NFL camps begin this week and will primarily focus on missing players.
All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones skipped Sunday’s first practice session with reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs over a contract dispute.
Veterans of the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders are scheduled to report Tuesday, but Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs are expected to hold out as they failed to secure long-term contracts after earning the franchise title. Both star running backs would earn $10.1 million under that title this season.
Neither Barkley nor Jacobs signed the franchise tender, meaning they will not be fined for missing workouts. They would lose $560,611 per game if they sat out during the season.
Holdouts are nothing new in the NFL and were more common decades ago. Jones is expected to earn a base salary of $19.5 million this season and has a salary cap of nearly $28.3 million, giving the Chiefs motivation to sign a new contract. He faces a mandatory fine of $50,000 a day.
“Look, we love Chris Jones and if he decides to come forward, we will welcome him,” Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said. “I don’t want to speculate on when that’s going to happen or if it’s going to happen.”
Barkley and Jacobs are a different story. You are angry and frustrated. You feel undervalued and underappreciated. The same goes for many of their peers in the league.
“There’s really nothing we can do,” Cleveland Browns replied said Nick Chubb on Sunday after participating in a Zoom call with several defenders in the league on Saturday. “We’re sort of tied up with the situation.”
Barkley and Jacobs are expected to report at some point. Missed games only cost them money that they never get back. But there’s no incentive for them to appear before September.
The biggest storyline beyond the holdout players revolves around Aaron Rodgers, the New York Jets and their appearance on the HBO series Hard Knocks. Rodgers and the Jets were already under scrutiny. Now television cameras will be there to follow their every move.
Jets coach Robert Saleh downplayed Rodgers’ added pressure to win.
“What struck me in New York is that they really don’t care,” he said. “Either you win or you don’t, it doesn’t matter who you have. The expectation of winning is constant in this league. You always have that monkey breathing down your neck like you have to get that result. I’ve said it before: as important as the outcome is, if you only focus on it, you’re skipping the process required to get the outcome you want. So the pressure is how you get on with the day and how you get better.”
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs reported last week that they can’t wait to become the first team to make a repeat since the New England Patriots in 2003 and 2004.
“It’s hard to win the Super Bowl” said Mahomes. “I think I realized that you can do everything right from the first time to the second and not win.”
The Philadelphia Eagles, reporting Tuesday, aim to become the first team since the Patriots in 2018 and fourth overall to win a Super Bowl a year after the loss.
“This team needs to find an identity” said Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Many eyes at camp will be on rookie QBs Bryce Young in Carolina, CJ Stroud in Houston and Anthony Richardson in Indianapolis.
Young, the No. 1 overall pick, took over as first-team substitutes back in the off-season and looks set to be on track for the start of week one. Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick, should get a similar chance with the Texans and first-year coach DeMeco Ryans. Richardson, who was picked fourth and didn’t have much playing experience in college in Florida, probably won’t start for the Colts right away, but is expected to oust veteran Gardner Minshew at some point.
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Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter at https://twitter.com/robmaaddi
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