🏈 The Touchdown Collective: Mahomes climbs the mountain
Patrick Mahomes, Sean Payton and Drake Maye all feature to keep you ahead of the game, one play at a time
In today’s Touchdown Collective there’s the latest on the return of Patrick Mahomes in Press Coverage, Read Option has news from around the league and there are some wild World Cup picks featured in Get to the Post.
📰 Press Coverage
Kansas City Chiefs
Head coach Andy Reid is hopeful his new $500m man Patrick Mahomes will be able to take part in training camp as his remarkable recovery from the injuries - tears to his left ACL and LCL in mid-December - which ended his season in 2025 continues.
Mahomes penned a new deal this week that reset the QB market and makes him the highest-paid player in NFL history.
And his recovery has impressed Reid, who said: “I love what he did this off-season, the way he attacked the rehab. He’s on course to take these next few days and get ready for camp.
“You just kind of take it day by day, I think. It looks like he’s going to be able to do some things during camp. He did it out here, so I would presume in 40 days he’ll be even better than that. So we’ll just see where it goes, and you go through peaks and valleys in this thing - in rehabs - where you might plateau for a little bit, and you don’t know when those are going to take place. But so far, it’s been a pretty steady climb up the hill there.”
Denver Broncos
There was seemingly some unrest at the end of last season between QB Bo Nix and head coach Sean Payton regarding the ankle injury which ruled Nix out of the AFC Championship game.
I’m sure if there was it will all be water under the bridge by now and, from Nix’s perspective, it will have to be after the Broncos gave Payton a new five-year deal yesterday.
“Sean Payton has led an impressive turnaround over the past three seasons, instilling a winning culture with high expectations,’‘ Broncos owner/CEO Greg Penner said in a statement. “I appreciate the close partnership he shares with George Paton along with the alignment and stability across our football operations. We’re thrilled for Sean to continue leading our team as head coach, building on our progress during such an exciting time for the Broncos.”
Of his new deal, Payton said yesterday: “I’m thankful they want me back, and we’ll do everything we can to continue to keep winning.” On Nix’s recovery from his ankle issue for next season, Payton added: “He’s young, and one of his great assets is his ability to avoid sacks and escape from the pocket. I don’t think you’ll see that hindered at all.”
New England Patriots
It’s fair to say that AJ Brown has been impressed by Drake Maye after a couple of weeks of practice in New England.
And, surprisingly some might say, Brown doesn’t just mean on the field. Maye can come across as very quiet and reserved. But his new wide receiver says he has all the tools needed as a team leader.
“The talent speaks for itself; he can make any throw, but I think what’s more impressive to me is that he knows what he’s doing,” Brown said yesterday via Boston.com.
“To be that young, and to understand the defense, and to understand every little check - the hots, the blitz, all those things so fast - is very impressive. So, I really admire that he knows what he’s talking about, and he demands everyone else to know, as well. He’s a true leader of men. It’s crazy to see at a young age.”
And after he took his team to the Super Bowl last season in just his second campaign in the NFL, Maye said earlier this week that he is still “trying to get better in all areas”.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles has left no room for doubt in his stance on whether Baker Mayfield should get a new deal, saying there is "absolutely no question" he wants the QB to stay in Tampa.
Mayfield said last Friday that a new deal needs to be done by training camp and that the two sides were “not anywhere close” at the moment.
“Baker’s a true pro,” Bowles said, via ESPN. “I don’t think there’s any disappointment whatsoever. I mean, he loves it here. We love him here. The contract stuff takes care of itself, whether it’s the quarterback or any other position that comes up - those things get worked out over time.
“You just concentrate on what we got to concentrate on, on the field, and he’s been great right there.”
Meanwhile, the Bucs had one practice taken off them this week by the league after having “too many men on the ground” according to Bowles. “It was about three or four plays that reported us,” he said. “We’re trying to practice safety as well. We’ve got a lot of new guys trying to learn how to practice, but we cleaned that up and kind of took care of it.”
Dallas Cowboys
This week has seen a lot of noise around mandatory minicamps and the Cowboys are no different, even though theirs doesn’t start until next Tuesday.
On Wednesday, I gave you the latest from head coach Brian Schottenheimer on George Pickens’ plans for next week after he skipped voluntary OTAs following his signing of a franchise tag deal as he looks for a long-term contract.
Yesterday, Pickens was hosting a youth camp in south Texas and was asked if he was planning to attend minicamp next week. Pickens shrugged and said “uhhh” before a representative put a stop to the conversation and said Pickens would not answer any other questions, reports Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Doesn’t sound too promising at the moment.
Minnesota Vikings
Another issue seemingly rumbling on at the moment is the Vikings’ QB competition between JJ McCarthy and Kyler Murray.
Murray said on Tuesday that splitting reps is the “toughest part” of trying to learn a new offensive system - but head coach Kevin O’Connell is in no rush to make a call on who the Week One starter will be in order to aid that process.
“This phase, this time of year, by the rules and how we handle it, it is a foundation to build off of and every rep obviously matters, but this time of year, the beauty of not going full speed is you can get a lot out of watching other guys’ reps as well,” O’Connell said. “I think that’s taken place. I think there’s been great learning.”
↔️ Read option
The 🤴Chiefs sent tackle Wanya Morris and a 2027 seventh-round pick to the ⚫️Falcons for a 2027 sixth-round pick yesterday.
The 🐈⬛Panthers and WR Jalen Coker have agreed a three-year, $35m deal. It comes after Carolina signed Coker and Brycen Tremayne as exclusive rights free agents in April.
🐻Bears QB Caleb Williams says he has to be “as stoic as possible, strong as possible for the guys because they are looking at me” as he adapts to being the team’s leader, report ESPN. Via the Chicago Sun Times, Williams says he is “OK with whatever” with regards to the location of the Bears’ new stadium.
🟤Browns starting safety Ronnie Hickman signed his restricted free agent tender yesterday.
Brian Branch has yet to suffer a setback in his recovery from a torn Achilles tendon that ended his 2025 season for the 🦁Lions says head coach Dan Campbell, via The Detroit News.
Calvin Ridley took his first reps in team drills yesterday as he returns from injury for the 🌖Titans, report The Tennessean. Before practice, head coach Robert Saleh said: “He’s coming off of an injury and we’re just trying to make sure we progress him in the way that we need to. It’s just part of trying to get him to where he’s comfortable with his body.”
QB Cam Ward’s recent OTA struggles are seemingly continuing, though. He’s reportedly 62-of-113 in 7-on-7 and team drills so far.
Jayden Daniels, Marcus Mariota and the rest of the WCommanders’ QBs have had GoPro cameras strapped to their helmets in OTAs so far. "It gives another perspective in how to hear things," said head coach Dan Quinn.
The 🐬Dolphins have signed centre Aaron Brewer to a contract extension through the 2029 season, it was announced yesterday.
🧀Packers TE Tucker Kraft says he’s “going to get all the conditioning I need in camp to start Week One on no pitch count” as he recovers from his ACL surgery.
↗ Get to the Post
Some wild picks in this…
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
From the ceiling is crazy…
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
An old one but a good one…
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
📩 Who am I? I’m Michael Ham, the Daily Star Sunday and Sunday Express Sports Editor – and an avid NFL fan. I have over 20 years of experience in sports news journalism and I’m the writer behind The Touchdown Collective.
🙌 Thanks for reading The Touchdown Collective! I will continue breaking down the NFL next time. In the meantime you can share this great find with your friends and family, simply click on the link below and follow the instructions so they can join too. Thanks, it means a lot.
The Touchdown Collective: Your go-to NFL source to
stay one step ahead of the game