Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
It's cut day in the NFL, which you're going to hear a lot about over the next few weeks because there's actually THREE cut days this year. The NFL added a few extra cut days last season to make things as confusing as possible.
So when are those three cut days? Glad you asked. We'll be going over that in today's rundown, plus we'll also be covering the Seahawks-Eagles trade.
As a quick reminder, you can still bid on a chance to have a 10-minute Zoom call with me. The auction is for our annual CBS Sports telethon that raises money for St. Jude, so all the money from the auction will be going to charity.
If you want to bid, all you have to do is click here. Last year, the winning bid for me went for more than $1,000 -- it was the highest at CBS Sports -- but this year, it's much more affordable. The bidding is at just $26 right, which makes it the bargain of the century.
Alright, that's enough of that, let's get to the rundown.
As always, here's your weekly reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. All you have to do is click here and then share the link.
1. Today's show: Monday Mailbag
During the NFL offseason, we like to spice things up each week on the Pick Six Podcast by adding a listener mailbag every Monday, and just because the preseason is here doesn't mean these mailbags will be going away anytime soon. We had one yesterday and we have another coming today. (We're not usually this lazy, but Brinson and Wilson had to travel to Nashville this week for work, so we recorded an extra mailbag since they'll be flying today.)
Our mailbag episodes are pretty simple: We read listener questions during the show and then answer as many of those questions as possible. Questions can be about literally anything. I mean, I'm pretty sure someone once asked us how many state capitals we could name without using Google. If we'll answer that, trust me when I say that we'll answer almost anything.
Anyway, if you want to submit a question, all you have to do is go to Apple Podcasts (click here) and leave a five-star review that includes your question.
Here's one question that Will Brinson, Ryan Wilson and I answered for today's show.
Q: With how weak the NFC is looking -- Green Bay lost Davante Adams, Tampa Bay is dealing with plenty of issues and Matthew Stafford is having arm issues -- who is your favorite long shot bet to win the NFC?
To answer this question, we first had to agree on what constitutes a "long shot," and that was much easier said than done. We eventually decided that any team with odds over 15-to-1 qualifies as a long shot to win the NFC.
With that in mind, the team I like the most is the Minnesota Vikings. Yes, I know the Vikings always choke and/or find a way to lose every game that actually matters, but I think they can actually be good this year. This team lost eight games last season by one score and still went 8-9. If they had just gone 4-4 in those eight losses, they would have gone 12-5. When you consistently lose one-score games, that says more about your coaching than anything. The Vikings got rid of their coach, so I think this team can be better.
We also discussed SUPER long shots in the NFC -- teams that have a 50-to-1 chance to win the conference -- and I decided the Panthers are the best bet out of that group, which also includes the Lions, Giants, Seahawks, Bears and Falcons.
If you want to listen to the rest of the mailbag, be sure to click here. You can also watch today's episode on YouTube by clicking here.
VERY IMPORTANT PROGRAMMING NOTE: There's a good chance Ryan Wilson is going to be getting a tattoo during our live show today, which starts at 1 p.m. ET. If you are interested in watching, you can check it out on YouTube by clicking here.
2. Cut day: Former first-round pick headlines today's cuts
The NFL will be holding three cut days this year and the first one will be coming at us today.
With the league now playing three preseason games, the NFL decided to hold three cut days, with each one coming on the Tuesday following a full week of preseason games. The first cut day is today (teams must cut down to 85 players), with the next one coming Aug. 23 (cut down to 80) and the final one coming Aug. 30 (cut down to 53). On each of those days, the NFL's 32 teams will have until 4 p.m. ET to get their roster down to the allotted number.
Although teams have until 4 p.m. ET today to make their cuts, here's a look at some notable players who have already been released:
CB Darqueze Dennard (49ers)
DB Ross Cockrell (Buccaneers)
RB Corey Clement (Ravens)
WR Chad Beebe (Texans)
K Elliott Fry (Jaguars)
QB Jake Luton (Jaguars)
CB Lonnie Johnson Jr. (Chiefs)
TE Garrett Griffin (Lions)
Dennard is probably the most surprising name on that list. As recently as last week, the former first-round pick was listed as the 49ers starting nickel back, but he apparently became expendable after rookie Sam Womack had a huge game in the preseason opener with two interceptions against the Packers. (If you want to know more about Dennard's surprising cut, you can click here to check out our full story.)
As for all the other cuts, if you want to check out the full list of players being released, just click here. (The list won't be final until after the 4 p.m. ET deadline.)
3. Birds of a feather trade together: Eagles and Seahawks exchange players
One thing that almost always happens when there's a cut day coming up is that we see at least one trade go down. When a team is thinking about releasing a player who might draw some interest from other teams, they'll usually shop him around to see if they can make a trade instead of cutting him. That's what happened Monday with the Eagles and Seahawks pulling off a trade involving two players who probably would have been released.
Here's a look at the details in the rare player-for-player trade that involved zero draft picks:
- Seahawks receive: WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside
- Eagles receive: Safety Ugo Amadi
This trade will bring Arcega-Whiteside's career in Philadelphia to a disappointing end. The Eagles selected him in the second round of a loaded wide receiver draft back in 2019, and they've probably been regretting it ever since. Arcega-Whiteside was taken ahead of players like DK Metcalf, Terry McLaurin and Hunter Renfrow.
During his three years in Philadelphia, Arcega-Whiteside only caught 16 passes, which is barely an average of five catches per season. His biggest year came in 2019 when he caught 10 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown, but his numbers never improved after that. The trade to the Seahawks is probably for the best, since it will now give him a chance for a fresh start.
As for Amadi, he's a versatile player who gives the Eagles some solid depth in the secondary. Amadi's ability to play both corner and safety is likely a big reason the Eagles were interested in him. Amadi made seven starts last season during a year where he played in all 17 games for the Seahawks.
For more on the trade, be sure to click here.
4. One thing we learned about each NFL team during Week 1 of the preseason
With the first week of the preseason officially in the books, CBSSports.com's Jordan Dajani decided that now was the perfect time to reveal one thing he learned about each team over the weekend. With most teams only playing their starters for part of the first quarter, you don't always learn a lot about each team, but you definitely still learn something, so let's check out Dajani's list.
- Bills: Matt Araiza is a stud. "There's a punting competition occurring in Buffalo between two great players: Matt Haack and rookie "Punt God" Matt Araiza. There are high expectations for the San Diego kid with the interesting nickname, and he lived up to the hype in Week 1 of the preseason. Araiza punted just once, but it was an 82-yard boot that traveled more than 75 yards in the air!"
- Cowboys: Still haven't figured out how to cut down on penalties. "The Cowboys racked up a whopping 17 penalties for 129 yards in Week 1 of the preseason. They led the league in penalties last year, and head coach Mike McCarthy presumably doesn't want to do that again."
- Jaguars: The offense looks like it will be much improved. "They just needed a coach like Doug Pederson to come in and put all the pieces together. Jacksonville's first preseason game featured a solid showing from the offense, as Trevor Lawrence led an 11-play, 78-yard drive that ended in a field goal, and then later, another 11-play, 63-yard drive which was capped with a touchdown pass to Evan Engram."
- Texans: Dameon Pierce is no longer a secret. "The rookie running back out of Florida looked electric in his first NFL action. Pierce rushed five times for 49 yards, looked dangerously shifty in the backfield and was quite literally throwing grown men around in pass protection. It's early, but he looks like a baller."
- Steelers: George Pickens looks like a star. "Pickens looks fast, he seems to have great ball skills and he was burning defensive backs one play, and then laying them out as a blocker the next. He caught three passes for 43 yards and one touchdown on five targets, and will help whichever quarterback starts for Pittsburgh."
Dajani's list actually includes all 32 teams, and if you want to check out the full list, be sure to click here.
5. Grading the first-round rookies after one week of preseason play
At some point, I promise you we'll stop talking about Week 1 of the preseason, but that point is not right now, because we have some grades to hand out. CBSSports.com's draft guru Chris Trapasso went through each preseason game from the weekend so that he could grade how every first-round pick did.
The good news for the rookie class is that no one got an 'F.' Let's check in to see how a few of the first-round picks in the draft graded out:
Travon Walker (Jaguars): A-
Aidan Hutchinson (Lions): B
Ikem Ekwonu (Panthers): A-
Garrett Wilson (Jets): B+
Kyle Hamilton (Ravens): C+
Trevor Penning (Saints): D+
Kenny Pickett (Steelers): B
Kaiir Elam (Bills): B-
Cole Strange (Patriots): B
George Karlaftis (Chiefs): A-
Trapasso actually graded every first-round pick who made contributions (good or bad) in Week 1, and if you want to see each player's grade -- along with the explanation for each grade -- then make sure to click here so you can check out the entire story.
6. Rapid-fire roundup: NFL warns teams not to tamper with Roquan Smith
It's been a wild 24 hours in the NFL, and since it's nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you.
- NFL sends out Roquan Smith memo. The Roquan Smith situation in Chicago now has even more drama: Apparently, someone has been contacting other teams on Smith's behalf. The NFL views this as a problem for two reasons: Smith doesn't have an agent and the Bears haven't given him permission to seek a trade, so there shouldn't be anyone contacting any other teams on his behalf. The NFL sent out a memo to teams this week making it clear that if they talk to Smith, it would be viewed as tampering, which could lead to a punishment.
- Buccaneers sign Carl Nassib. The former Raiders defensive end is headed to Tampa Bay after agreeing to a one-year deal for the Buccaneers. The move makes sense for Nassib, who will be reunited with Todd Bowles. The Buccaneers coach was Tampa Bay's defensive coordinator in 2019 when Nassib played for the team. During that 2019 season, Nassib racked up six sacks, which is the second-highest total in his six-year career.
- Le'Veon Bell-Adrian Peterson fight is happening. The two NFL running backs were supposed to box each other in July, but the fight got postponed after the main event was canceled. Now, it appears the fight is back on. According to TMZ, the match has been rescheduled for Sept. 10 in California, which just happens to be one night before the first full Sunday of the NFL regular season.
- Bud Dupree pleads guilty to misdemeanor in Tennessee. The Titans star was given six months of probation after agreeing to plead guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge in Nashville on Monday. The plea stems from an incident in January where Dupree got into an altercation with an employee at Walgreens.
- 49ers starting safety could miss opener. Kyle Shanahan admitted Monday that safety Jimmie Ward could end up missing Week 1 after he suffered a hamstring injury in practice Sunday. "It was a pretty bad hamstring injury," Shanahan said. "We'll see over the next couple of weeks how it plays out." Ward started 16 games for the 49ers last season and led the team in interceptions with two.
