NFL

McCarthy also said he hopes to develop 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard, mentioning making tweaks to the 24-year-old’s footwork to help him “win from the pocket.” While Steelers owner Art Rooney II said he hopes to have Aaron Rodgers’ return decision by draft weekend, the team will need long-term plans at the quarterback position. In his first year as Steelers head coach, McCarthy will aim to develop Howard and also add his own selection from the 2026 rookie class. DeFabo reports the Steelers have met with Miami’s Carson Beck at the NFL Combine and at the team’s facility. Drew Allar, Ty Simpson, Cole Payton, and Taylen Green are also mentioned as options by DeFabo. As the Steelers await Aaron Rodgers for a second straight offseason, evaluation for a younger quarterback room will be underway.

Though no deal is imminent, there has been consistent reported interest between Beckham and the Giants. He began his career in New York and also played for Harbaugh in Baltimore during the 2023 season. The 33-year-old last played for the Dolphins in 2024 and is eyeing a return to the league. Harbaugh met with Beckham at the NFL’s annual league meetings in Arizona, marking some progress towards a potential reunion.

Recent murmurs about changing the Rooney Rule have stemmed from the Florida Attorney General sending a letter asking for its elimination. In response, Goodell said, “we are aware of the laws and... we think the Rooney Rule is consistent with those.” The rule is intended to expand opportunities for minorities, requiring NFL teams to interview at least two external minority candidates for general manager, head coaching, and coordinator vacancies. Goodell made it clear in his press conference at the NFL’s annual league meetings that the Rooney Rule is here to stay.

Schroeder said those extra games will go elsewhere on the schedule. The league was airing multiple games on Monday as part of a deal with Disney to increase total number of games aired by Disney throughout the season. Now, the league has a deal to sell Disney control of NFL Network and the MNF doubleheaders will no longer be a thing. Schroeder said the result was a miscalculation of fan interest and other windows will be looked at for airing those games.

McDonald was taken No. 15 overall in the 2023 draft and is now eligible to have his fifth-year option picked up. In three seasons, McDonald has tallied 21.5 sacks, including back-to-back seasons of at least eight sacks. His option is expected to be around $14 million, making his contract for 2027 relatively light for a productive edge rusher. McDonald will head into year four with the Jets likely exploring extension talks to keep him long-term.

EverBank Stadium is undergoing a major renovation in 2027 — technically 2026 too, but the Jaguars will play that out with reduced capacity in Jacksonville. We’re used to imagining the Jaguars as a future English outlet, but it seems they have gotten everything together to remain in Jacksonville. Trevor Lawrence and Desmond Bane will battle for the Orlando spotlight in 2027.

Kincaid has declined to have a torn PCL surgically repaired since 2024. “There’s a lot of things that he is pushing through that you guys might not see, and I think some of it is just learning how to play with certain elements of some movements that might not feel great, and he’s had to push through that,” Brady said. Both GM Brandon Beane and Brady alluded to having to manage Kincaid’s practice time in 2026 to keep him fresh for games and deal with pain tolerance issues. We’re not doctors, nor will we play one on Rotoworld dot com, but it sounds like we can expect to be doing a lot of blurbs about Kincaid on practice days again this year. It’s never a great sign for a player’s fantasy value when we start talking about them being limited in April, but Kincaid has a big enough role in Buffalo’s offense to be in the fringe TE1 discussion.

We suspected as much based on the chatter that Dobbins could have played in the Super Bowl, but it’s good to get the affirmation from the people running the team. Dobbins profiles as the lead back in Denver at the start of the season, but we wouldn’t be surprised if RJ Harvey makes a real run at starting duties in either training camp or in the early portion of the year. Dobbins will be a risky RB3, as always, because he can’t stay healthy either way.

McGary was lost for the season in a late August practice with what the team never elaborated on but we suspect was either an ACL tear or broken leg based on the time missed. McGary will be 11 months clear of the injury by training camp, so this isn’t a surprising update, but it’s good news that McGary is trending towards a return.

Cooks is probably a fallback plan for the Bills if they don’t draft someone. Even if he’s signed, the pecking order in targets in Buffalo has radically changed with DJ Moore in town and fantasy managers shouldn’t be expecting more than a WR5 role for Cooks.