Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

I'd like to start things off here by congratulating everyone because you've done it! You've made it through the 2025 NFL offseason. There are three teams still in mandatory minicamp, but all three teams will be holding their final practice today, which means the offseason will officially be here by the end of the day. After today, we won't see an NFL team on the field again until July 12 when the Chargers' rookies report for training camp. For those of you scoring at home, that's 23 days away. 

So what are we going to do for the next three weeks? I have no idea. We'll think of something. The good news is that I DO know what we'll be covering in today's newsletter, so let's get to the run down. 

As always, here's your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. Let's get to the rundown. 

The month of June isn't exactly the most exciting one during the NFL offseason, but we've decided to spice things up this week. First, we unveiled Pete Prisco's full ranking of the NFL's top 100 players on Tuesday, and today, Cody Benjamin is releasing his annual QB tier list. 

This list is simple: We take all the starting quarterbacks in the NFL and put them into one of six tiers. If you're in the first tier, that's a good thing. If you're in the sixth tier, that's not so good. 

The most surprising change this year is probably the fact that we have a new quarterback in Tier 1: Jayden Daniels. The Commanders quarterback was so good as a rookie that he's been bumped up into the same echelon as Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow. 

With that in mind, we're going to take a look at one player from each of Cody's six tiers: 

• Tier 1 (Transcendent talents): Jayden Daniels. "His sample size is small, yes, but Daniels enjoyed one of the finest debuts in NFL history as the new face of the Commanders."
• Tier 2 (Borderline stars): Brock Purdy. "He's a wily and underrated play-extender, he isn't afraid to let it fly, and his collectedness took him to the biggest stage before."
• Tier 3 (Promising prospects): Bo Nix. "The seasoned Oregon product quietly approached 30 passing scores in Year 1 under Sean Payton, while excelling as a play-extender with his legs."
• Tier 4 (Volatile veterans): Aaron Rodgers. "Rodgers' luster may have dampened in his dismal two-year dabble with the Jets, but pairing his two decades of experience with the prestige of Mike Tomlin's Steelers promises good TV."
• Tier 5 (Prized project): Cam Ward. "Ward's college production bodes well for his anticipated debut in Nashville."
• Tier 6 (Holdovers and placeholders). Justin Fields. "he's now on his third team in five seasons, and neither of his previous clubs could figure out how to prioritize ball protection while maximizing his gifts."

If you want to see what tier your favorite quarterback falls in, be sure to check out Cody's full story here. 

Of the 257 players who were selected in the 2025 NFL Draft, there are still 36 of them who have yet to sign their rookie deal. That number isn't overly shocking, but there is a surprising twist here and that's the fact that 30 of those 36 players were all taken in the same round: The second round.  

Of the 32 players taken in that round, only two have signed their rookie contract. On the other hand, of the 227 players taken in the other six rounds, 221 of them have already signed. So what's causing the hold up? Glad you asked. Former NFL agent Joel Corry has the answer and it's something as simple as contract guarantees. 

• Texans make history with Jayden Higgins' contract. Every player selected in the first round gets a fully guaranteed rookie contract, but that's not the case with players taken in the second round. Well, it wasn't until this year. When Higgins signed his deal on May 8, the receiver, who was taken with the 34th overall pick, became the first second-round pick ever to get a fully guaranteed rookie deal. 
• Browns hand out the same deal. Higgins was the second pick in the second round and after he was given a fully guaranteed deal, it put the Browns in a spot where they had to give one to Carson Schwesinger, who was the first pick in the second round. The linebacker did end up getting a fully guaranteed deal and he got it one day after Higgins signed his contract. In 2024, the first pick of the second round (Keon Coleman) only got 80% of his contract guaranteed, but Schwesinger got 100%. 
• Tyler Shough has thrown a wrench into things. The Saints quarterback was taken with the 40th overall pick and he also wants a fully guaranteed deal since he's likely going to be the team's starting QB this year. If Shough gets one, then the players taken between 35th and 39th will almost certainly argue that they also deserve a fully guaranteed deal. For any player taken after Shough, they're likely going to wait so they can see what kind of guarantees they can get (For instance, if Shough gets a fully guaranteed deal, the 41st players taken might ask for a deal that is 95% guaranteed and then things would trickle down from there). 

Once Shough signs, everyone selected around him will have a better idea of how much they can get in guaranteed money. This actually a pretty interesting situation and you can read Corry's full take on it here. 

Lamar Jackson urged the Ravens to go out and sign his former college teammate and that's exactly what they did on Wednesday with the addition of Jaire Alexander, who landed a one-year deal worth up to $6 million. It's not often that a team lands a former Pro Bowl cornerback in free agency during the month of June, so we thought we'd come up with some winners and losers from the signing. 

Everyone's favorite winner, Tyler Sullivan, came up with this list. 

WINNERS

• Ravens secondary. "Alexander being entered into the mix in Baltimore does raise the secondary's ceiling, despite his injury concerns. Over his final two seasons in Green Bay, Alexander being on the field was a pretty dramatic difference for the Packers."
• Lamar Jackson. "Who doesn't love a reunion? Just one day ago, Jackson publicly implored the front office to go after Alexander, who was his college teammate at Louisville from 2015 to 2017. ... Well, fast forward roughly 24 hours, and Jackson was the first to greet his friend and fellow Cardinal to Baltimore."

LOSERS

• Chidobe Awuzie. "Awuzie might be the biggest loser as a result of this signing, as it takes away what could've been a starting job on the boundary of Baltimore's defense opposite of Nate Wiggins."
• AFC North quarterbacks. "In the seven games he played last season, Alexander allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete 56.7% of their passes with him in coverage and recorded an 86.9 passer rating."

You can check out Sullivan's full list here. 

After 10 NFL seasons, C.J. Mosley has decided to call it a career, CBS Sports Matt Zenitz has reported. It's almost fitting that Mosley is retiring today because it just so happens to be his 33rd birthday.

Here are three things to know about the former first-round pick: 

• Mosley was dominant in Baltimore. Mosley entered the NFL in 2014 after the Ravens made him the 17th overall pick in the draft. During his five seasons in Baltimore, Mosley was voted to four Pro Bowls and he was also voted a second-team All-Pro a total of four times. In 2014, Mosley finished second in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting, just barely losing out to Aaron Donald. 
• Mosley makes the move to New York. After five seasons with the Ravens, Mosley left Baltimore in free agency in 2019 to sign a five-year, $85 million contract with the Jets. Although he had a solid five-year career with the Jets, he dealt with injuries for a good chunk of his time in New York. He missed 14 games due to injuries in 2019 and then he missed 13 more in 2024. Last season, Mosley was sidelined by a neck injury and that likely factored into his retirement decision. He also sat out the 2020 COVID season, but he did come back refreshed: From 2021 through 2023, Mosley recorded at least 150 tackles in each season, tying the NFL record for most consecutive seasons with at least 150 tackles. 
• Mosley had a dominant college career. During his time at Alabama, Mosley was a two-time All-American, who won back-to-back national championships under Nick Saban. In 2013, he won the Butkus Award while also being named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year.

We've got more on Mosley's retirement and you can check that out here. 

I have no idea how it happened, but we've somehow made it 25 years into the new century. When you look at the past 25 years in the NFL, there's one team that was more dominant than any other: The New England Patriots. From 2000 through 2024, the Patriots went to nine Super Bowls and won six of them, and as we all know, time flies when you're winning Super Bowls. 

To celebrate that fact, we've put together an all-quarter century team for the Patriots. Here's a look at a few of the players who made Tyler Sullivan's list: 

QB: Tom Brady
RB: Kevin Faulk
RB: Corey Dillon
WR: Wes Welker
WR: Julian Edelman
TE: Rob Gronkowski

Our all-quarter century team features a total of 53 players and if you want to see the full roster, you can do that here. 

While not the busiest time in the NFL, there's still a lot happening, so I went ahead and put together a roundup for you. 

• Henry Ruggs breaks silence. The former Raiders receiver, who's currently serving a 3- to 10-year prison sentence after being convicted of a felony DUI involving death, is hoping that he can one day return to the NFL. During a speech at a church in Las Vegas, the 26-year-old Ruggs was asked if he's still got his eye on a possible return to football. "Yes,  I would love to [play again]," Ruggs said, via the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "I'm in this newfound spiritual space, and I'm confident in who I am and what I can do, so, when the time comes, I'm sure I'll be ready." You can check out his full comments here. 
• Shedeur Sanders cited for speeding. An NFL player getting a speeding ticket isn't always news, but it is here for two reasons. For one, it involves Shedeur Sanders. And two, he was busted for driving over 100 mph in an area with a posted speed limit of 60 mph. We've got the details of the situation here. 
• Jets kicking competition takes an interesting twist. Anders Carlson closed the 2024 season as the Jets kicker, but he won't be around for 2025 after being released on Wednesday. The Jets made another kicking moved yesterday when they signed Harrison Mevis, who you might know better as "The Thiccer Kicker." Mevis will now be competing with Caden Davis for the Jets' kicking job. Neither player has ever kicked in an NFL regular-season game. 
• Travis Kelce was never close to retiring. Although there was some speculation that Travis Kelce might retire after the 2024 season, he says that was never close to happening. "I love football," Kelce said. "I don't think I really thought about it that much. My friends and family and the team and the guys and women in this building, I love coming into work every single day." Kelce was interviewed at Chiefs minicamp and you can check out everything he had to say here.