The regular season of the National Football League might still be months away, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t plenty of chatter around the league as teams look to improve ahead of training camp. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories around the league from this week.
Brady Confirms He Is Staying Retired
If there were any lingering questions about the legitimacy of his retirement, Tom Brady tried to shut those down this week. In an interview with Robin Lundberg of SI Now, the 45-year-old confirmed that he is done.
Brady recently bought a minority share of the Las Vegas Raiders. With starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo still trying to recover from surgery, there was some speculation that Brady could be a nice fill-in if Garoppolo couldn’t go.
While there would also be some hoops to jump through to be a part owner and player, it appears that Brady has no interest in pursuing that route.
Last season, with the Buccaneers, Brady threw for 4,694 yards and 25 touchdowns. After the season, he retired from the NFL, but it would be the first time that he has returned from retirement.
Still, it appears that Brady is enjoying retired life and the team hopes that Garoppolo can both recover and lead the team to an AFC West title. Currently, they are +1200 to do so, the worst odds in the division.
49ers’ Purdy Making Progress
The Raiders aren’t the only team looking for a quarterback to return to health this season. The San Francisco 49ers’ Brock Purdy is beating recovery projections, as he has started throwing again this week after undergoing UCL surgery in March.
Despite being the last player chosen in the 2022 Draft, Purdy was extremely successful for the 49ers. In nine games (five starts), he threw for 1,374 yards, 13 touchdowns and just four interceptions.
His success was enough for the 49ers to feel comfortable seeing Jimmy Garoppolo leave, and they also anticipate him starting ahead of both Trey Lance and Sam Darnold.
While he still has a lot of recovery left to go, the 49ers have to be encouraged that he feels healthy enough to throw already, well ahead of where he was expected to be at this point.
San Francisco is currently the favorite to win the NFC West at -175, and they have the fourth-best odds of winning the Super Bowl at +950.
Plenty Of Chatter Regarding Hopkins
On Tuesday, DeAndre Hopkins’ release by the Arizona Cardinals became official, making the soon-to-be 31-year-old a free agent. Now, it appears that suitors are lining up for his services.
A variety of teams have been linked to Hopkins this week including the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs, and others. It seems, however, that the veteran wide receiver won’t come cheaply.
According to The Athletic’s Tim Graham, it appears that Hopkins wants a deal similar to Odell Beckham Jr, who agreed to a $15 million, one-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens.
In nine games last season with the Cardinals, Hopkins caught 64 passes for 717 yards and three touchdowns.
