1st and North: Key NFL dates for 2026

They called last night's match between Belgium and the United States one of the biggest Monday night football events in sports history, but the U.S. fell flat with another round of 16 exit in the World Cup. But hey, we have Monday night football to now look forward to. Three weeks till training camp, nine weeks till week one of the football season. Hello everyone and welcome into First and North. I'm Cassie Carlson. Joining me this week we have Jennifer Hammond from Fox Detroit, Tim Van Voren from Fox Milwaukee, and Don Mitchell from Fox Minneapolis. So as we put the United States' run in the World Cup to bed and wake up after sleeping on that dud of a performance last night. Jen, I'll start with you because you're wearing the USA shirt so you still feel the pride. What did you think of the run for the U.S. men's national team? You know what, I am still repping and I still feel a little sick to my stomach over that performance because they played their worst possible game in the biggest possible moment on that stage and to see all of the build-up, the excitement before the game, all of the fans flooding through the streets of Seattle. It was just a blast to watch and also the way that they all busted out and country road at every drop, you know, at every at every moment. It was really cool to watch and I think it brought a lot of people together and I still feel good about it but it's just unfortunate that they really beat themselves instead of the other way around. Yeah, Tim, a lot of the conversation about the World Cup was how it would capture a new audience here in the states. Do you feel like this tournament did that? I think so. We're all from Fox, obviously. Ratings have been huge, so much hype, so much attention, so much activity and enthusiasm around these matches, the viewing parties, etc., etc. And obviously in this country, people wanted the Americans to continue and it was a letdown on Monday night. It reminded Packer fans, I think, of the old Fail Mary game with the replacement refs on a Monday night in Seattle and everybody walked out of there like, what the heck happened? It was kind of the same thing last night. Dawn, what did you think of the World Cup and what's been the reaction just in Minneapolis? Any watch parties? Well, a lot of watch parties but the reaction is now the entire country feels like a Vikings fan. That's what some people were saying, or Minnesota sports fan, just to be honest. So, you know, whenever they can just kind of hurt themselves, they do. But, you know, I just, I agree with you. This team did not play like the team that we saw in games prior. It was like they're not even themselves. So they shot themselves in the foot. They didn't play well. They're big players, did not step up in a big game. So it was just another disappointing, we called it Monday night football. Let's hope the real Monday night football is a lot better than this one the other night. Yeah, everyone's here just licking their wounds. I kept seeing a tweet circulating that was along the lines of what's the comparison in the NFL world to Christian Pulisic. And I did see some Vikings comparisons in there. That's a conversation for another show on another day. Training camp three weeks away. Some key NFL dates I do want to run through. Sunday, August 30th. That is going to be cut down day where the 53-man rosters are set. Trade deadline is November 10th. That is right after week nine. The Bears actually have their bye that week. Super Bowl, February 14th, Valentine's Day combined. March 1st through the 8th in Indy. Free agency starts a day later on March 9th. Owners meetings March 21st through the 24th. And the draft is April 29th through May 1st in Washington, DC. So it's a little bit of a different schedule with free agency starting just the day after the combine ends, which is going to make these meals at St. Elmo's in downtown Indy extra interesting. We know that's where all the conversations start typically of, you know, GMs, head coaches talking about the needs on their roster, late nights with those conversations being held over a couple of drinks. I think it's going to be interesting with that condensed format that this is going to go from one thing to another and those conversations are going to be upped as they are down in Indy. Tim, I would love to know your opinion of just with that different schedule. There's usually a week in between that allows every team to get their act together and flip their minds from going to looking at all the draft prospects to what vets they want to bring in. Do you like the switch? I think it's going to be interesting to see. You and I have obviously compared some restaurant reviews and suggestions during the combine. Yeah. Did you get there? I mean, come on, Cassie. But you know, one thing about the combine I've always enjoyed is that the GMs and the coaches seem very relaxed, right? No one's going to lose a game during the combine. So I always enjoyed kind of the vibe around that. I suspect that's going to change a little bit with free agency right on the heels of that, because there is going to be more negotiation. There's going to be some more pressure, a little more intensity, I think, all the way around. How it actually leads into what moves are made and when, I guess, remains to be seen. I have the wait-and-see attitude toward it, but how's it going to affect the vibe in Indy, Cassie? That is the impact I'm trying to monitor. So are you saying less fraternization and maybe more serious, less late nights? I don't know. Those agents are going to be the folks to watch in Indy coming up during the All right. It is list season. As we know, PFF released their quarterback rankings, but before we get into that, three-time Super Bowl champion offensive lineman Mark Schlereth had this to say when talking about if Caleb Williams is a good quarterback. So at this particular point in time, Caleb Williams isn't a good quarterback. If you were ranking that class, you put Jaden Daniels ahead of him, you put Drake May ahead of him, I'd put Bo Nicks ahead of him. You have this generational talent who's supposed to be a great quarterback. He's not a great quarterback. He's a great playmaker. And when it comes to off-schedule football, the guy is probably about as good as it gets. He is Kyler Murray with more height. So the first issue I have with what Schlereth said right there is that he would put Jaden Daniels ahead of Caleb Williams and his quarterback rankings from that draft class. I think it's totally fair to put Drake May ahead of him right now, but part of what makes Caleb Williams good right now is that he is fully available. And he talked about that ahead of taking on the Vikings, that J.J. McCarthy has had a hard time staying on the field and Caleb Williams has yet to miss a game. I think it's fair to criticize the fact that his completion percentage is low. 58% is not going to put you in the upper echelon of quarterbacks in the NFL. But I listened to something that Schlereth said on the radio here in Chicago on ESPN 1000, and he talked about the fact of Caleb Williams is not a good quarterback right now because of his footwork and his timing. And I think that is a fair criticism of Caleb Williams heading into year three. I also think it's one thing that Ben Johnson and quarterbacks coach JT Barrett have worked on with Caleb Williams last year, and they're going to continue to work on this year, figuring out a way to link up eyes, foot, feet, and timing. And I think if you were to watch Caleb Williams tape from last year, a lot of times you feel like he wasn't able to hit his first read and go through his reads quickly and on time. And I think that's going to be a point of emphasis going into the season. Well, also, as we talk about being able to take the checkdowns, take the things that are given to him, and then save the Superman plays for when needed. Now, the eliteness that he has in the fourth quarter, I think that's something that you can't find in all those quarterbacks and you want to have in your QB. And while I don't think seven comeback wins in the fourth quarter is going to be replicated this year, I do think that is why many people are listing Caleb Williams in their top 10 of quarterbacks right now. So while the basics need work, I don't think it's, I think it's like a twofold answer where it's like, I see where his criticism is coming from, but I also think it's pretty outlandish to put Jaden Daniels ahead of Caleb Williams right now. PFF rankings are based off of three seasons of performance with PFF passing grade wins above replacement and EPA per draft back forming the foundation. So here are the top five, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, and Matthew Stafford. Think those are all fair. Now within the division, this one shocked me. Jordan Love at six, followed by Caleb Williams at 13, Jared Goff, 16, and Kyler Murray, 21. Tim, I'll go to you first. Should Jordan Love be in the top 10, just outside the top five? I'm a Jordan Love believer that that list, the surprise for me on that list is not Love at six, it's Goff being down a little bit more than I would have expected. You know, Love, if you look at the stats of the last three years, he's a, he's a great TD to interception ratio guy. He gets the ball down the field. He moves the Packers and they pile up the numbers and they haven't really had a number one receiver to go to. So you look at Jordan Love's numbers right here. Those are very compelling numbers. That's who the Packers have committed to. Obviously they gave him the contract going into the last season and they believe in Jordan Love. He has played up to that level. The supporting cast has kept the Packers from doing more in the postseason than Jordan Love has. Jennifer, I mean, I'm in agreement with Tim that equally a surprise that Jared Goff is at 16. Are you? I'm absolutely stunned. And it's mostly because of the numbers that you look to. I mean, they've got one of the most prolific scoring offenses in all of the NFL, let alone in the NFC. And also the fact that he's got a 68% completion percentage coming off of 2025. He was second in touchdowns last year, second in passing yards. Jared Goff has done nothing but achieve at a high level for the Detroit Lions in his four years here. I mean, they've had a top scoring offense the last four seasons and with guys like Gibbs, St. Brown, Williams. I mean, they are a tremendous offensive threat and I think he's going to just keep getting better and better. And one of the most interesting things too about Jared Goff is he's really smart. He's like an extra coach on the field. From Ben Johnson to now Drew Petzing, everyone who has ever worked around Jared Goff has kind of ruminated about how intelligent he is and what a great playmaker he is. I think the only thing that hurts him is maybe his performances in some of the biggest games of his career. You can look back to the Super Bowl with the Rams, also the NFC Championship game with the Lions in 2023, and as well that playoff game two years ago against the Washington Commanders. It was really one of Goff's worst games. But the thing that also is his superpower is the chip he has on his shoulder. And Jared Goff will be the first guy to tell you he doesn't have one. He's not motivated. He doesn't hear that. But when you watch and listen to his response to questions about the criticisms against him, you know darn well that he hears it and it drives and motivates him. And I expect him to have a tremendous year this season, especially with that revamped offensive line. Dawn, I know that Kyler Murray is looking forward to a new start in Minnesota and every week we talk about the competition. If it's a true competition between him and J.J. McCarthy, I kind of feel like him being ranked 21st is a very fair ranking, giving the restart and how he's trying to, again, kickstart his career in a new place. You know, it's funny because I'm listening to all of you say, oh, it's not fair. I'm like, yeah, 21 seems pretty fair for Kyler Murray. I mean, considering he's only had one full season, and if we can say full since 2021, last year he only had five starts. So I feel like we're going on what his potential can be. And I know when you look at these rankings, they don't field in how long have they been with an offense, right? How long have they been with this head coach, blah, blah, blah, blah. But when you just break it down to brass tacks, I mean, 72.2 PFF had for his passing grade for last year in those five starts. But what is five starts? So you have to look back to 2024 where he had some big time throws, like 27 of them were really big time throws. And also he really did well by moving his feet and carrying the ball 7.3 yards per carry, which was second back then in the NFL. But that's one year to go on in the past five. So I think 21 is really fair. And now it's also J.J. McCarthy got honorable mention. And you talked about the feet work when it comes to Caleb. And, you know, that was the number one diss on J.J. McCarthy when it came to Kevin O'Connor. He's like, we got to work on his feet. We got to work on his feet. But then his accuracy was down. So I was surprised that J.J. McCarthy was even an honorable mention, to be honest. So I think one is fair. And then the honorable mention for me was a bit surprising. Some might argue that J.J. McCarthy just didn't have to throw the ball all that much while he was at Michigan. So the accuracy and the footwork was never really put to test. We need to take a time out when we return on First and North. What projected starting lineups are the best and the worst in the league? And Micah Parsons getting the crew together for some summer workouts.