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It's Desmond Ridder's time. And the Atlanta Falcons have approached his rookie season as though that time would come this year.

"I'm prepared for this," Ridder told reporters on Wednesday. "This is what they've been preparing me for. They didn't want to baby me."

Marcus Mariota has been the starting quarterback up until this point, but head coach Arthur Smith chose to make the switch to Ridder during the bye, giving him an extra week to prepare as the starter for Sunday's matchup with the New Orleans Saints.

Ridder, 23, has yet to play at all in the regular season after being Atlanta's Round 3 pick in the 2022 NFL draft. But he's felt as though the team has been preparing him for the possibility of seeing the field at any moment.

"It means going about the game plan how a 12-year vet, an eight-year vet, whatever it may be," Ridder told reporters. "Not putting on a wristband, (but) making me memorize every single play call, all the ins and outs, all the checks, all the cadence, just taking it like I've been in the league for eight years (even though) I've been in the league for six months."

Joe Burrow has drawn some comparisons to Tom Brady throughout his young career for his style of play and immediate NFL success, but the Cincinnati Bengals star doesn't make a big deal of it.

"I don't really pay attention to it. He's Tom and I'm Joe," Burrow said Wednesday, per Geoff Hobson of the team's official site.

"I really just think that I play the game my own way. I kind of have a little bit of everybody. I wouldn't say there's one thing I do the best. But I would say that I do everything with the best of them. I wouldn't say I really have a glaring weakness."

Burrow has emerged as one of the top young quarterbacks in the NFL, leading the Bengals to the Super Bowl last season in just his second year in the league. He was ranked the No. 5 quarterback in the NFL in a poll of league personnel before the season, with one offensive coach saying he "might be the closest thing" to Brady.

Former Brady teammates Kevin Faulk, Ted Karras and Alex Cappa discussed the comparisons this week for Jay Morrison and Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. Burrow also admitted there were some similarities in their game.

"I have the quick release," the quarterback said. "I've become really efficient with my lower body, getting the ball out and seeing the defense."

The Bengals are set to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, giving Burrow the first chance to go head-to-head against Brady.

Tom Brady's former teammate Rob Gronkowski believes the veteran quarterback will thrive as a Fox Sports analyst once he retires from the NFL.

"Tom's gonna kill it. ... He knows football like no other," Gronkowski told TMZ Sports. "He can break down any player at any time. He'll just present it to the screen, showing the strength and weaknesses. He can talk football like no other."

As for when Gronk thinks his old pal will retire, that remains to be seen.

"That dude's a beast," he said of the 45-year-old Brady. "He can go forever."

He joked that Brady could play until he was 68, but it hasn't looked like it this season. Brady has thrown for 3,585 yards, 17 touchdowns and five interceptions, completing 65.8 percent of his passes and taking 18 sacks. The Bucs are just 6-7, though they're still in first place in the awful NFC South.

It will be the first time since 2009 that Brady hasn't won 11 games as a team's starting quarterback, although the Bucs' issues run far deeper than him.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said Wednesday that interim head coach Jeff Saturday is a candidate for the team's permanent head coaching position.

When speaking to reporters, Irsay noted that Saturday is one of "a lot of great candidates" who are being considered for the job:

"I'm looking forward to the interview process. I think Jeff's a candidate, but there's a lot of great candidates out there. I think there's a lot of great candidates in college. I think the pool needs to be broadened somewhat more. There's some great college coaches that may be capable. There's some unknown coaches that may be capable."

Irsay took the football world by surprise in November when he named Saturday the Colts' interim head coach following the firing of Frank Reich, despite Saturday having no previous coaching experience beyond the high school level.

Reich had been the Colts' head coach for parts of five seasons, leading them to the playoffs in 2018 and 2020, but falling short in 2021 due to a late-season collapse.

The Colts were off to a 3-5-1 start when they fired him this season, and the offense was a disaster, which had led Reich to bench veteran quarterback Matt Ryan in favor of Sam Ehlinger.

Ryan was reinstalled as the starter when Saturday arrived, but it hasn't made much of a difference, as Indy is just 1-3 since Saturday took over.

The 47-year-old Saturday is best known for his 13-year run as a center for the Colts, during which time he was a five-time Pro Bowler, two-time first-team All-Pro and one-time Super Bowl champion. He also earned a Pro Bowl nod in his only season with the Green Bay Packers in 2012.

While Saturday was a great player, the jury is still out on his coaching ability, and he will likely need to finish the season strong in order to have a legitimate chance at the full-time job.

Irsay did not indicate any specific coaching candidates he is considering outside of Saturday, but it sounds like he is planning to look far and wide based on his comments regarding college coaches.

Not counting interim coaches, the Colts have had only four different head coaches since 2002, making them one of the more stable franchises in the NFL during that time.

They have been more tumultuous in recent years, though, and with only two playoff appearances in the past eight seasons, it is easy to see why.

The Colts have some big-time talent on defense and in the backfield in the form of running back Jonathan Taylor, but until they figure out their quarterback and coaching situations, they aren't much of a factor in the AFC.

Having settled into his new surroundings with the Baltimore Ravens, Roquan Smith is looking back at the lead-up to the end of his time with the Chicago Bears.

Speaking to The Athletic's Dan Pompei, Smith said Bears general manager Ryan Poles told him "numerous times" that he didn't plan to trade him.

"So I was like, 'I guess I won't be going anywhere.' He said we'd talk at the end of the season," Smith said.

After contract talks stalled in training camp, Smith requested a trade Aug. 9. He said in a statement: "The new front office regime doesn't value me here. They've refused to negotiate in good faith, every step of this journey has been 'take it or leave it.'"

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said on The Pat McAfee Show that Chicago made an offer that would have made Smith the NFL's highest-paid linebacker paper, but the deal was "way backloaded" with a high salary in the final season to inflate the average annual value.

Smith told reporters after returning to the Bears on Aug. 20 his trade request was denied and his "full focus" was on the regular season.

Prior to the Nov. 1 trade deadline, the Bears sent Smith to the Ravens for linebacker A.J. Klein and two 2023 draft picks, a second-rounder and a fifth-rounder.

Speaking to the media Nov. 1, Poles said he decided to move Smith because he felt it was "highly unlikely" the two sides would find common ground on a long-term extension.

The Bears drafted Smith with the eighth overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft. He made the All-Pro Second Team in 2020 and 2021.

Smith looks to have found a home with the Ravens. The 25-year-old has 36 combined tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks and two pass breakups in five games since the trade.

Baltimore has won four of five games and the defense is allowing 13.4 points per game since Smith arrived.

Despite speculation about his future with the Las Vegas Raiders, quarterback Derek Carr said Thursday that he is focused entirely on the task at hand.

When asked Wednesday whether he's thinking about where he will be in 2023 and beyond, Carr made it clear that he isn't concerning himself with that:

"To be honest, during the season I don't. I've always tried my best to—as I've gotten older in my career—just eliminate all of those things. ... Whenever you have a bad stretch of games or a losing stretch of games or anything like that, that stuff's going to happen. And so, for me, I don't. I should've been traded for eight years now, you know? It is what it is. We have passionate fans; they're passionate people that they just want to see us win. And so, when we don't, obviously they get mad. And they think, 'Oh, then we got to fix something,' and stuff like that."

Carr has spent his entire nine-year NFL career with the Raiders. But since the Raiders could cut him during the offseason and be left with only a $5.6 million dead cap hit, per Spotrac, there has been plenty of talk regarding whether the 2022 campaign could be his last one in silver and black.

The 31-year-old Carr signed a three-year, $121.5 million extension in April, keeping him under contract through 2025, but this season has been a hugely disappointing one for Carr and the Raiders.

After reaching the playoffs last season for the first time since 2016, expectations were sky high for the Raiders entering 2022. They acquired superstar wide receiver Davante Adams in a trade with the Green Bay Packers, signed pass-rusher Chandler Jones in free agency and hired longtime New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as their new head coach.

Carr has built a strong rapport with Adams and put up decent numbers, completing 62.0 percent of his passes for 3,117 yards, 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

However, the Raiders are just 5-8 on the season. They'll likely need to win out to even have a chance of reaching the playoffs.

The Raiders have had their fair share of bad losses this season, including three in a row to the New Orleans Saints, Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts in October and November.

They went on a three-game winning streak after that, but they suffered perhaps their biggest embarrassment of the season last week when they allowed quarterback Baker Mayfield, who had joined the Los Angeles Rams just two days earlier, to lead two touchdown drives in the final four minutes in a 17-16 Rams win.

With the Raiders losing to multiple non-playoff teams this season, it isn't outside the realm of possibility that some major changes could be on the way.

Carr is a solid quarterback, but it is fair to wonder how far he is capable of taking a team. The Raiders have never won a playoff game during his tenure.

The Raiders are currently in line for a top-10 pick in the 2023 NFL draft. If there are multiple quarterbacks in the class whom they like, that could make it easier for them to part ways with Carr.

The NFL has awarded five new grants through its Inspire Change social justice initiative, per the Associated Press.

The new national grant partners help focus on police and community relations:

• Atlanta Policing Alternatives & Diversion Initiative
• Chicago's Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement Co-Responder Program
• Choose 180
• Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services Community Assistance and Life Liaison Program
• Peace for DC

In 2020, the NFL announced it would commit at least $250 million over 10 years to help fight systemic racism. The league has now donated $244 million, with the five new grant partners receiving a combined $950,000.

The NFL also announced in June it would renew 21 national grant partners, totaling $6.5 million in donations.

Former NFL linebacker Takeo Spikes helped choose the latest grant recipients as part of the Social Justice Working Group, made up of three current players, three former players and five owners. Spikes discussed the value of the group:

It's awesome because everybody who sits in that room or everybody who has a seat at the table, we all have vested interest. And that vested interest is making sure not only that the communities are being serviced the way that they're supposed to, because we understand that we all have seats in these communities, but more than anything, it's our way of being able to give back and do something that's going to be monumental by having diverse people at the table that come from different backgrounds, different ethnicities.

The NFL also announced the creation of the Inspire Change Changemaker Award, with each of the league's 32 teams selecting a group or individulal as a "changemaker" who will each get $10,000 to donate to the non-profit of their choice.

The winners will be announced in Weeks 15 and 16.

Six months after announcing his retirement from the NFL, Danny Amendola says he would be willing to come back for one specific player.

Appearing on The Herd with Colin Cowherd (h/t Dan Lyons of Sports Illustrated), Amendola said he would "absolutely" return if Tom Brady called him.

"Tom's done a lot for me, and if he needs me, I'd always play for Tom," he added.

When the Buccaneers signed Cole Beasley in September, Amendola said on Inside the NFL he never got a call to join the team:

"[The Bucs] just signed Cole Beasley... I didn't get a call."

- @Edelman11

via @insidetheNFL pic.twitter.com/lg0YAvquHe

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) September 21, 2022

Beasley was only with Tampa for two weeks before announcing his retirement. The 33-year-old ended his retirement on Tuesday when he was signed by the Buffalo Bills to join their practice squad.

Amendola and Brady spent five seasons together with the New England Patriots from 2013 to 2017. They had a terrific connection on the field, with Amendola ranking eighth among all Patriots players in passes caught from Brady (271).

The Patriots played in three Super Bowls during that five-season stretch, winning twice. Amendola led all players with 152 receiving yards in New England's 41-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 52.

Amendola left the Patriots as a free agent in March 2018 when he signed a two-year deal with the Miami Dolphins. He remained a productive player, but his run with New England was the most high-profile stretch of his career.

After stints with the Dolphins, Detroit Lions and Houston Texans, Amendola officially announced his retirement on July 25.

Wouldn’t have it any other way. pic.twitter.com/DbU0Ubrgkf

— Danny Amendola (@DannyAmendola) July 26, 2022

At the time of his announcement, Amendola had offers on the table from multiple teams to continue playing.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa seemingly isn't too concerned about the possibility of cold and snowy weather when the Dolphins face the Buffalo Bills on the road Saturday night.

While speaking to reporters Wednesday, the former University of Alabama star made it clear that he has experienced snow before, saying: "It snowed in Alabama my first year. So it snows in Alabama, guys. People don't know that."

With regard to the weather on Saturday, Tua added: "Could be snowing, could rain, I don't know. It's a mindset thing, really, and if I'm too focused and worried about, is it too cold? Can I grab the ball or not? Then I'm focused on the wrong things and it'll be hard to play that way."

Tagovailoa may have seen snow before, but as a native of Hawai'i who played his college football in Alabama and plays his pro football in Florida, it hasn't likely been often.

Per the National Weather Service, the most snowfall in a single year in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, dating back to 1948 is seven inches back in 1959-60. Since then, Tuscaloosa has never had more than four inches in a single year.

Meanwhile, the Buffalo, New York, area often reaches or exceeds 100 inches of snow in a year and got up to 97.4 inches in 2021-22, according to the National Weather Service.

Buffalo is already at 36.9 inches in 2022-23 after the massive storm that hit the area last month, forcing a scheduled home game against the Cleveland Browns to be moved to the Detroit Lions' Ford Field.

Weather is often unpredictable and difficult to forecast in Buffalo, but all signs point toward Saturday being the worst weather game of Tua's career.

The Bills' stadium is located in Orchard Park, New York, and per Weather.com, Saturday's forecast is predicting up to three inches of snow, winds of up to 15 mph and a low temperature of 26 degrees.

When the Dolphins played a road game against the Los Angeles Chargers last week, they used heaters on the sideline in 55-degree weather, which has left many to wonder how they will handle the harsher conditions in Buffalo.

Weather was a major factor in the Dolphins' 21-19 Week 3 win over the Bills, as the extreme heat was a struggle for many of Buffalo's players, especially along the offensive line.

While Miami had the advantage that time, cold and snowy weather figures to play right into the hands of the Bills on Saturday.

The 10-3 Bills can clinch a playoff spot with a win over the 8-5 Dolphins, and while a win wouldn't clinch the AFC East, it would put Buffalo on the precipice of a third consecutive division title.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones suggested this week that the organization still has interest in free-agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

According to ESPN's Todd Archer, Jones provided a somewhat cryptic message when asked about the Cowboys signing OBJ at the NFL owners meetings, saying: "I don't want to talk about that, but stand by. This thing could break."

Beckham, who is still working his way back from a torn ACL suffered during the Los Angeles Rams' Super Bowl win over the Cincinnati Bengals last season, has visited with the Cowboys, New York Giants and Buffalo Bills over the past couple of weeks.

Jones noted that Beckham still isn't fully ready to play, but explained why the Cowboys continue to keep tabs on him and could ultimately sign him: "Great players make great plays. Great ones make exceptional plays. And so I hope we advance here where a handful of great plays, if I may be arm waving about it, could be the difference in a world championship."

At times this season, there were some who thought that Beckham would sign with a team, return to the field during the latter part of the regular season and be primed for a strong run in the playoffs.

Beckham himself seemed to shoot down the idea of seeing any regular-season action last week when he said he doesn't "see the point" of playing before the postseason.

Now, doubt is creeping in regarding whether he will play at all this season, with ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reporting Wednesday that "several" NFL teams believe OBJ is leaning toward sitting out the entire 2022 campaign and signing with a new team after the season.

The speculation was fueled this week by two of the teams in the thick of the Beckham pursuit signing other veteran wideouts.

Buffalo brought back slot receiver Cole Beasley, who played for the team from 2019 to 2021 and appeared in two games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season before retiring. Meanwhile, the Cowboys signed longtime Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton.

Jones' comments seem to suggest that the signing of Hilton doesn't preclude the Cowboys from signing OBJ, but their receiver room is getting a bit crowded with Hilton joining CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup and Noah Brown.

When healthy, the 30-year-old Beckham is a potential game-changer, and the Rams learned that last season.

OBJ was a Pro Bowler in each of his first three seasons with the Giants from 2014 to 2016, but injuries slowed him down in subsequent years, and he was waived by the Cleveland Browns last season before signing with L.A.

Beckham went on to record 27 catches for 305 yards and five touchdowns in eight regular-season games with the Rams, followed by 21 grabs for 288 yards and two scores in four playoff games.

While the Cowboys are 10-3 and have one of the NFL's best offenses statistically, they haven't received consistent production from their wideouts outside of Lamb.

That is why interest in Beckham seemingly still exists, but there are no guarantees when it comes to OBJ seeing any on-field action this season.