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| Friday, July 11, 2025 |
| Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! |
| This is it, everyone. This is not a drill: This is your final Friday of the year without NFL football. Sure, we're not quite to the regular season yet, but the NFL will be unofficially returning starting this weekend. Here's a look at everything that will be happening over the next few days: |
| July 12: Chargers rookies report to training campJuly 15: Dolphins, 49ers, Giants, Seahawks, Bills, Ravens rookies report to training campJuly 16: Chargers veterans and Lions rookies report to training camp |
| Oh, and let's not forget about the franchise tag deadline of July 15, which is the last day for a tagged player to get a long-term deal done with his team (This year, that deadline only applies to one player: Trey Smith of the Chiefs. If you're wondering whether the two sides will get a deal done, we broke that down here). |
| The only thing more exciting than players reporting for training camp is today's newsletter, so let's get to it. |
| As always, here's your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. |
| 1. Ranking the 25 worst coaching hires of the past 25 years |
| We are 25% of the way through the century and we've been celebrating that fact all summer long here at CBS Sports. Not only are we unveiling our All-Quarter Century Team this week, but we also decided to rank the 25 worst coaching hires of the century, which wasn't easy to do, because there have been a lot of bad coaching hires over the past 25 years. |
| Let's take a look at the three worst hires on the list, which was put together by Cody Benjamin: |
| 1A. Jaguars hire Urban Meyer (2021). "Despite inheriting No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence, he made it just 13 games before ownership pulled the plug. The worst part wasn't the losses but the scandals sandwiched between them, none greater than a seemingly flirtatious trip to the bar -- captured in viral video -- while the rest of the team flew home from a defeat." |
| 1B. Jets hire Bill Belichick (2000). "Belichick never coached a single game for the Jets. But it's not like he was just negotiating to become New York's head man in 2000. He agreed to the deal. He was announced as Bill Parcells' successor. And then, one day later, hours before his introductory news conference, Belichick delivered his infamous resignation "letter" -- barely seven words, scribbled on a napkin -- and hopped across the division to lead the New England Patriots." |
| 2. Falcons hire Bobby Petrino (2007). "There's no doubt Petrino found himself in an unexpectedly dire situation when Michael Vick, the team's emergent star quarterback, went to prison for dogfighting prior to the 2007 season, leaving Atlanta without answers under center. But Petrino's response was even more unexpected: He resigned from his post after just 13 games, informing the Falcons of his decision via notes left in the locker room." |
| If you want to see that other 23 names on the list, we've got that here. |
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| 2. Biggest remaining need for every NFC team |
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| In Thursday's newsletter, we took a look at the biggest remaining roster need for each AFC team, and now, we're going to flip things around and do the NFC. With training camp right around the corner, Josh Edwards decided to take a look at the biggest remaining need for each NFC team. |
| We're going to break down his list by taking a look at one team in each NFC division: |
| Lions: EDGE rusher. "Detroit moved on from Za'Darius Smith after acquiring him midseason in 2024, and Aidan Hutchinson is returning from a serious knee injury. The other pass rushers on the roster are Marcus Davenport and Josh Paschal. Davenport has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career and Paschal has been more of a stable run defender than one capable of providing explosiveness off the edge while also dealing with his own injuries."Buccaneers: Offensive tackle. "Offensive tackle immediately rises to the top of the list following the news that All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs could miss a portion of the upcoming season. Right tackle Luke Goedeke has consistently shown improvement, but the depth chart was not in a position to absorb the loss of one of its starters."Cowboys: The secondary. "The Cowboys did draft Shavon Revel Jr. on Day 2 and traded for former first-round pick Kaiir Elam, who was not the answer in Buffalo. Injuries have plagued the unit, and there is room for long-term answers at the safety position."Rams: Cornerback. "They were involved in Jalen Ramsey trade talks before he was dealt to Pittsburgh. The group, as a whole, is bereft of top shelf talent." |
| If you want to see the full list of needs for all 16 NFC teams, we've got that here. |
| 3. AFC North breakdown: What each team needs to do to win the division |
| Over the next few days, we're going to go around the NFL and take a look at what each team needs to do to win its division. After taking a look at the AFC East on Thursday, we're going to move on to the AFC North today. |
| Here's Cody Benjamin's breakdown of what each team needs to do to win the division crown: |
| Ravens: "The best part about their balanced roster is the added upside on defense. Zach Orr's group still works best when big men like Nnamdi Madubuike win the trenches, but the back end is ripe with fresh talent, from rookie Malaki Starks coming aboard opposite young star Kyle Hamilton to ex-Green Bay Packers All-Pro Jaire Alexander joining Marlon Humphrey on the boundary. ... If their lineup stays intact, it's just hard to beat their combination of talent and experience under a coach in John Harbaugh who's been there, done that."Bengals: "it'll be hard for the Bengals defense to be much worse than it was in 2024. Trey Hendrickson's ongoing contract dispute threatens to leave Cincinnati without its top (and only) proven pass rusher, which isn't nothing. But this is a unit that surrendered at least 30 points in six different games, posting some of the ugliest marks in franchise history. If new coordinator Al Golden just brings them to below-average, it may well be enough to put Joe Burrow's fireworks back on a meaningful stage."Browns: "If Kevin Stefanski is just able to play conservative ball, he could also have suffocating defensive support to slow even the most dangerous of NFL contenders. Jim Schwartz is a proven and aggressive leader on that side, and he's got nasty blue-collar pieces at every level, from the ever-fearsome Myles Garrett and first-round interior man Mason Graham to rookie linebacker Carson Schwesinger and No. 1 cover man Denzel Ward. Shootouts may not be their specialty, but a year after they opened the 2024 season on a roll, they could be even stingier thanks to the fresh legs in the front seven."Steelers: "Is Aaron Rodgers the MVP-level playmaker he was when he bested the Steelers in the Super Bowl years ago? The eye test suggests rather definitively that he is not. Even at 41, however, he seems to have enough arm and touch to bring more zest than, say, the 2024 combo of a bottled-up Justin Fields and increasingly sluggish Russell Wilson. The key is giving him a clean pocket." |
| You can check out Cody's full explanation for each team here. |
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| 4. Why one Lions player got a year supply of beer from Jared Goff |
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| The best part of watching season 2 of "Quarterback" is that you learn a few interesting tidbits in each episode. The Netflix series followed three quarterbacks around during the 2024 season and this year's show features Joe Burrow, Kirk Cousins and Jared Goff. |
| We covered a few storylines on Tuesday, but now that I've had a chance to watch a few more episodes, here are few other things I learned: |
| Jared Goff has to buy one of his teammates beer for a year. During one of the episodes, Goff revealed that he made a bet with Lions punter Jack Fox before the 2024 season started. So what was the wager? Let's let Goff explain. "I bet Jack Fox at the beginning of the year, I said, 'If you lead the league in net punting, I'll get you Bud Light for a year,'" Goff said . "And right after the [final] game, he's like, 'there it is, you owe it to me for a year.'" Goff lost the bet. Free beer ended up being quite the incentive for Fox, because not only did he win the bet, but he won it by pulling off one of the best punting seasons in NFL history. The 28-year-old ended the season with a net punting average of 46.2 yards, which set the single-season record for highest net punting average in league history.Eagles players fought over Joe Burrow's jersey. One hilarious scene that took place came when cameras caught several Eagles players arguing over who would get Joe Burrow's jersey during Philadelphia's game in Cincinnati back in October. The argument happened DURING the third quarter of a game where the Eagles were leading 17-10, which makes it even more hilarious (You can see the clip here). We also learned that Burrow loves fossils (Video proof is here ). Kirk Cousins didn't want to get Wally Pipped. Not only did Cousins suffer an elbow injury last season, but it appears that it was pretty bad. However, Cousins hid the injury from the team because he didn't want to lose his starting job. "If you sit down Week 10 and take two or three weeks or more to let it heal, you may never get your job back," Cousins said, via ESPN . "So that was something I always was aware of, that in this league, if you give someone else the chance, if you want to get 'Wally Pipped' and there's Lou Gehrig behind you, that can happen at the time." |
| If you have a Netflix subscription and some free time this weekend, "Quarterback" is definitely worth watching. |
| 5. NFL All-Quarter Century Defensive Team |
| After releasing our All-Quarter Century Offensive Team on Thursday, it only makes sense to release our All-Defensive Team today, so that's exactly what we're going to do. |
| Here's a look at the 11 starters on the roster: |
DE: JJ Watt
DT: Aaron Donald
DT: Warren Sapp
DE: Jason Taylor
LOLB: T.J. Watt
ILB: Ray Lewis
ILB: Derrick Brooks
ROLB: DeMarcus Ware
CB: Charles Woodson
FS: Ed Reed
SS: Troy Polamalu
CB: Darrelle Revis |
| The Steelers, Ravens and Buccaneers all landed two players each on this list although you could make the argument that the Bucs actually landed three players if you count Revis' one season in Tampa Bay. Of course, the most impressive part of this list is that the Watt brothers both made the cut. |
| If you want to see the entire defensive roster, which includes backups at each position, we've got full breakdown here. |
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| 6. Extra points: Najee Harris suffers fireworks-related injury |
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| It's not the busiest time in the NFL, but there's still a lot happening, so I went ahead and put together a small roundup for you. |
| Najee Harris dealing with eye injury. There was an online rumor that Harris injured his eye during a fireworks accident on July 4 and that rumor turned out to be true. Harris' agent, Doug Hendrickson, confirmed the injury on Thursday . "Najee sustained a superficial eye injury during the incident, but is fully expected to be ready for the upcoming NFL season." Eye injuries can be a tough thing to deal with, even if they're superficial, so it will be interesting to see what Harris looks like when the Chargers veterans report to training camp on July 16. Raiders to win Super Bowl 60? Gambler makes massive bet on Las Vegas. Someone out there has a lot of confidence in the Raiders this year. One gambler just put $25,000 on Las Vegas to win Super Bowl LX. The bet was made at DraftKings, where the Raiders are currently being given 100-to-1 chance to win it all, which means this gambler would walk away with $2.5 million in winnings if the Raiders can pick up their first Super Bowl win since 1983. You can read more about this massive bet here. 49ers receiver pleads no contest in DUI case. Demarcus Robinson could be facing a possible punishment from the NFL after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor DUI charge this week. The receiver has been sentenced to three years probation over the incident, which took place in November. You can read more about the case here. |
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| | | | | PGA Tour | | BIG3 | Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler are back at the Genesis Scottish Open. Watch the third and final round this Saturday and Sunday at 12 ET on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
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| | Ice Cube's 3-on-3 tournament is back this Sunday at 3 ET on CBS and streaming on Paramount+!
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