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For ages the NFL "Green Room" has been reserved for the top NFL Draft prospects expecting to hear their names called in the first round of the NFL Draft. But there could be a tweak to those invitations on the horizon.
It has long been a debate on whether to invite players who are likely to fall out of the first round. The classic scenes of top prospects waiting patiently for their names to be called also rank among the best in league history.
According to ProFootballTalk, the league may be expressing interest in changing all of that. Mike Florio wrote for the outlet that the pool of invitees could include a number of players who may note be picked until the third and final day of the draft.
"There was a time when the league invited players who were expected to be hanging around beyond the first night. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, there’s a current appetite to expand the pool of invitations to players who aren’t expected to be picked until the third day, when rounds four through seven play out," Florio wrote.
Florio explained that the idea stems from the presence of players like Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, who is a complete unknown as far as his draft status goes. Milroe has been invited to the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but for all anyone knows he may not be taken until midway through the whole thing.
Nobody wants to have a draft night like Aaron Rodgers or Will Levis. The scenes of the cameras constantly panning over to them and focusing in on their frustrated faces
But if the NFL decides to change the dynamic to simply have lots of different prospects with great stories waiting over the course of several days to hear their names called, maybe that's the way to go.
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Jeff Hafley hints at Lukas Van Ness growing into a problem
Luka Van Ness has been through two seasons in the NFL, but the Green Bay Packers linebacker hasn’t quite yet lived up to the hype that came with him when the team took him 13th overall in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. In his rookie season, the former Iowa Hawkeyes star played in 17 games and recorded four sacks. He took a step back in 2024, recording just three sacks in 17 games. His Pro Football Focus grade slid down from 64.0 in 2023 to 53.8 in 2024. But at least he’s been durable for Green Bay, having not missed a game thus far in his career. Availability is one thing, though. It’s what he does when he’s on the field that the Packers want to see improve. Year 3 for Van Ness could be where he truly breaks out, an exciting thought for the Packers, who were 12th in 2024 with a defensive sack rate of 7.42 percent. Packers DC shares 2025 outlook for Van Ness Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, who is entering his second year in the role with the team, is feeling optimistic about Van Ness. Here’s what Hafley said about Van Ness, via Green Bay’s official website. “He’s a year older. He’s got another year in the scheme. I think he’s starting to understand the position, how to use his hands, how to set edges, some pass rush tools, some counter moves. It was a good offseason for him truthfully. He did a good job at OTAs and then he left here and he put in a lot of work. He came back in really good shape, he’s healthy. I think he’s starting to feel comfortable. DeMarcus (Covington) has done a really good job with him and that entire group, but again, it’s still early.” At just 24 years old, Van Ness likely hasn’t reached his peak yet, and if he does take a leap in 2025, that should be a huge plus for the Packers.
Five biggest losers from the 2025 MLB trade deadline
The 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline was 6 p.m. ET on Thursday. Some teams managed to get better in either a short-term or long-term outlook. Other teams did not. We've already gone over the five biggest winners, which featured some surprising teams. Here we are focusing on the five teams that were the biggest losers. Minnesota Twins The good news for Twins fans is the team did not trade outfielder Byron Buxton or starting pitcher Joe Ryan. The bad news for Twins fans is the team traded pretty much everybody else. The worst news is the Twins have pretty much sabotaged any goodwill the team had built up in recent years, including their 2023 trip to the American League Division Series. Since then the Twins collapsed late last season, did very little in the offseason and then completely gutted the roster over the past two weeks, including a straight salary-dump trade of Carlos Correa to the Houston Astros, his former team. This is going to be a long, slow climb back to the top. Pittsburgh Pirates The Pirates had a chance to have a potentially impactful trade deadline with some intriguing trade chips in what had become a seller's market. They ended up trading closer David Bednar, third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes, starting pitcher Bailey Falter and relief pitcher Caleb Ferguson. They held on to pending free agents Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Tommy Pham and Andrew Heaney. What's so baffling about the trades they did make is that they gave up useful, productive players with years of team control still remaining, did not get a single highly-ranked prospect back in return and kept the players that are going to leave for nothing. The only winner here is owner Bob Nutting's bank account for all of the money he saved in the future by dumping Hayes' contract and potential arbitration years from Bednar and Falter. Chicago Cubs After paying a steep price to get outfielder Kyle Tucker in the offseason everybody in Chicago knew the clock was ticking on the Cubs to build a winner around him. He is a free agent after this season and seems determined to hit the open market for the highest bidder. Even though the Cubs have emerged as a contender, it was pretty clear as the season has gone on that they needed at least one more starting pitcher. They did not get one, and instead only added a utility infielder (Willi Castro) and reliever Taylor Rogers. While so many teams around them in the NL managed to get better, it's an underwhelming deadline performance for a team that should be going all in. Atlanta Braves It's not that the Braves did anything poor at the trade deadline that makes them losers. It's that they didn't do ... anything. At least not anything that they needed to do. None of their pending free agents were moved, no significant changes were made to a team going nowhere this season and the only move they did make was a marginal trade involving Rafael Montero. That is extremely underwhelming. Boston Red Sox The Red Sox were rumored to be in the market for a significant starting pitcher, including Minnesota's Joe Ryan. They did not make that sort of splash move, and instead added Steven Matz and Dustin May. For a team trying to hang in the American League playoff race, that is not really exciting. They also paid a steep price to get May, giving up one of the top prospects — outfielder James Tibbs III — they acquired in the Rafael Devers trade to the San Francisco Giants.
'Most likely scenario' for Terry McLaurin revealed
A recent report indicated that teams potentially interested in acquiring Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin learned that the club is "not trading" him before the 2025 season begins. The 29-year-old, who is in the final year of his current contract, may have responded to this news by requesting a trade on Thursday. However, ESPN's Bill Barnwell shared Friday that he doesn't "think there's a strong chance McLaurin gets traded" before September. "There's been no suggestion from the Commanders' side that they're looking to deal him, even after his request," Barnwell wrote. "Trading him now would likely result in landing 2026 draft picks, which won't help the Commanders in a season in which they're hoping to compete. And there just aren't many teams with the cap space or cash budget at this point of the offseason to give him the sort of deal he appears to want." McLaurin allegedly does not want to accept less money than DK Metcalf, who received a five-year, $150M deal from the Pittsburgh Steelers in March. Whether or not McLaurin "deserves" such an extension is irrelevant as it pertains to his importance to Washington and the market for players at his position. McLaurin finished the 2024 campaign with team highs of 82 receptions and 1,096 receiving yards as quarterback Jayden Daniels guided Washington to the NFC Championship Game and earned Offensive Rookie of the Year Award honors. Additionally, McLaurin was second in the NFL with 13 touchdown catches. As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Washington sixth among the betting favorites at +1800 odds to win Super Bowl LX in February 2026. That shows why Barnwell and others are convinced that acquiring future draft assets for McLaurin makes little sense for the win-now Commanders. "The logical thing is for McLaurin to stay with the Commanders, for the two sides to come to terms on a new deal or some sort of raise, and for Daniels to have his best pass catcher on the field in Week 1," Barnwell concluded. "It's still the most likely scenario." On Thursday, Nicki Jhabvala and Dianna Russini of The Athletic noted that "several teams that called Washington about [McLaurin] before his trade request on Thursday were told the team will not trade him." Commanders general manager Adam Peters seems to understand he still has plenty of time to work something out with McLaurin before Washington opens the regular season against the New York Giants on Sept. 7.
Vikings training camp recap, Day 8: Theo Jackson, J.J. McCarthy's day
Vikings safety Theo Jackson has been ready for the opportunity that's now in front of him for a while. Poached off of the Titans' practice squad as a rookie in 2022 after Lewis Cine got hurt, Jackson has impressed behind the scenes over the last three years in Minnesota. He shined on the scout team and was deserving of playing time, but he was blocked by Harrison Smith, Camryn Bynum, and Josh Metellus at his position. Over just 222 total defensive snaps, Jackson managed to record a couple interceptions (one in each of the last two seasons). Most of his work came on special teams. But this year, before Camryn Bynum departed in free agency, the Vikings bet on Jackson by signing him to a two-year extension for low-end starter money. Like they did with Josh Metellus two years ago, they locked in a player who they think is about to become a big-time contributor on their defense. All Jackson has done this offseason is validate that decision. He's been one of the standouts of training camp, making plays just about every day. On Wednesday, he snagged an interception off of Sam Howell to end the practice. "I always called Jonathan Greenard 'The Closer,' but when (Jackson) made that play to end practice the other day, people were coming up to me saying that Theo actually already had that nickname," Kevin O'Connell said. On Friday, Jackson secured two more picks. First, he athletically contorted his body to catch a J.J. McCarthy pass that had deflected off of Jordan Addison's hands. Later, he read and jumped in front of a route to intercept Howell for the second straight practice. "When you're doing things the right way, the ball finds you," Jackson said afterwards. "Really since we acquired him, he's always kind of been an ascending player," O'Connell said earlier on Friday. "But at times, with how deep that safety room was and has been, just without opportunity. But when coaches have identified having Theo in the game in some of those three or four-safety grouping defenses over the past couple years, we've had some real positive things happen. Any time he's around the football, in the deep part of the field or getting a vision or a key to break on something underneath, he's gonna make the play." Jackson is set to step into a major defensive role in 2025. He'll be on the field alongside Smith and Metellus whenever Brian Flores has three safeties in the game. That may not be an every-snap look like it was the last couple seasons, but it'll be quite common. And for as much as the Vikings liked Bynum, they feel like Jackson's ball skills and tackling ability will help him step into that role without the defense missing a beat. The daily McCarthy update The theme of J.J. McCarthy's training camp has been ups and downs. There were more ups early on and more downs this week, particularly during Tuesday's practice. But even if there was still some inconsistency, Friday may have been McCarthy's best day since he put on a show last Saturday. The practice started out nicely for the Vikings' No. 1 quarterback. His first throw, in a drill with three receivers going against three defensive backs, was a dime to T.J. Hockenson that the veteran tight end couldn't pull in. McCarthy's next throw was a perfectly-placed deep ball to Thayer Thomas. Later in that period, he rifled a ball with zip to Hockenson for a completion. 11-on-11 action didn't start as smoothly for McCarthy, who threw a ball behind Jalen Nailor and then threw the deflected pick to Jackson (which seemed to largely be Addison's fault). But he then found Hockenson again and connected with Addison for a big gain down the right sideline against the first-team defense, which has largely dominated so far in camp. One thing we've seen from McCarthy is the ability to bounce back and shake off bad reps. He missed a couple throws in the next period, then connected with Addison for another chunk gain. In a red zone period, McCarthy made an impressive throw on the move to find Lucky Jackson in the back of the end zone. To end practice, the Vikings did a situational period where the offense trailed 27-21 and had 1:15 (and one timeout) to go down and score a touchdown. McCarthy did well in that setting. He scrambled on the first play and then dinked and dunked his way down the field with short completions, taking what was available. He very nearly won the drill for the offense when he delivered a beautiful throw for a would-be touchdown that Nailor was unable to bring in (though there was a defensive penalty on the play). It ended with a sack and a completion inbounds that ran out the clock, which may have been on the receiver for not getting out of bounds. All in all, it was a solid day that McCarthy will look to build on. Other notes The Vikings' backup quarterback situation is worth keeping an eye on. Sam Howell usually takes all of the reps with the second-team offense, but he's had an underwhelming camp, including an interception in each of the last four practices (five total in camp). After his pick by Jackson on Friday, Howell seemed to lose that role briefly. QB3 Brett Rypien got more reps with the second-team offense than we've seen in any previous practice. Howell was back out there with that group in the situation drill at the end of practice, and was unable to lead much of a drive. I wonder if we could see more and more opportunities for Rypien and/or rookie Max Brosmer — or if the Vikings' QB2 for the regular season isn't currently on the roster. One of the more eye-catching plays of the day came on a short pass from McCarthy to Jordan Mason in the red zone. It looked like an easy completion until Dallas Turner popped Mason and jarred the ball out for a PBU. Turner continues to show up every day and impress (as does Mason, to be fair). It's only been a little over a week, but third-round rookie Tai Felton is another player having an underwhelming camp. On Friday, he slipped on an end-around, couldn't come down with a pass from Howell in the red zone, and then had some weird ball tracking on a deep ball from Howell on the final play of the day. It was a 4th and 15 desperation heave, but it actually looked like Felton had a chance to make a play if he had kept running under it instead of spinning his body too early. Of course, there's still all kinds of time for the rookie to find his groove. More Vikings coverage
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