NFC South

The Carolina Panthers' starting quarterback position is reportedly Baker Mayfield's "to lose."

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the state of the quarterback battle on Monday after Benjamin Allbright of KOA Colorado reported Carolina was "shopping" Sam Darnold but "can't get takers" because of his salary.

From Inside Training Camp: More on the #Panthers QBs and why it’s Baker Mayfield’s job to lose. pic.twitter.com/Hlzs3kOgBX

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 8, 2022

Darnold is scheduled to make $18.9 million in 2022 after the Panthers picked up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract.

Though Darnold started 11 games for Carolina last season, the team used a third-round pick to draft Matt Corral this offseason before acquiring Baker Mayfield in a trade with the Cleveland Browns.

Mayfield and Darnold have split first-team reps through training camp, while head coach Matt Rhule said he won't make a decision until at least after his Week 2 preseason game against the New England Patriots.

"I'm not putting a timetable on the quarterback position until after we get back from the Patriots week," Rhule told reporters on Saturday. "The Patriots week is a true litmus test for us. That will really show us where guys are."

It now seems despite the ongoing quarterback competition, the Panthers would be willing to part with Darnold for the right price.

The 2018 No. 3 overall pick is coming off a disappointing year with Carolina, totaling nine passing touchdowns with 13 interceptions and a 71.9 passer rating that ranked 29th out of 31 qualified players.

These struggles came after totaling a 78.6 rating across three seasons with the New York Jets.

Darnold has shown some bright spots in his career, including the start of 2021 when he had five passing and five rushing touchdowns over his first four games. The Panthers began the year with a 3-1 record before eventually falling to 5-12.

The team now appears to want a fresh start at the position, with Mayfield getting his opportunity to prove himself.

Though Mayfield also had an up-and-down 2021 season, the 2018 No. 1 overall pick has an 87.8 career passer rating with 97 touchdowns (five rushing) and 56 interceptions. His 235.4 career yards per game are more than any single season of Darnold's career.

It could be enough to help the Panthers improve offensively after finishing 29th in points scored last year.

Linebacker Kiko Alonso has reportedly decided to retire from the NFL one day after signing a contract with the New Orleans Saints.

WWL-TV's Brooke Kirchhofer reported the news Saturday.

Alonso last played during the 2019 season with the Saints. He was traded to the San Francisco 49ers during the 2020 campaign while on the physically unable to perform list and never made an appearance for the organization.

The 31-year-old Massachusetts native sat out the entire 2021 season before signing with New Orleans on Friday.

After Alonso's first and final practice with the team Friday, Saints head coach Dennis Allen said the linebacker looked physically ready to make an impact.

"We have some familiarity with the player, he did a nice job on his workout," Allen told reporters. "He was in shape, looked good. And when he's been healthy, he's been a productive player in our league. And so, that was kind of what drew us to him."

Alonso started his NFL career as a second-round pick of the Buffalo Bills in the 2013 draft.

The University of Oregon product enjoyed a terrific rookie season with 159 total tackles, which ranked third in the league, to go along with four interceptions, four passes defended, two sacks and a forced fumble across 16 appearances.

He missed 2014 with a torn ACL suffered during an individual workout and was dealt to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015 as part of a blockbuster trade for running back LeSean McCoy.

After playing one season in Philadelphia, Alonso enjoyed a resurgence during a three-year tenure with the Miami Dolphins beginning in 2016. He recorded at least 115 total tackles in every season over that period and scored his only career touchdown in a November 2016 game against the San Diego Chargers.

He wrapped up his on-field career with 31 tackles in 13 games for the Saints in 2019.

Desmond Ridder swapped his No. 9 jersey from his days at Cincinnati for the No. 4 jersey with the Atlanta Falcons, and there's a pretty simple reason for the switch.

Ridder said he messaged linebacker Lorenzo Carter after the draft to ask if he'd be willing to give up No. 9, but he turned Ridder down. The rookie signal-caller knew he likely could have bought the number from Carter but chose not to make an offer.

"I'm a frugal guy," Ridder said, per ESPN's Michael Rothstein. "I think the number change can wait."

The Falcons selected Ridder in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft out of Cincinnati. He had an impressive senior season with the Bearcats, completing 64.9 percent of his passes for 3,334 yards and 30 touchdowns against eight interceptions in 14 games.

The 22-year-old isn't expected to be named Atlanta's starting quarterback in 2022 with the addition of Marcus Mariota, but he could be the franchise's starter at some point in the future.

If he takes over the reins, he'll likely be able to get that No. 9 jersey back a little easier.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Tom Brady was excused from Friday's training-camp practice to handle a personal matter.

Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk reported Brady's absence from the session.

Backups Blaine Gabbert and Kyle Trask assumed the reins of the Bucs offense.

Brady rarely misses any game action, starting every possible regular season and playoff game in the past five years. The last time he didn't play in a game was because of a suspension in 2016, while the last game missed with an injury was when he tore his ACL in 2008.

The quarterback has still dealt with various ailments, including a knee injury suffered in 2020 that required offseason surgery. Though he wasn't on the injury report at any time during the season, he was reportedly planning the procedure for months.

He also dealt with various injuries during his time with the New England Patriots, playing through elbow and thumb problems at different points.

It hasn't done much to slow down the 45-year-old, who continues to play at a high level.

Brady led the Buccaneers to the Super Bowl title in his first year with the team, taking home his seventh career title and fifth Super Bowl MVP award. He followed it up with 5,316 passing yards and 46 touchdowns during the 2021 season, leading the league in both category.

Tampa Bay kicks off the preseason Aug. 13 with a home game against the Miami Dolphins. It was previously announced the future Hall of Famer won't play in that contest.

The New Orleans Saints are reportedly expected to sign linebacker Kiko Alonso after he worked out at team facilities Thursday.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the Saints plan to "take a shot" on the veteran linebacker despite Alonso having not played a down since the 2019 season.

Alonso suffered a torn ACL during the Saints' NFC Divisional Round matchup against the Minnesota Vikings in 2020 and was not medically cleared to play during the following season. The San Francisco 49ers, who traded for Alonso in November 2020, released him after he was unable to pass a physical three weeks after the deal was completed.

Alonso sat out the 2021 season as well.

A 2013 second-round pick to the Buffalo Bills, Alonso looked like a star in the making during a stellar rookie campaign, racking up 159 tackles and winning the PFWA NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. He suffered his first torn ACL while working out ahead of the 2014 season, forcing him to miss that entire campaign.

The Bills traded Alonso to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015, and he struggled to find his former form and suffered a partial tear of the same ACL he tore a little more than a year prior. The Eagles moved on after only one season, sending Alonso to Miami, where he revived his career and posted three 100-tackle seasons before being sent to New Orleans ahead of the 2019 season.

For his career, Alonso has racked up 588 total tackles in 86 career games. It's likely he'll compete for a backup spot on the Saints roster over the course of training camp. That said, soon-to-be 32-year-olds with a history of significant knee issues rarely make much of an impact.

Being the No. 6 pick in the 2022 NFL draft doesn't guarantee Ikem Ekwonu a spot in the starting lineup for the Carolina Panthers.

Speaking to reporters after Wednesday's training camp practice, head coach Matt Rhule said Ekwonu has "got a long way to go" before the regular season begins.

"He does some things really well naturally," Rhule added. "He's unbelievably powerful and talented. But there's a lot to this game. There's a lot of nuances and techniques and all those things. He has a long way to go. He'll get there, but every day he's gotta work."

The Panthers used their top pick this year to add Ekwonu with the hope he could upgrade their offensive line. They graded as the second-worst unit in the NFL during the 2021 season, per Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus.

Ekwonu had a successful three-year stint at North Carolina State. He was awarded the ACC Jacobs Blocking Trophy given to the best blocker and was a unanimous All-American selection in 2021.

The Athletic's Joe Person noted on Aug. 1 that Ekwonu was working at left tackle with the second team. Brady Christensen was playing with the first team.

Given how much the Panthers have invested in Ekwonu, it would be in their best interest if he was able to start right away. But it sounds like the 21-year-old will have to show a lot over the next month to be with the No. 1 unit in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 11.

Trevor Penning has gotten off to a rocky start with the New Orleans Saints.

The rookie offensive tackle was kicked out of the team's practice on Wednesday after getting into fights on three consecutive days with Saints defenders, per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk and NFL writer Dov Kleiman.

#Saints rookie 1st round pick, OL Trevor Penning, has been kicked off OTAs on Wednesday after starting a fight at practice for 3 consecutive days.https://t.co/ZYj5yMJcdg

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 3, 2022

Per Smith, defensive lineman Malcolm Roach—who Penning fought on Wednesday—was also kicked out of practice.

On Monday, Penning scrapped with defensive ends Payton Turner and Taco Charlton.

#Saints went full pads today, and first-round pick Trevor Penning no doubt enjoyed the change in training camp. Penning and Payton Turner with some extra curricular activities after the whistle. pic.twitter.com/yzdtZU8Eod

— Garland Gillen (@garlandgillen) August 1, 2022

On Tuesday, it was defensive back J.T. Gray and defensive end Scott Patchan.

Rookie offensive lineman Trevor Penning continues to make friends with the #Saints defense. First he got into with J.T. Gray, then it was Scott Pachan. pic.twitter.com/BkqpRb08Wd

— Garland Gillen (@garlandgillen) August 2, 2022

"We don't have time for that," Saints head coach Dennis Allen told reporters regarding Wednesday's fight between Penning and Roach.

There was a mixed reaction to the situation on Twitter, meanwhile:

You'd rather have a lineman being told to tone it down than ramp it up. Penning will learn how to practice over this month... But I promise the Saints love this attitude https://t.co/v2EcDi9HMf

— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) August 3, 2022

Also look around the league. Brandon Aiyuk and Fred Warner went at it yesterday. It's camp. Things get chippy. All I'm saying is let's just chill for a second.

— Chris Rosvoglou (@RosvoglouReport) August 3, 2022

One of the vets needs to get with Penning and tell him to stop taking his own guys to the ground in practice. Dudes can get hurt when you tackle them into spots like this.

I get “practicing how you play”, but coaches HATE when you go to ground in practice. Just shouldn’t do it. https://t.co/HTQC5Ow8eV pic.twitter.com/LMESDwAXlm

— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) August 2, 2022

"Just two competitive guys going at it," Gray told reporters about his dust-up with Penning on Tuesday. "Just giving extreme effort and going out there and holding the standard of Saints football."

Penning, 23, was the No. 19 overall pick in this year's draft, and the scouting report on him from Lance Zierlein of NFL.com noted that the young tackle "plays with a level of disgust for anyone lining up against him and seeks out violent block finishes when possible," adding that he will need to "learn to control and harness his on-field fire."

Scraps happen at training camp, but one player fighting three days in a row has to be somewhat of a concern for the Saints. Come game time, the worry will be Penning losing his cool and drawing bad penalties or being baited into fights.

A nasty streak has traditionally been a good trait for a lineman to have, but not if it regularly costs the offense 15 yards due to unsportsmanlike conduct or unnecessary roughness penalties.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady will not play in the team's preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins, head coach Todd Bowles announced Wednesday.

Brady, who turned 45 on Wednesday, has been given extremely limited action during recent preseasons. He attempted just 16 passes in two preseason games a year ago and will likely be on a similarly short schedule this year.

Blaine Gabbert will likely open the Bucs' preseason opener under center, with second-year quarterback Kyle Trask getting a significant amount of work as well. Trask was a 2021 second-round pick and has already gotten more extensive looks in camp than a year ago.

There is a certain level of irony in Brady sitting out against the Dolphins, given the franchise clearly wishes he was their starting quarterback. The NFL stripped Miami of its 2023 first-round pick and 2024 third-round pick for tampering violations related to impermissible contact with Brady and former New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton.

A league investigation found the Dolphins contacted Brady twice while he was under contract with other teams, in 2019 with the New England Patriots and last year while he was with the Bucs. The Dolphins also attempted to bring in Payton despite the Super Bowl-winning coach not yet announcing his retirement.

In other words: Dolphins fans will not even get to watch the man who cost them their 2023 first-round pick in action in the preseason.

Legendary quarterback Tom Brady rejects the notion that players choose to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers simply because of his presence.

According to ProFootballTalk's Michael David Smith, Brady expressed his belief that it is the entire package presented by the Buccaneers organization that appeals to free agents, saying:

"Naturally, I'm an older player, and I've been very fortunate to know a lot of guys. Guys choose this team because of the team, not because of me. We have a great organization, great teammates, and I think people are excited to come join a great group of people, a great group of men. It's never about one person. That isn't ever what this sport is about. It's the ultimate team sport. I love playing with players that are professional, players that want to work hard, and players that put the team first."

The most recent example of a big-name player choosing the Bucs occurred last week when potential future Hall of Fame wide receiver Julio Jones signed a one-year deal with Tampa.

Whether Jones' decision was based solely on Brady or the entire package, there is no question that Brady has made the Buccaneers a far more desirable destination.

Prior to Brady's arrival in 2020, the Bucs had missed the playoffs in 12 straight seasons and hadn't had a winning record since 2016.

Brady changed that immediately, leading Tampa to an 11-5 record and a Super Bowl win in his first season at the helm. That marked the seventh Super Bowl win of Brady's career when combined with the six he won as a member of the New England Patriots.

Last season, the Bucs won the NFC South with a 13-4 mark and returned to the playoffs, but they fell to the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional Round.

Brady announced his retirement after the season, but that only lasted for about a month before he announced he was returning for a 23rd NFL season at the age of 45.

While observers have long assumed that Brady will drop off eventually, that hasn't been the case, as he continues to perform at an elite, MVP-caliber level.

Last season, Brady enjoyed one of the best statistical campaigns of his career, completing 67.5 percent of his passes for a league-leading 5,316 yards and 43 touchdowns.

Given that level of performance, there is little doubt that players are drawn to the Buccaneers because of him, especially when it comes to skill-position players like Jones.

Even after tight end Rob Gronkowski retired for a second time, Brady will have an embarrassment of riches at his disposal in 2022 with wideouts Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Russell Gage and Jones, as well as tight end Cameron Brate and running back Leonard Fournette.

Brady also has the benefit of a top offensive line and a strong defense, and there is no question that his play had a significant hand in helping the Bucs put together arguably the best overall roster in the NFL.

There's no shortage of opinions every year in fantasy football. Show me an analyst who is sure that Cooper Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams will repeat as the No. 1 wide receiver in fantasy football, and I'll show you another convinced that 2022 will be the year of Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings.

However, where the first overall pick is concerned, there's less debate. It may not be unanimous, but the overwhelming majority of fantasy experts believe the No. 1 pick should be used on Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor.

It's not hard to see why—Taylor paced the NFL with 1,811 rushing yards last year, over 550 more than the next-closest back. Taylor recorded 2,171 total yards, found the end zone 20 times, and was fantasy football's highest-scoring running back in points-per-reception scoring systems.

But there's another player. A running back who has shown the ability to post not just RB1 numbers but truly historic ones. A player who owns not only the single-best season at the position over the last 16 years but is also capable of blowing every other running back in the league (Taylor included) out of the water. A player who can give fantasy managers a massive, league-winning edge over the competition.

That player is Christian McCaffrey of the Carolina Panthers, who was my first pick at No. 2 overall in a recent fantasy draft written up here at Bleacher Report.

Given the audible groaning and copious eye-rolling emanating from the stands after that statement, we might as well get the case against McCaffrey out of the way first.

Injuries.

There's no sugarcoating it—McCaffrey's last two seasons have been a mess. In 2020, he played in just three games due to ankle, shoulder and leg injuries. Last year, McCaffrey missed 10 games and was in and out of two more with hamstring and ankle problems.

All told, that's 23 missed games over two seasons and quite a few fantasy teams wrecked because of it. But the thing is, if injury concerns are your sole reason for fading McCaffrey early, then you should be fading Taylor, too. In fact, you should pick a wide receiver first overall.

Because injury concerns just go with the running back position.

Josh Hermsmeyer of RotoViz (h/t Kevin Tompkins of Fantasy Alarm) conducted a seven-year study of injury rates and found that running backs are 200-360 percent more likely to suffer a serious injury (four or more weeks lost) than wide receivers.

We've seen that play out with elite running backs in recent years. After leading all running backs in PPR points in 2019, McCaffrey missed most of the 2020 season. Derrick Henry topped 2,000 rushing yards last year, only to miss more than half of the 2021 campaign with a broken foot.

It's also worth noting that both McCaffrey's 2019 season and Henry's 2020 campaign put them in the crosshairs of "The Curse of 370." Long story short, running backs who eclipse 370 touches in a season tend to experience a significant drop-off the following year.

Taylor touched the ball 372 times in 2021. Just saying.

All injury histories aren't created equally, either. McCaffrey's issues over the past two years haven't required surgery, and he hasn't suffered repetitive injuries to the same body part. In the opinion of Dr. Deepak Chona at Rotoballer, McCaffrey's durability is no more concerning than any other back's.

"Yes, he missed time due to injury in each of the last two seasons. However, if you look more closely, those injuries don't form a recurring pattern. Additionally, McCaffrey tends to be among the league's best pass-catchers at the RB position. On a per-play basis, receptions pose a lower injury risk than carries, so from a touch distribution standpoint, he actually fits the prototype for the type of RB worth betting on early."

For his part, McCaffrey told Steve Smith Sr. of the NFL Network he's 100 percent healthy this year and eager to get back after it.

"Yeah, I feel great. You know, I think that's an easy way to put it. This is the best I've ever felt. Luckily, I didn't have any surgeries, no operations or anything like that. Just a bunch of annoying injuries that kept me off the field. But once again, just taking it one day at a time. I feel great right now, and that's all I'm really focused on. It's just practicing as hard as I can, recovering as hard as I can, showing up to every meeting with intent, and, you know, just putting my body, my mind and everything in the best position to succeed."

If that's the case, and McCaffrey really is 100 percent, then he could be on the verge of a massive season.

Back in 2018, McCaffrey topped 1,000 rushing yards, caught 107 passes, scored 13 total touchdowns and finished second in PPR fantasy points to Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants.

That was nothing compared to what he did in 2019. That year, McCaffrey went over the 1,000-yard mark in both rushing and receiving, caught 116 passes, found the end zone 19 times and finished as fantasy's highest-scoring running back by over 150 PPR points. That's over nine fantasy points per game better than any other back in the league.

Per StatMuse, McCaffrey has averaged just under 22.5 PPR points per game over his career—more than any other running back in modern history. More than LaDainian Tomlinson. More than Marshall Faulk.

Even in his injury-shortened seasons the past two years, McCaffrey's per-game production was outstanding. In 2020, he averaged just over 30 PPR points per game, nearly five more points per contest than eventual No. 1 back Alvin Kamara. According to Tompkins, McCaffrey averaged 23.6 PPR points per game in his five full games in 2021.

By weight of comparison, Taylor averaged 22.2 points per game.

In addition, McCaffrey isn't just an important part of the Panthers offense. He is the offense—the straw that stirs the proverbial drink. Over the past four years, McCaffrey has averaged 22.4 touches per game.

McCaffrey's career average of 6.2 catches per game extrapolates to 105 catches per 17-game season. A year ago, McCaffrey posted high-end RB2 numbers with his receiving usage alone.

Christian McCaffrey would have been RB14 in fantasy points per game in 2021 (15.4 FPPG).

WITH JUST HIS RECEIVING FANTASY POINTS IN FULL PPR.

If you like scoring fantasy points, there should be no doubt who the 1.01 is. For me, it's CMC and then the rest of the field in 2022. pic.twitter.com/kcRxlJg9CX

— Kevin Tompkins (Can Be Found On BlueSky) (@ktompkinsii) June 11, 2022

That is a jaw-dropping stat. But as we've already seen, it's far from the only one where McCaffrey is concerned. And even if Carolina scales back his workload a bit in an effort to help keep him healthy, he's a lock to see 20 touches every game.

Is there risk involved with drafting Christian McCaffrey? Yes. But there's risk involved with every running back. Injuries are a fact of life at the position, and the last time a league-leading fantasy back finished inside the top-five the following year was Ray Rice in 2011 and 2012. McCaffrey really isn't that much riskier than Taylor or Austin Ekeler of the Chargers.

The notion of "missing" with the first pick terrifies a lot of fantasy managers, so much so that they sacrifice upside for perceived safety. But there's no such thing as a completely safe pick.

McCaffrey isn't measurably riskier than other running backs, and he has a stratospheric fantasy ceiling that no other back can match.

The point of fantasy football isn't to draft the safest team. It's to draft the team that scores the most points. And where running backs are concerned, no one has the potential to score more fantasy points than McCaffrey.

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Gary Davenport is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year. Follow him on Twitter @IDPSharks.