NFL Player News

Maye struggled through the air all afternoon, completing less than 50 percent of his passes while taking five sacks from the No. 1 sack defense in the league. Despite his offensive struggles, Maye and the Patriots took advantage of a turnover late in the second quarter, when Jarrett Stidham was ruled to have thrown a pass behind the line of scrimmage, which was recovered by the Patriots on Denver’s 12-yard line. Maye would complete a six-yard pass to Kayshon Boutte on the following play, then run up the middle on a QB draw on the following play for the six-yard score, tying the game before the half. On the opening possession of the second-half, Maye again relied on his legs, breaking free for a 28-yard run on third down to move his offense into the Broncos’ red zone. While they weren’t able to find the end zone on the drive, a 23-yard field goal by Andy Borregales to cap the drive proved to be more than enough for Maye and the Patriots, who spent much of the the second half grinding out the clock in snowy conditions. Now headed to the Super Bowl, Maye will become the second-youngest quarterback in NFL history to start Super Bowl (Dan Marino, 23 years and 127 days), and the first from the 2024 NFL Draft Class to make it to the big game. The game was far from pretty, but Maye again came up clutch and is one game away from hoisting his first Lombardi Trophy in just his second season. The Patriots now wait to see who they will play between the Rams and Seahawks.

Vea is due $17 million in the final year of his four-year contract, considerably lower than other top defensive big men around the league. It’s a situation to monitor as the season draws near, with the veteran nose tackle clearly looking for a new deal. Whether the saga carries into camp and the preseason remains to be seen, but it is possible Vea wants to put pen to paper before retaking the field.

Both players were signed following a successful workout with the team Tuesday, parlaying strong seasons in the UFL into NFL contracts. Jackson was a member of the Vikings organization for two seasons but appeared in only three games with the franchise in 2023. Both receivers will look to notch strong camps and preseasons as they attempt to stick on the final 53-man roster in Detroit.

Olave has been on blood thinners after a blood clot was discovered in his lung prior to Week 18 of last season, restricting the alpha wide receiver to individual drills up to this point in the offseason program. The good news is that he’s reportedly set to get off blood thinners in less than two weeks, after which he will look to gain clearance to return to unrestricted football activities. The veteran wide receiver is set to play the 2026 season on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract, making the coming season of utmost importance to his future in New Orleans.

He also admitted that his follow-up procedure was because he was dealing with bone spurs. There’s not really any doubt that Nix will be ready for training camp at this point, and the Broncos seem to be taking it easy with him during mandatory minicamp.

McConkey echoed Jim Harbaugh’s message that he doesn’t view it as a significant concern. It is at least a mild one considering it’s costing McConkey reps in a new offense, and could grow into a bigger one if he’s sidelined longer than the internal estimate. That said, most players recover from hamstring strains in weeks instead of months and there’s no reason to believe McConkey won’t be ready for camp.

Pickens’ current ADP is in the 20-30 range and we expect most analysts will give him a little bump now that he’s not holding out of camp. CeeDee Lamb’s health clearly played a role in Pickens’ 2025 season, as did Dallas’ cataclysmically bad defense. Still, he has a real chance to finish as a WR1 this year and full reps at training camp can only help him out as he plays out the franchise tag.

“With improvements in those areas as a senior in college, teams expected him to be in the first-round conversation in the 2027 draft class. But the gambling cloud hanging over his draft projection makes this an unprecedented situation. Is there enough time before July’s supplemental draft for teams to fully understand his recovery and mindset?” Brugler adds. Brugler’s been in the draft game for a long time and has a lot of sources, so we believe this carries some weight even if it wouldn’t be wildly surprising to see Sorsby selected in the second or third round of the supplemental draft. It’s clear that Sorsby has the tools to play in the NFL and also clear that gambling is a line that many franchises will refuse to cross, but it only takes one.

Pace was fired by the Falcons after a few years in the building. His appointment as “football advisor” rather than something closer to his old “VP of football operations” gig appears to point to him losing some clout in the process. He’s probably not a threat to become a general manager again at this point.

Reporters haven’t spotted McConkey at recent practices, though Harbaugh said he will participate in individual drills today. This is likely just a minor injury and Harbaugh has said it “isn’t a big concern.” We’ll keep an eye on this but it probably shouldn’t impact his best ball position much from what we know now.

Jordan returns to the Big Easy for a 16th season. He’ll get an incentive-laden deal per Ian Rapoport. Jordan has played 48 and 54 percent of the snaps for the Saints over the past two seasons, respectively. He’ll be part of — but not the linchpin of — New Orleans’ pass rush rotation in 2026.