As the Steelers moved quickly with the truncated window to make their first pick in the 2026 draft, they didn’t know the guy they wanted was already gone.
Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, the Steelers thought receiver Makai Lemon would be available at No. 21. They didn’t know the Eagles had moved up to No. 20 with the Cowboys to snatch Lemon.
Rapoport reports that the Steelers called Lemon without realizing the Eagles had moved up. The Eagles weren’t able to reach Lemon because he was on the phone with the Steelers.
New Steelers coach Mike McCarthy can thank one of his former teams for giving the Lemon pick to a division rival. Without the trade down, the Cowboys wouldn’t have taken Lemon. The trade let it happen.
Eagles Clips
The Cowboys traded up from 12 to 11 to take Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. They traded down from 20 to 23.
The Eagles gave Dallas picks No. 23, 114 and 137 to move up three spots.
Philadelphia selected USC wide receiver Makai Lemon, another sign the team will trade veteran wideout A.J. Brown after June 1.
Brown is not attending the Eagles’ voluntary offseason program as he seeks clarity on his future.
Lemon will join DeVonta Smith, Dontayvion Wicks, Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore at the position in Philadelphia.
He led the Trojans in receiving each of the past two seasons, becoming an All-American and winning the Biletnikoff Award as college football’s top wide receiver in 2025. Lemon caught 79 passes for 1,156 yards and 11 touchdowns in his final college season.
The first set of photos from the New York Post showing Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and NFL reporter Dianna Russini at an adults-only resort in Sedona, Arizona was taken while Russini worked for The Athletic. The Athletic is now reviewing her reporting, after her resignation.
The latest set of photos from the New York Post was taken while she worked for ESPN. The question now becomes whether ESPN will be reviewing her reporting.
ESPN has declined comment in response to an email inquiry from PFT.
Here’s an example of reporting that could be scrutinized, regarding a situation that developed after March 2020, when the photos published earlier today were taken.
In May 2021, Russini reported that the Falcons “have discussed several offers for wide receiver Julio Jones, including an offer of a future first-round draft pick.” The report, under a headline that proclaimed “Atlanta Falcons have offer of a 1st-round pick for Julio Jones, sources say” created a clear impression that the Falcons had an offer in hand of a first-round pick for Jones.
Her report also downplayed the Titans’ chances of landing Jones, calling them a “long shot.” (At the time, Vrabel served as head coach of the Titans.)
Ultimately, the Titans acquired Jones and a 2023 sixth-round pick for a 2022 second-round pick and a 2023 fourth-round pick.
So how did the reporting potentially help the Titans? Putting out the word that the Falcons had been offered a first-round pick could have had a chilling effect on any team that may have been considering offering a second-round pick. Calling the Titans a “long shot” allowed them to maneuver quietly for Jones.
Given the relationship between Vrabel and Russini, it’s not crazy or reckless to wonder whether her reporting was directly or indirectly connected to the effort to help the Titans get Jones on the best possible terms. Which, of course, will bolster suspicions by Eagles fans that she had been working more recently with Vrabel to get Eagles receiver A.J. Brown on the best possible terms.
The point for now is that the newest photos directly relate to her time at ESPN. And that specific entanglement could explain why it took so long for ESPN to pay full attention to the story. In the end, its own credibility could be undermined by the reporting Russini did while working there.
A report on Monday indicated the Patriots are “likely” to acquire Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown in a trade after June 1.
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel was asked about Adam Schefter’s report on Tuesday. Vrabel initially asked what the report was.
“No. I mean, I think we are going to continue to try to strengthen our team,” Vrabel said, via Brian Hines of patspulpit.com. “The first focus is going to be on Thursday night and making sure that we get that right, and then we’ll focus on Friday. Saturday is always an important day.
“Just to continue to build our roster. Eliot [Wolf] and Ryan [Cowden] will have numerous conversations with different teams, but our first focus is gonna be on the draft.”
Brown is not attending the Eagles’ voluntary offseason program as he seeks clarity on his future.
Vrabel previously coached Brown with the Titans.
The Packers traded receiver Dontayvion Wicks to the Eagles earlier this month, receiving a 2026 fifth-round pick and a 2027 sixth-round pick in exchange for the receiver.
In his pre-draft press conference on Tuesday, Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst framed the deal as one that should work out well for Wicks and Green Bay for different reasons. With several talented players at receiver on the Packers’ roster, Wicks may have had trouble breaking through that group for a definite future with the franchise.
“It’s always tough to move off of a player that you feel is as good as Dontayvion was for us,” Gutekunst said. “I think he’s got a really bright career ahead of him. The situation we were kind of in with the amount of players we had in that room, what we’re probably going to do in the future, him being in the last year of his contract, it just made a little bit of sense. This year, coming out of the ’22 draft class, I think we were lucky enough to have retained a bunch of those guys. But a bunch of those guys signed elsewhere this year, too — we’re probably going to get compensatory picks for those players. I don’t know for sure if we’re going to be able to do that moving forward next year and the year after.
“So, the ability to get two picks for a player that we weren’t sure exactly how he was going to fit into our future plans, it just made a lot of sense. And I think it was good for us, and I think it’s going to be good for Dontayvion, too, I think he’ll see his opportunities increase there as well.”
Without Wicks, the Packers currently have Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Matthew Golden, Savion Williams, Skyy Moore, Jakobie Keeney-James, Isaiah Neyor, and Will Sheppard on their roster at wideout.
Additionally, Gutekunst noted that the picks the team received for Wicks should help with flexibility for this week’s draft.
“Every G.M. wants as many as you can [have], not only because of the players you can select, but the ability to move,” Gutekunst said. “You never like giving them up, but if there’s a player in front of you that you know you’re going to acquire, it makes it a little bit easier. So, yeah, I think we sit with eight right now. We’re looking at 11-plus for next year. So, whether it’s in this year’s draft, next year’s, the ability to move around to acquire the types of players we want to acquire, you have to have those picks to do that.”
Wicks caught 30 passes for 332 yards with two touchdowns for the Packers in 2025. In his 46 career games since being selected in the fifth- round of the 2023 draft, Wicks has caught 108 passes for 1,328 yards with 11 TDs.
The World Cup is coming to multiple NFL stadiums. And the costs associated with getting to and from the venues will differ significantly among some of the cities.
In New Jersey, the cost for a return rail trip from MetLife Stadium to Penn Station in New York after one of the various World Cup matches will be $150. The trip usually costs $12.90.
In Philadelphia, the local host committee has secured free travel for fans leaving World Cup matches via the city’s transit system.
FIFA has complained about the New Jersey plan. “The NJ Transit current pricing model will have a chilling effect,” FIFA said in a statement. “Elevated fares inevitably push fans toward alternative transportation options. This increases concerns of congestion, late arrivals, and creates broader ripple effects that ultimately diminish the economic benefit and lasting legacy the entire region stands to gain from hosting the World Cup.”
In Boston, round-trip bus services to and from Gillette Stadium for World Cup matches will cost $95.
The numbers in New Jersey and Massachusetts are stunning, but that’s what happens when big events come to town. FIFA be damned.
At this point, it’s too late for FIFA to do anything about it. Other than to give a made-up award to Philly.
They can call it the FIFA price prize.
When it comes to the Eagles and trades, there’s been a heavy recent focus on receiver A.J. Brown.
But Philadelphia also has had interest in adding an edge rusher.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Eagles and Vikings have engaged in trade talks about defensive end Jonathan Greenard multiple times during the offseason.
Minnesota is seeking a “premium Day 2 pick” in exchange for Greenard, Schefter reports. The Eagles currently hold No. 54 overall in the second round, plus No. 68 and No. 98 in the third round.
Philadelphia’s interest in adding an edge rusher, however, goes beyond Greenard, according to Schefter.
Greenard, 28, has spent the last two seasons with the Vikings. He was a Pro Bowler for the first time in 2024, recording 12.0 sacks with 18 tackles for loss and 22 quarterback hits. In 2025, he was limited to 12 games with 10 starts, recording 3.0 sacks, 10 TFLs, and 12 QB hits along with three passes defensed with one forced fumble.
The current belief around the NFL is that wide receiver A.J. Brown will be playing for the Patriots come the start of the regular season, but Brown remains on the Eagles roster as the team starts their offseason program this week.
Brown is not expected to be part of that work, however. Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that Brown will not attend the Eagles’ offseason work as he waits for clarity on his future.
A trade that sends Brown to the Patriots is reportedly likely to come after June 1 for cap purposes. All work for the Eagles and Patriots is voluntary until they hold mandatory minicamps later in June.
DeVonta Smith, Dontayvion Wicks, and Hollywood Brown are the top Eagles wideouts who are expected to be on the team’s roster come September.
A.J. Brown is still an Eagle, but he’ll probably be a Patriot in about six weeks.
The veteran wide receiver is “likely” to be traded to the Patriots after June 1, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
The Eagles want to wait until after June 1 because of salary cap accounting: The Eagles will take a $40 million cap hit when they trade Brown, and NFL rules allow teams to split the cap hit between 2026 and 2027 for trades after June 1. Before June 1, the whole $40 million would count toward the Eagles’ 2026 cap.
The trade is not done now, and it’s still possible that some other team could come along and offer the Eagles more for Brown than the Patriots are offering, or that the planned trade could get derailed for other reasons. But based on what is known at the moment, Brown appears headed to New England.
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel previously coached Brown with the Titans and would like to coach him again. There’s been no word on what the Patriots will send back to the Eagles for Brown, but one or more Patriots 2027 or 2028 draft picks would appear to be on the way to Philly when Brown is on his way to New England.
The World Cup is coming soon. And it’s quickly becoming a pain in the posterior for the 13 teams playing in stadiums that will be commandeered for intercontinental soccer.
Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal recently reviewed some of the practical impacts of FIFA bigfooting the various venues where fútbol will be played. This week, for example, the Jets and Giants will move their annual draft parties away from MetLife Stadium to Manhattan.
In all, 13 teams are impacted by the World Cup: the Cowboys, Jets, Giants, Falcons, Chiefs, Texans, 49ers, Chargers, Rams, Eagles, Seahawks, Patriots, and Dolphins.
For the teams that have employees at the stadiums hosting World Cup games, many will be moved. Those who are staying put will be subject to FIFA credentialing to get into their workplaces. And the Giants will start training camp in West Virginia, since MetLife Stadium will be hosting the final match on July 19 on a grass field that will need to be removed and replaced with one of the worst artificial surfaces in the entire league.
That last part still has to be the most galling for NFL players. Owners with stadiums that don’t have grass have bent over backwards to do whatever had to be done to placate FIFA. Their regular employees, however, will still be stuck with a lesser (and far cheaper) playing surface.
The various sacrifices involuntarily made by the players and other team employees should prompt FIFA to give them all a phony, made-up award. Especially since FIFA has already done that, for far less.
