Adam Vinatieri’s Shots at Belichick, Brady Highlight 8 Things You May Have Missed in the NFL This Weekend

Another week of training camp down means we’re officially one week closer to the regular season.

The “dog days,” as they’re called in the NFL—referring to the grueling, hot days of battling against your teammates at practice day after day—will soon start to come to a close. Six of the league’s 23 scheduled joint practices will take place between Tuesday and Thursday before the first full slate of preseason games kicks off later in the week. Here’s a look at each joint session that will take place over the coming days:

Tuesday, Aug. 11: Cowboys @ Rams
Tuesday, Aug. 11: Colts @ Patriots
Tuesday, Aug .11: Buccaneers @ Jets
Tuesday, Aug. 11: Titans @ 49ers
Wednesday, Aug. 12: Dolphins @ Commanders
Thursday, Aug. 13: Jaguars @ Saints

For now, though, let’s take a look back at the week that was. Here are eight things you may have missed around the NFL this weekend.

Adam Vinatieri’s shots at Bill Belichick, Tom Brady highlight Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremony

Five deserving members were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend, and while Drew Brees, Roger Craig, Larry Fitzgerald and Luke Kuechly each did their part to both elicit emotion and inspire during their enshrinement speeches, it was Adam Vinatieri’s that brought the house down.

Over the course of about 20 minutes, Vinatieri thanked his family, both the Patriots and Colts organizations for giving him an opportunity and the game of football itself. He also showed off his comedic side by taking some pointed shots at one of his coaches in New England, Bill Belichick, and his quarterback, Tom Brady.

“Thank you for demanding excellence every single single day,” Vinatieri began when speaking about Belichick. “Your preparation, discipline and attention to detail shaped far more than my football career.”

“Unfortunately, Bill couldn’t make it here today,” he continued. “There’s a lot going on at UNC right now. He may be on a recruiting trip right now looking for the next Lawrence Taylor. I thought it was because training camp already started. But in truth, it’s because he’s judging his girlfriend’s cheerleading competition.”

The crowd naturally erupted at the dig towards Jordon Hudson. Vinatieri would go on to say that, “all jokes aside,” he believes Belichick is the greatest coach of all time.

Then, it was Brady’s turn.

“I played with the greatest quarterback in Patriots history … Drew Bledsoe,” Vinatieri quipped. “I had a few more Tom Brady jokes, but I was afraid he’d run up on this stage and give me a Will Smith like he did to Logan Paul last month.”

Brady, too, was then given his flowers.

“Tom, you changed the game forever,” Vinatieri added. “But what I’ll remember most is the teammate that you were. Your belief in the people around you inspired all of us to raise our standards, and I’m honored our careers became part of the same path.”

Don’t worry though, Patriots fans. Vinatieri also called out Peyton Manning’s massive forehead.

Commanders LT Laremy Tunsil out indefinitely with torn triceps

The Commanders received some unfortunate news on Saturday night, as according to NFL Network’s Mike Garofolo and Steve Wyche, left tackle Laremy Tunsil suffered torn triceps during practice earlier that afternoon.

Tunsil reportedly left Saturday’s session in Washington after a 1-on-1 rep with teammate Odafe Oweh. “The Commanders had hoped it wouldn’t be a significant injury,” Garofolo wrote on X, “but testing … revealed the extent of the injury.” Tunsil will now likely require surgery and miss a significant portion of the regular season.

A first-round pick of the Dolphins in 2016, Tunsil was traded to the Texans in ’19 before being shipped to the Commanders ahead of the ’25 season. The five-time Pro Bowler signed an extension with Washington this offseason that made him the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history.

Maxx Crosby’s actions cause him and Kirk Cousins to be held out of Raiders practice

Kirk Cousins, Maxx Crosby — Maxx Crosby and Kirk Cousins were both held out of practice this weekend. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Maxx Crosby took it too far during Raiders practice on Friday, hitting quarterback Kirk Cousins during a team period and naturally causing the veteran to retaliate.

Cousins reportedly got in Crosby’s face and grabbed his jersey before the two were broken up. Then, coach Klint Kubiak decided to hold the pair out of practice on Friday.

“We have very clear expectations on how we want to practice and how we want to go about our business, and we violated that yesterday,” Kubiak told reporters. “So [we] held those guys out. That’s all I’m going to say about it. We addressed it with the team, and we’re moving on.”

Cousins being held out resulted in rookie No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza taking first-team reps with the Las Vegas offense, likely before the team had planned for him to. It’s one of the reasons why Crosby’s try-hard schtick at practice needs to stop.

Teddy Bridgewater retires mid-Lions camp

Longtime NFL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is calling it a career.

As relayed by Lions coach Dan Campbell on Sunday, the former first-round pick has decided to step away from the game at age 33.

“I’ve known Teddy a long time,” Campbell said. “The human being is unbelievable. Certainly the player, everything that he’s about, the type of teammate he is, the way he prepares, always played the game [with his brain] and had a huge heart. He’s gonna be missed.”

Bridgewater was set to serve as Detroit’s backup quarterback this season behind Jared Goff and ahead of rookie undrafted free agent Luke Altmyer on the depth chart. The Lions have since signed veteran Joshua Dobbs to a one-year contract.

Kyle Shanahan to coach 49ers’ preseason opener

Kyle Shanahan took questions from reporters on the record for the first time this weekend since a mid-July car accident forced him to coach in a limited capacity to begin 49ers training camp. While explaining that he feels “so much better,” Shanahan said he plans to coach in San Francisco’s preseason opener this week.

“Oh, yeah. I’m doing the same stuff, guys,” he said when asked if he plans to be on the sideline. “I just try not to come in here [and talk to the media] every single day because I want to be able to pull off my normal routine, which is watching hours and hours of tape and getting to the walk-through at night, being able to watch stuff after that. Eventually, I will get there.”

The 49ers will welcome the Titans to Levi’s Stadium this coming Thursday night for a 7:00 p.m. ET kickoff.

Lane Johnson says 2026 will “probably” be his last year as he enters his 14th with Eagles

Lane Johnson seems to be setting up a farewell tour in 2026. After missing several days of Eagles training camp due to personal reasons, the 36-year-old spoke on Saturday and made it sound like this season will be his last.

While citing several family reasons—including his children getting older and his mom dealing with some health problems—Johnson said that this will “probably” be his last year.

“As you get older, things change in your life, priorities,” he explained. “Your children get older, your parents get older, it just puts things into perspective. … Those priorities away from football are starting to merge. I love everything about this game and am preparing for it, but this is kind of where I’m at in my career.”

Johnson was selected by the Eagles with the No. 4 pick in the 2013 draft and has spent his entire career in Philadelphia. He’s a six-time Pro Bowler, a two-time first-team All-Pro, a three-time second-team All-Pro and helped the Eagles win two Super Bowl titles in 2017 and ’24.

Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers day-to-day with quad contusion

Just days after signing a lucrative contract extension that included the most guaranteed money for a wide receiver in NFL history, Zay Flowers suffered an injury at Ravens practice. Thankfully, he’s considered day-to-day with a quad contusion, according to coach Jesse Minter.

Flowers reportedly collided with safety Jaylinn Hawkins during 7-on-7 drills and was examined “for about 10 minutes” by trainers before limping off the field under his own power. Minter spoke on his condition after Saturday’s session in Owings Mills, Md.

“I think he’ll be O.K. in the long term,” Minter explained. “You certainly don't like to see that and don't want to see that. You kind of hope for the best. That's the reality of it. … It’s a great opportunity for other guys to step into those roles and different guys to run some of the routes that Zay is great at. But I don’t expect it to be too long.”

Luther Burden III suffers groin injury, will miss “a little bit of time”

Second-year wide receiver Luther Burden III left Bears practice early on Saturday with a groin injury. According to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, Burden and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson got tangled up during a 1-on-1 red zone drill. Both appeared to get hurt on the play, and while Stevenson eventually returned to practice, Burden did not.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport has since reported that Burden suffered a groin injury and “should miss a bit of time.”

Burden, 22, was selected by Chicago in the second round of the 2025 NFL draft and hauled in 47 receptions for 652 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie. Outside of Burden, the Bears’ wide receiver room consists of Rome Odunze, Kalif Raymond and Jaedae Walker, among others.

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