NFL Insider Tom Pelissero Talks Sorsby, Rams, Bucs, Browns, Vikes, More wRich Eisen

Tom Pelissero joined the show from the Canadian Rockies, a family vacation interrupted long enough to break down the Brendan Sorsby settlement he had reported the day before, the Brandon Aiyuk standoff in San Francisco, and the quarterback battles worth watching once training camp opens. He also spent a fair amount of time worrying about bears.

On Sorsby, Pelissero laid out what the settlement actually contained, because it was more complicated than a simple decision not to sue. The NFL, the players association and Sorsby reached an agreement that, above all, avoided setting a precedent. Sorsby is now eligible for the 2027 NFL Draft with no further punishment for known prior incidents, but the league reserves the right to use his history against him if something new surfaces. "This is a de facto one-year suspension," Pelissero said, comparing it to the path Calvin Ridley walked after gambling-related discipline.

He was pointed about how it got here. "This is the environment though that the NCAA has created," Pelissero said, arguing that Sorsby would have accepted a longer suspension than the two games a federal judge initially granted, but that the NCAA "dared people to go to the courts and by and large, they've lost." Sorsby will train in Texas, attend the Senior Bowl, and start over next year.

The conversation then turned to Aiyuk, and Pelissero did not mince words about the receiver's approach. Asked who is advising him, Pelissero answered, "No one." He walked through the contradictions in Aiyuk's string of Instagram videos, noting the wideout had not actually terminated his agent through the union and misunderstood the mechanics of getting released. The bottom line, per Pelissero, is that the 49ers hold all the leverage and have no reason to act. "Kyle Shanahan, wherever he is, he's in probably Cabo," he said, and he is not releasing Aiyuk over the 17th insult on social media.

Pelissero went further, suggesting the posts have narrowed Aiyuk's market to a single realistic team. "It's another brick in the wall," he said, invoking Pink Floyd, and adding that he believes it is a one-team market, the Washington Commanders, given Adam Peters's history with him in San Francisco. Even that, Pelissero cautioned, would require Aiyuk to show up, pass a physical and convince a building he is worth the trouble.

Looking ahead to camp, Pelissero flagged several storylines. He would not close the door on Aaron Donald returning to the Rams, stressing that nobody publicly has, and painting a picture of a rotation role on pass-rush downs alongside Myles Garrett. He named Baker Mayfield's contract in Tampa Bay as the most important to watch among veteran quarterbacks, and pointed to three genuine competitions once the field opens up.

In Cleveland, Pelissero pushed back on trade chatter around Shedeur Sanders, calling it a real competition between Sanders and Deshaun Watson. In Atlanta, he is curious to see Michael Penix Jr. healthy against Tua Tagovailoa. And in Minnesota, where a headline seems to drop daily, he sees J.J. McCarthy and Kyler Murray splitting reps into the preseason, with the arrow, for now, pointing toward Murray.