Arrowheadlines: Tom Brady was very close to joining the Chiefs’ biggest rivals

The latest

Were Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski nearly Raiders? | Fox Sports

The UFC President made the claim on an alternate broadcast for Saturday night’s UFC 278 prelims, a show called “UFC 278 With The Gronks,” which featured the NFL great, his father Gordon, his four brothers and many others, including White.

As far as the story of Brady and Gronk nearly joining forces with the Raiders, it was Gronkowski who pressed White to tell the story.

“Do I really tell this story right now?” White asked.

After Gronkowski gave the go-ahead, White went on to share the tale.

“I worked to put that deal together,” White said. “ … It was almost a done deal. And at the last minute, [head coach Jon] Gruden blew the deal up and said that he didn’t want ‘em. And all hell broke loose, man. It was crazy.

“And Brady was already looking at houses, and it wasn’t being said yet that Gronk was coming,” White added. “So Las Vegas would’ve had Brady and Gronk the year that the Bucs won the Super Bowl, except Gruden blew the deal up.”

Top 100 Players of 2022, Nos. 40-31: Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson latest QBs to join list | NFL.com

39 - Chris Jones

Kansas City Chiefs · DE

Jones earned his third straight Pro Bowl nod and led the Chiefs in QB hits (17) and sacks (9.0) in 2021, with the latter double any of his teammates. He also recorded 34 QB pressures and 16 QB hurries last season. Jones has been a solid veteran presence for a Chiefs defense that is still relatively young, and as Kansas City tries to continue its recent run of postseason success, Jones’ ability to pressure quarterbacks in the pocket will continue to be essential.

Preseason NFL Week 2 Takeaways: Patrick Mahomes, Brian Robinson, Kenny Pickett & More | Bleacher Report

Point Guard Patrick Mahomes Is in Full Effect

Following the departure of star wide receiver Tyreek Hill, quarterback Patrick Mahomes has talked about opening up the offense with a bevy of contributors, and we saw that on full display Saturday.

Against the Washington Commanders, Mahomes completed 12-of-19 pass attempts for 162 yards and two touchdowns and connected with seven different pass-catchers.

Of course, three-time All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce took part in the action with two catches for 23 yards on three targets. Yet Mahomes made new friends in the passing game, throwing a pair of touchdown passes to tight end Jody Fortson.

Justin Watson also made a notable impact, hauling in two passes for 53 yards. He’s in line to provide depth behind JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, rookie second-rounder Skyy Moore and Mecole Hardman on the wide receiver depth chart.

Moreover, tight end Noah Gray had a 30-yard reception. Running backs Jerick McKinnon and Isiah Pacheco combined for three caches and 30 yards in the first half.

Kansas City may miss Hill’s explosive plays in the passing game, lightning speed and contributions on special teams, but the offense will continue to produce with Mahomes point-guard mentality under center. We’ll have to get acquainted with new names in the Chiefs aerial attack this year.

NFL preseason 2022 Week 2 takeaways and schedule: Steelers’ Pickett flourishes vs. Jaguars; Tua sees first action with Dolphins | ESPN

Chiefs: Backup tight end Jody Fortson is emerging as a red zone threat. Fortson caught touchdown passes from Patrick Mahomes of 5 and 7 yards in the win over the Commanders. Mahomes fit the second one into a tight window, suggesting confidence in Fortson’s ability to make the catch, and Fortson indeed made a contested grab. Fortson was starting to emerge last year before a torn Achilles tendon ended his season prematurely. — Adam Teicher

Next game: vs. Green Bay, 8 p.m. ET, Aug. 25

NFL Week 2 preseason winners and losers: Running backs, rookie QBs among top performers | CBS Sports

Loser: Antonio Gibson

Speaking of offensive weapons in the NFC East, Gibson genuinely appears to be losing his grasp on the Commanders’ top running back job. The former rookie standout, now entering Year 3, rotated with the second- and third-team units at practice recently. Against the Chiefs, he stood on the sidelines while rookie Brian Robinson Jr. started in the backfield, then totaled just two carries while being relegated to kick-return duties.

Around the NFL

QB Tom Brady to return to Tampa Bay Buccaneers early this week | ESPN

Brady has been away from the team since Aug. 11 to tend to what has been described as “personal things.” Bowles said it was something agreed upon weeks ago and that the team supported Brady, who has kept in touch with the coaching staff during his absence.

Bowles said a decision has not yet been made on whether Brady will see action in this week’s third and final preseason game at the Indianapolis Colts.

“Not yet. We’ll see how practice goes and we’ll make those decisions at the end of the week,” Bowles said.

New York Giants top rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux goes down with knee injury, says ‘I’m good’ after game | ESPN

The early belief is that Thibodeaux’s injury is not severe.

“I’m all right. I’m good,” Thibodeaux said leaving the stadium under his own power with only a slight limp.

“We’re good. Good news,” he added later.

Thibodeaux will undergo further tests on Monday. That will ultimately determine how much time he will have to miss.

Packers LT David Bakhtiari (knee) comes off PUP list: ‘It’s been the journey that I’ve had to attack’ | NFL.com

Bakhtiari tore his ACL in practice on Dec. 31, 2020, a month-and-a-half after signing a four-year contract extension.

He spent the next year recovering and did not return until the regular-season finale against the Detroit Lions. He played 27 snaps in that game, providing hope that he would be able to contribute to the top-seeded Packers’ playoff run — at least on a rotational basis — but he suffered a setback and did not take the field in Green Bay’s Divisional Round loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

“I was extremely grateful and had my own personal moments the first time I came back because it was awesome,” Bakhtiari told reporters following Sunday’s practice. “It’s just tough when it gets taken from you ‘cause it’s not by your choice. That was something that I had a hard time giving up, basically my knee saying no. This time now, I realize that I cannot control as much as I want to. I like to be in control of my destiny and it’s just more like, ‘Hey, what are you feeling like today, knee? How are you doing? You holding up well? Cool, we’re in this together, man.’”

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

5 things we learned in the Chiefs’ victory over the Commanders

3. The Chiefs can throw to a lot of big targets in the red zone

Kansas City suddenly has a lot of size at the top of its roster.

With the addition of Watson and Fortson (along with 6-foot-4 Marquez Valdes-Scantling) to a roster than already included 6-foot-5 All-World tight end Travis Kelce, the Chiefs now have some big-bodied players who are capable of catching 50/50 balls in tight spaces. This doesn’t even include new wideout Juju Smith-Schuster, who isn’t abnormally tall (6 feet 1), but is a strong player who performs exceedingly well at the catch point.

In the red zone, there just isn’t a lot of space with which to work; receivers must either make a play on the boundary or go up between defenders and come down with the ball. It now feels like Kansas City’s pass-catchers have a bit of junkyard dog in them — that after a period of extreme success, they are (at last) hungry again.

And when you mix hungry with size, you get a bunch of bullies who are coming for your lunch money.

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