Buccaneers

Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers are set to square off with the Rams in Week 12, where Mayfield played in 2022 before he arrived in Tampa Bay. Mayfield said his stopover in Los Angeles was “pivotal in my career.” 

“There is no way for me to sugarcoat it — it was pivotal in my career and in my journey,” Mayfield said, via the team’s YouTube. “I’ve told you guys that it helped me find the fun in football again — that joy. And just, getting to learn from those guys. Obviously, it looks a lot different now that Raheem Morris is gone, Zac Robinson [is gone], Liam [Coen is gone], but Sean [McVay has] been there the whole time. They helped me out and helped me discover what offense I really want to play in, and the responsibility that comes with [it] — a lot of accountability at the line of scrimmage and to check and get to the right plays. Yeah, it was instrumental in my career, something I am forever grateful for, and it will be fun to go back and see some familiar faces.”

Mayfield said he got a lot of feedback from Matthew Stafford during his time with the Rams. 

“I think I gained an even [greater] level of respect for him about communication, about how he wanted certain routes, certain schemes to be done,” Mayfield said. “When you’re at that level — that year, I guess — in your career, you kind of run the ship. Just had a lot of respect for him before, but seeing it in person on how detailed he really was in exactly what he was going to try and check to, that was big seeing it in person.”

Eagles

There have been headlines this season regarding the disconnect between WR A.J. Brown and QB Jalen Hurts. When recording his podcast, former Eagles and retired WR DeSean Jackson said he has a great relationship with Brown and that something is going on between the two behind the scenes. 

“It’s something else going on. I got a great relationship with him (AJ). I respect him. I can’t say it. But I know it’s something else going on. It’s not all about football. It’s not all about Xs and Os. I’ve had Situationships with quarterbacks I didn’t necessarily like. And when it ain’t there, it sticks out like a sore thumb. That’s all I’m gonna say,” Jackson said, via John Clark.

Panthers

The Panthers are set to square off with the 49ers in Week 12, marking the first time San Francisco RB Christian McCaffrey will face his original team after being traded from Carolina in October 2022 in exchange for second, third, and fourth-round picks in 2023, along with a 2024 fifth-round pick. One anonymous league source familiar with the trade discussions pointed out to David Newton of ESPN that the trade was imperative for the Panthers to land Bryce Young, as Carolina had sent San Francisco’s second-round pick to the Bears in a package for the No. 1 overall pick. 

“It was never like an epiphany, like, ‘What a great idea! Let’s trade Christian McCaffrey,'” said. “But to get a quarterback, you have to sacrifice.”

Another league source who was involved in the trade discussions mentioned that Carolina had just four picks in the 2023 NFL Draft before making the trade. 

“It was never, ‘Oh, the team has to get rid of McCaffrey,'” the league source said. “It was more prompted by teams were calling and the prospects of having multiple picks for him was what was most enticing. The cupboard was bare. I don’t think anybody thought [Carolina] won this deal.”

A league source familiar with the decision-making process said former interim HC Steve Wilks wasn’t involved in the trade, and that the organization was clearly making a “two- or three-year decision.” 

“Steve’s task was to win games,” the league source said. “You don’t get better immediately by trading your best player. It was a two- or three-year decision.”