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However, on “SportsCenter,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler recently reported that Wentz’s days as a free agent could be numbered. The former Eagles quaterback has maintained open communication with the Kansas City Chiefs, potentially to serve as Patrick Mahomes’ backup.
“Carson Wentz and the Chiefs did talk this offseason. There was some dialogue about Wentz potentially joining the Chiefs maybe down the road, or at least, you know, keeping that communication open,” Fowler said. “And I was told the Chiefs were fairly receptive to that idea. Certainly they respect the talent. And I was told Wentz is open to getting to a championship-type team, getting into a new winning culture, where he can learn, you know, sit behind a Patrick Mahomes.
Every NFL Contender’s Biggest Flaw That Could Derail Super Bowl Run in 2023 | Bleacher Report
Kansas City Chiefs: Pass-Catchers Other Than Travis Kelce
Super Bowl Odds: +600
The Kansas City Chiefs are the favorite heading into the season because they have very few holes and the best head coach-quarterback tandem in the league right now.
Andy Reid has been putting out elite offenses for years and Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the league. Add in the league’s best receiving tight end and the Chiefs have been able to build a strong offense with one of the league’s least proven wide receiving corps.
The Chiefs proved they could survive without Tyreek Hill last season. After trading him to Miami they were still the league’s No. 1 passing attack, but a lot of that had to do with how dominant Travis Kelce was.
No one dominated their position more than Kelce. T.J. Hockenson was clearly the second-most productive tight end and Kelce had 424 more yards, six more touchdowns and 24 more receptions on 23 more targets than the Vikings pass-catcher.
But Kelce will be 34 years old in October and has played a smaller percentage of the snaps in each of the last three seasons. If his age starts to show there are real questions about the receivers behind him.
JuJu Smith-Schuster was the top wideout last season but he left in free agency. That leaves Marquez Valdes-Scantling as the lone proven veteran wideout. After that, they are relying from breakout seasons from Skyy Moore, Kadarius Toney or rookie Rashee Rice.
Reid and Mahomes are the perfect pairing to get the most out of them, but if Kelce gets hurt or takes a step back it’s going to be difficult to continue to have an elite passing game.
3. The Chiefs will be just fine out wide (again)
In 2022, the concern was losing All-Pro Tyreek Hill. In 2023, the concern was adequately supporting Travis Kelce with, well, someone other than JuJu Smith-Schuster. Besides the fact Kelce and Patrick Mahomes would keep Kansas City afloat anyway, almost all of their young up-and-comers, including Skyy Moore, Rashee Rice and even Ihmir Smith-Marsette, have flashed big-play ability this summer. And only one of them might get real looks this year! Andy Reid’s offense could just be WR-proof.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire
The 2020 first-rounder has fallen to No. 3 on the RB depth chart at best, with Isiah Pacheco a justified starter and Jerick McKinnon locked into a secondary pass-catching role. The Chiefs could save close to $1M by parting ways with the LSU product.
Chiefs LT Donovan Smith got his first taste of what Arrowhead Stadium is about | A to Z Sports
This last weekend, even in a preseason game, one new Chiefs player found out what all the hype is about when it comes to the Chiefs and Arrowhead Stadium.
“Wow ! Arrowhead today was LIT!!!!,” Donovan Smith said on Twitter.
Around the NFL
Packers QB Jordan Love looking for ‘consistency’ heading into Week 1 after preseason games | NFL.com
After Love went 9 of 15 passes for 63 yards and one touchdown in Saturday’s 19-15 win over the Seattle Seahawks, Love told reporters postgame that he is looking at one area of improvement heading into Week 1 against the Chicago Bears.
“Consistency. Just being consistent for myself and this offense as a whole,” Love said, via the team’s transcripts. “When we get the opportunity to make big plays, we’ve got to make them. It just comes down to consistency every day in practice, and it’s going to translate to the games.”
Over three preseason games, Love completed 21 of 33 passes for 193 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a 109.8 passer rating.
C.J. Stroud will start Texans’ 2023 NFL season opener vs. Ravens | USA Today
The future is now for the Houston Texans.
C.J. Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft earlier this year, was named the Texans’ starting quarterback by coach DeMeco Ryans on Sunday night, ending any intrigue in Houston’s quarterback battle.
Stroud beat out the player he was drafted to replace in Davis Mills, who is entering his third NFL season with a 5-19-1 record as Houston’s starter in 2021-22.
Together, Stroud and Ryans are anchoring in a new era within the Texans franchise, following the departures of three of the franchise’s biggest stars and three head coaches in the last three seasons.
“Nothing else really changes. I’m still going to work they way I have been working — even more now,” Stroud said after the preseason finale Sunday night. “So, blessed enough to be a starter so young in this league, which isn’t the easiest thing to do. But I know my coaches have trust and faith in me.”
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
Chiefs-Browns Preseason Week 3: 5 things we learned in comeback win
5. Rashee Rice needs to stop dropping the ball
The second-round rookie wideout has five drops in three preseason games. That’s the same number that Marquez Valdes-Scantling had in all of 2022. If Rice keeps up this pace, he will have 28 dropped passes in 2023, which would blow Terrell Owen’s current record of 17 right out of the water.
That doesn’t mean we should hit the panic button on Rice; all other signs point to him being a dynamic playmaker in the Chiefs’ offense. But he needs to get on the Jugs machine so he can sort out whatever concentration issues he has before his team takes on the Detroit Lions in Week 1.
That’s just a week from this Thursday.
A tweet to make you think
Among wide receivers who have played in all three preseason games, #Chiefs' Ihmir Smith-Marsette was the highest graded at PFF with a 91.1 offensive grade. 9 receptions on 10 targets for 195 yards & 2 TDs. If not in KC, he'll get a shot elsewhere. pic.twitter.com/KRSoGrcdHz
— Charles Goldman (@goldmctNFL) August 27, 2023
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