Caleb Harris
Before you know it, we’ll all be sitting up and watching the NFL. In fact, the preseason is just around the corner, with the Hall of Fame Game set for August 1st and the rest of the preseason set to begin on Thursday, August 8th with a doubleheader featuring the Panthers vs. Panthers. . Giants.
On Friday, the NFL released its full preseason schedule, which naturally left us looking forward to our football fix. It also got us thinking: what will we be most excited about when exhibition season arrives? Of course, the excitement can only build in games that don’t count, but there are a handful of stories that will be worth your attention once we get there.
Here’s a look at the five things we’re most looking forward to this preseason.
1. First in-game analysis of the new starting rule
In case you missed it, games will look a little different this season after the league agreed to change the starting rules for the 2024 campaign. The kicker will be in his normal spot, but the remaining 21 players on the field will be in team territory. receiving team. The 10 players on the kicking team will line up at the receiving team’s 40-yard line, while the receiving team can have up to two players as returners and the remainder will line up in the staging zone, which is a 5-yard area that runs from the the receiving team’s 30-yard line to their 35-yard line.
It will be a drastic change for both teams and fans, so seeing it play out during the preseason will be fascinating to watch, from how teams will deploy their returners to whether or not it makes the game more exciting.
2. Rookie QBs pushing to start Week 1
One of the big stories surrounding each preseason is the young quarterbacks – largely drafted in the first round – pushing for QB1 status to start the year. We already know that Caleb Williams is ready to start for the Chicago Bears, but it will be interesting to see whether or not Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye and JJ McCarthy can claw their way to the top of the depth chart over the summer. Of course, it’s only a matter of time before for everyone to take the reins as starter, but a strong preseason could see each of them land that role sooner or later. On the other hand, if they struggle, that will certainly set off some alarm bells.
3. Michael Penix Jr.
This is in line with what we said above, but the situation in Atlanta deserves its own category. When the club signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract at the start of free agency, it appeared they had solved their quarterback problem for the foreseeable future. Then the Falcons stunned the NFL when they selected Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick, a decision Cousins apparently didn’t know about until moments earlier. This now creates a fascinating – and possibly awkward – situation for the team.
Although Cousins is seen as a starter at the moment, he is 35 years old and coming off a season-ending Achilles injury. What if he struggles to get back into the swing of things? What if Penix looks incredible in training camp and transfers in the preseason? This would certainly create a major quarterback controversy.
The Pittsburgh Steelers revamped their quarterback room this offseason, trading former first-round pick Kenny Pickett and bringing in Russell Wilson It is Justin Campos. These two veterans will now battle it out during training camp and the preseason to determine who will be the team’s starter in Week 1. Wilson is a former Super Bowl champion, but has had a difficult time in recent seasons, with his time at the Broncos being quite discouraging. Meanwhile, Fields was forced out of Chicago after the Bears secured the No. 1 overall pick, which netted him Caleb Williams. Given his age, Fields has the best long-term upside. If he wins the job, it will be interesting to see if Wilson will remain a backup or possibly part ways with the organization to look for a starting job elsewhere.
5. New Eras in New England and Seattle
Coaching turnover is common in the NFL, but not for the Patriots and Seahawks — two franchises that have had stability at the head coaching position for decades. That was, however, until this offseason when New England parted ways with Bill Belichick after 24 seasons with the franchise and Seattle had a mutual agreement for Pete Carroll to step down after 14 seasons.
Since then, the Patriots have promoted Jerod Mayo as their new head coach and the Seahawks have hired former Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald to run their club. It will be worth monitoring how each of these first-year coaches operates off the line and, especially in the case of Mayo, who coached under Belichick, how different they are from their predecessors.
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