Big NFC South showdown tonight—believe it or not, if the Saints win, a 4–8 Panthers team that fired its coach in-season would find itself a game out of first. Speaking of Carolina …
• The Panthers’ amicable split with Baker Mayfield makes sense for everyone involved. The quarterback wanted out and went to GM Scott Fitterer asking for the opportunity to go elsewhere. Mayfield only played in two of the Panthers’ last seven games, cutting him now ensures the 2024 draft pick Carolina is sending Cleveland will be a fifth-rounder, rather than a fourth-rounder, and the Panthers save $1.35 million if someone picks up his deal.
So this is all pretty clean?
Well, not exactly. Unless he clears waivers Tuesday, Mayfield won’t have power over his destination, and his relatively affordable number for the rest of the year (again, that $1.35 million) makes it more likely he get picked up off the wire. And sure, the Niners make a lot of sense, given their situation at quarterback, and Mayfield’s background having played for Gary Kubiak disciple Kevin Stefanski in Cleveland. But they’re 24th in line on waivers now.
Jim Dedmon/USA TODAY Sports
There are some teams in front of San Francisco that make sense, too. The Texans, first in the order, could take a flier. The Saints loved him coming out of college, and are slotted seventh (which is subject to change with tonight’s result). Would it be worth it for Tampa, at 16, to get a look, given they might have a hole at the position after the season? Maybe Tennessee, for that matter, at 21 would make some sense. Then, you have the three NFC West teams—the Rams (3), Cardinals (8) and Seahawks (20)—that could take him to block the Niners.
All of it is pretty interesting, and even though Mayfield has struggled this year, he does remain an interesting player.
“He's a good locker room guy,” said one Carolina staffer on Monday. “Very smart, [enough so] to pick up an offense quickly. I actually think he’d be good in the San Francisco offense. [Kyle] Shanahan would be good for him.”
And selfishly, that storyline—Mayfield as the Niners’ savior—would be pretty good for business, too. So we’ll see how Tuesday goes.
• Another interesting news item for Monday: Ohio State WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba announced he’ll miss the playoffs with a hamstring injury, and shift his focus to preparing for the 2023 NFL Draft. Smith-Njigba hurt the hamstring in the Buckeyes’ opener against Notre Dame, and tried to come back twice (unsuccessfully) before shutting it down.
He broke all kinds of school (and Rose Bowl, for that matter) records as a true sophomore, but there could be some draft fallout from missing his junior season almost entirely. First, his breakout year came with the 10th and 11th picks in the 2022 draft, Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, drawing coverage away from him. Second, there’ll be questions related to the injury itself, fair or not, that teams will be eager to get answers on.
“He’s not as talented as the ones who preceded him,” said one AFC exec on Monday. “But he’s a very skilled, talented pass-catcher. The big question is makeup.”
For what it’s worth, everything I’ve heard on Smith-Njigba out of OSU has been positive. But the whys and hows of a season-long hamstring injury, and the decision to miss the playoffs, will be important to NFL teams considering investing a first-round pick in him. I think his explanation for them will be plenty satisfactory.
• While we’re there, tonight’s a good chance for the nation to see the Saints star rookie Olave, who’s got 56 catches for 822 yards and three touchdowns over his first 11 games as a pro. I said this through his time at OSU, and stand by it now—there’s a lot of Terry Glenn in Olave’s game.
Meanwhile, Wilson has 57 catches for 790 yards and four touchdowns through 12 games, making the former teammates the two best rookie receivers in the NFL by a relatively wide margin (Atlanta’s Drake London, drafted before both of them, is probably third). Which is one reason why I don’t think it’s far-fetched to think their former position coach, Brian Hartline, could be an NFL head coach down the line.
• Florida QB Anthony Richardson figures to be a fascinating prospect for teams to take a look at in the wake of his declaration for the draft. He’s a kid who clearly could’ve use another year of development—but when a guy has first-round ability, it’s hard to tell him to undergo that development in college, rather than while clearing a seven-figure paycheck in the pros.
“He’s got some accuracy issues,” said one NFC exec, earlier in the fall. “But the dude does some freaky stuff now. He’s got size, speed, strength, toughness. And you see that in how they use him—they run him, he’s physical, you see the arm strength, and him throwing from different arm slots. Plus, he’s a good kid. He just needs time.”
One thing I know got the attention of scouts was how, in first-year Gators coach Billy Napier’s offense, Richardson was actually handling some full-field reads, an ability that would raise the ceiling on who he can be as a pro.
It’ll be fun to follow how this one goes, and where Richardson lands in an imperfect class of quarterbacks, headed up by Bryce Young, Will Levis and C.J. Stroud.
• The MetLife Stadium turf claimed another victim Sunday—and the Commanders aren’t happy about it. Washington center Tyler Larsen’s left foot caught in the synthetic surface in the second half of the team’s tie with the Giants, and caused his right knee to wind up in a compromised position.
The Commanders were 6–1 with Larsen as starting center. He’ll likely miss the rest of the year with a dislocated kneecap.
Joseph Maiorana/USA TODAY Sports
• I asked Joe Burrow after the Bengals’ win over the Chiefs whether a win over Patrick Mahomes means a little more for him, given all that Mahomes has accomplished already. And I appreciated Burrow’s coy answer.
“He's the best quarterback in the game right now and it's just fun to watch him play,” Burrow said. “Just to watch him on the sideline, make plays, make throws that not really anybody else can make, it's fun to watch.”
That’s a respectful way to answer the question, of course. But with Burrow now 3–0 against Mahomes, I felt a tinge of “don’t forget about me” there, too.
• Another team benefiting from the Bengals’ big win was sitting home in western New York for that one. The Bills retook the No. 1 seed as they enjoyed their much-needed 10-day layoff, which came after a stretch of three road games in 12 days, one that included a historic blizzard, two flu outbreaks, and just two full days of practice ahead of those games.
Buffalo went 3–0 in those games.
“I think it's [our] resiliency,” center Mitch Morse told me. “I also think it's coach [Sean McDermott] putting us in position to get our work done, but at the same time also, they're trusting us to be professionals and understanding the short turnaround for three games and letting us heal and putting the ball in our court. And then I think our guys did a great job of responding and handling it.”
That Jan. 2 Monday nighter in Cincinnati is shaping up to be an awfully big one.
• I’d missed the story of the Heyward brothers going to their dad’s grave prior to playing against the Falcons on Sunday, but it’s a good one. Younger brother Connor, a rookie tight end, scored his first NFL touchdown in the game, while older brother Cam led a strong defensive effort for Pittsburgh in a 19–16 win.
Their dad’s given name was Craig, but football fans will remember him simply as Ironhead after he played for five NFL teams over 11 years.
"This morning, we woke up early and went to my dad's grave," Cam Heyward told reporters postgame. "It kind of hit me when [Connor] scored, I was a complete mess. I don't like to be a soppy person, but it was one of those moments."
Ironhead died at the age of 39 after a fight with cancer.
• Greg Roman’s work Sunday with Baltimore’s backup QB Tyler Huntley in there sure won’t hurt his candidacy for the Stanford job. Huntley was efficient, if safe, in completing 27-of-32 throws for 187 yards, rushing for another 41 yards on 10 carries, and leading a 91-yard scoring drive for the game-winning touchdown in the waning moments of the fourth quarter.
All of it highlighted Roman’s strong suit as a coach, which has always been to identify his guys’ strengths, and maximize them. Which, I think, Stanford could use right now.
• I think the most interesting stats of the weekend were the rushing totals in the Philly/Tennessee game. The hard-charging Titans went for 87 yards on 21 carries. The Eagles went for just 67 on 24.
So why’s that interesting? With that element kept in check by, and for, both teams, the Eagles showed an ability to pull on a different lever, and the Titans didn’t.
