NFL News

We are just a little over a week from the Super Bowl, and all eyes remain on a stellar matchup that will feature a legend in Tom Brady versus a legend in the making in Patrick Mahomes. Sportsbooks expect this to be a close one as the Kansas City Chiefs are currently favored by only 3 points.
While the Super Bowl is the focus of fans, there is still plenty of news circulating the NFL. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories from the last week.
Watson Officially Requests Trade
If things were not already interesting in Houston, they are about to get a whole lot tenser as star quarterback Deshaun Watson has officially requested a trade, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
After a frustrating season, Watson grew even more impatient when he was told he would have input in the new general manager and head coach, only to be disregarded in both. In fact, after discussing that Chiefs’ offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy would be the best fit, the Texans just recently went with David Culley as head coach.
Now, new general manager Nick Caserio has his hands full trying to figure out whether to try to call Watson’s bluff or to trade the franchise quarterback. If he does, there will be no shortage of suitors.
Watson has a no-trade clause, though, meaning he will have at least some input. Expect teams like the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, and Carolina Panthers (among others) to have an interest.
Houston will surely get a king’s ransom worth of picks for Watson, but a franchise quarterback is hard to find, so it is still painful to think about the idea of trading him away.
Despite a 4-12 record, Watson did his part this season, throwing for 4,823 yards, 33 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions. He also rushed 90 times for 444 yards and another three scores.
Watson signed a four-year extension last offseason, meaning he will be under team control until after the 2025 season. It will just be interesting to see what jersey he is wearing for the remainder of that contract.
Big Ben Wants To Come Back For Season 18
Throughout much of the season, there was speculation that Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger might consider hanging up the cleats after the season. Instead, it appears that “Big Ben” would like to return for another season, which would be his 18th overall.
He even appears to be willing to restructure his contract to get it done. According to Ed Bouchette of The Athletic, Roethlisberger has indicated that he is willing to restructure his contract to help the Steelers get under the cap.
For the defending AFC North champions, it was a disappointing end to the season as they lost five of their last six, including back-to-back losses to the Cleveland Browns in the last game of the regular season and the first game of the playoffs.
Still, Roethlisberger showed flashes of what has made him a star throughout his career. On the season, he threw for 3,803 yards, 33 touchdowns, and just ten interceptions. While father time is catching up with the 38-year-old, it appears that he has enough in the tank to give it at least one more run with the Steelers.
Witten Calls It A Career
It was just a few years ago that Jason Witten retired from the NFL. After a brief hiatus, he returned to play two more seasons. This last season was with the Las Vegas Raiders. It appears that this was his last, though.
According to Todd Archer of ESPN, Witten is planning to retire again, this time for good. This season, Witten had just 13 receptions for 69 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
At 38, he was just a shell of the player that first broke into the NFL in 2003. Throughout his career, he had four seasons with over 1,000 yards receiving and six straight with 940 or more. His best season was arguably in 2007 when he had 141 receptions for 1,145 yards and seven scores for the Cowboys.
After the 2019 season, his 16th with the Cowboys, Dallas decided to move on, which is why he ended up with the Raiders. It was clear, though, that his playing days were coming to an end.
Just so he can say that he retired a Cowboy, Witten plans to sign a one-day contract with the Cowboys before retiring.