This is an article version of the CBS Sports HQ AM Newsletter, the ultimate guide to every day in sports. You can sign up to get it in your inbox every weekday morning here.
NFL FANS
Even if the preseason is just an appetizer for the regular season -- making the Hall of Fame Game ... uh ... amuse-bouche? -- I'm ready to dig in. Week 1 of the preseason begins tonight with Colts-Ravens (I was there for their joint practice) as well as Bengals-Eagles and Raiders-Seahawks.
Many starters won't see much if any action this preseason, but notable exceptions come from Indianapolis, where there's a quarterback competition between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones. And Cincinnati, which will play Joe Burrow in an effort to help avoid slow starts. Both quarterback situations are among Tyler Sullivan's top 10 preseason storylines.
Most of the action, though, will belong to backups and rookies. Josh Edwards has the 10 first-year players he's most excited to watch, including two playing tonight.
But you're not going to be lining up across from some of the world's best athletes exactly one month from now, hoping to help fulfill the hopes of one of the NFL's most hyped teams. Stafford, the Rams hope, will be.
Even if Stafford is available for Week 1, back injuries are nerve-wracking, and Stafford's history with them won't ease any Rams' fans' fears, either.
For now, Garoppolo will keep getting first-team reps, and Los Angeles will keep hoping Stafford makes progress. But if the team looks for outside help, Cody Benjamin has some potential emergency options.
Tuesday, we released our top 10 NFL players at each defensive position. Wednesday, we flipped in over to the offensive side of the ball, where Patrick Mahomes remains No. 1 at quarterback -- though it wasn't unanimous. Here's the top five:
I think we can all agree about the top four in some order; Daniels earning the No. 5 spot is a major testament to his excellent rookie year.
These super early extensions can end up looking prescient -- getting a player way under the value he'd eventually get in free agency if he keeps progressing -- or really bad if the development halts. But Anthony has given Boston every reason to believe he'll be a franchise cornerstone, Julian McWilliams writes.