ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky made a big prediction about the NFL playoffs during Tuesday’s edition of “NFL Live.”
Orlovsky and the panel of analysts on the show were discussing the Jets’ addition of Davante Adams. Orlovsky, a former NFL quarterback, is a big fan of the trade for the New York Jets. In fact, Orlovsky said he believes the trade will propel the Jets into the playoffs.
“This puts the Jets in the playoffs,” Orlovsky said of the trade.
Orlovsky then went even further with his bold prediction.
“The most fascinating thing for me right now in the AFC playoff picture is I think two 2-4 teams get in. I believe the Jets and the Bengals will get in,” Orlovsky said.
“Schedule helps,” he added.
The Jets are third in the AFC East at 2-4. The Bengals are third in the AFC North at 2-4.
The only teams in the AFC with winning records right now are the Bills, Ravens, Steelers, Texans, Chiefs and Chargers. That certainly leaves a spot open for one team to potentially emerge and surpass the 3-3 Colts and Broncos.
Cincinnati tends to start seasons slowly before finishing strongly. They have had three straight winning seasons, though they did not qualify for the playoffs last season.
The Jets are going all-in with their acquisition of Adams and are hoping he will help the team break its postseason streak. The Jets haven’t made the playoffs since 2010.
Aug 26, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Former NFL player Tom Brady on the field before the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Las Vegas Raiders at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
It is a big ol’ Patriots party in Las Vegas right now.
Former New England Patriots defensive end Richard Seymour revealed in a post to social media on Tuesday that he has officially joined the ownership group of the Las Vegas Raiders.
“I’m deeply grateful—humbled and honored—to become a NFL owner,” Seymour wrote on X. “This is the mission of a lifetime, and I accept it with both purpose and pride. With great opportunity comes great responsibility. And I pledge to be a worthy steward of our game—and all it makes possible. @Raiders.”
The news comes after Tom Brady was formally approved as a part-owner of the Raiders on Tuesday as well (with a notable potential role already emerging for Brady). Raiders writer Vincent Bonsignore reports that Brady’s stake in the team is 10 percent, and Seymour’s stake is 0.5 percent.
Now 45, Seymour was teammates with Brady on the New England Patriots from 2001-08, winning three Super Bowl titles with him. Seymour was a five-time Pro Bowler as well as a four-time All-Pro in New England before spending the last few seasons of his NFL career with (fittingly) the Raiders from 2009-12.
Seymour made headlines a couple of years ago with the funny shot that he took at Brady during his own Hall of Fame speech. Along with being friends and former teammates, the two are now business partners as part-owners of the Raiders too.
Sep 24, 2023; Landover, Maryland, USA; A view of a Buffalo Bills player’s helmet on the sidelines against the Washington Commanders at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
The Buffalo Bills made a big trade on Tuesday, and that cost one of their players a roster spot.
Buffalo acquired Amari Cooper in a trade with the Cleveland Browns. They sent a 2025 third-round draft pick and 2026 seventh-round pick to the Browns in exchange for Cooper and a 2025 sixth-round pick.
In order to make room for Cooper on their roster, the Bills are cutting wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
MVS signed with the Bills in May on a 1-year deal.
Valdes-Scantling was viewed as being on the roster bubble during training camp. Though he made the Bills’ roster, he has hardly been a factor this season. The 30-year-old has just 2 catches for 26 yards on 9 targets in 6 games.
Two potential teams that might have interest in MVS include his former team, the Kansas City Chiefs, and his former quarterback’s new team — Aaron Rodgers’ New York Jets. Valdes-Scantling is best known for his four-year stint with the Packers from 2018-2021 where he was one of Rodgers’ targets.
Oct 2, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Jets helmets on the sidelines against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
The New York Jets acquired Davante Adams in a blockbuster trade on Tuesday, and they might not be done making deals at the wide receiver position.
Mike Williams is now officially on the trade block, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. The Jets will look to move Williams ahead of the Nov. 5 deadline now that they have Adams on their roster.
With Adams in the mix, the Jets suddenly have one of the best wide receiver trios in the NFL. Garrett Wilson has gotten back on track with 21 catches for 208 yards and 2 touchdowns over the past two games. Rodgers has also had great chemistry with Allen Lazard, who was his teammate in Green Bay before the two reunited with the Jets.
If Williams remains with the Jets, he will be No. 4 on the team’s receiver depth chart at best. It is also worth noting that Rodgers threw Williams under the bus following the quarterback’s game-ending interception in Monday night’s 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Williams, 30, is in his eighth NFL season. He spent the first seven with the Los Angeles Chargers and was an elite deep threat when healthy. His tenure in New York could be short-lived.
Oct 19, 2022; San Diego, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies interim manager Rob Thomson (59) speaks to the media before the game against the San Diego Padres on game two of the NLCS for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports
Two years removed from a World Series berth, Rob Thomson still has enough goodwill banked with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Phillies president Dave Dombrowski revealed to reporters on Tuesday that the team has decided to extend the contract of their manager Thomson through 2026. Thomson’s entire coaching staff will be returning next season as well, per Todd Zolecki of The Athletic.
By almost all metrics, Thomson, 61, has been a success ever since taking over as Phillies manager in 2022. He led the team to the NL pennant in his first season and guided them to a division title this season as well. Overall, Thomson’s record as manager for the Phillies sits at 250-185 (.575).
There may be a bit of frustration in Philly right now since Thomson has gotten further and further away in the playoffs ever since the 2022 World Series berth (losing in the NLCS last season and in the NLDS this season). But Thomson is a generally popular manager who is renowned for his class and now has officially earned a longer runway from the Phillies.
Oct 13, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Fox Sports broadcaster Tom Brady before the game between the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Tom Brady is close to becoming a part-owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, and it sounds like the legendary quarterback plans to be a lot more than just a passive investor in the franchise.
Brady and business partner Tom Wagner entered into an agreement in May 2023 to purchase a 10 percent stake in the Raiders from majority owner Mark Davis. The deal is finally expected to be approved by NFL team owners at the league’s fall meeting in Atlanta on Tuesday.
According to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Brady is expected to have a strong voice within the Raiders’ football operations department. A source told Bonsignore that Brady is going to have a “much bigger role than people think in the direction of the franchise in all areas on the football side.” The belief is that Davis will give Brady a “long leash” when it comes to making football decisions in Las Vegas.
There has been talk for a while that Brady could take on a role with an NFL team similar to the one John Elway had with the Denver Broncos for years. Elway, of course, was not a game analyst at the time he ran the Broncos’ football operations department.
Brady is in his first season working as FOX’s top NFL game analyst alongside play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt. There are already significant restrictions in place for him because he has entered into an agreement with Las Vegas.
If Brady plans to assume an active role with helping the Raiders build their roster, that might create an even bigger conflict of interest for the 47-year-old.
Feb 22, 2020; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat former player Dwyane Wade reacts during the second quarter at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Instead of The CW, ESPN may be the next one to air The Flash.
Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reported on Tuesday that ESPN is interested in adding retired Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade. Their interest in Wade appears to be for their studio shows.
“Dwyane Wade is a possibility [for ESPN], more for studio,” said Marchand. “They have some interest in him even though I don’t think it’s that far down the road yet.”
The 42-year-old Wade has already worked for ESPN as a guest analyst and did studio work for TNT from 2019-22. While Wade was initially criticized for a perceived lack of charisma as an analyst, he drew rave reviews with his work for NBC this past summer, doing color commentary on Olympic basketball games alongside Noah Eagle. It was later revealed that Wade worked with both a speech coach and a vocal coach in order to prepare for his Paris gig.
Wade, now a Basketball Hall of Famer as well, was previously revealed to be drawing interest from multiple major networks after his strong work at the Olympics. Now it appears that ESPN, who also just hired another former Heat guard, may be in the mix for Wade too.
Jul 29, 2019; Oxnard, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys receiver Amari Cooper (19) during training camp at River Ridge Playing Fields. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Amari Cooper has been freed from the Cleveland Browns.
The Browns on Tuesday agreed to trade Cooper to the Buffalo Bills, according to multiple reports.
The Bills later confirmed that they have sent a 2025 third-round draft pick and a 2026 seventh-round pick to the Browns in exchange for Cooper and a 2025 sixth-round pick.
Cooper had been seeking a long-term extension from the Brown during the offseason. The two sides ended up agreeing to a restructured contract that guaranteed the $20 million salary Cooper was owed this season in the final year of his deal. The team also added $5 million in incentives.
There were rumors over the offseason that the Browns could look to trade Cooper, and the veteran wideout seemed to hint that he would be in favor of it.
The Browns are 1-5 this season and look like one of the worst offensive teams in NFL history. Deshaun Watson is off to a historically bad start.
Cooper has 24 catches for 250 yards and 2 touchdowns through six games. He had a career-high 1,250 receiving yards last year and has had seven 1,000-yard receiving campaigns in his nine complete NFL seasons. The 30-year-old Cooper has made the Pro Bowl five times.
The Bills improved to 4-2 with their 23-20 win over the New York Jets on Monday night. Khalil Shakir leads the team with 249 receiving yards, but no one has stepped up as a true No. 1 receiver for Josh Allen since Stefon Diggs was traded. Cooper should have a chance to fill that role if he can get up to speed quickly.
Cooper was the second star wide receiver who was traded on Tuesday.
Aug 30, 2018; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin watches the third quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been one of the biggest surprises in the NFL with their strong play through six weeks, but they seem to be trending toward making a huge change.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported on Tuesday morning that the Steelers are planning to give Russell Wilson first-team snaps in practice this week ahead of Justin Fields. That would put Wilson in line to start in Sunday night’s game against the New York Jets.
A short while later, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin confirmed that Wilson is “in consideration” for the starting quarterback job in Week 7.
Tomlin consistently kept things vague the whole time Wilson was out with the calf injury that he suffered during the preseason. Though the Steelers are 4-2 and Fields has played well, Tomlin has refused to name Fields the team’s full-time starting quarterback. It sounds like that is because the coach still views Wilson as a better option.
Wilson beat out Fields for the starting QB job during the summer. The 35-year-old then had a setback with a calf injury that he initially sustained at the start of training camp. That led to Fields starting.
Wilson returned to practice as a full participant last week, but Tomlin continued to slow-play the situation. Fields then got his sixth start of the season and went 14/24 for 145 yards while leading Pittsburgh to a 32-13 road win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Fields rushed for 59 yards and 2 touchdowns in the game.
Overall, Fields has completed 66.3% of his passes for 1,106 yards, 5 touchdowns and just 1 interception. He has 231 rushing yards and another 5 scores on the ground.
Aug 19, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) during warmups for the Jets game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw an interception on what could have been a game-tying or game-winning drive against the Buffalo Bills on Monday night, but he says his teammate was to blame for it.
The Jets had 3rd-and-16 at their own 40 just before the two-minute warning in their 23-20 loss to the Bills at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Rodgers tried to connect with Mike Williams on a deep pass, but the ball was underthrown and intercepted. That effectively ended the game.
When asked about the play in his postgame press conference, Rodgers pulled no punches. He said Williams ran the wrong route.
“Well, there’s two verticals — Allen (Lazard) is down the seam, Mike’s down the redline,” Rodgers said. “I look up at Allen, he puts his hand up, three guys go with him, so I’m throwing a no-look to the redline. And when I just peak my eyes back there, (Williams is) running an in-breaker. So, it’s gotta be down the redline. I was throwing it to the redline, but when I got (my arm up to throw) I realized he was running an in-breaker, so I kind of adjusted a little bit.”
In other words, Rodgers was saying even the underthrow was Williams’ fault, as Rodgers did not get enough under the pass because he had to compensate at the last second for Williams running the wrong route.
James Jones, who played with Rodgers in Green Bay and is still close friends with the quarterback, said both Rodgers and Williams were to blame for the pick. The FOX Sports 1 analyst explained what Rodgers meant by “redline” and said Williams should have broken toward the sideline on the route.
If you watch the video of the interception, Williams did not turn to his back shoulder until the ball was in the air. The pass was underthrown, but Rodgers implied it would not have been had Williams run the correct route in the first place.
Whatever the case, Williams’ might not see many balls from Rodgers the rest of the season. The Jets made a blockbuster trade on Tuesday to acquire a star wide receiver, so Williams will probably get limited playing time going forward.
