The New York Jets will have to prove they’re as good as they look to be on paper during the season, but the roster can’t go unnoticed entering the campaign. Many around the industry believe the Jets have an opportunity to win a Super Bowl and if things go as planned, they’d be correct.

Not only are analysts saying New York can win it all, but players around the league are giving them more respect than ever. 

The Jets will play the  on Monday night in their first game of the year, a tough opening contest. The 49ers are arguably the best team in the NFL, and with a lot of change for New York, things won’t be easy. 

However, San Francisco players have shown respect to players on the Jets roster, indicating how tough it is to prepare for the team.

In years past, opposing defenses didn’t have to worry much about New York’s offense. They’ve typically been one of the worst in the NFL, and while every team prepares no matter who they’re playing, the Jets are now becoming a team that other squads need to worry about.

Charvarius Ward of the 49ers praised the offense, specifically star wide receiver Garrett Wilson. Wilson, who’s expected to be one of the top receivers in the NFL this season, has a big year in front of them.

He had 1,042 yards a season ago, with bad quarterback play. If Aaron Rodgers plays how he’s expected to, there’s a very good chance he could be looking at a 1,500-plus-yard year. 

Ward compared him to Rodgers’ long-time teammate, Davante Adams, perhaps the biggest compliment a receiver could get. Adams is an all-world talent.

“No. They have the same offensive coordinator that Rodgers had in Green Bay. I think it’s going to be a similar offense,” Ward said, according to Grant Cohn of Sports Illustrated. “Garrett Wilson might be the new Davante Adams. We’re watching some of his Packers tape and some of the tape from last year as well because they have the same play-caller.”

He added that he “thinks he’s a dog.”

Wilson should only continue to get more respect around the league once he puts up numbers compared to some of the other top wide receivers in football. If players around the league already think this highly of him, imagine what they’ll say when he has an all-time great throwing him the football.

Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray is staying in the Mile High City.

The Nuggets and Murray agreed to a four-year, $208 million maximum contract extension, his agent confirmed to ESPN on Saturday. The new deal locks down Murray, who was set to enter free agency next summer.

Murray averaged a career high 21.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and a career-high 6.5 assists in 59 games last season, his eighth season in Denver after being drafted out of the University of Kentucky with the No. 7 overall pick in 2016. Murray missed the entire 2021-22 NBA season after tearing his ACL, but he helped the Nuggets claim their first ever NBA championship the next season alongside three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.

Murray has had a busy summer. The Ontario native represented the Canadian men’s national basketball team at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Team Canada, which also featured the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dillon Brooks, advanced to the quarterfinals before being eliminated by the host country France and finishing in fifth place.

Murray averaged six points, three rebounds and 3.8 assists in four Olympic Games.  

Prioritizing depth in the secondary for their season opener against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks announced veteran cornerback Artie Burns and safety Marquise Blair have been elevated from the practice squad and will be available to suit up in Week 1.

For most of the offseason program and training camp, Burns rotated in with the first-team defense in the slot when starting cornerback Devon Witherspoon slid back outside and looked to be a lock to make the 53-man roster as a rotational reserve and special teams contributor. However, he exited Seattle’s preseason finale on a cart with a toe injury and ultimately, as a vested veteran who avoided waivers, the team was able to release him and quickly re-sign him to the practice squad.

Coming off an injury-marred 2022 season where he only played in three games, Burns gave the Seahawks quality reps in a reserve role last season while logging extensive action in the slot for the first time in his NFL career. Stepping up with Coby Bryant and Witherspoon banged up at different times during the course of the season, per Pro Football Focus, he allowed less than 10 yards per reception and no touchdowns while producing a pair of pass breakups in eight games where he saw defensive snaps.

By choosing to elevate Burns for Week 1, coach Mike Macdonald and his staff will have a bit more flexibility moving Witherspoon to different positions, as the Seahawks only have five cornerbacks currently on the 53-man roster and none of the other four players have NFL experience in the slot. When in nickel and dime packages on Sunday, depending on where Witherspoon lines up, he could see plenty of playing time rotating in as a situational slot defender.

Formerly a second-round pick by Seattle back in 2019, Blair’s once-promising career has been derailed by injuries over the past several seasons. A torn ACL limited him to two games in 2020, and after making a lengthy recovery from reconstructive knee surgery, he fractured his knee cap after playing just six games in 2021 and missed the rest of the season.

Unable to stand out in a deep safety group in training camp in 2022, the Seahawks released Blair and he spent a brief cup of tea with the Panthers that season, playing in three games with a single tackle. He didn’t play at all last season after tearing his Achilles during offseason training, putting his career on the ropes.

However, Blair once again worked his way back from a significant injury and Seattle brought him in for a workout last month. Impressed by what they saw, the team signed him to a one-year, veteran minimum contract and he wound up playing in all three preseason games, producing nine tackles, a quarterback pressure, and a pass breakup.

Though Blair didn’t make the Seahawks initial roster, Macdonald and his staff thought enough of his performance last month to warrant retaining him on the practice squad. Now, more than two years after the team let him go, he will have a chance to make an impact on special teams and will provide extra depth at strong safety with starter Rayshawn Jenkins coming back from a calf injury, bringing his career full circle.