Options out there for veteran QBs like Steelers Rodgers
NFL notebook
Trending
PHOENIX -- Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, Jimmy Garoppolo and Russell Wilson are still unsigned for the 2026 season.
Options vary for the four accomplished veteran quarterbacks.
The 42-year-old Rodgers can return to Pittsburgh and play for new coach Mike McCarthy if he doesn't choose to retire. Steelers owner Art Rooney II told reporters Sunday he expects a decision from the four-time NFL MVP before the NFL draft next month.
Cousins finished last season strong, leading Atlanta to four straight wins down the stretch but the Falcons still missed the playoffs and coach Raheem Morris lost his job. The 37-year-old Cousins threw for 876 yards in those four games with seven touchdowns, two interceptions and had a 93.6 passer rating. Overall, he was 5-3 as a starter after opening the season backing up Michael Penix Jr.
The Falcons hired coach Kevin Stefanski, signed Tua Tagovailoa and released Cousins, who will likely have to settle for a backup role somewhere unless another starter is injured in the offseason. He could end up in Pittsburgh if Rodgers retires and the Steelers want to turn to another veteran QB after going from Wilson in 2024 to Rodgers in 2025.
Stefanski said Tagovailoa and Penix will compete for the starting job in Atlanta. Penix, a first-round pick in 2024, is coming off surgery last November to repair a torn ACL and it's uncertain when he'll be ready to go.
"He has had great success in this league when doing a lot of things that we believe in," Stefanski said of Tagovailoa. "He's looking for an opportunity and we can provide that."
Garoppolo has an opportunity to go back to Los Angeles for a third season to play behind NFL MVP Matthew Stafford. If not, Cousins would be an option for the Rams and coach Sean McVay. They were together in Washington when McVay was the offensive coordinator.
Wilson began last season starting for the Giants and finished behind rookie Jaxson Dart and Jameis Winston. The 10-time Pro Bowl pick also is out of starting options and doesn't appear to be drawing much interest as a backup even though he was supportive of Dart in that role last season.
Super for Vegas
LAS VEGAS -- The Super Bowl will return to Las Vegas in 2029 for the second time after NFL owners voted Monday to award the nation's gambling and entertainment capital the big game.
Las Vegas getting the Super Bowl back after Kansas City defeated San Francisco 25-22 in overtime in February 2024 seemed like only a matter of time.
Commissioner Roger Goodell all but gave that possibility his blessing after the first Super Bowl in a city the league long shunned because of concerns about legalized sports betting.
Next year's Super Bowl will be played in California for the second straight time when Inglewood hosts. Santa Clara was the site of this year's game in which Seattle beat New England 29-13.
Atlanta will host the 2028 game.
Backup ref plan set
PHOENIX -- The NFL is moving forward with plans to begin hiring and training replacement officials in the next several weeks because negotiations with the referees' union have been unsuccessful, two people with knowledge of the discussions told The Associated Press.
The league and the NFL Referees Association have been negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement since the summer of 2024. The current CBA expires on May 31.
The NFL has increased its offer to a 6.45% annual growth rate in compensation over a six-year labor deal, but the NFLRA wants 10% plus $2.5 million for marketing fees, the people said.
NFLRA executive director Scott Green told The Associated Press on Monday: "those numbers are not accurate." He said negotiations with the league are similar to 2012 when a stalemate resulted in a 110-day lockout and replacement referees were used.
The league wants compensation tied to performance so that only high-performing game officials during the regular season share in the year-end bonus pool.
The league is also seeking greater flexibility to ensure the best officials are on the field during the postseason. The current CBA includes seniority as a factor in making postseason assignments.
"We had 'high performing officials' who worked this year's championship games and the Super Bowl who were paid less for those games than what they were paid for a regular-season game. That certainly isn't rewarding performance, as the NFL claims is their goal," Green said.
Shortening the "dark period" is also a priority for the NFL. Currently, the league has no communication with game officials during the roughly three-month stretch between the Super Bowl and May 15.