# Tom Pelissero: Pelicero expects Christian Gonzalez to eventually sign his extension with New England, thinks CJ Stroud may end up playing out his contract without a new deal, believes Patrick Mahomes will be on the field for the Chiefs' week one opener, and named Seattle, Minnesota and Washington as teams being overlooked that will be in the mix. **Claimed:** Sep 4, 2026 **Pundit:** Tom Pelissero — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/tom-pelissero **Outlet:** The Rich Eisen Show (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/the-rich-eisen-show-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air, transcribed by us **Original:** https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/ESP6509155923.mp3 6 checkable claims — 3 surprise team calls, 2 trade and signing calls and 1 depth chart call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 9 players and teams, each linked to their own record. None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in. Of the 1 unsettled call enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands below the rest of the room. > I think that Seattle isn't being talked about enough even though contextually, I understand why. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **C.J. Stroud to move to Houston Texans** - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans - Verdict: not settled yet - **Seattle Seahawks to beat expectations** - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: Seattle Seahawks - Verdict: not settled yet - **Minnesota Vikings to beat expectations** - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: Minnesota Vikings - Verdict: not settled yet - **Washington Commanders to beat expectations** - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: Washington Commanders - Verdict: not settled yet - **Christian Gonzalez to move to New England Patriots** - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: Christian Gonzalez, New England Patriots - Verdict: not settled yet - **Patrick Mahomes to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - C.J. Stroud — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/c-j-stroud - Houston Texans — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/texans - Seattle Seahawks — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/seahawks - Minnesota Vikings — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/vikings - Washington Commanders — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/commanders - Christian Gonzalez — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/christian-gonzalez - New England Patriots — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/patriots - Patrick Mahomes — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/patrick-mahomes - Kansas City Chiefs — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/chiefs ## What others said about the same people - Chris Simms on Kansas City Chiefs: Simms went through the entire Week 3 slate with straight-up winners and predicted final scores, taking Jacksonville, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle, the Giants, Baltimore, New Orleans, Minnesota, San Francisco, Denver and Philadelphia. He also expected Zay Flowers and Puka Nacua to sit, Kyler Murray to play, and said Marvin Harrison Jr. projects as no better than a good No. 2 or high-end No. 3 receiver. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/662b7ba3-1bf6-4ad0-9f93-9f2ab83143fd (scored 100) - Connor Rogers on Seattle Seahawks: Rogers picked Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle and the Giants to win their Week 3 games, saying the Chiefs win by two touchdowns and the Giants by a field goal. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/83d1e88b-95a0-45ba-83d3-f86297170c6c (scored 0) - Steven Ruiz on Houston Texans: Previewing Week 3, Ruiz picked the Ravens to beat the Cowboys in Brazil, Jacksonville over New England in a low-scoring game, an upset by the Broncos over the Rams, the Raiders over the Saints, the Eagles over the Bears, the Lions over the Jets, and his Hail Mary that Houston beats Indianapolis by two touchdowns. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a30ff469-4972-4c48-855b-ba984e4de9d0 (scored 0) - Sam Monson on Seattle Seahawks: Monson picked the Chargers to beat the Bills outright (jokingly crediting Buffalo's gray 'Nickel City' jerseys), took the Vikings to win outright in Tampa, and said Seattle would destroy Washington. He also reiterated his Super Bowl pick of Denver over the Rams, called the Dolphins destined for the No. 1 overall pick, and said the Saints are a worst-to-first candidate in the NFC South. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/0b810ffd-fd93-4ea2-a208-b1353dea5fb0 (scored 0) - Jake Arthur on Kansas City Chiefs: Arthur expects a close Chiefs win on Sunday Night Football at Arrowhead, predicting a final score of 27-23 for Kansas City. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/ca7ab74e-ab34-4ed6-a77f-2c7e9f8c8c4d (scored 97.62) - Zach Hicks on Kansas City Chiefs: Hicks predicts a lower-scoring, field-goal-heavy game with the Chiefs beating the Colts 23-19, citing Indianapolis' red-zone success against Kansas City historically. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/ddbaddad-c15e-4e6f-a6ac-f066de6cdc2a (scored 97.62) ## More surprise team calls The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Ralph Vacchiano on Indianapolis Colts: Vacchiano picks the Colts over the Texans as the 0-2 team most likely to rebound, trusting their offense with Daniel Jones and Jonathan Taylor to keep them in the playoff race. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b89c2f84-25e6-4916-b297-fcb0e14c9ba7 (not settled) - Eric Williams on Los Angeles Chargers: Williams picks the Chargers as the 0-2 team to rebound, comparing it to the 2017 team that started 0-4 and finished 9-7, and suggests they will rise up on the road against Buffalo rather than collapse. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/57fe59dc-bfbb-44cb-8e4c-191db478fce2 (not settled) - John Breech on New Orleans Saints: Breech expects Caleb Williams to return quickly from his hamstring injury, at the latest by Week 4 against the Jets or Week 5 against the Packers, and he picked the Rams to beat the Giants on Monday night. He also floated the Saints as a potential surprise team this season. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/66fd2840-c785-4c7f-9284-eb570c4dd0c4 (not settled) - Carter Bahns on Cincinnati Bengals: Bahns named the Bengals a dark-horse Super Bowl contender on the strength of their retooled defense. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/498b82e1-23f4-4817-a025-fb862176a7d5 (not settled) - Ralph Vacchiano on New Orleans Saints: Vacchiano says the Saints, whom he had already called the NFC's biggest surprise of the season, are good enough to win the weak NFC South, though not yet a championship contender. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/5f9c80c5-56ee-4c30-9938-09b673e1cb7f (not settled) - Gilberto Manzano on Las Vegas Raiders: Manzano calls the 2-0 Raiders under first-time head coach Klint Kubiak one of the season's biggest surprise teams and a club now thinking playoffs, sees the 2-0 49ers headed for another winning season, and views New Orleans as the class of the NFC South with Tyler Shough playing well. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/fa21a317-d0b7-4f3e-81de-9d115e1a8be7 (not settled) --- Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. 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