Dolphins’ Patrick Paul Eyes the Presidency, Gable Steveson Wins UFC Debut in Latest NFL Notebook
Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Patrick Paul isn’t just thinking about the 2026 season. He’s thinking about 2050-something, and the Oval Office.
Paul, a 6-foot-7, 320-pound blocker with 34 career games under his belt, told former teammate Terron Armstead exactly what he wants people to know about him. “One thing I want them to know is that I’m going to fight my hardest to become president one day,” Paul said on Armstead’s show, The Set. “So, I want them to know that.”
He didn’t stop at one country, either. Paul said he “might try to do Nigeria also,” reasoning he’s eligible to run there legally given his family ties. Armstead sat stunned as Paul made clear this wasn’t a throwaway line — it’s a “real goal” that traces back to childhood.
“It’s kind of been a thing growing up honestly,” Paul said. “A lot of my family was in politics.”
Paul was born in Texas, has lived in Nigeria and has roots in England — a background that shapes how he talks about life after football. For now, the political ambitions sit years away. Paul’s actual job is protecting Miami’s quarterback, and he’s already made noise about the Dolphins surprising people this season.
Micah Parsons Pushes Back on Jordan Love’s Top 100 Ranking
The NFL’s annual Top 100 countdown keeps rolling out, and it’s already got at least one star talking. Baltimore wide receiver Zay Flowers landed at No. 71 and Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love checked in one spot behind him at No. 72 in the latest reveal, a step down from where he sat a year ago.
Love’s new teammate wasn’t having it. “71 players in the NFL aren’t better than Jordan love!” Micah Parsons posted on X —
71 players in the NFL aren’t better than Jordan love!
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) July 10, 2026
It’s not the first time Parsons has publicly disagreed with how the voting shook out, and it likely won’t be the last. The Top 100 series began June 22, working through players 100-91, 90-81 and 80-71 across three straight weeks. The full countdown to No. 1 runs all the way to Sept. 4, giving fans a weekly appetizer ahead of the season. Player No. 70 is set to be revealed Monday at 10 a.m. ET on NFL.com.
Where a player lands on a peer-voted list is always going to spark debate in a league built on locker-room loyalty, and Parsons made it clear where he stands on his new quarterback.
Gable Steveson Wins UFC Debut in Las Vegas
Two years ago this month, former NCAA champion and Olympic gold medalist wrestler Gable Steveson was fighting for a roster spot with the Buffalo Bills, having never played organized football before. He didn’t make the cut. He’s landed somewhere else entirely since.
Steveson made his UFC debut Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas as part of the UFC 329 card, stopping Elisha Ellison via first-round TKO at 2:31, according to ESPN and confirmed independently by Yahoo Sports and CBS Sports. The win pushed Steveson to 4-0 as a professional fighter, with every victory coming by first-round stoppage.
He entered the cage as one of the biggest betting favorites on the entire card, and the fight played out that way for the most part. Steveson peppered Ellison with front kicks early, outlanded him 41-14 in total strikes, and closed the show with a left hand after backing Ellison against the fence, per ESPN’s account of the fight. It wasn’t a flawless debut — Ellison landed some clean shots of his own and Steveson’s lone takedown attempt was stuffed — but the finish silenced any doubts about the hype.
“I’m honored,” Steveson said in the octagon afterward. “Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Two other football-to-combat-sports crossovers are on deck. Former defensive lineman A.J. Francis, who played for Miami, Seattle and Washington from 2015-2017, is set to face former guard Quinn Ojinnaka — known in wrestling circles as “Moose” — on Thursday’s AMC’s TNA IMPACT! broadcast. Ojinnaka spent his NFL career with Atlanta, New England, Indianapolis and the Rams from 2006-2012. It’s a trench-war rivalry now playing out in a very different kind of ring.
AFC Training Camp Preview: What to Watch in Every Division
Training camp is closing in fast, and NFL.com’s Jeremy Bergman, Bobby Kownack, Kevin Patra and Nick Shook broke down the top storyline for every AFC team heading into it.
The health of Bo Nix and Patrick Mahomes will dominate the summer news cycle in the AFC West, according to Kownack. Patra points to a similar dynamic in the AFC South around Daniel Jones, while flagging that in Tennessee, the real story is Cam Ward’s development. Shook notes a head coach not named John Harbaugh is patrolling the Ravens’ sideline for the first time since 2007, with the Jesse Minter era kicking off in a retooled AFC North that also features fresh starts in Cleveland and Pittsburgh.
Over in the AFC East, Bergman highlights Joe Brady’s first camp running the Bills, Miami’s overhauled offense, the Jets trying to fix a defense that struggled a year ago, and the reigning AFC champion Patriots adding A.J. Brown to their attack.
| Division | Top Storyline | Writer |
|---|---|---|
| AFC West | Health of Bo Nix and Patrick Mahomes | Bobby Kownack |
| AFC South | Daniel Jones’ health; Cam Ward’s development | Kevin Patra |
| AFC North | Jesse Minter’s first season as Ravens head coach | Nick Shook |
| AFC East | Joe Brady’s first camp; Dolphins’ offensive overhaul; Patriots add A.J. Brown | Jeremy Bergman |
NFL.com’s preview tour shifts to the NFC this week, running Monday through Thursday.
Paris Johnson Jr. Wants to Be the League’s Highest-Paid Tackle
Arizona left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. isn’t shy about where he wants his next contract to land — not just atop the offensive tackle market, but in shouting distance of the pass rushers he blocks.
“My mindset is to be the $40 million man,” Johnson said.
That would put him well above Washington’s Laremy Tunsil, currently the highest-paid tackle in football at $30.1 million per season and a five-time Pro Bowler. Johnson, who’s yet to make a Pro Bowl in three seasons in Arizona, earned a 78.1 overall grade from PFF last season — outside the top 30 among offensive linemen. It’s a bold ask for a player still building his résumé, and one that will test how far Arizona is willing to go to keep its blindside protector happy.
What we’re listening to: On the latest NFL Daily Podcast, The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue and Kevin Fishbain are joined by NFL Network’s Patrick Claybon to pitch marketing slogans for all 32 teams — including Claybon’s “Earning back your trust” for a Cowboys team still working through the fallout of trading Micah Parsons. Full episode here.