There is a subset of quarterbacks for whom the 2025 season is an inflection point. For some of them, it's about their future in the league. For others, it's due to the massive changes around them. For still others, it's about their legacy. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen discuss eight quarterbacks at a crossroads this season on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Rundown (timestamps are approximate)

5:11 Kyler Murray

21:22 Jared Goff

34:26 Trevor Lawrence

46:47 C.J. Stroud and Jordan Love

55:56 Brock Purdy

1:03:05 Patrick Mahomes

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

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Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some takes are meticulously crafted, with each ingredient that leads to the final perfectly balanced to create a rational, thought-out, deeply held belief. Others are slapped together, thrown in the oven for, you know, whatever length of time feels right, and dropped down on the table to consume at your own risk. These are the latter. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman offer up their half-baked takes for the 2025 season on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Rundown

7:00 Micah Parsons isn't getting traded and Jerry Jones isn't serious about winning football games (this is a fully baked take)

10:43 The Niners will win 12+ games

17:02 The Vikings will finish last in the NFC North

24:45 This is the year the Steelers crash out

35:42 The NFC will have massive playoff turnover this season

41:50 This is the season the Packers go nuclear

48:14 Abolish the draft so players like Myles Garrett don't get stuck on teams like the Browns forever

55:57 The NFL needs a leaguewide standardized bye week

1:05:40 Bo Nix was just kinda getting away with it last year, and that's not gonna happen this year

1:15:56 Zac Robinson is this year's Liam Coen

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show

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Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

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Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We should know better. We really should. We've been at this for a long time, and we know that believing in certain teams and players is bad for us. And yet, come this time of year, we can't help ourselves. We go back to that well. So who are we ready to be hurt by again this season? Dave Helman and Derrik Klassen open up and get vulnerable on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

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Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

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Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

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Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robert Mays went to so many training camps in the previous week, we had to split this weekend's Beat Writer Notebook into two episodes. On this edition of the Beat Writer Notebook, Robert speaks to Brooks Kubena and Zack Rosenblatt, The Athletic's Eagles and Jets beat writers, respectively. What do the Eagles do to live up to a Super Bowl encore? How does Aaron Glenn transform the Jets? Learn the answers to those questions, and a whole lot more, on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Host: Robert Mays

With: Brooks Kubena, Zack Rosenblatt

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

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Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

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Follow Zack on Bluesky: @zackblatt.bksy.social

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Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robert Mays began the previous week in Seattle. He ended it in New York, by way of the southeast and mid-Atlantic. So, yeah, he's been around a bit. Robert checks in with Michael-Shawn Dugar, Josh Kendall and Jeff Zrebiec—the Athletic's beat writers for the Seahawks, Falcons, Ravens and Eagles, respectively—on this edition of the Beat Writer Notebook. What's the ceiling for the very good Seahawks defense? What are the expectations for Michael Penix in his first season as the starter? How do the Ravens finally get over the hump? Learn the answers to those questions, and a whole lot more, on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Rundown (timestamps are approximate)

4:27 Seattle Seahawks

41:36 Atlanta Falcons

1:07:14 Baltimore Ravens

Host: Robert Mays

With: Michael-Shawn Dugar, Josh Kendall, Jeff Zrebiec, Brooks Kubena

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

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Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

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Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most offseason acquisitions are going to bring some change to their new teams. There's a reason why their new teams went out and got them, after all. A select few of those acquisitions, however, aren't simply going to bring a little change. They're going to completely change their new team's DNA on their side of the ball, opening up an entirely different style of play and new look for the unit. Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman run through their top DNA changers for the 2025 season on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Rundown (timestamps are approximate)

5:30 Cam Bynum

12:14 Poona Ford

19:47 Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga

28:54 Haason Reddick

34:30 Will Fries and Ryan Kelly

41:44 Omarion Hampton

48:42 Andre Cisco

57:23 Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr.

1:06:03 Armand Membou

Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

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Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

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Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

Follow Dave on X: @davehelman_

Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A whole lot has happened during the first week of training camp. A bunch of good players got contract extensions. Injuries are unfortunately already changing plans across the league. Storylines are emerging, and not all of them are your usual July camp silliness. Some of them are worth digging into! Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman round up the first week of training camp news on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

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Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

Follow Dave on X: @davehelman_

Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every NFL season is important to every person in the league. But we know that some players, coaches and executives have more at stake in any given season than others. So who has the most at stake in 2025? Robert Mays and Dave Helman answer that question on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

⁠Apple⁠

⁠Spotify⁠

⁠YouTube⁠

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

Follow Dave on X: @davehelman_

Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.