Player Notes

8/30/2023The cruel reality of the NFL made an appearance on the fourth episode of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” on Tuesday.Defensive tackle Tanzel Smart and wide receiver Jerome Kapp — two players released by the Jets as they trimmed their roster to 53 — were the subjects of two lengthy scenes about their unlikely paths to training camp, but their appearances ended with Smart’s shoulder injury in the preseason ...

8/30/2023The last six weeks have been the Aaron Rodgers show at Jets training camp.Rodgers’ ability on the field was fun to watch and lived up to expectations. But Rodgers away from the field may have been even more fascinating.Rodgers met with the reporters who regularly cover the team seven times during training camp, six times after practice and once after the Giants game. During those sessions, ...

8/30/2023Eric Mangini learned it the hard way. So, apparently, has Peter King.If you cross Bill Belichick, the Patriots head coach is done with you.King, now a columnist for NBC Sports, told The Athletic that he hasn’t spoken to Belichick in 17 years.Why?Belichick didn’t like King’s coverage of Spygate.“That’s the cost of doing business sometimes,” King said. “He’s one of the greatest coaches of all ...

8/30/2023When Robert Saleh became the Jets coach in 2021, he talked a lot about the team needing to close the gap within the AFC East.Despite the offseason Gang Green has had, there’s still work to be done in that regard.Saleh and the Jets ended their 12-game losing stream to AFC East opponents last season. However, during his time as coach of the Jets, Saleh has a record of 2-10 within the division.With ...

After Tuesday’s flurry of 53-man roster cuts, only one player will report to the Patriots’ quarterbacks room Wednesday morning.Just two players will walk into the running backs meeting.And close to a dozen, in fact 11, hulking, giant, sweaty offensive linemen will rumble into their own sitdown with new coach Adrian Klemm.How did we get here? How did the Patriots get here?Go back to March. Armed with ...

The most difficult game to play in the NFL isn’t a road game, a Thursday night game on a short week, or even a Super Bowl. It’s the quarterback game. The most influential position in North American professional team sports is also the most enigmatic one to forecast correctly.NFL decision-makers play Alan Turing and try again and again to crack the QB code. Yet it still feels as unscientific as playing ...

FOXBOROUGH — After establishing their initial 53-man roster on Tuesday, the Patriots stayed busy on Wednesday.New England placed wide receiver Tyquan Thornton on injured reserve, according to a league source. Thornton, who has not played since landing hard on his shoulder during a joint practice in Green Bay, will miss at least four regular-season games.The 23-year-old Thornton also began last season ...

The AFC East is as competitive from top to bottom as it has likely ever been.In a year where the Miami Dolphins have hopes of winning a playoff game for the first time since the 2000 season and maybe making a deep postseason run — possibly to the Super Bowl — they’ll get all the challenges they can handle in the regular season, especially within the division.Following two decades of New England Patriots ...

MIAMI GARDENS — There’s one question you must ask yourself as the Miami Dolphins stand on the doorstep of the 2023 season: are they good enough to win a playoff game?The ultimate goal is winning the Super Bowl. But the basic goal, the thing the Dolphins must absolutely accomplish to keep the arrow pointing upward, is winning a playoff game.I don’t think they’re at that point yet.That doesn’t mean they ...

When the Raiders made the difficult decision to release linebacker Drake Thomas after a strong preseason, there was a hope he would clear waivers and be eligible to return.That didn’t happen.Thomas was claimed by the Seahawks and will continue his career on the active roster in Seattle.Essentially, the Raiders gambled and lost.“You take a chance obviously with every player that you release and try ...