper DeJean were activated off the PUP list, and Giants rookie running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. is thankfully OK after getting carted off with an air cast during last Tuesday’s practice—he was even back in meetings later that day.

Oh, and Justin Herbert (foot) is back at practice for the Chargers, and head coach Jim Harbaugh said he heard “voices of angels” because of it.

👀 Veteran moves

There are still a few big holdouts to solve, but some veteran situations were worked out last week:

There were also a couple of big extensions, continuing a summer theme across the league.

✍ News and notes

Retirements: Two big name veterans that had very successful college careers before sticking around for years in the NFL officially retired.

In the latest NFL franchise valuations (Sportico), the Cowboys have become the world’s first sports franchise worth $10 billion.

The NFL is holding a special owners’ meeting on August 27 to discuss private equity in the league, according to The Washington Post.

Titans pass rusher Arden Key won his appeal and had his six-game suspension for a supposed PED violation overturned, which teammate Jeffery Simmons announced on X.

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa spoke plainly about the difference—for him—between former head coach Brian Flores and current head coach Mike McDaniel: “If you have a terrible person that’s telling you things that you don’t wanna hear—or that you probably shouldn’t be hearing—you’re gonna start to believe that about yourself.” Flores is currently the DC of the Vikings, and Miami and Minnesota play in 2026.

The Buccaneers are releasing pass rusher Randy Gregory, who signed with the team this offseason but never reported to camp. Head coach Todd Bowles said, “Can’t miss what you never had.”

Ravens offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris (“Joe D”) was hospitalized with an acute illness, “which will require ongoing treatment for an extended period of time.” We wish Joe D the best and hope to see him back on the sideline soon.

Browns rookie defensive tackle Michael Hall Jr. was accused of domestic violence, with highly disturbing details in the allegation. Hall played in Cleveland’s second preseason game.

More notes:

After the AFC last week, we’re hitting on some of our favorite choices to exceed or come up short of expectations in the NFC this season.

  • Lions OVER 10.5 wins: Armed with an elite offensive line and plenty of skill players—paired with a defense that continues to get better—we think the Lions will again be among the top teams in the NFC.

  • Eagles OVER 10.5 wins: Similarly, though Jason Kelce retired, Philadelphia is expected to have a top offensive line as the backbone of a loaded roster. The defense must improve under new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, though.

  • Cowboys OVER 9.5 wins: There’s uncertainty all over the place for the Cowboys, but we’re expecting CeeDee Lamb back by Week 1—and it’s difficult to see Micah Parsons and the stacked defense not ensuring Dallas gets at least ten wins. (Fantasy alert: Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones told Yahoo Sports that Lamb is going to need 12-15 targets per game with the contract he’ll be getting.)

  • Rams OVER 8.5: Los Angeles has done an excellent job of infusing young talent into the roster with recent draft classes, and there’s some insurance with Jimmy Garoppolo as the backup quarterback for Sean McVay if Mathew Stafford were to miss time with injury again.

  • Commanders UNDER 6.5: Commanders fans should be excited about quarterback Jayden Daniels, and the veteran offseason additions indicate an expectation to immediately compete. However, the NFC East is headlined by Philly and Dallas, and there’s a lot of work to do with where the defense was last year.

You can sign up for Fantasy Consigliere ahead of fantasy drafts and to get more NFL insights and tools all year.

Other Sports Updates

🍿 Nicolas Cage will play legendary coach and broadcaster John Madden in a movie from director David O. Russell.

đŸ€” In an unusual move shortly before the start of the season, ESPN fired Sunday NFL Countdown host Sam Ponder. The network also fired former quarterback Robert Griffin III.

👏 Hall of Famer and Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg announced that he is cancer free.

đŸ©Œ Brewers former NL MVP Christian Yelich is out for the season due to back surgery. Braves star Austin Riley will miss several weeks with a fractured hand.

đŸ’Ș Yankees star Aaron Judge hit his 300th home run, doing it in a record 955 games.

😳 Notre Dame is suspending its men’s swimming program for 2024-2025 due to culture issues, including gambling.

⚟ There’s speculation that the old computer game series Backyard Baseball could be coming back.

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