Hello football friends, and welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

Today is the start of what should be a wild weekend in the NFL, so buckle up. The final week of the preseason is here and it starts tonight with four games. We also have 10 games on Friday and two games on Saturday, but you won't be getting a breather after that, because Sunday is cut day. That's right, cut day is happening on a Sunday. 

Over the past few years, final cuts have been held on the first Tuesday after the final week of the preseason, but this year, all 32 teams will have to trim their roster down to 53 players by 6 p.m. ET on Sunday. So not only are we getting 16 games this weekend, but we're also going to see nearly 1,200 players get released. 

Before we get to cut day, though, we have a lot to cover today, starting with the fact that the Pro Bowl has been CANCELED. I will mostly miss the Pro Bowl because it gave us my favorite sideline interview of all time: Back in 2003, Peyton Manning famously called Mike Vanderjagt an "Idiot kicker" (You can see the interview here). Alright, that's enough of that, let's get to the rundown. 

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 owners meeting: Five things to know from a big day in Atlanta 

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The NFL owners don't usually hold a league meeting in August, but they added one to the schedule this year so that they could formally approve Vinod Khosla as the new owner of the Seattle Seahawks. That was supposed to be the biggest announcement to come from Wednesday's meeting, but then things got a little crazy. 

The NFL ended up making several big announcements yesterday and we're going to cover all of them below. 

  • The Pro Bowl is being axed. The NFL has been holding a Pro Bowl since 1938, but that tradition is no more: The league has decided to cancel the game going forward. The writing has been on the wall since 2022 when the NFL changed the format from a real football game to a flag football game. Although there won't be a game, the NFL will still name 88 Pro Bowlers at the end of each season. 
  • NFL formalizes eligibility rules. Several NFL rookies are hoping to return to college this year and if that happens, they won't be able to return to the NFL at any point during the 2026 season. Under a new NFL policy, if a rookie signs with an NFL team and decides to return to college, he can't return to the NFL until after the season. Dae'Quan Wright (Browns) and Zxavian Harris (Saints) are both looking to play for LSU this year. If they end up returning to college, they won't be eligible to sign with an NFL team until after the 2026 season (This means that if LSU had a bad year and their season ended in November, the two guys couldn't jump ship to an NFL team). If you want to read more on the new eligibility policy, we've got the full details here. 
  • NFL adds new way for players to get suspended. With the NFL trying to make the game safer, the league has added a new policy. The NFL has identified five serious hits that it wants to eliminate from the game -- the Hip drop tackle, horse collar tackle, launching, hit on a defenseless player and blindside block. If a player gets called for three violations in a single season, then they'll be hit with a one-game suspension. There are also a few other nuances to the policy, so be sure to check out our full story on the rule here. The new rule shouldn't result in very many suspensions. As noted by PFT, if this rule had been in place last year, it would have only resulted in one suspension. 
  • Offseason "Hard Knocks" is returning. One of the best seasons of of Hard Knocks came in 2024 when the NFL did an offseason version with the Giants. It gave us a behind-the-scenes look at how teams prepare for free agency and the draft. The NFL has decided to cancel the in-season version of "Hard Knocks" in favor of bringing back the offseason version and that will air on HBO early next year. Instead of focusing on just one team, the new offseason version will feature an entire division. 
  • Illinois still under consideration for Bears' stadium. Earlier this month, the Bears made it sound like it's almost a done deal that their new stadium is going to be built in Indiana, but apparently, Illinois isn't out of the running just yet. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league wants to give Arlington Heights a chance before any final decisions are made. "We want to make sure that Arlington Heights and Illinois have an opportunity, as well as Indiana, to put their best foot forward," Goodell said at the owners' meeting. 

In other news, Goodell said that the arrest of 49ers owner Jed York is currently under review by the league. "Yes, it's being reviewed under the personal conduct policy," Goodell said of the arrest. "We'll do that and when there's something to be reported, we'll talk."

Oh, and the owners did approve Khosla's $9.612 billion purchase of the team, but that was mostly an afterthought after everything else that happened yesterday. 

2. Ranking the NFL's best rosters from 1 to 32

It's been a busy week for Tyler Sullivan and Jordan Dajani, and I know that, because the two of them decided to sift through all 32 rosters in the NFL so that they could rank them from best to worst. Not only did they rank each roster, but they listed one good thing, one bad thing and one question that needs to be answered for each team. 

So who has the best roster in the NFL? Let's check out their top three. 

1. Rams

  • The good: Pass rush. Myles Garrett joins a pass-rushing group that also features former third-round pick Byron Young, who is coming off a career year where he notched 12 sacks. That also doesn't even factor in the looming return of Aaron Donald.
  • The bad: Linebacker. We're splitting hairs a bit when trying to find a weakness for the Rams, who are the odds-on favorite to win Super Bowl LXI. That said, they are a bit thin at linebacker.
  • The question mark: QB. It might seem odd to have the defending NFL MVP Matthew Stafford as a question mark entering 2026, but let's remember the narrative following the veteran quarterback last summer. Because of a nagging back injury, there were concerns about whether he was even going to be ready for the start of the season. The injury ultimately subsided, and Stafford had a tremendous season, but it's a reminder of how quickly things can shift. Stafford is entering his age-38 season and has a history of injuries, so he's worth keeping an eye on. 

2. Seahawks

  • The good: Defensive line. Seattle's defensive line, headlined by Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II, was a central piece to their championship run to Super Bowl LX, and it remains a strength heading into 2026.
  • The bad: Running back. Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III left for Kansas City in free agency, which leaves a major hole in the backfield. Zach Charbonnet is still recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in the divisional round, while Seattle added Jadarian Price with the 32nd pick of the draft out of Notre Dame. That leaves the Seahawks' backfield injured and/or inexperienced, albeit with intriguing upside.
  • The question mark: Receivers behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Seattle will need more from the rest of his position group to be as well-rounded as they can be. Smith-Njigba had a team-high 163 targets, with Cooper Kupp getting the next-highest target share with 70. No receiver had more than 600 yards last season. That's simply too tilted, and all eyes will be on Rashid Shaheed to develop into a true No. 2 option.

3. Eagles

This entire ranking was so big that we actually had to separate it into two stories. You can see the top half (1 through 16) of the ranking here and we've got the bottom half here (Spoiler alert: The Dolphins are at the bottom). 

3. NFL cut day trade candidates: J.J. McCarthy might be done in Minnesota

With NFL cut day coming up on Sunday, we'll likely see several trades go down between now and then. The reason we so many deals happen is two-fold: For one, any team that has a talented player who they're being forced to cut will shop him around so they can try and get some compensation for him. The other reason we see multiple trades in the lead up to cut day is because you'll have a situation where Team A is eyeing a player on Team B's roster. If Team B cuts the player, that player is subjected to waivers and he might get claimed before Team A can get him, so making a trade for the player makes more sense. 

With that in mind, Bryan DeArdo came up with a list of several players who might be dealt between now and Sunday: 

  • Vikings QB: JJ McCarthy. McCarthy had several decent performances from a passing perspective last season. It wasn't enough for him to keep his job, but McCarthy's overall potential might be enough to compel a team to make an offer to the Vikings for his services, more than likely as a backup. NOTE: Even if he doesn't get traded, Tyler Sullivan still thinks the McCarthy is done in Minnesota and he explained why here. 
  • Cardinals EDGE Josh Sweat. It was recently announced that Sweat is coming off of the team's physically unable to perform list. This will likely drum up trade rumors that intensified after Sweat skipped voluntary workouts this spring. While Sweat's recent injury could scare a few teams off, rest assured that there would be a large market for Sweat if the Cardinals decided to put him on the market. 
  • Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. Porter has been present during Steelers' practices, but he has yet to take the field as he is hoping to land a new contract. For whatever reason, the Steelers don't appear to be willing to give Porter the contract that he is hoping for. And while it doesn't appear that the Steelers would trade him, Pittsburgh general manager Omar Kahn has made several surprising player transactions in the past.

DeArdo included a total of 10 players on his list of trade candidates and if you want to know who might be on the move this weekend, be sure to check out this full story here. 

With cut day coming up, we also decided to take a look at 20 big names that could be released this weekend. The list includes Odell Beckham Jr. and if you want to know who else is in danger of being released, you can find out here.

4. NFL division power rankings: NFC West reigns supreme

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In less than two weeks, Pete Prisco is going to release his first Power Rankings of the season, but until then, we have to find other things to rank, so that's what we're going to do today. Zach Pereles ranked the NFL's eight divisions and you probably won't be surprised by the one that ended up coming out on top. 

Let's check out the three most difficult divisions based on Zach's ranking. 

1. NFC West. The NFC West went 29-15 against non-division opponents last year, the best mark in the NFL, and it went 4-1 against the NFC North, including playoffs. So, yes, while the Cardinals won't be very good this year, there might be three NFC West teams better than the best NFC North team.

2. NFC North. First off, let me get this out in the open for the fans of NFC North teams who won't like this (still very high) ranking: The NFC North is awesome. It is incredible that four teams, all with clear flaws, posted winning records last year. And it could be awesome again. But, when comparing it to the only division ahead of it, I see more clear flaws from its legitimate playoff contenders.

3. AFC West. Someone other than the Chiefs finally won this division last year, with the Broncos ending Kansas City's nine-year run. With the Chargers also making the playoffs, the AFC West had two playoff teams for the fourth time in the last five years. Expect that to become five times in six years.

If you want to see where the five other divisions landed in Zach's ranking, you'll have to check out his full story here. 

5. CBS Sports NFL All-Breakout Team: Travis Hunter expected to have a big year on defense

Earlier this week, we unveiled our All-Breakout Team for the offensive side of the ball, and now, we're going to do the defensive side. We rounded up 13 NFL experts here at CBS Sports, and we all voted on the top breakout candidates for the 2026 season. 

Here are several defensive players who we think you need to keep an eye on this season: 

ALL-BREAKOUT TEAM
EDGE: Abdul Carter (Giants)
EDGE: Dallas Turner (Vikings)
CB: Travis Hunter (Jaguars)
CB: Nohl Williams (Chiefs)
S: Malachi Starks (Ravens)
S: Kevin Winston (Titans)

To me, cornerback is probably the most interesting position here. After trading away Trent McDuffie and letting Jaylen Watson walk in free agency, the Chiefs don't have a lot of experience left at corner, so it would really help them if Williams ends up being good. And then, we have Hunter. After splitting time on both offense and defense last season, the Jaguars star is expected to play more defense this year and it will be interesting to see how that plays out for Jacksonville. 

There are a total of 11 players on our All-Breakout Team and you can see the full roster here. 

6. Extra points: Falcons still not ready to name a starting QB

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It's been a busy few days around the NFL, and since it's nearly impossible to keep track of everything, I put together a quick roundup for you.

  • Falcons still haven't made a decision at QB. At the rate things are going, we might not know who the starting QB is in Atlanta until the Falcons take the field in Week 1. Michael Penix Jr. has finally been cleared for action and he's going to try and make a late run to steal the job from Tua Tagovailoa, but right now, it doesn't seem like either guy has an edge. Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said that he's in no rush to make a decision. "Whenever they tell me I have to, when that depth chart has to be put out," Stefanski said of when he might make the decision, via NFL.com. "I'm honestly not trying to be coy. We'll focus on what's available to us, what information's available to us."
  • Patrick Mahomes still not cleared for game action. This might come as a surprise to some: Even though Mahomes has taken part in every training camp practice, he still hasn't been fully cleared for game action. Here's what Andy Reid had to say when asked if this star QB would be able to play in Week 1 against the Broncos. "No predictions here on anything," Reid said. "If the doctors and trainers and everybody that are involved in this give him the OK, and most of all, if he feels like he can, then we'll address that when we get there." Mahomes hasn't been getting hit in practice, but he will get hit in a game, which is why the policy is different when it come to being cleared for practice vs. a game. One thing we do know is that Mahomes won't be playing in Kansas City's final preseason game, which means he's going to miss the entire preseason for the first time in his 10-year career. 
  • Colts activating Alec Pierce off the PUP list. The receiver, who underwent ankle surgery in March, is expected to be activated off the physically unable to perform list today, according to Fox 59 in Indy. If things go well, there's a chance he'll be on the field for Indy's opener on Sept. 13 against the Ravens, but that's not a guarantee. The Colts are making the move now, because if Pierce was on the PUP list after the cut deadline on Sunday, that would require him to miss the first four games of the season and Indy expects him back on the field before that. Pierce got a huge extension this offseason and the Colts view him as their No. 1 receiver, so getting him back should be a big boost as long as he can stay healthy. 
  • Steelers restructure DK Metcalf's contract. The Steelers have converted Metcalf's 2026 salary into a bonus, according to ESPN. This is only notable because the move is going to free up about $18 million in salary cap space. The Steelers are currently in a contract standoff with Joey Porter Jr. and the sudden availability of some more cap room could help get a deal done there. 
  • Leonard Williams gets big extension from Seattle. The Seahawks defensive tackle has agreed to terms on a three-year, $90 million contract, according to ESPN. At $30 million per year, that makes Williams one of the five highest-paid defensive tackles in the NFL. At 32, this will likely be his final big pay day and he has definitely earned it after spending the past three seasons as a key part of the Seahawks' defense. 
  • Why Za'Darius Smith spent 2025 in retirement. The three-time Pro Bowler didn't play in the NFL last season and it turns out that he had a very good reason for that: He wanted to spend time with his mom, who was in poor health. After she passed away, Smith made the decision to come out of retirement and sign with the Falcons. "My mom -- rest her soul, man -- she always wanted me to be in Atlanta with the Falcons," Smith said, via ESPN. It sounds like Smith is going to be extremely motivated to have a very big year. 
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