Chris Jones-Imagn Images The latest Dallas Cowboys training camp news is here. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says there’s ‘nothing new’ in Micah Parsons contract talks – Associated Press, NFL.com In this case, no news is not necessarily good news, as the Cowboys refuse to learn the lesson of what happens when waiting to pay top players. With his player personnel duties seemingly not changing anytime soon, Jones remains focused on how to get the Cowboys back to the Super Bowl. That seems unlikely to happen anytime soon without a happy, healthy and productive Micah Parsons in the fold, and the star defender’s contract dispute was primary topic of discussion Monday before the start of training camp. “There’s nothing new about what we’re talking about here today relative to contracts. That’s been going on a long time now,” Jones said. “If you say, well, if you don’t get him in you’re going to lose the first two games, then go on to win the Super Bowl, well, we’ll take that,” he continued, referencing running back Emmitt Smith’s 1993 holdout. There were no updates on Parsons’ on-field status from Jones, executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones or new coach Brian Schottenheimer ahead of the team’s annual, nearly monthlong stop in Ventura County. It’s the second straight offseason where financial dealings with standout players risk overshadowing the Cowboys’ football preparations. Jerry Jones’ training camp comments on contract negotiations prove Cowboys still don’t get it – David Howman, Blogging The Boys A drama-free start to Cowboys camp in Oxnard will have to wait yet another year, as heated contract talks are once again the opening headline. For Jones, he feels entitled to have his players make as little money as possible for as long as possible so he can (theoretically) spend more money on more players. Just like the Cowboys did when Dak Prescott was on a fourth-round rookie salary for four years and decided they needed to cut Dez Bryant because they could get by with Deonte Thompson. Right? Jones believes in the player essentially serving out the entirety of their contract before getting a new one, which is how things were done back in the 90’s (an era he can’t stop talking about) but now how they’re done in 2025. It’s why Jerry and Stephen are comfortable with taking so long to pay their players; philosophically, they don’t seem to believe they even should be extending their players as soon as possible. Jones went on to specifically admit his non-belief in the basic concept of inflation with regards to the football market. There’s a lot of reasons why this whole business of thinking “well, my goodness, it’s pretty obvious to me everything goes up, so why don’t you catch it when it’s low?” Have you ever thought that when it’s low, they’re counting on it going up? And those are the numbers coming out? Not the ones that are going on right then. Have you ever thought about that? I’d say ninety percent of the time they’re not dealing with you in those numbers today, they’re dealing with projected numbers which, honestly, usually have more fluff than reality. They’ve usually got an expectation that those numbers are going to be higher than they are. What Jones is more or less arguing here is that players are negotiating with the belief that the market is rising and, therefore, they should be paid more relative to the market. Not unlike the cost of living adjustments that are present in most day-job compensation plans, which makes sense. Instead, Jones believes that these players who see a rising market are actually just looking at pie in the sky numbers, and that Jones is savvy enough to know that he can just wait and get these players inked to a cheaper deal once those numbers are exposed for being said pie in said sky. The problem is that second part never happens, because he is wrong. Jerry Jones ‘Not the least concerned’ on contract talks, takes shot at Parsons, Prescott – Todd Brock, The Cowboys Wire The drama did not nearly stop with just Micah Parsons, as even Dak Prescott and others were looped in as well. Parsons, who has made the Pro Bowl in all four of his seasons thus far, is widely expected to become the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL at some point. Many thought that point would have already come by now, as the 26-year-old has made no bones about wanting to get a deal done earlier rather than later. But such is not the way the Cowboys like to do business. “I am not the least concerned about having any dangling participles out here on a contract,” Jerry said, using a somewhat out-of-place grammar reference to make his point. While Cowboys fans would have liked the Ts to have been crossed and the Is to have been dotted long ago for the best defender in the game, the Cowboys owner maintains that he’s not the least bit frustrated that Parsons isn’t locked up to a long-term pact. “Not at all,” he explained, flashing back to times it has all worked out in the past between the club and holdout stars. “Two years ago we were here, and I think Zack Martin wasn’t here, and you had a situation although he had a contract. You work through that.” Micah Parsons sends loud and clear message to Matt Eberflus right before camp – Jerry Trotta, The Landry Hat On the football side of things, there is the fact Micah Parsons is starting his third straight season with a new defensive coordinator and scheme, this time former Cowboys LB coach Matt Eberflus. Speaking on behalf of Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu in NFL Network’s Top 100 countdown, Parsons praised Dan Quinn’s system and how it allowed him to move around the line of scrimmage. “That Dan Quinn system, I miss them days being off the ball and you get them one-on-ones on the back

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images Jerry Jones seemed to take a shot at Trevon Diggs and Terence Steele during Monday’s press conference. The Dallas Cowboys held their annual press conference to kick off training camp in Oxnard, California on Monday and things were rather chalk, for them. You can catch up on the updates from it here. There were referenced to Jerry Jones’ appearance on Landman, the upcoming Netflix special on the 1990s Cowboys and even a question about Jerry and being a cartoon character. Like I said, it was chalk for them. As you can imagine there were a lot of questions for the brain-trust about Micah Parsons, his pending contract extension, why it still hasn’t been done and everything under that sun. The front office did their best to avoid any sort of answer as negotiations are obviously still underway. There were a lot of questions on this front so things got a bit monotonous and repetitive. At one point a question was posed as to why players like Trevon Diggs and Terence Steele received extensions earlier in the process (from an overall time perspective) than players like Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and obviously Parsons. Jerry Jones thought long and hard for a second and responded with a question. He asked the reporter, Joe Hoyt of The Dallas Morning News, as to whether or not the Cowboys should have signed either player. Jerry Jones on what the difference is with Cowboys players who get deals early like Trevon Diggs and Terence Steele: Frankly… should we have waited on Diggs and Steele? — RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) July 21, 2025 To be clear, Diggs and Steele have both underperformed in certain respects since signing their respective extensions with the team. But for the team’s owner, general manager and president to imply this so publicly, and do it so matter-of-factly, was quite the choice to say the least. It hardly establishes a spirit of good will and probably (one would assume) upset Diggs or Steele, presuming they ultimately find out about it. This is, to say the least, a unique way of doing business. Obviously the Cowboys have made that their style over the years, but this one sort of took the cake.

Tim Heitman-Imagn Images The Cowboys just don’t get it. The Dallas Cowboys are in Oxnard, California, which means they kicked off their first training camp of the Brian Schottenheimer era on Monday. While there’s a new coaching staff, it was the same old talking points at the kickoff press conference, with Jerry Jones fielding multiple questions about yet another superstar player whose contract negotiations are still ongoing after months of anticipation. This time, though, Jones was specifically pressed by multiple reporters in attendance for his willingness to take his time on negotiations with players like Micah Parsons. At one point, he left everyone speechless when he implied regret for being aggressive in his early extensions for Trevon Diggs and Terence Steele. Then, Jones elaborated a bit on his philosophy of dragging out contract extension talks, and the ramifications of it were the most alarming part of anything said on Monday. One of the things that exacerbates this is that you have a kind of policy or a practice to have contracts, but have like it’s some kind of obligation to do something before the contract is over. In other words, not have the benefit of the contract. Well that goes completely against the benefit of the club… So there’s a lot of reasons, timing is a lot of reasons… why would you go out and, basically, spend money just to spend money and not have had to spend it [when] you can spend it three years later. Money costs money. These comments essentially sum up the issue so many have with the Cowboys’ overall approach to the contract negotiation process. For Jones, he feels entitled to have his players make as little money as possible for as long as possible so he can (theoretically) spend more money on more players. Just like the Cowboys did when Dak Prescott was on a fourth-round rookie salary for four years and decided they needed to cut Dez Bryant because they could get by with Deonte Thompson. Right? Jones believes in the player essentially serving out the entirety of their contract before getting a new one, which is how things were done back in the 90’s (an era he can’t stop talking about) but now how they’re done in 2025. It’s why Jerry and Stephen are comfortable with taking so long to pay their players; philosophically, they don’t seem to believe they even should be extending their players as soon as possible. Jones went on to specifically admit his non-belief in the basic concept of inflation with regards to the football market. There’s a lot of reasons why this whole business of thinking “well, my goodness, it’s pretty obvious to me everything goes up, so why don’t you catch it when it’s low?” Have you ever thought that when it’s low, they’re counting on it going up? And those are the numbers coming out? Not the ones that are going on right then. Have you ever thought about that? I’d say ninety percent of the time they’re not dealing with you in those numbers today, they’re dealing with projected numbers which, honestly, usually have more fluff than reality. They’ve usually got an expectation that those numbers are going to be higher than they are. What Jones is more or less arguing here is that players are negotiating with the belief that the market is rising and, therefore, they should be paid more relative to the market. Not unlike the cost of living adjustments that are present in most day-job compensation plans, which makes sense. Instead, Jones believes that these players who see a rising market are actually just looking at pie in the sky numbers, and that Jones is savvy enough to know that he can just wait and get these players inked to a cheaper deal once those numbers are exposed for being said pie in said sky. The problem is that second part never happens, because he is wrong. Go back, again, to Prescott. The Cowboys tagged their quarterback twice before agreeing to a deal, and it was often reported around that time that Prescott was looking for something similar to Russell Wilson’s deal that paid an average of $35 million a year. Prescott reportedly turned down offers of both $30 million and $33 million, and by the time he actually signed an extension – during which time many other quarterbacks had signed market-resetting deals – Prescott hit the $40 million average. Just a few weeks later, Josh Allen signed a new deal with the Bills that paid him an average of $43 million a year, easily surpassing Prescott’s deal. The market continued to rise and quarterbacks continued to get paid pie-in-the-sky numbers and now Prescott is making $60 million a year, most in the league, for the same reason. Because they waited and waited, hoping the number would go down. Instead, big extensions came for Jared Goff, Tua Tagovailoa, and Jordan Love. Not only did the number not go down, as Jones seems to believe it always does, but it went up. Simply put, the Cowboys front office does not get it. They’re living in an imaginary world where players can be talked into a lower number when the reality is that every player out there – or, more realistically, every agent out there – knows that the market keeps going up and, in turn, so should the money in their own pocket. That’s why so many teams now choose to extend their players as soon as they possibly can. Jones doesn’t seem to care, perhaps believing he’s the smartest one in the room despite reigning over a team with the longest NFC Championship Game drought in football. That’s a bleak reality for fans as they continue to hope that Micah Parsons will remain a Cowboy for the foreseeable future.

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images Jerry Jones stirred the pot on Monday and Micah Parsons paid attention. The Dallas Cowboys held their annual press conference to kick off training camp and it was a doozy to say the least. Brian Schottenheimer talked a bit about what he envisions for his football team, but that was a footnote relative to Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones holding court. The Cowboys owner(s) fielded all sorts of questions about how their star pass rusher, Micah Parsons, still does not have a contract extension and how waiting on these types of things has not exactly gone well for the franchise in recent memory. As they pontificated throughout the presser, at a certain point the idea of Parsons “holding in” (as in being present at training camp but not practicing to avoid injury) was being discussed by Schottenheimer. Jerry Jones interrupted to note that just because the Cowboys might have Parsons (referencing a deal hypothetically being done) may not mean he would be available. Jerry said what he meant was that Parsons missed six games last year (it was four) and inferred that he was unreliable in that sense. Obviously that is an unwise thing to say in general, but particularly about someone with an enormous amount of leverage against you. NFL people were reacting to it on social media afterwards, including former NFL star J.J. Watt. Watt noted that Jerry’s comment was unwise. What is notable about what Watt said is that Micah Parsons reposted it, seemingly agreeing with it. *NOW* we’re talking. this is what it’s all about. pic.twitter.com/sD0zbLSO9f — Dave Helman (@davehelman_) July 21, 2025 It was last year during training camp that CeeDee Lamb had a repost himself after Jerry Jones made a comment about him when he (Lamb) was holding out. As predicted, Lamb ultimately got the deal that he wanted which made all of the posturing look even sillier. To be clear the Cowboys have not even held a training camp practice and will do so for the first time on Tuesday. But until a Parsons extension is signed, it is going to be the dominating story of all things Cowboys.

Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images Here is everything you need to know about the Cowboys’ opening press conference from Oxnard. The Dallas Cowboys are in Oxnard and training camp has officially begun. Each and every year the team’s arrival in California signals that football is finally (at long last) upon us. This season is no different as the team reported on Sunday and will have their first practice on Tuesday. We are rocking and rolling. Monday though marked an important moment for the franchise as the team’s brain trust held their annual press conference to kick off camp. There are a few pressers that stand out relative to others for the Cowboys in a given year and this is certainly one of them. It serves as a “State of the Union” for the team, so to speak, ahead of a season’s beginning. Below we will be providing quotes, updates and notable remarks as they happen in real time. Obviously if you are finding this later on Monday afternoon or evening, or some time after that, it is all in the past. Let’s go.

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images It is officially training camp season for the Dallas Cowboys. We did it. At long last the offseason is over and training camp is here for the Dallas Cowboys. The first practice will take place tomorrow, but the team is moving and operating within the confines of Oxnard, California and that is simply wonderful to be true. Soon enough we will begin putting together the puzzle that is going to be this roster when everything ultimately shakes out. Our questions will soon have answers and things that we feel certain of will suddenly be cast in doubt. It is the most wonderful time of the year. Before all of that begins we wanted to open things up for our Monday discussion as a general celebration of reaching this point. Maybe you are heading out to a practice or two yourself, or perhaps you are just excited that the metronome of football season has begun beating on a regular pace once more. Happy football season, one and all.

Tim Heitman-Imagn Images Notable headlines surrounding America’s team. Cowboys All-Pro DaRon Bland eyes lofty goal ahead of training camp – Randy Gurzi, Sports Illustrated Bland is eyeing a rebound year in 2025. Bland finished with 41 tackles and five pass defenses, but recorded no interceptions. After picking off 14 passes in his first two seasons, this was a major letdown for the All-Pro defensive back. Thankfully, Bland is back to full health and sent a message out to his fans on Instagram, letting them know he’s ready for a career year. Dallas needs Bland to play up to his full potential, especially with Trevon Diggs and Shavon Revel Jr. still rehabbing from offseason knee surgery. They also lost Jourdan Lewis in free agency, which has led to Bland being used in the slot during early practices. Bland could also use a big campaign for personal reasons. He’s entering the final year of his rookie deal and could be in line for a massive pay raise. Cowboys Pass Rush Reinforcements: 3 Free Agents Get Workouts – Mark Heaney, Inside The Star Jerry might not be done making moves just yet. They signed former Cowboy Dante Fowler Jr., 2021 top draft prospect Payton Turner, and veteran Solomon Thomas in free agency. In the draft, they went back to the pass rush well, drafting Donovan Ezeiruaku in the second round. It was really a defensive line overhaul from last year, and it seems that the shakeup may not be over quite yet. Dallas is now bringing in three pass-rush-centric free agents before camp begins, so let’s talk about them and what they could bring to this Cowboys roster. Kameron Cline: Longtime UDFA Veteran Brings Size, Not Experience The first of three we’ll talk about is the guy with the least amount of true NFL playing experience. Kameron Cline, a former South Dakota Coyote in college and undrafted free agent signing of the Colts in the 2020 offseason, has managed to stick around the NFL without ever really getting into game action. Every Dallas Cowboys player set to hit free agency in 2026- Luke Norris, The Landry Hat Not a bad idea to look ahead. Complete list of 2026 Dallas Cowboys free agents Here’s a look at the complete list of Dallas Cowboys players currently set to enter some sort of free agency next offseason. In addition to those we know will be on the main roster in 2025, we’ve also included those signed to reserve/futures contracts. (UFA=unrestricted free agent; RFA=restricted free agent; ERFA=exclusive rights free agent) Micah Parsons EDGE UFA Dante Fowler Jr. EDGE UFA Kenneth Murray Jr. LB UFA Donovan Wilson S UFA DaRon Bland CB UFA Cowboys 53-man roster projection sees former 1st-round pick with fully guaranteed deal cut – K.D. Drummond, Cowboys Wire Difficult decisions are incoming. Running Backs (3 + 2) The two veteran offseason signings are going to make the club. When he was OC in Seattle, Schottenheimer never carried a fullback, though in his third of three seasons did employ bigger backs Carlos Hyde and Bo Scarborough, who were only about 5-7 pounds lighter than Hunter Luepke. We have Luepky getting a practice squad spot if he clears waivers, until the team is comfortable with giving Phil Mafah snaps in games that count. Roster Locks Javonte Williams Jaydon Blue (R) Pretty Secure MIles Sanders Practice Squad Phil Mafah (R) Hunter Luepke (FB/H-Back) Cut Candidate Deuce Vaughn Tight Ends (3 + 1) I think it’s a strong possibility that when it gets time to trim the roster, the Cowboys are going to trade Luke Schoonmaker. It seems a real possibility that Brevyn Spann-Ford will surpass him in the hierarchy, and the team may be able to recoup a Day 3 pick for the former second rounder. The idea is laid out here. Roster Locks Jake Ferguson Brevyn Spann-Ford Pretty Secure None Think They Make It Luke Schoonmaker Report: Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons to report to training camp amid contract negotiations- RJ Ochoa, Blogging The Boys Parsons is still ready to work. There will be no last-second curveball. Micah Parsons is set to report to Dallas Cowboys training camp. Sunday is the official report day for the Cowboys and their first practice in Oxnard, California will take place on Tuesday. It should be noted here that Parsons, who is in the middle of contract negotiations with the Cowboys, has said for a few months now that he would report to training camp even without a new deal (he also reported to mandatory offseason things up to this point) so that this isn’t shocking, but it means that there will be no change up at the last second. Recall that CeeDee Lamb held out from training camp last year and that other players have historically both with the Cowboys and across the league as a whole. It has been debated whether or not Parsons would, but we should also consider and remember that he first became eligible for an extension last offseason and did not hold out of any activity across the entire 2024 calendar year.

Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images For the most part Cowboys fans seem to feel pretty good about the state of the team with training camp starting off. Don’t look now, but Dallas Cowboys fans are feeling a little bit confident about the 2025 NFL season. Obviously this tends to happen to most franchises in the offseason, especially teams that won big last season, or teams who are getting big-time players returning from injury, or who made big moves in the offseason to build the roster. The Cowboys fall into some of that with their offseason moves. But they also hired a first-time head coach who has been passed over many times before. A move like that tends to depress optimism in the fanbase, but Brian Schottenheimer has had a very good offseason in terms of roster building, and getting buy-in from his players on a new culture. There are some other items that have resonated positively with the fans. The team re-signed Osa Odighizuwa instead of seeing him walk away in free agency to another team. The team took a big swing when they acquired George Pickens in a trade, a move that has probably more to do with the optimism than almost anything else. The franchise will also see the return of a healthy Dak Prescott, and having a quality QB is paramount when trying to achieve success in the NFL. We wanted to gauge fan sentiment by looking at how many games fans feel the team will win. Based on your responses, the Cowboys should make the playoffs this year. 57% of fans feel the team will have 10 or more wins in 2025. Getting to double-digit wins is almost an automatic playoff berth. Only the Seattle Seahawks have missed the playoffs (2024) with double-digit wins in the past five seasons. If the Cowboys get back to double-digit wins, they should make the tournament. Currently, FanDuel has the demarcation line for over/under win total at 7.5 for the Cowboys. Fair to say, most fans think they are underestimating the 2025 squad.

Chris Jones-Imagn Images How important do you think this season is for the Cowboys in the grand scheme of things? It has been 29 years since the Cowboys reached a NFC Championship game. The longest drought in the NFL. The good news for the Cowboys? A new season is just around the corner for them to do something with it. The bad news? This may be the best chance for the Cowboys to make the conference championship game in the foreseeable future. Dak Prescott is not getting any younger, and outside of his MVP-caliber 2023 season, injuries have started to pile up for the almost 32-year old quarterback. Along with Prescott’s age and injury concern, Micah Parsons, Tyler Smith, DaRon Bland, and George Pickens are all nearing the end of their contracts. Combined that with a front office that has showed little aggressiveness to get deals done early to save money, and you could see a very different team after 2025. The 2025 Cowboys might not be the best roster they have constructed over the last decade or two, but it feels like they have just as much fire power heading into 2025 as they have had since the prime Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, Dez Bryant, and Terrence Williams years. With the offense looking set, the major questions for the Cowboys come on the defensive side of the ball, which is why Matt Eberflus was brought back to help maximize the defensive unit while lacking top-end talent and depth at some key positions on defense. Along with some of the defensive concerns, the Cowboys are bringing in a fresh new coaching staff, which is one of the reasons there should be some optimism around the team heading into the season. After Mike McCarthy failed to get them to the ultimate goal, the Cowboys elected to give Brian Schottenheimer his first head coaching job, which was met with plenty of criticism. It is still to be seen if Schottenheimer is capable of being a quality head coach in the NFL, but the fresh start at head coach has worked for teams in the past in going deeper in the playoffs. Since being announced as head coach, Schottenheimer has assembled one of the more exciting coaching staffs we have seen in Dallas in quite some time, bringing in a lot of new faces and fresh ideas, something the franchise has lacked for many years. In order to make the jump, the first order of business is for quarterback Dak Prescott to stay healthy. When Prescott is healthy, the Cowboys have competed for the playoffs in practically every season and have led the league in many offensive categories when Prescott plays the entire season. If Prescott is healthy and the new coaching staff can do a better job of maximizing the talent on the roster, the Cowboys likely have their best chance of making a deeper run in the playoffs than we have seen in the last 10-15 years. If it does not happen in 2025, it is tough to envision it happening any time soon given the age of the starting quarterback and some key pieces potentially leaving town with very few answers on the roster to step in and fill their voids.

Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images We have (basically) made it to football season. In the 2024 offseason the Kansas City Chiefs still managed to make it as far as they did, which is surprising. Their offseason was rife with drama, especially Rashee Rice, who had a highly publicized off-the-field incident, which was just one of several for Kansas City. Then, when the season started, Rice, who appeared to be a major contributor on offense for the Chiefs, was lost with a season-ending knee injury after colliding with Patrick Mahomes in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Though their defense under Steve Spagnuolo was terrific, their offense was lackluster. Patrick Mahomes had his fewest passing yards as a starter for Kansas City, and the explosive aspect was missing from their passing game. Yet, somehow, Kansas City would pull out close, but controversial victories during the regular season, like their games versus the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals. Their luck ran out in the Super Bowl, where they were beaten by the Philadelphia Eagles 40-22. Looking to climb the mountain once again, the Chiefs start anew. As the Cowboys look to beat the Chiefs for the first time in the Mahomes era, here are a few underrated Chiefs who could decide the game. Jalen Royals By the time Dallas sees the Chiefs, rookie Jalen Royals may very well be their most important weapon offensively. Despite the speed the Chiefs have at wide receiver, it hasn’t translated to a consistent vertical passing attack. The Chiefs need playmakers now more than ever. Although Rice is expected to be ready for training camp, you can imagine Kansas City will take its time with him. Other receivers have flashed but not demonstrated to be consistent enough to be relied upon. Travis Kelce also didn’t have the same impact that he has had in years past, and very well could be in a decline entering his age-36 season. Taken in the fourth round with the 133rd overall pick, Royals is brimming with talent. Like Rice, Royals is very good after the catch and hard to bring down in the open field one-on-one. It may not always show on film, but he’s got terrific timed speed at 4.42 seconds in the forty-yard dash. Royals has a knack for finding the soft spots in zone coverage and knowing where to settle and show the quarterback his numbers. Think of a lesser version of Seattle Seahawks’ Jaxson Smith-Njigba. Royals has been drawing positive reviews and has been impressing the coaches, indicating that a significant role is coming for the rookie sooner rather than later. He’ll be one to watch when Dallas meets Kansas City. Drue Tranquill The Kansas City defense takes pride in creating a lot of confusion with exotic blitz packages and moving their players to a multitude of different places. All-Pro Chris Jones embodies that principle, but as well as the Chiefs defend the pass, they also rely on their linebackers to defend the run just as well. Nick Bolton spearheads the linebacker group, but he’s also got a terrific, yet underrated running mate with Drue Tranquill. A former safety-turned-linebacker, Tranquill has the skills to mirror running backs coming out of the backfield on passing patterns, often running with them sideline-to-sideline. T He also has the physicality to come downhill in run support. 2024 was one of his best seasons as a pro, where he had 94 tackles and 11 quarterback pressures. Tranquill can play all of the linebacker spots on the Chiefs’ defense and has been given the responsibility of calling the defensive plays when Bolton was sidelined. Per PFF, Tranquill had a score of 76.1, ranking him 26th out of 189 linebackers. That said, he isn’t a sure tackler and had a missed tackle percentage of 13 last year. Noah Gray Travis Kelce is long in the tooth, and Father Time catches up to everyone, even multi–Super Bowl champions. With Kelce in his twilight years, Kansas City could start looking to reduce his snaps to give Noah Gray more of an opportunity. Gray is an underrated utility tight end for the Chiefs who can do a lot of damage if left unattended. At 6’3”, 240 lbs., Gray has the size for a big catch radius and has the speed to run away from linebackers and carry routes down the seams for big gains. Gray is also a consistent blocker on the move. Although just a complementary player for most of his career, Gray has averaged 10.5 yards per reception and had four receptions last season of 20 yards or more. Patrick Mahomes (8) to Noah Gray (1)Kansas City Chiefs 34 Yards, 200th Career Touchdown Pass pic.twitter.com/kfXX1gPn1P — NFL Touchdown Videos (@NFLTDsVideos) October 2, 2023 With Kansas City, you have so much to account for with their receivers, Andy Reid’s deep bag of tricks, littered with funky formations and gadget plays, that it’s easy to overlook Gray when Mahomes scrambles out of the pocket. Per Playerprofiler.com, Gray had nine red zone targets last season, catching all nine passes, ranking sixth target separation and yards per target among tight ends, signifying that he is a threat in the red zone and is overall an efficient option for Kansas City.