5 Takeaways From Super Bowl Week: Drake Maye the Next Eli? Update on Kyler’s Future
With Super Bowl LX just two days away, let’s take a closer look at some of the major storylines from this week in anticipation of the big game — a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. Of course, most Seahawks fans I bump into here don’t want to be reminded of that game, a 28-24 heartbreaker in which Malcolm Butler famously intercepted a Russell Wilson pass at the 1-yard line intended for Ricardo Lockette. Yes, Pete Carroll failed to hand the ball off to his best player on offense, Marshawn Lynch, in one of the most important plays in franchise history. As one fan told me, though, Sunday’s rematch is not about revenge: “We just want to get back what we deserve.” That said, let’s get into five takeaways from this week heading into the Super Bowl. Seahawks embrace Mike Macdonald’s vulnerability, laser-like focus on football The leader of “The Dark Side” — Seattle’s nickname for one of the dominant defenses in the NFL — defensive tackle Leonard Williams said it plainly when asked to explain the personality of his head coach, Mike Macdonald. “We joke around and say that he’s pretty much like an AI and that he’s learning how to be human,” joked Williams. “It’s just an inside joke, though. He’s just a really smart guy. He’s all about football. I mean, the way he treats us in the building is like his family.” Seahawks offensive lineman Abraham Lucas offered another window into the stoic McDonald’s personality. “Mike is a great guy,” Lucas told me. “He is who he is. Who you see is Mike Macdonald, which I think is what I respect about him. He doesn’t try to be anybody else.” However, Seahawks special teams coach Jay Harbaugh provided the most detailed opinion on McDonald, stressing his humility. And much like Harbaugh’s father, Jim Harbaugh — who Macdonald worked for as the defensive coordinator of the Michigan Wolverines — Macdonald, at his core, is a football coach. “Mike kind of sets that tone of excellence and improvement,” Harbaugh told me. “And after that, also an accountability. You’ll hear him say he should have called a better game or had a better game plan. And there’s a real trickle down to that for the coaches and the players. “You don’t have to be perfect. It’s not your job to get every single thing right. And if you don’t, you own up to it. When the headman sets that tone, it does a lot for the organization in terms of not having egos.” If Seattle wins on Sunday, Macdonald will become the third-youngest coach to win the NFL championship in league history. Sean McVay and Mike Tomlin both won it at 36 years old. Is Drake Maye the next … Eli Manning? At 23 years and 162 days old on Sunday, Maye will be the second-youngest quarterback to start a Super Bowl. If the Patriots win, Maye would be the youngest quarterback to lead a team to victory in the Super Bowl. Ben Roethlisberger currently holds that distinction, at 23 years and 340 days old. Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady were both 24 years old when they won their first Super Bowl title. Maye could become the fifth quarterback to win the Super Bowl in his first or second season, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, Russell Wilson, Brady and Roethlisberger. Maye has expectedly drawn comparisons to Brady because of the team he plays for and the fact that Vrabel is a defensive head coach, like Brady’s head coach, Bill Belichick. Also, because of his mobility, struggles in college and knack for making big plays at crucial moments so far in his career, Mahomes is another apt comparison for Maye. While the quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs missed the playoffs for the first time in his NFL career this season and is rehabbing from a season-ending knee injury, Mahomes has still won three Super Bowls in his first nine NFL seasons and remains in his prime at 30 years old. Maye could be entering the start of a Mahomes-like run if he can lead the Patriots to a victory on Sunday. However, an NFL front office personnel executive offered another quarterback to compare Maye to — two-time Super Bowl champion Eli Manning. “Young Eli was a good athlete [like Maye],” the personnel executive told me. “Maye has poise, anticipation, accuracy, with good pocket feel and subtle slides. Nothing fazes him in-game.” The front office executive pushed back on the Mahomes comparison. “I just see him different,” he told me. “There’s not enough body of work to say he’s clutch, but it’s trending that way. Maye’s athletic but is a pocket passer. Mahomes is rare outside the pocket. … I love Maye, and he is just scratching the surface.” Could Kyler Murray stay with the Cardinals? Considered a foregone conclusion that the Arizona Cardinals would move on from Murray this offseason, the Cardinals placed the quarterback on season-ending injured reserve with a foot injury last year. Selected No. 1 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, Murray failed to play to his draft status in Arizona. He’s posted a 38-48-1 record, completing 67.1% of his passes for 20,460 yards, with 121 touchdowns and 60 interceptions for a 92.2 passer rating. Murray still has $36.7 million in guarantees remaining for the 2026 season, along with another $19.5 million of his 2027 salary that will be guaranteed if he’s on the roster in March. However, at 28 years old, Murray is still a young quarterback who could have a more productive second chapter of his career like Sam Darnold with the Seahawks. Also, the Cardinals don’t have a long-term answer at quarterback ready to replace Murray. Last year’s starter, Jacoby Brissett, remains on the roster but is considered a backup at this point of his career. New head coach Mike LaFleur did not close the door on Murray staying with the team for the 2026 season. LaFleur said he’s touched base with Murray. “I’ll say this, being in this division for seven years, it was never fun [to play him],” LaFleur said. “I have a lot of respect for him as a player. He was never a fun challenge to go against.” A league source echoed those sentiments, saying that the Cardinals potentially moving on from Murray shouldn’t be set in stone. “The Steelers and Saints are the best examples when you don’t have a succession plan at QB, you run the risk of setting your organization back for years,” a league source told me. “And while Kyler is far from perfect — particularly in the leadership category — he has proven to be an above average QB on the field, and he’s still [in his] young ‘QB years.’ “If you’re moving on from an above-average QB with warts, who are you moving onto? There’s no clear answer to that question in Arizona, so why do you make the move?” NFL’s players not sold on 18-game schedule Considered an inevitability because of NFL owners’ desire to add another game, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell pumped the brakes on the idea that an 18th game will be consummated in the near future. “It is not a given that we’ll do that,” Goodell told reporters this week. “It is not something that we assume will happen. It’s something we want to talk about with the union leadership.” That jives with what NFL Players Association interim executive director David White said later this week, stating his members had “no appetite” for an 18th regular season game. His predecessor, Lloyd Howell Jr., made it seem like an inevitability that players would agree to an 18th game, so White’s comments are a way to gain leverage in negotiations with the league. “You heard that last year when the executive committee was up here, and they were talking about what happens to their bodies when they’re with their families, when they’re with their kids,” White said. “They were very open and candid about that. It’s punishing, and we can see that on the teams that have deep postseason runs. … When your average career is already three to four years, which becomes something that is existential. So, the 18th game is not casual for us. It’s a very serious issue. It is something that comes out of negotiations.” The current collective bargaining agreement runs through 2030 but could be reopened to negotiate an 18th game. However, for now, the players aren’t interested in expanding the regular season. Grass vs. Field Turf debate continues NFL players continue to push for grass fields at all NFL stadiums, stating that they curb injuries and are better for the longevity of players’ careers. However, NFL owners are still not fully on board. Currently, 15 NFL stadiums have grass fields. “Our members have stated, over 90% of them have stated that they prefer grass,” White said. “The data that we do have access to shows that the energy return from a synthetic surface is significantly higher than it is on natural grass, which reinforces what players say just from their experience and from common sense. “It’s just harder. It’s harder on the body. … We need this data if we’re going to standardize fields and have them be at the level where our players are truly going to be safe.” But former players like NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent and Sean Lee, who works for data and analytics firm Adrenaline, said they preferred to play on turf because of the consistency of the surface. “Playing on turf, you could wear the same cleats, week in and week out,” Lee said. “You get on grass, and if it’s muddy, you need to put different cleats on or put studs on. There’s just so much that goes into preparing for games, and I know each player has their different way of preparing. But I preferred playing on turf.”
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