NFL division winners who are unlikely to repeat, plus new twist in A.J Brown trade talks and a 2023 redraft

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Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

With Memorial Day now in the rearview mirror, you might think we’re about to hit the slow part of the NFL offseason, but think again, because there is no slow part of the NFL offseason. The A.J. Brown trade rumors alone should be able to keep us busy for at least another week, and speaking of Brown, we’ll be taking a look at the latest rumors in today’s newsletter, plus, we’ll be ranking the division winners who are most likely to be dethroned. 

As always, here’s your reminder to tell your friends

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Matthew Stafford breaks silence on Rams’ shocking decision to draft QB Ty Simpson with first round pick

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It’s been more than a month since the Los Angeles Rams made arguably the most shocking pick of the 2026 NFL DraftTy Simpson at 13th overall. With the Rams selecting Matthew Stafford’s potential replacement, there were a lot of questions about how the reigning NFL MVP would react to the pick, and now, 34 days later, we finally have the answer. 

During a Wednesday appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Stafford gave his first public interview since the draft. He received questions about how communication with Simpson has been. Based on Stafford’s answer, it doesn’t sound like there’s been much

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Aaron Rodgers could become rare QB to beat every NFL team, but there’s only one improbable way it can happen

There are 32 teams in the NFL, and over the course of his career, Aaron Rodgers has beaten 31 of them. With Rodgers announcing that he plans to retire at the end of the 2026 season, he’ll have one last chance to become just the fifth quarterback in NFL history to beat all 32 teams.

Heading into the 2026 season, only four quarterbacks have beaten all 32 teams: Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Brett Favre. (Joe Montana and Fran Tarkenton are kind of in the club, too. They never got a chance to beat all 32 teams, but they

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NFL offseason grades for the NFC, plus teams with the easiest path to the playoffs and AFC East win totals

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Welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

It’s Memorial Day, and although most people are out of the office, I’m in the office, because this newsletter isn’t going to write itself. And to be honest, that’s probably for the best, because if it did write itself, I’d be out of a job. There’s probably an AI joke in there somewhere, but I’m too lazy to make it. 

As always, here’s your reminder to tell your friends to sign up for the newsletter. It makes the perfect graduation gift and that’s mostly because it’s free. Alright, let’s get to the rundown. 

1.

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The NFL had eyes on three teams to open 2026 season against Seahawks

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In the weeks leading up to the release of the 2026 NFL schedule, debate raged about who the Seattle Seahawks would kick off the season against in Week 1.

The NFL traditionally assigns the reigning Super Bowl champion to host the first game of the following season. With the game in Seattle, the Seahawks were going to face one of the nine opponents on their 2026 home schedule: The Rams, Cardinals, 49ers, Cowboys, Giants, Bears, Chiefs, Chargers or Patriots

With the Rams and 49ers playing in Australia in Week 1, those two teams were out. 

The NFL usually tries to start the season with a big

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Matthew Stafford’s back injury was so bad that Rams almost QB placed on IR to start 2025 season

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Matthew Stafford had one of the best years of his career in 2025, but that almost didn’t happen, because the Los Angeles Rams came close to placing him on injured reserve to start the season. 

The 2025 season started with Stafford missing the first month of training camp due to a back injury. Rams coach Sean McVay has now revealed just how bad things got during that period. Los Angeles gave some serious thought to placing Stafford on IR, which would have knocked him out for at least the first four games of the season, McVay said during an interview on the

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Joe Burrow’s Super Bowl prediction doesn’t sound so crazy: Picking every game on the Bengals’ schedule

There is no one more confident in the Cincinnati Bengals this year than Joe Burrow. The Bengals have never won a Super Bowl in franchise history, but Burrow seems pretty convinced they could end up winning their first one this year. 

The Bengals are coming off a 2025 season where they went 6-11, but they’ve been busy this offseason — and Burrow has definitely noticed. They made several key additions in free agency, including safety Bryan Cook and pass-rusher Boye Mafe. And they also did something they never do: made a blockbuster trade for Dexter Lawrence

If one of the team’s goals

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NFL offseason grades for every AFC team, plus five contenders that have a brutal path to the playoffs

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Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

The end of May can sometimes be a quiet time in the NFL, but not this year. In the past 24 hours alone, we’ve had Aaron Rodgers announce that he’s going to retire after the 2026 season, and we also had Joe Burrow make a bold Super Bowl prediction. You have to love the AFC North. 

We also had new Browns coach Todd Monken ripping his quarterbacks for throwing interceptions during 7-on-7, a drill in which the quarterback faces zero pass rush. Welcome to Browns’ football, Todd. 

Speaking of the AFC North, we’ll

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NFL approves 10 international games in 2027, votes to change key scheduling policy that could have huge impact

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The NFL will hold a record-setting nine international games during the upcoming season, but that record won’t last long. 

At the NFL’s spring league meeting in Orlando, the owners voted to add two more games to the international schedule, which could bring the total to 10 in 2027, CBS Sports NFL Insider Jonathan Jones has reported

Under the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the NFL is only allowed to play 10 international games each year, so the league is now at the highest maximum number permitted under the CBA. The Jaguars game at Wembley Stadium doesn’t count toward the CBA total, so

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Patriots hit with bizarre scheduling quirk the NFL hasn’t seen in 40 years, plus 21 other schedule oddities

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There are always some crazy quirks when it comes to the NFL schedule, and this year is no different. Although the league office does its best to make all 32 teams happy, the fact of the matter is that making everyone happy just isn’t possible when you’re putting together a schedule that consists of 272 games. 

Some teams will be happy about the quirks on their schedule while plenty of other teams won’t be. 

So who got the craziest quirks? That’s a great question. Let’s find out. 

Here are 20 of the weirdest quirks on the 2026 NFL

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