NFL NationMar 31, 2026, 07:35 PM ETCloseNFL Nation is made up of 32 team-specific reporters who cover the NFL year-round across ESPN.com, ESPN television shows, ESPN Radio, ESPN+ and social media platforms. It was established ahead of the 2013 season.Multiple Authors
play0:49Dan Graziano: NFL to begin hiring replacement refereesDan Graziano discusses the NFL looking into hiring replacement officials as the end of the current CBA with the NFL Referees Association approaches.
play2:44Stephen A. stunned by Orlovsky’s take on gap between Mendoza and SimpsonStephen A. Smith and Dan Orlovsky compare Ty Simpson and Fernando Mendoza as prospects ahead of the NFL draft.
play0:46Glenn on Geno: ‘He’s the guy that’s going to lead us to the promised land’Jets coach Aaron Glenn expresses confidence that Geno Smith is the quarterback who will lead New York to “the promised land.”
play1:40Why Colts co-owner/CEO would like even number of regular season gamesColts owner and CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon joins Pat McAfee to discuss changing the number of NFL regular-season games.
play1:12The question Stephen A. is facing with George Pickens’ contract situationStephen A. Smith weighs in on the contract saga between George Pickens and the Cowboys.
play1:44Who should be the Browns starting QB? Stephen A., RC debateStephen A. Smith and Ryan Clark break down whether Deshaun Watson or Shedeur Sanders should be the starting quarterback for the Browns.
Would a single NFL player make Team USA’s flag football roster? (2:38)Peter Schrager explains the NFL’s interest in flag football and why no NFL players might make Team USA’s flag football roster. (2:38)
Dan Graziano: NFL to begin hiring replacement refereesDan Graziano discusses the NFL looking into hiring replacement officials as the end of the current CBA with the NFL Referees Association approaches.
Dan Graziano discusses the NFL looking into hiring replacement officials as the end of the current CBA with the NFL Referees Association approaches.
Stephen A. stunned by Orlovsky’s take on gap between Mendoza and SimpsonStephen A. Smith and Dan Orlovsky compare Ty Simpson and Fernando Mendoza as prospects ahead of the NFL draft.
Stephen A. Smith and Dan Orlovsky compare Ty Simpson and Fernando Mendoza as prospects ahead of the NFL draft.
Glenn on Geno: ‘He’s the guy that’s going to lead us to the promised land’Jets coach Aaron Glenn expresses confidence that Geno Smith is the quarterback who will lead New York to “the promised land.”
Jets coach Aaron Glenn expresses confidence that Geno Smith is the quarterback who will lead New York to “the promised land.”
Why Colts co-owner/CEO would like even number of regular season gamesColts owner and CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon joins Pat McAfee to discuss changing the number of NFL regular-season games.
Colts owner and CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon joins Pat McAfee to discuss changing the number of NFL regular-season games.
The question Stephen A. is facing with George Pickens’ contract situationStephen A. Smith weighs in on the contract saga between George Pickens and the Cowboys.
Who should be the Browns starting QB? Stephen A., RC debateStephen A. Smith and Ryan Clark break down whether Deshaun Watson or Shedeur Sanders should be the starting quarterback for the Browns.
Stephen A. Smith and Ryan Clark break down whether Deshaun Watson or Shedeur Sanders should be the starting quarterback for the Browns.
PHOENIX — The NFL concluded its annual league meeting Tuesday, and the topics of conversation ranged from owners being alarmed by the state of negotiations with referees to Olympic flag football to an 18-game regular season.
“I trust the league,” San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York told me on Monday, when I asked him if he thought the contingency plan was a valid option.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones addressed the topic in more depth than any other owner: “Everybody’s been striving, that’s nothing new, to try to get better,” he said. “But it’s our job to put the incentives in place and demands in place to get better. Fans deserve that.” — Kalyn Kahler
Dan Graziano: NFL to begin hiring replacement referees
Having looked at copies of Kyler Murray’s Minnesota Vikings contract and Tua Tagovailoa’s Atlanta Falcons contract, I notice a critical difference. They’re both one-year deals for minimum salaries. Tagovailoa gets $1.215 million and Murray gets $1.3 million, but that’s only because minimum salaries vary based on service time and Murray has one more accrued season.
Stephen A. stunned by Orlovsky’s take on gap between Mendoza and Simpson
For years, Scheelhaase, who is biracial, has been considered a rising star on coach Sean McVay’s staff. While at Iowa State, Scheelhaase helped develop San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy.
Before McVay promoted him to OC in February, Scheelhaase had multiple head coaching interviews. The Rams’ pass-game coordinator last season, Scheelhaase now takes on a higher-profile role under the successful McVay, who has helped many of his former top assistants become head coaches throughout the league.
With the NFL insisting it’s still committed to inclusive hiring, many decision-makers in the commissioner’s office are privately rooting for Scheelhaase to be an even more prominent candidate for top openings during the next hiring cycle. — Jason Reid
“We are going to go through the process,” Spytek said Tuesday. “We are going to his pro day on Wednesday. He’s going to come in for a top-30 visit. We’re going to have a couple more Zooms that we still have to do with him, and a lot of other prospects, too.”
Raiders coach Klint Kubiak called Mendoza a “winner” but said in his perfect world that a first-year quarterback would not immediately start and would spend time learning behind a more seasoned veteran. — Lindsey Thiry
Wide receiver need? What wide receiver need? Jets officials went out of their way in Phoenix to downplay an obvious deficiency, with both coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey stating they “like where our receiver room is.” The receivers on the roster not named Garrett Wilson have combined for only 92 career catches and two touchdowns. Wilson led the team with 395 receiving yards last season … and he played only seven games due to a knee injury.
They’re basing their optimism on a healthy Wilson and a big jump from Adonai Mitchell, a 6-foot-2 vertical threat who caught 24 passes in eight games after arriving from the Colts in the Sauce Gardner trade. Glenn said he’s eager to see how Mitchell progresses after a full offseason in the program. Their third and fourth receivers are Isaiah Williams (slot) and the ultrafast but raw Arian Smith.
A breakout year by second-year TE Mason Taylor could help mitigate the concern. Glenn said he expects Taylor to “have a hell of a year.” Taylor had a quiet 44 catches last season as a rookie, missing the last four games due to a neck injury. — Rich Cimini
Glenn on Geno: ‘He’s the guy that’s going to lead us to the promised land’
Quarterback Drake Maye’s growth and maturity was a leading factor in the Patriots’ decision to release ninth-year veteran backup Joshua Dobbs. Maye enters his third NFL season, and now the team is planning to add a rookie No. 3 option behind him and Tommy DeVito, who signed a two-year, $7.4 million contract earlier this month.
“I’m really appreciative of what Josh did for us coming in last year with Drake going into his second year,” Vrabel said. “I’ve communicated that with Josh and I think it’s just a different situation now.” — Mike Reiss
Meanwhile, Philly has added a pair of receivers in Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore, who can help fill out the wideout picture whether Brown is on the roster or not.
“When you have good competition, it raises the level of everybody,” Sirianni said. “I love their speed, their ability to get in and out of breaks and create separation, how they are with the ball in their hands.” — Tim McManus
The Raiders seem content with their offensive tackle depth in Kolton Miller, DJ Glaze and Charles Grant. General manager John Spytek said they explored different options at offensive tackle but ultimately decided to trust the new coaching staff, which includes offensive line coach Rick Dennison, to get the best out of the talent at hand. However, Spytek didn’t rule out the possibility of taking an offensive tackle with one of the 10 picks the team has in the draft.
“You’re not typically signing a guy that you’re just going to plug in and play [offensive] tackle,” Spytek said. “It’s really challenging to do, and that’s why you [have] to draft those guys and develop them and then re-sign them.”
Las Vegas has three spots pretty much solidified on the starting offensive line with Miller, center Tyler Linderbaum and guard Jackson Powers-Johnson. Raiders coach Klint Kubiak is optimistic that Glaze can reach another level despite struggling in 2025. He gave up a team-high 70 pressures and 16 sacks. — Ryan McFadden
“Those are going to be the three kind of pillars that we build around: Achane, Brew, Brooks,” he said. “They understand where they are, what we’re trying to get done. There’s an order that we’re going to handle the business in, but they know where they are and how important they are to us.”
Miami has reset most of its roster from a season ago but believes it has several foundational players — and plans to supplement them with 11 draft picks this year. — Marcel Louis-Jacques
Ravens coach Jesse Minter said there is no hard timeline on when the team will know whether Pro Bowl defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike will play again.
Madubuike’s future is uncertain after he suffered a season-ending neck injury in Week 2. Without Madubuike in the middle to draw double-teams, the Ravens recorded 30 sacks, which are tied for the second fewest in team history.
“I know that he’s in a great place mentally,” Minter said. “He’s doing a lot of stuff. That’s still a kind of a ‘to be determined’ thing, I would say. And so, as an organization, you certainly have Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, Plan D all the way down the line. We’ll be excited, whichever way that goes.”
