Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
I’m going to start off with some news that’s so crazy, you might not even believe it: There is going to be actual football played in just ONE WEEK. The Chargers and Lions will be taking the field next Thursday in the Hall of Fame Game. It will mark the first time since 2000 that an NFL game will be played in the month of July.
We’re not here to talk about that game, though. We’re here to talk about practice, so please cue Allen Iverson.
“We in here talking about practice. I mean, listen: We talking about practice. Not a game. Not a game. Not a game. We talking about practice.”
Yup, we’re talking about practice. In this newsletter, we’ll be sharing some takeaways from the first few days of training camp practices around the league, plus we’ll be taking a look at the Justin Fields injury scare that went down at Jets’ practice.
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. Training camp takeaways: Early standouts and who’s off to a rough start
Getty Images
With all 32 teams now in training camp, Thursday will mark the first time that all 32 teams will be practicing, and we’re going to celebrate the occasion with an early round of training camp takeaways. Garrett Podell has been monitoring every practice that has gone on around the league this week, and he came up with a few notable observations.
STANDOUTS
- LB Isaiah Simmons (Packers). Former top 10 pick Isaiah Simmons, whom the Packers signed to a one-year contract this offseason, made a strong first impression on Josh Jacobs. “He’s kind of a unicorn at that position,” Jacobs said of Simmons, via USA Today. “He can run. We can put him out on guys in the slot, and he can cover guys. Really man, I can’t wait to see him in pads. I want to see how physical he is.”
- WR Kyle Williams (Patriots). During one of the 11-on-11 periods, quarterback Drake Maye hit Williams with a quick throw in the flat, and the rookie then showed his eye-popping speed. He caught the ball around the hashes and suddenly hit a new gear, easily scooting past his nearest defender to pick up a chunk of yards after the catch. Just two plays later, Williams made arguably the play of the day, beating 2024 All-Pro corner Christian Gonzalez on the sideline for a completion.
ROUGH START
We’ve got a lot more training camp takeaways, and you can check them out here.
2. Justin Fields carted off the field: QB suffers injury at training camp
If you’re a Jets fan who has been holding your breath for the past three hours, it sounds like you can exhale. The Jets got a big scare Thursday when Justin Fields had to be carted off the field at training camp.
Here’s what you need to know:
- Aaron Glenn says it’s a toe injury. The Jets head coach said Fields suffered an injury to his right toe. The upside is that this isn’t a calf or an Achilles injury, which could have sidelined Fields for a substantial amount of time. The downside is that the severity of the injury still isn’t known. When you have an injured toe, it’s something that could put you out anywhere from one day to one month.
- How Fields got injured. Fields took a snap during team drills, and although no one appeared to touch him, he went down after throwing a pass. According to Glenn, it’s very possible Fields simply got his toe stepped on by a teammate. Fields had to be carted off the field, but it should be noted he rode shotgun in the cart.
- Tyrod Taylor will fill in for now. The Jets have an experienced backup quarterback in Taylor, and if Fields has to miss any time, Glenn said they’ll be confident with the veteran QB under center, “He’s been around this league for 14 years. The leadership he brings, we’re all good,” Glenn said.
We’ve got the full details on Fields’ injury here.
3. Agent’s take: The proposal that could end Trey Hendrickson’s contract standoff with the Bengals
USATSI
Trey Hendrickson officially missed his first practice of training camp on Wednesday, which means he’s going to be hit with a $50,000 fine. And the Bengals are allowed to fine him $50,000 per day all the way through August if he doesn’t show up. The two sides have come close to agreeing on the total value of the contract, but what they can’t agree on is how the guarantees should be structured. Hendrickson has already said the Bengals have made an “atrociously low” offer when it comes to guarantees.
So, what needs to happen for this standoff to end? Glad you asked. Former NFL agent Joel Corry came up with a proposal that should make both sides happy. He took a look at the larger guarantees offered in some prior Bengals’ contracts over the past decade and then created a proposal based on those numbers.
Taking all of the factors of the negotiation into consideration, here’s the offer Corry came up with:
- Length: Three-year extension
- Average yearly salary: $38.5 million
- New money total: $115.5 million ($131.5 million over four Years)
- Overall contract guarantees: $51 million
- Fully guaranteed at signing: $51 million
- New money in existing year (2025): $36.5 million (31.6%)
- New money through first new year (2026): $59 million (51.08%)
- New money through first two new years (2027): $84 million (72.73%)
Why both sides would sign off on this deal: The Bengals wouldn’t be asked to set any new team contractual precedents with this type of deal for Hendrickson. … Hendrickson would have $75 million in the first two contract years running through 2026. Out of the $22.5 million in 2026, $15 million would be either an option bonus or a fifth-day-of-the-2026-league-year roster bonus. There would be $100 million in cash after the first three contract years.
Here is the link to Corry’s full story. Someone please send that to the Bengals and/or Hendrickson’s agent.
4. NFL teams are making a lot of money: Packers reveal their finances
When it comes to the NFL, we don’t have an exact idea of how much money most teams are making because they don’t have to reveal those numbers. However, since the Packers are publicly owned, they have to share their finances every year, which is the one time when outsiders get a look at just how well NFL teams are doing.
The Packers unveiled their financial report Wednesday, and here are a few key takeaways:
- The Packers got a massive check from the NFL. Every team in the league gets a revenue sharing check from the NFL each year, and this year, that check was for $432.6 million. With every team getting a check that size, that means the league cut 32 checks worth a TOTAL of $13.84 billion. This is why you should buy an NFL team if you can afford it.
- Profits were up for the Packers. Although the Packers got over $400 million from the NFL, that’s not profit. They have to pay their players, pay their employees and pay their coaching staff (there’s a lot of people to pay). Once all of their expenses were subtracted, the Packers ended up with a gross profit of $83.7 million, which was a 39.3% increase over last year.
- Packers were thrilled with their year. Packers president Mark Murphy, who’s actually retiring Friday, only had positive things to say about the team’s financials. “It was a successful year for the organization,” Murphy said. “The NFL’s popularity and success continues to set the stage for our club to do well, which puts us in position to continue to invest in the team and the stadium.”
We’ve got more on the Packers’ finances here.
5. Helmet watch: Packers unveil crazy alternate, Browns go all brown
Green Bay Packers
Over the past 24 hours, we’ve seen two teams unveil a new alternate helmet, and somehow, both helmets ended up being brown.
So which one is better? Let’s break it down.
- Browns unveil all-brown helmet. For the first time in franchise history, the Browns will be wearing a brown helmet this year (you can see it here). The Browns will be wearing their brown helmet in three different games this year, and they’ll be pairing it with their brown color rush uniforms. They’ll be breaking out the all-brown look in Week 3, Week 7 and Week 13.
- Snafu at the helmet unveiling. The Browns unveiled their helmet with a ceremony on Lake Erie, and like almost everything with the Browns, things fell apart. A photographer at the event fell in the water after walking straight off a platform. He was trying to take a picture of a large Browns’ helmet and didn’t realize the platform was ending. (You can see the video here.)
- Packers unveil wild new alternate helmet. The Packers also unveiled a brown alternate helmet, but this one is wild. The helmet has been painted to look like an old leather helmet, and you can see it here. (The Packers also released a video that shows off the intricate process of painting the helmet, which you can see here). The alternate helmet will be worn with a navy blue 1923 throwback jersey that the Packers also unveiled Thursday. The team will wear the throwback combo for one unspecified home game this year.
Over the past 17 days, we have seen a total of eight NFL teams unveil a new alternate uniform or helmet, and if you need a quick refresher on who those teams are, we’ve got a full list here.
6. Extra points: Giants giving starting QB job to Russell Wilson
It’s been a busy 24 hours the NFL, and since it’s nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you.
- Russell Wilson won’t face competition for starting QB job. It looks like Russell Wilson will definitely be the Giants starting QB in Week 1 against the Commanders. Head coach Brian Daboll was asked if Jaxson Dart or Jameis Winston might be able to win the job, but he made it clear that the job isn’t up for grabs, “These guys will be out here competing, but Russ is our starter,” Daboll. You can read his full comments here.
- Myles Garrett has high expectations for Browns. The Browns were one of the worst teams in the NFL last year, but Garrett thinks the team is going to be better in 2025. MUCH BETTER. “I expect to get to the Super Bowl,” Garrett said this week. “That’s our expectation every year. I expect to run back to Defensive Player of the Year.” Garrett had a few more things to say, and you can check them out here.
- Cardinals first-round pick dealing with injury. Walter Nolen, who was taken with the 16th overall pick this year, is dealing with a calf injury that’s going to cause him to “miss some time,” according to head coach Jonathan Gannon. According to NFL.com, the injury might keep Nolen out for the rest of training camp.
- Dolphins player still in hospital. Offensive lineman Bayron Matos was seriously injured at the end of the practice Wednesday. The injury was severe enough that Matos had to be airlifted to a trauma center. The Dolphins announced Thursday that he “has movement in all extremities and is in stable condition.” You can read more about Matos here.
