Seahawks vs. 49ers game picks and best bets, plus Davante Adams trade sweepstakes might be down to four teams

Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

There were 17 Amazon packages on my front porch this morning, which I’m going to assume was my wife’s way of reminding me that there’s an AMAZON game on tonight. The alternative is that she ordered a bunch of things during Amazon’s special Big Deal Days that went down on Oct. 8-9, but it was probably football. She was definitely reminding me about football. 

Anyway, tonight’s game is actually a big one with an NFC West showdown between the 49ers and Seahawks. We’ll be previewing that game in today’s newsletter, plus we’ll give you the latest details on what’s happening with Davante Adams. 

As always, here’s your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter or you can tell people you run into at the bank. That also works. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. Let’s get to the rundown. 

1. Thursday night preview: Picks and best bets for 49ers at Seahawks

It’s been an ugly start to the season for the San Francisco 49ers (2-3), but they could put that all behind them with a win in Seattle tonight. If the 49ers can beat the Seahawks (3-2), that will vault them into a first place tie in the NFC West, and if that happens, they’ll be able to put the early-season woes behind them. 

Here’s one reason why each team should be feeling confident going into tonight:

• Why the 49ers can win: Jordan Mason is the NFL’s second-leading rusher, and if the 49ers are smart, they’ll make sure he factors heavily into the game-plan tonight. The Seahawks have struggled to stop the run this season, which means no one should be surprised if Mason has a huge game. The Seahawks have lost two straight games and surrendered at least 115 rushing yards in each game, so if the 49ers get near that number, they’ll likely be able to escape Seattle with a win. 
• Why the Seahawks can win: If anyone knows how to stop the 49ers offense, it’s Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald. As the defensive coordinator in Baltimore last season, his defense held the 49ers to just 19 points while forcing Brock Purdy to throw a career-high four interceptions. The Seahawks have the fifth-most sacks in the NFL this year, and if they can get after Purdy, they could force the 49ers QB to have a long night, and if that happens, there’s a chance Seattle will be able to steal a win. 

You can get a full preview of the game from Tyler Sullivan by clicking here. 

If you’re thinking about betting on the game, here are a couple of props. 

• ONE PLAYER PROP I LIKE: Jordan Mason OVER 95.5 rushing + receiving yards (-115): This is a high number, but Mason has gone over it in four of his five games this year and I think we’ll see him do it again tonight. The Seahawks have struggled to stop the run this year, and I think we’ll see the 49ers try to take advantage of that by giving Mason a heavy workload. Also, the Seahawks have had a strong pass-rush, which could lead to a lot of checkdowns from Brock Purdy, which could mean more receptions for Mason. 
• ONE KICKING PROP I LIKE: Matthew Wright OVER 7.5 points (+105): Wright is taking over kicking duties from Jake Moody, who’s out with an injured ankle, but I still like the over here. The 49ers have had one of the worst red zone offenses in the NFL this year, which has led to a lot of field goal attempts. Through five weeks, Moody had 14 field goal attempts, which was tied for the second-most in the NFL. Although Moody won’t be playing, I don’t think we’ll see Kyle Shanahan’s strategy change too much. I think he’ll still use Wright as much as he was using Moody, especially in the red zone.  

And in case you’re wondering, through the first five weeks of the season, my props are 14-10 (7-4 on kicker props and 7-6 on all other props). 

We also have a full betting preview from SportsLine that you can check out here. 

And finally, here are our picks for a game.  

PICKS FOR ‘TNF’

Sullivan’s pick: 49ers 27-23 over Seahawks
Prisco’s pick: 49ers 30-20 over Seahawks
My pick: 49ers 26-23 over Seahawks

Over on our CBSSports.com picks page, you can see who our eight experts are taking by clicking here. 

2. Davante Adams trade rumors: Four teams still appear to be in the running to land Raiders star

It’s now been nine days since Davante Adams asked to be traded out of Las Vegas, and although a deal hasn’t gotten done yet, there is still plenty of interest around the league from teams who would like to make a trade for the Raiders star. 

According to The Athletic, there are still four teams in the hunt to land Adams: 

The first two teams on this list are the obvious ones. Adams has played with both Aaron Rodgers and Derek Carr during his career and he’d prefer to reunite with one of them, but a wrench was thrown into each of those situations this week. The Jets just fired Robert Saleh, which complicates a possible deal with New York. As for the Saints, Derek Carr is expected to miss several games due to an oblique injury, which could impact any negotiations the Raiders might have with New Orleans. According to at least one report, talks “may have slowed down” between those two teams and the Raiders. 

On the Steelers end, it’s pretty clear they want to add a top-tier receiver to their roster. They were in the Brandon Aiyuk sweepstakes until the very end, and now, they’re looking to get Adams. 

In Buffalo, Adams would instantly become the go-to guy for a Bills team that doesn’t currently have a true No. 1 receiver. The Bills offense has fallen apart over the past two weeks, averaging just 15 points and 256 yards per game. According to The Athletic, the Bills are “monitoring” the situation. 

With Adams looking to get out of Las Vegas, don’t be surprised if a deal happens sooner than later. The NFL’s trade deadline is Nov. 5, but it would be shocking if he’s not dealt well before that. 

You can read our full breakdown on the situation here. 

3. Raiders and Saints both starting a new QB this week

The New England Patriots aren’t the only team that will be making a QB change this week. The Raiders and Saints will also both be turning to a different quarterback in Week 6, but for very different reasons.

Let’s take a look at what’s happening with both teams: 

• Spencer Rattler set to make the first start of his career. Saints head coach Dennis Allen officially announced that Rattler will be getting the start Sunday against the Buccaneers. Derek Carr suffered an oblique injury on Monday against the Chiefs and he’s expected to miss multiple games. The Saints decided to go with Rattler over Jake Haener, who finished the game Monday after Carr got injured. 
• Rattler looks to continue impressive run by rookie quarterbacks. There have been three rookie quarterbacks who have started at least one game this season (Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix), and they’ve combined to go 10-5 straight-up and 11-3-1 against the spread. With Maye and Rattler both starting this week, that means there will be five rookie quarterbacks, but Rattler isn’t like the others because he wasn’t drafted in the first round. The Saints QB was drafted in the fifth round with the 150th overall pick this year. 

The 24-year-old Rattler went 20 of 38 for 202 yards and a touchdown while throwing zero picks during the preseason for New Orleans. You can read more about Rattler’s first start here. 

As for the Raiders, they’ve decided to send Gardner Minshew to the bench in favor of Aidan O’Connell. 

• O’Connell to make his first start of the season. As a rookie last year, O’Connell started 10 games for the Raiders and went 5-5. However, he lost the starting QB job during a training camp battle against Minshew. The Raiders started 2-2 with Minshew before he got benched in a Week 5 loss to the Broncos. 

The Raiders (2-3) will be hosting the Steelers (3-2) on Sunday, and there’s a very real chance that we could see another QB getting his first action of the year if Pittsburgh decides to start Russell Wilson. As for O’Connell, you can check out our full story on him by clicking here. 

4. Ranking teams with losing records based on their chances of making the playoffs

There are currently 15 teams in the NFL that have a losing record, but just because you’re under .500 now doesn’t mean that all hope is lost on the season. Bryan DeArdo tried to offer some hope to a few teams this week by ranking all 15 sub-.500 teams based on their playoff chances. 

Let’s check out the top five teams on his list:

1. 49ers (2-3)
2. Jets (2-3)
3. Dolphins (2-3)
4. Bengals (1-4)
5. Cardinals (2-3)

It makes sense that the 49ers and Jets are on top, because they’re in the same situation this week: If they pull off a win in Week 6, they’ll be tied for first place in their division. (The 49ers are playing the Seahawks while the Jets are playing the Bills.)

If you want to check out DeArdo’s full ranking, you can do that here.

5. Ranking the worst contracts in NFL history

When the Cleveland Browns gave Deshaun Watson a fully guaranteed $230 million contract in 2022, they probably were hoping that he’d lead them to a few playoff appearances. Instead, the deal has been an absolute disaster for Cleveland. 

With that in mind, Tyler Sullivan decided to take a look at the worst contracts in NFL history, and you’re not going to be surprised by the name at the top. 

Let’s take a look at the top names on his list: 

1. Deshaun Watson (five-year, $230 million deal with Cleveland in 2022)
2. Albert Haynesworth (seven-year, $100 million deal with Washington in 2009)
3. Andre Rison (five-year, $17 million deal with Cleveland in 1995)

Sullivan ranked a total of 10 contracts, and you can see his full list here. 

6. Extra points: Aaron Rodgers responds to allegations that he played role in Robert Saleh’s firing

It’s been a busy week in the NFL, and since it’s nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you.

• Rodgers says he didn’t have anything to do with Saleh’s firing. The Jets QB went on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday and said he didn’t have anything to do with Saleh’s firing, “I resent any of those accusations because they are patently false. It’s interesting the amount of power that people think that I have, which I don’t. I love Robert.” You can read his full comments here. Will Brinson broke down why Rodgers may have played a role in the firing and you can check out his reasoning here. 
• Jets strip Nathaniel Hackett of play-calling duties. The Jets offensive coordinator won’t be calling plays for the team anymore. Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich announced Thursday that passing game coordinator Todd Downing will call the plays going forward. Ulbrich also said that Aaron Rodgers supported the decision even though Hackett is his close friend. You can read more on the situation here. 
• Hurricane Milton causes flight delay for Jaguars. The Jags are playing in London this week, but they won’t be getting to England when they had originally planned. Hurricane Milton caused the team’s flight to get delayed, but the good news is that the Jaguars will still be making it to London  and Sunday’s game against the Bears is on as scheduled. 
• Michael Pittman Jr. likely to miss multiple weeks. It’s been a rought week for receivers in the AFC South. One day after Nico Collins was placed on IR, it appears that Pittman is also going to miss multiple games. The Colts receiver, who leads the team with 22 receptions, will likely miss multiple weeks, according to ESPN. The Colts haven’t decided whether to put him on injured reserve, so they’re clearly hoping he won’t need to miss four games, which is what will happen if he’s placed on IR. 
• Tom Brady’s bid to buy part of the Raiders could be approved next week. Brady has been trying to buy a piece of the Raiders for more than a year now, but it still hasn’t been approved. According to the Sports Business Journal, Brady’s ownership stake is on the agenda for the NFL’s Fall Meeting next week and it’s very possible the league’s owners could finally vote on it. 
• Cam Newton lands job with ESPN. The former NFL MVP will be joining “First Take” as a regular on the show. Newton, who hasn’t played in the NFL since 2021, had been keeping busy over the past few years by hosting a podcast and creating videos for his YouTube channel. Newton will be making his ESPN debut on Friday.