Louisville Professional Athletes

Two Louisville alumni are commanding attention as the 2026 NFL preseason winds down — one carrying the weight of a franchise's Super Bowl ambitions, the other completing an unlikely round trip to Los Angeles.

Lamar Jackson: The Pressure Is Real in Baltimore

The Ravens enter 2026 as legitimate Super Bowl contenders, and that expectation comes with an edge. The Sporting News placed Baltimore at a 10-out-of-10 on its "Panic Meter" — not because the team is bad, but because the stakes around Jackson have never been higher. After a 2025 season hampered by injuries that limited him to a career-low 67 carries and cost him four games, the two-time MVP is operating in a new offense and fielding questions about his approach on the ground. His answer has been characteristically direct: "Whatever it takes to win."

That mindset will be tested early. A season-ending injury to offensive lineman Danny Pinter has created a hole in Jackson's protection that Baltimore must address before Week 1. The Ravens also have a documented tendency — one the Sporting News flagged as a "brutal habit" — that the coaching staff has publicly committed to breaking this year.

The silver linings are real, though. A joint practice against Washington's offense drew rave reviews for Baltimore, with the Commanders' unit described as the "worst I've ever seen" by one observer while Jackson and the Ravens offense offered "plenty of reasons for optimism." And Jackson is openly hyping rookie wideout Ja'Kobi Lane, comparing the first-year receiver's hands to those of Odell Beckham Jr. and DeAndre Hopkins — a statement that carries weight coming from a quarterback who has thrown to some of the best in the business. Lane has already earned a starting role in three-receiver sets and could emerge as Jackson's WR2 if uncertainty around Rashod Bateman continues.

AFC North win-total projections have the Ravens returning to prominence. The pressure is earned, and so is the optimism.

Tutu Atwell: The Homecoming Trade

Timing and circumstances conspired to bring Atwell back to the Rams just ahead of the league's roster-cut deadline. Miami dealt the speedy wideout back to Los Angeles in exchange for running back Jarquez Hunter — a one-for-one swap that immediately sparked speculation that the Rams were bracing for a Puka Nacua suspension. Head coach Sean McVay shut that down quickly, stating the trade had "nothing to do" with any potential Nacua discipline and was simply a football decision to add depth at receiver.

For Atwell, it's a return to the system and city where he spent the first chapter of his NFL career. The Rams had a strong preseason, and Atwell slots into a crowded but talented pass-catching group. His reunion with the Rams' offense — built around speed and space — looks like a natural fit on paper.

The Dolphins, meanwhile, were willing to move Atwell despite an acknowledged weakness at wideout, suggesting Hunter was viewed as a higher-priority need at the position.

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Two Cardinals, one superstar in the crosshairs of championship-or-bust expectations, the other chasing stability in a familiar place. Both stories are worth watching when the real games begin.

It was a busy week for Louisville's NFL contingent, and almost all roads ran through Baltimore — and Kansas City.

Lamar Jackson: Trade Buzz, New OC, Controversial Ranking

The NFL's offseason noise machine has had one persistent signal: Lamar Jackson's name keeps surfacing in places it probably shouldn't.

ESPN floated a long-shot scenario in which the Ravens could find themselves at a crossroads with their two-time MVP, and The Sporting News ran with the implications — arguing that if contract talks or organizational dynamics deteriorate, the Miami Dolphins could emerge as a legitimate trade destination. Jackson grew up in South Florida, and his contract leverage gives him unusual influence over his professional future. None of this amounts to a credible imminent trade, but the speculation alone reflects just how dominant Jackson's standing is in the league.

On the football side, Jackson is now working with his fourth offensive coordinator since taking over Baltimore's starting job midway through his rookie season in 2018. New OC Declan Doyle is the latest to inherit the keys to one of the league's most dynamic offenses. Per Bleacher Report, Jackson's stance on the Doyle partnership has been quietly encouraging — the Louisville product is reportedly bought in and engaged with the new system, which should temper any concerns about a bumpy transition.

Then there's the ranking controversy. The 2026 NFL Top 100 — voted on by players — slotted Jackson at No. 69, a steep and eyebrow-raising drop from his placements in recent seasons. The ranking drew sharp reactions in Ravens circles, especially given that Derrick Henry landed at No. 15 on the same list. Whether it's a motivational slight or just a quirk of peer voting, expect Jackson to use it as one.

Gillotte's Plantar Fascia Injury Clouds Chiefs Camp

In Kansas City, second-year defensive end Ashton Gillotte is dealing with a more immediate setback. The Louisville pass rusher ruptured his plantar fascia during Chiefs training camp — a painful foot injury that follows an earlier hamstring tweak that had already slowed him. The good news, per Yahoo Sports, is that the timeline is measured in weeks rather than months, with a return estimated around three weeks out. Still, for a young player trying to carve out a roster role on a defending-champion squad, any lost reps in camp carry real cost.

Around the Cardinal Nation

Elsewhere, Louisville's NFL footprint extends to New Orleans, where Saints QB Tyler Shough is holding down a starting role. Shough sat out a preseason game against the Jaguars as the team evaluated backup candidates behind him — a sign that his spot atop the depth chart, at least for now, is secure enough to protect.

In Tampa, linebacker Yaya Diaby was flagged by Yahoo Sports as one of three "hidden gems" on the 2026 Buccaneers roster — a notable nod for a player the piece described as a potential difference-maker on a team navigating an uncertain competitive window.

Louisville's alumni class spans 30 NFL players this season. This week made clear that the two driving the most conversation — Jackson and Gillotte — are doing so for very different reasons.

Teddy Bridgewater is done. The Louisville quarterback who turned himself into one of the Cardinals' most celebrated pro products confirmed his NFL retirement this week — this time, he says, for good.

Bridgewater, 33, posted on social media that his retirement is "official," punctuating a career that began when the Minnesota Vikings selected him in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. The Detroit Lions placed him on the reserve/retired list shortly after, formally closing the chapter. Detroit had signed Bridgewater this offseason to serve as Jared Goff's backup, but he never made it to the regular season.

A Career Defined by Resilience

The arc of Bridgewater's NFL life was never smooth. After emerging as a promising young starter in Minnesota, a catastrophic non-contact knee injury in August 2016 nearly ended his career before it truly started. That he played 11 seasons across six franchises — the Vikings, Saints, Broncos, Panthers, Dolphins, and Lions — is a testament to the durability and professionalism that made him a respected locker-room presence wherever he landed.

His best stretch came in New Orleans, where he went 5-0 as a starter in 2019 filling in for an injured Drew Brees. He later earned the starting job in Denver and Carolina before settling into a veteran backup role in his final years. The Lions' decision to sign him this offseason had been framed as a mentorship opportunity as much as a depth move — rookie Luke Altmyer noted it was "a joy to spend time" with Bridgewater before his departure.

With Bridgewater gone, Detroit moved quickly, signing Josh Dobbs to fill the backup role behind Goff.

Lamar Jackson and Tyler Shough Also in the News

Bridgewater wasn't the only Louisville name generating NFL headlines this week. Lamar Jackson, the Ravens' two-time NFL MVP and the most decorated pro product in Louisville history, was drawing attention at Baltimore's training camp for "aggressively" putting his skills on display early in the preseason period — a reminder that the gap between Bridgewater's retirement and Jackson's prime couldn't be starker, and that Louisville's quarterback pipeline remains very much alive.

Meanwhile, Saints quarterback Tyler Shough — another Cardinal alum — was held out of New Orleans' preseason opener, with Spencer Rattler drawing the starting nod instead. Shough, who is entering a pivotal second year, was recently highlighted by CBS Sports as one of the young quarterbacks most likely to take a franchise-level leap in 2026 after a promising rookie campaign.

The Bridgewater Legacy

For Louisville fans, Bridgewater's retirement is worth honoring beyond a transaction line. He arrived in the Cardinals program as an under-recruited prospect and left as a first-round pick. His NFL career, however turbulent, spanned more than a decade — longer than virtually anyone betting on him after that 2016 injury would have predicted.

The official goodbye comes not with a Super Bowl ring, but with something more durable: a reputation as a competitor who refused to disappear.

The loudest offseason conversation in the NFL keeps circling back to one Louisville Cardinal. Lamar Jackson — two-time MVP and the most electrifying quarterback of his generation — is somehow simultaneously being projected for Canton and demoted in the preseason power rankings. It's a strange place to be, and Ravens country is not taking it quietly.

The Hall Case Is Already Made

ESPN ran a Hall of Fame projection for Jackson this week that The Sporting News called "already warranted" — a fair characterization for a quarterback who owns the NFL single-season rushing record for the position and has reshaped how the game is played. The argument isn't that Jackson will eventually deserve enshrinement; it's that the résumé is already there. That framing matters heading into a contract year in which every Jackson snap will carry extra weight.

Tier 1 No More — and the Backlash Is Swift

At the same time, The Athletic's Mike Sando — whose annual quarterback tiers survey polls 50 NFL executives and coaches — dropped Jackson from Tier 1 to Tier 2 in his latest rankings. The reasoning, per one anonymous coach quoted by Bleacher Report: Jackson "can't be special" without his legs and is "not always moving with purpose." The critique landed like a grenade. NFL analyst Adam Rank pushed back on Sportsnet, questioning how a two-time MVP with Jackson's accomplishments is still being framed as a question mark by the league's decision-makers. The tension between Jackson's résumé and the quiet skepticism that follows him isn't new — but it's louder than usual this August.

The Offense Is Changing Around Him

Adding another variable: Jackson is operating in a new offensive system in 2026, and one notable adjustment has him lining up under center more frequently than at any point in his career. Jackson told reporters he's "extremely comfortable" with the change and believes it "will help us a lot," per Pro Football Talk. Whether a more traditional alignment curtails the improvisation that made him impossible to defend — or unlocks a new dimension — is the central football question surrounding the Ravens this preseason.

Flowers Wants His QB Paid

The subplot with the clearest resolution this week was Zay Flowers' contract extension. The Ravens locked up their top receiver on a reported four-year deal, and Flowers — who accounted for 36.9% of Baltimore's receiving yards in 2025, the second-highest rate in the NFL — wasted no time making his next ask public. "Best in the world," Flowers said of Jackson, adding that he wants to see his quarterback get a new deal as well. Jackson is entering the final year of his contract. Flowers publicly campaigning for him is both a loyalty signal and a negotiating nudge the front office will not miss.

The convergence of a Hall of Fame projection, a tier demotion, a new offensive scheme, and a contract situation circling the drain makes Jackson the most narratively loaded player in football right now. For Louisville fans, that's been the reality for years — but the 2026 season is shaping up to be the defining chapter of the argument.