The Lead
On Thursday night, luminaries from around the football world will descend upon Phoenix's Symphony Hall for the annual "NFL Honors" awards show.
The season's biggest awards — MVP, Coach of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year and others — will be announced throughout the program, which begins at 7 p.m. MT and airs on NBC, NFL Network and Peacock.
In addition to the 2022 season honors, the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2023 will be unveiled during the show. Broncos fans will hope to hear DeMarcus Ware's name announced to put another Super Bowl 50 champion in a gold jacket, joining Peyton Manning.
Ware is one of 15 Modern-Era finalists, but only five of those men can make this year's class.
As our own Aric DiLalla wrote, Ware is undoubtedly headed for enshrinement at some point, and he'd be a worthy selection this year.
We'll have to wait until tonight to hear whether his wait will end or whether it will continue for another year.
Below the Fold
During Roger Goodell's annual state-of-the-league press conference ahead of the Super Bowl, the NFL commissioner mentioned that the Pro Bowl's change to flag football games was brought about, at least in part, by Russell Wilson. Goodell said Wilson called him after the 2022 Pro Bowl and encouraged a change in format.
"I think it was Russell Wilson who called me the Tuesday afterward and said, 'Let's play a flag game,'" Goodell said. "… When I was there on Thursday, the players were wonderful. They loved it. They were embracing it. They thought this was a great form. I loved watching it because you got to see the players' personalities, you got to see their faces, you get to see them compete. They loved the flag games. I think we have a lot to build on there, and I don't see us going back in any way.
"I think this is the future for us. Flag is such an important initiative for us with boys, girls, men and women. There's just an opportunity here for us to grow our game globally with flag football."
Wilson has been a major advocate for flag football, and in September of 2022, he was named a Global Flag Football Ambassador.
"I have always been a big fan of flag football, which is why I started leagues in Seattle," Wilson said in a statement for that announcement. "It is the ultimate team sport that combines fitness, creativity and strategy in a fast, fun and exceptionally exciting format. The skills and competitiveness at the elite level are truly next level and really showcase everything that is great about the sport."
