NFL

Sean Payton rips Nathaniel Hackett for 2022 Broncos job, plus Aaron Rodgers takes historical pay cut

by
SaC Bot
July 27, 2023

Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

I’m going to start off today with some news that’s so crazy, you might not even believe it: There is going to be actual football played in just ONE WEEK. The Jets and the Browns will be taking the field next Thursday in the Hall of Fame Game (Aug. 3), which means you have one week to come with an excuse for why you can’t hang out with your family next Thursday.

Speaking of the Jets, roughly half of today’s newsletter is about them. Not only will we be looking at the details of Aaron Rodgers’ historical pay cut, but we’re going to cover some comments from Sean Payton, who basically ripped Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett for pulling off one of the worst coaching jobs in NFL history in Denver last season.

As always, here’s your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. Let’s get to the rundown.

1. Today’s show: Breaking down the Falcons offseason and predicting how they’ll do in 2023

It’s time for another episode of our “All 32” series, and if you were starting to think that we completely forgot about the NFC South, I assure you, we have not. Earlier this week, we covered the Buccaneers, and today, we have the ATLANTA FALCONS (And if you’re scoring at home, we’ll have the Panthers tomorrow).

To talk about how things are going in Atlanta, we brought on the esteemed Will McFadden, who covers the Falcons for the Falcoholic. As an added bonus, I was also a part of today’s show. Here are two topics host Katie Mox and I covered with McFadden:

Can Desmond Ridder be a successful quarterback for the Falcons? The Falcons actually have a pretty talented offense this year, but no one really knows what to make of their quarterback. If Ridder can play just slightly above-average football, the Falcons could surprise some people. So can he do that? “I don’t know if the’s the type of QB who’s going to elevate the offense,” McFadden said. “What I think he needs to do for the Falcons to be successful is that he needs to play from within the scheme. … If he shows some of those flashes of improvement on the deep ball, the accuracy, the timing, some of these small things that can be improved, then I think Ridder can be good enough to get Atlanta to the playoffs in 2023.”
Can the Falcons win the division? McFadden said he thinks Ridder possibly has the talent to get the Falcons to the playoffs, so does he actually think it’s going to happen? Yes. Not only does he see the Falcons getting to the playoffs, but he also think they’re going to do it by winning the division. “If we’re looking at upside and we’re looking at — if a team can become the best version of itself, which team wins the division — then I think the Falcons probably present the most upside, at least for 2023,” McFadden said. “I think they’re going to win the NFC South.”

McFadden spent more than 20 minutes talking about the Falcons, and if you want to hear everything he had to say, you can listen to today’s show here. You can also watch today’s show on YouTube by clicking here.

2. Jets roundup: Aaron Rodgers agrees to historical pay cut, Dalvin Cook set to visit New York

It’s not often that you see someone willingly give up $33 million, but that’s exactly what Aaron Rodgers did yesterday. Apparently, Rodgers, really, really, really wants to win in New York, because that’s the only way to explain why he willingly agreed to take the largest pay cut in NFL history.

Here’s a look at the details of his deal:

What his old contract was worth. When the Jets traded for Rodgers in April, they acquired his contract from the Packers, which still had two years and $108.7 million left on it. That total included a cap hit of $107.55 million in 2024. Obviously, there’s no way the Jets could make their cap work next season with that kind of hit, which is a big reason why the two sides decided to rework the deal.
What the new contract looks like. The restructured deal will now pay Rodgers $75 million over the next two years, which means he took a pay cut of $33.7 million. According to NFL.com, Rodgers will get a $35 million roster bonus before the end of July along with a $1,838,888 base salary in 2023 (Rodgers’ cap hit for the 2023 season is now under $9 million). Rodgers will then get a $38,161,1112 base salary in 2024. The contract is technically a five-year deal, but it has dummy years at the end so that the Jets can pro-rate the $35 million roster bonus. Rodgers’ contract also includes a no-tag clause and a no-trade clause, because when you’re a four-time MVP who just took a huge pay cut, no one is going to say no to you when you ask for those things.
Why did Rodgers do this? It’s pretty clear that Rodgers wants to win at least one more Super Bowl before he retires. At 39, he knows he doesn’t have much time left at this point and winning a Lombardi Trophy obviously means more to him than money. Also, by agreeing to such a huge pay cut, it could open the door for the Jets to sign a big name, like, say, Dalvin Cook. Speaking of Cook, he’s flying into New York for a visit with the Jets this weekend, CBS Sports NFL Insider Jonathan Jones has reported.

Although Rodgers is taking a huge pay cut, don’t feel sorry for him. By the end of the 2023 season, Rodgers will have made more money than any other player in NFL history, passing Tom Brady for the title of top earner.

3. Payton rips Hackett, 2022 Broncos

One thing you almost never hear in the NFL is a head coach rip the coaching staff that he replaced, but that’s exactly what Sean Payton did this week. During an unfiltered interview with USA Today, Payton took shots at almost everyone involved with the 2022 Broncos.

Payton says the team was an embarrassment. “It doesn’t happen often where an NFL team or organization gets embarrassed,” Payton said. “And that happened here. Part of it was their own fault, relative to spending so much (expletive) time trying to win the offseason – the PR, the pomp and circumstance, marching people around and all this stuff.”
Payton takes huge shot at Hackett. The Broncos coach said Nathaniel Hackett pulled off one of the “worst coaching jobs” in NFL history. “Everybody’s got a little stink on their hands,” Payton said. “It’s not just Russell. It was a [poor] offensive line. It might have been one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL. That’s how bad it was.”
Payton blames Russell Wilson’s struggles on everyone from Hackett on down. “There’s so much dirt around that,” Payton said of why Wilson struggled. “There’s 20 dirty hands, for what was allowed, tolerated in the fricking training rooms, the meeting rooms. The offense. I don’t know Hackett. A lot of people had dirt on their hands. It wasn’t just Russell. He didn’t just flip. He still has it. This B.S. that he hit a wall? Shoot, they couldn’t get a play in. They were 29th in the league in pre-snap penalties on both sides of the ball.”
Payton says Wilson should have never been given special treatment. According to reports, not only did Wilson have a personal office, but he also had his own personal support staff at the team facility. “That’s not an incrimination on him, but an incrimination on the head coach, the GM, the president and everybody else who watched it all happen,” Payton said. “Now, a quarterback having an office and a place to watch film is normal. But all those things get magnified when you’re losing. And that other stuff, I’ve never heard of it. We’re not doing that.”

Hackett, who is currently the offensive coordinator for the Jets, probably won’t take too kindly to those comments. After some of the things Payton said about New York, Jets coach Robert Saleh didn’t sound entirely happy with Payton either. “I’m not going to acknowledge Sean. He’s been in the league a while, he can say whatever the hell he wants,” Saleh said. The good news for us is that the Jets and Broncos will be playing each other this season in Week 5.

4. Predicting the 2023 MVP for each NFC team

After going through and predicting the 2023 MVP for every AFC team earlier this week, we decided that we should probably do the same thing with the NFC, so that’s what we’re going to do today.

Jeff Kerr locked himself in a windowless room for 24 straight hours and didn’t come out until he came up with an MVP for each NFC team.

Let’s take a look at four of his team MVPs:

Panthers: Bryce Young. “The Panthers haven’t had a franchise quarterback play at a high level since Cam Newton’s MVP season in 2015. They struggled to find a quarterback since injuries hindered Newton, which is why there is lot of hype around Young.”
Cowboys: Micah Parsons. “Parsons is one of three players in NFL history — along with Reggie White and Aldon Smith — to have recorded 13-plus sacks in each of their first two seasons. The Cowboys will need 13-plus sacks from Parsons this season — along with a high pressure rate allowed per drop back — if they want to win a Super Bowl.”
Vikings: Justin Jefferson. “Jefferson led the NFL in catches (128) and yards (1,809) last season, winning the Offensive Player of the Year award. He’s in store for another huge year, as his chemistry with quarterback Kirk Cousins is one of the best for a quarterback and wide receiver in the league.”
49ers: Nick Bosa. “He’s the best pass rusher in the NFL — and the 49ers need him to perform at a high level every week. Fortunately for San Francisco, Bosa does just that.” Note: Bosa is currently holding out.

If you want to see the full list of all 16 NFC MVPs, then be sure to check out Jeff’s entire story here.

5. Best MVP bets to make before the start of 2023 season

If you’re hoping to make some money betting on the NFL this season, then you might want to start following Will Brinson on Twitter (or is it “X?” I have no idea what Twitter is called anymore). There is nothing Brinson loves to talk about more than betting on the NFL, and for today, he decided to reveal this three favorite MVP bets for the 2023 season.

He broke his bets down into three categories, and here they are:

Best top bet: Trevor Lawrence (16-to-1). “This came down to Lawrence versus Lamar Jackson (14-1) and Lawrence won out because of the classic John Breech stat (do you listen to the Pick Six Podcast, you should!) about the MVP coming from a division winner. Lawrence should win his division and could take a massive step forward this season in his second year with Doug Pederson.” Note: Thanks for the shoutout, Brinson.
Best midrange bet: Matthew Stafford (50-to-1). “Stafford is a former Super Bowl-winning quarterback (just two years ago, FYI) who threw for 41 touchdowns and nearly 4,900 yards. Vegas HATES the Rams this year — their win total is 6.5 and they’re an NFC West long shot — but there’s certainly a path to Los Angeles being better than people expect. Sean McVay’s first losing season was last year, again, after he won the Super Bowl. No one thinks he fixes this offense???”
Best long shot bet: Sam Darnold (100-to-1). “I can hear you laughing, OK? You don’t need to laugh that loudly, though. The MVP is now the professional Heisman now and it’s essentially ‘the best quarterback award’ or ‘the award for the quarterback on the best team’ if there isn’t a clear-cut candidate. … So what happens if Darnold, a high-pedigree college quarterback taken with a top-five pick by the Jets, manages to perfectly play the role of point guard in Shanahan’s offense behind a good offensive line? The MVP happens.”

If you want to read Brinson’s full explanation for each bet, then be sure to click here.

6. Extra points: Bears tight end gets $50 million extension

It’s been a busy 24 hours in the NFL, and since it’s nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you.

Cole Kmet gets paid. The Bears tight end signed a mammoth four-year extension on Wednesday that’s worth up to $50 million. Not only has Kmet caught at least 50 passes in each of the past two seasons, but he’s also become a key scoring target for Justin Fields. Kmet caught seven TD passes in 2023, which was more than twice as much as any other player on the team.
Stefon Diggs says there’s no drama in Buffalo. After an offseason of tension in Buffalo, it seems that Diggs has decided to put all the drama behind him. Not only did he report to training camp, but he said “all is well” with the Bills. You can read more about his latest comments here.
Cowboys starting safety out 4-6 weeks. Donovan Wilson is going to miss some time after injuring his right calf in practice on Wednesday. Wilson is expected to miss 4-6 weeks of action. If he’s on the longer end of that recovery timeline, that could put his status in jeopardy for the Cowboys’ Week 1 game against the Giants.
Top 10 pick from 2017 NFL Draft retires. After just six NFL seasons, John Ross has decided to retire. Although he’s widely viewed as a draft bust, he’ll always be remembered for two things: He holds the combine record for the fastest 40 at 4.22 and he was the player selected just before Patrick Mahomes in 2017. Ross went ninth overall to Cincinnati while Mahomes went one spot later to the Chiefs.
Only one NFL draft pick remains unsigned. As of today, it has now been exactly three months since the NFL Draft and in that time, 258 of the 259 players who were selected have already signed their rookie contracts. The only holdout is Devon Witherspoon, who was selected fifth overall by the Seahawks. Pete Carroll said on Wednesday that he expects Witherspoon to sign “soon.”
Bengals star gets one-year extension. The Bengals have signed Trey Hendrickson to a one-year extension that will keep him in Cincinnati through the 2025 season. Hendrickson is one of only four players in the NFL who has recorded at least 35 sacks since the start of the 2020 season (Myles Garrett, Haason Reddick and T.J. Watt are the others).
Video emerges of Tyreek Hill altercation. It took nearly a month, but we finally have video of the Tyreek Hill altercation that took place at a marina in South Florida. Hill was accused of slapping the back of a man’s head and you can see for yourself how that all went down by clicking here. It should be noted that the situation has now been resolved and Hill won’t face any charges.
Jim Irsay might be making his own player mad. The Colts owner sent out an interesting tweet on Wednesday: He basically told running backs to stop complaining and deal with their current situation. As you can imagine, that didn’t sit well with Jonathan Taylor, who’s trying to get a new contract with the Colts. For more on Irsay’s comments, head here.