Despite being undrafted in 2023, receiver Xavier Gipson made it more than two years with the Jets. He didn’t make it two weeks with the Giants.
The other New York team waived Gipson on Saturday.
The Jets had release Gipson following a Week 1 loss to Pittsburgh, during which his fumble on a kickoff return helped fuel the Steelers’ come-from-behind win.
Gipson was inactive for his first, and only, game for the Giants.
He’ll head to waivers again. If he isn’t claimed, he’ll become a free agent — and he’ll likely end up on a practice squad.
Buccaneers first-round pick Emeka Egbuka is off to a strong start and he’s set to have a chance to continue it against the Jets on Sunday.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that Egbuka is expected to play in Week 3. The wideout was listed as questionable on Friday due to hip and groin injuries that kept him from practicing on Wednesday and Thursday.
Egbuka has eight catches for 96 yards and three touchdowns so far this season.
Wide receiver Chris Godwin (ankle) and left tackle Tristan Wirfs (knee) were the players ruled out by the Bucs on Friday. Neither of them has played in a game yet this season.
When Bill Belichick puts his two-game college winning streak (after beating a couple of FCS schools) on the line today, he’ll see a familiar face on the other sideline.
UCF coach Scott Frost played for Belichick for two years with the Jets, from 1998 to 1999.
A third-round pick in the 1998 draft, Frost moved from quarterback to defensive back. He appeared in 13 regular-season games as a rookie and 16 (with one start) in 1999.
During those two seasons, Belichick worked as the Jets’ defensive coordinator. And, technically, he was Frost’s head coach. For a day or two. Until Belichick abruptly resigned and became the Patriots’ head coach.
UCF is favored by 7 points against North Carolina. After this game, Belichick’s 2-1 Tar Heels embark on their ACC schedule — starting with a visit from Clemson.
In a memo sent on Friday, the NFL informed all teams that it is within their “exclusive discretion” to determine whether players who would like to participate in the March 2026 Saudi Arabia flag football tournament will be allowed to do so.
So far, all of the players mentioned in the initial release have received permission to play, per a source with knowledge of the situation.
They are: Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb, 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner, Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, Raiders tight end Brock Bowers, Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby, and Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill.
The memo also explains that players who participate will do so at their own risk, and that any injury sustained during the event will not be regarded as a football-related injury within the scope of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and their individual contract.
That wrinkle, we’re told, has already been addressed. The players will be covered by the same type of insurance that the NFL uses for the Pro Bowl, the Olympics, and other sporting events involving active players. The players, and their teams, will be insured against losses arising from any potential injuries happening during the competition.
Although the memo explains that the event is not an NFL initiative, the league is supporting the effort to globalize the game — and to further expand the footprint of flag football. While the tournament could be viewed as an effort by Saudi Arabia to test the football waters before making a future LIV Golf-style play, the current thinking is that Saudi Arabia realizes the massive expense associated with creating the infrastructure required to launch a multi-team, 11-on-11, tackle football competitor to the NFL.
Still, it’ll be interesting to see where it goes from here. A preseason game in Saudi Arabia? A regular-season game? Or will Saudi Arabia buy the UFL?
However it goes, money talks. And Saudi Arabia has an unlimited supply of it.
Quarterback remains, by far, the most important position on any NFL team. On Sunday, five of the 28 teams that will be playing won’t have their best quarterback under center to start the game.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is out indefinitely, and reportedly at least three months, after undergoing toe surgery. If the Bengals aren’t in the playoff hunt by the middle of December, he likely won’t play again at all this year.
Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels has a knee injury that, for the most part, has been cloaked in secrecy. Nothing was mentioned about it after Washington’s Week 2 loss at Green Bay. A report emerged that he had an MRI the day after the game. The team has taken full advantage of the low bar created by the injury report; no specifics have been reported or mentioned about the injury to his knee or his expected absence.
Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy suffered a high ankle sprain in the Week 2 loss to Atlanta. He’ll miss up to a month.
Jets quarterback Justin Fields will miss Sunday’s game at Tampa Bay after suffering a concussion against the Bills.
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has a toe injury and a left shoulder injury from a Week 1 win over the Saints. He’ll miss his second straight start. (There’s a chance he’ll be in uniform as a backup.)
Five of 32 quarterbacks. After only two weeks. And others have been banged up. Packers quarterback Jordan Love continues to appear on the injury report with a left thumb issue, which required in preseason surgery. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has a right wrist injury. Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield has toe and foot injuries. Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who wasn’t on the Week 3 injury report, took a blow to the nose that left him with noticeable bruising under both eyes (and a face shield) on Thursday night.
It’s a basic reality of full-contact football. Even with quarterbacks more protected than ever, they get hit. With every hit they take, there’s a chance the hit will leave them hurt.
In 2022, the NFL defended seemingly excessive roughing-the-passer penalties by linking quarterback availability to ratings. A rash of quarterback injuries in 2023, however, didn’t affect viewership.
That’s the basic reality. Football is like pizza. When it’s good, it’s good. When it’s bad, it’s still pretty good. And there’s no Sunday alternative to the NFL.
For that reason, an uptick in quarterback injuries won’t impede the NFL’s desire to add an 18th game. (Which inevitably will be followed by a push to add a 19th game.) And it won’t diminish the eventual appetite to increase total inventory by adding teams.
Still, no injury impacts a team like losing its quarterback. On Sunday, five teams will roll the dice with backups.
And we’ll still watch every second of it.
