Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter
·
20m
Bengals placed the $26.2 million franchise tag on WR Tee Higgins. This marks the second straight year that the Bengals have used their franchise tag on Higgins.

My 91 year old dad in home hospice now...Lived a good life and got to see great grand babies. 

End-state cancer, on avg 6 mos or so. Not a good way to go. 

He wants to get out and drive soon as things warm-up. Hard conversation to say you can't drive again. 

God bless Hospice, those people are special - true angels and very knowledgable. They were so helpful with my inlaws a few years back too.

The young QB suffers a season ending injury and is replaced by the backup. The backup, a 27 year old, former USC QB, who had done nothing in his previous seasons. Now with a very good surround, he takes the team to an 11-win season. 

After the season, with the young starter returning to health, the team places the franchise tag on the backup QB. Couple weeks later he’s traded for a high 2nd round pick. Of course I’m talking about the Patriots, Tom Brady, Matt Cassel and the Chiefs. Someone explain to me how our situation is SO DIFFERENT that we shouldn’t expect to get something for Sam Darnold.

You might argue that Cassel was better than Darnold. Not even close. Cassel's season: 11 wins, 3600 yards, 21 TDs and 11 INTs. Darnold's season: 14 wins, 4300 yards, 35 TDs and 12 INTs. You might argue the upcoming QB class was worse, forcing the Chiefs to make the trade. It wasn't. The Chiefs had the #3 overall pick and Matthew Stafford was in that class. You might argue that Cassel was cheaper than Darnold will be. But that's not true either. By definition, the tag salaries are exactly the same. And later in the offseason, before he even took a snap with the Chiefs, Cassel received an extension that made him the 5th highest paid QB in the NFL.

Ian Hartitz
@Ihartitz
Age in Week 1, 2025:

22: JJ McCarthy, Jaxson Dart
23: CJ Stroud, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Anthony Richardson, Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders
24: Jayden Daniels, Bryce Young
25: Brock Purdy, Trevor Lawrence, Bo Nix, Michael Penix
26: Jordan Love, Justin Fields, Will Levis
27: Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert, Tua Tagovailoa
28: Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Kyler Murray, Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones
29: Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen
30: Jared Goff, Baker Mayfield
31: Jameis Winston
32: Dak Prescott
34: Derek Carr, Geno Smith
36: Russell Wilson
37: Matthew Stafford, Kirk Cousins
41: Aaron Rodgers

https://www.profootballrumors.com/2025/0...et-limited

https://youtube.com/shorts/FfAyGP_hzvY?s...jOvp0SZuEC

Through the first 2 episodes, not for the squeamish...