A Look Ahead

By Eddie Castro
One of the most exciting and coveted sporting events of the year took place this past Sunday in New Orleans as this year’s Super Bowl match up featured the Kansas City Chiefs vs the Philadelphia Eagles. New Orleans has hosted many big sporting events in the past such as Muhammad Ali vs Leon Spinks, the College national championship game between North Carolina vs Michigan in 1993 which is notoriously known for the infamous Chris Webber timeout.

We also can’t forget New Orleans was also the same stadium where former quarterback Tom Brady won one of his 7 Super Bowl titles. The Chiefs led by Patrick Mahomes was looking to become the first NFL team to win three Super Bowl titles in a row, while the Eagles led by Jalen Hurts was looking to seek redemption after losing to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl 2 years ago.

Philadelphia came out the gates swinging, with huge plays on offense and a sensational effort on defense. The Eagles were up 24-0 at halftime. The second half was no different, as the Eagles’ defense frustrated Mahomes all night, sacking the three-time Super Bowl MVP six times. A record 126 million people across the U.S. watched as the Eagles Defeated the Chiefs 40-22, dethroning the defending champs.

Football in 2025 has come to an end, but as far as our beloved New York football teams, who says it’s too early to look ahead? Let’s start off with the New York Giants. The team had a win-loss record of 3-14 this past season and currently holds the No.3 overall pick in this year’s NFL draft.

The team dealt with injuries and inconsistent play from their offense, which ultimately led to the departure of quarterback Daniel Jones. It is likely the Giants will select a quarterback with their pick. They could land one of the 2 QB prospects, Cam Ward of Miami and Shedeur Sanders out of Colorado. Either way, one of the quarterbacks will be the one to try and turn the franchise around that has dealt with some tough times the past few years.

Big Blue is projected to have around $53 million dollars in cap space which is the 12th most in the league and could create more money by cutting or restructuring a few contracts. There are many holes the Giants have to address if they want to compete with the reigning Champion Eagles, and Washington commanders, both who are in the same division.

One prediction I would make is the team will look to get another wide receiver to play side by side with Malik Nabers. If the Giants end up with either Ward or Sanders, it is crucial for General Manager Joe Schoen to add as many weapons for his rookie quarterback to throw to. It will be very interesting to see what the Giants will look like in 2025.

The New York Jets are currently going through a full revamp of their coaching staff. The team appointed former Lions defensive coordinator and Jets cornerback Aaron Glenn as the team’s next Head Coach. Glenn has shaken up the coaching staff, adding several new names, including new play-callers for both the offense and defense.

Like the Giants, the big question surrounding the Jets is who will be their quarterback in 2025. With all the changes the Jets have made with their coaching staff, it is likely the team will take a different approach to the status of future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers, 41, flew to New Jersey to discuss his future with the team.

The new moves the Jets have made indicate they would rather move on from Rodgers, who still has not decided if he will even play in 2025. The Jets had a win-loss record of 5-12 this past season and hold the No.7 pick in the draft.

The team has a little over $20 million in Cap space, and like the Giants, that number could increase more should they trade or restructure the contract of their star receiver, Davante Adams, amongst other player contracts.

The Jets have some potential cornerstone players such as Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams. However, the defense as a whole, did not replicate the success they had in 2023 which the team was ranked the No.3 defense.

My prediction is the Jets will address the defense with the 7th pick and select cornerback Will Johnson out of Michigan. Aside from Gardner, the Jets players in that position will be free agents including D.J. Reed so selecting another corner to play side by side with Sauce makes the most sense.

As far as the Jets addressing their quarterback situation, unfortunately this draft class is not very deep with quarterbacks. The free agent class isn’t really attractive either. Unless the Jets shock the football world and were able to move up to grab Ward or Sanders in the draft, I can see the team swinging a trade with the Atlanta Falcons and at least flirt with the idea of acquiring Kirk Cousins.

It will also not surprise me if the team looks to sign Justin Fields. After a subpar few seasons in Chicago, Fields had a pretty good year in his lone season with the Pittsburgh Steelers before giving the Qb Job to Russell Wilson.

Fields will be 26-years old come the next NFL calendar year and could thrive with a fresh start and a new regime in New York. The way the storylines are shaping up for both New York teams, it will be quite the exciting off-season for both.
Of course Our Time Press will have it covered for any sudden breaking news. Stay tuned!

SPORTS NOTES: (Baseball) as of this past Tuesday, pitcher and catchers have reported to their respective training complex which means, baseball is almost here! (Basketball) The All-Star festivities will take place live this weekend in San Francisco highline by Saturday nights skills challenge, three-point and slam dunk contest, followed by the best players in the world competing in the All-Star game on Sunday night.