Latest NFL Season Updates
Now that the calender has turned to August, we are just about three weeks away from college football starting up and a month away from the new NFL season. Yes, folks, football is almost upon us! The Thursday Night Football opener between the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens is so close we can nearly taste it.
Plenty of developments are occurring on and off the field as the 2024 NFL campaign rapidly approaches. Let’s look at some key recent updates regarding various teams throughout the league.
Love secures the bag with the Packers
There has been a spending spree on quarterbacks this offseason. That is nothing new, of course, but it has reached even greater heights in 2024 thanks to the increase in the salary cap. The latest beneficiary was Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love, who signed a four-year, $220 million contract extension last week. The $55 million average annual salary ties the largest in league history along with Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals and Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Is Love worth it? If the Packers are paying for what he has done in the past, then no. Of course, what they are paying for is what they think they will get down the road. In that case, there is always a chance Love lives up to the hype. Although his sample size of success is small, 2024 returns were very encouraging. In his first season as a starter, the former first-round pick threw for 4,159 yards with 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Love led Green Bay to a dominant wild-card win over the Dallas Cowboys before losing a heartbreaker in the divisional round against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Packers are +225 to win the NFC North this season, trailing only the Detroit Lions.
Chubb is progressing – albeit slowly – for the Browns
Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb suffered a torn ACL in September of last year. Fast forward 10 months, and following multiple surgeries, he is back on the field. That’s not to say the former University of Georgia standout is anywhere close to being ready for competition. Chubb has been doing some full-speed sprints in addition to various agility drills following practice. According to general manager Andrew Berry, the team is hopeful that Chubb will play in 2024. An exact date for a possible return remains very much unclear.
Before 2023, Chubb rushed for over 1,000 yards in four consecutive seasons – including a career-best 1,525 in 2022. His absence left a glaring hole in the backfield, where Kareem Hunt and Jerome Ford eventually shared most of the workload. Hunt is now a free agent, so the Browns’ RB depth chart currently features Ford, D’Onta Foreman and Nyheim Hines.
Cleveland is +145 to make the playoffs.
Aiyuk’s standing with the 49ers remains in limbo
For much of this offseason, the question has seemed to be “when” versus “if” in the case of the San Francisco 49ers’ potential plans to trade wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. An unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, Aiyuk could be shipped elsewhere if the 49ers don’t think they can re-sign him. As it stands right now, San Francisco is not willing to meet Aiyuk’s asking price. He currently ranks 11th among NFL receivers in average annual salary, and six players at his position this offseason alone have signed larger deals. Teammate Deebo Samuel said last week that he is hopeful something gets done, but to say that it is in limbo would be an understatement.
Aiyuk caught at least 75 passes in each of the past two years, and he exceeded the 1,000-yard mark on both occasions. The Arizona State University product has scored 25 touchdowns during his four-year career, including 15 in the past two seasons. Quarterback Brock Purdy has benefited from having one of the best pass-catching corps in the business, but that could change in a big way if Aiyuk is gone.
The 49ers are +250 favorites to win the NFC and +600 to win the Super Bowl – behind only the Kansas City Chiefs.
Rodgers loses his cool at Jets practice
Chubb is not the only big name returning from a devastating, season-ending injury in 2023. In the first game of his New York Jets tenure, veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles’. Rodgers dropped hints that he was attempting to return later in the year, but that was just bait for the media to cover something that wasn't going to happen.
The four-time NFL MVP should at least be ready for the start of Week 1 in 2024. He is already on the practice field at training camp and mixing it up with his teammates. Rodgers got in a verbal spat with WR Garrett Wilson this past weekend and was livid at WR Allen Lazard when a dropped pass resulted in an interception.
Despite those minor issues that every team has to work out this time of year, if Rodgers stays healthy for the duration, the Jets should improve as they bid for their first winning season since 2015. New York’s AFC East odds are right around those of the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins in what should be the most competitive division in football.
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