We've reached what's easily the most boring part of the NFL offseason. The best free agents have been off the board for quite a while, and even Aaron Rodgers is off the market. The NFL Draft was months ago. The preseason doesn't begin for another four weeks. There just isn't much going on.
With that being said, the NFL truly never sleeps. Just days ago, we saw one of the most surprising player-for-player deals in recent memory with Minkah Fitzpatrick and Jalen Ramsey swapping teams, and there's a lot more going on in the NFL rumor mill as well.
Here's the latest NFL news and rumors worth your attention on this holiday weekend.
NFL set to release new uniforms for half the league
Player movement helps keep things interesting in the NFL year in and year out, but new uniforms do too. Sure, teams wearing their traditional home and away uniforms is fun, but it's also fun to have alternate uniforms for teams to use once or twice a year just to shake things up. With that in mind, the NFL is set to release a new look, whether it's with a uniform, helmet, or both, within the month of July.
CBS Sports' John Breech listed eight teams set to release uniforms, helmets, or both, within the next three weeks. He also revealed that new uniforms will be revealed at a later date as part of the NFL's "Rivalries" program.
The divisions set to receive new uniforms as part of this new program this season are the AFC East and the NFC West. Since the Seattle Seahawks are receiving an alternate uniform, they're the only NFL team this season to reveal a pair of new looks in the 2025 season.
As is always the case, some of these uniforms will be awesome, and others will be less so. It'll be interesting to see how these look.
Lamar Jackson opens the door for best season yet
If Lamar Jackson isn't the best quarterback in the league right now, he's certainly top three. He's won a pair of MVP awards in his seven-year NFL career, and an argument can be made that he should've been the MVP from this past season. Despite his inarguable success thus far, Jackson seems to hint that the best has yet to come.
"As I've been getting older in the league, my mindset has been different and the game has gotten a lot easier for me," Jackson said.
Jackson says that as he's gotten older, the game has gotten easier. Well, if the game continues to get easy for the Baltimore Ravens' superstar, the best might truly be to come.
Jackson saying the game has gotten much easier for him sounds cocky, but the stats from last season would suggest he's being honest. Jackson has always been dynamic on the ground, and he was again last season, but he was as dominant as he's ever been as a thrower. He set career-highs with 316 completions, 4,172 passing yards, and 41 passing touchdowns. He led the NFL in yards per attempt (8.8), passer rating (119.6), and QBR (77.3). An argument can absolutely be made that he was the NFL's most efficient passer last season, and he did that while leading the NFL with 6.6 yards per attempt on the ground and rushing for 915 yards.
Jackson had possibly his most complete season in 2024. With the Ravens adding DeAndre Hopkins to an already strong skill position group over the offseason, there's a good chance that the best truly is yet to come for the 28-year-old Jackson. That thought should be frightening for the rest of the NFL.
Jonnu Smith fires shot at Dolphins following trade to Steelers
When the Miami Dolphins' trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers went down, all eyes were on Jalen Ramsey and Minkah Fitzpatrick, and for good reason. While those were the two biggest names and best players involved in the deal, Jonnu Smith also went from Miami to Pittsburgh, and he has a chance to play a big role in the Steelers' offense following a breakout year.
While a great opportunity for Smith, this isn't one he necessarily wanted.
"But for me, I felt that I was in a position that I thought that I was one of the key ingredients to help this team succeed. And after the season ended, me and my agent, we're like 'This is a no-brainer, we'll be here forever,'" Smith said.
Smith wanted to remain with the Dolphins, potentially for the rest of his career. All he wanted was to get paid like the Pro Bowler he was in 2024. Unfortunately, the Dolphins felt as if they could've matched those demands; thus, they ended up trading him. Smith didn't mince words when discussing how hurt he was that things didn't work out in Miami long-term.
"Eventually it came a point and time when they told me that they just can't do it, it wasn't economically able to put me in a position to be paid like a Pro Bowl tight end. And that one stung, and we tried to figure it out and we just couldn't," he said. "...I had to make the decision to say 'Man, well I've got to go where I am appreciated and viewed on paper, economically, contract-wise as a top guy in this league which I know I am. And Pittsburgh was the team that saw me as that... "You always want to be where you're most valued and appreciated, and that's the situation that I found myself in with Pittsburgh. So I'm excited, bro," he said.
Smith going out of his way to praise the Steelers for appreciating him is undoubtedly a shot at the Dolphins for refusing to do so. A lot went wrong for Miami last season, but Smith, as mentioned above, had his best season by far. He appeared to have been a perfect fit with the Dolphins, so it's certainly strange that they had no interest in making it work, especially when the recently retired Darren Waller was their backup option.
The best payback Smith can offer would be having an even better season with the Steelers. Doing so would prove himself right for the contract demand and also prove the Dolphins wrong for refusing to pay him. With little else to speak of for Aaron Rodgers to throw to other than D.K. Metcalf, Smith is poised to have another big year.