Breaking up is hard to do: Remembering these recent NFL splits

DK Metcalf gets the headline, but the NFL’s original Mouseketeers connection has been one of the NFL’s best deep ball duos for over a half-decade. Both fell into the third round of their respective drafts due to concerns about their size. Together, they put up big numbers. Only four quarterback-wide receivers tandems connected on more than 250 catches, 3,000 yards, and 25 touchdowns.

Wilson’s trade to the Broncos should be beneficial for him, but there’s no obvious deep threat for him in Denver. Lockett is left behind in a far more bleak quandary in Seattle. He’ll probably be catching passes from Drew Lock this season as DK shops for a new contract and a new home. Don’t put it past him to reunite with Russ in 2023.

That big ketchup bottle in the sky used to give Heinz Field as much character as a building prop could give a corporate-sponsored stadium. Alas, Acrisure replacing Heinz as the stadium sponsor for the Steelers abode was a bigger blow to fans’ spirits than Ben Roethlisberger shuffling off into the football afterlife.

For two decades, Heinz was the most respectable corporate stadium brand in the NFL. Unfortunately, they’ve been replaced by a questionable FinTech company, which feels out of place in Steel City. Ketchup is probably the most consumed food (not a condiment) at stadiums on Sunday and the Steelers were repped by the preeminent ketchup brand in the world. It’s another sign that America has lost its way.

These two were the closest thing we had to Brangelina in the NFL. Mahomes and Hill unlocked each other’s strengths in ways that few receiver/QB combos do. In a year, Hill could be clamoring for a reboot, or he might be the one that helps unlock Tua Tagovailoa. In four seasons, the (Ma)homies played in four consecutive AFC Title games, a pair of Super Bowls, and were a bad break here and there from playing in four consecutive Super Bowls.

Tyreek is doing everything in his power to prove he’s moved on, but he’s laying on a little thick. Hopefully that four-year $120 million in his bank account will make him content with getting consumed in the AFC’s shark-infested market. Meanwhile, Mahomes will spend this season molding Mecole Hardman into a Tyreek clone. They separated too soon. You don’t trade a guy like Hill three years short of 30 for picks. Mahomes should be able to adjust but those big splay plays are going to happen less often with Tyreek out of the picture.

You never forget your first head coaching job. Payton took over the Saints in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and was on the sidelines of the Superdome for its most iconic moments. He was touted as an offensive genius when he was hired off the Cowboys staff and he lived up to the reputation. He maximized Reggie Bush’s abilities, he led the Saints’ to victory in the team’s first game back at the Superdome after Katrina, and his decision to start the second half of XLIV with an onside kick against Indianapolis is one of the boldest Super Bowl calls ever made.

It’s common knowledge that he’s taking a gap year before accepting a role elsewhere like…and I’m just spitballing here, Dallas. Saints fans have been cordial, but things will change when they get jealous after seeing him on another team’s sidelines in 2023.

Rodgers has trust issues. He doesn’t trust the vaccine, scientists, epidemiologists, and sometimes his coaches. He also doesn’t trust receivers he’s never worked with before. Davante Adams earned his trust over the last eight seasons on a slew of back shoulder throws and parlayed that connection into mammoth productivity. However, Adams saw an opportunity to reunite with his former Fresno State teammate and took it.

After watching Joe Burrow and Jamarr Chase carry their LSU connection to Cincinnati, maybe Adams thinks he and Derek Carr can do something similar together. Carr was the only quarterback to rank top-5 in both passing yards and completion percentage, but Rodgers holds one of the most insane touchdown-interception ratios of all time and has been a perennial MVP in the regular season.

This duo hadn’t made the same impact as the tandems mentioned above yet. However, off the field, they quickly formed a familial bond. They both grew up 40 miles from one another in South Florida, and Jackson has been a mentor to Brown since the latter’s rookie campaign. Brown was finally Jackson’s Baltimore’s most targeted wide receiver in 2021, hauling in 91 catches for 1,008 yards in a career year. However, in the offseason, Brown requested a trade and took a lateral promotion from No. 2 receiver in the Ravens’ offense behind tight end Mark Andrews to become the No. 2 receiver in Arizona.

Presumably, Brown’s speed will result in him being used more as a deep threat than he was in Baltimore, but his departure leaves the Ravens’ offense in disarray. After Hollywood’s trade was announced, Jackson spent the night tweeting through his feelings, Brown’s departure leaves a void in the Ravens’ offense that they’ll attempt to fill with David Duvernay and Rashod Bateman, who’ll compete to be Jackson’s new No. 1, but until then, they have two rookie tight ends vying for a pivotal role in the Ravens offense. Three tight ends are reportedly Greg Roman’s alternative to a true No. 1 receiver. Hollywood is Lamar’s one that got away.