Pitt assistant AD Penny Semaia joins Buffalo Bills as vice president of stadium relations
Penny Semaia, who earned four letters on the Pitt football team before rising to the position of senior associate athletic director for the Cathy and John Pelusi Family Life Skills Program, has accepted a job as the Buffalo Bills’ vice president of stadium relations. He will work with Bills vice...
First Call: Biggest potholes for Erik Karlsson trade for Penguins, Hurricanes; Kevin Colbert’s thoughts on Kenny Pickett
Wednesday’s “First Call” has the latest on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ alleged pursuit of Erik Karlsson. We give you some thoughts on Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett from the man who drafted him. Plus the Vezina Trophy odds are out, and the Pirates are the latest victims of one of the hottest...
Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes ready to build off 2nd Super Bowl titleVideo
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Quarterback Patrick Mahomes arrived at training camp Tuesday with the understanding that he and his Kansas City Chiefs teammates need to be better in 2023 if they want to repeat as Super Bowl champions. “I think the theme this year is how can we keep building,”...
Column: Not paying RBs another sign NFL is pass-first leagueVideo
NFL teams are refusing to give running backs lucrative long-term contracts, leaving the best players at the position feeling angry and underappreciated. It’s no surprise the league has reached this point, considering recent trends. The days of “3 yards and a cloud of dust” are long gone. The NFL has...
Giants’ Saquon Barkley receives support of Steelers’ Najee Harris, other top RBs
NEW YORK — NFL running backs past and present rallied around New York Giants star Saquon Barkley and others at the position who failed to reach long-term contracts before Monday’s franchise-tag deadline. Barkley and Raiders running back Josh Jacobs will now have to play the 2023 season on the $10.09...
Cleveland Browns swapping their orange helmets in game against Steelers this season
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns are shelving those classic logo-less orange helmets for three games this season. With a nod to their storied past, the Browns will wear white helmets for the first time since 1951. Cleveland will break out a retro, all-white look — white helmets, jerseys, and pants...
Saquon Barkley, Giants fail to reach agreement before deadline
Saquon Barkley and the Giants didn’t reach a multi-year deal by Monday’s deadline. Now the worst-case scenarios are on the table. Barkley announced it himself on Twitter. “It is what it is,” he wrote at 3:54 p.m., six minutes prior to the deadline. Barkley’s only option as a Giant this...
Carolina RB Miles Sanders stays connected to area with football camp at Woodland Hills
Miles Sanders has traveled well beyond his Woodland Hills roots, but his home base always was the Keystone State. Until now. After attending Penn State and spending the first four years of his NFL career with the Philadelphia Eagles, Sanders signed a four-year, $25 million free-agent contract with the Carolina...
Titans landing 3-time All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins, AP source saysVideo
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans hope they have filled their major need with three-time All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins agreeing to terms on a two-year deal worth $26 million with incentives that could push that to $32 million, a person familiar with the agreement said Sunday. The Titans had...
TE Evan Engram, Jaguars agree to 3-year, $41.25M dealVideo
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Tight end Evan Engram and the Jacksonville Jaguars agreed Sunday to a three-year, $41.25 million contract that includes $24 million guaranteed, according to multiple reports. Engram’s agent, Mike McCartney, announced via Twitter the deal had been reached. Engram weighed in a few minutes later by posting a...
Jets, All-Pro Quinnen Williams agree to 4-year, $96M contract extensionVideo
All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and the New York Jets agreed Thursday to a four-year contract extension worth $96 million, according to multiple reports. Williams is now the second-highest paid defensive tackle in the NFL behind only the Rams’ Aaron Donald, who is making $31.7 million per year. The deal...
Saints RB Alvin Kamara pleads no contest to misdemeanor charge in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS — New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara pleaded no contest Tuesday to a misdemeanor and agreed to pay medical costs for a man who was beaten into unconsciousness at a Las Vegas nightclub the weekend before the 2022 NFL Pro Bowl, authorities said. Three other men, including...
DeAndre Hopkins, Dalvin Cook among remaining NFL free agents as camps nearVideo
DeAndre Hopkins and Dalvin Cook lead a list of accomplished players who are still available a week before several NFL teams open training camp. Hopkins, the three-time All-Pro wide receiver, became a free agent when Arizona released him in May. He visited the Tennessee Titans and has talked to the...
After on-field cardiac arrest, Damar Hamlin expands stage, mission to promote heart health
The clear, distinctive voice that called out signals for Pitt’s defense late in the previous decade rang out Friday throughout historic Cupples Stadium. Damar Hamlin was back in the city he loves. There he was, clearly the man in charge at his free-of-charge youth football camp, signing dozens of autographs,...
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts: ‘There’s a thrill in not being satisfied’
Jalen Hurts has no time to be satisfied. After a breakout season in which he earned him a record-setting contract and nearly led the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl victory, Hurts is working like a “madman” to be even better. “Everybody aspires to be the best and works to...
Damar Hamlin’s vision for Chasing M’s Foundation coming to fruition
Damar Hamlin never doubted the Chasing M’s Foundation could do big things. He just didn’t exactly anticipate being able to do so many of them so quickly. Not that the 25-year-old Buffalo Bills safety and Central Catholic product is complaining. If anything, it’s the opposite. Actually, it’s exactly the opposite....
J.J. Watt signs multi-year deal to be studio analyst for CBS Sports
NEW YORK — J.J. Watt has signed a multi-year deal with CBS Sports to serve as a studio analyst. The announcement was made Thursday by CBS Sports President David Berson. Watt’s first appearance will be on “The NFL Today” during Week 1 on Sept. 9. He also will be an...
NFL suspends 3 players indefinitely, 4th gets 6 games for violating gambling policy
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The NFL suspended three players indefinitely Thursday for violating the league’s gambling policy and a fourth was sidelined for six games. Isaiah Rodgers and Rashod Berry of the Indianapolis Colts, along with free agent Demetrius Taylor, received indefinite suspensions through at least this season for betting on...
Lloyd Howell to take over as executive director of NFL Players Association
Lloyd Howell will succeed DeMaurice Smith as the NFL Players Association’s executive director. The NFLPA’s board of player representatives announced Wednesday that Howell was elected as the next executive director. The NFLPA had announced in the fall of 2021 that Smith planned to depart after serving one more term with...
Ex-NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett dead at 35 in reported drowning
DESTIN, Fla. — Former Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett, who also played for New England, Houston and Baltimore during five seasons in the NFL, has died. He was 35. Mallett died in an apparent drowning, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. Mallett was a football coach at White Hall High...
History says highly touted rookie tight ends don’t always make a major impact right awayVideo
GREEN BAY, Wis. — This rookie class of tight ends will have to buck history if they are going to leave an impression on the field. Tight end arguably is the toughest position for rookies to make huge contributions. Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell, who played tight end in the...
Free-agent RB Leonard Fournette says his car caught fire on freewayVideo
NFL running back Leonard Fournette appears to have avoided injury after his car caught fire while he was driving on a freeway. Fournette posted a video to Instagram on Tuesday where he showed his burned vehicle on the side of the highway. Fournette doesn’t speak in the video, which shows...
Bills trainers cite Damar Hamlin case as example for schools, youth leagues to make life-saving plans
INDIANAPOLIS — When Buffalo Bills trainers Nate Breske and Denny Kellington rushed onto the field following Damar Hamlin’s collapse in January, they stuck to the plan — right down to positioning Hamlin’s teammates to shield the television cameras. Their quick actions saved Hamlin’s life. Now they’re trying save others. On...
NFL QB Aaron Rodgers is set to speak at a psychedelics conference
DENVER — Months after Colorado’s voters decided to join Oregon in decriminalizing psychedelic mushrooms, Denver will host a conference this week put on by a psychedelic advocacy group bringing together an unlikely cohort of speakers — including an NFL star, a former Republican governor and a rapper. The conference and...
Dolphins star Tyreek Hill under investigation for assault and battery
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill is under investigation by Miami-Dade police for assault and battery after he allegedly hit a man on Sunday. The incident was first reported by WPLG-TV in Miami after the station received a tip Sunday night. Miami-Dade police spokesman Angel Rodriguez confirmed...
