Raiders GM Tom Telesco dishes on lack of joint practices, Michael Gallup's retirement (2024)

NFL training camps kick off across the league this week. While rookies and veterans already have reported to camp for the Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans and Super Bowl LVIII champion Kansas City Chiefs, the rest of the league should be back on the field by the end of the week.

Otherwise, it's been an eventful week off the field: Dallas Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb is holding out from camp, San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk has requested a trade but is present at camp, Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford reworked his deal, Cleveland Browns WR Amari Cooper also restructured his deal and few others got paid like Minnesota Vikings OT Christian Darrisaw and Jaguars CB Tyson Campbell.

Stay tuned here for the latest news, updates, analysis and more from The Athletic's NFL beat writers as the preseason and regular season inches closer.

Required reading

• What should each NFL team be worried about entering camp?
• Full preseason schedule
• One big question for all 32 teams entering training camp
• NFL training camps 2024: Locations, reporting schedule for all 32 teams
• 10 leading NFL storylines as training camp season kicks off
• Offseason observations from all 32 NFL teams

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COSTA MESA, Calif. — Las Vegas Raiders general manager Tom Telesco spoke to a group of reporters before practice Thursday. He addressed the status of guard Jackson Powers-Johnson and offensive tackle Kolton Miller, who were both played on the active/physically unable to perform list Monday due to shoulder injuries. He said Powers-Johnson should be back in the "short term" and he's hopeful Miller can return in "a couple weeks." In the meantime, the Raiders will lean on Andrus Peat at left tackle and Cody Whitehair at left guard.

Telesco was also asked about the sudden retirement of receiver Michael Gallup on Monday. He was expected to compete for a roster spot.

"I didn't see that one coming at all," Telesco said. "That just kind of came up out of the blue. When I talked to him, it seemed like he had a pretty clear vision. He's ready to move on. It's too bad."

Telesco added that the Raiders were interested in scheduling joint practices with another team during training camp, but the scheduling didn't work out. In turn, the Raiders plan to play their starters in the preseason.

"If you're not going to practice with somebody, yeah, you're going to be playing your guys a little bit more in the preseason," Telesco said. "And, obviously, we've got two quarterbacks that need to play in the preseason. If they're going play, you got to put some people around them. ... We also can't control who they're going to play. There may be one week where a team plays their starters in the first half or first quarter and maybe a week where a team plays nobody. And then that quarterback may get the benefit of that, but we can't control that. We're going to have to be careful with the Davante's of the world, obviously, but our guys are going to have to play. We want to start the season fast and some of that's going to be playing the guys a little bit in the preseason."

The Raiders will only be facing themselves during their 17-day stint in Costa Mesa, but Telesco still sees plenty of value in the experience.

"We need the training camp practice," Telesco said. "I'm excited to be here. This worked out really, really well. I haven't been away for training camp in 13-14 years. I think it's going to work well for our team as far as really getting the team together, No. 1, and the climate helps. For the players, I think for your rest, recovery and regeneration day-to-day, this will help. But getting away I think is big for this team, the coaching staff, all of us. ... We need the work on the field."

Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard has heard all of the discourse about his team’s defensive secondary. He is aware of how inexperienced and unproven his team is at safety and cornerback, but that headline-grabbing free-agent signing simply hasn’t come and perhaps it never will.

Some critics, including those among the media and fan base, have suggested Ballard’s belief in his players is tainted by overconfidence in his own evaluations. However, his decision not to make a significant addition to the secondary and pivot away from his homegrown talent seems to be because he wants to give his current crop one more chance to prove itself.

Training camp, which begins Thursday, will provide it.

“We like our young players,” Ballard said Wednesday, hours after the team began reporting for camp. “I’m not saying we won’t do something. We definitely could, but I want to see these guys get after it and compete.”

Read more from Colts camp here.

Mike Tomlin tells reporters Russell Wilson woke up with a tight calf, which is why he didn’t practice today on Day 1.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos and wide receiver Courtland Sutton have agreed to an adjusted contract this season that could pay the veteran more than $15 million with incentives included, a source with knowledge of the deal confirmed.

The deal, which was first reported by NFL Network, includes $1.5 million in incentives Sutton can earn this season. The deal also includes $500,000 in per-game roster bonuses and $100,000 in other bonuses, according to Over The Cap.

Sutton, who has a base salary of $13 million this season and is also under contract for 2025, worked out away from the team during OTAs as he sought an adjustment to his deal. He showed up to minicamp and said negotiations with the team were at “a stalemate,” but expressed hope the two sides could get something done before the season began.

“I hope that I am a part of the bigger picture,” Sutton said at the time.

Sutton, who caught a career-best 10 touchdowns in 2023, is Denver’s top wide receiver, a role solidified when the team traded Jerry Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns in March. Broncos coach Sean Payton expressed confidence throughout the offseason that Sutton would remain a critical piece for an offense that will feature a new starting quarterback in 2024 — perhaps first-round rookie Bo Nix.

“He is important to what we’re doing,” Payton said, “and I think he knows that.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Chidobe Awuzie will “miss some time” with a calf injury, Titans coach Brian Callahan said, making him the first significant injury of camp. That left the Titans on Thursday without both starting outside corners in team periods, because L’Jarius Sneed was dressed and not taking part – as prescribed by the plan to manage his knee issues.

Callahan said the development of that plan was aided by Sneed’s former team, the Kansas City Chiefs, with Titans trainers getting with Chiefs trainers to find out how last year’s approach with him worked so well. Sneed said today he will take part in more of camp than he did last year in Kansas City, and said his knee feels “great.”

“I’m healthy,” Sneed said. “I’ve just got to maintain it and get to week one.”

Atlanta Falcons coach Raheem Morris dishes on his first training camp as a head coach in 13 years. He's learned a lot since his first opportunity, but vows that the vibes will be the same.

Read more here.

Najee Harris had to ponder for a moment but eventually recalled the reason the Pittsburgh Steelers gave him for declining his fifth-year option in early May.

“Let me think. It was, they didn’t know where the offense was headed. That was it,” Harris told reporters Wednesday at Saint Vincent College as the Steelers reported for training camp.

Fair enough … I suppose.

Is that a viable reason? You would think that hiring offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, which happened almost six months ago, would have cleared that up already, but who is to say? (Realistically, we know it was more about not wanting to guarantee a running back $7 million when there is a more than capable backup in Jaylen Warren on the roster for at least two seasons).

But for argument’s sake, let’s say the Steelers aren’t sure how Harris fits with what Smith wants his offense to do.

Do you know whom you can’t use that excuse for? Tight end Pat Freiermuth.

Freiermuth represents exactly what Smith’s offense is all about, whether during the years he ran the Tennessee Titans’ offense or the past three seasons, when he was the head coach and play caller for the Atlanta Falcons.

For the Steelers’ offense to work at its best, it needs a pass catching tight end who can provide matchup problems. Those guys don’t come around very often, so when you get one, you better keep him.

Read more here.

Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow is riding a streak of four consecutive abnormal training camps filled with a lockout, ACL recovery, appendectomy and calf strain.

He’s lived an abnormal football life filled with uncertainty, adjustments and reflecting on his “football mortality,” and the 27-year-old had just thrown 11-on-11 football for the first time since his wrist snapped last November in Baltimore.

“I think I’m in a good spot,” Burrow said.

You could almost see the replaying of the day in his head as he slowly walked the field and turned the corner toward the lockers inside Paycor Stadium.

A day that featured throws into tight windows, errant tosses, shots outside the numbers and even deep balls that made Tee Higgins feel like cursing.

“He threw me a ball so deep today, I was like ‘Man, what the f—?!'” Higgins said. “He looks like the Joe y’all seen in the Super Bowl run.”

Read more on Burrow’s return from injury here.

Eric Stokes was at the forefront of the Packers’ offseason hype train with all the typical spring clichés from those inside 1265 Lombardi Ave. about how good he looked and how he was in such great shape.

Stokes, the 2021 first-round cornerback from Georgia, was stellar as a rookie before falling off the first half of his second season and suffering a season-ending foot injury in Week 9 of that year. Stokes barely played in 2023, too, because both times he returned to the field, he suffered an injury shortly after that sidelined him for an extended time. The Packers didn’t pick up Stokes’ fifth-year option this offseason, so he’ll look to prove in a contract year that he’s still the player Green Bay drafted and reaped the benefits of three years ago when he had 14 passes defensed and an interception as a rookie.

Though it was only one training camp practice without pads on, Stokes flashed Wednesday why everyone is so high on a bounce-back year for the guy they hope is a sturdy complement to Jaire Alexander on the boundaries of Green Bay’s secondary. Stokes intercepted backup quarterback Sean Clifford twice and broke up another deep ball from Clifford down the right sideline for wide receiver Christian Watson, teasing that maybe there’s substance behind all the hoopla off the field.

“Stokes has got great energy all around the building. We all love him,” defensive tackle Kenny Clark said. “Every day he’s bringing in the right energy. Even when he was hurt, you really couldn’t tell. He’s never one of those guys that’s down. High character, good overall dude and somebody that you root for. … And he got a pick today, two picks. It’s good to see him getting back to himself.”

Read more here.

For Washington Commanders players arriving at team headquarters on Coach Gibbs Drive for Day 1 of training camp, the message received sounded like an episode of “Sesame Street.”

“The word of the day is ‘competition,'” offensive tackle Cornelius Lucas said. “The word of the week is ‘competition.’ The word of the year, ‘competition.'”

There’s nothing childlike about an NFL training camp other than the fact that these grown men are paid to play a game. The sweat pouring off the hulking Lucas as he walked off the practice field following a 90-minute session in sticky conditions was a reminder of the work players will endure over the next several weeks — not that anyone part of the organization’s new era was complaining.

“A lot of guys with a lot to prove,” is how two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jonathan Allen described the internal vibe. “I love it.”

After a significant offseason overhaul, the roster has more new faces than holdovers like Allen. Before heading out for the morning practice, everyone got a first look at the improvements inside the building, including a new players’ lounge and upgraded meeting rooms.

“(Players) saw some new meeting rooms and new areas for them,” coach Dan Quinn said, “(and I saw) their excitement for that. And then just having everybody together. There’s an energy that goes with that. I’ve been to some camps where you come in, not tired, but, ‘Oh, here we go again.’ And it’s been just the opposite here.”

Read more here.

For a franchise that has enjoyed a lot of success with mostly the same group of players, 2024 is a bit different for the Bills given how much roster turnover and refreshing has been done throughout the offseason. However, one thing that has remained consistent since franchise quarterback Josh Allen entered the league has been detractors.

The most recent one came from an ESPN report citing an anonymous NFL executive who called Allen “one of the more overrated players in the NFL.” Bills general manager Brandon Beane has blocked out things like that in the past but strongly came to his quarterback’s defense on Wednesday despite rarely doing so in a public setting.

“There’s idiots everywhere,” Beane said when asked why he thought someone would say that about Allen. “These things that come out there, I know that people love the rankings of whoever, but when you don’t put your name to it and you make comments like that, like, who is this executive? Executive is a loose term. I was probably referred to as an executive well before I should have been. And so I just say, if you’re not going to put your name on it, we really shouldn’t validate it.”

Beane spent the better part of the first three minutes being asked and answering questions about this specific instance of someone criticizing Allen.

“For what he’s done for this team, for what he’s done in this league and his own accomplishments, to say he’s overrated and to point out a flaw here or there is… it’s ignorant,” Beane said with a thud.

Read more from Bills camp here.

“Let me say this first,” Jalen Hurts said, cutting off a reporter’s question about the quarterback’s relationship with his head coach. Hurts took his seat behind the podium after the first practice of training camp and launched into an opening statement that was somewhat related. It was about how to “win championships.” It was about how everyone must “buy into their role.” It was about being “fully committed to doing their part in helping the team.”

So, the reporter repeated, after a frustrating 2023 season, is the relationship between Hurts and Nick Sirianni in a good place?

“I think we’re in a great place,” Hurts answered. “I think anytime you have any frustration, any time you have any adversity that you have to overcome, it’s supposed to test you. I think it’s a matter of being on the same page. If we were on the same page, maybe we would have accomplished the things we would have. And we didn’t. It’s a learning experience.”

Dissonance and dysfunction defined the Philadelphia Eagles during their late-season collapse in 2023. The disorder created a disconnect between Hurts and Sirianni, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, who reported last week that the tandem’s relationship is still “a work in progress.” Neither Hurts or Sirianni outright refuted the report. But Sirianni said he judges his relationship with players “based off of what your personal interactions are” and that he’s “excited” to enter his fourth year with Hurts.

Matthew Judon was wearing his customary red New England Patriots sweatshirt Wednesday when he walked up to the podium he’d been avoiding and delivered one of the most honest and transparent news conferences from a member of the team in recent years.

Judon hadn’t wanted to speak publicly throughout the offseason as he sought an extension on the four-year deal he signed in 2021 that’s set to expire after this season. He kept hoping his deal would be the next in a long line of new contracts for Patriots players. He knew that this new regime led by executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf seemed hell-bent on holding on to many of its veterans, hopeful those deals would inspire young players to work hard, confident a payday would arrive if they did what their coaches told them.

But Judon watched as seemingly every other eligible veteran got a new deal with the team. Josh Uche, Kyle Dugger, Rhamondre Stevenson, Hunter Henry, Anfernee Jennings, Mike Onwenu, Jahlani Tavai and Christian Barmore all got new contracts. All were deemed worth keeping around even after the Pats went 4-13 a year ago.

The truth, of course, was that it hurt Judon. He tried not to feel jealous, and he was excited for the guys who got paid. But it also felt natural to wonder why he didn’t get a new deal, why it seemed like the Patriots felt he was expendable even though he’s been a leader of this defense since he arrived, recording 32 sacks in 38 games with New England.

So on Wednesday, the four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher opened up in a way few Patriots players have in the last decade.

“Honestly, it’s tough going into the last year of a deal,” Judon said. “As much as everybody wants to see me stay around here for a long time, it’s really not up to me.”

For the 12th time in his career, Adam Thielen pulled himself out of bed in the pre-dawn Wednesday for the start of another NFL training camp. At least he slept in his own bed.

The Carolina Panthers’ veteran receiver isn’t the type of player who posts offseason workout videos with “grind don’t stop” hashtags. To be sure, Thielen clocked some gym time this summer. But he also finished in the top 10 of a big-name, celebrity golf tournament and wake-surfed with his kids at White Bear Lake in Minnesota.

Which is to say, Thielen soaked up every drop of summer before heading back to Charlotte, where he was reminded Wednesday how much football means to him.

“When you walk on that field, you just realize how much you love this game. Don’t get me wrong, I love to train. I don’t, but I train because you have to,” he said with a smile. “But you don’t do this because you have to. You do it because you love it. And every time you step on that field, you get reminded of how much you love it.”

Thielen, who turns 34 in August, isn’t the oldest Panthers player. The three guys he trails are either specialists (JJ Jansen and Johnny Hekker) or the backup quarterback (Andy Dalton). Meanwhile, Thielen logged 997 snaps last season while becoming the sixth player in NFL history to catch 100 or more passes and finish with at least 1,000 receiving yards at 33 or older.

Thielen, a Minnesota native who spent his first 10 seasons with the Vikings, showed he could still produce to those who thought he was too old. But after the bulk of his receptions came within eight yards of the line of scrimmage, Thielen has something else to prove this year: That he can still stretch the field.

Read more on Thielen here.

Brock Purdy has added a couple of pounds to his frame and a couple of ticks to his fastball.

One of the biggest differences between the current training camp and last year’s is that the San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback no longer has to worry about his surgically repaired elbow. A year ago, Purdy had to take a day off after every two days of practice. This year, there are no restrictions and he’s taken every first-team snap since the spring.

He also was able to spend a full month in Jacksonville, Fla., training with throwing coach Will Hewlett whereas last year he was able to get in only a couple of weeks. That allowed him to continue the training he’d begun coming out of Iowa State in 2022, one that helped him increase his throwing velocity by nearly 5 mph.

That involved utilizing his hips more than his quadriceps when throwing and marrying his shoulder rotation to his lower body.

Purdy said the month in Jacksonville involved a 3D motion-capture camera that gave him a better idea about the “little mechanical things” he could improve upon.

“I was down there for a good month, so we were actually able to chip away at some things,” he said. “Whereas last year I was there for a couple of weeks and it was more about my elbow and rehab. And I had to come back here early.”

The result, Purdy said, was that he was able to add more velocity to his passes. He was 5-of-8 on the opening practice of training camp Wednesday with standout throws over the middle to Deebo Samuel Sr. and Jauan Jennings and another toward the sideline to Danny Gray.

Read more here.

When Javonte Williams walked into Sean Payton’s office at the Broncos training complex this spring, the coach had the running back’s college tape playing on a TV screen.

As the pair watched the University of North Carolina version of Williams bounce off would-be tacklers in the ACC, Payton issued a challenge.

“We’re watching all the runs and I’m asking him questions, and I say, ‘This is the back I want,'” Payton said.

One of the questions Payton posed to Williams as they watched the college tape: “How much did you weigh here?” The unsaid assignment for the running back: Cut back down to where he played during his final college season in 2020 when he spent most of the season at around 220 pounds.

Payton acknowledged that Williams has faced a difficult road after suffering a significant knee injury in 2022 that included multiple torn ligaments. Last offseason was all about rehab. Williams made it back for the start of the 2023 season, no small accomplishment given the severity of the injury. By year’s end, though, he wore down. Williams averaged just 3.06 yards per carry across Denver’s final six games, nearly a full yard below his career average. During the offseason program, he still looked like a player trying to round himself into shape.

On Wednesday, Williams looked different. Refreshed.

“He looks trim and I thought he looked sharp today,” Payton said after the Broncos held their first “acclimation” practice of training camp, the first of two truncated sessions before the team conducts its first full practice in front of fans Friday. “He looked much different. His weight is down. I’m proud of him.”

Read more here.