NFL Week 5 is here and we kicked it off in the best way possible, led by a legendary performance from Primetime Kirk Cousins, leading the Atlanta Falcons to a huge win on Thursday Night Football.
Now, we turn our attention to the Sunday slate of games.
But before that, we have a ton of behind-the-scenes drama that is taking the attention away from the athletes on the field. Whether it's unnecessary drama or NFL rumors, there is no shortage of headlines in the NFL right now.
Through four games, Tennessee Titans quarterback, Will Levis has been one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the entire league. On the year, he's thrown for 604 yards, four touchdowns and six interceptions through four games. To put that into perspective, Kirk Cousins threw for 509 yards and four touchdowns in his last game.
It's hard to imagine that Levis's job is safe at this point.
NFL insider Dianna Russini recently confirmed the idea that Will Levis's job isn't completely safe in Tennessee:
"First-year head coach Brian Callahan cleared up any chatter about a potential QB controversy after Mason Rudolph stepped in for an injuredWill Levisand seemed to run Callahan’s offense effectively against Miami. Callahan says it’s Levis’ job, but a coach in their division shared: “It’s only a matter of time before Mason Rudolph takes over.” Callahan may be facing his first hard decision as a head coach before we even get to Halloween."
When Levis was injured last week, it was Rudolph who stepped in for him. He threw for 85 yards on nine completions in his limited time. Rudolph took over late in the year for the struggling Steelers last season, leading them to three straight wins to end the season. He could definitely overtake Levis at some point this season, especially if the young signal caller doesn't turn his season around quickly.
NFL rumors: Patriots dealing with drama amidst controversial "mutiny" comments
Doric Sam of Bleacher Report recently reacted to some drama that the New England Patriots are dealing with amidst some controversial comments made on the "Catch 22" podcast, which is produced by the Patriots.
"Evan Lazar, who co-hosts the Catch 22 podcast produced by the Patriots, said this week that the team is "teetering on a mutiny" because of veteran backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett continuing to start over rookie Drake Maye. However, the replay of the podcast was deleted from YouTube and social media, and the audio of the podcast was edited to remove the "mutiny" comment, as noted by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk."
Evan Lazar, the host of the podcast that the comments came from, was recently on 98.5 The Sports Hub to try to clarify the situation.
"I'll fully admit I got a little carried away today on the podcast," Lazar said. "The word I used — 'mutiny' — like, there's no mutiny in the Patriots' locker room. And, like I said, I got carried away, and that was my bad. You know, that's not what was going on."
This drama comes down to one word that has sparked the surrounding Patriots media to begin talking about it. Something like this could absolutely make its' way into the locker room, where it could even weigh on the players.
Lazar's comments after the fact seem more like damage control than a true apology over misspoken words.
Davante Adams and the Las Vegas Raiders are engaged in some of the bigger drama surrounding the NFL right now. Adams and head coach Antonio Pierce aren't seeing eye to eye at the moment. Following some pretty public drama surrounding Pierce's social media activity, Adams told the team that he would prefer to be traded.
The first team that has launched itself into these rumors is the Pittsburgh Steelers, but much like the Brandon Aiyuk rumors, it's hard to tell if these rumors are true.
NFL insider Dianna Russini recently confirmed these rumors to be true for The Athletic ($):
"The Pittsburgh Steelers, who you may recall were interested in trading for Brandon Aiyuk before he signed an extension with San Francisco this summer, are also in touch with the Raiders’ front office. I’m told Pittsburgh is making an aggressive offer."
Pittsburgh would be the perfect trade destination for Adams. They have the draft capital that they would be willing to spend in order to acquire him. Pittsburgh also needs a wide receiver as much as any team in the league.
The Steelers have a talented team, but another wide receiver, especially of Adams' caliber, would be a huge boost. It should be refreshing for Steelers fans to know that the rumors of the team's interest are absolutely true.