An optimistic report on NFL COVID-19 cases this week strengthened the league's chances of starting and sustaining a full season, sending excitement levels through the roof for fans, players, coaches and media everywhere.
That sentiment is not shared by all, however. The unfolding of a new NFL season represents the start of one less opportunity at a Super Bowl ring for many of the game's familiar faces of the past 15 years.
A feeling of anxiousness is surely being felt by tenured vets in the later phases of their careers, namely: Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford and Philip Rivers. All three have a strong taste of the postseason - including a collective nine playoff wins, three championship game appearances and Ryan's almost-good-enough showing in Super Bowl LI - but no rings to show for it.
For Rivers, who recently signed a one-year contract with the Colts and previously shared that he would play a maximum of two more years, this year is probably his last real shot at the Lombardi Trophy. Having fallen to Patriots as a Charger three times in the playoffs, Rivers may be able to make the most of Tom Brady's departure to the NFC and a talented Indianapolis defense that can help win games in January.
Stafford has several years left in the tank but, just to reach the playoffs, he must contend with division opponents that he's been unable to beat consistently throughout his career. He is the least accomplished of the trio, having only made it to the wild card round of the playoffs three times and failing to advance in any of them.
One addendum to this group is veteran Alex Smith, who was recently medically cleared to play this season for the Washington Football Team. Smith owns a painful postseason resume, winning just two of seven playoff starts with the 49ers and Chiefs, in addition to watching Colin Kaepernick and the Niners fall just short of the Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII. His role in D.C., unfortunately, does not position him well for a first ring, facing strong competition from Dwayne Haskins and Kyle Allen at QB and, more generally, lacking the surroundings for a championship run.
This group of veteran hopefuls may soon include accomplished quarterbacks drafted in the early 2010s that are still looking for their first Super Bowl ring, such as Cam Newton and Kirk Cousins - all hoping to avoid the same legacies of Donovan McNabb, Matt Hasselbeck, Carson Palmer and Tony Romo.
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