NFL teams open training camp, starting the long journey to Super Bowl 60 in San Francisco
The NFL season is underway. The road to San Francisco for Super Bowl 60 begins in the grueling summer heat.
Some teams have new coaches. A couple of old coaches have new teams. Star players have switched uniforms. There are position battles to determine.
And, plenty of storylines to watch.
Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles aim for a repeat. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs look to rebound after being denied the first three-peat in Super Bowl history.
Training camp dates
The Chargers and Lions were the first teams to have their full roster in camp. The Cowboys and Chiefs will have theirs on Monday. The rest of the league starts Tuesday. The Falcons and Steelers arrive Wednesday.
Jim Harbaugh's Chargers face off against Dan Campbell's Lions in the Hall of Fame game on July 31 in Canton, Ohio.
A pair of division rivalry games will open the season. The Eagles will host Dallas to begin the regular season on Sept. 4. The Chiefs and Chargers meet in Brazil the following night.
New head coaches
Pete Carroll is back in the NFL with the Las Vegas Raiders after just one year out of coaching. Carroll, who turns 74 in September, has a tough task building the Raiders into a playoff contender in a difficult division.
Former Patriots star linebacker Mike Vrabel takes over in New England, replacing Jerod Mayo, who lasted one season after replacing Bill Belichick.
The Bears turned to former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. The Jets hired former Lions DC Aaron Glenn. Kellen Moore left Philadelphia after one championship season to take over in New Orleans. Liam Cohen's success as Tampa Bay's OC landed him the head job in Jacksonville. Jerry Jones gave Brian Schottenheimer a chance to lead Dallas.
Teams with new quarterbacks
The Steelers are going all-in on Aaron Rodgers, hoping the 41-year-old, four-time MVP can take them to the big game.
The Raiders acquired Geno Smith, reuniting Carroll with the quarterback he chose to replace Russell Wilson in Seattle.
Sam Darnold ended up with the Seahawks after a career-year in Minnesota.
Joe Flacco is back in Cleveland where he was the NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2023. The Browns also traded for Kenny Pickett and drafted Dillon Gabriel in the third round and Shedeur Sanders in the fifth.
Wilson and Jameis Winston ended up in New York, but the Giants also selected Jaxson Dart in the first round.
Justin Fields has a third chance with the Jets.
J.J. McCarthy is the man in Minnesota after he missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury.
Saints rookie Tyler Slough gets an opportunity to replace Derek Carr, who retired.
The Titans have No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward.
Top camp storylines
Some contract issues still need to be resolved.
The Bengals have yet to sign first-round pick Shemar Stewart and they haven't agreed to a new deal with All-Pro edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, who wants a raise after leading the league in sacks last season.
The dispute with Stewart, a pass rusher the defense needs, isn't about money; it's about the team trying to insert language in Stewart's contract that would trigger the voiding of his salary guarantees with a breach or default by him.
Another contract situation to watch involves Dallas. Micah Parsons is due for a new deal that's expected to make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. T.J. Watt currently holds that distinction after Pittsburgh gave him a $123 million extension worth an average of $41 million per season. Jones waited too long on Dak Prescott and ended up making him the NFL's first $60 million man last season. Now, he's going to end up paying Parsons more than anyone else who doesn't play QB.
Quarterback competition
The Browns have to choose between Flacco, Pickett, Sanders and Gabriel. Veteran Daniel Jones is competing with Anthony Richardson in Indianapolis. Richardson, the No. 4 overall pick in 2023, has been injured often and has a lingering shoulder problem.
Shough and Spencer Rattler are battling in New Orleans.
Wilson, Winston and Dart should make it a tough decision for the Giants.
Ward has to beat out Will Levis in Tennessee.
Joint practices
With more teams opting to rest quarterbacks and key starters in preseason games, joint practices have become the way to prepare players for the regular season. A total of 29 teams have scheduled joint practices with other clubs.
On the road
Six teams - the Bills, Cowboys, Colts, Chiefs, Rams and Steelers - will spend their entire camp away from their facilities. Dallas, which trains in Oxnard, California, is the only team going out of state.
Roster cuts
Teams can carry a maximum of 90 players throughout training camp and for all of their preseason games. Rosters must be trimmed to 53 by 4 p.m. EDT on Aug. 26.
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New York Times
a few seconds ago
- New York Times
Fanfare follows Bill Belichick at ACC media days, but UNC's coach handles it his way
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The day was almost done. Bill Belichick had finished tackling 26 minutes of questions from a room of 70 reporters and 22 cameras. He stopped to grab some ESPN-branded boxes of popcorn at a booth in the hallway. There was a problem, though. 'You got one that's not empty?' he asked with a laugh. Advertisement The booth attendant handed him a pair of boxes filled to the brim, an apology for the unwitting prank on North Carolina's new coach, who also happens to be the most accomplished NFL coach of all time and the biggest new face in college football. Talking season was complete. Six hours of mostly uninterrupted media obligations were more than enough for the famously terse coach. Time to celebrate with a snack. Belichick has arrived at the ACC Kickoff — Matt Baker (@MattBakerCFB) July 24, 2025 At 8:47 a.m., Belichick exited a black SUV parked under a bridge and ambled into a side street entrance of the Hilton Uptown Charlotte holding a black backpack. There are no NFL media days. Thursday's ACC media days marathon was the latest new experience for Belichick, a uniquely college-football-in-July tradition. If he were ranking the responsibilities of his new job, it probably wouldn't be high on the list. But this is Belichick's new world, and the first-time college coach handled it … like any other college coach. Just with more fanfare. 'I always wanted to coach in college football. I grew up in college football. I tried to go into college football,' Belichick said, 'and that didn't work out.' In 1975, Lou Holtz hired Belichick as a 23-year-old graduate assistant at NC State but before Belichick could start the job, his position was eliminated amid the institution of Title IX. The Baltimore Colts hired him later that year as a special assistant, diverting his career into the NFL for almost five decades. 'That worked out fine,' Belichick said. At 73, he's finally in college football. To his peers, it's surreal. 'There was more than one occasion that I went, 'Yep, that's Bill Belichick right there, right here in the ACC head coaches meetings,'' Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. 'It's the most 2025 thing ever.' Advertisement Swinney noted how much he's learned from Belichick since his arrival in the league. Later, Belichick scoffed at the awe from the two-time national champion. 'Ah, come on,' Belichick said with a laugh. 'We're all learning from Dabo.' A few minutes after Belichick arrived, he met with a small group of local media in a tight conference room for 14 minutes before leaving the table to turn the room over to 'our stars right here,' referring to his players. Belichick noted that he has attended more than 10 donor events with general manager Michael Lombardi, his longtime assistant who later pivoted to a career in media and hosted a podcast with Belichick last season before joining him in Chapel Hill. Asked about his future at North Carolina, Belichick, whose ensemble included a Carolina blue handkerchief and a dark blue 'BB' monogram on his shirt cuff, tapped into his signature short wind. He declined any examination of what lies ahead. 'The future right now for us is the start of camp,' he said. He also discussed another quirk of being a college coach: Poring over class reports from his players. He never had to worry about Tom Brady's class attendance or grades. He does now with every one of his players, more than 70 of whom are new, including quarterback Gio Lopez, a transfer from South Alabama. Belichick said he and Lombardi are personally involved in keeping up with daily academic reports on his roster. 'We don't want players to fall behind,' Belichick said. 'Once you fall two or three weeks behind academically, it's hard to keep up.' Belichick avoided the rows of radio reporters in the hotel lobby and spent much of the morning in a hallway outside the green room for players and coaches, down the hall from private rooms for interviews with SiriusXM and the ACC Digital Network. Advertisement Most coaches and players sat for requested interviews on the event's lower level. Belichick abstained. A little after 11 a.m., Belichick took a lengthy phone call. As he spoke, a group of people approached. They lingered in the hallway waiting for Belichick and began to leave before a UNC official stopped them and made sure they got time with the head Tar Heel. Dream On 3 is a Charlotte nonprofit that helps fulfill 'sports-themed dreams' for kids with life-altering conditions, disabilities and mental health challenges, according to its website. It works closely with the ACC, and on Thursday, hosted the Burrell family. Belichick rewarded their patience when he found a break in his obligations. He spent a few quiet moments with the family, taking photos and signing footballs. 'That was pretty much the coolest thing ever,' said Cameron Burrell, a Clemson fan and Charlotte resident who said his son suffers from a third-degree heart block and his daughter suffers from epilepsy. 'We were all kind of starstruck,' said Maddy Fleming, the program director for Dream On 3. 'We were all just like, 'Is this real life?'' After another interview and lunch in the green room, Belichick spent a few minutes chatting with athletic director Bubba Cunningham before sitting down with ESPN's 'SportsCenter.' Around the corner, more than 40 cameras waited. But as soon as Belichick sat for the interview, cameras swarmed. Two veteran ACC reporters remarked they'd never witnessed a scene like it in their years covering the conference's media days. All eyes on Bill Belichick 👀 — ACC Network (@accnetwork) July 24, 2025 Belichick smiled and laughed as 'SportsCenter' showed a photo of him as a toddler from his father's more than three decades as a coach at Navy. Later, Belichick told a reporter he'd like to one day schedule a game with Navy. 'That'd be tough,' he said with a laugh. As he made his way into the large news conference room, cameras and reporters followed him as if summoned by a tractor beam. Advertisement Belichick took the stage and jokingly shielded his eyes from the blinding light before making a 4 1/2-minute opening statement and taking a few questions about the role of fullbacks in the sport, why he came to North Carolina and roster building in the modern game. Absent from Belichick's time on stage and in the breakout room with reporters: Any discussion of his personal life, the most-talked-about topic of Belichick's UNC tenure thus far. Jordon Hudson, his 24-year-old girlfriend, did not accompany him to the event. North Carolina has reiterated that Hudson handles Belichick's personal engagements and is not a university employee. After ceding the microphone to defensive back Thaddeus Dixon, Belichick sat back and relished his immediate impact on his players. Asked about the magnitude of a season opener against TCU, certain to be watched by millions, Dixon reiterated it was just another game. Players just needed to execute. Belichick leaned back in his seat with a satisfied smile. A few minutes later, as Dixon lauded the toughness he's seen in the team, Belichick reached over for a fist bump from wide receiver Jordan Shipp. 'You can't make plays on Saturday until you do it in practice,' Dixon added, drawing a large nod from his coach sitting quietly on stage. A question about Shipp's unfortunate childhood nickname – Duke, also North Carolina's chief rival – drew a belly laugh from Belichick. As NC State coach Dave Doeren took the stage following Belichick, he remarked on the suddenly cavernous room, noting it got a little sleepier. Belichick crowd vs non-BB crowd… We are just the worst. — 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 24, 2025 But next door, a breakout room with one row of seats on Day 1 and 2 was expanded to three rows and a riser for cameras for the final day, featuring North Carolina, NC State, Duke and conference power and title favorite Clemson. When Belichick arrived, those 22 mounted cameras and around 70 reporters were waiting. While every other coach fielded questions himself, the crush of media required a UNC official to moderate Belichick's session, calling on reporters who peppered the coach with questions. Advertisement He was long-winded on his recruiting strategy. 'Be authentic. This is who we are. We're not really going to change too much. If this works for you, this is a great place. If it doesn't, then honestly, you're better off going somewhere else. We're not trying to overhype or oversell something we can't deliver. We're trying to sell who we are,' he said. 'I think a lot of people want that. But for the ones that don't, it's better for both of us that they go somewhere else.' He was short on questions about the format of the College Football Playoff – ask Nick Saban or Kirk Ferentz, who would know better, he said. He stumped for Mike Shanahan to be included in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and waxed nostalgic on his relationship with Boston College coach Bill O'Brien. He also defended the House settlement bringing an end to walk-ons in college football, arguing that adding 20 more available scholarships for programs could be a net positive for athletes and the sport, even though technically there would be no more walk-ons. He joked with a reporter who was an alum of Foxborough High that he could no longer use his New England Patriots-era motivational tactic of warning players he could find a better player at the nearby high school. A little after 3:30, his day was complete. Belichick made his way back into the green room and finished his popcorn. He re-emerged and refilled his tea, squeezing a few lemons and pouring a pair of sugar packets over the ice before pouring the tea into his plastic cup. He took a few sips, and his players joined him near the bank of elevators. He stepped inside and made his way to the black SUV waiting to take him home to Chapel Hill via Interstate 85. The talking is over. Belichick? He's on to training camp. — The Athletic's Matt Baker contributed to this report.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Bill Belichick: North Carolina is a pro program, we have an NFL approach in college
North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick says he's coaching his college football team like he coached in the NFL. Asked at the ACC media day if he's trying to introduce NFL-level schemes and concepts to college football, Belichick answered, "That's exactly what we're trying to do. That's my philosophy." Belichick said he views the Tar Heels like a pro team that just needs some minor adjustments for younger players. "It's a pro program," Belichick said. "Practice, training, food, schemes, terminology, it's all a pro program. Not to the extent that we did it in the NFL — there will be fewer plays, fewer adjustments — but it will be along those lines." Belichick said to the extent that he'll coach differently, it's largely about the differences between NCAA rules, such as college football's wider hashmarks and the overtime format that takes place mostly in the red zone. "There's some things I don't think we'll need at this level and other things that we are," Belichick said. "Based on hashmarks and things like that that are difference, the overtime system — the red area could potentially come up a lot more than in the NFL on a percentage basis. Things like that that you just have to take into consideration. But fundamentally, we're going to do as much as we can as a pro system."
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Despite back-to-back 4-13 seasons, the Patriots are somehow the feel-good team of New England, and other thoughts
True fact. The Bruins are a mess and Spoked-B fans are calling for the heads of The Celtics won a championship a little more than a year ago, but Jayson Tatum is out for the year, two starters have been traded, another pair of regulars left via free agency, and the team is expected to sink to the middle of the Eastern Conference. The NBA's dreaded 'second apron' collective bargaining penalties have done more damage to the Green franchise than anything since John Y. Brown. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The interesting-but-annoying Red Sox gave us a nice summer lift with a Tomato-Can-infused Advertisement Which leaves us with the Patriots and a big bowl of optimism. Advertisement They have a real head coach again; Mike Vrabel, a non-nonsense, Patriot linebacker champion, and former NFL Coach of the Year. Josh McDaniels, the best offensive coordinator of this generation, a man who won rings here with Bill and Tom, is calling the plays again. Young, talented, athletic, and mature, Drake Maye is the Patriots' quarterback. He looked pretty good without much help in his rookie season. Can you imagine what he'll do with a real coordinator, a real offensive line, and NFL-caliber wide receivers? Desperate local fans (remember all those parades?) are bullish on this new team. Listen to talk radio and read dispatches from Fort Foxborough. Everything is awesome. Liberated from the Hoodie and Jordon, and Joe Judge and Matt Patricia … impacted no more by the naivete and boobery of Jerod Mayo and staff … the Patriots are operating in a controversy-free zone. It's as if Foxborough is a college town and Pete Carroll is back in charge. Boola-boola. Fans are pumped and jacked, geeked up for the preseason opener against a Washington Football Club The Patriots certainly felt the love when they opened up workouts to the public this past Wednesday. There were oohs and ahhs when Maye connected on his first pass to Stefon Diggs (who seemed to have his sea legs under him). First-round pick Will Campbell looked good with a rebuilt offensive line and charmed the media with his manners. I think his arms have grown a couple of inches since the draft. Advertisement Maye is so popular, he and his wife got credit for donating all of their wedding gifts to charity. The story turned out to be AI fabricated (which is not Maye's fault), but Patriots fans loved him for it anyway. In Wednesday's first open-to-the-public practice, the Patriots Foundation trotted out a parade of puppies, promoting dog adoptions from local animal rescue organizations. Who doesn't love puppies? Vegas has the Patriots at 8.5 wins, and nobody around here thinks that's too high. New England's schedule is fairly easy, the Patriots aren't facing a lot of top quarterbacks, the Krafts Vrabel is experienced. He's a wiseguy like Bill Parcells. He won three Super Bowls under Belichick, then beat Belichick twice (also losing twice) in head-to-head coaching competition. He's taken a team to an AFC Championship game. 'I want to galvanize our football team,' Vrabel said Tuesday. 'I want to galvanize this building. I want to galvanize our fans. There's going to be a brand of football that everybody associated with our team or our fans is going to be proud of.' Bob Kraft told the media he's hoping to 'start a new chapter.' 'I feel good about the foundation of what we have now,' said the 84-year-old owner. 'Now we have to go execute and make that happen.' Good vibes? Kraft is allowing Parcells to take a rightful place in the Patriots Hall of Fame in September. The overdue honor signifies a thaw in a 30-year feud between the owner and the coach that made the Patriots legit before Kraft bought the team. Advertisement It feels full-throttle. Maybe even Full Rochie. ⋅ Quiz: 1: Name the last five MLB players elected to the Hall of Fame in their final year of eligibility; 2: Name six Hall of Famers who hit 49 home runs in a season, but never 50; 3: Name seven Hall of Famers who were on the rosters for the 1995 World Series between Atlanta and Cleveland. ⋅ The Red Sox struck out 44 times in three games against the Phillies. While the Sox were having trouble scoring runs in Philly, Rafael Devers (good riddance to him, right?) went 7 for 14 with two home runs and five RBIs, and scored seven runs in three games against the Braves. Have fun with the narrative that dumping Devers's contract (a great move for ownership, but zero big league help for this year's team) turned the Sox' season around. The moribund Nationals and Rockies turned the Sox' season around. And the 2025 Red Sox go into this weekend with the same record (55-49) as last year's 81-81 team. ⋅ The Red Sox' Advertisement Catcher Carlton Fisk and the Red Sox had a beef with home plate umpire Larry Barnett in the 1975 World Series. ⋅ New pet peeve: Baseball players who get caught stealing or fail to tag a runner out, then instantly turn to the dugout and ask for an official review of the play. Too often, they turn out to be merely embarrassed … and wrong. And the team loses a challenge. ⋅ Standing in the batter's box, eyes wide open, intense expression, Trevor Story from the neck up looks a lot like Dustin Pedroia. ⋅ Three days of Pete Crow-Armstrong was enough to establish that he's fast, powerful, talented, and a hot dog on par with Kiké Hernández. Love the fact that Crow-Armstrong's mother, actress Ashley Diane Crow, played Jenny Heywood, Billy Heywood's mom, in the 1994 film 'Little Big League.' In the film, 12-year-old Billy became owner of the Twins. Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Cubs is powerful, talented, and a bit of a hot dog. David Berding/Getty ⋅ The Dodgers used 16 starting pitchers before the All-Star break. The stat made me think of the 2004 Red Sox, when Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling, Tim Wakefield, Derek Lowe, and Bronson Arroyo combined to start 157 of 162 regular-season games. This is unlikely to ever happen again. Advertisement ⋅ The Yankees' Mount Rushmore (Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle) is appropriately etched in stone. Ian O'Connor of The Athletic posits that Aaron Judge someday will replace one of the Bronx Bomber gods and join the Pinstripe Pantheon. The author notes that Judge has a better career slugging percentage and OPS than DiMaggio and Mantle. Judge plans to play into his 40s, already has crossed the 350-home run mark, and is on course to surpass Gehrig (493) and Mantle (536). At this hour, Yogi Berra, Derek Jeter, and Mariano Rivera are in the Yankees' second tier of immortality, but Judge has a chance to supplant one of the Big Four. Remember 'Seinfeld's' 'Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Costanza'? We now live in a world where Judge goes into that punchline. ⋅ Love the fact that Jon Lester compiled the same winning percentage (.636) and ERA (3.66) with both the Red Sox and Cubs. Lester went 110-63 in 242 games with Boston and 77-44 in 171 games with Chicago. He also won championships with both teams. When we get around to the Sox not competing for the long-term services of their homegrown stars (Mookie Betts, anyone?), it should be remembered that this all started when they wouldn't pay Lester and traded him to Oakland in the summer of 2014. Lefthander Jon Lester had 110 wins as a member of the Red Sox. Jim Davis/Globe Staff ⋅ Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and now Scottie Scheffler are the only golfers who've won the British Open, Masters, and PGA Championship before turning 30. Like Woods, Dallas native Scheffler went 1,197 days between his first and fourth major victories. ⋅ Forty-five-year-old Venus Williams beat 23-year-old Peyton Stearns at the Citi Open in Washington this past week. Venus won her first professional tennis match at the age of 14 in 1994. Venus Williams celebrated her win over Peyton Stearns at the Citi Open on Tuesday. Nick Wass/Associated Press ⋅ The Wall Street Journal reports that former tennis star Maria Sharapova and her husband are listing their Manhattan Beach, Calif., property for $24.995 million. The place features an ocean view and two bowling lanes, but no tennis court. ⋅ Anagram of the week: Giants acquire Devers — Grievances tire squad. ⋅ Best wishes to Eddie Doyle, 35-year boss/bartender at the Bull & Finch Pub (Cheers), and champion of children's charities, who's been battling health issues on Cape Cod. Eddie started the Falmouth Walk — held the day before the Falmouth Road Race, which was invented by the late Tommy Leonard. ⋅ RIP Garrett Haydon of Sudbury, gone too soon at the age of 29. Garrett was a local sportswriter, kind friend, and host of 'Not Your Average Boston Sports Podcast' despite his struggles with muscular dystrophy. He inspired all those who knew him. ⋅ Quiz answers: 1. Billy Wagner (2025), Larry Walker (2020), Edgar Martinez (2019), Tim Raines (2017), Jim Rice (2009); 2. Andre Dawson, Lou Gehrig, Todd Helton, Harmon Killebrew, Frank Robinson, Larry Walker; 3. Braves: Tom Glavine, Chipper Jones, Fred McGriff, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz; Indians: Eddie Murray, Jim Thome. (Dave Winfield was on the team but did not make Cleveland's roster.) Dan Shaughnessy is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at
