Four storylines we’re watching as NFL training camps open up

The New York Jets will be a major focal point as training camps start up, and lucky for us we’ll all have a front-row seat to at least some of the goings on in New York thanks to the team being selected for this season’s Hard Knocks. The team’s resistance to the cameras could be a storyline in itself, but hopefully we’ll get to see how the Jets come together around new veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and all the storylines that come with this pivotal off-season for Gang Green.

When it comes to the 31 other teams, there are no shortage of enticing storylines for which we certainly wouldn’t mind having a front-row seat as training camps get underway next week. Look across the league, and no team is without intrigue. But as players report to team facilities in the next few days (most veterans report July 25), we’re looking at four storylines that have caught our attention. They may not have the Hard Knocks cameras, but we’ll be ready to watch the action nonetheless.

While the cameras are rolling with the Jets, there’s drama brewing with the other New York squad thanks to a standoff that’s reignited a debate around how we value running backs. The closing of the window for franchise-tagged players to sign long-term deals on Monday opened the door to a whole new series of questions about some of the game’s most impactful players: New York Giant Saquon Barkley and Las Vegas Raider Josh Jacobs. Both running backs have been their respective club’s most impactful player since they landed in those markets, but now that the time has come for them to cash in on their rookie-deal production, management and ownership have been shy to pay up.

It's a story we’ve seen play out before, and one that has many a cautionary tale — just look at the Cowboys and Ezekiel Elliott, for example, and how that multi-million deal panned out. (The Cowboys are now at a similar crossroads with Elliott’s former backup, Tony Pollard.) The running back position remains as important as ever, but it’s also left little room for big paydays and long-term pacts thanks to the wear and tear the position takes and the relative lack of sustainable success because of it. That feeling is only compounded by the annual influx of new RB talent — and when a team like the Chiefs comes along and plugs in a seventh-round pick in Isiah Pacheco and wins it all.

Barkley mused during a recent podcast appearance about his options, including sitting out.

"Anybody who knows me knows that’s not something I want to do,” Barkley said of sitting out during an appearance on 'The Money Matter' podcast. (The episode was recorded prior to the deadline to sign long-term, and released Monday.) “But is it something that crossed my mind, I never thought I would ever do that. But now I’m at a point where it’s like, ‘Jesus, I might have to take it to this level.’ Am I prepared and willing to take it to the level. I don’t know. That’s something I gotta sit down. I gotta sit down and talk to my family. I gotta sit down and talk to my team, gotta really strategize about this. Can’t just go off emotions.”

Josh Jacobs and the Las Vegas Raiders are in a similar situation, having also not struck a deal by Monday’s deadline. Both running backs are now in a situation where they must play on the franchise tag or… not at all. For both players, their whereabouts will be closely watched all camp.

He’s entering his fourth season in the NFL, and yet we know next to nothing about Jordan Love and what he’s capable of on the football field. That’s about to change, as the post-Rodgers Green Bay Packers hand the reins over to the quarterback they so infamously selected 26th overall in the 2020 draft.

Since then, Love has started just a single game in the NFL and has 10 appearances. Adding to the intrigue here is the fact that his receiving group is almost just as inexperienced. Young receiver Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs enter their second seasons, while second-rounder Jayden Reed could jump into a big role right away. All that youth on offence will make this year’s training camp crucial in terms of giving this group time to gel and create chemistry. If they can do that, the Packers could be in for yet another chapter of the franchise’s long run of contending.

Question marks around the NFC North’s other three franchises — can Minnesota build on last year’s solid record? Can the Lions maintain momentum, or will they take a step back? What’s in store for these Bears? — makes the situation in Green Bay all the more interesting considering this division could be wide open for the taking. A new era begins, and we’re about to get our first look.

Speaking of new eras…

From Tampa Bay to Tampa Bayfield…? (Sorry.) For the first time this century, we’re embarking on an NFL season without Tom Brady. The absence of the GOAT will certainly be felt around the entire league as the weeks go on — not to mention during the playoffs; what even is playoff football without Brady? — but as far as camp storylines, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are about to face this absence head on.

So, where do they go from here? Brady may be gone but most of his former teammates — and most of the team’s core — are still there, thanks to Tampa management’s prioritizing the retaining of the club’s top free agents. That puts the focus squarely on the shoulders of Baker Mayfield, who signed a one-year deal with the club worth $4 million. It’s a risk-free contract with every potential for reward — and we’re not just talking about the additional $4.5 million in incentives for the QB. After being replaced by Deshaun Watson in Cleveland last summer, Mayfield was moved to Carolina where his comeback attempt yielded mixed results.

He earned the starting role out of camp but an injury halted his progress and, ultimately, the Panthers’ offence wasn’t a great fit. A short stint in L.A. brought us one of the most electric late-game drives of the year, which earned him some free agency interest.

It can’t be easy replacing Brady, but how Mayfield slots into QB1 at camp — of course, he’ll have a little competition there with Kyle Trask also vying for the spot — could tell us a lot about where the Buccaneers go from here… and whether it’s back to the playoffs, or the drawing board.

While we’ll have to ultimately wait until the season gets underway to understand how Tampa’s plan will unfold, training camp will give us our first glimpse at life after Brady.

The story of last year’s 49ers was quarterbacks — as in, lots of ‘em. That was, of course, the result of some devastating injuries. First, Trey Lance was named QB1 to start the season but had his inaugural campaign cut short in Week 2. Jimmy Garoppolo took over, but suffered a season-ending injury of his own 10 weeks later. And finally, Brock Purdy brought us the best story of the season when Mr. Irrelevant 2022 led the squad into the playoffs, only to have his Cinderella run halted unceremoniously in the NFC Championship with an elbow injury. Fourth-stringer Josh Johnson never stood a chance.

Now, San Francisco enters 2023 in familiar territory as far as uncertainty goes, with some new faces in the mix. Garropolo’s departure for Vegas led to an opportunity for Sam Darnold, while the team replaced Johnson with Brandon Allen. All signs point to Purdy being the preferred option, but he’s still recovering from his UCL tear. Lance was cleared to play earlier this off-season, but questions remain about his ability to stick — and whether he’s ultimately auditioning for the 49ers’ job or a starting role somewhere else. (It just wouldn’t truly be a 49ers training camp without QB trade rumours, right?)

Onlookers may see this as… complicated. But head coach Kyle Shanahan used a different word to describe his QB situation: “Cool.”

"We have three guys that can play, there's only one spot, and we have a good team," Shanahan said recently during a conversation on NFL Network (quote via the 49ers’ website). "I see it as a cool situation.

"I get how everyone wants something set in stone, but it's not set in stone. I love the options. I love the experience that Brock got. Trey got some too. I love the ability that we have in the room. Besides those three, I love our room around them. Let's let it play out, and all I have to do is survive the press conferences."

Well, this should certainly be fun.