Five players who shined in Hall of Fame Game, plus Terry McLaurin landing spots after WR demands a trade

Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! 

After waiting 172 days, we finally got an NFL game on Thursday night and it was amazing. Sure, it was a little sloppy (The Lions fumbled the opening kickoff) and yes, things got a little boring in the second half, but we still got to watch football, which is better than no football. Also, we got to see the debut of the NFL’s new virtual measurement system for first downs and that’s already my favorite thing about the 2025 season (If you missed it, we’ve got the details here). 

Coming up in today’s newsletter, we’ll be taking a look at the players who stood out during the Chargers’ 34-7 win over the Lions, plus we’ll be giving you an early preview of this weekend’s Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony in Canton, Ohio.  

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. 

1. Five standout players from the Hall of Fame Game

The first preseason game of the year is in the books and instead of covering of everything that happened during the Chargers’ 34-7 win over the Lions, we decided we’re going to take a look at a few standout players from the game. 

Here are three performances that stood out, according to Jordan Dajani: 

• Chargers QB Trey Lance. Lance played the majority of the game, completing 13 of 20 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Lance put some nice throws on tape, including a one-on-one ball on the perimeter, dropping it in perfectly to KeAndre Lambert-Smith before the safety could get over (You can see the play here). 
• Chargers CB Nikko Reed. If you’re not a Chargers fan, it may be your first time hearing of Nikko Reed. The former Colorado and Oregon cornerback went undrafted this year, but has by all accounts been tearing up training camp. According to the Chargers’ official website, he registered a pick six last week, and has stood out in just about every practice session. Reed is 5-foot-10, but can play outside or in the slot. On the Lions’ second full drive of the game, he picked off Kyle Allen and returned it 60 yards the other way (Here’s the highlight).
• Lions WR Isaac TeSlaa. The 6-foot-4 big slot out of Arkansas has Lions fans hoping TeSlaa can play a role for John Morton in Year 1. Not only is TeSlaa a mismatch for defensive backs, but he also tested well at the combine. TeSlaa caught just two passes in the first half, but turned those into 46 yards — which led all players. 

Dajani came up with five stars from Thursday’s game and you can check out his full list here. 

2. Hall of Fame induction is Saturday: Here’s what you need to know

If you’re planning to watch the Hall of Fame induction ceremony this weekend, you better make sure you have nothing planned around noon on Saturday because that’s when the ceremony starts. After years of holding the enshrinement ceremony in prime time, the Hall of Fame moved the ceremony to noon ET in 2022, and that’s where it will be once again this year. (The ceremony will be televised by both ESPN and NFL Network.)

The Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025 consists of just four players, which makes this the smallest class since 2005 when there were also just four players inducted. Let’s take a look at the class: 

With Sterling Sharpe getting enshrined, that means Sterling and Shannon will become the first set of brothers to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Shannon, who was let go from ESPN this week, actually spent some time apologizing to his brother for overshadowing him during his Hall of Fame week. You can check out Shannon’s full apology here. 

As for Sterling, if you want to know how he was able to get into the Hall of Fame despite playing just seven NFL seasons, Garrett Podell has an excellent breakdown here. 

3. Terry McLaurin landing spots after Commanders receiver demands a trade

When Terry McLaurin reported to training camp on Sunday, it looked like the drama between him and the Commanders might go away, but that’s definitely not the case. With the two sides stuck in a contract stalemate, McLaurin has requested a trade out of Washington. 

You hear about trade requests all the time early in the offseason, but it’s pretty rare to see one in training camp. With McLaurin wanting out, Cody Benjamin decided to come up with a few possible landing spots: 

• Colts. This is something of a make-or-break year for Shane Steichen’s offense, and all signs point to the Colts leaning on a combination of Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson under center. That spells trouble. Perhaps the best way to offset that predicament is by further stocking the cupboard at receiver. 
• Chiefs. The reigning AFC champions aren’t flush with extra cap space, and they’ve preferred to dig through the bargain bin to outfit Patrick Mahomes’ receiving corps, throwing draft-pick darts and rental deals on guys like Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, Marquise Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster. With at least three of those receivers already hurt or still recovering from injury, might Andy Reid and Brett Veach look to make a splash for a readymade weapon? You can bet Mahomes wouldn’t turn this down.
• Raiders. Are the Raiders one wideout away from contending? No, probably not. But when you turn the keys over to a 34-year-old quarterback (Geno Smith) and 73-year-old coach (Pete Carroll), you’re clearly interested in making the most of 2025. And they could use a pass-catching complement for star tight end Brock Bowers.

Cody’s got a few more options for McLaurin and you can check those out here. 

4. Best division bets: Two surprise teams to take right now

In Tuesday’s newsletter, we unveiled R.J. White’s best bet to make right now on a Super Bowl winner. White is our gambling guru over at SportsLine, and last year, his best value bet for the Super Bowl was Philadelphia, who ended up winning it all. 

Today, White is back with some best value bets on potential division winners. SportsLine articles are usually behind a paywall, but I have a lot of connections here and I was able to hunt down two of R.J.’s picks (and you won’t have to pay for them). 

• Best value bet in the AFC West: Broncos (+350). Last year’s Chiefs were nowhere near as good as their record indicated, giving up more yards per play on defense than they gained on offense, and I can’t see them repeating an 11-0 record in one-score games. The Broncos were better on offense and defense last year and should be better from the jump on offense this year with Bo Nix now acclimated to the league.
• Best value bet in the NFC North: Packers (+275). The Packers are my top division bet, because I think they should be the favorites despite the wide gap between their odds and those for Detroit. The Packers were swept by the Lions and Vikings last year, and I expect both teams to take a step back, with Minnesota giving J.J. McCarthy his first shot at NFL-caliber defenses and the Lions losing both coordinators and multiple players on the offensive line.

You can read White’s entire article here, but you’ll have to have a SportsLine subscription. The good news is that an annual subscription is 50% off right now, so it’s the perfect time to buy (details here). 

5. One former player from each team who should have their jersey retired

With the Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony just one day away, we thought now would be a good time to take a look at one player from each team who deserves to have their jersey retired. 

Bryan DeArdo went through all 32 teams and we’re going to check out four of them below:  

• Falcons: Matt Ryan (No. 2). While Julio Jones received some consideration, it seems only right to give this one to the only player in franchise history that has won a league MVP.
• Vikings: Randy Moss (No. 84). While he went onto have more success in New England, Moss is still one of the Vikings’ most iconic players. In seven seasons in Minnesota, Moss was a five-time Pro Bowler, three-time All-Pro and the 1998 Offensive Rookie of the Year. 
• Broncos: Terrell Davis (No. 30). Davis is probably the player most responsible for the Broncos’ first two Super Bowl wins. … He was named MVP of the Broncos’ first Super Bowl win and won league MVP the following season after becoming the fourth player to rush for over 2,000 yards in a regular season. 
• Chargers: Antonio Gates (No. 85). Gates and former teammate Philip Rivers were both considered, but the nod went to Gates, the soon-to-be Hall of Fame inductee whose 116 career touchdown catches is the most all time for a tight end.

If you want to see DeArdo’s full list, we’ve got that here.

6. Extra points: Micah Parsons drama continues

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. 

• Cowboys in contract standoff with Parsons. The two sides haven’t been able to get a deal done and one huge issue is that the team refuses to negotiate with Parsons’ agent, according to The Athletic. Parsons apparently negotiated directly with Jerry Jones back in the spring and Jones thought they had a deal done, but Parsons’ agent wanted to get involved and the Cowboys “declined to engage with him.” If Dallas won’t speak with Parson’s agent, this situation could get ugly. 
• Baker Mayfield has a hand contusion. The Buccaneers quarterback is day to day after suffering a contusion on his throwing hand during Thursday’s practice, according to NFL.com. It’s a minor injury, but because it happened to Mayfield’s throwing hand, it’s certainly something to keep an eye on. 
• Latavius Murray retires. The veteran NFL running back has decided to call it a career after playing for six teams over 10 seasons. Murray made the Pro Bowl in 2015 while playing for the Raiders. He also rushed for at least 700 yards in five of his 10 seasons. You can read more about Murray’s career here. 
• Dolphins add a QB. Blaine Gabbert never played for the Dolphins, but his brother is now on the roster after being signed this week. Brett Gabbert, who was the QB at Miami (Ohio), will join a Dolphins QB room that’s pretty full right now with Tua Tagovailoa, Zach Wilson and rookie Quinn Ewers already on the depth chart.
• The bow-and-arrow celebration is back. The NFL will not be punishing players who use the bow-and-arrow celebration this year. Players who used in the past could be penalized and they were also subject to a fine, but that’s no longer the case. If you want to know why the celebration is now permitted, we’ve got the details here.