Zay Jones is at peace.

But it hasn’t been easy.

Thanks to all who’ve read our Go Long profile on the Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver — “I’m still alive:” The Zay Jones Story. If there’s interest from readers, I’d love to start trying something new here, too. Inside the Substack App, there’s a nifty chat function. That’s where we hang out each NFL Sunday, and it’s always a rip-roarin’ good time.

Now, I’ll start a thread for each one of our Friday Features.

That way, if you have any questions, any opinions to share, we’ll continue the conversation for as long as you’d like. We can chat about the story itself, the reporting/writing process, anything you want.

Feel free to join right here to chat about Zay Jones or below:

If you haven’t already, be sure to download the Substack app any time for a clean reading experience:

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Thanks again, everyone. It was a busy spring of reporting. Spent a great amount of time traveling the country for stories like this one. I cannot wait to share more profiles and penetrating deep dives on teams with you all.

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Good morning! It’s all quiet on the Packers’ front. We know Aaron Rodgers is out of his darkness retreat and, not going to lie, that Southern Oregon “cave” looked quite comfortable. We can safely assume the longtime starter is discussing his future with Green Bay’s front office.

In the meantime, I wanted to open up a space here for you to weigh in.

We’ve got many Packers fans here at Go Long and I’m sure even the general NFL fans have a strong opinion on the matter. So, what do you believe the Green Bay Packers should do? I ran an extremely scientific poll on Twitter and was surprised to see 73.1 percent of the 428 votes over a 24-hour period picked Jordan Love over Aaron Rodgers.

Unlike the Favre-to-Rodgers transition in 2008, GM Brian Gutekunst would likely have the support of his fan base.

Fire away below.

This all could go down soon, too. Make sure to upgrade your membership for all news and all analysis at GoLongTD.com:

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Miss any links from the week?

• It’s Jordan Love Time: A feature on why the Packers may be ready to — once and for all — turn the page. I chatted with everyone who knows Love best.

• More Packers, more QB talk: A position-by-position look at the team with Bob McGinn, including a ton of quarterback talk. McGinn also details the genesis of his reporting. (Not sure why comments weren’t working before. They’re open now.)

• Where will the quarterbacks land? Rodgers isn’t the only quarterback with an unknown future. On the main podcast, longtime NFC personnel man Jim Monos weighs in. Derek Carr, Daniel Jones, Lamar Jackson also have unknown futures. Monos shares his thoughts on Rodgers, too.

• Why the Packers will move on from Aaron Rodgers: Here’s McGinn’s initial report, a near-hour on what he’s hearing and why he believes Green Bay is prepared to move on.

We know the Bills and Chiefs and Eagles are the best of the best in the NFL. Beyond these three? It’s a total crapshoot. I’d still bank on everything Kevin O’Connell is building in Minnesota. They’re winning the games Mike Zimmer found a way to lose and that fourth-quarter feeling transcends analytics. We’ll have our revised midseason predictions live at Go Long later today.

Until then, I want to hear from you.

This league is currently drowning in parity. Which team will get hot right now to become a legit Super Bowl contender?

Perhaps the Packers still have time to figure it out…

Maybe Tua Tagovailoa is for real…

Possibly Geno Smith is enjoying himself a Rich Gannon-like renaissance…

And, hey, do not forget about those Giants…

Maybe it was a horizontal Ozzie Newsome in the end zone.

Or “Ghost to the Post.”

Or, heck, Butch Rolle catching a one-yard touchdown.

Enough of me blabbin’ about tight ends. Who is YOUR all-time favorite at this magnificent position? It could be a star, it could be a cult hero. Maybe you even have a story from the stadium to share or a singular highlight from a game that’s seared in your memory.

The floor is yours.

Pre-order “The Blood and Guts: How Tight Ends Save Football,” out Oct. 18, at Amazon and everywhere books are sold.

Good morning! Here’s a conversation worth some discussion.

There were a bunch of NFL teams last season — the Lions, Jaguars, Jets, Texans and Falcons — that slammed the reset button. A full year later, which is best positioned to elevate? Asking any of these teams to take a Bengals-sized leap is unrealistic, but could one of these teams make that trusty “In The Hunt” graphic in November? December?

Jamaal Williams is doing everything in his power to change the Lions. Here’s our conversation, icymi. As the running back eloquently stated: “If you ain’t down with this shit, if you ain’t down with what the coaches are talking about, if you ain’t down with what the players who are all in are talking about, if you ain’t down with this team, get the f--k out. Stay in the locker room. Let the real ones go out and let’s go f-----g play ball.”

There’s a lot to like about these Lions. They started in the trenches. This is one of the best offensive lines in the NFL and No. 2 overall pick Aidan Hutchinson could anchor the defensive line for a decade. Their plan is obviously to get around to the quarterback position when the time’s right. Nothing wrong will building from within until you did that guy.

Trevor Lawrence could be primed for a massive leap in Jacksonville. Doug Pederson gets the best out of his quarterbacks.

Atlanta? I’m not sure what the master plan is quite yet.

Also, as a reminder, we’d got a wild Zoom Happy Hour slated for Friday. Hang out with Richie Incognito right here with Go Long.

He sure didn’t disappoint last time. Ask him anything you’d like.

Can’t wait to dive back into our last Discuss topic, too. If you want to share your best football memory, fire away.

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We all have those fond memories that stick with us forever. Maybe it’s a game-winning touchdown in the corner of the Lambeau Field end zone right in front of you. Maybe you were one of those Bills fans on Jan. 3, 1993 climbing the fence to get back into The Comeback. Maybe it’s something as simple as enjoying your first beer at a tailgate with your dad.

Specific moments made us all fall in love with this sport.

A year ago, we had some fantastic responses here on the discussion forum. With this 2022 season closing in fast, let’s hear again.

What are your fondest memories as a football fan?

Good morning, everyone! (And, ICYMI, here are the details on this week’s special Zoom Happy Hour. We’ll welcome Wyatt Teller on this coming Saturday — he will not disappoint.)

This week’s Discuss question may seem straightforward but there are so many variables to consider.

Which of the five quarterbacks drafted in the first round last season takes the leap in 2022?

Trey Lance is in the best possible situation. Mac Jones made the playoffs as a rookie. Trevor Lawrence, the former Clemson champ, had the most talent coming in. Zach Wilson and Justin Fields are wild cards. I love what the Jets have done around Wilson — GM Joe Douglas is your official offseason MVP. The Bears? Eh. Luke Getsy should be a great teacher of the position, but they didn’t do their QB any favors personnel-wise.

We’ll get into it all on this thread, but I’ll still roll with Lance. He’s got the rare physical gifts to both shimmy and slam his way to 100 yards as a runner and do damage deep with his arm. With a full offseason to piece together a playbook, I’d put my money on Kyle Shanahan. It sure doesn’t hurt to have the best tight end in football (George Kittle), the most versatile threat in football (Deebo Samuel) and a damn good offensive line, too.

Have at it.

It all depends what you prefer as a consumer of this sport, right?

A showboating playmaker in the secondary. A tackling machine serving as the heartbeat of a defense. A pass rusher who’s batting around the quarterback all game. Maybe it’s raw toughness you seek, a badass like Ronnie Lott who’ll chop off his pinkie finger to keep playing.

There are many candidates: Reggie White, Lawrence Taylor, Dick Butkus, Deion Sanders, Deacon Jones, Mean Joe Greene, Ray Lewis, even Aaron Donald deserves to be on a short list at this point. And Buffalo Bills legend Bruce Smith — who has sacked more quarterbacks than anyone in NFL history — warrants a seat at the table. Nobody may ever touch his 200-sack mark, and let’s not forget he did all of his damage in a 3-4 scheme.

We had a Q&A with Smith here soon after launching and, this week, I added that conversation to the podcast feed. That audio is available on Apple and Spotify and the player embedded below. With July 4th around the corner, Smith’s wild stories about visiting troops in Iraq is worth revisiting. Once overseas, he thought he was under attack and Smith hit the deck.

When it came to football? His legacy? Bruce Smith will make you think…

“When we say that body of work, it wasn’t over four, five years or eight or nine years. We’re talking about a 19-year body of work. Nineteen years in a 3-4 defensive scheme, where when you put your hand in the dirt, that’s a man’s world. No disrespect to the wide receivers, to the defensive backs, running backs but when you play on the defensive line, that is a man’s world.

“How do I want to be remembered? This is not gloating or boasting or bragging. It’s just stating it: The all-time sack leader. More tackles in NFL history than any other defensive linemen who ever played in the game. So that body of work speaks for itself and I can leave it at that.”

Nor did Smith have the benefit of a dangerous pass rusher on the other side.

“You have to throw Reggie out there. Reggie had Clyde Simmons and Sean Jones. They both had over 110 sacks. I think Clyde had 113 and Sean Jones had 121. The closest I had was Phil Hansen who had 60.

“In a 3-4 defensive line, you’re known for making tackles. In a 4-3, you’re known for making sacks. But to have that combination of being able to do both speaks for itself.”

And his style of play?

“Totally and completely different than any other in that era. Leverage. Speed. Athleticism. Power. Agility. And I got a lot of those athletic qualities from playing basketball and having balance. And even though I was a bigger man, when I lost all of that weight, it provided me with endurance. Once I did that, that’s when I became a player who could play for a whole game and then when I put it together — the football IQ of being able to break down the strengths and weaknesses of an offensive lineman and then when I learned the tendencies of certain offenses when they lined up in certain formations from Chuck Lester and Ted Cottrell — that’s when that light switch went off and, as they say, the rest is history.”

The Buffalo Bills fans reading may have a Bruce Smith story or two to share. There’s a case to be made.

The vote here? Reggie White. He won defensive player of the year 11 years apart for two different teams, all while averaging an all-time best 0.85 sacks per game for his career. That’s nuts. His dominance was unparalleled and his willingness to play in Green Bay — the NFL’s Siberia at the advent of free agency — helped change the Packers franchise forever.

Let your voice be heard below. Thanks, everyone.

Welp. We have officially reached *that* point of the offseason, eh?

You know, when the hope and the hype tend to reach unhealthy extremes. It’s natural for optimism to reign this time of year and, holy, Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill did not hold back.

In comparing Derek Carr to Aaron Rodgers, the new Raiders wide receiver said, “As far as talent and ability, it’s really similar if I’m keeping it real.” Then, Hill ramped it up a notch on his new podcast. The new Dolphins receiver said Tua Tagovailoa is more accurate than Patrick Mahomes. “As far as accuracy-wise, I’m going with Tua all day,” he said.

Honestly, I don’t have any problem with this. What are they supposed to say? It’s smart to build up your quarterback, especially in Miami where Tagovailoa is trying to get his confidence back.

But, let’s have some fun. Unleash your wildest NFL opinion below.

Nothing is too far.

Also, a quick programming note: As a reminder, we’ll have former NFL GM Doug Whaley on a Zoom Happy Hour TONIGHT at 6 p.m. (EST). Details here.

Ryan Tannehill didn’t sugarcoat it on Tuesday. He does not plan to serve as a mentor to rookie Malik Willis. The quarterback’s comments rekindle memories of Brett Favre saying in 2005 that it wasn’t his job to mentor a young Aaron Rodgers. I have to think that — regardless of what a QB says at a podium — this is how all vets in Tannehill’s shoes feel. He’s no dummy. He sees that the Titans traded A.J. Brown when, in theory, they could’ve kept the wideout by restructuring Tannehill’s deal in a way that pushed his money down the line and locked him for multiple years.

Tennessee wisely doesn’t want to do that. Maybe Willis develops. Maybe not. But good on the Titans keeping their quarterback options open in 2023 and beyond. We’ve seen teams panic in this same situation by doubling down. Tannehill admitted in his presser that the Titans’ loss to Cincinnati sent him to a dark place and he sought therapy, but that loss forced the Titans to maintain some discipline at QB this offseason.

On to our question for you all…

How should a quarterback feel when a young gun dying to take his job is suddenly in his room?

Maybe the best way to think of this dynamic is if your boss brought in some hot shot out of college to potentially take your job. I’m guessing folks wouldn’t be going out of their way to be overly helpful. Then again, maybe that’s what leaders do. Eager to see what you think.

Very rarely is there this much mystery surrounding the No. 1 overall pick the week of the draft.

If you’ve been reading Bob McGinn’s nine-part series, you know a lot of that has to do with a lack of elite talent in the 2022 draft. By the sounds of it, many teams are trying to trade down.

Who do you expect the Jacksonville Jaguars to select No. 1 overall — Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson? Georgia’s Travon Walker? Someone else? Here is McGinn’s look at the edge rushers, icymi. Scouts are torn.

The Jaguars spent as much money as they could a month ago in free agency. A smart move with a talented quarterback on a rookie contract. Now, they’ve got to nail this pick.

Feel free to share how you see the top 10 picks going below, too. Not much of a #MockGuy myself, but they are fun.

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We all tend to be prisoners of the moment in the spring but it’s no hyperbole to declare the AFC West — by far — the best division in pro football. It’s not only about the quarterbacks, either. Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Russell Wilson and Derek Carr are four of the best but all four rosters loaded up at key positions in free agency.

Each team wields two premier pass rushers to get after these passers, too.

Not sure where I stand yet. Let’s see how the draft plays out. Right now, I’m bullish on the Wilson-Hackett partnership. Both sincerely eat, sleep and breathe the game and, I think, will find a way to stay a step ahead schematically. Denver’s supporting cast is strong, too. Of course the fella pictured above, Herbert, is ascending at a jarring rate and one of the best playcallers in the sport, Josh McDaniels, has a lot to work with in Vegas. I’ll also have a story on Carr soon at Go Long, examining a key turning point for the quarterback at Fresno State. What a relatable guy he is.

Let’s hear your thoughts.

Who do you like in this fight-to-the-death division?

The news was mildly surprising after we saw both the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers deal their No. 1 wide receivers. Despite having one of the game’s richest quarterbacks on the books, the Buffalo Bills have found a way to pay Stefon Diggs. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the extension is worth $104 million over four years.

Buffalo could’ve played hardball and gotten quite a haul for Diggs via trade but GM Brandon Beane is all in. This is an offense that hopes to play at 100 MPH as long as Josh Allen is the quarterback.

It’s Super Bowl-or-Bust in Buffalo now. Who could have imagined that during the drought? I imagine the Bills fans here will gladly choose this scenario over salary-cap discipline. Diggs turns 29 years old this season yet does a great job of keeping his body in shape. He’ll be a happy employee. And it should be noted that he asserted himself as a leader from Day 1. Here’s a story from the 2020 season, icymi.

Go Long

The Perfect Storm: How Stefon Diggs changed everything in Buffalo

This was the rare sports trade that lights up your phone, wakes you up and makes time stand still. The night of March 16 — at 10:33 p.m. — we all discovered that Stefon Diggs was heading to the Buffalo Bills. At which point, you instantly fell into one of two camps: You either viewed this as the signature move that’d put the…

Read more

5 years ago · 12 likes · 1 comment · Tyler Dunne

Let’s hear your thoughts on the contract and what this means for the Bills below…

Good morn, everyone! Things have a been a tick quieter here the last few days. We’ve got some big things cookin’ at Go Long and I cannot wait to share with everyone soon.

In the meantime, the NFL Owners Meetings are being held down in Florida.

This is when new, dumb rules are typically added to a rulebook that's about 987 pages too long. If there’s anything we don’t need in society, it’s more rules and regulation that confuse all involved. So, let’s hear your best change to the NFL below. Maybe there is something logical that must be changed. After that instant classic between Buffalo and KC in the playoffs, a tweak to OT seemed overdue but Mike Tomlin, for one, is a “sudden death advocate”, a “traditionalist.” I do respect not wanting to get too crazy. (Nobody likes the guy in your fantasy league proposing bizarre changes 17 minutes before your draft, right?)

Also, stay tuned for more from Jim Monos this week. The longtime personnel man will share some of his best stories from the draft for subscribers. Here’s his look at free agency last week, icymi.

Holy.

So, Deshaun Watson changed his mind, eh?

After apparently eliminating the Cleveland Browns as a potential suitor, the quarterback did a 180 and chose the Browns. He had a few reasons to change his mind, too — 230,000,000 to be exact. Several outlets have reported that Watson’s new five-year, $230 million contract is “fully guaranteed.” That’s $80 million more than the previous record for guaranteed money. In return, the Texans will reportedly receive three first-round picks and two additional picks. Earlier today, we took a look at Cleveland’s plight when it appeared Watson had narrowed his choice down to Atlanta and New Orleans.

But as the great Brian Johnson of AC/DC once said, money talks. This is an unbelievably steep price, but the Browns eventually gave the Texans and Watson offers they could not refuse.

Of course, this has been a complicated courtship for all teams. While cleared criminally, Watson is still facing 22 civil suits. The accusations are damning and Browns ownership must answer some difficult questions at the podium.

There’s never been any questioning Watson’s game. He’s one of the best players in the sport.

Let’s hear what you all think right here.

This is far from over.

The Saints and Panthers have reportedly sent offers to the Houston Texans for Deshaun Watson. Seattle has draft ammo now. Once this domino falls, Jimmy Garoppolo is likely on the move next, and then Mitchell Trubisky and Marcus Mariota become options. The draft is next month, too, and Go Long’s Bob McGinn talked at length to the scouts about this year’s class.

(It’s also worth tracking Tom Brady’s every move.)

But, so far, who has handled the quarterback position best this offseason? Let us know what you think in this week’s discussion forum below.

The Packers convinced Aaron Rodgers to stick around, bypassing an opportunity to map a new future with most any package of picks and players they could’ve demanded. They’ll take on salary cap problems down the line for at least one more shot at a ring. He’s a back-to-back MVP so, of course, you can follow the logic. Given the rest of the division is rebuilding — if this is purely about football — it was always best for Rodgers to stay, too. Green Bay should waltz to yet another division title.

Indianapolis decided to cut bait on Carson Wentz. Honestly, I’m surprised this pairing with Frank Reich did not pan out. GM Chris Ballard has done a lot right but, until he finds a quarterback, this team will remain in 9-win no man’s land. Is the third time a charm in Washington for Wentz?

Here’s thinking the Denver Broncos made out best. They’ve got a solid roster and a sneaky-good receiving corps. Russell Wilson immediately makes this team a legitimate contender — he and Nathaniel Hackett are kindred spirits. I don’t think I’ve met many people as passionate about the sport as these two. Their energy is real, and off the charts. Expect these two to spend long, long hours plotting a plan of attack together this offseason in an absolutely loaded AFC West.

The trade did not come cheap. But Wilson is worth it.

Good afternoon, friends! First of all, a hearty welcome to all of our new subscribers. It is great to have you on-board at Go Long. I’m blown away by your generosity. Thank you for making this newsletter part of your life — we’ll always pursue stories like this that get to the heart of difficult questions to answer in pro football.

Secondly, if Advil is needed, hopefully there’s a CVS around the corner. I get it. Many of you have reached out to say just how much “13 Seconds” still stings. That being said, I figured we’d open up a discussion thread here for you all to vent and share your thoughts on all things Bills, Sean McDermott, Josh Allen, whatever you’d like when it comes to this team with a clear Super Bowl window open. I’ll also do my best to answer any questions you have.

If you haven’t had a chance to read our story, you can ding this button below. We’d love to have you join our community:

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‘Tis the season for passive-aggressiveness! Russell Wilson is back at it, scrubbing his Twitter account of all things Seattle Seahawks. For a calculated guy, it’s no doubt an ultra-calculated move. Readers of Go Long may recall how close Wilson was to being a Chicago Bear in 2021.

So, let’s hear it. How will the quarterback dominoes fall this spring? The best guess here is that the last domino to tip in 2021 (Aaron Rodgers) is the first in 2022. All of the Green Bay Packers’ contract restructuring — and the return of Tom Clements — sure suggests Rodgers will be back with the Packers.

Where will Wilson land? And Deshaun Watson? And Jimmy Garoppolo? And… should we really believe Tom Brady is finished? This offseason could be one wild ride. Surely, there will be a player moved that we aren’t even talking about, too.

Fire away with your best predictions and/or what you want to see below.

“Perhaps the most appropriate way to characterize Rodgers’ 17-year career is post-season loser.”

Those were the final words of Bob McGinn’s blunt assessment of the Green Bay Packers quarterback. While Rodgers did lock up a fourth MVP, the latest hardware rings pretty hollow in his trophy case. Again, a season ended with playoff disappointment. This loss to the San Francisco 49ers was particularly listless, too. Whatever agreement Rodgers and Green Bay reached ahead of the 2021 season gave him the freedom to seek a trade in 2022. The ball’s in his court and, clearly, the Packers are doing everything they can to keep him.

The organization made it public it’ll pay him handsomely and even hired his old pal, Tom Clements, as quarterbacks coach. Green Bay isn’t shopping Rodgers but that’d obviously if the quarterback refuses to play for the team.

Essentially, there are two options at the moment:

1. Continue to do everything humanly possible for Rodgers to want to return an 18th season. Beg. Plead. Call. Text. Text again. Text a third time. Call once more. Hire Clements. Let Rodgers sign more of his buddies, like Randall Cobb, with a cozy seat right at that personnel table. Promise him his own street name off Oneida. Whatever.

2. Move on. Declare that Rodgers will only take you so far, rip the Band-Aid off and embrace a boatload of draft picks. Trading away an MVP may sound preposterous but the Packers could use that money to build on what’s a damn good defense and, finally, prepare for the future.

I’ve gotten the sense in this space that a lot of fans are ready to transition to a new era, take the draft picks, and start over given a decade of playoff losses. But, let’s hear it. He is the MVP. Maybe you like the Packers’ current approach.

Which option would you choose right now?