NFL Week 6 Overreactions: Cowboys, Saints and Jaguars get blown out
Mackenzie Salmon breaks down the top storylines from Week 6 in the NFL.
Sports Seriously
The NFL trade deadline is approaching quicker than you might realize. Tuesday, November 5, is the date this year, which is right between Weeks 9 and 10. Essentially, there’s only three more weeks for teams to determine if they want to be buyers or sellers. That said, there are some teams that should be well aware of where they stand right now.
The Las Vegas Raiders have lost two straight games and boast a lowly 2-4 record after Sunday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. They also have two mega stars on their team in edge rusher Maxx Crosby and wideout Davante Adams. While both players have expressed different opinions on leaving Las Vegas (shoutout Nicolas Cage), Raiders’ ownership cannot afford to disregard trade offers that come their way for either player. There’s been lots of speculation about whether or not either player will wind up in a different jersey by season’s end.
Here are the latest rumors surrounding the NFL.
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The Detroit Lions not likely to go after Maxx Crosby
After star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson suffered a potentially season-ending leg injury against Dallas on Sunday, many fans started speculating what move the Lions were going to make in order to replace Hutchinson. The Lions’ Super Bowl window is now, and wasting any years could be detrimental to the team.
Given the Raiders’ 2-4 record, it stands to reason that Vegas would be interested in parting ways with Crosby for the right price. After all, Crosby seemed visibly upset with the organization after shoving assistant coach Mike Caldwell during Sunday’s loss. However, Crosby later cleared up the situation, calling the shove a “love push.” Crosby assured fans that he has a great relationship with Caldwell and that the media is making something out of nothing.
Amid the dysfunction involving the Raiders as well as star teammate Davante Adams, Crosby has gone on record stating that he wants to stay in Vegas as long as possible. And that claim is backed up by Adam Schefter’s statements on Pat McAfee’s show on Monday.
Schefter implies that the asking price for Crosby is too high, and the Lions, still one of the youngest teams in the NFL, are unwilling to trade away their future, thinking that their Super Bowl window is still exceptionally large.
Will the Lions make a move for anyone else?
Given Schefter’s thoughts, it appears that the Lions will not go after any huge names like Crosby, Myles Garrett, or Haason Reddick. However, perhaps a smaller name on another sub-.500 team like Chase Young (Saints), Josh Hines-Allen (Jaguars), or Brian Burns (Giants) could be on the table. While these would all still draw hefty prices, they likely wouldn’t draw the same price as Crosby or Garrett.
As it stands though, no rumors have emerged regarding the Lions’ interest in any of these players. Given general manager Brad Holmes’ unwillingness to trade high draft picks – the highest he’s ever traded is a third-rounder – a move of this caliber seems unlikely. While Hutchinson is an incredible player, who led the NFL in pressures heading into Week 6 according to Pro-Football-Reference, the Lions are talented enough to compete with other elite NFL teams without him.
What about Davante Adams?
Schefter continued on the Pat McAfee show, claiming that Adams is also not drawing a ton of interest due to the Raiders’ asking price.
While a second-round pick for Adams isn’t too much to ask, it’s likely the latter part of Schefter’s statement is what’s pushing most teams away. Adams comes with a cap hit of over $25 million this year, and while about a third of that has already passed, the Raiders are allegedly insistent that they do not want to pay any more of his salary.
Unless Adams is traded, it is unknown whether or not he will play again the rest of the season.
Bill Belichick returning to NFL?
Vegas isn’t the only place with rumors swirling. After the Dallas Cowboys’ humiliating loss at home to the Lions on Sunday, rumors have started forming regarding a potential replacement for head coach Mike McCarthy.
FOX Sports NFL insider Jordan Schultz reports that Bill Belichick could wind up on America’s team this offseason if McCarthy does not turn the season around.
McCarthy is in the final year of his contract. Failure to reach the postseason could possibly result in his termination. Schultz cites a “great relationship” between Belichick and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones as one of the main reasons Belichick could be a candidate. As it stands, there is no concrete evidence of Dallas’ interest in bringing on Belichick. There is merely speculation that Dallas could be interested this offseason.
Tua Tagovailoa is expected back this year
After suffering another devastating concussion earlier this year, it was unclear whether or not Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa would ever play in the NFL again. As weeks progressed, it became clear that Tagovailoa had no intentions of retiring, but still, his 2024 season was in jeopardy.
On Tuesday though, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel claimed that Tagovailoa would return to the field in 2024. However, there is no exact date currently.
Given the Dolphins subpar 2-3 record, the team could wait until after their Week 7 matchup against Indianapolis to make a determination on Tagovailoa. Should the team win, they could be more incentivized to bring him back earlier and help the team make a playoff push.
A loss, though, would make it very difficult to reach the postseason, even with Tagovailoa under center. That could be enough to make the Dolphins play it safer, especially with a very beatable Arizona Cardinals team on the docket for Week 8.
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