Aaron Rodgers will meet an old rival in a new uniform as one of five International Games matchups announced by the NFL on Wednesday.
Rodgers' New York Jets will take on the Minnesota Vikings at London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Oct. 6, one of three games that will take place in the United Kingdom capital in 2024.
The International Series will kick off on the league's opening weekend with a clash between Rodgers' former team, the Green Bay Packers, and the Philadelphia Eagles in São Paulo, Brazil on Friday, Sept. 6. That game will be the first of any kind held by the NFL in South America, as well as the first to take place on a Friday during Week 1 in more than 50 years.
The Jacksonville Jaguars will take part in the other two games held in London, and could face a rookie quarterback in each. Jacksonville will host the Chicago Bears at Tottenham Stadium on Oct. 13 and will meet the New England Patriots at Wembley Stadium one week later on Oct. 20.
Chicago selected 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams with the first overall pick in this year's draft, while the Patriots chose North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye with the third overall pick.
The Jaguars have been involved in more international games than any NFL team, as this season's matchups will be the 12th and 13th played in London in franchise history.
Munich, Germany will host the final 2024 international game when the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers square off at Allianz Arena on Nov. 10.
"We are delighted to announce these exciting matchups across London and Munich, in addition to the historic first game in São Paulo, Brazil, to complete the 2024 International Games slate," NFL executive vice president of club business, major events & international Peter O'Reilly said in a league press release. “As the league and its 32 teams continue to prioritise international growth, we look forward to building on the incredible fan experiences seen in Europe while taking the game to new fans in South America."
The Giants-Panthers contest will be the second to take place in Munich during the regular season, with the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers having met at Allianz Arena in 2022. The NFL staged two games in Frankfurt last season, including a 21-14 victory by the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs over the Miami Dolphins.
The NFL also announced on Wednesday that the Giants will be the featured team for its popular Hard Knocks television documentary series to be broadcast in July. This season's episodes will chronicle the team's day-to-day operations during this offseason.
Additionally, the league announced that its two Christmas Day games of the 2024 season will be broadcast by streaming service giant Netflix.
The participants of those two games will be announced when the NFL reveals its full 2024 schedule at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday.
Bengals wide receiver Higgins to sign franchise tag
After months of speculation regarding where Tee Higgins would play in the 2024 NFL season, the star wide receiver will officially remain with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Higgins will sign his franchise tag with the Bengals on Saturday, and is expected to be present when the team begins training camp next month.
The signing was first reported by Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer, and later confirmed by NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.
Higgins had the franchise tag placed on him by the Bengals on February 26, and then asked to be traded a few weeks later.
In early April, however, he then said he intended to play for Cincinnati in 2024.
By signing the tag, which will pay him $21.8million in salary for the upcoming season, Higgins and the Bengals have until July 15 to work out a multi-year deal.
Higgins is coming off an injury-marred 2023 season, as he was limited to just 12 games due to ailments to his hamstring and ribs.
He finished the year with 42 catches for 256 yards and five touchdowns after back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2021 and 2022.
The Bengals reached the AFC conference championship game in those two seasons before finishing last in the AFC South in 2023 with a 9-8 record.
A second-round pick by Cincinnati in 2020, the 25-year-old Higgins has 257 career receptions for 3,684 yards and 24 touchdowns in 58 games in his first four pro seasons.
The Bengals are scheduled to open training camp on July 26.
Jaguars, QB Lawrence agree to 5-year, $275 million extension
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to a five-year, $275 million extension that includes $200 million guaranteed, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.
With a $55 million average salary, Lawrence ties Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow for the most in NFL history.
Detroit’s Jared Goff, Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts and Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers are the other quarterbacks making at least $50 million per year.
Lawrence’s deal is surpassed in total guaranteed and fully guaranteed money only by Burrow and Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson.
The 24-year-old Lawrence is entering the fourth season of his rookie deal and the Jaguars exercised his fifth-year option earlier this offseason.
The first overall pick in the 2021 draft, Lawrence has completed 63.8 percent of his passes in 50 regular season starts for 11,770 yards with 58 touchdowns and 39 interceptions. He has compiled a 21-31 record as a starter in three seasons, including 1-1 in the playoffs. He led the Jaguars to an AFC South title and a playoff win in 2022, earning a Pro Bowl selection.
Jacksonville and Lawrence got off to an 8-3 start last season and appeared to be legitimate contenders in the AFC, but the Jaguars lost five of their final six games and failed to reach the playoffs after spending three months atop the AFC South.
Lawrence missed the first game of his career against Carolina on December 31 due to a shoulder injury, a 26-0 victory for the Jaguars.
He also missed significant practice time because of other injuries: a sprained left knee in Week 6, a sprained right ankle in Week 13 and a concussion in Week 15.
Patriots to retire number 12 shirt and build statue in Brady's honour
The New England Patriots will retire the number 12 shirt and build a statue in honour of iconic quarterback Tom Brady.
Brady was inducted into the Patriots' Hall of Fame on Wednesday, having led them to six Super Bowl titles during his 20-year stint with the franchise.
The three-time MVP is the all-time regular-season leader in pass attempts (12,050), completions (7,753), passing yards (89,214) and touchdown passes (649) in the NFL.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft said the statue would be placed outside the franchise's Hall of Fame to recognise Brady "not as the greatest in franchise history, but as the greatest in all of NFL history".
"I am eternally grateful. I am Tom Brady. And I am a Patriot," Brady said at the ceremony at the Gilette Stadium.
Former Patriots coach Bill Belichick added: "Thank you for all that you've done for us. Thank you for all you've done for me. And thank you for the example and motto you've been for all of us on a daily basis for 20 years."
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