It’s Wednesday. The NFL trade deadline has passed and the mailbag is here. Let’s dive into…

from Josh Frie (@freisenberg89): Is there a legitimate chance Carolina sticks with Bryce Young after this season if he continues to improve?

Josh, sure there is. I don’t think it’s likely that Young will be a quarterback for the next five years. But the Carolina Panthers invested a lot in Young, and his contract isn’t disastrous, and the upcoming class looks shaky at the position, so there’s a pretty realistic scenario where the best thing for the Panthers to do is at least give him a chance to win his job back . in 2025.

The company here could be Tua Tagovailoa. Here’s a look at where Young is now versus where Tagovailoa was going statistically in 2022, with Mike McDaniel coming on board as his new coach and a bench (or three) already on his resume…

Tagovailoa has done more in his first two years than Young has so far to make the case that he should remain the team’s quarterback. That’s why I think if you assume the Panthers don’t make a big trade at quarterback in 2025, the likelihood would be to bring in the competition and see where it goes. This would be the rational way to manage the position while still giving you a chance to take advantage of your investment in Young.

from I obey González (@ObedinHouston): Why do you think the Houston Texans didn’t make moves at the trade deadline? They needed OL and receiver help.

Well, though?

Obed, I’m not sure there was a help for Houston that would have provided better answers than what they already have on the list.

The problem along the offensive line is inside, where they had expensive veteran Shaq Mason and former first-round pick Kenyon Green at guard and former second-rounder Juice Scruggs under center. They invested a lot and it wasn’t good enough this year. Now Green is injured and Kendrick Green, a former third-round pick who started 18 games in his place, is playing. Would it have been worth, say, acquiring Larry Borom? May be. Or maybe the line just needs to be more consistent. As shocking as that group was, I don’t think talent is the problem.

At the receiver, it may take time to sort things out. But Nico Collins has a chance to return this week, Tank Dell is a very good No. 2, and the Texans have a nice mix of young (John Metchie III, Xavier Hutchinson) and old (Robert Woods) to fill the void, plus a developing young tight end in Cade Stover who will pair with Dalton Schultz and give Houston more flexibility to play two tight end sets. So I don’t think overextending to get, say, Darius Slayton would have made the Texans that much more poised for a run to and through the playoffs.

So I think Houston has plenty of answers inside.

from Kim (@jessthebest077): Albert, do you think Richardson will be on the Colts next year?

Kim, this is similar to the Young question, only with much less evidence one way or the other if Anthony Richardson can be the answer. What makes it even more difficult for the Indianapolis Colts is that they don’t have issues with the overall talent on offense or the tumult of the organization like the Panthers. So you can’t hang it on that or coach Shane Steichen with his track record of developing and maximizing quarterbacks.

So I feel like it’s highly unlikely that the Colts will go into the 2025 offseason with Richardson as the starter, and I think his chances of winning the job there will probably go down to the level of quarterback they bring in to either compete or replace it.

Again, it’s not over for Richardson. But he is no longer on the stock market.

from Yinzer (@Yinzer1): How Does the league see the Steelers 6–2 against other teams like the Ravens, Commanders or even the Texans? In 2020, the Steelers are off to an 11-0 start and no one thought they were a real contender.

Yinzer, the league sees Mike Tomlin’s group as one with a dominant defense and an offense that still has plenty of questions to answer. That said, you don’t have to squint too hard to conjure up some answers to those questions. Quarterback may not be completely fixed, but Russell Wilson’s play gives the Pittsburgh Steelers what appear to be two legitimate solutions at the position. And while the offensive line still isn’t perfect, it relies on highly-drafted youngsters like Zach Frazier and Broderick Jones who should continue to improve.

Then there’s also the aggressiveness GM Omar Khan showed in acquiring Mike Williams and Preston Smith before the deadline. The former should be motivated and give Wilson another big target to take pressure off George Pickens. The latter can play alongside TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith on losses and be an insurance policy to ensure a team’s strength remains a strength if there is an injury.

Overall, I think, and the NFL people think, this is probably the most capable Steeler team to make the playoffs in a while.

from Hmmm (@godcousinmatt): Does Chris Grier survive this season? He got more time than most other GMs. He has very little success to hang on to. Being a Bill Parcells disciple can only take you so far.

Mmmm, I don’t see a change there at this point. The Dolphins roster is still solid, Grier is working very well with coach Mike McDaniel, and I don’t think you can blame them for Tua’s situation (although the contract decision is separate from that).

They made the playoffs last year. They lost to two very good teams in the last few weeks. Take a deep breath. They’ll be fine if Tagovailoa can stay healthy.

from Corey Bohler (@CoreyBohler): Any chance the Bears dump Eberflus and Waldron before the season ends?

Corey, I would be surprised because I don’t think that’s how the McCaskey family works.

Matt Eberflus has done a lot of good things over the past three years. I think if you look at how Caleb Williams played — even last week against Arizona — you have to give credit to Shane Waldron and the offensive coaches.

On the other hand, I’m not saying that changes can’t come after the season, and it’s clearly a critical period ahead for the team. To lose like the Chicago Bears did to Washington, have all the hype they did during the week and then come back and lay an egg in Arizona puts a lot of people on edge. And now they will host the lowly Patriots, a perfect opponent for the Bears. It seems pretty important that they, yes, be right this week.

from Craig Evans (@CraigEvans06): Are the Browns moving on from Ken Dorsey soon? Stefanski’s friend Klint Kubiak will reportedly be available after the season.

Craig, not impossible – it’s smart of you to raise Kubiak’s potential availability.

That said, in some ways doing so would be turning back the clock. Kevin Stefanski’s rationale in hiring Ken Dorsey was to inject new ideas into the Cleveland Browns’ offense. The model, I would say, was Baltimore and how John Harbaugh pushed the evolution, going from Marty Morhinweg to Greg Roman to Todd Moken in Lamar Jackson’s seven years. I think we’ve seen some moments where Dorsey and Stefanski can take it together.

And you saw it, after the team lost legendary line coach Bill Callahan, and through a rash of injuries on the offensive line, offloading Amari Cooper and, of course, while enduring issues at quarterback. So I’m not sure I’d go into fire mode – all yet.

from Nicholas (@mothernature): What’s the pulse of the NFC West? Everyone wants to wait for LA and San Francisco to get their guys back, but Arizona did without their guys. Can the Cardinals hang on?

Nilolai, the San Francisco 49ers are interesting because of their experience and talent, and Christian McCaffrey’s recovery, assuming he gets healthy, is obviously huge. They still have the best roster and a playoff-experienced pitching staff and squad. The Los Angeles Rams have the best quarterback and, like the Niners, one of the NFL’s best head coaches, plus a young defense that looks to improve by the week (injuries persist on offense).

So with that established, I’d probably pick the Niners to win the division right now, but I see the Cardinals as a real contender. Kyler Murray is playing great, offensive coordinator Drew Petzing is a rising star, the team is solid on the line of scrimmage, and rookies Marvin Harrison Jr. and Max Melton should continue to improve.

Jonathan Gannon and Monti Ossenfort are doing a great job of building that team.

from ASB1216 (@ASB1216): For those who didn’t fill a need via trade, are there free agents who were recently released or are still available from the offseason who could sign with a team for a run?

There are some experienced players like tackles DJ Humphries, Charles Leno, Donovan Smith and David Bakhtiari who are older and beat up, but could be a solution for someone in a pinch. Defensively, Patrick Peterson and Marcus Peters could help someone at corner, and Frank Clark could help as an edge.

I would think with any of these guys, you’d be rolling the dice more than anything else.

from Jeff Duffy (@jeffduffy): When it comes to player safety, shouldn’t players do their part too? I see mouthpieces hanging and not many covering their knees…those are penalties in high school for player safety. Mouthpieces play a role in concussion prevention, and knee pads can only help.

Jeff, so this is an old argument that I might not be able to add much to. Guys leave mouthpieces out or often play without kneecaps because they feel faster or more comfortable without them. And, yes, the risks they take in those cases are their own.

I guess you could penalize men with mouthpieces – players are required to wear them by a rule, but it has to be one of the more loosely regulated rules.

from erickleinphd (@DrEricKlein): If Woody Johnson is re-selected by President Trump to be the ambassador to England, how could that affect the potential hiring of a new coach and general manager for the Jets? Would Woody still want to make those hires or would he hand over to his brother Christopher Johnson?

Eric, I think Woody will have a say in any case. When Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas were hired, they were warned about Johnson and that he would ultimately be the one making the decisions about their future after being hired by Christopher.

I suspect Woody would leave less to chance this time. At the very least, he will be a factor in how attractive the job is to candidates, whether it’s here or in the UK.