Three key storylines to look out for in NFL pre-season

All 32 teams are in action as the first full week of NFL pre-season gets underway live on<em> Sky Sports</em> - here are three key storylines to look out for ahead of the new season... <h3>Donald return to Rams in the balance</h3><p>The name on everyone's lips heading into the 2026 NFL season is that of Aaron Donald - despite the fact that the Rams legend retired well over two years ago.</p><p>Donald - widely regarded as one of the greatest defensive players of all time - has been flirting with a return to his former team after <a href="https://www.skysports.com/nfl/news/12118/13549900/nfl-cleveland-browns-star-myles-garrett-traded-to-los-angeles-rams-for-pass-rusher-jared-verse-and-2027-first-round-pick">the acquisition of last season's NFL sack leader Myles Garrett in a trade with the Cleveland Browns</a>, giving fans hope of a tantalising combination in the Rams' front four.</p><p>The three-time defensive player of the year worked out with the Rams in August, but is yet to make his return official, with Rams head coach Sean McVey keen to relieve any pressure on Donald ahead of a decision.</p><widget id="4"></widget><p>"He looked great, and he's still continuing to go through his process," McVay said. "No new news on that front. ... We've had a plan in place for a while, and the workout was one of those things.</p><p>"He's feeling good, but we're not to where we're able to say that he is or isn't ready to do it. But he's doing great, and he looked outstanding, as I think all of us would expect."</p><p>There are just four weeks to go until the beginning of the regular season - and Donald still has fans on tenterhooks as he weighs up making a remarkable comeback to the sport.</p><h3>Sanders and Watson battling for Browns' quarterback berth</h3> <widget id="3"></widget><p>Perhaps the most high-profile positional battle in the NFL is that of the struggle between Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson for the role of Cleveland's starting quarterback.</p><p>New head coach Todd Monken has awarded Watson the start in the Browns' pre-season opener against the Bears in Chicago, with Sanders taking the reins in the second half.</p><p>Monken, though, confirmed that Sanders will start their next pre-season game against the Bills, indicating that it's still anyone's guess as to who will start when it counts in week one.</p><p>"We're going to see both of them," said Monken. "One's going to start this week and one's going to start next week."</p> <widget id="5"></widget><p>Watson and Sanders are at different ends of their respective career spectrums.</p><p>The 30-year-old Watson's tenure with the Browns has been mired by injuries and turmoil. Cleveland acquired him in 2022 and signed him to a fully guaranteed $230m contract, but he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in 2023 and came back the next season only to twice rupture his Achilles tendon.</p><p>The former Texan was also suspended 11 games by the NFL in 2022 after being accused of sexual assault and misconduct by two dozen massage therapists while playing in Houston. Watson strongly denied the allegations and an NFL investigation found 'insufficient evidence to support a finding of a violation of the personal conduct policy'.</p><p>Watson's snaps against Chicago will be his first since October 20, 2024, a span of 22 months.</p><p>Sanders - son of NFL Hall-of-Famer Deion Sanders - showed promise while starting seven games as a rookie in 2025, but posted middling numbers of 1,400 passing yards with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions, well off Watson's peak in 2020, when he led the NFL in passing yards with 4,823, notching 33 touchdowns and 7 interceptions to boot.</p><p>Cleveland's next four pre-season games are crucial in deciding their starting quarterback for 2026, and - by and large - potentially the future career trajectory of both Sanders and Watson.</p><h3>No 1 pick Mendoza in hunt to displace Cousins</h3> <widget id="1"></widget><p>Kirk Cousins has a tall task on his hands to remain the starting quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders, with 2026 NFL draft No 1 pick Fernando Mendoza breathing down the veteran's neck.</p><p>Cousins is entering his 15th NFL season and has been running the first-team offence so far this summer. The four-time pro-bowler is expected to be the starter when the Raiders open their season on September 13 against the Miami Dolphins.</p><p>Mendoza was the No 1 overall pick in this year's draft and won the Heisman Trophy after leading Indiana to their first national championship but looks to be starting the season as the backup, working with the second-team offence throughout training camp.</p><p>"[Mendoza] is continuing to grow," Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak said. "It's been a really impressive training camp as far as how he's prepared, and then he goes out there to practice.</p> <widget id="2"></widget><p>"Things don't happen on the paper, the playbook, exactly how they do on the field. I think he's done a good job of adjusting."</p><p>Cousins joins the Raiders off the back of an injury-affected season with the Atlanta Falcons in which he posted a decent return of 1,721 passing yards, with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions.</p><p>He has a decent chance of lasting the season as the Las Vegas starter - but the long-term future of the franchise is in the hands of Mendoza, and this pre-season will give the Indiana phenomenon his first taste of professional action.</p><p><strong>Watch all four weeks of NFL pre-season live on Sky Sports ahead of the regular season starting with the Super Bowl rematch of the Seattle Seahawks against the New England Patriots on September 10. </strong><a href="https://www.nowtv.com/watch-sky-sports-online?DCMP=ilc_skysports_nc_articlelink" target="_blank"><strong>Stream NFL and more sport contract-free with NOW</strong></a><strong>.</strong></p>

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