With training camps underway, here’s a look at the top position battles to watch for teams in the AFC South:
WIDE RECEIVER | Robert Woods vs. Nico Collins vs. Tank Dell vs. John Metchie: Quarterback could have been the choice here, but it’s all but assumed C.J. Stroud will be Houston’s No. 1 QB at some point this season. When Stroud takes over the job, he’s going to need one of these four receivers to separate himself as a legitimate go-to option. Woods seems like the obvious choice as he’s the most experienced (14 seasons) and has had 40 or more receptions and 527 yards receiving or more every year since entering the league in 2013. He’s also 31 and showed signs of not being fully recovered from an ACL injury suffered two seasons ago.
Collins hasn’t been targeted more than 66 times in either of his two seasons. He could be in position for a breakout year with a QB who’s not only accurate, but likes to sling the ball. Dell and Metchie are promising young guns who could form the foundation of a strong passing attack with Stroud for the next decade.
CORNERBACK | Kenny Moore vs. Tony Brown vs. Julius Brents vs. Darius Rush: With Stephon Gilmore now in Dallas and Isaiah Rodgers handed his walking papers following his indefinite suspension for gambling violations, the cornerback depth will surely be challenged. Moore has started 11 or more games in each of the past five seasons, and he’s the only cornerback on the roster who played more than 125 coverage snaps last season.
Moore is likely penciled in as the default No. 1 CB, but he could get competition from Brents, who had four interceptions, four passes defensed, 3.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble last season for Kansas State and was a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Brown, who played in just three games in 2022 but has 49 games of NFL experience, could factor in as well, as could fifth-round rookie Rush.
LEFT TACKLE | Walker Little vs. Anton Harrison: With starting left tackle Cam Robinson serving a four-game suspension to start the season, the Jaguars appear to be rolling with Little at left tackle and Harrison, the team’s 2023 first-round pick, on the right side. Little has 560 snaps on the left side over the last two seasons, allowing 23 pressures, 16 hurries and four sacks, per Pro Football Focus.
Keep an eye on Little, though, early in the season. In the first four weeks, he'll face strong pass-rushers DeForest Buckner and Kwity Paye of the Colts, Chris Jones and Felix Anudike-Uzomah of the Chiefs, Will Anderson and Jerry Hughes of the Texans, and Calais Campbell and Bud Dupree of the Falcons. If Harrison has a strong camp and outplays Little, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him at LT and Little moved to the right side.
RIGHT TACKLE | Jamarco Jones vs. Jaelyn Duncan vs. Andrew Rupcich vs. George Fant?: Offensive line is not only Tennessee’s biggest question; it's also the team’s biggest mess as well. The Titans don’t appear keen on moving first-rounder Peter Skoronski, who played tackle at Northwestern, from left guard to tackle while Nicholas Petit-Frere serves a six-game suspension for gambling, leaving a hodgepodge of backup-caliber players to battle it out. Though he missed all of last season, Jones has 36 games of experience (seven starts), and he was recruited at Ohio State by Titans head coach Mike Vrabel. He should be the early front-runner.
Duncan, a 2023 sixth-round pick out of Maryland, is a dark horse. At 6-foot-6 and 306 pounds, he looks the part, but he’ll have to answer questions about how he’ll hold up against NFL-caliber pass-rushers. Fant is included because although nothing has been officially announced regarding his status, the Titans published a photo of him arriving to their team facility on Tuesday for the start of camp. It appears he’s likely to sign sometime soon. If he does, his 60 career starts make him a logical choice to take over with Petit-Frere sidelined.
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It is no secret that the relationship between Micah Parsons and the Dallas Cowboys is not on solid ground, but that does not necessarily mean it is tarnished beyond repair. On the latest episode of his podcast, which was released on Tuesday, ESPN's Adam Schefter predicted that Parsons and the Cowboys are "headed towards divorce." Schefter said the two sides have not spoken since April and that it seems like a matter of when — not if — they part ways. Longtime NFL reporter Josina Anderson was told the situation is not quite that grim, at least from the Cowboys' perspective. Anderson reported on Tuesday evening that the relationship between Parsons and Dallas "has not deteriorated to the point of an imminent divorce." "I did not detect any obvious tones of concern in my sourced conversation when I recently asked about ESPN's Adam Schefter's report stating he sees 'these two sides headed towards a divorce, in time.' ... I just feel Dallas has so much history with protracted (and) sensitive negotiations, thus my current impression is the club remains unrattled, at this time," Anderson wrote in a post on X. Parsons is earning just over $24M in the final year of his rookie contract this season. The 26-year-old had 12 sacks in 13 games last season and has 52.5 sacks in 63 career games. Parsons is arguably the best pass-rusher in the NFL when healthy. Although Parsons has formally requested a trade, the Cowboys maintain that they have no intention of dealing their four-time Pro Bowl defensive end. The only real leverage Parsons has is creating a headache in Dallas. He remains under contract, and the Cowboys also have the ability to use the franchise tag on him in each of the next two seasons. If Parsons were to sit out regular-season games, his contract would eventually toll. Even with Jerry Jones publicly taking shots at Parsons, one massive contract offer could change everything.
The Green Bay Packers are dealing with some concerning injuries to significant members of their roster. As their fans are well aware, the Packers have seen multiple wide receivers projected to be at the top of the depth cart go down during training camp with various injuries. Christian Watson, of course, has not been practicing all offseason as he is recovering from a torn ACL suffered in Week 18 against the Chicago Bears. In addition to him, the Packers also played their previous preseason game without Romeo Doubs (back), Jayden Reed (foot) and Dontayvion Wicks (calf). And while Doubs returned to practice this week, Reed and Wicks remain out. Elsewhere around the NFL, other teams are dealing with injuries of their own, and some involve players that are former Packers. Former Green Bay Packers running back Patrick Taylor is out for the 2025-26 NFL season One of these players is former Packers running back Patrick Taylor, who played in Green Bay from 2021-2023. An undrafted free agent who often filled in as Green Bay’s third running back, he accumulated 261 rushing yards and a touchdown in his three seasons with the Packers. He found himself out of a job when the Packers revamped their running back room before the 2024 NFL season. Taylor ended up with the San Francisco 49ers last season and had the best year of his career with 183 rushing yards and a touchdown while appearing in 13 games. He will not be playing any games this season as San Francisco just put him on season-ending injured reserve: NFL teams can only have so many players on an injured reserve list. Interestingly, Taylor’s injury led to the 49ers to release another former Packer, wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown, who was placed on injured reserve last week. In order to release an injured player, teams and that player must come to an injury settlement, which St. Brown received. He is now free to sign with any team in the NFL should he be able to pass a physical.
Cleveland Browns insider Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland/The Land on Demand noted late Sunday night that head coach Kevin Stefanski was "undoubtedly" going to name veteran Joe Flacco the team's Week 1 starting quarterback as soon as Tuesday. It turns out Stefanski didn't need to wait that long. Kelsey Russo of the Browns' website confirmed on Monday afternoon that Flacco will serve as Cleveland's QB1 for its regular-season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7. That post officially ended what truly became a quarterback competition in name only after presumed backup Kenny Pickett suffered a hamstring injury on July 26 that kept him out of the club's first two preseason games. Even before Pickett experienced that setback, there was no indication that Stefanski wanted to start either 2025 third-round draft pick Dillon Gabriel or 2025 fifth-rounder Shedeur Sanders against the Bengals. Gabriel missed Cleveland's 30-10 win over the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 8 because of a hamstring issue but then had a solid outing in the Browns' 22-13 win over the Philadelphia Eagles this past Saturday. Sanders played well against Carolina but sat out the Eagles contest because of an oblique injury. As for Flacco, the perception exists that the 40-year-old didn't need preseason reps to be ready to go for the Cincinnati game. During the 2023 season, the one-time Super Bowl MVP won four of five starts to guide the 2023 Browns to a playoff berth. For a piece published shortly before the Browns shared their expected announcement, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated mentioned that other players in the Cleveland locker room "know Flacco is their best option" regarding Week 1. Breer added that "the Browns are comfortable keeping four quarterbacks" on their active roster through at least the early parts of the upcoming season. As of Monday, it was unclear if Pickett will be able to play in Cleveland's preseason finale versus the Los Angeles Rams this coming Saturday. One wonders if Pickett will push to take the field on Aug. 23 so that he can audition for a team that may feel its long-term answer at the position isn't on the roster today. Then again, Browns general manager Andrew Berry may elect to hold onto Pickett until Stefanski decides that either Gabriel or Sanders is ready to face a live defense in a meaningful game. For now, the Cleveland starting job is officially Flacco's to lose for the first time since January 2024.
In June, quarterback Aaron Rodgers revealed that one reason he agreed to a team-friendly contract to join the Pittsburgh Steelers was because he was "pretty sure" he would retire following the 2025 season. It sounds like Rodgers' teammates could already have him thinking twice about those plans. During the latest edition of the "Not Just Football with Cam Heyward" podcast, Pittsburgh wide receiver DK Metcalf suggested that Rodgers could "run it back" with the Steelers for the 2026 season. "Maybe," Rodgers responded, as shared by Ross McCorkle of Steelers Depot. Numerous reports have detailed how Rodgers has impressed his teammates and coaches with how he hasn't been "too big for anyone" ever since he inked his contract. That said, it remains to be seen how Rodgers' body will respond when he starts taking hits in meaningful games. Rodgers largely looked like a shell of his former self last season coming off the torn Achilles he suffered in September 2023. He also reportedly dealt with a serious hamstring issue, a nagging hip problem, injuries to both his knees and a low ankle sprain before he turned 41 in December 2024. Earlier this summer, Rodgers hinted that he wanted to finish his career "the right way" with Pittsburgh. He expanded on his mindset during the podcast. "I've had a 20-year career," Rodgers added. "I've had a lot of success, accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish. But I fell in love with this game when I was five years old. And I wanted to get that love back to where I felt like it should be in the twilight of my career." Signing Rodgers was a win-now move for a franchise that has lost five straight playoff games and that last notched a postseason victory in January 2017. If Rodgers turns the clock back and guides Pittsburgh on a memorable playoff journey, he could be asked to stick around as a bridge option at the position. One wonders how Metcalf and other Steelers players will view Rodgers after he faces the New York Jets, his former team, in Pittsburgh's regular-season opener on Sept. 7.