We’re only in the opening days of NFL training camp. However, there are plenty of things observers around the league are keeping their eyes on as we’re getting a peek at how teams might look in the 2026 season.Â
So, we asked scouts and executives around the NFL what they’re focused on as teams are starting to put on the pads in practice. While most are focused on on-field matters, there was one off-field story that’s emerged that some around the league are keeping tabs on.Â
Here’s more on what NFL scouts and executives are following during the opening week of training camp.Â
Eric D. Williams: A couple league sources I spoke with said theyre keeping a close watch on the contract impasse between Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield and the front office.
Mayfield publicly voiced his displeasure, saying he feels disrespected and undervalued by Tampa Bays contract offer sheet and that he deserves to be paid like a franchise quarterback. Â
The 31-year-old Mayfield is entering the final season of a three-year, $100 million deal. However, the Bucs lost seven of their last nine games last season, missing out on the playoffs for the first time since 2019. Mayfields 27 interceptions over the last two seasons are second to only Geno Smith (32) over that time frame.
But since Mayfields arrival, hes led Tampa Bay to NFC South division titles in two of the last three seasons he served as the teams starter, including throwing for 4,500 passing yards and 41 touchdowns in 2024.
“Its interesting that Tampa Bay and Mayfield have not been able to agree on an extension and Baker came out saying he feels disrespected,” an NFL contract negotiator told me. “When I worked in NFL front offices, we never wanted a player in our locker room feeling like the team was getting over on them, especially at the quarterback position.”
However, a longtime NFL scout intimately involved in evaluating Mayfield as a prospect coming out of Oklahoma wasnt surprised by Mayfield’s prideful stance.
“Mayfield is being disrespected by the Bucs? What a crock,” the longtime NFL scout told me. “Hes lucky they saved his career. Hes got a big ego and needs to get real. In the NFL, they only give you what you prove.”
Ralph Vacchiano: Trading away a No. 1 receiver for future draft picks isnt a good formula for making a team better. But somehow, that might be exactly what the Philadelphia Eagles did when they traded away A.J. Brown.
At least thats what the Eagles are hoping. Theyll spend the summer making sure that Brown has been adequately replaced.Â
“You cant argue that the deal made them better on the field. He was their most talented receiver,” one NFL executive told me. “But we all saw that something looked off with them last year. They were always out of sync, [with] no chemistry. Their body language made them look almost unhappy at times. And nobody was more out of sync or unhappy looking than A.J. Brown.
“Dealing him shows they thought he was the problem. If they were right, maybe they are going to be better without him.”
Of course, as one scout told me, “even if its addition by subtraction, they still have to replace him on the field,” and this summer will show how they plan to do that. DeVonta Smith, who topped 1,000 receiving yards in three of the last four seasons, will slide seamlessly into Browns old No. 1 role. But beyond him, it could be an open competition with first-round pick Makai Lemon and the recently acquired duo of Dontayvion Wicks and Hollywood Brown.
“Theyre deep enough to run their offense,” the scout told me. “But it remains to be seen if any of them are as good as Brown used to be.”
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Vacchiano: Jaxson Dart re-energized the New York Giants with his promising rookie. N
