NFL News Updates

Author: nfltalk

  • Why Chargers are confident Justin Herbert will be able to ‘attack down the field more’

    Jim Harbaugh shouted out free-agent additions, promising rookies, a former practice squad player and a second-year pro trying to build on his exceptional debut. While trying to highlight only offseason standouts, the Chargers coach instead used a winding answer to mention 12 different players.

    That type of depth is by design.

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    “The competitive waters are so heated,” Harbaugh said as the Chargers finished minicamp last week. “As it stands now, to get to 53, there would be some really good players that would have to not be on the 53. … It’s in a really good place right now because so many have been added or trained themselves to be in ascending place.”

    After three phases of organized team activities and a mandatory minicamp that saw nearly perfect attendance minus minor injuries or illnesses, the Chargers enter their summer break with confidence. Here’s what we learned about the Chargers during the offseason:

    Options on offense breed optimism

    Tre’ Harris is among the players at the forefront of the Chargers’ new-look receiving corps. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Associated Press)

    Adding just any receiver wasn’t going to be enough this offseason. Bringing in second-round draft pick Tre’ Harris, fifth-rounder KeAndre Lambert-Smith and free agent Mike Williams show a clear intention to add a significant vertical threat to an offense that generated the fewest passing yards of Justin Herbert’s NFL career.

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    “We’re certainly not going to be just bombs away every play,” offensive coordinator Greg Roman said, “but it’s going to allow us to attack down the field more, or at least present the opportunity to. We’ll hopefully have that aspect to our offense, as well our ground-and-pound mentality.”

    Harris, who averaged 17.7 yards per catch and 100.8 yards receiving per game in two years at Mississippi, earned more reps with the No. 1 offense as minicamp progressed, trading positions with Jalen Reagor while Ladd McConkey and Quentin…

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  • UNM football: 3 who committed and 3 who received offers (including Cleveland WR) over the weekend

    UNM football: 3 who committed and 3 who received offers (including Cleveland WR) over the weekend

    Jun. 16—New Mexico landed commitments from a trio of prep offensive lineman over the weekend, with all three entering their senior years. A look at the trio:

    OL Brody Litton (Beloit, Kansas)

    Summary: A rising senior at Beloit High School, Litton committed to UNM via a post on social media Sunday after receiving an initial offer in April. The 6-foot-6, 250-pound offensive lineman is being recruited as a tackle after he spent last season as a tight end and defensive end; Litton was named All-Class 2A honorable mention in 2024 after catching two passes for 32 yards.

    Litton held an additional offers from South Dakota, Eastern Illinois and Southern Illinois, and interest from Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, per 24/7 Sports. His father, Travis Litton, was a linebacker at Kansas State from 1997-99.

    OL Ty Gates (Peoria, Arizona)

    Summary: A rising senior at Centennial High School, Gates committed to UNM via a post on social media Saturday after receiving an initial offer in May. Like Litton, the 6-6, 280-pound All-District selection is a converted tackle after previously playing tight end at the prep level.

    Gates held an additional offer from Black Hills State University, a Division II school in Spearfish, South Dakota.

    OL Braden Chick (Queen Creek, Arizona)

    Summary: A rising senior at American Leadership Academy, Chick committed to UNM via a post on social media Saturday after receiving an initial offer in May. The 6-2, 285-pound interior offensive lineman held an additional offer from Army and interest from New Mexico State and San Jose State, per 24/7 Sports.

    Camp offers

    After UNM held a prospects camp Saturday, here's the list of campers to walk away with an offer:

    WR Jacob Maldonado (Albuquerque)

    Summary: A rising senior at Cleveland High School, the 5-11, 170-pound wide receiver caught 50 passes for 918 yards…

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  • Cardinals’ Calais Campbell embracing role as mentor, says he doesn’t want his knowledge going ‘to a graveyard’

    Cardinals’ Calais Campbell embracing role as mentor, says he doesn’t want his knowledge going ‘to a graveyard’

    While Joe Flacco doesn’t view himself as a mentor, Calais Campbell is fully embracing that aspect of his job as he enters his 18th season in the NFL. 

    Campbell, who will turn 39 in September, is back in Arizona, his NFL home during his first nine seasons. While he is still expected to perform at a high level, the Cardinals are also counting on Campbell to help mentor his young teammates, including 2025 first-round pick Walter Nolen and 2024 first-round pick Darius Robinson. Campbell, based on his recent quotes following Cardinals’ minicamp, is taking his role as a mentor rather seriously. 

    “I enjoy passing knowledge,” Campbell said, via the team’s website. “I feel there is no point for me to die with all this knowledge, to the graveyard at the end of my career. I have to share with as many people as possible. Especially people that are going to help us win ballgames.

    “If I help them to a level that’s better than me, then the team is better and I will find my role and make it work.”

    Campbell knows first-hand the kind of impact a veteran can have on a young player. He recalled being a “young buck” when former Cardinals All-Pro safety Adrian Wilson got on him following a practice. 

    “For him, it was just one day of him being a leader and he won’t even remember it,” Campbell said. “For me, it was a big impact on my career. I had to be better, and I got better because I wanted his respect. But I also learned, with leadership, you have to be able to communicate with guys and help them along the way, and sometimes it’s not being their best friend but being honest and direct.”

    It’s clear that Campbell’s mentoring has already made dividends. 

    “I want to learn as much as I can,” Robinson said when asked about Campbell. “He was here in the beginning. He shows the standard of what I expect from myself.”

    2025 NFL mandatory…

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  • John Lynch: 49ers offseason was “a little uneasy,” but necessary

    John Lynch: 49ers offseason was “a little uneasy,” but necessary

    The 49ers roster looks significantly different today than it did at the end of the 2024 season.

    A slew of free agent departures, the trade of wide receiver Deebo Samuel and the addition of 11 draft picks have been the biggest drivers of the new look for the NFC club. The exits helped fund new contracts for quarterback Brock Purdy, linebacker Fred Warner, and tight end George Kittle, but General Manager John Lynch admitted in an interview with Matt Maiocco of NBCSportsBayArea.com that it was “a little uneasy” between the wait between the departures and the moves the team made a little later in the offseason.

    Lynch acknowledged that the magnitude of the changes is “a tough pill to swallow,” but said the 49ers had to make them.

    “I think it spoke to how good our roster was,” Lynch said. “We had a lot of talent on it and we had acquired a lot of talent, accrued a lot of talent, and people saw that. . . . That’s the hard part, watching good players that are good people, and good people who help build the culture we have here, walk out the door. That’s never fun, but again, it was necessary, and happy where we’re at.”

    Lynch expressed optimism about the ability of the team’s draft picks to contribute right away and the team’s track record with talent acquisition and development provides support for that feeling, but the true test won’t come until everything is up and running in September.

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  • College football realignment: Why up-and-coming Texas State makes sense as final piece for a rebuilding Pac-12

    College football realignment: Why up-and-coming Texas State makes sense as final piece for a rebuilding Pac-12

    Barely 15 years ago, Texas State was playing football in the Southland Conference. Now, the Bobcats have quickly become the belle of the ball in FBS realignment. 

    Texas State has emerged as the “heavy favorite” to be given a formal invitation to join the Pac-12, according to an ESPN repprt. Texas State is facing a July 1 deadline to notify the Sun Belt if it wishes to leave for the 2026 season or its buyout will double from $5 million to $10 million. 

    Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State, San Diego State and Utah State are set to join Oregon State and Washington State as full members. Basketball powerhouse Gonzaga is also joining as a non-football member. The league needs one more all-sport member to join in time for the 2026-27 school year to be eligible to exist as a full NCAA conference. 

    Texas State was a power at the Division II level before moving up to I-AA in the 1980s, winning a pair of national titles under legendary coach Jim Wacker. Dennis Franchione helped transition the Bobcats to the FBS level in 2012, and the program landed in a resurgent Sun Belt one year later. Until Kinne arrived in 2023, though, the program posted eight straight losing seasons and zero bowl appearances. In two years, Kinne has notched 16 wins and consecutive First Responder Bowl victories in the past two years. 

    So why is Texas State such a hot commodity in the realignment world? It has everything to do with being in the right place at the right time. 

    Everyone wants a footprint in Texas

    The college football landscape has shifted dramatically over the past five years, and no state has felt those changes more than Texas. The Longhorns’ departure for the SEC shook the state. If Texas State ultimately leaves the Sun Belt for the Pac-12, it will…

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  • Eagles’ Lane Johnson explains why he’s getting close to his ‘peak’ at 35 years old

    Eagles’ Lane Johnson explains why he’s getting close to his ‘peak’ at 35 years old

    Lane Johnson is already a Philadelphia Eagles legend. He was a member of both of Philly’s two Super Bowls teams, has been tabbed an All-Pro five times, made six Pro Bowls and is now the longest-tenured Eagles player. While he just turned 35 years old and is set to enter his 13th NFL season, Johnson believes 2025 could be his best year yet. 

    “Now, I feel like even though I’m 35, I feel better than I was when I started (or when I was) 29 or 30,” Johnson said last week, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. “I had the (ankle) surgeries and so for me the toughest year was ’21 and you can go back and watch it, you can clearly see on film, I was very hindered with my left foot. 

    “And now, I feel like I’m getting close to maybe my peak. As weird as it is to say, but that’s truly how I feel. 

    “Maybe they need to do a Combine for guys 10 years (in the league), see how we do compared to 10 years ago.”

    Johnson may have a point. He has been named an All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl in each of the last three seasons, and his 88.7 PFF pass-blocking grade ranked fifth among all tackles in 2024. The legendary Eagle allowed zero sacks in the regular season, just one quarterback hit, six pressures and a 1.4% pressure rate.

    Barry Sanders gives reason why Eagles’ Saquon Barkley ‘should stick around for a little while’

    Bryan DeArdo

    This offseason, Johnson signed a one-year contract extension that will keep him tied to Philly through the 2027 season, and he said back in March it’s “very possible” he could play out this deal. 

    “I think when you get to this stage of your career, you take it year by year,” Johnson said. “Physically I feel really good. I was thinking a few years ago when I was coming back…

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  • Gophers football gains four commits Sunday – Twin Cities

    Gophers football gains four commits Sunday – Twin Cities

    The Gophers football program picked up verbal commitments from four players after the U’s second big official-visit weekend. The group of three-star prospects puts Minnesota at 20 total commitments for the 2026 class.

    Offensive lineman Lucas Tielsch, who is listed at 6-foot-7 and 300 pounds from Copley, Ohio, was the first pledge Sunday. He had other offers from Maryland, Purdue, Northwestern, Virginia Tech, Cincinnati and others. Minnesota has made offensive line a big priority in this class and now with five commits.

    Safety Jordan Lampkins, a 6-foot, 180-pound safety from Bolingbrook, Ill., picked the U over offers from Wake Forest, Toledo, Northern Illinois and others. The Gophers have had success with players from Bolingbrook, including brothers Jacob and Jordan Huff and Micah Dew-Treadway. He is the first safety in next year’s group.

    Interior defensive lineman Jeremiah Benson, a 6-foot-3, 265-pound defensive lineman from West Bloomfield, Mich., chose Minnesota over Iowa State, Fresno State and roughly 10 others. Michigan and Iowa were interested but didn’t offer. He committed to Northern Illinois but backed off it in May to become the U’s fourth D-lineman for next year.

    Tight end Gabe Weaver, a 6-5, 215-pound product from St. Louis, Mo., had no other offers from Power Four conference schools but had Charlotte, Western Michigan and other Group of Five schools. He has the highest 247Sports ranking of any commit this weekend, and is Minnesota’s first tight end for next year.

    The Gophers gained five commitments during its first big recruiting weekend in late May-early June.

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  • Just how gigantic is Jalen Carter’s next contract going to be? – NBC Sports Philadelphia

    Just how gigantic is Jalen Carter’s next contract going to be? – NBC Sports Philadelphia

    An early thought about what Jalen Carter’s next contract might look like, an all-time great Eagle who’s been snubbed by the Eagles Hall of Fame and the short list of defensive players who’ve earned more than Bryce Huff in their Eagles career.

    Only six more Roob’s 10 Random Eagles Offseason Observations until the start of training camp! Once you finish this one, only five more to go!

    1. Here’s a question to ponder: If Milton Williams is worth $26 million per year, what is Jalen Carter worth? Scary, right? Williams is a fine interior lineman and was very good in the postseason during the Eagles’ Super Bowl run. Carter is a flat-out monster, one of the three-best defensive tackles in football and already the best in Eagles history. And on Jan. 5, when his third NFL regular season ends, he’ll be eligible for a contract extension. Two things are virtually guaranteed: 1) Howie Roseman is not going to let Carter leave, and 2) Carter next offseason will become the highest-paid interior lineman in history. Chris Jones is currently tops with an average of $31.75 million per year through 2028, and he deserves it after three straight 1st-team all-pros, six straight Pro Bowls and three Super Bowl championships. Christian Wilkins is 2nd-highest with an annual average of $27.5 million through 2026, and he’s nowhere near the player Carter is. So what is Carter worth? Accounting for his vast potential and the ever-rising salary cap, we may be looking at the first $40 million interior lineman. Crazy? Maybe. But that’s where all the numbers are pointing. Carter just turned 24. He’s only been a starter for one year, and he’s got unlimited upside. Twenty-five NFL players are currently averaging $40 million per year, 23 of them quarterbacks, plus Ja’Marr Chase ($40.3 million annual average) and Myles Garrett ($40 million). Jalen Hurts is the highest-paid Eagle ever at $51 million per year and A.J. Brown is next at $32 million per year. But Carter will…

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