Under two weeks until Christmas, and into the home stretch we go. My answers to your questions this week …
From Tom Marshall (@aredzonauk): Despite their record—is it fair to say now that the Chiefs are missing Tyreek Hill?
Tom, sure, in a vacuum, they’d love to have Hill on their team.
Remember, the genesis of this was in 2022 when the receiver market exploded—with the Las Vegas Raiders’ trade for Davante Adams touching a shift in economics at the position. The Chiefs had already opened talks with Hill’s camp on a deal at that point, but the price tag motivated Kansas City to reconsider its options, which eventually led to the trade with the Miami Dolphins.
The Chiefs got first-, second- and fourth-round picks in 2022, and fourth- and sixth-round picks in ’23 as part of the deal—picks used to get Trent McDuffie, Skyy Moore, Joshua Williams, Chamarri Conner and Keondre Coburn. McDuffie, now an All-Pro corner, has been a big hit. Moore was a second-round miss, or has been to this point. Williams and Conner have been valuable depth pieces in the secondary. Coburn, a defensive tackle, is gone.
Then, there’s the financial flexibility moving Hill gave them. The reality is they chose Hill’s draft classmate, Chris Jones, over their dynamo of a receiver—a move you make if you have a generational quarterback and another high-end skill guy, Travis Kelce, as a focal point. Jones is as rare a talent as Hill is and got the kind of third contract Hill wanted. And from there, the Chiefs gained room to do deals with younger players. One is Creed Humphrey. Others (McDuffie, George Karlaftis, Nick Bolton, etc.) could be coming.
So, yes, the Chiefs miss Hill. But when you’re at the Chiefs’ level, and have the level of quarterback they do, you can’t just keep everyone.
From Jeremiah (@SportsManiac2_8): Any chance for an NFL game in Hawaii, Japan and/or Australia?
O.K., Jeremiah, one by one … Hawaii, no … Japan, not yet … Australia, maybe soon.
I just don’t think there’s a benefit worth sacrificing someone’s home game in going to Hawaii, where there’s not even a stadium that comes close to being up to NFL standards (the old Aloha Stadium is gone, with plans in motion now to replace it with a 25,000-seat venue). There are football fans there. The islands produce players at a high rate. But the league doesn’t need to put a game there to stoke interest.
The Japanese market is intriguing of course—Tokyo is the world’s largest city, and there’s a ton of wealth to mine and business for an American enterprise to do over there. But I don’t think interest in American football is at a level yet there, like baseball always has been, to justify putting a regular-season game in Tokyo.
And that brings us to Australia. There’s growing interest in our greatest sport, and even a pipeline of converted rugby players (hello, Jordan Mailata) and Aussie rules footballers. I’d say if Sydney and Melbourne were closer geographically, it’s pretty much a certainty that Australia would’ve already hosted a game. Travel logistics have stood in the way. But doing the game in Brazil this year the way the NFL did—putting it at the start of the season to ease travel fatigue—at least gives the league an outline for going Down Under.
From baker lake (@baker_lake): When is the earliest you could see the Browns back in contention?
Baker, next year.
I understand the pessimism. I went to college with Cleveland Browns fans—my freshman year at Ohio State was actually during the final year of the three that Cleveland was without the Browns—and some of my best friends are Browns fans. So, I get why everyone in that city is always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Mostly, because it almost always does.
That said, I still think Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski have built a solid, sustainable foundation. Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward are among the NFL’s best defensive players, at premium positions. The offense has Jerry Jeudy, David Njoku, Elijah Moore, and veteran linemen Wyatt Teller and Joel Bitonio. Now, left tackle and quarterback are big questions. I also know having the latter as a hole is a But how was the play otherwise, Mrs. Lincoln? kind of problem, and it won’t be easy to fill working around Deshaun Watson’s contract.
But I know the plan is to add competition to the quarterback room, and there are solutions out there that could work if Cleveland is good enough around whoever’s playing the position. And there’s hope that Dawand Jones could wind up being the long-term left tackle. If those two things come together, this can be a playoff team next year.
From jermaine jones (@jermaine611): Why does the NFL never talk expanding?
Jermaine, the easiest way to explain it is by imagining the NFL having, to make the number clean, $16 billion in national revenue in a given year. In that world, each team would make $500 million. This means that just to have everyone else break even, a 33rd team would have to add another $500 million in value. Conversely, if the overall number stayed the same, every team’s cut would drop to about $485 million, costing each franchise $15 million.
So, if the league is going to expand, given how these things work, I think it’d have to be adding markets that really shift the paradigm. Going to Austin/San Antonio or St. Louis or San Diego or Portland simply won’t do that. London, on the other hand, could, because you’re talking about setting up entirely new revenue streams for the league.
This is why I think the only place expansion will happen any time soon is overseas.
From KTA (@keiteay): What's the next "battleground" for NFL stadium discussions, now that teams in places like Jax, Nash, and Buffalo have all secured their long-term futures?
KTA, I think Kansas City will come to a head soon. Washington, with new ownership, has done a ton of work on the old RFK Stadium site, and a lot of folks would love to see the team back in D.C. Chicago and Cleveland have old-fashioned city/suburb tugs of war going on. The Denver Broncos are on the horizon as well, with the deep-pocketed Walton family already eyeing a new venue. Then, there are the Is their stadium really that old? surprises that come along, like Atlanta did about a decade ago.
The NFL always has shovels in the ground, especially if the league can get the public to pay for it.
From Ronnie Micle, CPA (@RonnieMicle): Do you think Robert Kraft would fire Jerod Mayo after one season and hire Mike Vrabel?
Ronnie, I don’t. I think it’d have to be a disaster the rest of the way for that to happen.
I’d say the Kraft family has respect for the job Mayo’s done this year, keeping his team engaged, and weathering a tough media environment—one that all included the likes of his predecessor, Bill Belichick. Of course, the Krafs have to shoulder some blame for that, too. They were the ones who quietly arranged a coach-in-waiting situation for Mayo without Belichick’s blessing, which was always a risky proposition—and predictably blew up on them when the 2023 season went careening off a cliff.
The tough thing in going forward with Mayo will be how you handle the rest of the operation. If they want to make changes, it could be tough to entice qualified candidates to come in, if they think Mayo and his staff will be fighting for their jobs in 2025.
That said, everyone knows Mayo got the job a year or two before anyone thought he would. So, I think the Krafts will show him grace for that.
From doug mccready (@dgmccready): Do the Lions need to be the number one seed to make the SB?
Doug, no.
Would it help? It sure would. In a league that has a ton of cavernous new stadiums that don’t trap noise, Ford Field is intimate and feels, from a crowd standpoint, a little more like an old-school dome. It’s a tough, tough place for visitors to play. It’d matter in January.
On the flip side, Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes have built a rugged all-weather team that’s sturdy through the lines of scrimmage and can go anywhere and win. Philly included.
From Cali (@CaliJets): What is your Jets prediction at HC and route they take at QB (rookie round 1, Rodgers, or other)?
Cali, I wouldn’t venture a guess on Aaron Rodgers in 2025. I think it’s wildly unpredictable.
As for the coach and GM, I feel like the fit is going to be a big piece of the puzzle. So, maybe you bring in a couple of guys who’ve been in the market. I’ll give you one who’s from there, one who played there, both of whom have worked for the team, and say Buffalo Bills assistant GM Brian Gaine as GM and Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn as head coach.
I do think experience will be a factor. Gaine has been a GM. Glenn hasn’t been a head coach, but played 15 years of pro football, and has coached for a decade.
From Ben Devine (@Chicago_NFL): What are you hearing regarding the Chicago HC job. Leader of men? Offensive mind. Past experience as HC? Is it as coveted a job as Bears’ brass has expressed?
Ben, I think the Chicago Bears will look, first, for a leader, and if a candidate checks other boxes, then great. Vrabel comes to mind as a fit, I just don’t know if he’d go to a place that’s structured the way the Bears are right now. Glenn would be a match, too.
The quarterback part of it isn’t irrelevant, of course, with Caleb Williams coming out of his rookie year. I just think the franchise needs a lot more than a guy to develop one player.
From erickleinphd (@DrEricKlein): Albert, it’s clear that certain organizations with head coaching vacancies would benefit from a change in culture. Who are the head coaching candidates in this cycle that are viewed as culture changers that would bring a certain level of gravitas the minute they enter the building?
Eric … names that fit that for me: Vrabel, Glenn, Brian Flores … just off the top of my head.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as The Chiefs Are Winning, but Doubts Persist .
