NOT WITHOUT QUESTION
Start of NFL season leaves us looking for answers, including whether Brady’s Bucs can repeat and what Watson’s future holds
The 2021 NFL season kicks off Thursday night when Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys visit Tom Brady and the reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The fans are back in all 30 stadiums for the NFL’s first 17-game regular season. And Super Bowl LVI is scheduled for Feb. 13 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
Here are 10 key storylines to follow as football comes back:
CAN BRADY AND BUCS REPEAT?
The Buccaneers are the first Super Bowl champion to return all 22 of their starters since the 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers, who repeated in 1980 as Super Bowl champs. Brady was the quarterback of the last NFL team to repeat: the New England Patriots of 2003 and 2004. The Bucs won eight straight games to finish last season: four in the regular season and four in the playoffs. They averaged 33.8 points per game in that stretch and scored at least 30 points in their final seven games, including their 31-9 Super Bowl victory over the Chiefs.
They won as a wild card team last season. Now Drew Brees is retired and the road is cleared for Tampa to take the NFC South and home field advantage in the playoffs. Look out.
WILL DOLPHINS GET WATSON?
Roger Goodell curiously hasn’t placed Deshaun Watson on the commissioner’s exempt list, even though the Houston Texans quarterback is facing 22 civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault and misconduct. So Watson is eligible to be traded, and the Miami Dolphins -- the most likely suitor and best fit for Watson all along -- have emerged as the front-runner to acquire him, per Yahoo! Sports. The hangup is that Texans GM Nick Caserio refuses to sell Watson, 25, at a discount. Caserio reportedly wants three first-round picks and two second-round picks included in the exchange. Watson prefers to play in Miami. He would waive his no-trade clause to go there. The Dolphins have not denied their interest in Watson as a team. All the team did was push back against a ProFootballTalk report that owner Stephen Ross “really wants” Watson, to insist that the decision would be made by GM Chris Grier and coach Brian Flores. Tua Tagovailoa is their QB for now.
But it remains to be seen whether Watson’s legal issues prevent a deal, if the Texans’ price stops one, or if the Dolphins ultimately get their man.
WILL RAMS FOLLOW BUCS’ LEAD?
Aggressive Rams GM Les Snead and fifth-year coach Sean McVay are all in to try and finish what they started in 2018, when they took the NFL by storm before bowing out quietly to the Patriots in the Super Bowl, 13-3. Last season, the Bucs became the first team ever to win a Super
Bowl on their home field, and the Rams are trying to follow suit. Snead acquired veteran
QB Matthew Stafford from
Detroit, shipping former No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff to the
Lions. McVay is giddy about how Stafford can elevate his offense. Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey are stars on one of the NFL’s best defenses. And when running back Cam Akers went down for the season with a torn Achilles, Snead went out and got Sony Michel from New England for 2022 sixth- and 2023 fourth-round picks.
THE COVID THREAT IS REAL
The NFL player vaccination rate hovered around 93% after rosters cut down to 53 on Tuesday, an encouraging number considering the NFL players’ union wouldn’t agree to make it mandatory. But there is a looming threat of unvaccinated star players missing games due to positive tests or as close contacts, specifically unvaccinated starting QBs such as the Colts’ Carson Wentz and the Vikings’ Kirk Cousins. The Patriots just cut Cam Newton, who missed time during camp because he wasn’t vaccinated and had broken protocols. Vaccinated players still can test positive for the virus, but protocols allow the asymptomatic to return after two negative tests at least 24 hours apart. An unvaccinated player has to stay out of the team’s facility for a minimum of four days after a close contact and a minimum of 10 days after a positive test. Many NFL teams are acting, therefore, to protect their locker rooms against an outbreak. There were several teams, per sources, that wouldn’t even work out an unvaccinated player this summer, let alone sign one. Many free agent players said the vaccine question was the first one teams asked. Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer got in hot water by admitting that players’ vaccination status was considered during final cuts. The NFLPA opened an investigation into Meyer. But the hard truth is that beyond the obvious health consideration, unvaccinated players could create a competitive disadvantage for teams. So many are acting accordingly.
BILLS CIRCLE THE WAGONS
The vaccine debate is threatening to rip a Super Bowl contender in Buffalo apart. Wide receiver Cole Beasley has become the NFL-wide lightning rod for the entire debate. Offensive lineman Jonathan Feliciano has posted conspiracy theories on social media.
Wideout Isaiah McKenzie posted his own personal email in a disciplinary letter sent by the NFL for mask protocol violations. QB Josh Allen, a 2020 MVP candidate, expressed skepticism about the vaccine in the spring. GM Brandon Beane was the first NFL executive to say in the spring what Meyer just admitted: that cutting an unvaccinated player could be beneficial to the whole. “It would be an advantage to cut a player and fall under that umbrella [of returning to normalcy],” Beane said. The GM was warned by the league. Bottom line: Sean McDermott was a coach of the year candidate last season, but he’s going to have a tough time navigating this season. McDermott said himself in late August that his players’ vaccine hesitancy is “very frustrating.”
BELI-CHIP ON PATS’ SHOULDERS
Bill Belichick will never admit it publicly, but he will never convince me that this aggressive offseason reload by him and Patriots owner Robert Kraft wasn’t in direct response to Brady’s immediate success in Tampa. Of course, the Patriots’ first losing season since 2000 was enough motivation to retool, as well. Naming rookie first-round pick Mac Jones the starting QB and cutting Newton, though, puts into full focus the kind of exciting potential this Pats team has. Edge Dont’a Hightower’s return to the defense after a 2020 opt-out year is a big deal. And all of the Patriots’ veterans are gushing over Jones, who tore up the Giants in joint practices in Foxboro. “He continues to get more confidence,” veteran running back James White said. “I think it is everybody as a whole, we’re getting more confident as an offensive group.” Belichick has won six Super Bowls as New England’s head coach. No. 7 is not out of the question if Jones takes his preseason trajectory to the regular season field, given the supporting cast Belichick, 69, has rebuilt around his young new QB.
RODGERS, DRAMA & MVP RACE
Reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers is back in Green Bay for what many believe will be his final Packers season after trying to force his way out in the spring. It’s Super Bowl or nothing for Rodgers in this new awkward arrangement. His Packers have gone 13-3 and lost in the NFC Championship Game in back to back years, and Rodgers’ relationship with the front office is past the point of no return. Meanwhile, Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks are pretending to be on the same page again following Wilson’s public airing of grievances and Seattle’s trade conversations on their disgruntled QB. Speaking of MVP caliber quarterbacks, however, no such drama in the AFC West; just elite young talent. The Chargers’ Justin Herbert will try to take the next step after his big rookie year to contend with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. But Andy Reid’s team has been in three straight AFC title games and back to back Super Bowls, winning in 2019. Mahomes has an MVP already and is hungry for No. 2. Herbert has a new offensive coordinator in Joe Lombardi and a rookie
head coach in Brandon Staley.
BROWNS VS. BEN VS. B-MORE
Former Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens, now a Giants senior offensive assistant, said he thought Odell Beckham Jr. was “in good shape” at joint practices in Cleveland. “I was happy to see Odell,” Kitchens said. “He’s worked his tail off. He looked like he’s in good shape. Odell’s gonna be fine.” A healthy OBJ is bad news for the rest of the AFC North as the Browns try to build on last season’s first playoff appearance in 18 years. Division rival Pittsburgh is bringing back QB Ben Roethlisberger, though, and the Steelers will be out for revenge from last January’s 48-37 playoff loss to the Browns. But does Big Ben have anything left, or will Cleveland steamroll them again? Meanwhile, Jackson and Baltimore are a Super Bowl contender in division, too.
IS DAK REALLY BACK?
Dak Prescott said last week that he’s “ready to go,” but his rehabbed right ankle and his new right shoulder injury have to hold up for Jerry Jones’ Dallas Cowboys to have a chance in the NFC East. Reigning division champ Washington, the Giants and the Eagles all will be watching closely on Thursday to see how Prescott handles the Buccaneers’ pass rush led by Shaq Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul. Mike McCarthy’s offense could be the class of the division with receivers Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb. But it all hinges on Prescott’s health in Jerry World. Key fact to keep in mind: The NFC East hasn’t had a repeat champion since the 2003-04 Eagles.
ROOKIE COACHES & QBS
There were five quarterbacks drafted in the top 15 picks of April’s NFL Draft. Three of them are starting in Week 1: Trevor Lawrence (No. 1, Jaguars), Zach Wilson (No. 2, Jets) and Jones (No. 15, Patriots). Chicago Bears No. 11 overall pick Justin Fields should make his first start in the first quarter of the season. He simply has to wait because coach Matt Nagy unwisely promised Andy Dalton the Week 1 job when Chicago signed him, desperate for a solution after striking out on a trade for Seattle’s Wilson. The 49ers’ Trey Lance, the No. 3 overall pick, appears unprepared to start right away, so Jimmy Garoppolo will get the ball early. But Lance probably will factor into some packages and take over the job once he gains confidence. Meanwhile, it’s easy to be skeptical of this year’s NFL head coaching hiring cycle as one of the most uninspiring in years. The Lions’ Dan Campbell is a complete wildcard coaching a rebuilding team. Meyer is clearly overwhelmed in Jacksonville, from rules violations to the Tim Tebow signing. David Culley has his work cut out in Houston. The Eagles’ Nick Sirianni, 40, is a complete unknown. And although there is respect for the Jets’ Robert Saleh and Falcons’ Arthur Smith, it will take more than an adequate performance to turn their franchises around. The Chargers’ Staley, 38, inherited the best situation, but with only one season as a coordinator under his belt, nothing will come easily.