President Donald Trump criticized NFL players who lodge protests during the pregame national anthem, saying Friday night that he wished those players would be released and encouraging fans who are offended to walk out of stadiums.

Speaking at a political rally in Huntsville, Alabama, Trump said: “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a b—- off the field right now. Out. He’s fired! He’s fired!”

• 

  Striking an amicable but businesslike tone while saying there was no bigger platform from which to achieve their ends than the NFL, the players on an August memo seeking a push from the league into social activism expounded on their intentions Thursday.

Los Angeles Rams receivers Sammy Watkins and Tavon Austin were both evaluated for possible concussions late in Thursday night’s 41-39 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, head coach Sean McVay said.

• 

  Goff tossed three touchdown passes and Gurley scored three total TDs as the Rams once again lit up the scoreboard.

• 

  Brian Hoyer overcame a bumpy start to keep the 49ers competitive Thursday, but came up short in the end against Jared Goff and the visiting Rams.

A group of four players sent the NFL a memo in August requesting league support and asking for a month to be dedicated to social activism, not long after commissioner Roger Goodell reportedly had talked to several players regarding their game-day activism efforts.

According to Yahoo! Sports, defensive end Michael Bennett of the Seattle Seahawks, Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins and receiver Torrey Smith, and former Arizona Cardinals wideout Anquan Boldin co-authored the 2,740-word document intended to push the NFL into efforts “similarly to what the league already implements for breast cancer awareness, honoring military, etc.”

The letter was obtained by Yahoo! Sports and originally published on Wednesday night.

• 

  A source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s contract extension is “getting done” and previous issues surrounding the deal have been resolved.

• 

  The head of the union representing Las Vegas police alleged Michael Bennett made false accusations and asked the NFL to investigate. The league won’t, saying there are no grounds to do so.

• 

  Justin Britt, who is white, put his arm on Michael Bennett’s shoulder as Bennett sat during the national anthem on Friday night. Bennett had called for a white player to join the protest that seeks to call attention to social injustice.

Six teams had head-coaching changes heading into the 2017 season. And after two games, five teams could be headed for head-coaching changes in 2018. Just how hot are the coaching seats in New Orleans, Chicago, Cincinnati, New York and Indianapolis? Our NFL Nation reporters break it down.

Career record: 128-114 (9-25 in Chicago)
Playoff record: 8-7

Analysis: Fox is in trouble. The Bears — 0-2 for the third consecutive season — have Pittsburgh and Green Bay up next on their schedule. The Bears realistically could be 0-4 after the first quarter of the season, and if that happens (as many expect), Chicago would have almost no shot of reaching the playoffs. The Bears brought Fox to Chicago to build a winner and that hasn’t come close to happening. Player health has been a major problem during the Fox era. The Bears entered Week 2 with three starters already on injured reserve, and three more starters left Sunday’s loss to Tampa Bay and did not return. It’s hard to picture this getting any better for Fox or the Bears. — Jeff Dickerson

Career record: 118-105-3
Playoff record: 0-7

Analysis: Lewis is entering the final season of his contract after he and the front office couldn’t come to terms on a new deal. Things have gotten off to a terrible start this season, with the Bengals falling to 0-2 and firing offensive coordinator Ken Zampese. They have yet to score a touchdown. Prior to the season, Lewis said, “[Owner Mike Brown] and I have a great working relationship. Sometimes you don’t want to start that over again, but sometimes you need to. And I’m prepared to do that. It doesn’t affect me one way or another.” If the Bengals can’t climb out of this hole, it’s very possible it could be Lewis’ last season in Cincinnati. While Lewis has been the Bengals’ most successful coach in franchise history, his 0-7 record in the playoffs has been like a cloud over his coaching career. They took a step backward last season by missing the playoffs and have shown regression instead of improvement since the 2015 season. The Bengals need to at least show they’re heading in the right direction this year for Lewis to merit a new deal. Right now, the angry fan base and rudderless team say otherwise. — Katherine Terrell

Career record: 94-68
Playoff record: 6-4

Analysis: It’s hard to label Payton as “on the hot seat” since he is obviously held in high enough regard by Saints owner Tom Benson and general manager Mickey Loomis that they gave him a new five-year extension worth more than $9 million last year that runs through 2020. And if they ever decide to start over with a new quarterback (they almost drafted Patrick Mahomes II this year), Payton is the kind of quarterback guru they would want to tutor him. At the same time, however, even Payton readily would admit the Saints can’t keep putting the same product on the field year after year and expecting different results (7-9, 7-9 and 7-9 over the past three seasons, and now 0-2). The defense, which has been historically bad over the past seven years, has been even worse than usual the first two weeks of 2017. And there is a real chance the Saints could start 0-4 heading into the bye week, with games upcoming at the Carolina Panthers and versus the Miami Dolphins in London. It would be a shocker to see Payton get fired midseason, but a mutual parting of ways in January is a realistic scenario if the Saints don’t show major signs of progress by then. — Mike Triplett

Career record: 49-33
Playoff record: 3-3

Analysis: The water is boiling in the pot for Pagano. The Colts were unprepared and thoroughly embarrassed in their 37-point Week 1 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Then they showed their inability to close a game, blowing a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and losing to Arizona in overtime on Sunday to fall to 0-2 for the fourth consecutive season. And to put into perspective how bad things are for Pagano and the Colts, the Cleveland Browns have opened as 2.5-point ROAD favorites in the Week 3 game between the two winless teams. This is as close to rock bottom as they’ve been since Pagano became coach in 2012. Owner Jim Irsay is preaching patience, but a loss to the Browns in which his team isn’t competitive might not sit well with Irsay. Indianapolis never has opened a season 0-3 under Pagano. He has survived back-to-back 8-8 seasons in which his team missed the playoffs, but the clock is ticking on him if the Colts continue to find ways to lose games, with or without injured QB Andrew Luck. — Mike Wells