ESPN NFL reporter Jordan Raanan said earlier this month that it was “hard to envision” a healthy Daniel Jones not starting at quarterback for the New York Giants over backup Drew Lock in Week 1 this September.

NFL insider Connor Hughes of SNY offered an interesting update on the situation for a piece published on Friday.

“Big Blue will head into camp with Lock behind Jones,” Hughes wrote. “The whispers are getting louder that the quarterbacking depth chart is written in pencil, though. (Head coach Brian) Daboll will play the player he believes gives the Giants the best chance. Understandable, considering what might happen if things go poorly.”

Jones struggled when in the lineup last season, has dealt with two worrisome neck injuries since the fall of 2021 and is recovering from the torn right ACL he suffered on Nov. 5.

Some previously suggested Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen could play Lock over Jones so that Jones’ salary for 2025 doesn’t become guaranteed because of a new injury setback. Jones essentially is in a contract year, as the Giants can escape his deal next offseason.

Daboll and Schoen reportedly were scouting potential replacements for Jones as far back as early 2022 before the signal-caller guided the Giants to a road playoff win in January 2023. Schoen explored moving up from the sixth pick of this year’s draft to the No. 3 spot in an attempt to land Drake Maye, but the New England Patriots ultimately used that asset to grab the North Carolina quarterback.

“The idea of having someone around to push Jones is a good one,” Hughes continued. “The worry is that Lock isn’t a good enough option.”

A 2019 second-round draft pick, Lock has a career regular-season record of 9-14 as a starter. In total, he’s completed 59.7% of 786 career pass attempts for 5,283 yards with 28 touchdowns and 23 interceptions.

Jones seemingly is on track to be cleared in time for training camp, and he probably gives the Giants the best chance out of all of the quarterbacks on their roster to beat the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1 and the Washington Commanders in Week 2. If, however, he fails to win either of those games, Daboll could get Lock ready to play at the Cleveland Browns in Week 3 on Sept. 22.

As for Hughes’ “if things go poorly” line, Giants co-owner John Mara could give former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick a call if Big Blue is near the bottom of the overall NFL standings around Christmastime.

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It’s a good story when local players get drafted or sign with their hometown NFL teams, but there’s a lot of pressure and distractions that come along with it, too. In regards to the Steelers, it worked out well for Charlie Batch and Cam Heyward, and things have gone smoothly with Joey Porter Jr., but former Steelers center/guard A.Q. Shipley said in a recent interview that getting drafted by his hometown team was the worst thing that could’ve happened to him. “It was a dream come true. It was like, that’s where I wanted to be. Mike Webster was the epitome of, when I become a center that’s where I want to be,” Shipley said during an appearance on the NetWorth podcast with offensive lineman Justin Pugh via Joe Clark of Steelers Depot. “And then you got all the history of Pittsburgh centers with Mike Webster, Dermontti Dawson and then Jeff Hartings before that when they won the Super Bowl. And I get, and I’m like, ‘Oh, this is gonna be great.’ And then it was the worst thing for me. I’m back home, I’m back home in a comfortable environment, I’m back home around my family, I can kind of lean on them. And I’m one of the guys that like, I do best when I’m away from everything. When you put me in a dungeon, and I have to focus on something, that’s when I do best.” Shipley, who starred at Moon High School and Penn State, was drafted by the Steelers in the seventh round (226th overall) in the 2009 NFL Draft. He was a member of the Steelers’ practice squad for just one season before signing a three-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles in January 2010. He also had short stints with the Indianapolis Colts (on two separate occasions) and Baltimore Ravens before playing five seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. From 2015 to 2019, he started 51 games at center for Arizona. Shipley finished his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who won the Super Bowl in 2020-21. Overall, Shipley played 110 games and made 72 starts in his 12-year career. That’s certainly not bad for a seventh-round draft pick. Shipley isn’t the only local product to express concerns about playing in the NFL close to home. Former Ohio State standout quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who played high school football just outside of Pittsburgh at Jeannette, had similar statements as Shipley during a 2016 interview with Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. Pryor clarified that he didn’t want to play for the hometown Steelers in 2011 because of the pressure and distractions. “Coming out of the supplemental draft, we talked about them possibly drafting me,” Pryor said in 2016 via ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler. “I just told them, it’s pretty close to home and I play quarterback, I didn’t feel comfortable playing there at quarterback because of all the people I know and people know me. It can get messy. The focus can’t be there. I kind of told them, as much as I wanted to play there, because obviously it’s a great organization, at the same time it probably wouldn’t have worked out because there would have been a lot of focus issues, probably.” According to Pryor at the time, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said he would take Pryor, but with a caveat. “Mike said, ‘Hey, I’ll draft you if you want to play here,’” Pryor said at the time, according to Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “But he gave me a story when he was in Tampa Bay about a quarterback who was in the same hometown as his NFL team and it was hard for him.” “I don’t know what the guys up top were thinking, but Coach Tomlin gave me an opportunity if I wanted to. I ended up saying no because, at a young age, I didn’t want to be near home and having distractions around me.” Later in his career, Pryor wanted to sign with the Steelers after moving to wide receiver, but the homecoming never came to fruition.

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Coming into the 2023 season, all eyes for the New York Yankees were on outfielder Juan Soto. They made a blockbuster trade to acquire him from the San Diego Padres before the season began, putting them on the clock immediately. There was some risk in acquiring Soto, as he is going to be a free agent after the 2024 season. As a Scott Boras client, it is a near certainty that he will be hitting the open market in search of the most lucrative deal. Given how well he is playing this season, the New York Yankees are going to have to pony up a massive contract. Several teams will be in the running to sign him, as 26-year-old superstars rarely hit free agency. Alas, Soto isn’t the only key New York Yankees playing hitting free agency after the season. Joining him is second baseman Gleyber Torres. Torres, who made his debut in pinstripes during the 2018 season, was a highly regarded prospect with the Chicago Cubs who was acquired in the Aroldis Chapman blockbuster back in 2016. He has certainly had his moments with the team, as he was an All-Star in his first two seasons in the big leagues. However, Torres has been unable to reach that level since, which has clouded his future with the franchise. In the opinion of Brendan Kuty of The Athletic, Torres won’t be with the New York Yankees for much longer. Answering questions in a recent mailbag piece, Kuty revealed a bold prediction that the team will not make much of an effort to retain Torres this offseason. “The numbers going into Wednesday (.214 average, two homers, 10 RBIs, .569 OPS) were atrocious…The guess here is that Torres isn’t in pinstripes beyond this season,” wrote Kuty. It is certainly hard to argue against that. Torres is not hitting much this season and Kuty believes if this level of production continues, he won’t be in the starting lineup by the time the summer rolls around. Things could certainly get difficult for Torres once DJ LeMahieu returns from the injured list. Capable of playing all over the infield, the New York Yankees could opt to get him regular at-bats once he is up to speed, should he play well, cutting into the playing time of Torres.

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Looking for a ticket for a ticket to September’s Eagles-Packers game? Have your passport handy and get ready to pay through the nose. According to USA Today, the average NFL ticket cost $377 last year, up from $235 in 2022. In 2024 roughly a dozen of NFL teams announced they would be raising ticket prices this coming season, including the Detroit Lions who raised prices by an average of 30% with some tickets seeing an 85% increase. That’s nothing compared to what it will take to see the NFL’s first international game of 2024, though. In a recent email from NFL.com, Eagles and Packers fans were given a chance to buy tickets to see their favorite teams open their seasons in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Hopefully, they don’t mind opening their wallets. Here’s what fans can expect to pay: $1,545 | Game ticket only | Fans of both teams should expect to spend at least one Grover Cleveland and William McKinney if they want a seat to the game. The price does cover “pregame hospitality” for both sides, though someone will have to explain why Packers fans receive lower-level end-zone tickets while Eagles fans are seated in the upper regions of Corinthians Arena. How do you say, “Lambeau Leap” in Portuguese? $3,500-$3,540 | Three-night hotel stay and single game ticket | Eagles fans can enjoy game day transportation and three nights at Hotel Melia Paulista while Packers fans will pay $40 more to stay at Hotel Jardim. Serves them right for getting end-zone seats. $5,450-$5,730 | Airfare, four-night hotel stay and single game ticket | Eagles fans are technically closer and catch a break on airfare. Packers fans must travel to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport while Eagles fans will leave from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. $3,040 | Extras | For just a bit more, fans can spend an extra three days (two nights) in Rio De Janeiro and see Christ the Redeemer as well as the famous Dona Marta Observatory. That’s quite an investment for two of the NFL’s most loyal fan bases. Here’s hoping the game is worth the price.

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Pittsburgh Steelers beat reporter Brooke Pryor of ESPN recently mentioned that she thinks head coach Mike Tomlin will hold at least somewhat of a legitimate competition for the club’s starting quarterback job this summer between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. ESPN NFL insider Field Yates of ESPN had a similar take to Pryor’s during the latest edition of the “Football Today” podcast. “It’s not a certainty that Russell Wilson is a starting quarterback in Week 1,” Yates said, as shared by Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot. “Not a certainty at all. And words are simply words right now from the Steelers.” Such “words” have been used by Steelers HC Mike Tomlin, who has repeatedly said this spring that Wilson was in the “pole position” to earn the job after the 35-year-old signal-caller signed a team-friendly deal to join the Steelers shortly before they acquired Fields from the Chicago Bears for a conditional 2025 sixth-round draft pick. The Steelers aren’t married to either player beyond the upcoming season, though. And some think Pittsburgh could release Wilson before Week 1 if he loses the job to Fields during the preseason. “I just think at some point this season they’re going to have to give Justin Fields a look unless Russell Wilson’s playing unbelievable football,” Yates said. CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco and Chris Mason of MassLive are among noteworthy members of the NFL media community convinced that Wilson’s days of “unbelievable football” are in his past. According to Pro Football Reference, Wilson ended the 2023 regular season ranked 22nd in the NFL among qualified players with a 50.7 adjusted QBR and tied for 23rd with a 43.3% passing success rate. Over his final 15 games with the Denver Broncos, he tossed 26 touchdown passes and eight interceptions. It has been noted since Wednesday that the second half of the Steelers’ 2024 schedule is brutal for any team. Thus, Tomlin and company may have nothing to lose in giving Fields a look in early December if Wilson fails to impress after the team’s Week 9 bye. “This does not strike me as a roster that is good enough around the quarterbacks to carry average quarterback play to a dominant season,” Yates added about the Steelers. At this point, it’s unclear if either Wilson or Fields can give Pittsburgh “average quarterback play” in the system that offensive coordinator Arthur Smith plans to feature.