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Big bidding expected for NFL Christmas games

Thu Mar 28 5:08pm ET
Field Level Media

There will be a hot commodity on the market ahead of next holiday season: a pair of NFL games on Christmas Day.

The league plans to auction off the TV rights to those two games to the highest bidder, with the price starting at $50 million per game, Front Office Sports reported Thursday.

In an unexpected move, the NFL decided to schedule a doubleheader on Christmas Day, which falls on a Wednesday in 2024. NFL executives pointed to the ratings the three Christmas games got in 2023; each were among the top 10 in ratings in the regular season, per the Wall Street Journal.

Because games on a Wednesday would not fall under any preexisting contract, the league will allow all its TV and streaming partners -- CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN-ABC and Amazon Prime -- to duke it out for the rights.

There have been only two NFL games played on a Wednesday since 1949. One was when the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants were moved off a Thursday to avoid conflicting with the 2012 Democratic National Convention. The other was when the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers were scheduled to play on Thanksgiving but the game was pushed back three times due to COVID-19.

This will be the fifth straight season the NFL has played on Christmas, encroaching on a sports day typically dominated by the NBA.

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Player Notes
Cody Davis Mar 28 4:50pm ET
Cody Davis

Veteran safety Cody Davis is retiring from the NFL, according to his X account on Thursday. Davis originally went undrafted out of Texas Tech in 2013, but he was signed by the St. Louis Rams as a free agent and spent five years with the organization. He then played two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars before four years with the New England Patriots. Overall, the 34-year-old compiled 117 tackles, two fumble recoveries, two interceptions, and eight passes defended in 144 games over 11 years. He was primarily a special teamer and depth player, so it's not a significant loss for the Patriots heading into 2024.

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Rome Odunze Mar 28 4:40pm ET
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Former Washington Huskies wide receiver Rome Odunze has upcoming meetings with the Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets, and Chicago Bears at their respective facilities, he told Brady Henderson of ESPN. The 21-year-old is projected to be selected in the early first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, and most analysts rank him just behind Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr. and LSU's Malik Nabers. He is coming off a 92-catch, 1,640-yard, 13-touchdown season in 2023, and he impressed at the NFL Combine. Arizona holds the No. 4 pick, New York holds the No. 10 pick, and Chicago owns the No. 1 and No. 9 overall picks. Oduzne will be a highly sought-after fantasy football rookie next year regardless of his landing spot, but target competition in Chicago and New York could make it tough for him to have a massive breakout in his first season as a pro. That said, he's viewed as an elite prospect, so anything is possible.

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Olamide Zaccheaus Mar 28 4:40pm ET
Olamide Zaccheaus

Free-agent wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus has agreed to terms to sign with the Washington Commanders, according to John Keim of ESPN. Zaccheaus was originally undrafted out of Virginia in the 2019 class, and he spent four seasons with the Atlanta Falcons before one year with the Philadelphia Eagles last season. Overall, the 26-year-old has hauled in 104 passes for 1,492 yards and 10 touchdowns through his first 72 NFL games. With Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson on the roster and Washington likely to take shots on wide receivers in next month's draft, Zaccheaus is unlikely to have a path toward fantasy success in 2024, barring injury. He's likely just a depth piece for a franchise looking to rebuild on the fly.

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Jayden Daniels Mar 28 2:50pm ET
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LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels had a solid workout during his school's pro day on Wednesday after he chose not to throw at the NFL scouting combine in February. Daniels measured in at 6-foot-3 5/8 and 210 pounds with 9 3/8-inch hands. He didn't run a 40-yard dash or do any other athletic testing, but he completed 52 of his 56 passes. Most of Daniels' misfires came on deeper passes and throws outside the numbers. He appeared to improve as his throwing session went on. "I can't say that it's been an A-plus workout, but it's been solid," NFL Network's Bucky Brooks said. Daniels' pro day session might not have been a game-changer for his outlook, but he was pleased with the results as a whole, and he's still expected to be a top-five pick in the upcoming NFL draft, possibly as early as No. 2 overall to the Washington Commanders.

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Brian Thomas Jr. Mar 28 2:50pm ET
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Josiah Deguara Mar 28 2:30pm ET
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Former Green Bay Packers tight end Josiah Deguara signed an undisclosed one-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday, according to a source. Deguara will head to the AFC after spending the first four years of his NFL career playing for the Packers. Green Bay took him in the third round (94th overall) in 2020 out of Cincinnati. In his four years with the team, he recorded 47 catches on 58 targets for 436 yards and only two touchdowns in 50 games played (10 starts). In 15 regular-season games (four starts) in 2023, the 27-year-old caught just eight passes for 65 yards and no scores. Deguara will mostly be useful to the Jaguars for his blocking skills on offense and on special teams, so fantasy managers shouldn't expect him to make an impact catching the ball behind Evan Engram, the team's top pass-catching tight end.

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Ed Oliver Mar 28 2:30pm ET
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The Buffalo Bills signed free-agent defensive tackle DeShawn Williams to an undisclosed one-year deal on Thursday. Williams will give the Bills continued depth for their defensive tackle room that went into free agency with just Ed Oliver and Eli Ankou under contract. The 31-year-old Williams played in 16 games (10 starts) for the Carolina Panthers last year and finished with 33 tackles (13 solo) and seven QB hits. He entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2016 with the Cincinnati Bengals out of Clemson, and the Bills will be the fourth different team he's played for in six seasons. In total, Williams has racked up 148 tackles (72 solo), nine sacks, 11 tackles for loss, 30 QB hits, one interception and nine passes defended in 66 games (44 starts). Williams will be off the IDP fantasy radar.

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Michael Hoecht Mar 28 2:10pm ET
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The Los Angeles Rams re-signed linebacker Michael Hoecht to an undisclosed deal earlier this week. Hoecht didn't receive any offers from other teams this offseason after the Rams placed a right-of-first-refusal tender on him. The 26-year-old entered the NFL in 2021 with the Rams as an undrafted free agent out of Brown University and he has 124 tackles (74 solo), 10.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, 20 QB hits and two forced fumbles in 51 games (26 starts) in his three seasons in the league. Last year he started in all 17 regular-season games for LA and recorded a career-high 81 tackles (45 solo), a career-high six sacks, seven tackles for loss, 11 QB hits and a forced fumble.

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J.K. Dobbins Mar 28 11:00am ET
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Geno Smith Mar 27 8:10pm ET
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Nate Sudfeld Mar 27 8:00pm ET
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The Detroit Lions have re-signed quarterback Nate Sudfeld on Wednesday. The 30-year-old served as the backup to Jared Goff during the 2022 season. He was slated to compete with Teddy Bridgewater, but he has retired this offseason. That being said, Sudfeld figures to compete with Hendon Hooker for the backup job in Detroit next season. The former sixth-round pick has played in six games since debuting in 2017. Sudfeld won't offer any fantasy value heading into next season.

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Malik Nabers Mar 27 4:50pm ET
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Neville Hewitt Mar 27 3:10pm ET
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Sam Franklin Mar 27 3:10pm ET
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Jayden Daniels Mar 27 3:00pm ET
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Talanoa Hufanga Mar 27 3:00pm ET
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The San Francisco 49ers expect safety Talanoa Hufanga (knee) to return from his ACL injury "sometime in training camp" this summer, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. The head coach also sounded optimistic about Hufanga's ability to return to 100 percent of his old self. The Niners would like to add a safety, but they told recent visitor Julian Blackmon that a new addition wouldn't necessarily be guaranteed a starting spot in 2024. Hufanga probably won't be ready to go for Day 1 of training camp as he works his way back from a torn ACL that he suffered in Week 11 of 2023. The 24-year-old defensive back is one of the rising young options at his position in IDP fantasy leagues when healthy. Hufanga had 52 tackles and three interceptions last year before suffering his season-ending injury.

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Tank Bigsby Mar 27 2:50pm ET
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Josh Reynolds Mar 27 2:40pm ET
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