The 2023 regular season is just around the corner, and 国产外流网Network has you covered with wall-to-wall training camp coverage each day starting at 10 a.m. ET. Follow along here for some of the best sights, sounds and moments from "Inside Training Camp Live" and around the NFL.
Joey Porter Jr. looking to live up to his name
The stars aligned in April for Pittsburgh to draft the son of longtime Steelers linebacker Joey Porter, creating one of the more endearing storylines from the 2023 国产外流网Draft. But now there's work to do for Joey Porter Jr.
Joining Inside Training Camp Live on Tuesday, veteran Patrick Peterson says the rookie cornerback is working hard on and off the field to prepare for the season.
"Joey is just a sponge. Joey loves the game. Joey wants to be a guy that's recognized in this game," Peterson told 国产外流网Network's Colleen Wolfe and Brian Baldinger. "He's asking me questions each and every day -- you guys are gonna see today when we have downtime -- he's asking me how he can get better with his technique. Like I told him when we first got here: He's the future. At some point, you're going to be out there on the field and you're going to have to take the bull by the horns. And not only take the bull by the horns, but be able to help the other guys come along as well."
Peterson, an eight-time Pro Bowler, is an ideal brain for Porter to pick. The 33-year-old knows the ins and outs of the CB position more than most current players and his arrival in Pittsburgh comes just in time to aid Porter's transition into the NFL.
"No doubt about it and that's the Steeler way," he said of mentoring Porter Jr. "For me, being the people person that I am, I just fell right into it. I want to see the next generation be successful, I want to see the guy behind me become better as well because you never know when we might need him."
Peterson told ITC Live that he's always wanted to play for Mike Tomlin and is happy to reunite with Steelers secondary coach Grady Brown (former college coach at LSU). Peterson also has family ties in Pittsburgh in Bryant McFadden, a former Steeler who won two Super Bowls in the Steel City. It appears Porter's fate wasn't the only chance happening in Pittsburgh.
A Method to the Jets' madness
Method Man, one of the more popular members of the rap group the Wu-Tang Clan, joined Inside Training Camp Live on Tuesday during his visit to Florham Park, New Jersey, and is beginning to feel the hype upon the arrival of Aaron Rodgers.
"It's good to see excitement around a team that has ran into a lot of adversity over the years," Method Man told 国产外流网Network's Rhett Lewis and Steve Smith. "Being a season ticket-holder as well as a lifelong Jets fan, it's great to see it."
Asked for a lyric of his that best describes the 2023 Jets, Method Man keenly delivered one that parallels Robert Saleh's "All Gas, No Brake" mantra.
"How high? So high that we can touch the sky, baby," he said. "When they go low, we go lower. When they go high, we go higher. When they go hard, we go harder."
A Jets fan since he was 8 years old, Method Man called for the team to sign free-agent running back Dalvin Cook -- who visited N.Y. over the weekend -- and took a jab at the rival Patriots.
Like many around the league, Method Man has high expectations for the Gang Green.
"I don't want to put numbers on it, but 11-6 would be great, as well as a nice playoff push," he said. "Let's spoil some Super Bowl dreams for some teams down there."
Iron sharpens iron in Florham Park
The Aaron Rodgers influx brought along friends from Green Bay and attracted other free-agent veterans this offseason, and the stacked Jets roster is influencing a healthy competition during training camp.
Allen Lazard is one of the new wideouts finding out just how good the Jets' budding secondary is becoming, with cornerback Sauce Gardner leading the charge. According to Lazard, the resistance in practice is helping a retooled receiving corps that includes newcomers like Randall Cobb and Mecole Hardman.
"You can't take a rep off, especially when you go against guys like Sauce Gardner, D.J. Reed," Lazard said on Inside Training Camp Live Tuesday. "Guys are really savvy with their techniques, and they're hip to what we're trying to do as an offense in our stems, our reads, the depth of our reps and stuff. So, it's making us better every single day, especially the younger guys, I feel like. You see the growth and understanding of being able to expand their game, switch up their releases, switch up the tempos in their routes and just be able to go out there and make plays."
Gardner is one of two Jets that won a Rookie of the Year award in 2022 along with WR Garrett Wilson, who is expected to return to practice this weekend after nursing a low ankle sprain. Gardner's emergence allowed Robert Saleh's attacking defense to pin its ears back in 2022, and it figures to only get better with several additions along the defensive line.
Quinton Jefferson is one of those newcomers. The former Seahawk had high praise for Gardner, comparing the second-year cover man to Richard Sherman, and then some.
"He reminds me of Sherm with a little bit more athleticism," Jefferson said on ITC Live. "And he's like 6-2, like they made him in a lab."
The Jets defensive lineman went on to say that the offense isn't the only one learning from the competitive practices.
"That man is special. I've played with a lot of great quarterbacks -- he's on a different level," Jefferson said of Rodgers. "Just the way he comes in, the way he communicates, the way he diagnoses -- he knows what we're doing -- and it's kind of hard because we want to disguise but he's calling out the pressure. And a lot of people don't realize, especially from a D-line's perspective, he has the best cadence ever. I have to really teach myself, like I can't really listen to his voice inflections because this man's cadence is off the chain. I've never seen so many guys jump in a camp."
Justin Fields fueling excitement in Chicago
Excitement is billowing in Chicago despite the Bears owning the league's worst record in 2022. The promising play from quarterback Justin Fields last season is to blame.
Bears head coach Matt Eberflus joined Inside Training Camp Live on Tuesday to expand on Fields' development entering his third season in the league.
"I just think it's the experience factor," Eberflus told 国产外流网Network's Stacey Dales and Scott Pioli. "He's in the offense one more year and he's doing a really good job of taking all the concepts in, as he did last year, but it's his second time through it."
Eberflus indicated that the weapons Bears general manager Ryan Poles got this offseason portend to aid Fields' advancement in Year 3. Chicago traded its No. 1 overall pick to get Fields a true No. 1 wide receiver in DJ Moore and added tight end Robert Tonyan via free agency. The additions complement a talented group of weapons that already includes WR Chase Claypool, WR Darnell Mooney and TE Cole Kmet.
"I would say it's a good mix of skill," Eberflus said of Fields' revamped receiving corps. "You have DJ -- everybody knows DJ -- he's played in the league a long time, he's very powerful, very strong. You got a big athlete like Claypool that's a big target. And then Mooney. Mooney's got that quickness and sliver and that top-end speed to take the top off. So, those guys are really impressive and then you add in the tight ends. With Cole and Bobby, that's an exciting piece, too, because those guys are two different types. You got a guy that could play inline, and you also got a guy that can flex out and go to different spots. So, that creates a lot of different mismatches for the defense and creates some headaches."
Fields made waves last season with his legs, setting a single-game QB record with 178 rushing yards and becoming just the third signal-caller in 国产外流网history to eclipse the 1,000-yard rushing mark. The 24-year-old also showed great improvement passing the ball in comparison to his rookie season and the Bears have set him up for success to put it all together in 2023.
Damar Hamlin makes a play
Damar Hamlin's inspiring comeback story now has an on-field highlight.
The Buffalo Bills safety picked off an errant pass from quarterback Matt Barkley during practice on Tuesday and nearly made it a pick-six.
Just yesterday, Hamlin's remarkable journey back to the field took a crucial step when he suited up in pads for the first time since suffering a cardiac arrest during a game on Jan. 2. Tuesday's highlight is a great sign for the 25-year-old as he aims to complete one of the more extraordinary comebacks in sports.
Javonte Williams champing at the bit for return
Broncos running back Javonte Williams is ready to resume his promising career. Ten months removed from the torn ACL he suffered last season, Williams said he's feeling "really good" a week into training camp, but he's looking to show more.
"Really, they're trying to hold me back -- I want to keep going," he told 国产外流网Network's James Palmer on Inside Training Camp Live.
Denver has plenty of good reason to be patient with the 2021 second-round pick at this stage. Williams became the featured back of the Broncos offense in 2022 following a rookie season where he gained 1,219 scrimmage yards (903 rushing, 316 receiving; seven total touchdowns) as the change-of-pace back (one start). The North Carolina product earned the starting role this time last year and was poised to be the workhorse back before the season-ending injury reared its head in Week 4. His absence would eventually doom the Broncos offense for the rest of 2022.
With Sean Payton arriving in Denver ahead of this season, Williams is looking forward to exploiting an offensive system that has generated highly productive RBs like Alvin Kamara, Mark Ingram and Deuce McAllister. But before that can happen, Williams is clearing hurdles along the way.
"Yeah, I'm ready to go. Everything is feeling good," Williams said about potentially starting Week 1. "This is probably the biggest hurdle I was working on, just putting all the pads back on feeling the weight, the heat, things like that. But I mean, everything has been feeling good, so I feel like I'm ready to go."
Peyton Manning passes along wisdom in Green Bay
Peyton Manning appeared in Packers camp on Monday, and head coach Matt LaFleur gave a sneak peak into the the on-field lessons he learned from the Hall of Fame quarterback.
"I told the team this: In 2008 was the first time, I was with the Houston Texans, and we're playing Indy, we're up 17 late in the fourth quarter and we watch this guy bring his team back and beat us in a two-minute drive," LaFleur told reporters on Tuesday. "[Manning] scored 21 points, basically, in about a five-minute span. It was a great lesson early in my coaching career that you've got to play until that clock says zero.
"I'll never forget sitting up in that press box when we're up 27-10, thinking, 'Oh my gosh, we're going to beat the Indianapolis Colts' only to see it evaporate quickly. It was a tough lesson to learn but it was one of those necessary things that we all have to go through."
The wisdom passed along went both ways, according to LaFleur.
"It was great," he said. "He addressed our team (about) the lessons he learned, especially as a young player, how to respond to adversity, the great teams he was on, his approach to the game. I thought it was super beneficial. Certainly, you're talking about one of the all-time greats."
LaFleur deflected when asked if Manning's visit had anything to do Netflix's Quarterbacks -- a show he produces that debuted in July -- but as the Packers enter a new era with QB Jordan Love at the helm in 2023, the table is already set for an intriguing storyline.
