NFL News Updates

Author: nfltalk

  • Michigan State football’s in-state prospects in 2026

    Michigan State football’s in-state prospects in 2026

    Which state of Michigan prospects could end up in East Lansing?

    Michigan State football is gearing up for the biggest recruiting month of the calendar year, with June being set up for official visits and trying to lockdown various prospects in the 2026 recruiting class.

    One thing is for certain under the Jonathan Smith regime in East Lansing, the Spartans are going to prioritize the Midwest, along with the state of Michigan. The Spartans currently hold two commitments from the state of Michigan in 2026, and that number appears that it could be growing.

    Over the course of the last week, Michigan State coaches have made their way around the state of Michigan, talking to various prospects and making their presence known within the state’s recruiting scene.

    Check out the various in-state prospects that the Spartans are gearing up to pursue in the 2026 recruiting class:

    MSU commits

    Michigan State currently holds the commitments of QB Kayd Coffman and OL Eli Bickel, both of which are from the state of Michigan.

    4-star RB Kory Amachree

    The No. 1 running back on MSU’s big board, Haslett running back Kory Amachree is getting the full court press from the Spartans coaching staff.

    3-star OL Khalief Canty

    The No. 1 offensive lineman left on MSU’s big board is Detroit Cass Tech’s Khalief Canty. A 6-foot-5 offensive tackle, Canty has garnered national attention, and comes from one of the best high schools in America at producing pro talent.

    4-star DB Marcello Vitti (Iowa commit)

    An in-state prospect that is currently committed elsewhere, Michigan State and Michigan are both making runs at Dearborn Divine Child’s Marcello Vitti. As of now, though, Iowa is holding strong in their commitment. Vitti is a 6’0″ athlete that can play either side of the ball, but most likely projects to defensive back.

    3-star WR Samson Gash

    The Spartans offered the…

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  • If active NFL players are in play, the selection of the U.S. men’s flag team will become very interesting

    If active NFL players are in play, the selection of the U.S. men’s flag team will become very interesting

    The NFL hopes to persuade the various owners to get behind the idea of allowing active players to participate in the 2028 Olympics flag football tournament in part by limiting participation to one player from each NFL team.

    That will make for some interesting decisions regarding which players from each franchise will be the one to be permitted to play.

    Presumably, more than one player per NFL team will want to do it. It could make for some interesting debates as to who gets to go.

    Then there’s the question of who will pick the Olympics flag football team, and how the decisions will be made. Will the U.S. Olympic Committee pick the players? Will there be a qualification process? A competition?

    Owners will want to minimize the occasions for players to get injured. They’ll want the team to be hand picked.

    Then there’s the argument made last year by current U.S. flag football quarterback Darrell “Housh” Doucette that it’s “disrespectful” for NFL players to horn in on the flag turf and that Doucette would be a better pick than Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

    If the owners pass the resolution allowing active players to play, it will be only the beginning of a process that will entail tough choices for the USOC — and heated conversations about which player from each team will be allowed to play. And whether the U.S. men’s flag football team members for the other three years and 50 weeks will be told to take a seat and allow NFL players to play a version of the sport that is very different from 11-on-11 tackle.

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  • Whispers of a dark-horse CFP run pit Illinois against the program’s fiercest rival — preseason expectations

    Whispers of a dark-horse CFP run pit Illinois against the program’s fiercest rival — preseason expectations

    You’ll have to forgive Illinois football fans for wincing when the words “playoff contender” or “this year’s Indiana” are tossed about as liberally as they have been this offseason. Not because the comparison to Indiana is misguided — it is, as the Hoosiers were coming off a 3-9 record last season with a first-year coach while Illinois won 10 games in 2024 — but because Illinois and expectations have gone together like oil and vinegar.

    You’ll hear a lot about how Illinois returns nearly every key starter from last year’s team. You’ll also hear about third-year starting quarterback Luke Altmyer, who hasn’t posted gaudy numbers the last two seasons but has routinely found ways to make big plays when his team needs him most.

    What you don’t hear much about is this: the last time Illinois both started and ended a season ranked in the AP Top 25 was 1990.

    Back in 1990, Illinois was coming off a 10-2 season under John Mackovic that ended with a win over Virginia in the Citrus Bowl. That team was led by Jeff George, and although he left to become the No. 1 pick in the 1990 NFL Draft, the Illini began 1990 ranked at No. 11. They barely clung on, finishing the season 8-4 and ranked No. 25.

    While they’d be ranked for a few weeks in 1991, Illinois wouldn’t enter the AP Poll again until 1994 when it began the season at No. 21. The Illini would finish 7-5 and only spend three weeks in the poll that year. And it’s been a common theme for them since.

    Illinois began the 1994, 2000, and 2008 seasons ranked and finished those three seasons with a combined record of 17-18. An inability to sustain success has dogged the program since the late 1950s, which is precisely what Bret Bielema was brought in to fix ahead of the 2021 season.

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  • 49ers, Brock Purdy agree to five-year, $265 million contract extension

    49ers, Brock Purdy agree to five-year, $265 million contract extension

    San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is about to become a very rich man. According to CBS Sports NFL Insider Jonathan Jones, Purdy and the Niners have agreed to terms on a five-year, $265 million contract extension. The deal includes $181 million in total guarantees and $165.05 million in the first three years, according to NFL Media. Per NBC Sports, $100 million is fully guaranteed at signing.

    The $53 million average annual value on the deal ranks tied for seventh at the position, behind only Dak Prescott, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Jordan Love, Trevor Lawrence and Tua Tagovailoa. The reported $181 million in guarantees, if accurate, would rank eighth and the fully-guaranteed-at-signing number would rank 12th. The total value of $265 million is fifth behind Patrick Mahomes, Allen, Lawrence and Burrow.

    Purdy, of course, was the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He took a circuitous route to becoming San Francisco’s starter, with injuries to both Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo thrusting him into the lineup down the stretch of his rookie season. He performed at such a high level in his five-start audition and the playoffs that year that he was named the team’s full-time starter in 2023.

    In his 36 career starts, Purdy has consistently put up elite passing efficiency numbers. He’s completed 67.5% of his passes at an average of 8.9 yards per attempt, with 64 touchdown passes and 27 interceptions. In 2023, he made the Pro Bowl and finished fourth in MVP voting while leading the league in yards per attempt, touchdown rate, quarterback rating and QBR. 

    His numbers took a step backward in 2024 as the supporting cast atrophied around him, but he still averaged 8.5 yards per attempt (third-best in the league) and finished fifth in expected points added per dropback. Since he entered the league, he actually leads the NFL in EPA per dropback, according to Tru Media. He’s gone 23-13 as the…

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  • Cam Ward not being scheduled for a primetime game is a rarity for No. 1 overall QB

    Cam Ward not being scheduled for a primetime game is a rarity for No. 1 overall QB

    The Titans used the No. 1 overall pick on quarterback Cam Ward. Yet, the Titans are one of only three teams not to have a primetime game.

    NFL Vice President of Broadcast Planning and Scheduling Mike North explained the league’s reasoning for shutting out the Titans.

    “We kind of have this adage that you play your way into primetime,” North told Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. “You don’t draft your way into primetime. So the Titans are one of the teams that don’t currently have a national television window assigned. But that’s what things like flexible scheduling are for. And if you look down the stretch for the Titans, they play San Francisco in Week 15, Kansas City in Week 16. They’ve got the same opportunity every other team has to play their way into a national window.”

    That’s all well and good, but the past two No. 1 overall picks — Bryce Young with Carolina in 2023 and Caleb Williams with Chicago in 2024 — had multiple night games as rookies despite both their teams coming off 7-10 seasons.

    The last No. 1 overall pick not to have a primetime game was edge rusher Myles Garrett with Cleveland in 2017.

    The last quarterback drafted No. 1 overall not to have a primetime game as a rookie was Cam Newton with Carolina in 2011.

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  • Ohio State football players argue which state produces most talent

    Ohio State football players argue which state produces most talent

    It’s an age old debate. Which state produces the most football talent?

    It’s not an easy question to answer because the change in demographics and population in this country has changed significantly over the last few decades. Yes, Ohio has historically been a football hotbed. I mean, there’s a reason the NFL Hall of Fame is in the Buckeye state, right?

    As the population of this country has moved south and west, however, is Ohio still the football state it used to be? Has Texas, Florida, and California — even Georgia and Louisiana — surpassed Ohio in high school talent?

    Obviously, it’s hard to take the bias out of question like this, and doing it on the campus of THE Ohio State will probably get you different answers than, say, Florida State, but the OSU football creative team decided to put that debate out there in the universe, or at least in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

    Watch as current Ohio State football players walk by the question of which state produces the most football talent and how they respond. The answers vary from Ohio to Florida, to California, to even South Dakota and Wisconsin (you can probably guess who raised that false flag).

    Look, I’d love to say Ohio is king here, but it’s simply not true anymore. Florida is the right answer, followed closely I’d say, by Texas and California. More people equals more people playing football. It’s simple, right?

    Tell me I’m wrong and back it up.

    Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

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  • Caleb Williams wanted to spurn Bears and play for this team in 2024, plus 22 crazy NFL schedule quirks

    Caleb Williams wanted to spurn Bears and play for this team in 2024, plus 22 crazy NFL schedule quirks

    Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! 

    With the 2025 NFL schedule now out, there are no big events left until training camp, so you might be wondering what we’re going to be talking about in this newsletter for the next two months, and although I have no idea, it will be something, because the NFL news cycle never sleeps. 

    That being said, the important thing is that I do know what we’ll be talking about today, and that’s the schedule. After breaking down the schedule yesterday, we’re going to break it down even more today by taking a look at the craziest quirks and tracking which teams will be traveling the most miles. 

    As always, here’s your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. Let’s get to the rundown. 

    1. Caleb Williams didn’t want the Bears to draft him

    Getty Images

    If Caleb Williams had gotten his way in the NFL Draft last year, he definitely wouldn’t have ended up in Chicago. That’s the main takeaway from “American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback,” a book by ESPN’s Seth Wickersham. ESPN revealed a few tidbits from the book on Thursday and there were some bombshells. 

    Williams wanted the Vikings to draft him. After meeting with Kevin O’Connell at the 2024 NFL Combine, Williams decided that he absolutely wanted Minnesota to draft him. “I need to go to the Vikings,” he told his father. Williams’ dad, Carl, actually passed the request on to Bears general manager Ryan Poles, but Poles made it clear that the Bears would be drafting Caleb “no matter what.” The twist here is that the Bears will be opening their 2025 season against the Vikings in a Monday night showdown. I’m guessing Williams will be asked about this quite a few times…..

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  • Big 12 post-spring power rankings: Arizona State eyeing CFP return, Texas Tech rises behind strong portal haul

    Big 12 post-spring power rankings: Arizona State eyeing CFP return, Texas Tech rises behind strong portal haul

    Getty Images

    The Big 12 remains the most unpredictable mass of teams in college football, but it’s still worth trying to work through the weeds. Three teams are tied for first place in odds to win the conference, but no one has better than 6-to-1 odds to win the league. 

    While many of the top contenders in the conference boast rosters full of returners, an offseason of movement hangs above the field. Texas Tech, for example, put together arguably the nation’s best transfer class. Utah revamped its offense with quarterback Devon Dampier and offensive coordinator Jason Beck. Houston and Colorado added high-profile quarterback transfers. 

    With all the movement and a razor thin margin between success and failure in the conference, we power ranked all 16 teams heading into the second year of this version of the conference. Remember, Arizona State went from picked last to winning the league last year, so everything is subject to change. Hopefully this time around, we can be a little more accurate. 

    Big 12 spring overreactions: Colorado’s focus shifts to defense under Deion Sanders, BYU remains underrated

    Shehan Jeyarajah

    Odds to win the 2025 Big 12 championship in parentheses, provided by FanDuel Sportsbook.

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