Football

Voting for the 2023 NFL Pro Bowl closes Thursday, and Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson are currently the top two vote-getters.

Tagovailoa has received 182,118 votes and Jefferson has received 177,163 votes, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (172,400), Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (170,034) and Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (168,503) round out the top five.

Here's a deeper look at the AFC and NFC leading vote-getters:

The format of the 2023 Pro Bowl, which will be held at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, has been changed from a true football contest to a skills competition as well as a non-contact flag football game. Any player voted to the Pro Bowl is required to participate, barring injury.

With Pro Bowl games of the past lacking intensity, mainly because players didn't want to get hurt, a change to the format was very much needed to make the event more exciting.

The current top vote-getter, Tagovailoa, would be appearing in his first Pro Bowl since being selected fifth overall in the 2020 draft out of Alabama. He has had an impressive season despite missing Weeks 5 and 6 with a concussion.

The 24-year-old has completed 65.5 percent of his passes for 3,004 yards and 22 touchdowns against five interceptions. It has been his best season in the league, and the Dolphins are second in the AFC East with an 8-5 record.

Hill has also contributed to Miami's success in his first season with the team. The 28-year-old has caught 100 passes for 1,460 yards and six touchdowns in 13 games. His receiving yards ranks second in the NFL.

Hill was selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first six NFL seasons that were spent with the Chiefs.

Jefferson has been selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first two seasons. The 2020 first-round pick is on pace to surpass the 1,616 yards he posted during the 2021 campaign.

The LSU product has caught 99 passes for a league-best 1,500 yards and six touchdowns in 13 games. Jefferson has played a significant role in Minnesota's success this year, and the Vikings are first in the NFC North with a 10-3 record. The Vikings haven't finished first in their division since the 2017 season.

Finally, the Chiefs duo of Mahomes and Kelce has Kansas City once again sitting atop the AFC West with a 10-3 record, and they are arguably the best quarterback-pass catcher duo in the NFL.

Mahomes has earned a Pro Bowl selection in each season since he became Kansas City's full-time starter in 2018. This season, he has completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 4,160 yards and 33 touchdowns against 11 interceptions in 13 games in addition to rushing for 280 yards and two scores.

The 27-year-old's 4,160 passing yards and 33 touchdowns leads the NFL.

Kelce has earned seven straight Pro Bowl selections since 2015. In 13 games this season, he has caught 81 passes for 1,039 yards and 12 touchdowns. He is tied for the league lead in touchdowns with Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams.

Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt declared for the 2023 NFL draft Wednesday and announced he will not play in the Volunteers' Orange Bowl matchup against Clemson.

Hyatt recorded 67 receptions for 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns during the 2022 season on his way to winning the Biletnikoff Award.

Fellow Vols receiver Cedric Tillman previously announced his intention to enter the draft. Tillman is currently ESPN's sixth-ranked receiver and No. 40 overall prospect, while Hyatt is the seventh-ranked receiver and comes in at No. 44 overall. It's likely both players will find themselves hearing their names called on the second day of April's draft.

Hyatt, Tillman and quarterback Hendon Hooker helped spearhead Tennessee's explosive offense, leading the Vols to a 10-2 regular-season record. It's likely the only thing that prevented Tennessee from making the College Football Playoff was a shocking blowout loss to South Carolina last month.

Hooker suffered a torn ACL in the loss to the Gamecocks. He turns 25 in January and is currently the fifth-ranked quarterback in ESPN's draft rankings behind Bryce Young, CJ Stroud, Will Levis and Anthony Richardson.

The Vols led FBS in yards per game (538.1) and were third behind only Washington and Western Kentucky among the sport's most prolific passing offenses.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts wasn't about to give Micah Parsons any bulletin-board material, even if that is exactly what the Dallas Cowboys pass-rusher did for him.

During a discussion with Von Miller on The Voncast, Parsons suggested Hurts is an MVP candidate more because of Philadelphia's "system and team" than his individual talents:

When asked for a response to Parsons' comments on Wednesday, Hurts told reporters, "I'm worried about the Bears," the Eagles' upcoming opponent in Week 15.

Offensive lineman Jordan Mailata echoed those sentiments:

After facing the Chicago Bears on Sunday, Hurts' Eagles will square off against Parsons' Cowboys on Christmas Eve in a game that could decide control of the NFC East.

The 12-1 Eagles are two games up on the 10-3 Cowboys, and they beat Dallas in Week 6, although the Cowboys were without quarterback Dak Prescott. The Cowboys will now be at home for this Christmas Eve clash against a motivated Hurts.

Although Hurts didn't publicly take exception to Parsons' comments, he surely internalized them ahead of the latest chapter in the rivalry.

The MVP candidate has completed 68 percent of his passes for 3,157 yards, 22 touchdowns and three interceptions while adding 686 yards and 10 scores on the ground in 13 games this season. He has taken tremendous strides after throwing for 22 touchdowns to 13 picks in his first two seasons and is a major reason why his team has the best record in the NFL.

Yet there is something to be said about the talent he has around him, which Parsons hinted at.

The offseason addition of wide receiver A.J. Brown has made everything easier for the offense. He is nearly impossible to stop with single coverage, and he opens up passing and running lanes for everyone else when he draws double-teams.

Playmakers such as DeVonta Smith and Miles Sanders are also dangerous, and defenses have to account for Hurts' legs as well.

Quarterbacks will always benefit from having more talent around them, but Parsons' comments will surely turn heads ahead of the Christmas Eve game.

There may be changes coming to the NFL rulebook regarding hits on quarterbacks and defenseless players.

Per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said there have been some discussions among league owners that such hits may become reviewable and subject to automatic ejections.

Pelissero noted any rule change would need to be voted on during the March league meetings.

"The officials have been very consistent and accurate, but they are human," Vincent said when discussing the potential for such reviews, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Roughing-the-passer penalties in particular seemingly always generate plenty of discussion and debate as the league attempts to juggle the need for player safety with the reality that it is a violent game with players chasing after quarterbacks at high speeds on every drop back.

It was under the spotlight again during Sunday night's game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Miami Dolphins when Jaelan Phillips was whistled for a controversial call on Justin Herbert.

Frank Schwab of Yahoo Sports called it "one of the worst roughing-the-passer flags of the season" while noting Phillips said in a since-deleted tweet "Regardless of the outcome of the game, if I'm about to be fined $15,000 for 'roughing the passer' then there needs to be some accountability and a review of what constitutes that penalty."

There was no shortage of reaction to the call:

Another call drew plenty of attention in Week 5 when Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett was whistled for a highly controversial roughing-the-passer penalty on Tom Brady that undercut the team's comeback efforts.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback was actually fined for his actions during the play, as he attempted to kick Jarrett.

Perhaps reviews could remove some of the controversial aspects of such plays, especially when they come at critical junctures in the game. That could help defenses across the league, but the idea of automatic ejections was also raised during these discussions.

That brings to mind targeting calls in college football, which are controversial in their own right and have evolved over time with automatic reviews of such whistles and the ability for teams to appeal whether a player must sit out the first half of the next game if the foul occurs in the second half.

Amid reporters that Marcus Mariota left the Atlanta Falcons upon learning Desmond Ridder would be the starting quarterback for the rest of the season, head coach Arthur Smith addressed his status.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Smith said Mariota's decision to have knee surgery "had nothing to do with" the decision to play Ridder.

Josh Kendall of The Athletic reported the Falcons learned on Friday, one day after it was reported Ridder would take over at quarterback, that Mariota was going to step away from the team.

Smith confirmed the quarterback change on Monday, and told reporters the decision was "performance-based" due to Mariota's struggles.

During the same press conference, Smith said Mariota's knee was "nothing that has been an issue this season," but it was Mariota's "prerogative" to do what he felt was in his best interest.

Ridder was the second quarterback taken in the 2022 NFL draft. He was selected by the Falcons with the 74th overall pick. The 23-year-old was a two-time AAC Offensive Player of the Year winner at Cincinnati. He has yet to appear in a game this season.

The Falcons signed Mariota to a two-year contract as a free agent in March. He was named the team's starter early in training camp and has played each of the first 13 games this season.

Mariota has played okay in Smith's offense with 2,219 passing yards, 438 rushing yards and 19 total touchdowns (15 passing, four rushing).

After scoring at least 23 points in each of their first four games, the Falcons have been held to fewer than 20 points in six of their past nine games.

Despite having a 5-8 record, the Falcons are only one game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for first place in the NFC South. They will play the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome on Sunday.

The Buffalo Bills coaxing Cole Beasley out of retirement will not prevent them from pursuing Odell Beckham Jr., general manager Brandon Beane told reporters Wednesday.

"We haven't closed any doors. We had a good visit," Beane said.

Beckham has met with the Bills, Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants as he explores his NFL return. The three-time Pro Bowler is still recovering from a torn ACL suffered in Super Bowl LVI and is not expected to play during the regular season.

"I haven't made a decision, and for me, I would like to be in a stable environment, get up at 6 a.m., leave at 6 p.m. for four weeks, and then let's talk about it," Beckham said last Thursday on TNF in the Shop. "I've played football for a long time. I'm not saying that I couldn't step in and play regular season, but I don't see the point. I really don't. I would rather play when the pressure is on."

Beckham has torn the ACL in his left knee twice in as many seasons. His journey back to the field is bound to be fraught, and it's noteworthy that none of the teams that met with Beckham appears determined to sign him immediately.

It's possible, not likely at this juncture, that Beckham winds up waiting until the free-agency period of this upcoming offseason to sign a new deal. Even if he were to sign with a team during the playoffs, there's no guarantee he would be in football shape or effective. The 30-year-old has not made a Pro Bowl since 2016 and has not topped 1,000 yards receiving since 2019.

Beasley played the previous three seasons in Buffalo before a brief two-game stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier in 2022. Signing him makes a ton of logical sense, given he already knows the playbook and has a built-in chemistry with Josh Allen.

Buffalo has also struggled to replicate Beasley's consistency in the slot with Isaiah McKenzie, who has recorded 38 receptions for 380 yards and five total touchdowns this season.

Lovie Smith could wind up being one-and-done as Houston Texans head coach.

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported Smith is currently on "shaky ground" amid the team's 1-11-1 start.

Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon is reportedly among the names that would be atop Texans general manager Nick Caserio's list of candidates. Gannon interviewed for the position after the Texans fired David Culley last offseason.

Smith was a surprise hire given the fact he was the defensive coordinator for an underperforming Texans team last season. Promoting from within a staff of a fired head coach is always going to raise some eyebrows, especially so in this case because it was not a situation where Culley was fired midway through 2021 and Smith turned the team around as an interim coach.

Smith had previous experience coaching the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers but hadn't had success in a decade. Even his jaunt to the college ranks at Illinois featured five straight losing seasons and a 17-39 record.

All of which is to say it's perfectly understandable that the Texans might want to move on.

That said, the optics in this particular situation would be awful. During a period of time the NFL is being sued for discriminatory hiring practices, the Texans would be firing its second Black head coach in as many seasons after only giving him one year to turn things around.

Culley was thrust into a situation where he was taking over a 4-12 team that lost Deshaun Watson as he sat out the entire 2021 season amid sexual misconduct allegations. Houston still managed to win four games and played competitive football, but Caserio fired him anyway.

Smith was saddled with by far the NFL's worst roster—one seemingly designed to land the Texans the top pick in the 2023 draft—and the team has performed to its talent level.

While Gannon is one of the best assistant coaches in the NFL and deserving of a head-coaching job, the Texans would be opening themselves up to fair scrutiny by hiring a white coach precisely at the time the organization's fortunes could start turning around.

During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show this week, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers gave some more insight into how the use of ayahuasca has helped him.

When asked by former Packers teammate A.J. Hawk if he feared death, Rodgers admitted that he used to until ayahuasca aided in him getting over that fear:

Rodgers said that being a teenager during the Y2K hysteria of 1999 and 2000 contributed to his fear of dying due to the belief that he would never be able to accomplish all of his goals if he died young.

He continued by saying that consuming the psychoactive drink ayahuasca and the psychedelic drug psilocybin changed his perspective and "relieved a lot of the stress" associated with the need to accomplish things before death.

Rodgers also said he has "seen the other side" through the use of ayahuasca, which has caused him to view death as more of a "next chapter" than an ending.

Prior to the start of the 2022 NFL season, Rodgers revealed that he first used ayahuasca in 2020, which preceded back-to-back NFL MVP campaigns for the future Hall of Famer.

This season has been a much bigger struggle for Rodgers and the Packers, though, as they are 5-8 and have struggled to find consistency on offense compared to previous years.

Much of that likely has to do with the departure of Rodgers' No. 1 target, wide receiver Davante Adams, who was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders during the offseason.

Rodgers and the Packers are coming off a win over the Chicago Bears, though, and given how weak the NFC is, their playoff hopes are still alive.

For the first time since his disastrous Week 11 outing, Zach Wilson will be in uniform for the New York Jets.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh announced Wilson will be the backup quarterback to Mike White for Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions.

Following a 10-3 loss to the New England Patriots on Nov. 20, Wilson was benched in favor of White. The second overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft finished that game 9-of-22 for 77 yards.

Per ESPN's Rich Cimini, there were "raw feelings" among some Jets defensive players following the Patriots game because Wilson didn't seem to hold himself accountable for his role in the loss.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Wilson was asked if he felt like he let the defense down:

Wilson was having a bad season even before making the comment that may have ruffled some feathers in the locker room. He is completing 55.6 percent of his attempts for 1,279 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions in seven starts.

The Jets went 5-2 in those games because they were averaging 121.6 rushing yards per game, and the defense held opponents to 15.0 points per game during that stretch.

Wilson has been inactive for each of the past three games, with White taking over as the starter and Joe Flacco serving as the backup.

White suffered a rib injury after taking a hard hit from Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano in Sunday's 20-12 loss. He left the game briefly before returning and finished 27-of-44 for 268 yards.

The Jets had White get checked out at a Buffalo hospital after the game, but he was able to fly back to New York on the team plane. He told reporters on Monday his ribs feel fine.

White got off to a strong start with 315 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-22 win over the Chicago Bears in Week 12. He hasn't thrown a touchdown pass in the past two games, which were both losses.

New York enters Week 15 with a 7-6 record, tied with the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Chargers for the final playoff spot in the AFC. The Patriots hold the tiebreaker over both teams for the No. 7 seed.

The Carolina Panthers could win the NFC South with Steve Wilks as their interim head coach, but team owner David Tepper is keeping an eye on several names to take over on a permanent basis after this season.

Per ESPN's Dan Graziano, Tepper wants to hire someone with previous head-coaching experience and has a list of candidates that includes Sean Payton, Leslie Frazier, Marvin Lewis, Frank Reich and Dan Quinn.

Payton will probably be the top coaching candidate for every team with a vacancy this offseason. His situation is complicated by the fact that he retired from the New Orleans Saints, who still own his coaching rights through the 2023 season.

Any team that wants to hire Payton may end up needing to give the Saints compensation in a trade.

Even if the Panthers wanted to bring in Payton, the odds of New Orleans letting him go to a division rival would seem low barring some obscene trade offer.

Jon Gruden was traded from the Oakland Raiders to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002 for a package that included two first-round draft picks, two second-round selections and $8 million.

It seems unlikely any team would make that kind of offer for a coach nowadays, but you never know what a desperate owner might do.

There's also the question of where Payton might want to coach if he returns next season. He is working as an NFL analyst for Fox and can stay in that role if there isn't a job opening he wants to take.

Quinn and Frazier are having outstanding seasons in their current roles. Quinn is in his second campaign with the Dallas Cowboys as defensive coordinator. The team ranks in the top 10 in yards allowed per game (310.9), passing yards allowed per game (182.4) and points allowed per game (17.6).

Frazier has been defensive coordinator and assistant head coach for the Buffalo Bills since 2020. Their defense ranked first in points allowed in 2021 and currently ranks second in points allowed (17.0) this season.

Reich's tenure with the Indianapolis Colts ended poorly, but he led the team to three winning seasons and two playoff appearances in his first four campaigns. The 61-year-old was also the offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles team that won the Super Bowl in 2017.

Wilks has done a terrific job with the Panthers since taking over after Matt Rhule was fired in October. The team is 4-4 in eight games with Wilks after a 1-4 start to the season.

Sunday was the Panthers' best win of the campaign, as they pulled out a 30-24 victory on the road against a Seattle Seahawks team that is fighting for a playoff spot.

Despite trailing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by one game, the Panthers control their destiny in the NFC South race. They already have a 21-3 victory over the Bucs, and the two teams play again in Tampa in Week 17.