Finally, we have a real taste of football.
The first preseason game of the 2026 season took place on Thursday, with the Carolina Panthers taking down the Arizona Cardinals in the Hall of Fame Game. Cardinals rookie quarterback Carson Beck was the storyline from Thursday’s game, impressing in his unofficial NFL debut.
While we finally had game action on Thursday, though, more contract matters dominated the news in the NFL. We saw a pair of star running backs agree to pricey extensions, including a record-setting deal. Meanwhile, in Tampa Bay, the news down there is about a pair of stars who haven’t received pricey extensions.
Here are the headlines to know from Thursday around the NFL.
There typically aren’t too many highlights or takeaways from the Hall of Fame Game, but this year’s edition brought us one.
Beck completed 15 of 19 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown in Thursday’s game. The rookie made all sorts of throws in Arizona’s loss, completing deep balls as he helped the Cardinals put up 17 points. Kedon Slovis played the second half for the Cardinals.
Beck’s showing adds some intrigue to a Cardinals team widely viewed to be one of the worst in the NFL entering the season. It could also add some heat on veteran Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew, who didn’t play in Thursday’s game.
Undrafted rookie free agent Haynes King had the best outing of any quarterback on Thursday, though. After replacing Kenny Pickett, King completed 21 of 34 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns. But he made the play of the game with his feet, rushing for a 5-yard score as time expired to give the Panthers a 33-30 victory.
Running Backs Keep Getting Paid
Shortly after the Atlanta Falcons made Bijan Robinson the NFL’s highest-paid running back, the Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions secured their own star halfbacks to massive deals.
Jahmyr Gibbs agreed to a deal that made him the highest-paid running back in NFL history. The two sides agreed to a three-year deal worth up to $75.75 million with $51.5 million fully guaranteed, making him the highest-paid running back in NFL history, ESPN reported.
Gibbs had a massive year for the Lions in 2025. He racked up 1,223 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground, while making a huge impact in the passing game with 77 catches for 616 yards and five receiving touchdowns.
Hours before news of Gibbs’ deal broke, the Colts and star running back Jonathan Taylor agreed to a two-year, $44 million extension, per ESPN. The deal is worth up to $47 million and also includes $39 million in guaranteed money for Taylor as he enters his age-27 season.
Taylor is coming off one of his best seasons since entering the league in 2020. He ranked third in the league last season with 1,585 rushing yards and a league-leading 18 touchdowns, while adding 46 receptions for 378 yards and two receiving scores.
No running back appears to be an imminent threat to break Gibbs’ record. No running back taken in the 2024 or 2025 drafts has been as productive as him. Of course, that could change in the coming years.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht addressed the status of two key veterans on Thursday, stating the team has no plans to trade Pro Bowl defensive tackle Vita Vea amid ongoing contract discussions.
“We love Vita,” Licht told reporters. “We’ve been engaged with his agent recently. I don’t know how it’s gonna end, but we’ve been engaged and that’s at least some progress.”
Licht also discussed quarterback Baker Mayfield, noting that while placing the franchise tag on Mayfield in 2027 remains an available tool if necessary, it is not the team’s primary plan. He emphasized that the franchise’s main objective remains securing a long-term contract extension with Mayfield.
“I’m not going to get into specifics about the contract and all that stuff, but yeah — we do think he is [a franchise quarterback],” Licht told reporters. “We love Baker. … Baker’s in a great place right now. We’re in a very good place.”
Mayfield is entering the final season of a three-year contract.
Tensions flared on the practice field between New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez and wide receiver A.J. Brown on Thursday.
Gonzalez and Brown have repeatedly sought out head-to-head matchups and exchanged words throughout training camp practices, according to reports at practice.
Following lockdown coverage by Gonzalez, competitive back-and-forth trash talk between the two players escalated, nearly requiring the pair to be separated as the team transitioned to a new drill.
“It’s good on good,” Gonzalez told reporters following Thursday’s practice. “He’s a No. 1 receiver in this league going up against a No. 1 corner. That’s how it’s going to go. It’s football at the end of the day. There’s never no disrespect or anything. We’re just battling and getting each other better. He’s going to face corners like that, that are going to yap at him and going to try to get in his head, and I’m going to face receivers like that who are strong and come right back at me. It’s great work for the both of us.”
The Houston Texans and head coach DeMeco Ryans are doing whatever it takes to keep the young nucleus of their defense intact. The Texans and linebacker Henry To’oTo’o have agreed to a two-year, $16 million extension, first reported by NFL Network.
Entering his age-25 season, To’oTo’o can earn up to $1 million more in incentives in the deal.
To’oTo’o is coming off his first full 17-game season with Houston, establishing himself as a big contributor for one of the league’s premier defenses. He recorded 95 total tackles, with 42 of them being solo, along with 2.5 sacks and a fumble recovery.
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