NFL futures review: Thomas Jr. OPOY, Super Bowl LX
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an hour ago
- Yahoo
Tyler Smith: Super Bowl is "realistic goal" for Cowboys
With the launch of training camps comes unbridled optimism, for most teams. Cowboys guard Tyler Smith is feeling that optimism about his own team, even if it's been 30 years since Dallas advanced to the NFC Championship. Asked about his team's goals for 2025, Smith said this, via Todd Archer of "Super Bowl champions. That's always the expectation." It's the expectation for plenty of the 31 teams that eventually won't make it to the top of the mountain. "I think it's a realistic goal, yeah," Smith said. Why is it realistic? "Because we can win a Super Bowl," Smith said. "Why not? Why can't we win? Do you think it's unrealistic?" It's realistic, technically. They are one of the 32 teams that have a chance to do it. Whether they'll be good enough to overcome the elite teams in the NFC and then to outscore the eventual AFC champion is a different issue. "I think we built a great core on offense; the addition of [receiver] George [Pickens] and all the other key pieces," Smith said. "I think drafting [guard Tyler] Booker [in the first round], he's going to be a hell of a guy just to bolster the front line. And we have many guys across the board, but those are some of the guys who are the key pieces on what we do this year." Smith isn't wrong. But there are many variables, starting with health. A rash of injuries can derail expectations. Even if the Cowboys manage to avoid losing key players for extended stretches, can they compete with the likes of the Eagles, Lions, Buccaneers, 49ers, Rams, Commanders, Vikings, Packers? While the team's three decades of Super Bowl futility are irrelevant to whatever happens this year, it's hard to forget about the forgettable seasons. Hovering over all of it is whether the front office can get linebacker Micah Parsons's contract situation resolved. Even if he shows up on Monday, he likely won't be practicing until a deal is done. And that could be enough to make an early-season win become a loss, with that loss being the difference between winning the division or missing the postseason entirely. They'll have a great opportunity, right out of the gates. They start the season in Philadelphia. Beat the Eagles, and they'll be on their way. Either way, there will still be 16 more games to go. Which will include contests against all teams from the NFC North (which sent three teams to the postseason in 2024) and the AFC West (which did the same). How realistic their chances are in January will depend directly on what they do from September through December. Still, July is the time for seeing the glass as half full. Even if, yet again, it comes up empty.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
President Trump calls for Commanders to go back to old nickname, threatens to block D.C. stadium deal if they don't
President Donald Trump is using the bully pulpit again in the NFL, this time to get a franchise to revert to its former nickname that was changed after decades of controversy. Trump made multiple long posts on Truth Social on Sunday calling for the Washington Commanders to switch back to their old "Washington Redskins" team name. He even threatened to block the Commanders' impending move back to D.C. and their new stadium if they fail to do so. Trump also called for MLB's Cleveland Guardians to go back to their former "Indians" nickname. While not mentioning Trump by name, Guardians president Chris Antonetti made it clear the team isn't interested in going back Sunday. 'I understand there are very different perspectives on the decision we made a few years ago, but it's a decision we made and we've gotten the opportunity to build the brand as the Guardians over the last four years and we're excited about the future that's in front of us,' he said, via The Athletic. The Commanders have not addressed Trump's post. The Guardians officially changed their team name ahead of the 2022 season, shortly after they stopped using the 'Chief Wahoo' logo, which many saw as racist and offensive toward Native Americans. The Commanders retired their old 'Redskins' nickname in 2020. They went by the Washington Football Team briefly before landing on the Commanders. Their old nickname, which had been in use since 1933, was widely seen as an offensive slur and drew plenty of criticism in its final years of use. 'For obvious reasons,' Commanders owner Josh Harris said in August, that can't return. 'I think [Commanders] is now embraced by our team, by our culture, by our coaching staff,' he said earlier this year, via ESPN. 'So we're going with that.' Though it's unclear if the threat of blocking their stadium deal, real or not, will sway the Commanders, both Harris and Antonetti seem very content with their franchises' new names. As for the validity of Trump's stadium threat, the Associated Press wrote: The Commanders and the District of Columbia government announced a deal earlier this year to build a new home for the football team at the site the old RFK Stadium, the place the franchise called home for more than three decades. Trump's ability to hold up the deal remains to be seen. President Joe Biden signed a bill in January that transferred the land from the federal government to the District of Columbia. The provision was part of a short-term spending bill passed by Congress in December. While D.C. residents elect a mayor, a city council and commissioners to run day-to-day operations, Congress maintains control of the city's budget.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Two former Colts defenders sign with Bengals
Two former Colts defenders have moved on to Cincinnati. On Sunday, the Bengals signed defensive tackles Taven Bryan and McTelvin Agim to deals prior to when their veterans report to training camp July 22. Bryan, 29, had been with the Colts for two seasons as a rotational piece under former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley. He was one of Bradley's preferred guys, as he was the defensive coordinator in Jacksonville when the Jaguars selected Bryan 29th overall in 2018 out of Florida. The former Gator appeared in all 17 games in 2023 and 2024, recording 42 tackles (7 tackles for loss), 3.0 sacks and a forced fumble. While a decent piece to have on the depth chart, Bryan was never an impact player, and when the Colts parted ways with Bradley at the end of the 2024 season, the writing was on the wall. Agim was with the Colts in 2022 and 2023 as a depth player and returned as a practice squad member for 19 days in 2024. He appeared in just a single game with the Colts in 2023, recording two tackles. Neither player could stick in Indianapolis. But they'll both see if they can carve out a role for themselves on Cincinnati's defense when training camp begins in just a few days.
