By Brandon Simmons
Trade SZN Updates
Trade deadline is fast approaching and more rumors and transactions are flowing in. The most recent deal to take place was the Kansas City Chiefs acquiring wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Tennessee Titans. Hopkins is the 3rd wide out to be moved during this season following New York Jets receiver Davante Adams and Buffalo Bills receiver Amari Cooper. This may have prompted more teams to go after receivers in the trade market. According to Adam Schefter, Carolina Panthers wide receiver Diontae Johnson and Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk have been 2 names thrown around as trade targets
The Hopkins trade is obviously the headliner and it comes at just the right time. The Chiefs have had plenty of injuries at the wide receiver position and it has affected Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes’ production. The Chiefs still have tight end Travis Kelce but teams are more prone to taking him out of the game plan knowing he is the ultimate weapon on that offense. Hopkins is a player that can bring back that playmaking ability seen by Rashee Rice and another chance for Mahomes to take shots down the field. This is also a chance for Hopkins to get a shot at a title. He was traded from the Houston Texans to the Arizona Cardinals but left there to join the Tennessee Titans last season. Titans were plagued by injuries and inept QB play, which hampered Hopkins’ success. Now he’s in a system with a multiple Super Bowl winning QB, where he can get back to Pro Bowl form and hopefully add a ring to his resume.
Tua Returns
The Miami Dolphins welcomed back QB Tua Tagavoiloa from injured reserve. Tua has been on injured reserve since Week 2 after suffering his 3rd concussion in 2 years. The injury prompted many to weight in on whether or not he should even return to play football. Fast forward to this past Sunday, and Tua has made his choice, getting this offense into their normal high gear with him at the helm. For over a month. The offense has been led by backups, mainly QB Snoop Huntley, who has tried to things afloat until Tua returned. Even though they lost, it was still a welcome sign on the box score for all of the key players including Dolphins running back Devon Achane, who had 97 rushing yards and 50 receiving yards. While the injury concerns are valid for TUA, there is no question that he is a dynamic player when healthy. If he’s able to stay upright and remain healthy, then he will give this Dolphins team a real chance to compete for a title.
Not a Good Look for the Anthony Richardson
(Update: As soon as this was published, it was announced Anthony Richardson has been benched)
Anthony Richardson left the Indianapolis Colts lineup a few weeks ago as the injured franchise quarterback and has now returned to the biggest spotlight on his young career. Sunday, the Colts loss to the Houston Texans 23-20 in a game that featured not one of Richardson’s best moments as a professional. In the 4th quarter, as Richardson is driving his team down the field, during a play he shakes off a defensive tackle then scrambles out of the pocket only to be stopped at the line of scrimmage. He then calls to be taken out of the game for one play, which he later explained was due to fatigue. That obviously did not go well with the analysts on Monday morning. In addition to that, Colts head coach, Shane Steichen was asked if Richardson would start this Sunday night, to which he replied that everything is being evaluated, which is never a good sign for any job security.
This hasn’t been brought on just by Sunday’s loss; a lot of factors have come into play for that statement to even be made. Richardson was drafted as the number 4 overall pick in 2023 but has only played 10 games overall in his career, because of injuries; mind you, he was named the starting QB in training camp of hi rookie season. This has also hampered his development as a passer. While Richardson does lead the league in yards per completion, he also is dead last in completion percentage. It also doesn’t help that Colts backup QB Joe Flacco ha thrown for 758 yards in 3 games, which is close to the 958 yards that Richardson has thrown this year in 6 games.
Anthony Richardson has the potential to be a good player in this league, possibly even great, but he can run out of opportunities to prove that. His size and speed makes him a dangerous raw talent but his arm strength can really be a problem for a defense. He’s supposed to be the first legit answer to a franchise QB since Andrew Luck retired from the Colts abruptly in 2019. However, with the injuries he has been riddled with in just a season and a half, it seems like Indy is going on the same cycle by using up their franchise B and then turning to a veteran castaway QB, which is what they did following the exit of Luck. Ironically, Richardson’s luck will run out for him to keep this starting QB job if he doesn’t learn throw the ball more consistently.
Shoutouts/Shutouts
Shout out to Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders for answering prayers…sort of. Sunday, against the Chicago Bears, the Commanders were up 12-7 late in the 4th quarter, until the Chicago Bears scored on a rushing touchdown by running back Roschon Johnson. Bears rookie QB Caleb Williams completed a pass to tight end Cole Kmet for the 2 point conversion. However, Commanders rookie QB Jayden Daniels led his team on a short drive. The drive ended with Daniels throwing a Hail Mary pass which was deflected by a crowd of receivers and cornerbacks fighting for the ball but tipped right into the hand of Commanders receiver Noah Brown. Hands down, this has to be the play of the year and another highlight for Daniels’ impressive rookie season.
Shut out to Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson for blowing the chance at preventing the completion. As the play is going on, the cornerback is seen talking trash with fans. According to Bears head coach Matt Eberflus, Stevenson was supposed to box out Brown Brown while Bears safety Kevin Byard III knock the pass down. Obviously, none of that happened, but Stevenson did take responsibility for his error.
Bonus shut out to the Dallas Cowboys players, and coach, receiving criticism. Dallas has not been playing their best football and fingers are being pointed everywhere with opinions coming in from everywhere. Recently, Monday Night Football analyst and former Cowboys QB Troy Aikman, made a comment that the receivers were not running precise routes, which prompted a response from Cowboys wide receiver KaVontae Turpin calling him “fake”. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones almost threatened to fire a radio host for questioning the team’s struggles. Sunday, Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs confronted a reporter as he was coming off the field about a tweet the reporter made criticizing Diggs’ effort on one of the plays in Sunday night’s loss.
Dallas Cowboys are having a rough time at the moment and the frustration is getting to everybody.
Week 9 is the midpoint of the season regular season and could dictate a lot of teams’ fortunes. Monday night, the Kansas City Chiefs are hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Chiefs are still unbeaten, even with all the adjustments they are having offensively because of injuries, while the Bucs have been ravaged by injuries themselves but coming into this game on a 2 game losing streak. The game of the week will be the Green Bay Packers hosting the Detroit Lions. It will be the first meeting of the year between these 2 teams in the competitive NFC North. Both offenses are dangerous, especially the Lions who dropped 52 points in their win this past Sunday. It will be an equally competitive game between both teams and should establish some control over the division. But until then…I’ll holla.
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