The final week of the 2023 NFL preseason is upon us, offering fans one last glimpse at a few position battles before the regular season kicks off in early September. Week 3 of the preseason begins on Thursday, Aug. 24, with the Pittsburgh Steelers taking on the Atlanta Falcons. No. 2 overall pick CJ Stroud and Houston Texans will wrap up the slate when they face the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, Aug. 27.
Before the final week of preseason action starts, here are a few names among the NFL’s slate of games.
Starters to watch
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles told reporters that he expects both Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask to play in Tampa Bay’s preseason finale against the Ravens, which means the Week 3 game will likely decide the starting quarterback competition. Mayfield went 8-for-9 and a touchdown in his only preseason action so far, while Trask went 20-for-28 for 218 yards and a touchdown in Week 2 in what was close to a full game of action. Whoever puts together a stronger outing in Week 3 could effectively walk away with the starting job.
Panthers left tackle, and last year’s No. 6 overall pick Ikem Ekwonu, struggled for a second-straight week as quarterback Bryce Young faced consistent pressure in the pocket. Ekwonu allowed two hits in Week 2, which amounts to four hits allowed in two weeks of action. The ceiling for this offense, let alone the long-term health of Young in his rookie season, very much hinges on the play of his blindside protector.
Rookies to watch
There’s a quarterback controversy brewing in Las Vegas, and it’s a tussle for the backup job. Rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell has completed 72.2 percent of his passes while throwing for 304 yards and three touchdowns across two games of preseason action. Raiders fans are already calling for O’Connell to be the backup, and another efficient performance from the signal-caller out of Purdue could propel him over the veteran Brian Hoyer on the depth chart.
After stringing together three-straight impressive performances throughout the preseason there are rumblings about the former UCLA product coming for the backup job in Cleveland. Joshua Dobbs is reportedly still the favorite, but the Browns’ brass would be remiss to overlook what Thompson-Robinson has accomplished in his first three NFL games. In his first preseason start against the Eagles in Week 2, he went 13-for-25 for 164 yards in two-quarters of play with a QBR of 72.8.
Who needs to shine?
New York buttoned up their receiving corps in the offseason to surround Aaron Rodgers, having signed Allen Lazard, Mecole Hardman Jr., and Randall Cobb in the offseason to join reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year Garrett Wilson. The 33-year-old Cobb feels like the logical choice to be cut, but his friendship with Rogers could be his saving grace, setting up Davis to be the odd man out.
After being drafted in the first round back in 2020, Kansas City running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire has been unfortunately hampered by a multitude of injuries while the Chiefs offense has yet to miss a beat in his absence. Losing the starting job to seventh-round draft pick Isiah Pacheco last season doesn’t bode well for his long-term future in Kansas City, and the Chiefs could opt to let him go before the start of the 2023 season.
Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard has been a long-tenured member of the team, but New York has since added Parris Campbell, Jamison Crowder, Cole Beasley, and rookie Jalin Hyatt to the receiver room. Coupled with the addition of tight end Darren Waller, the aforementioned moves could be a precursor to the Giants letting go of the oft-injured Shepard, thus opening up an extra 1.1$ million in cap space.