The clock is ticking on Jaxson Dart's all-consuming Giants ascension
'Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll will continue in their respective roles with the organization. As disappointing as the results of the season have been, Steve [Tisch] and I remain confident in the process that Joe and Brian have implemented and their vision for our team. We look forward to the future and achieving the results we all desire.'
Moments later, Mara stood before a media throng in the field house that houses the four Super Bowl banners and said:
'That's obviously the No. 1 issue for us going into this offseason, is to find our quarterback of the future, whether that be via the draft or acquire a veteran. It's going to be up to them to decide.'
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Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
From route cues to toilet flushing, Aaron Rodgers and DK Metcalf are getting to know each other quickly at Steelers camp
LATROBE, Pa. — DK Metcalf was setting up a PlayStation in his training camp dorm room on Tuesday when he heard the knock. The Pittsburgh Steelers receiver headed to open his bedroom door, figuring he had his own quarters at the Steelers' Saint Vincent College outpost. Instead, the bathroom door opened … and in walked Aaron Rodgers. 'He popped out of the corner,' Metcalf said. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] The pair of Steelers' star offseason acquisitions are eager to build chemistry and establish rapport. And head coach Mike Tomlin has given them another route to strengthen their communication: by sharing a bathroom for the next month. Rodgers leaned into that communication early when he realized the flushing mechanism on their shared toilet was, well, not quiet. 'The toilet is super loud,' Metcalf told Yahoo Sports on Thursday. 'So he was like, 'Yeah, at night, if we got to piss, just don't flush the toilet.' I was like, 'All right, bet.'' The nightly urge indeed overcame Metcalf around 9:30 Wednesday night so the receiver texted his quarterback to ask: 'You asleep yet?' Rodgers confirmed he was awake. 'All right, bet,' Metcalf texted back, 'I'm about to flush the toilet.' And flush he did. The Steelers hope that Rodgers and Metcalf's rapport will grow not just in their daily routines but also into a consistent problem for defenses. Pittsburgh looks to Rodgers and Metcalf as part of the recipe to winning a playoff game for the first time in nine years and a Super Bowl for the first in 17. Rodgers believes the bonding in the lunchroom and at snack time, in hot afternoon practices and meetings, are key to taking them all the way. 'Most of the 32 teams would probably say something to that accord at this time of the year, but I think there's really only six to eight that have a legitimate chance,' Rodgers said. 'Sometimes it's 10 to 12, and there's teams that surprise you. 'I would say on paper, we're probably one of those 10 to 12.' Even on interception, Rodgers and Metcalf learning During the first throw of team drills in Wednesday's inaugural practice, the Steelers' defense looked more ready to jump off paper than its offense. Metcalf lined up to Rodgers' left alongside running back Jaylen Warren, raising the antennae of linebacker Patrick Queen. But Rodgers wanted to test Metcalf one-on-one on the hitch against a Cover 3 defense. So the quarterback threw it — and Queen intercepted it. Steelers defenders and fans erupted, a splash play landing earlier in camp practice than perhaps expected. Rodgers, entering Year 21, wasn't fazed. 'It's good to get that out of the way,' he said. 'Anybody that's watched me practice over the years, you like to try certain throws at certain times. And anybody that's watched me in games knows I've been pretty stellar taking care of the football over the years. 'I'm going to try to fit certain things in. You got to deal with some sweat on the ball from time to time, so it's going to be a good challenge. 'I'm going to throw some picks. But I'm going to throw some touchdowns, too.' [Get more Steelers news: Pittsburgh team feed] During his NFL career, Rodgers hasn't just thrown some touchdowns, but a full 503 regular-season touchdowns and 45 more in the playoffs. Rodgers joined the Steelers this offseason, a true free agent for the first time, boasting four MVPs to his name and a Super Bowl title. He's advanced to the postseason 12 times since the Packers drafted him in 2005, and he's won a playoff game in seven different years. That breadth and depth of knowledge showed in the Steelers' first walkthrough, when the veteran quarterback was already diagnosing Pittsburgh's defensive looks despite not officially reaching a deal with the club until June 5. 'He was like, 'Oh, they're going to rotate down this. We're going to rotate down there,'' safety DeShon Elliott told Yahoo Sports. 'We're just like, 'All right, bro. Whatever. Bet. You know our defense, f*** it.' 'He's seen so much football.' What Rodgers has seen has not sent him into autopilot nor bred complacency, coaches and teammates say. Elliott said Rodgers scans safeties longer presnap than any quarterback he's faced in seven years, while rookie quarterback Will Howard says Rodgers questions just about every element of meetings to ensure he understands a play's intent. Why audible to this play rather than that? Why not change the quarterback's footwork on this run scheme, and open up like that on a jet motion? 'Just constantly as we're going through the install, 'Hey, on this one, why are we canning this one to this?'' Howard told Yahoo Sports. 'Constantly inquisitive and it's not necessarily a shot at anyone, it's not an ego thing at all with him. He's just curious. 'He just genuinely wants to know.' That excites offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who began tailoring elements of his offense to Rodgers in mid-March, conversing with the quarterback multiple times before Rodgers officially signed in June after organizing matters in his personal life. Smith sees a quarterback with plenty left in the tank at age 41, in mind and in body. 'He's not a rigid thinker and neither am I so, that makes it easier when you're having those conversations [on] how you want to adapt,' Smith told Yahoo Sports. 'When you watch him at the end of last year when he got healthy, he still throws the football [well]. 'He still moves around pretty good.' Thanks to Rodgers, Steelers' offseason moves speak to 2025 horizon first Rodgers doesn't arrive to the Steelers coming off the best year of his two-decade career, but he doesn't arrive far from it. It was just in 2020 when Rodgers scorched the NFL to the tune of 48 touchdowns to just five interceptions, completing a whopping 70.7% of pass attempts. He won MVP honors with a league-best 121.5 passer rating that season and again the next year with a league-best 111.9. Even so, the Packers traded Rodgers to the Jets before the 2023 season — and the star's high-profile move from Green Bay to New York fell short of its lofty dreams. Rodgers tore his Achilles four plays into his Jets debut in 2023. Then, even at 40 years old, he rebounded to play all 17 games in 2024 despite league wisdom that players typically won't return to their peak until 18 to 24 months post-tear. Rodgers completed 63% of his passes for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions last season as the 5-12 Jets spiraled, firing their head coach and general manager midseason. The franchise did not want Rodgers back under new head coach Aaron Glenn and new general manager Darren Mougey. Rodgers sought a more stable and win-now operation for what he has said is likely the final season of his career. The Steelers met the bill. If the Steelers fall short this season, they will not fall short for lack of roster-building effort. A normally quiet-in-the-offseason club upgraded to Rodgers at quarterback and traded for Metcalf before dealing its 2024 leading receiver, George Pickens. The Steelers also acquired Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey and tight end Jonnu Smith, albeit at the cost of three-time All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Extensions included a record-setting contract for edge rusher T.J. Watt and a secondary-stabilizing extension for Elliott. The Steelers prioritized players who could contribute immediately while not fully sacrificing their future. And they did it in large part because they know their Rodgers window could close by January or February. The shakeup is no guarantee. But players are buying in. 'I think we're going to shock a lot of people,' Metcalf said. 'I know there are questions about, 'Can we figure it all out?' I mean, we're at a destination [for training camp], so we have no choice but to learn each other, figure each other out. We have no choice but to get better on offense versus defense every day.' And no choice, it turns out, but to learn each other's toilet preferences and communicate accordingly. 'Hell, yeah, you got to,' Metcalf said. 'That toilet is loud. If somebody's asleep, it's gonna wake them up.'
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Wan'Dale Robinson, Andru Phillips put on receiver-cornerback show at Giants training camp
You got me. … I got you. That is the way it went down Thursday as two good friends and Giants teammates squared off at training camp. Advertisement Wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson got cornerback Andru Phillips, and soon after, Phillips got Robinson. The first interaction turned out to be the play of the day. Russell Wilson tossed one of his familiar moonballs into the right corner of the end zone, intended for the 5-foot-8 Robinson — not a route he runs often. Phillips was step for step in coverage, the ball came down and it looked to be an incomplete pass as both players tumbled to the grass. Robinson, while sliding, got his hands under the ball and made the grab. Advertisement 3 Wan'Dale Robinson runs after a catch during a Giants OTA practice on June 12, 2025. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images He got to his feet and exulted with his teammates on offense. 'I love competing against him,' Phillips said afterward. 'He's so good. Sometimes I'm just like, 'Dang.' I thought it was incomplete. Just a helluva catch. That just pissed me off so bad. So next play, when that pick came back, I was just so locked in. It was cool.' Advertisement It sure was cool for Phillips. He ran across Robinson on a shorter route and intercepted Wilson's pass. 'How can he do that?' Robinson shouted to the nearby official, showing how Phillips used his arm to swing him around to get the ball. 'I undercut him and I just saw ball,' Phillips said. 'I'm going for the ball, so who cares?' These two players were college teammates at Kentucky, so there is a history, and a bond. Advertisement 3 Andru Phillips looks on during the Giants' 20-17 loss tot he Panthers in the NFL Munich Game on Nov. 10, 2024. DeFodi Images via Getty Images 'There's been days he just whups my ass, and we go in the locker room and we're laughing about it,' Phillips said. 'We've been around each other so long, it's like, 'You got me.' ' Rookie Jaxson Dart fired an interception Wednesday on his first pass of his first team period in his first NFL training camp, the ball picked off by CB Nic Jones. 'You talk about it right after it,' head coach Brian Daboll said a day later. 'I mean, the defense made a good play. That's what these practices are for, for everybody. There'll be some good, there'll be some things we need to correct and make sure you correct them and move on.' Daboll added he liked the way Dart responded after the turnover. 'He's going to make those mistakes,' Daboll said. 'Everybody's going to make them. He did a good job coming back. You don't want to throw picks, but that's why we're practicing.' Advertisement 3 Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart throws a pass during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Thus far, WR Malik Nabers has excelled the first two days of camp, but he is dealing with a lingering toe issue. Nabers said surgery was discussed and the decision was made to monitor the situation. Go behind the scenes with Big Blue Sign up for Inside the Giants by Paul Schwartz, a weekly Sports+ exclusive. Thank you Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! Check out more newsletters Advertisement 'We'll see as it goes,' Daboll said. 'We'll go through practice, see how it feels. If we have to pull back, we'll pull back some. 'You guys see him out there, he looks pretty good. We'll do what we need to do to keep him as fresh as we can keep him.'
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Cleveland Browns mock draft update: Training camp edition
The Cleveland Browns have been one of the true struggling franchises in the NFL. They haven't captured a division crown since 1991 and are one of only four teams that have never been to a Super Bowl. Every offseason, the Browns and their fans have hope, and it seems that every year, things go wrong. When we started on this three-round mock draft for the Browns, we had to look at it with an eye on building a team that can eventually compete in the AFC, and didn't look at quarterback as the Browns drafted two of them in the 2025 NFL draft. We aren't sure either is a franchise quarterback, but the team seems committed to seeing what they have in the short term. So, we used three of the four picks on offense, but took a chance at No. 1 overall. First round - S Caleb Downs - Ohio State The Browns spent more than a decade playing four games a year against the combo of Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed so they understand the impact a truly elite safety can have. A safety has never gone No. 1 overall, and that might continue, but no one should be shocked if a player of Downs' caliber ends up there. First round - WR Jordyn Tyson - Arizona State The best route runner in the draft and a complete receiver who can take over a game. The Browns have cobbled together a very average group of receivers this season and can't expect to compete with this combination of talent. Second round - DE LT Overton - Alabama A defense line Cleveland's can never have enough big bodies up front who can rush the passer and stuff the run and Overton is a budding star. Third round - WR Eric Singleton Jr. - Auburn We go back to wide receiver here because Singleton is just such an explosive playmaker and a perfect player to pair up with Tyson no matter who is the starting quarterback.
