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Good morning! Ready your note-taking tools.
Offseason Syllabus: Who gets Garrett?
We’ve had a day and a half to digest the Super Bowl result, which means we’re overdue to talk about what’s next. As noted yesterday, football season never actually ends.
I’m still recovering from an eventful week in New Orleans (more on that in a bit), so I tagged in Jacob Robinson for a quick look at the most attention-grabbing stories of this NFL offseason — other than the draft itself, of course. We grabbed three entries from his full list of eight, so be sure you’re subscribed to his free NFL newsletter for the others later this morning.
Here’s Jacob:
1. Which contender will land Myles Garrett? The 29-year-old former Defensive Player of the Year recently demanded a trade. A spot on a contender is his ask, though Cleveland’s front office has said, “We are not moving him … but stay tuned.” 🤔
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In 2024, Garrett led the league in quarterback pressures and pass-rush win rate. He could be the missing piece in Buffalo, Washington or for either Los Angeles franchise.
After Sunday, when Philadelphia confirmed Patrick Mahomes’ kryptonite is a strong defensive line, the Bills should be on the phone.
2. Will Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp end up on the same team — outside of Los Angeles? I can’t help but think about how the Rams were the only team to really test the Eagles during this playoff run. Yet instead of running it back, this team could look drastically different:
- The Rams are actively looking to trade Kupp, who turns 32 in June. The former Super Bowl MVP’s injuries have caught up with him, and it’s unlikely the Rams consider him worth his $29.7 million cap hit.
- As for Stafford, the Rams haven’t committed to him yet. The 37-year-old can still rip it.
So what are the odds they both land in New York? The internet was abuzz after Adam Schefter reported the Giants hired Stafford’s brother-in-law as their assistant quarterbacks coach, though it feels unlikely to me that Sean McVay lets Stafford leave L.A.
3. The annual Aaron Rodgers mystery. With the Jets expected to move on from the 41-year-old quarterback, our Zack Rosenblatt considered a whopping 20 potential replacements.
As for Rodgers, I’d expect his schedule includes a cave retreat and some equally contemplative podcast appearances. Is he done, as suggested by his uneven 2024? Or perhaps the recovery from his Achilles injury wasn’t as smooth as he suggested? Could he return to MVP form with a new organization? As always, whichever answer Rodgers gives will raise many more questions.
For more, including the mountain of issues facing the 49ers after a disastrous 2024, subscribe to Scoop City.
News to Know
Luka gets star treatment in debut
In his first game since Christmas and as a Laker, Luka Dončić put up 14 points (5-of-14 shooting), five rebounds and four assists as Los Angeles walloped the lowly Jazz. But everything that happened around the game was notable, too, as Jovan Buha writes, because the Lakers made clear that Dončić is the new face of the franchise. Plenty of celebrities were on hand for the occasion, including Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki.
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Halftime show performer banned
The NFL banned a Super Bowl halftime performer for unfurling a Sudanese-Palestinian flag during the show. The league said the individual was part of the 400-member field cast and “hid the item on his person and unveiled it late in the show.” Security personnel detained the individual, according to the NFL, which said that “no one involved with the production was aware of the individual’s intent.” More here.
More news
- Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez said they won their dispute with Glen Taylor over ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolvesand Lynx. Read more.
- The Super Bowl LIX broadcast drew a projected record audience of 126 million viewers, Fox Sports said.
- I can’t get over Liverpool’s loss to lowly Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup yesterday. A true shocker.
- A Turkish soccer club president resigned after his team wholly abandoned a match in protest of a penalty. Wild story here.
- Mikaela Shiffrin will not defend her giant slalom title this week as she recovers from a November crash.
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Graphic via The Athletic
Phenoms: Flagg’s unprecedented year comes into focus
We’re firmly in college basketball’s territory now, and there is perhaps no better way to honor this shift in the calendar than with a reminder of what we’re witnessing from mega-prospect Cooper Flagg, courtesy of Brendan Quinn and Brendan Marks.
Their wide-ranging piece today — which includes Flagg’s first one-on-one interview since the season began — sheds light on the Duke freshman’s singular goal of winning a national title and how superstardom became his norm. But it’s also striking how time seems so fleeting for the 6-foot-9 18-year-old whose future has long been preordained.
Remember these points about Flagg and the No. 3 Blue Devils’ season as you tune in:
- He likely would’ve been the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft, if not for the NBA’s minimum age requirement rules. It’s long been accepted he would likely be the best freshman in men’s college basketball this year, as Quinn and Marks write, but this season is on another level.
- Two freshmen — Kevin Durant and Zion Williamson — have previously earned unanimous National Player of the Year honors. But no freshman ever has led his team in every major statistical category and played in the NCAA Tournament.Flagg is on track to do it all.
Meanwhile, Flagg says he still feels “like a kid” despite the pressure and multimillion-dollar NIL obligations. It’s all pretty remarkable, honestly.
The full read is worth your time. Onward…
Final Grab Bag: Bonsoir, Super Bowl
Covering the Super Bowl makes for a beautiful yet exhausting week, as I have learned for the first time. The entire sports world — nay, the celebrity complex — descends upon a city for a week, then the biggest sporting event in the world happens. A lovely mess. A few final thoughts from here in New Orleans, two serious and one fun:
- I continue to muse on Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, who showed up victoriously to his day-after news conference wearing A.J. Brown’s high school jersey. I loved what he told Zak Keeferabout his strangely calm pregame routine, which included two showers and “the same crap I always do.”
- I also think the blowback on Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City is premature, at least in the grand sense. As Mike Sando pointed out, Mahomes’ rough loss actually draws him closer to the Tom Brady timeline. He’ll be back.
- As great as the game was, I’ll remember walking around the concourse in the hours before the game with video producer Alex Hampl most. In a few minutes’ span, I saw former Villanova coach Jay Wright, actor Wendell Pierce, rapper Tech N9ne and a man wearing a 76ers Matisse Thybulle jersey. Where else would I find those people in the same place?
Pulsebowl I has officially concluded. See you next year.
Watch, Listen and Play
📺 Soccer: Real Madrid at Manchester City
3 p.m. ET on Paramount+
We are on to the knockout rounds of Champions League action and this is arguably today’s best game. City remains vulnerable despite recent wins, but Madrid is still struggling to balance its star-laden roster.
📺 NCAAM: No. 5 Tennessee at No. 15 Kentucky
7 p.m. ET on ESPN
The Wildcats could use another big win and the SEC provides plenty of opportunities. This one’s at Rupp Arena, where Kentucky lost its last high-profile matchup against John Calipari and Arkansas. Tennessee has won three straight, including two wins over ranked teams.
Get tickets to games like these here.
Want to know the best nuggets from the Eagles’ postgame locker room? We were there. Worth a watch.
Graphic via The Athletic
Pulse Picks
Chantel Jennings has a terrific story today on the increasing visibility of women’s college basketball coaches who are mothers as the sport’s profile has grown in recent years. Important topic.
Part II of Mitch Light’s college baseball coaches forum includes questions to the panel about the biggest recruiting finds of their careers and the ones who got away.
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Ben Pickman and Mike Vorkunov have the latest on who’s in the running to earn the 16th WNBA franchise and where the process goes from here.
We have a Super Bowl quiz, by the way. How closely did you watch Eagles-Chiefs? Surprisingly difficult.
The Blackhawks and Capitals lead the way with seven ranked prospects apiece in the latest edition of Scott Wheeler’s top-100 drafted prospects list. See the top names here.
David Aldridge has a fun piece today on the Harlem Globetrotters’ Mount Rushmore of players — the second part of a six-story series from The Athletic’s Culture group. Part one is here.
Something a little different: Alpine skiing legend Lindsey Vonn penned an op-ed about her comeback at age 40 and her hopes for the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The top college baseball talents for the 2025 season. Fascinating.
Most-read on the website yesterday: Our breakdown of why Serena Williams joined Kendrick Lamar at the halftime show.
(Top photo: Frank Jansky / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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