The Buccaneers have taken care of some important business with their rookies.
Tampa Bay announced on Thursday that second-round pick Josiah Trotter has signed his rookie four-year deal.
That means the Bucs have now signed all seven of their 2026 draftees.
Trotter, a linebacker, played his college ball at at West Virginia in 2023 and 2024 before transferring to Mizzou for 2025. He was the Big 12 defensive freshman of the year in 2024 before becoming a first-team All-SEC selection in 2205.
The NFL’s current political issues include an effort by Florida attorney general James Uthmeier to challenge the league’s diversity initiatives. Most recently, Uthmeier issued an investigative subpoena to the NFL, along with a letter suggesting that the league’s response to his initial communication may have violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act by revising “many references” on its public website to its allegedly “unlawful ‘inclusive hiring’ policies.”
Commissioner Roger Goodell was in Florida on Tuesday, for the most recent ownership meeting. During a press conference conducted at the conclusion of the sessions, Goodell was asked about Uthmeier’s ongoing assault on the league.
“I think we have been very clear about our programs, and we obviously evaluate them all the time, not just for how they get better, but also to make sure that they’re consistent with the law,” Goodell said, via the Associated Press. “We’re engaging with the Florida attorney general and will continue to. We’ll share everything we’re doing with them. We think it’s certainly within the law, but also something very positive.”
The best evidence, frankly, would be to point to the teams’ hiring practices regarding coaches and General Managers. Despite efforts to expand the interview pool to include diverse candidates, the ultimate decisions — made exclusively by the teams and not the league — do not represent the demographics of the player population.
Uthmeier, who is running for election in 2026 to the job for which he received a gubernatorial appointment, may be engaging in performative antics. Time will tell whether his letter-writing campaign and request for information becomes something more than that.
Defensive end Markees Watts tried out for the Browns at their rookie minicamp this month and that went well enough to earn him an extended stay in Cleveland.
The Browns announced that they have signed Watts on Tuesday. They also signed wide receiver Aaron Anderson and linebacker Reid Carrico.
Watts spent the last three seasons with the Buccaneers. He appeared in 27 games and recorded 13 tackles and 1.5 sacks.
Anderson and Carrico were both undrafted this year and also took part in the minicamp on a tryout basis. Anderson had 106 receptions for 1,341 yards and five touchdowns while at LSU while Carrico spent time at West Virginia and Ohio State.
The Browns waived defensive tackle Bernard Gooden, tight end Caden Prieskorn, and wide receiver Isaiah Wooden in corresponding moves.
NFL Network lost its schedule-release show. It’s nevertheless gaining a late-season Saturday doubleheader.
In Week 16, on the day after Christmas, NFLN will televise a game at 4:30 p.m. ET and 8:00 p.m. ET.
The schedule identifies four potential games for the two slots: Buccaneers-Falcons, Bengals-Colts, Commanders-Vikings, and Panthers Steelers.
The decision as to which games will slide from Sunday to Saturday will be made during the season.
Coupled with a Thursday night game and three Christmas Day games, Week 16 will have 10 total windows — one more than Thanksgiving week. That leaves only eight games to be played on the Saturday afternoon windows.
We don’t know if Fernando Mendoza will be starting at quarterback for the Raiders in Week 1 of the regular season, but we do know who the Raiders will be playing in the first overall pick’s potential debut.
The NFL’s schedule reveal on Thursday night shows that the Raiders will host the Dolphins at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 13. The game will be on Fox.
Mendoza will have to get the nod over Kirk Cousins in order to start for the Raiders. Offseason addition Malik Willis is expected to make his first appearance for the Dolphins. Both teams will definitely have head coaches making their offseason debut as Las Vegas hired Klint Kubiak in February and Miami hired Jeff Hafley in January.
Sunday will also feature a pair of divisional games in the late afternoon window. The Packers will visit the Vikings while the Commanders will be in Philadelphia to renew their acquaintance with the Eagles. The NFC North matchup will be on CBS while the NFC East clash will be broadcast by Fox.
The other late game on Sunday afternoon will see the Cardinals visiting the Chargers on CBS. Arizona could have Jacoby Brissett, Gardner Minshew or rookie Carson Beck at quarterback for that contest.
The 1 p.m. ET games will send the Bills to Houston for a date with the Texans while the Browns go on the road against the Jaguars. The Colts will host the Ravens, the Saints will visit the Lions, the Buccaneers will travel to Cincinnati for Dexter Lawrence’s first game as a Bengal, and the Steelers will kick off the Mike McCarthy era — with or without Aaron Rodgers — at home against the Falcons.
Previous reports revealed that the Jets will be in Tennessee and that the Bears will head to Charlotte to face the Panthers. The Jets-Titans game will be on CBS along with the Bills-Texans, Ravens-Colts and Browns-Jaguars games. All the other 1 p.m. games will be on Fox.
The entire Week 1 slate will kick off on Wednesday, September 9 with a Patriots-Seahawks Super Bowl rematch in Seattle on NBC. Thursday will bring a Netflix game between the 49ers and Rams in the NFL’s first game in Melbourne and Sunday night will find the Cowboys at MetLife Stadium to meet the Giants on NBC’s Sunday Night Football. Those games were all announced ahead of Thursday’s full schedule reveal, which was also the case for the ESPN Monday night game between the Broncos and Chiefs in Kansas City.
