Five players to watch during NFL Week 1 preseason action this weekend, plus training camp overreactions

Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! 

If you love preseason football, then this might go down as your favorite weekend of all time, because there's going to be a lot of football happening. Starting at 7 p.m. ET tonight, there will be 13 games played over 45 hours. 

For anyone out there who is planning to watch all 13 games, I commend you. If you're not planning to watch all 13 games, don't worry, we'll let you know which ones to check out in today's newsletter. We'll also be taking a look at some training camp overreactions heading into the first weekend of the preseason. 

As always, here's your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. 

1. NFL preseason continues: Five players to watch this weekend

There will be a total of 13 games played this weekend and we thought about previewing them all, but that seems like overkill, so instead, we're just going to give you a list of five players that you'll definitely want to try and keep your eye on. 

FRIDAY

• Browns at Panthers, 7 p.m. ET (NFL Network): Shedeur Sanders. The rookie quarterback is fourth on the depth chart, but he'll be getting the start tonight. A big reason Sanders is starting is because no one else is available. Kenny Pickett (hamstring) and Dillon Gabriel (hamstring) have both been dealing with injuries and the Browns obviously aren't comfortable sending out a 40-year-old Joe Flacco. Although Sanders hasn't been a viewed as a front-runner in Cleveland's QB competition, he could take a huge leap forward if he plays well against Carolina. If you want a closer look at tonight's game, we've got that here. 

SATURDAY

• Texans at Vikings, 4 p.m. ET (NFL Network): J.J. McCarthy. The Vikings took a huge risk this offseason by moving on from Sam Darnold and we're soon going to find out if the J.J. McCarthy gamble is going to pay off. The Vikings playoffs hopes this year will likely ride on whether McCarthy can be an adequate replacement for Darnold at quarterback, and right now, it's not clear if that's the case. 
• Steelers at Jaguars, 7 p.m. ET (NFL+): Travis Hunter. If there's one player you should clear your schedule to watch on Saturday, it's Hunter. Jaguars coach Liam Coen has said that the rookie is going to play both ways, so this will be our first true taste of how the Jags plan to use him. Will he play more snaps on offense or defense? Will he dominate on one side of the ball? Will he struggle on one side of the ball? Will he make the Browns look dumb for letting him get away? Those are all questions that could soon be answered. 
• Titans at Buccaneers, 7:30 p.m. ET (NFL+): Cameron Ward. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft will be making his debut on Saturday night. Earlier this week, Ward said the Titans offense looked "mid," which definitely is NOT a compliment. The Titans offense is a work in progress right now, but that's too be expected, mainly due to the fact that they have several players learning the offense besides Ward, including Van Jefferson and Tyler Lockett. We'll see just how "mid" they look when they take the field against the Bucs. 
• Jets at Packers, 8 p.m. ET (NFL Network): Justin Fields. The Jets new QB has been struggling at times in training camp, but he can put those struggles behind him with a solid game against the Packers. If Fields continues to struggle, I'm not saying it should be panic time in New York, but it might be panic time in New York. 

The Saints are also holding a QB battle and if you want to see how that's going, they'll be facing the Chargers at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday. 

Also, Chris Trapasso made a list of 10 younger players he's excited about watching this weekend and you can see his list here.  

2. Biggest takeaways from Thursday's preseason games 

There were three preseason games played last night and we have takeaways from both of them. 

Ravens 24-16 over Colts

This game was supposed to all about the Colts' QB battle, but that got cut short after Anthony Richardson suffered a hand injury in the first quarter. Here are two quick takeaways from the game. 

• Colts: Both quarterbacks struggle. Before being knocked out of the game, Richardson went 2-for-3 for 21 yards. However, his one incompletion came on a pass where he threw the ball WAY behind his receiver. On the play where he got injured, he took a vicious hit from David Ojabo that dislocated his pinky (You can see a photo of the pinky here). Richardson is day to day with his injury. As for Daniel Jones, he threw for 144 yards, but his accuracy was off at times on a night where he completed just 47.6% of his passes. After watching just one preseason game, Jared Dubin thinks the Colts are in trouble at quarterback this year and he explained why here. 
• Ravens: Keaton Mitchell shines, Tyler Loop misses first career attempt. The rookie kicker saw his first action on Thursday night and he'd probably like to have his first field goal attempt back. Loop missed a 46-yarder in the third quarter, but then he bounced back to nail a 51-yarder in the fourth quarter (You can see the kick here). As for Mitchell, who missed a chunk of games last year while recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered in 2023, he was a human highlight reel. Mitchell carried the ball nine times for 68 yards, including a 23-yard TD that you can see here. 

The Ravens also got an 87-yard TD on a punt return from rookie LaJohntay Wester and you can check out that highlight here. In other Ravens news, rookie cornerback Bilhal Kone will miss the entire season after suffering a gruesome knee injury against the Colts. 

Eagles 34-27 over Bengals

The 2025 Bengals are already starting to look like the 2024 Bengals. What does that mean? Here are some quick observations from the game: 

• Bengals: Joe Burrow and the offense might have to carry the team again. The Bengals starters played the entire first quarter and they looked good. After throwing an incomplete pass on his first attempt of the night, Joe Burrow rebounded by completing nine straight passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns to close out the first quarter. Ja'Marr Chase caught was also impressive, catching four passes for 77 yards and a TD. The problem for the Bengals is that their defense couldn't stop anyone. The Eagles piled up 432 yards of offense and they did that even though most of their starters -- like Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley -- didn't even play. 
• Eagles: Tanner McKee torched the Bengals defense. McKee went 5 of 6 for 73 yards and a rushing touchdown (via the Tush Push) in the two series against the Bengals' first-team defense. He then went 9 of 11 for 120 yards with two touchdown passes to close the half, with the last one being a beautiful 21-yard pass to Darius Cooper on a fade. If the Eagles need McKee to win them a football game this year, he can certainly perform up to the task. He's a top 32 quarterback in this league and should be a starting quarterback for someone in due time. -- Jeff Kerr

We've got a few more takeaways from Philadelphia's win and you can check them out here. If you want to read about the game from the Bengals' side of things, we've got that here. 

Seahawks 23-23 tie with Raiders

If you went to bed before this game ended, you missed the FIRST TIE of the preseason. The Seahawks blocked a 55-yard field goal attempt by Daniel Carlson on the final play, and since there's no overtime in preseason, that sealed the tie. Here are two quick observations from the game: 

• Raiders: Geno Smith plays just one possession, rookie QB goes off. Geno Smith did make his Raiders debut, but it was a boring one. Smith played just one series, which lasted all of five plays before the Raiders were forced to punt the ball. The veteran QB finished just 1 of 3 for 15 yards. Things weren't much better for Ashton Jeanty, who carried the ball three times for negative-1 yard (And yes, that is a negative sign). It was a sloppy first half for the Raiders, who only scored three points during the first two quarters. There was one bright spot for the Raiders and that was the play of Cam Miller. The rookie QB out of North Dakota State finished 6 of 7 for 76 yards, including a 41-yard TD to Shedrick Johnson in the fourth quarter that you can see here. Tom Brady gave his full endorsement when the Raiders made the decision to draft Miller and fittingly, he was taken in the sixth round, which was the same round where Brady was selected in 2000. 
• Seahawks: Jalen Milroe looks impressive, George Holani shines. Milroe didn't enter the game until the second half, but once he was on the field, he looked impressive. Not only did he complete 6 of 10 passes for 61 yards, but he also finished with 38 rushing yards on just three runs. His longest run was a 27-yarder that you can see here. As for Holani, he was the best Boise State running back on the field. That honor was expected to go to Jeanty, but he got outshined by Holani, who carried the ball seven times for 61 yards and a TD. Holani signed with the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent last year and ended up making the team. After playing in just five games last season, he could be on track for more playing time in 2025. 

There are 13 more preseason games being played this weekend and if you see the full schedule of games, you can check that out by clicking here. 

3. Overreactions heading into the first weekend of the preseason: Will Micah Parsons miss Week 1? 

Everyone on the internet loves to overreact to things, and that's especially true when we're talking about the the NFL. With that in mind, Jeff Kerr decided to take a look at several things that have happened in training camp over the past few days to decide if we're all overreacting. 

Statement: Micah Parsons will miss Week 1. 
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction. This is a classic case of "don't believe it until you see it." Jerry Jones loves to drag on these contract negotiations with star players, whether it's because he wants to keep the Cowboys in the NFL headlines or he doesn't believe an uber-talented player like Parsons needs training camp or the preseason. Parsons has requested a trade from the Cowboys, but does anyone actually believe the Cowboys will actually grant his request?

Statement: Caleb Williams will throw for 4,000 yards this season. 
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction. The Bears have never had a quarterback throw for 4,000 yards in their history, but Ben Johnson's offense tailors to signal-callers. Williams is still raw, but Johnson's offense does lend to his strengths. ... Williams will have a better season than he had in his rookie year, but 4,000 yards is asking a lot. Don't be surprised if Williams looks significantly better toward the second half of the year.

Statement: Shedeur Sanders will be cut by the Browns. 
Overreaction or reality: Overraction. Friday's start against the Panthers and the joint practices over the next two weeks could be setting Sanders up to fail, but he can change the narrative by taking advantage of the reps with the first and second team.

There are plenty more overreactions, and if you want to check those out, be sure to click here. 

4. Why Micah Parsons, Trey Hendrickson and Terry McLaurin can't leave training camp

The best thing about having a former NFL agent (Joel Corry) working here at CBS Sport is that he knows the NFL rulebook so well that he's always uncovering things that I didn't even know existed. For instance, no matter how frustrated Micah Parsons gets with the Cowboys over the next few weeks, he won't be leaving training camp and that's because the team could use a nuclear option on him if he were to walk out. 

That nuclear option is a "team letter" and here's what that would entail: 

• Under the NFL Constitution and Bylaws, a team can send a player a letter informing him that he can be put on the reserve/left squad list if he doesn't return within five days after leaving. Once placed on the reserve/left squad list, a player is prohibited from attending team meetings, practicing and playing for the rest of the season. This letter must be sent in order for a player to be put the reserve/left squad list.
• The player's contract also tolls where it is frozen and resumes the next year. For example, Parsons would be playing the 2026 season under his $24.007 million fifth-year option for 2025. A player doesn't receive payment while his contract has tolled.

Basically, if Parsons, Trey Hendrickson or Terry McLaurin were to leave training camp at this point, they could be sent a team letter (This can only happen if you report and then leave. The team can't send the letter if you never report to training camp). 

Corry doesn't think a team letter will be used this year, but this explains why you won't see Parsons, Hendrickson or McLaurin leaving training camp no matter how frustrated they get. You can read more about the letter here. 

Parsons didn't attend practice on Thursday, which led some people to think that he might have left camp, but instead, he was receiving treatment for a back issue. 

5. Who will draft Arch Manning? Let's look into our crystal ball

For the past few months, Arch Manning had been projected to be one of the top picks int he 2026 NFL Draft, but now, it's looking like he might not enter the draft. If you believe Archie Manning, his grandson won't be entering the draft until 2027. 

With that in mind, Tyler Sullivan decided to get out his crystal ball to try and project which teams might make a play for the Texas quarterback in 2027. Yes, the 2027 NFL Draft is more than 20 months away, but we don't care, we already got our crystal ball out and we're using it. 

Here are two teams on Sullivan's list: 

• Rams. Why not kick it off with a doozy! Arch Manning being paired up with Sean McVay feels like someone sold their soul to the devil to make happen, but it's not totally out of the question. Los Angeles enters the 2025 season with a 37-year-old Matthew Stafford under center. The veteran quarterback has already flirted with the idea of retirement in the past, and, for the sake of this scenario, let's assume he decides to hang it up after this upcoming campaign. ... To further hammer this potential pairing home, it does seem like the Rams are already doing their due diligence on Manning, who they reportedly covet.
• Steelers. With an aging roster (particularly on defense), 2026 could prove to be a transition year for Pittsburgh, where they shed some of their older talent and set up building blocks for the future. That would likely result in a poor record, thus creating the avenue for the Steelers to land Manning.

There are a total of five teams on Sullivan's list and if you want to know who else is on "Manning Watch," you can read his full story here.

6. Extra points: Chargers star out for the season

It was a busy weekend 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. 

• Rashawn Slater suffers season-ending injury in practice. The Chargers were dealt a devastating blow on Thursday with the loss of Slater. The team's starting left tackle went down during practice and was later diagnosed with a torn pateller tendon. The injury came just one week after Slater had signed a four-year, $114 million contract that made him the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history. We took a closer look at his injury here. 
• Brandon Aiyuk likely won't be ready for 49ers' opener. The 49ers receiver is still recovering from a torn ACL and MCL that he suffered in October, and right now, it doesn't look like he'll be ready for San Francisco's opener against the Seahawks. "Do we have an exact date right now? No. I don't think it'll be Week 1, but hopefully I'm surprised," general manager John Lynch said Thursday. You can read Lynch's full comments here. 
• Cam Hayward and Chris Boswell both want a new deal. The Steelers have quietly been dealing with some contract drama that has now gone public. Heyward hasn't fully participated in any training camp practice yet because he wants a reworked deal. As for Boswell, he is practicing, but he's also looking to get a new deal. The two players have nine Pro Bowls between them, so the Steelers will probably want to get these two situations under control before the start of the season. 
• Texans safety arrested for second time in two months. Jimmie Ward was arrested on Thursday in Texas on a warrant related to a felony offense, according to police records. Ward's lawyer, Steve Jackson, told KPRC 2 that Ward was arrested as a result of testing positive for alcohol, which is a violation of his previous release from back in June. We've got more details on his arrest here.