Football

Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay says the team is not concerned with how Baker Mayfield will fit in the remainder of this season.

"As far as him, there are no concerns," McVay told reporters Wednesday.

The Rams claimed Mayfield off waivers from the Carolina Panthers on Tuesday. McVay has not ruled out the 2018 No. 1 overall pick playing in Thursday's game against the Las Vegas Raiders, noting he's leaning toward Mayfield being active.

It would be unorthodox for any quarterback to take snaps just two days after being signed by a team, but the Rams are in an unenviable position at quarterback. John Wolford and Bryce Perkins have started the team's last two games to little success; it would be hard to imagine Mayfield being much worse.

That said, you could argue the Rams would be setting up Mayfield for failure by playing him before he's had time to get acclimated to the offensive system. Anyone would struggle to memorize the Rams playbook on such short notice, even in small packages.

The more logical scenario would see Mayfield acting as a sort of emergency quarterback in case of injuries before taking over as the starter in Week 15.

The Rams' title defense has already gone up in smoke, as the team sits 3-9 amid a rash of injuries to star players. Mayfield getting an extended look in what amounts to the season's garbage time makes some sense—just not Thursday.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and ForgiveCo partnered to forgive $10 million of consumer debt, the parties announced Wednesday.

“Coming from a small town and now living out my dream playing football, I recognize that I owe a debt of gratitude to the fans for their support not only each Sunday but also their continued support of my off-field endeavors,” Allen said in a statement. “I was honored when ForgiveCo approached me with a chance to uplift thousands of hard-working Americans in the communities that support me by alleviating the burden of debt from their lives.”

The debt forgiveness will reach farmers in California’s Central Valley, where Allen grew up, along with people in need in Wyoming, where he attended college, Buffalo and 200 zipcodes where Buffalo fans are "are shown to be concentrated in fan chapters" throughout the U.S.

ForgiveCo, a public benefit corporation, partners with brands to forgive debt as a way of easing the financial burden of individuals.

An average of $3,847 will be relieved from about 2,600 people identified.

The Dallas Cowboys reportedly declined to offer Odell Beckham Jr. a contract because of concerns about the status of his surgically repaired left knee.

Jane Slater of NFL Network reported the Cowboys have "serious concerns" about whether Beckham can play this season as he continues to recover from a torn ACL suffered in Super Bowl LVI.

“We're still working on it," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said about Beckham on Wednesday.

The Cowboys signed Michael Gallup to a five-year contract extension in March even though he was coming off an ACL tear, but the team was more comfortable with Gallup's status because his surgery was performed by team doctor Dan Cooper, per Slater.

The Buffalo Bills and New York Giants are also expected to be contenders for Beckham's services. It's unclear whether they have the same level of concern regarding his health.

With Beckham's ACL tear coming just 10 months ago, it's healthy to have skepticism regarding his playing status this season. The team that signs him is more likely to be making an investment for the 2023 campaign than this year.

The most logical scenario would see Beckham sign a two-year deal structured so his cap hit is team-friendly next season. Front-loading the deal would allow him to create a financial windfall for himself while the expectations are low this season and give his new team some comfort in 2023 if things don't work out as planned.

It's fair to wonder whether Beckham's name value is larger than his ability to contribute, though. He's a 30-year-old who has not made a Pro Bowl since 2016 and is coming off ACL tears in consecutive seasons. When attempting to bounce back from his first ACL tear, he recorded just 44 receptions for 537 yards and five touchdowns in 2021.

In his last fully healthy campaign (2019), he finished 26th in the NFL in receiving yards. Even a healthy version of Beckham isn't guaranteed to be a contributor, so the Cowboys' hesitance makes sense.

After being placed on injured reserve last week with a knee injury, Buffalo Bills superstar pass-rusher Von Miller on Wednesday was ruled out for the remainder of the 2022 season.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Bills head coach Sean McDermott said Miller underwent exploratory surgery Tuesday that resulted in the repairing of his ACL.

Miller had said he didn't tear his ACL but suffered a lateral meniscus injury, and he was hopeful he would return.

Per Rapoport, imaging tests "did not adequately show" that Miller had torn his ACL. The plan was to reposition Miller's lateral meniscus surgically and clean up cartilage damage, but it was discovered during the procedure that Miller had torn his ACL.

Miller suffered the injury during the Bills' Thanksgiving Day win over the Detroit Lions, and he was placed on IR, which ensured he would miss the next four games.

While he would have been eligible to return for Buffalo's Week 17 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Bills will now be without arguably their top defensive player for the remainder of the campaign.

After lacking an elite pass-rusher in recent years, the Bills signed Miller to a six-year, $120 million contract during the offseason in hopes that he was the missing piece to their Super Bowl puzzle.

The 33-year-old veteran is a surefire future Hall of Famer with 123.5 career sacks as well as eight Pro Bowl nods, three first-team All-Pro selections, two Super Bowl championships and the Super Bowl 50 MVP award.

Last season, the Los Angeles Rams acquired Miller in a trade with the Denver Broncos, and he recorded five sacks in eight regular-season games as well as four sacks in four playoff games during their run to the Super Bowl LVI title.

Miller was great in his first season with the Bills, registering a team-high eight sacks in 11 games. He had two sacks in a Week 6 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

In his absence, the Bills will have to lean on their less-accomplished pass-rushers, including defensive ends Greg Rousseau, A.J. Epenesa, Boogie Basham and Shaq Lawson plus defensive tackles Ed Oliver, Jordan Phillips and DaQuan Jones.

Buffalo still boasts a talented defense anchored by cornerback Tre'Davious White, safety Jordan Poyer and linebackers Matt Milano and Tremaine Edmunds as well as one of the top offenses in the league, led by quarterback Josh Allen.

The Bills are the top seed in the AFC at 9-3, but the road to the Super Bowl will be more difficult without Miller.

The NFL quarterback carousel is expected to be running at full force this offseason.

Matt Miller of ESPN spoke to one general manager who said he expects one-third of the league to have a new starting quarterback or make a "key addition" at the position in the spring.

Looking at the landscape of the league, it's easy to identify around a dozen teams that have the potential to make a quarterback change.

Almost Certain to Make QB Change

• Indianapolis Colts
• Houston Texans
• Atlanta Falcons
• Carolina Panthers
• New Orleans Saints

Others to Watch

• New York Jets
• New York Giants
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Detroit Lions
• Las Vegas Raiders
• New England Patriots
• Tennessee Titans

The Texans, Panthers, Falcons and Colts are among the teams to watch at the top of the 2023 NFL draft. The Lions could also get in the mix with the first-round pick they're receiving from the Los Angeles Rams.

Alabama's Bryce Young and Ohio State's CJ Stroud are expected to be the top two quarterbacks taken next April and are mortal locks as top-10 picks. Kentucky's Will Levis has also garnered significant buzz but is a polarizing prospect after a disappointing senior season.

Houston would have the No. 1 overall pick if the season ended today.

The other listed teams will be extremely scenario-dependent. The Jets offense has come alive with Mike White under center, but he likely isn't a long-term solution. They're an obvious free-agent fit for Jimmy Garoppolo, given the familiarity with head coach Robert Saleh and offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur from their time in San Francisco.

The Jets could also be active in the trade market and look to add a veteran piece like Jared Goff or Derek Carr.

Detroit's willingness to move Goff will depend on whether it plans to add a quarterback at the top of the draft. The Raiders seemed likelier to move on from Carr before their recent three-game winning streak, but he's still a potential trade candidate if Las Vegas decides it wants a full-scale rebuild in the vision of general manager Dave Ziegler.

The Titans would be an option if they plan to move on from Ryan Tannehill, who carries a $36.6 million cap hit for next season. Tannehill likely will have to restructure his contract if he wants to remain in Tennessee in 2023. The firing of general manager Jon Robinson, who signed Tannehill, will also be a wrinkle in the quarterback's future.

The Bucs will be dependent on the whims of Tom Brady. The GOAT retired and then unretired last offseason, setting the stage for what's been a mediocre 2022 campaign. Brady will be a free agent this March and could be on the market for a new home for his age-46 season.

The Colts, Giants and Jets would likely be interested in Brady if he hit the open market. There's also a non-zero chance that Brady winds up deciding he wants one last year in New England to close his career, which would present head coach Bill Belichick with an interesting conundrum. Mac Jones has regressed in his second NFL season, calling into question whether he's the Patriots' long-term answer under center.

The Giants, perhaps the best team on this list, may wind up stuck with Daniel Jones in 2023 unless a better veteran option comes available. Franchise-tagging Jones and retaining him for one more season is the most likely option at this juncture, but it's far from a certainty.