[Stephen Curry](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/stephen-curry), whose off-court interests already include commercial deals and charitable causes, is extending his sphere of influence further after accepting a role as an assistant general manager at his alma mater, Davidson College. [ESPN confirmed the news](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/44191234/stephen-curry-accepts-assistant-gm-role-davidson-hoops) with Davidson on Monday. Curry, who played for the Wildcats from 2006 to 2009 will offer guidance to the men’s and women’s basketball teams. Curry has plenty of experience to draw from: he is a two-time MVP, four-time NBA champion and 11-time All-Star with the Golden State Warriors. The 36-year-old will combine his administrative duties while continuing his playing career with the Warriors, who are in playoff contention this season. “The Davidson experience is top notch,” Curry said in a statement. “My journey from when I got to Davidson in 2006 to now demonstrated that I had the opportunity to play basketball at the highest level, got a great education, an amazing network through the Davidson alumni and continue to wave the Davidson flag. I want very talented, high character student athletes to have that same experience.” Curry will work alongside general manager Austin Buntz, with whom he has a longstanding relationship. Buntz is a former executive at Under Armour, one of Curry’s major sponsors. Curry will also be part of an eight-figure fund to support the men’s and women’s basketball teams at Davidson. Curry has retained close ties with Davidson. He has been inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame after breaking the NCAA single-season record for three-pointers in 2008, the same season he led the Wildcats to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. He also returned to Davidson in 2022 to complete his undergraduate career. Davidson have a relatively modest record. The men’s team have reached the NCAA Tournament five times since Curry was drafted No 7 overall by the Warriors in 2009 but have not progressed past the second round during that period. The women’s team have never made the NCAA Tournament. Curry’s path is similar to that of former NFL quarterback Andrew Luck, [who returned to his alma mater](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/nov/30/andrew-luck-hired-stanford-football-general-manager), Stanford, as an assistant GM in 2024. His return to his alma mater gives the Atlantic 10 conference two high-profile alums in basketball management positions, after former ESPN [NBA newsbreaker Adrian Wojnarowski](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/sep/18/one-final-woj-bomb-espn-scoop-master-adrian-wojnarowski-announces-shock-retirement) resigned in order to be general manager of the St Bonaventure men’s basketball team last year.

NFL scouting is broken, and Shedeur Sanders is the proof. Everything about him screams future star quarterback, and yet teams would sooner assume the worst. Make no mistake: there is no prospect in this year’s draft who is better equipped to turn around a struggling franchise than the 23-year-old Texan, a savior to not one but _two_ college fanbases. The last four years saw him restore the proud football tradition at Jackson State and put Colorado back on the college football map. Sanders did this despite skeptics casting doubt on his ability to make the jump up from competing against small historically Black schools to playing against major college powers in the Pac 12 and Big 12 conferences. Last year he led a 9-4 turnaround at Colorado, the school’s first winning season in seven years, while snapping a four-year drought of postseason bowl appearances. Although a _touch_ slight at 6ft1in and 212lb, Sanders has nonetheless proven to be durable, missing a grand total of two games in his four years as a starter. All the while Sanders rated among the nation’s most prolific throwers while at Jackson State (which competes in college football’s secondary Football Bowl Subdivision) and at Colorado (which competes in college football’s biggest stage, the Bowl Championship Subdivision). In his senior season Sanders paced the Big 12 in completion percentage (74%), yards (4,134) and touchdowns (37) on the way to being named the conference’s offensive player of the year. What’s more, Sanders has pedigree. He’s a coach’s kid – scouts _love_ coaches’ kids! – and the pros will mark the first time Sanders plays for a head coach who isn’t also his father. That father? None other than NFL hall of famer Deion Sanders: Colorado’s Coach Prime, the feared shutdown cornerback who caught passes and played Major League Baseball on the side. Shedeur figures to be among the first three quarterbacks picked at next week’s NFL draft behind the University of Miami’s Cam Ward and perhaps even Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart as well. But where Dart (who excelled at two schools) is being hyped as a sleeper pick and Ward (who excelled at _three_) appears to be the consensus top pick, Sanders keeps sliding down the draft board. Most projections have him down as a bottom-10 pick; many NFL scouts haven’t even given him a first-round grade. An anonymous NFC team executive who spoke to ESPN dismissed Sanders as “a fringe starter” in the mold of Teddy Bridgewater – the former Louisville star who has spent the majority of his decade-long pro career as a backup. Scouts further say that Sanders can be slow to make up his mind under pressure and even slower to react when overwhelmed. (At Jackson State, Sanders was among college football’s most sacked starters.) [](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/apr/17/shedeur-sanders-nfl-draft#img-2) Shilo Sanders (21), Colorado head coach Deion Sanders and Shedeur Sanders (2) walk on the field during senior day celebrations prior to the game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Folsom Field in November. Photograph: Andrew Wevers/Getty Images But more than Sanders holding on to the ball too long, teams really don’t like that Sanders isn’t desperate for a job. He comes from money already; in fact, Coach Prime – who has remained a sought-after pitchman in the decades since his dual playing prime – just [signed a $54m extension](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/mar/28/deion-sanders-contract-extension-colorado) that puts him in league with college football’s highest-paid coaches. At one point only USC basketball prodigy Bronny James was making more money in name, image and likeness endorsement deals than Shedeur. Famously, Shedeur tootled around campus in exotic cars and celebrated big plays by flashing a diamond-encrusted watch. Teams look at Shedeur and see more than just a chip off the old block; they see something they’re not used to seeing in Black quarterback prospects: a nepo baby on a Rocky Mountain confidence high. If those teams could set Shedeur’s luxury accessories to the side for a moment, they might appreciate him for what he truly is – maybe the best-nurtured NFL quarterback prospect ever. Consider: top draft picks Peyton and Eli Manning had their father, Archie, for a role model – but he was no better than a solid NFL starter with the New Orleans Saints through the 1970s. John Elway’s father, Jack, was a respected college football coach – but he got hired at Stanford the year _after_ John left school for the 1983 draft. Andrew Luck’s dad, Oliver – a former quarterback for the Houston Oilers – moved to Europe to launch his post-playing career as a football executive. He wasn’t an especially hands-on coach for Andrew, a youth soccer player before he was the top pick in 2012. Meanwhile, the youngest Sanders son has been at his father’s knee from the beginning, barnstorming the country with Deion’s Texas-based youth football teams. In between working as an NFL Network analyst, Deion took a job as the offensive coordinator at Shedeur’s Dallas-area high school expressly to continue guiding his football career. When Deion left that post to take the head coaching job at Jackson State, Shedeur and his older brother Shilo were his first recruits. (“I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to help level the playing field & pursue equality for HBCU’s!” Shedeur wrote after his commitment was announced. “Dad I got your back!”) The gravitational force of Coach Prime’s personality has given Shedeur access to some of the brightest minds in the game. Tom Brady has been mentoring Shedeur his entire college career, and former NFL coach Pat Shurmur was his offensive coordinator at Colorado. Shedeur wasn’t just productive on the field. Colorado was in the midst of a 20-year doldrums before Shedeur turned up on the Boulder campus with his whole family. Shedeur turned Travis Hunter, a [dual-threat cornerback](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/dec/04/travis-hunter-heisman-chances-colorado-deion-sanders), into his top receiver; now the Heisman-winner projects as a top three pick in the draft. Teammates praise Shedeur’s leadership and toughness. At Colorado’s pro day showcase for league scouts earlier this month Shedeur took snaps from a young equipment manager named Samantha Burrows – the conspicuous woman among the crowd of football men on the field. (Sanders wanted to make a point of showcasing his rapport with Burrows.) A month earlier Shedeur made headlines at the NFL combine for his 3.9 GPA. Shedeur never caused trouble off campus, never ran into trouble farther afield. In that respect he’s a lot like his father, who never put a foot wrong off the field even as his Dallas Cowboys teammates were setting [the NFL standard for bad behavior](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/mar/01/american-football-dallas-cowboys). [](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/apr/17/shedeur-sanders-nfl-draft#img-3) Quarterback Shedeur Sanders has been projected as a first-round pick in next week’s NFL draft. Photograph: Dustin Bradford/Getty Images But the main hang-up scouts seem to have with Shedeur is that he veers from the Black quarterback archetype. Unlike Ward, he doesn’t wow with arm strength and foot speed. He stands in the pocket and delivers a catchable ball time and again. If scouts were honest in their appraisals of Shedeur, they’d be comparing him favorably with Peyton Manning. In two-minute drill situations alone, Shedeur has a career 92.3 passer rating against top-level opponents – the highest-ever mark recorded by Pro Football Focus. He was even more efficient in third-down situations last year, his 64% overall completion percentage jumping to 85% in short-yardage situations. If NFL scouting was an actual science, Sanders would be the no-brainer, eminently justifiable top pick. Instead, teams trip over one another to find reasons to talk themselves out of taking him off the board early. Last month the excuse was: _most of the teams picking in the top-10 had more urgent needs to address_. This month, it’s: _he’s a terrible interview_. To hear Shadeur tell it, teams really don’t like when he channels his father and turns the tables on them either. “When I go visit these coaches and when I go to all these different franchises, I ask them truly what I think and how I feel,” Shedeur recently told NFL Network. “Some get offended, some like it, some don’t. Make some people uncomfortable, some people invite that. They know what type of person and what type of player they’re gonna get out of me, so I just have to make sure, you know, what type of culture or what type of dynamic I’m going to have with them also.” The Pittsburgh Steelers, rumored to be interested in trading up from the 21st pick, are among a handful of teams who are genuinely bullish on Shedeur – not least because he’d be a better long-term option than 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers or a second tour of Mason Rudolph. The Saints, who pick ninth, have only really started seriously considering Shedeur since incumbent starter Derek Carr was recently reported to have suffered a serious shoulder injury that could stall his availability for the 2025 season. This week the New York Giants, also mired in the Rodgers sweepstakes, worked out Shedeur again in Colorado – but the team is holding its cards close. The farther Shedeur drops, the more you wonder if he isn’t purposefully turning scouts off so he can wind up playing for his mentor Brady in Las Vegas. Or you wonder if the Giants aren’t in for [another round of Saquon Barkley-level regret](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K92G6o_BOxE). Really, any team would be lucky to land Shedeur. He has the skills, the swagger and a family name that he absolutely can’t let down. It’s a shame the scouts are too blinkered by their own hangups to spot a sure thing.

There is something funky about the draft being one of the NFL’s marquee events. At root, it’s a man stepping to the podium, [being booed](https://ftw.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2024/04/25/why-nfl-draft-fans-boo-roger-goodell/73460759007/) and reading names. The NFL still dominates Sundays … and Mondays … and Thursdays … and playoff Saturdays during the season; the draft allows the league to gobble up the offseason months too. But as interest continues to grow, there has been relatively little pushback from those who make the draft work: the prospects, particularly those slated to go at the top of the first round. Think about it. Your reward for being one of the best college athletes in the country is to wind up on one of the worst rosters in the [NFL](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/nfl), typically one beset by mismanagement at the top, iffy coaching or a third-rate roster. Quarterbacks _can_ win with teams that draft them No 1 overall – Peyton Manning and Troy Aikman are a couple of examples – but more often than not, the top quarterbacks end up in a spot where they’re likely to fail. There is a reason that Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield found success _after_ they were let go by the teams that selected them in the top three. Environment is king – having no say over where they start their career puts the best prospects at the whims of blundering franchises. Is there a system that can maintain the interest and parity the league craves, while handing some agency to players over their careers – or at least not reward floundering franchises? No system is perfect: all the ideas below have flaws. But they’re at least worth thinking about. **Flip-flop the draft order** ----------------------------- Rather than have teams slotted 1-32 based on their record the year before, those at the bottom of the league standings would not be rewarded with the earliest picks. Instead, the teams closest to the playoffs would “earn” the top draft choices. The 14 teams that make the playoffs would still hold picks No 18 through No 32, but the non-playoff teams would be rewarded for how close they came to making the postseason. In that scenario this year, Seattle would hold the No 1 overall pick as the team with the best record to miss the playoffs in 2024. The Titans, who had the worst record in 2024, would pick at 18. Flipping the order would ding the league’s sense of parity, making it tougher for failing franchises to quickly reboot. But it would make the end of the league’s regular season spicier, as teams fight to get closer to the playoff race. Rather than hand a top prize to the league’s weakest franchises, it would encourage rebuilding teams trying to chase the postseason. There would be obvious downstream effects. Would a team tank out of a playoff spot to try to snag the No 1 overall pick? Would terrible teams be mired in futility forever without a top-five selection? But no system is perfect – and this one would encourage teams to be more aggressive chasing in-season moves, and put more top prospects on teams with solid foundations. **A draft lottery** ------------------- A more palatable solution: a lottery system for all non-playoff teams. The NBA, NHL and MLB all [employ weighted draft lottery systems](https://www.nba.com/news/nba-draft-lottery-explainer), with the franchises with the weakest records given the best odds of landing a top pick. The NBA instituted its lottery in 1985 to fend off teams from tanking for top picks, and then flattened its weighting in 2019 to curb the latest efforts of franchises to [lose their way into a franchise-altering player](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/apr/02/nba-tanking-basketball). Unlike the NBA or NHL, the NFL has not been a victim of serious tanking efforts ([although some have tried](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/sep/09/miami-dolphins-nfl-tanking)). The season is too small. Careers are on the line. The lack of guaranteed contracts makes every rep an audition for fringe and rotational players looking for a new deal. One player, even a gifted quarterback prospect, cannot change an NFL franchise the way someone like [Victor Wembanyama can in the NBA](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/apr/12/victor-wembanyama-nba-san-antonio-rookie-of-the-year). Not since Andrew Luck have multiple franchises tried to chuck a season away for a top quarterback prospect. But there remains some late-season chicanery as teams jockey for position. And with the prospect of Arch Manning on the horizon, franchises who are out of the playoff picture by Thanksgiving will probably start maneuvering to select the Texas quarterback No 1 overall next season. A lottery would give the league [another showcase event in the draft cycle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAJ9FXrZZqY&pp=ygUeYmVzdCBuYmEgZHJhZnQgbG90dGVyeSBtb21lbnRz), and tilt the odds that some well-run franchises would leap up the draft board. Imagine the pandemonium if the 49ers or Seahawks snagged the top spot this season, with Travis Hunter waiting in the wings. Good for league parity? Possibly. Handing the players some say in their destination? No. A chance that Mel Kiper melts into a puddle on set? Absolutely. For the drama alone, it’s worth the league investigating. [](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/apr/22/nfl-draft-2025-tweaks#img-2) NFL teams could stash young players like Arch Manning under a tweaked format. Photograph: Aaron E Martinez/USA Today Sports **Waiving the eligibility rule** -------------------------------- NFL rules state that a player must be three years removed from high school to be eligible for the draft. According to the league, the game is too physically and mentally demanding for an 18-year-old to cope with. But the unspoken part of the NFL’s criteria is that it gives teams more time to evaluate players, using college football as an effective minor league. In the [pre-NIL era](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/01/ncaa-pay-players-endorsements-college-football-basketball-ncaa-new-rules), when student-athletes were working for free, it was a grim spectacle. With players now able to earn money in college, the system is less grotesque. But the eligibility rules can still be reworked, potentially formalizing college football as the pipeline system to the pros. There are multiple ways of tinkering. One: to have all players eligible to be drafted, but not eligible to play until they’re three years removed from college. In that world, franchises would decide whether it’s worth drafting, stashing and developing a player until they can see the field, or select a prospect they know can play as a rookie. In a recent Pro Football Focus [all-eligible mock draft](https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2025-nfl-mock-draft-all-eligible-college-players), five players _not_ eligible for this year’s class were selected in the top 10. Some of those players will inevitably fade away by the time they are eligible to be picked in real life. Injuries could sap some potential, or weaknesses could be exposed. But why should those players not be able to cash in on their draft stock today? [skip past newsletter promotion](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/apr/22/nfl-draft-2025-tweaks#EmailSignup-skip-link-18) Sign up to Soccer with Jonathan Wilson Jonathan Wilson brings expert analysis on the biggest stories from European soccer **Privacy Notice:** Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our [Privacy Policy](https://www.theguardian.com/help/privacy-policy). We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) and [Terms of Service](https://policies.google.com/terms) apply. after newsletter promotion As college football becomes increasingly professionalized, players should be able to choose when to test the NFL waters. Franchises should decide whether to select a talented player a year or two before they are eligible to play on Sundays. The league could either allow teams to select players and make them a part of their practice squad until they can play, or have teams retain the draft rights of a player while they’re still in college. If the players are being paid in college, there is no downside to them being on the NFL’s books. It would be up to the player to decide when they want to leave school and enter the pros, rather than arbitrarily operating on the league’s timeline. And it would be up to teams to decide if they would rather take [Arch Manning No 1 overall this season](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/college-football/2025-nfl-mock-draft-first-round-arch-manning-all-underclassmen-eligible) and sit him for a year or wade into this year’s eligible crop of quarterbacks. Shifting the requirements would hand some say to players over their careers and give them a chance to earn off their talent before a potential injury robs them of their opportunity to earn a pro contract. It would also end the non-stop moaning from the league’s executives that college football is not adequately developing players. **Salary pool** --------------- If you were starting from scratch, a salary pool makes more sense than a traditional draft. Remove yourself from the big boards and mock drafts, and you’re left wondering why players have no say over where they work. After all, Starbucks does not accept top applicants and then send them to its worst outlet. A salary pool would be an augmented version of the traditional draft. The team with the worst record would receive the largest pool of cash, descending to the Super Bowl champions, who would get the least. Let’s say this year, the Titans get $60m in rookie money and the Eagles get $30m. From there, teams and prospects are free to negotiate as they see fit. A team could splurge all its money on a generational prospect, or spread the wealth across 15 intriguing rookies. The idea of an “auction” draft is unsavory, at best. [The sinister undertones](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-owners-get-defensive-after-scouting-combine-gets-compared-to-slave-auction-by-league-exec-troy-vincent/) do not need describing in more detail. But by implementing a negotiated system rather than a highest-bidder scheme, players would be given as much power as owners by having the opportunity to balance the best contract they can sign with the right environment. Maybe Travis Hunter would leave some money on the table to line up with Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen, or maybe he would like to make gobs of money from the Giants or Browns. It would be his choice. By tiering the pool available to each franchise, the teams at the bottom of the standings would still have an upper hand in negotiations, allowing them to chuck more money at the top prospects or share the money across several second-tier prospects to rebuild. Baseball has moved to a [similar salary pool](https://www.mlb.com/glossary/transactions/international-amateur-free-agency-bonus-pool-money) for young, overseas rookies. The idea will probably never pass muster with the league. It would remove the tension of draft night, robbing viewers of televisual drama, and the league of attention. But it could lead to a frenetic, weeks-long process, akin to free agency, with teams waiting on the top dominoes to fall. Plus, every fanbase would know they have a chance at the premium prospects. By making it a negotiation rather than a selection process, players would have some control over where they play, and basing the salary pool on a team’s record from the year before would help maintain a sense of parity.

Former Nike CEO John Donahoe has been hired as Stanford's athletic director STANFORD, Calif. -- Former Nike CEO John Donahoe has been hired as athletic director at Stanford. Donahoe will become the school's eighth athletic director and replace Bernard Muir, who stepped down this year. He will officially begin in the role Sept. 8. “Stanford occupies a unique place in the national athletics landscape,” school president Jon Levin said in a statement. “We needed a distinctive leader — someone with the vision, judgment, and strategic acumen for a new era of college athletics, and with a deep appreciation for Stanford’s model of scholar-athlete excellence. John embodies these characteristics.” ESPN first reported the move. Donahoe graduated from Stanford Business School and was CEO at Nike from 2020-24. Donahoe also served as the CEO of ServiceNow, a global software company, and as CEO of eBay. He served as chair of the board at PayPal from 2015-25 and he worked for Bain & Company for nearly 20 years, including as the firm’s worldwide CEO. “Stanford has enormous strengths and enormous potential in a changing environment, including being the model for achieving both academic and athletic excellence at the highest levels," he said. "I can’t wait to work in partnership with the Stanford team to build momentum for Stanford Athletics and ensure the best possible experiences for our student-athletes.” Donahoe takes over one of the countries most successful athletic programs with Stanford having won at least one NCAA title in 49 straight years starting in 1976-77 and a record 137 NCAA team titles overall. But the Cardinal struggled in the high-profile sports of football and men’s basketball under Muir’s tenure, leading to the decision to hire former Stanford and NFL star Andrew Luck to oversee the football program as its general manager. The Cardinal are looking to rebound in football after going to three Rose Bowls under former coach David Shaw in Muir’s first four years as AD. Shaw resigned in 2022 following a second straight 3-9 season and Muir’s new hire, Troy Taylor, posted back-to-back 3-9 seasons before being fired in March following a report that he had been investigated twice for allegedly mistreating staffers. Luck hired former NFL coach Frank Reich as interim coach. [  ](https://abcnews.go.com/US/suspect-arrested-after-couple-killed-hiking-arkansas-park/story?id=124226970) [  ](https://abcnews.go.com/US/25-hospitalized-after-severe-turbulence-delta-flight/story?id=124230974) [  ](https://abcnews.go.com/US/tsunami-watch-issued-hawaii-after-80-magnitude-earthquake/story?id=124190121) The men’s basketball program hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since Muir’s second season in 2013-14 under former coach Johnny Dawkins. Dawkins was fired in 2016 and replaced by Jerod Haase, who failed to make the tournament once in eight years. Muir hired Kyle Smith last March to take over and the Cardinal went 21-14 for their most wins in 10 years. Muir also hired Kate Paye as women’s basketball coach last year after Hall of Famer Tara VanDerveer retired. The Cardinal went 16-15 this past season and in missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1987. Muir also oversaw the Cardinal’s transition to the ACC this past year after the school’s long-term home, the Pac-12, broke apart. \_\_\_ AP college sports: [https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports](https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports)

When Fox analyst Greg Olsen noted that this week’s version of Russell Wilson was “unrecognizable from Week 1,” he could have referred to the entire [New York Giants](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/new-york-giants) team. Limping into Dallas after their dismal opening loss to the Commanders, the Giants picked up where they left off – with a lot of stupid mistakes. Offensive tackle James Hudson III stole the limelight as he somehow amassed four consecutive penalties on New York’s first possession. Hudson was duly benched but the Giants’ penalties kept coming – they gave away 160 yards’ worth on Sunday. And yet … despite the penalties, the Giants we saw on Sunday in Dallas were nothing like the hapless team we saw last week – and for large parts of the last decade. This squad showed fight, moxie, and an offense at its best. Wilson was sensational, proving his critics wrong by, simply put, producing one of the best games of his career. His 450 passing yards and three touchdowns were the result of his command of the offense, smart decision making, improved offensive line play, and a special connection with Malik Nabers. Nabers, once again, reminded us that he’s superhuman. Wilson connected with Nabers time and again, including on a jaw-dropping 48-yard moonball touchdown to take a 37-34 lead – one of five lead changes in the fourth-quarter – with 25 seconds remaining. Nabers clasped his hands together in a night-night pose, Wilson reached his arms out to thank the heavens. But the celebrations were premature. New York’s lax defense on the ensuing drive allowed Dallas to line up for a 64-yard game-tying field goal. For many kickers, this distance would be out of reach. Cowboys phenom Brandon Aubrey made it look like a chip shot. This thrilling back-and-forth continued into overtime. Wilson threw an interception – his one serious mistake on the day – that led to Aubrey’s 46-yard game winner. Not too shabby from Aubrey, a professional soccer player turned software engineer turned USFL kicker turned Cowboys star. It was a thrilling win for Dallas and a heartbreaking loss for the G-Men who fall to 0-2. But something changed in this game. The Giants were entertaining. Stars emerged. It felt like progress, like we are witnessing a watchable squad. In addition to Wilson and Nabers, rookie offensive left tackle Marcus Mbow fortified the line and looks like starting material moving forward. Fellow rookie Cam Skattebo, preformed like a competent running back. Wan’Dale Robinson proved to be a vertical threat, hauling in 142 receiving yards (Nabers had 167). The defensive line dominated for much of the day. Even backup quarterback Jaxson Dart saw action on a few trick plays. This is a game that the Giants unquestionably win without the dumb penalties. Until they prove otherwise, the Giants should be expected to make sloppy mistakes. It’s their hallmark in recent years with Brian Daboll at the helm. At 0-2, the Giants’ playoff hopes are slim. It’s their seventh 0-2 start since 2015, and with the Chiefs, Chargers, and Eagles looming in three of their next four games, the road only gets rougher. From a win-loss standpoint, another painful year may be ahead. But despite the painful loss to Dallas, something feels different. With Wilson under center and so much promising young talent, the Giants, are dare I say, watchable. If there are more thrilling games like this, overflowing with highlights, the Giants may even deliver their fanbase that most precious of things – hope. **MVP of the week** ------------------- **Daniel Jones, QB, Indianapolis Colts.** Is that Peyton Manning? Andrew Luck? Um, no that would be Danny Dimes, who has led the Indianapolis Colts to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2009, when Manning took them to the Super Bowl. Before the Colts were 2-0, for a split-second, they looked like they would be 1-1. They were down 26-28 to the Broncos, when Spencer Shrader missed a 60-yard field goal as time expired. Denver celebrated but the Broncos were penalized [15 yards on a controversial leverage penalty](https://x.com/TSN_Sports/status/1967365647253303572) that will be widely discussed this week. Shrader then nailed the 45-yarder to give the Colts the 29-28 win. Jones was sensational for the second time in two weeks, he went 23 of 34 for 316 yards and two touchdowns, one with his feet. To lead the Colts to three field-goal scoring drives in the final minutes against one of the NFL’s best defenses is quite the statement. Given the murmurs and disgust when the Colts named Jones starter, not to mention his tumultuous time in New York, his success is quickly becoming one of the great narratives of this season. [](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/sep/15/new-york-giants-nfl-football-russell-wilson#img-2) Daniel Jones was superb late in the game for the Colts. Photograph: Michael Conroy/AP **Video of the week** --------------------- Here’s Puka Nacua’s 45-yard _rushing_ touchdown. What can’t the wide receiver do? The Rams dialled up a sneaky call on fourth and one in the first quarter, shifting Nacua in front of rusher Kyren Williams. Nacua took a clean handoff from Matthew Stafford to the house, forcing multiple missed tackles on the way, looking like a natural running back. Nacua’s score set the tone for Los Angeles’s 33-19 win over Tennessee, which takes them to 2-0 on the season. Add in new toy Davante Adams, who was good for 106 receiving yards, and OC Mike LaFleur, and Rams head coach Sean McVay should have plenty of fun with the offensive playbook. Nacua was also productive Sunday as a receiver, finishing with eight receptions and 91 yards. **Stat of the week** -------------------- **2-0.** The Bengals have won their opening two games of the season for the first time since 2018. Most NFL teams with lofty expectations expect to be 2-0 after being gifted Cleveland and Jacksonville to open the season. But for the Bengals in the Joe Burrow Era, this is new territory after an odd win over the Jaguars. What started with Burrow, who left with a toe injury in the first half – [he is expected to miss](https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/report-joe-burrow-could-miss-several-weeks-with-turf-toe-torn-ligaments) several weeks with strained ligaments, although that could rise to [three months if he needs surgery](https://x.com/adamschefter/status/1967390158078214511) – ended with an improbable hero in his backup, Jake Browning. Browning threw three interceptions before going 9-for-10 on the final drive and jumping over a pile of players for a tush-push, game-winning touchdown. Browning summed up his mindset for the game neatly: “Be delusional.” [](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/sep/15/new-york-giants-nfl-football-russell-wilson#img-3) The Bengals are 2-0 but Joe Burrow left the game early. Photograph: Carolyn Kaster/AP The extent of Burrow’s injury isn’t official, but as he sat on the ground pointing to his foot, a collective _“not again”_ rippled through Cincinnati. Lacking even a gator cart, the Bengals had him hobble away on a foot scooter. Have the team’s decision-makers learned nothing from their offensive line’s toll on him, most notably the knee injury that ended his rookie year? Since their 2022 Super Bowl appearance, this franchise has drifted back into mediocrity. Despite boasting a franchise quarterback in Burrow and elite receivers like Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, they’ve repeatedly dropped close games and failed to retain key defensive talent. So, yes, the Bengals are in an odd position with this 2-0 thing, not to mention the fact that enjoy sole possession of first place in the AFC North. Browning is a solid backup but is, of course, no Burrow. The schedule gets nasty in Weeks 5 and 6 with the Lions and Packers on the schedule. If Burrow doesn’t recover quickly, prospects for the Bengals as a season-long powerhouse don’t look good. But the Bengals should still savor being 2-0 – it’s been a while. Elsewhere around the league --------------------------- The Super Bowl rematch arrived on Sunday, and it won’t be much comfort to the Chiefs that their 20-17 defeat to the Eagles was less one-sided than February’s game. As was the case last time, the Eagles defense was at its formidable best and, aside from [a beauty of a touchdown pas](https://x.com/Chiefs/status/1967365665938964563)s from Mahomes, the Eagles stifled the Chiefs. Kansas City are 0-2 for the first time since 2014, which is also the last time they failed to make the postseason. They should still make it this season, and the Giants should provide relief next week, but next after that is a tricky meeting with the Ravens. [](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/sep/15/new-york-giants-nfl-football-russell-wilson#img-4) Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley were understandably chipper after Sunday’s win. Photograph: Ed Zurga/AP There are regular rookie mistakes, then there is the [catastrophic kickoff return](https://x.com/AnnieAgar/status/1967308577322029524) by the Steelers’ Kaleb Johnson. Early in the fourth quarter, after Seattle took a three-point lead, Johnson let the ensuing kickoff bounce through his hands and settle in the end zone. It appeared Johnson did not understand the kickoff rules which state that the ball is live if the returning team does not possess it. Seattle recovered the ball for a touchdown, putting them up 24-14. The Seahawks would eventually win 31-17. “If I wasn’t sure \[of the rule\], if I was sure, it doesn’t matter,” said Johnson after the game. “I still got to do what I got to do, and I still got to go in there and execute the way it needs to be executed.” Welcome to the NFL, poor rookie. Ben Johnson’s return to Detroit did not quite go as he planned. An extra motivated Lions squad took it to Johnson’s Bears, winning 52-21. Jared Goff tore up Chicago’s defense with a whopping 82% completion rate, five touchdowns, and 334 yards. The Lions came in motivated – eager to knock off their former offensive coordinator and desperate for a rebound after their Week 1 loss to Green Bay. They did both. For Johnson, though, two weeks in Chicago have underscored the vast gulf between being a successful coordinator and a being a head coach, even for the so-called wunderkinds. An ESPN report [surfaced over the weekend](https://www.espn.com/contributor/adam-schefter/38d8fc647fc2e) claiming that the Baltimore Ravens had intended to pick Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round of this year’s draft. But Sanders let it be known that he did not want to be stuck behind a superstar like Lamar Jackson. Well, looks like Cleveland are the perfect situation for Sanders. The 40-year-old Joe Flacco continued to look his age in Cleveland’s 41-17 loss to the Ravens. Not only did Flacco throw an interception and had a fumble returned 60 yards that led to a touchdown, his throws lacked zip and his mobility was nonexistent. Second-stringer Dillon Gabriel made his NFL debut late in the game; Sanders saw no action. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said Flacco will remain the starter as the Browns prepare to play Green Bay next week. But the leash has to be getting shorter. Pity Panthers fans (if you didn’t already). After trailing Arizona 27-3, Carolina mounted a legitimate comeback on Sunday, but fell short in their 27-22 loss. Bryce Young and the offense need a complete four quarters, which is a challenge given Carolina’s offensive line issues and lack of elite skill players. Aside from Chuba Hubbard and an emerging connection between Young and Hunter Renfrow, the Panthers are desperate for playmakers. Xavier Legette was certainly not that guy on Sunday. The Panthers wideout ended the game with -2 receiving yards on eight targets. [Per ESPN’s Ben Solak](https://x.com/BenjaminSolak/status/1967368247990501503), Legette’s “performance” is only the second game in NFL history when a receiver has recorded negative yards on eight or more targets. Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles had -6 yards on eight targets in 2013.

It sounds obvious, you don’t build an actual [NFL](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/nfl) roster like it’s a fantasy football team. It’s not enough to pack your squad with flashy weapons and hope you dazzle your way to the Super Bowl. You have to focus on more and different dimensions – roster depth, how players fit into coaching schemes, how they work together, and how even the “unsexy” positions are addressed at a high level. And yet that is generally not how the Cincinnati Bengals have built their teams over the years. And once again, they’re paying for it in the worst possible way – with an injury to their star quarterback, Joe Burrow, that will severely affect their season. In the Bengals’ 31-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Burrow suffered a turf toe injury as he was being sacked by defensive lineman Arik Armstead; it’s estimated that Burrow [will be out at least three months](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/sep/15/joe-burrow-injury-toe-surgery-bengals-nfl). It’s the third time in six seasons that Burrow’s underwhelming offensive line – the line that is supposed to protect him from this sort of stuff – has helped shorten his season. Most franchises value quarterback protection to an extreme degree, particularly when you have a player like Burrow, one of the best players in the entire NFL. The ones that don’t suffer by way of sub-par quarterback play, and eventual quarterback injury. The 2024 Bengals had one of the worst overall offensive lines in the NFL, and they did very little in the offseason to reverse that curse. Cincinnati’s front office did add interior linemen Lucas Patrick and Dalton Risner in free agency, but Patrick has barely played, and Risner has already allowed a sack and four total pressures in 75 pass-blocking snaps, per Pro Football Focus. Georgia guard Dylan Fairchild, selected with the 81st pick of this year’s draft, has allowed four pressures in 81 pass-blocking snaps. The tackle spots are handled this season as they were in 2024 by Orlando Brown Jr on the left side, and 2024 first-round pick Amarius Mims on the right. Brown, who has the Bengals’ fifth-highest 2025 salary cap hit at $15m, has been more of a sieve than a mainstay throughout his career. Mims, who did represent some serious intent to make the line better with the draft capital given up for his services, is still getting the hang of things. Center Ted Karras is no better than a decent starter. So, yes, while the Bengals could say with some conviction that they have tried to make their line better, the player evaluation process has been iffy at best. Why is this specifically important for Burrow? While he is the NFL’s best in-the-pocket mover today, and certainly the best since Tom Brady’s retirement, the 28-year-old is not exceptionally mobile outside the pocket. He needs some sort of structure provided and defined by protection to do what he does at a high level. It’s rather amazing that Burrow has played to the level he has when healthy without that protection. Head coach and offensive shot-caller Zac Taylor has mitigated the potential damage with more quick-game throws than you’ll see from any other NFL team. In 2024, Burrow had by far the most attempts on passes that took fewer than 2.5 seconds after the snap with 397 – Patrick Mahomes ranked second with 352. 2023 brought fewer overall Burrow dropbacks due to the wrist injury that ended his season – that lack of protection again – but he still led the NFL in percentage of quick-throw dropbacks at 62.9%. So, this has been the Bengals’ primary adaptive strategy – get the ball out before the quarterback gets crunched. The problems with that approach? Building your entire passing game out of quick stuff obviously takes a lot of routes off the table, and if he doesn’t get the ball out quickly? Well, he’s crunched. The margin for error is wafer-thin as a result. And as three of the Bengals’ four biggest salary cap hits right now go to Burrow and receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, it raises the question – how much do your elite weapons matter if they’re only running half a playbook because the ball has to come out of the quarterback’s hand almost as soon as it’s snapped? “It’s unfortunate this happened, but that’s a part of football,” [Taylor said on Monday of Burrow’s latest injury](https://x.com/CharlieG__/status/1967658668390019561). “He could have been clean for 99% of the game, but one play is where it happened.” That’s a disingenuous statement at best. Burrow was not clean for 99% of the game, and he’s never been anywhere near that at any time in his NFL career. He certainly wasn’t 99% clean against the Jaguars – in fact, the Bengals’ offensive line deficiencies meant he was harassed over and over before the injury eventually – inevitably? – happened. Burrow’s worrisome lack of protection does have a recent precedent. Andrew Luck was a generational prospect selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the first overall pick in 2012, and he was truly great until injuries, caused in large part by a lack of investment in the offensive line, took their toll. [Luck retired unexpectedly in August 2019](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/aug/24/andrew-luck-retires-indianapolis-colts-quarterback), because he was tired of the physical toll of being battered in and out of the pocket. As ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky and Mina Kimes [pointed out on Monday](https://x.com/NFL_DougFarrar/status/1967770554020380777), the similarities between Luck and Burrow after six seasons are worrying, at best. This is not to say that Joe Burrow is one more big hit away from hanging up his cleats for good. But this latest injury should remind the Bengals of a lesson they should have already learned from Burrow’s past injuries: if the linemen protecting your quarterback aren’t good enough, then the talent among your receivers and backs won’t matter. As to how (or if) the Bengals can transcend this disaster this season, backup Jake Browning (who filled in for Burrow pretty well as a rookie in 2023) threw three interceptions against the Jaguars before he collected his wits. And it’s not as if Browning is going to be better when pressured than Burrow. It’s also worth mentioning that in 2024, with Burrow fully healthy and at his best, the Bengals scored 30 or more points in eight of their 17 games, and lost four of those eight games, because their defense was problematic at best. Another lost season _should_ serve as the Bengals’ ultimate wake-up call. But given their history, there’s little reason to be optimistic it actually will.

They say you can’t win football games with too many choir boys. One choir boy might be too many in the case of Russell Wilson, the NFL’s would-be Mr Congeniality. From the off the [New York Giants](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/new-york-giants) quarterback has gone to lengths to distinguish himself as the game’s most likable star, the kind of player kids look up to and opponents look out for. And all it seems to do is breed resentment. Wilson’s closest collaborators struggle to speak his name without spitting. Richard Sherman, the standout former defensive back turned Prime Video analyst, begrudges Wilson for the favoritism he received from management during their years together in Seattle. KJ Wright, another prominent member of that Legion of Boom defense, accuses Wilson of betraying locker room bonds. Marshawn Lynch, the delightful but [famously reticent](https://www.tiktok.com/@espn/video/7464981280724094239?lang=en) Seahawks running back who lined up behind Wilson for 56 Seahawks games, recalls having to ask someone in the team’s front office for the QB’s contact info – and Wilson calling him back from a blocked number. “Russ was just a quarterback for me,” Lynch [said](https://www.si.com/nfl/2023/10/04/marshawn-lynch-russell-wilson-seattle-seahawks-awkward-phone-call-story). Just the quarterback who led the Seahawks to their first ever Super Bowl title. Sean Payton can barely hide his disdain for Wilson. After the Denver’ historic 33-30 win over New York last week, the Broncos coach beamed about “[little spark](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/oct/22/russell-wilson-hits-back-at-classless-former-coach-sean-payton-after-jaxson-dart-jab)” the Giants had found with Jaxson Dart, the rookie who became the team’s starting quarterback after Wilson went 0-3 and hinted that he told Giants owner John Mara that he would have rather faced the other guy. “We were hoping that change would’ve happened long after our game,” Payton told reporters. That Payton was saying this as the guy who was stuck with Wilson as his starter last year after Denver pried him out of Seattle via trade in 2022 and signed him to a five-year, $245m extension that’s still taking up salary cap space raised eyebrows – Wilson’s included. In a social media response two days later, he called Payton “[classless](https://x.com/DangeRussWilson/status/1980735749394665615?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1980735749394665615%7Ctwgr%5E441615647a4ced44b257559c9e3353ced86edb8b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fiframe.nbcnews.com%2FH4sLbZDq%3F_showcaption%3Dtrueapp%3D1)” and accused him of using the media for “bounty hunting” – a clear reference to the [pay-for-pelts](https://youtu.be/N4oL9x20aS0?si=KyaGPQ29Ouh8IsTh) scandal that darkened his otherwise successful coaching tenure with the New Orleans Saints. And though Payton would later clarify that his comments about Dart were not intended as a veiled shot at Wilson, it’s still somewhat surprising that the QB would even take such offense. [](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/oct/25/russell-wilson-nfl-image-fallout-seahawks-broncos-giants#img-2) Russell Wilson lifts the Lombardi trophy after leading the Seahawks to their first Super Bowl title in February 2014. Photograph: Kevin C Cox/Getty Images Wilson has always had a knack for existing inside his own bubble. During his decade-long run in Seattle, he regularly struck the tone of a politician on the campaign trail – leading with charm, killing with kindness, leaving a trail of platitudes in his wake and sometimes [in the huddle too](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4238804/2023/02/24/russell-wilson-denver-broncos-influence-offense/). Especially annoying was Wilson’s habit of closing interviews with the tagline “Go Hawks,” which became “Let’s Ride” after he was traded to the Broncos; after signing with Pittsburgh last year, Wilson changed the tagline to “Here We Go,” the first words of the team’s fight song – and then “Win the Seventh,” as in the Steelers’ seventh Lombardi trophy. But he honestly can’t help himself. Overall, Wilson labors to say anything without sounding AI-powered. “The greater you’re great, the more they’re gone hate,” he said after a vintage outing against Dallas in Week 2. Even Wilson’s attempt to pivot from this robotic perception with a social media alter-ego called [Mr Unlimited](https://www.tiktok.com/@bleacherreport/video/7428072599122480426?lang=en) (not to be confused with his on-field persona, DangeRuss) was roundly jeered as painfully desperate and uncool. Corny is another word that’s used to describe Wilson. It comes up most often when Wilson is viewed through the prism of Black American culture – as Wilson’s aw-shucks airs, positive vibes and noticeable lack of visible tattoos veer from the stereotypical Black athlete who’s always getting into trouble on and off the field. Critics and commenters in the Black manosphere further perpetuate the stereotype when they tease Wilson for putting the R&B star Ciara through [a premarital purity](https://www.etonline.com/ciara-admits-it-took-a-lot-of-prayer-to-abstain-from-sex-until-marriage-with-russell-wilson-121397) test after she had previously been linked to the rapper Future, [a committed bachelor](https://people.com/all-about-future-kids-8643018) who has dissed Wilson [on several records](https://www.vulture.com/2023/07/future-diss-ciara-husband-russell-wilson-turn-yo-clic-up.html). The manosphere practically melted down after learning Ciara had added Wilson’s name to the son she shares with Future, even though Wilson had not legally adopted the boy. “He’s the most amazing human being you could know,” Ciara said [this summer](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/SLs4IV2xE2o) in defense of her husband. “The smartest, most intelligent _Black_ man I have ever known. What you see with him is really who he is.” The irony of Wilson’s carefully crafted image is that he probably never would have had much of an [NFL](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/nfl) career without it, let alone hung around long enough to become one of the league’s least-liked personalities. The longer years wear on, the easier it is to forget the odds stacked against Wilson: an under 6-foot tall Black quarterback who had cycled through two colleges back when that wasn’t a good look. The Seahawks took a flier on Wilson in the third round of a 2012 NFL draft headlined by Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, selecting him ahead of Nick Foles and Kirk Cousins – the only other QBs in the bunch who overdelivered. Wilson wasn’t supposed to see playing time, given that the Seahawks had signed Green Bay super-sub Matt Flynn to one of the more significant quarterback deals in the NFL at the time. Had Wilson been drafted even 20 years earlier, he almost certainly would’ve been [converted into a defensive back](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/oct/04/the-black-quarterback-is-now-the-nfls-leading-man-but-at-what-cost) or, failing that, chased a long career in professional baseball. (Wilson was drafted by three different MLB teams after high school and played second base in the Colorado Rockies organization for 93 games.) When Wilson defied forecasts and beat out Flynn for Seattle’s starting job, it triggered an avalanche of reports about the rookie QB’s outsized ability, strict work ethic and deep faith. [](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/oct/25/russell-wilson-nfl-image-fallout-seahawks-broncos-giants#img-3) Russell Wilson and Ciara attend the 2025 Met Gala. Photograph: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue There was nothing corny about Wilson going on to lead the Seahawks to a [Super Bowl drubbing of the Broncos in 2014](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/feb/02/malcolm-smith-super-bowl-mvp-seattle-manning-denver). He became something for championship contenders to aspire to: a breakout QB star on his rookie contract who’d leave plenty of cap space to address other needs on the field. But that high point may also have marked the beginning of Wilson’s popularity slide. The Seahawks looked like a dynasty in the making when they reached the Super Bowl again the next year. But then Wilson threw a goal-line interception [to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/feb/02/how-bad-was-the-seahawks-play-call-at-the-end-of-super-bowl-xlix) in Seattle’s 2015 Super Bowl clash against Tom Brady’s New England Patriots and doomed the Seahawks to one-hit wonder status. Players still hold a grudge against Seahawks coach Pete Carroll for calling the pass play instead of handing off to Lynch, the game’s leading rusher. It wasn’t much longer there after that you began hearing whispers about Wilson’s hewing closer to management than his own teammates, who were moved on to other teams until Wilson himself became expendable. Upon taking the Broncos job in 2022, Payton evicted Wilson from the office he scored among the team’s coaches and executives – proof of the extreme privilege he enjoyed on the team, some say. It’s also been said that Wilson tried to get his superiors fired in Seattle and Denver, a move another QB in his position might try if he had that kind of juice. (Wilson denied the power-grab claims ultimately.) Also in 2022, it was reported that Wilson had engaged in a four-hour workout on the way to a London game [in the aisle of the Broncos’ team plane](https://x.com/ZacStevensDNVR/status/1585286330719916035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1585286330719916035%7Ctwgr%5E2cdb9b97f8fa5f73c068c35efd6c082ffaae7892%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.redditmedia.com%2Fmediaembed%2Fye0log%2F%3Fresponsive%3Dtrueis_nightmode%3Dfalse), rankling teammates and deepening the public intrigue around his quirks. (Wilson said the story was “overblown”.) The last straw for fans, though, was Wilson signing one lucrative contract after another and failing to come good on those expectations as his play declined with little cash left to shore up other roster areas, betraying the bargain quality that had made him a great franchise player in the first place. His approval rating doesn’t seem as if it will recover until he retires. That said: it is worth noting that Wilson does have _some_ supporters who are definitely not his wife. Former Broncos guard Dalton Risner calls Wilson one of his favorite teammates. (“You wanna know why he had an office? Because Russell Wilson was _grinding_,” he [said](https://x.com/PaytonNixEra/status/1912715326976061511?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1912715326976061511%7Ctwgr%5E8aaef83ff942ab0f9e82a985e49010105101b150%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https://broncoswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/broncos/2025/04/20/nfl-rumors-ex-broncos-teammate-on-russell-wilson/83158363007/).) Doug Baldwin, Wilson’s top receiver in Seattle, says that their once-close relationship was changed by success and fame, but he wished his ex-teammate well in the end. Justin Fields, Wilson’s main competition for the starting job in Pittsburgh, remembers him being a great teammate and friend who served as a prime example for how to go about the job in the right way. It’s a reminder of how opinions can vary from person to person when the average NFL team fields 53 players or more. In a league built on relationships and perception, it means something for the hate toward Wilson to be largely circumstantial. It proves that choir boys don’t stand a chance on the gridiron as long as Wilson is out here reveling in the strait-laced football life, no matter what they do.