Buccaneers
Hall of Fame WR Jerry Rice has held the record for most consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons since 1996, but told Buccaneers WR Mike Evans that he is pulling for him to break his record.
“Being able to sit down and talk to the greatest receiver ever was pretty humbling,” Evans reflected, via Jenna Laine of ESPN. “The things he had to say about me — it was a great moment for me. … That’s another thing that was humbling about it — how he [received] me. He showed me love, so that was really cool.”
“You perfected just route running in general,” Evans told Rice. “But the post-corner is to me your best route, and I’ve learned how to run that route because of you. You got to be able to sell routes. You got to make the opponent believe your first cut is really where you’re going to get the ball.”
Evans was asked about the possibility of retiring at the end of this season.
“I honestly haven’t even thought about [the future],” Evans replied. “I just thought about having a great year this year, and we’ll see what happens.”
Panthers
The Panthers picked up OLB Nic Scourton in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Scourton wants to find any way to get on the field as a rookie, including playing special teams.
“Coming in, I had a mentality like, all right, I want to play early, and these guys have been doing it, so I got — especially that OLB room, like JJ (Jansen) telling me about the special teams, that’s another way I can get on the field,” Scourton said, via Kassidy Hill of the team’s site.
Scourton plans on taking the same approach as he did during his college career at Purdue and Texas A&M, which is to study film during his own time at home.
“I guess it’s like, I never had a problem with this. I kind of do the same thing since I was in college, by prioritizing going home and watching tape on my couch, go and watch the tape, and then just living in football. Literally, whenever I get home, I just go in. I have a little room where I have a TV, and I just watch practice, and then I watch the plays we’re going to have the next day. I just love to watch pass rushers. Like I always have football playing.”
Scourton admits he’s never been the most talented player, but makes up for it with his effort.
“I’m not, like, I’ve never been the most talented person on the field, but I just play hard, and I like let it compete so, you know, it makes up for a lot of things I don’t have in the department,” Scourton said.
Saints
Saints DL Bryan Bresee was among the best pass rushers in the league as a defensive tackle with 7.5 sacks last season. Bresee said they plan on lining him up further outside, which could make him even more effective against the pass.
“Lining up outside on a tackle or whatever, there’s more room,” Bresee said, via Luke Johnson of NOLA.com. “You’re able to move more, there’s more space. Most of the time, your double teams are not a guard and a tackle, it’s a tackle and a tight end.”
Saints’ veteran DE Cam Jordan is confident that moving Bresee out wide will create more mismatches.
“Head up on a tackle, you’re no longer splitting the guard and center,” Jordan said. “You’re not playing nose, you’re not playing 0 (technique), which is right above the center. Now you’re getting a lot more one-on-ones. And you’re telling me Bryan Bresee versus anybody one-on-one? I like Bryan Bresee.”
Bresee reiterated that DC Brandon Staley‘s system will line him up “in different places.”
“It’s just so many different variables than what you’re used to,” Bresee said. “There will be different opportunities for me to line up in different places. That just kind of comes with the scheme.”
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