# Tom Pelissero: Pelicero expects Christian Gonzalez to eventually sign their extension with New England, thinks CJ Stroud may end up playing out their 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 contract calls and 1 depth chart call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.

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

- **Washington Commanders to beat expectations**
  - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: Washington Commanders
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Christian Gonzalez to become the highest-paid at his position**
  - Kind: Contract Calls · About: Christian Gonzalez, New England Patriots
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Seattle Seahawks to beat expectations**
  - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: Seattle Seahawks
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **C.J. Stroud to play out his deal with no new contract**
  - Kind: Contract Calls · About: C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
  - 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
- **Minnesota Vikings to beat expectations**
  - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: Minnesota Vikings
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- 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
- Seattle Seahawks — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/seahawks
- C.J. Stroud — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/c-j-stroud
- Houston Texans — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/texans
- Patrick Mahomes — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/patrick-mahomes
- Kansas City Chiefs — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/chiefs
- Minnesota Vikings — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/vikings

## What others said about the same people

- Chris Clark on Nikko Remigio: Clark expects the Chiefs to bring back exclusive-rights receiver Nico (Remigio) and long snapper James Winchester, to re-sign JuJu Smith-Schuster as a cheap veteran fifth receiver, and not to bring back Hollywood Brown, Josh Dobbs-type depth, Gardner Minshew, Janarius Robinson or Mike Caliendo; they also say the Chiefs will not use a franchise tag and believes Bryan Cook won't return. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/99521265-d5c0-4db1-b2a0-fe77908ea0b3 (scored 0)
- Jordan Dajani on Washington Commanders: Dajani picks the Commanders to edge the Giants 21-20 on Thursday and the Chiefs to beat the Falcons 26-20 in Week 10. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/46f7646f-2c64-4827-a522-67975af79fb6 (scored 95.24)
- Tyler Sullivan on Washington Commanders: Sullivan takes the Commanders 24-21 over the Giants on Thursday night and calls for a Steelers upset of the Bengals, 27-24, in Week 10. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1bb32676-c3b3-4b8e-8a03-b58396cf98bf (scored 100)
- John Breech on Washington Commanders: Breech picks the Commanders to upset the Giants on Thursday night, 24-17, and takes the Texans to beat the Browns 24-16 in Week 10 behind a pass rush that should batter Deshaun Watson. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/9fddc8e1-3823-4252-bdd7-f81ef11b1da3 (scored 90.48)
- Jordan Dajani on Washington Commanders: Dajani picked seven Week 10 games with final scores, including a Commanders upset of the Giants, Lions over the Patriots in Munich, Chiefs over the Falcons, Packers edging the Vikings, 49ers over the Cowboys, Bengals over the Steelers and Ravens over the Chargers. They also suggested Joe Burrow could win MVP this season. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e2531f3a-2140-40ac-9831-5ff8224e090f (scored 95.24)
- Eva Geitheim on Washington Commanders: Geitheim picked the Commanders, Lions, Chiefs, Texans, Vikings, Jaguars, Colts, Panthers, Bills, Seahawks, Rams, 49ers, Bengals and Ravens in Week 10. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c011abef-0b18-41ad-acad-6a67dfbd41fd (scored 100)

## More surprise team calls

The same kind of call, about other players and teams.

- Dan Orlovsky on Detroit Lions: Named Houston and Detroit as the underrated teams in each conference, said the Texans could reach 11-6 and the playoffs, and predicted CJ Stroud's next contract will start with a seven annually, with Caleb Williams getting even more afterward. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/01e49745-6d62-434d-a884-17a1fa4a0cca (not settled)
- Bill Simmons on Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Simmons named the Houston Texans as the AFC's second-half surge team and, reluctantly, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the NFC's, arguing both clubs sitting at or below.500 will make a run down the stretch. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a2fe7493-43ef-4157-b6c3-82a3e9c0f906 (not settled)
- Danny Kelly on Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Kelly argued the Buccaneers are the one NFC South club capable of a second-half surge, citing a soft remaining schedule and the league's top defensive EPA. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/13d3230a-fd04-4c32-86f7-7faaa5718bb8 (not settled)
- Jordan Dajani on Pittsburgh Steelers: Halfway through the season, Dajani sorts the playoff field into contenders and pretenders: they suggest Joe Burrow could win MVP this year, and while they dismiss Pittsburgh as a true Super Bowl threat, they expect the Steelers to be a playoff team and a possible sleeper. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/3cf5c7f7-905d-4de9-ba67-9ff97a7f6a34 (not settled)
- Rich Eisen on Arizona Cardinals: Eisen ran a "top five teams that are not dead yet" list, naming the Cardinals, Raiders, Rams, Saints and Texans — plus a bonus Cowboys mention — as clubs still alive and capable of making a run in the second half of the season. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c599f558-148d-46ae-b958-06e4231eabca (not settled)
- Big Cat on Las Vegas Raiders: Big Cat predicts the Bears beat the Packers in Week 5, thinks the Lions will beat the Cardinals, believes the Eagles rather than the Cowboys should win the NFC East, and sees the Raiders as the surprise team most likely to last. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/ec6a2d23-a635-41c8-af7a-cebf76e26bbe (not settled)

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Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. The naive guess is what a strategy requiring no knowledge would have scored on the same call — the difference is the skill, and it is what the MissedTakes Score averages.

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