Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Carolina shuts out Vegas to clinch the Stanley Cup in six games, with Jordan Staal winning the Conn Smythe at thirty-seven. The NFL franchise tag deadline looms with George Pickens and Kyle Pitts stuck without long-term deals, and Aaron Rodgers keeps
Your go-to source for daily sports updates! Tune in every day for quick, punchy rundowns on the latest in sports. From game highlights to breaking news, we've got you covered in just a few minutes. Perfect for the fan on the go!
Welcome to The Sports Hangover Daily, I'm Michael Benatar. Today on the show: Carolina shuts out Vegas to win the Stanley Cup, the franchise tag deadline hits at four o'clock today, and Aaron Rodgers is still ghosting Pittsburgh. Let's get into it.
The NFL franchise tag deadline is today at four p.m. Eastern, and I know it sounds dry, but it changes the entire leverage game for some of the best players in football. After today, any franchise-tagged player who hasn't signed a multiyear deal can only sign a one-year contract with his current team. No extension talks until after the regular season. That's it. The window slams shut.
George Pickens in Dallas is the one I'm watching closest. He's sitting on a twenty-seven point three million dollar tag after putting up ninety-three catches, fourteen twenty-nine yards, and nine touchdowns last year. Career best across the board. And Stephen Jones has already come out and said Dallas isn't discussing a new long-term deal. So Pickens is about to be locked into a one-year prove-it situation whether he likes it or not. That's a guy who just had the best season of his career, and the team's response is basically "cool, do it again, we'll talk later." I don't love that if I'm Dallas. You're betting that a receiver who clearly wants long-term security is gonna be fully bought in on a team that won't commit to him. That's a dangerous game.
Kyle Pitts in Atlanta is in a similar spot. Eighty-eight catches, nine twenty-eight yards, five touchdowns. Solid year. But he's still waiting on a long-term deal, and after today, the conversation shifts to July fifteenth. At least one good piece of news on the tag front — Breece Hall and the Jets got a deal done. Three years, forty-five point seven five million. Smart move by both sides. Hall gets his money, the Jets get cost certainty. That's how it's supposed to work.
And then there's Aaron Rodgers, who continues to exist in this bizarre limbo where Pittsburgh just waits by the phone. Omar Khan says they're in regular communication with the four-time MVP, and the Steelers are giving him all the time he needs to decide if he wants to play in twenty twenty-six. Which is very patient of them. Maybe too patient. This is a team that won the AFC North last year with Rodgers under center. They have a real roster. And right now, the most important position on the field is occupied by a guy who might just decide he's done. At some point, Pittsburgh has to stop being polite and start planning for the alternative. Minicamp week three starts today. Eleven teams are on the field. The Steelers need to know if their quarterback is one of them.
Around the rest of the league — the Denver Broncos locked up Sean Payton with a new five-year deal through twenty thirty. Payton plus Bo Nix is the best coach-QB pairing Denver's had since Peyton Manning. They also promoted Davis Webb from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator after moving on from Joe Lombardi. That's a full reset on the offensive staff around a young quarterback. If Nix takes a leap in year two, this is gonna look brilliant.
The Colts are still shopping for a receiver. Keenan Allen and Deebo Samuel are the names floating around. Quenton Nelson went out of his way to talk up Daniel Jones, calling him the hardest worker on the team. I'll say this — if Jones is healthy and they get him a weapon, Indianapolis could sneak up on people. But they need to make a move. Sitting on your hands while Allen and Deebo are available is how you waste a year.
And the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup. Carolina beat Vegas three to nothing in Game six to take the series four games to two. Brandon Bussi — a guy who was on his way to the AHL before Carolina claimed him off waivers — stopped all twenty-two shots for the shutout. He's the third first-year goalie in NHL history to post a shutout in a Cup-clinching game. Taylor Hall scored on a breakaway less than four minutes in, Jackson Blake added one in the second, and Nikolaj Ehlers put in the empty-netter. Jordan Staal won the Conn Smythe at thirty-seven years old, the oldest winner ever. Carolina's first Cup since two thousand six, when Staal's current coach Rod Brind'Amour was the captain hoisting it. Twenty years later, Brind'Amour gets to do it again from behind the bench.
Here's my Hangover Take. The Colts are gonna regret it if they don't sign Keenan Allen this week. This isn't a "nice to have" situation. This is the difference between seven wins and ten. Jones has the arm talent and the motivation of a guy who got written off by the Giants and wants to prove everyone wrong. Nelson is protecting him. The offensive line is solid. But the receiver room is thin. Keenan Allen is thirty-four, sure. But he ran routes for Justin Herbert for years and he still gets open. He's the veteran who makes a young-ish offense click. And Deebo is sitting right there too. If Indy lets both of those guys sign elsewhere because they're waiting for some perfect trade scenario that never comes, they're gonna look back at this June and kick themselves. The AFC South is there for the taking. Houston's in transition. Jacksonville is rebuilding. Tennessee is Tennessee. Make the move. Sign Allen. Go win the division.
That's your hangover. Go hydrate. I'll see you tomorrow.