Bengals’ Joe Burrow working on regaining strength after appendix surgeryVideo
CINCINNATI — Joe Burrow is trying to pack on the pounds, gaining back the weight he lost after having surgery to remove his ruptured appendix three weeks ago. The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback won’t say how much he lost, but the pounds are coming back, along with the strength and mobility...
Chargers sign Derwin James to 4-year, $76.5M extension
COSTA MESA, Calif. — Derwin James signed a four-year, $76.5 million contract extension with the Los Angeles Chargers Wednesday morning, making him the NFL’s highest-paid safety. The deal includes $42 million in guaranteed salary. James is going into his fifth season and was expected on the field when the Chargers...
AP sources: Talks on possible Deshaun Watson settlement progress
Talks between the NFL and NFL Players Association on a discipline settlement for Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson have progressed. However, it’s uncertain whether the two sides will reach a deal, two people familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The people spoke to AP on condition...
Chuck Howley, Joe Klecko, Ken Riley finalists for Pro Football HOF
Super Bowl MVP Chuck Howley and All-Pro defenders Joe Klecko and Ken Riley are finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s class of 2023. The defenders who starred in the 1960s, 70s and 80s were announced as the three senior candidates for next year’s Hall of Fame class from...
NFL looks like old self entering 3rd season in covid-19 era
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Derrick Henry has been seen jogging on the field with his daughter after practice. Green Bay Packers are once again borrowing kids’ bicycles for rides to practice. Fans are rubbing elbows with their favorite players to get those coveted autographs. Yes, the NFL is looking and acting...
Browns starter Nick Harris done for season, backup also on IR
BEREA, Ohio — Cleveland Browns starting center Nick Harris is out for the season after being placed on injured reserve Tuesday along with one of his backups, rookie Dawson Deaton. Harris suffered a serious right knee injury on the second play of last week’s exhibition opener at Jacksonville. The 23-year-old...
Bengals’ Joe Burrow is practicing, should be ready for opener vs. Steelers
CINCINNATI — Three weeks after having an appendectomy, Joe Burrow is fully participating in training camp with an eye toward getting ready for the regular-season opener next month. The Bengals quarterback was in full uniform as he threw crisp passes in seven-on-seven drills for a second day Monday. He had...
Browns star CB Denzel Ward returns from foot injury, practicing
BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns secondary got back a primary piece. Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward was activated from the physically unable to perform list Monday and will practice for the first time since Cleveland’s training camp opened. He had been sidelined with a sprained left foot. Ward was...
Titans LB Bud Dupree pleads guilty in drugstore assault
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Titans outside linebacker Bud Dupree pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor assault charge stemming from an altercation in a Nashville drugstore. Dupree was sentenced to 6 months of supervised probation, according to the judgment filed Monday. Police said Dupree grabbed a Walgreens employee and the man’s...
Ex-NFL star Aqib Talib’s brother turns self in after slaying
LANCASTER, Texas — The brother of retired NFL cornerback Aqib Talib turned himself in to authorities Monday after police identified him as the suspect in the shooting death of a coach at a youth football game in Texas. Police said that a murder warrant was issued for Yaqub Salik Talib,...
Browns backup QB Jacoby Brissett moves into Deshaun Watson’s starting spotVideo
CLEVELAND — Jacoby Brissett has jumped ahead of Deshaun Watson on Cleveland’s depth chart. Maybe for a while. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Brissett will take the majority of snaps with Cleveland’s first-team offense starting Sunday, a move necessitated by Watson’s pending suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy...
Len Dawson, MVP of Chiefs’ first Super Bowl win, in hospiceVideo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Len Dawson, the 87-year-old Hall of Fame quarterback who led the Kansas City Chiefs to their first Super Bowl title, has entered hospice care in Kansas City. KMBC-TV, the Kansas City station where Dawson began his broadcasting career in 1966, confirmed Dawson is in hospice care...
Browns’ Watson apologizes ‘to all the women I have impacted’
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson apologized Friday “to all the women I have impacted” after being accused by two dozen women of sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions. Watson, who is facing a potential yearlong NFL suspension, spoke before Cleveland’s exhibition opener in Jacksonville — his first game since Jan....
Vikings’ Kirk Cousins has covid-19, won’t play preseason openerVideo
EAGAN, Minn. — Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has tested positive for covid-19 and will not play this weekend in the team’s first preseason game. Coach Kevin O’Connell confirmed the diagnosis Friday at practice, where Cousins was absent for a second straight day. He felt ill Thursday and sent home....
More Black NFL retirees win dementia cases in rescored tests
PHILADELPHIA — Hundreds of Black NFL retirees denied payouts in the $1 billion concussion settlement now qualify for awards after their tests were rescored to eliminate racial bias. Changes to the settlement made last year are meant to make the tests race-blind. The use of “race norming” in the dementia...
Police: Marshawn Lynch was asleep, car damaged before arrestVideo
LAS VEGAS — Former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch was asleep and smelled of alcohol when Las Vegas police found him in his damaged sports car and arrested him on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, according to an arrest report made public Thursday. Lynch’s attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld,...
Tom Brady taking 11-day break from Bucs for personal reasons
Tom Brady was excused from training camp Thursday, the first day of what Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said is a planned, 11-day absence from the team to address “personal things.” Bowles said the 45-year-old quarterback’s break from practice was arranged before camp began, adding Brady won’t return until...
James White, hero in Patriots’ Super Bowl rally, retires
James White, who scored the game-winning touchdown in the New England Patriots’ historic comeback win over Atlanta in Super Bowl 51, announced his retirement Thursday. White won three Super Bowls in eight seasons — all with the Patriots. “This chapter has been one that I will cherish. I look forward...
Bengals’ Burrow still healing from appendectomy
CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is still on the mend from an appendectomy two weeks ago, and there is no timetable for his participation in training camp. The third-year quarterback, who last season led Cincinnati to its first Super Bowl in 33 years, has been observing practice from...
Deshaun Watson starting Browns’ preseason opener as suspension loomsVideo
CLEVELAND — Deshaun Watson’s debut for the Browns is tentative and subject to change. The same is true for his first season in Cleveland. Watson is scheduled to start the exhibition opener — his first game action since 2020 — at Jacksonville on Friday while the quarterback waits to see...
Sean McVay reveals he has contract extension with Rams
IRVINE, Calif. — Coach Sean McVay said he has finalized his contract extension with the Los Angeles Rams. McVay and the Rams didn’t reveal the terms of the long-expected deal, but the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl reaffirmed his long-term commitment to Los Angeles after practice Tuesday in...
Bears star LB Roquan Smith requests trade after talks break down
Chicago Bears star linebacker Roquan Smith is requesting a trade, saying the team has not negotiated in good faith for a contract extension. Smith, who does not have an agent, wrote Tuesday in a statement to NFL.com that he has “officially” asked to be dealt and that it was “deeply...
Naming rights deal takes Paul Brown name off Cincy stadium
CINCINNATI — The home of the Cincinnati Bengals will no longer carry the name of team founder and NFL pioneer Paul Brown. Paycor, a Cincinnati-based provider of human resources software, has bought the naming rights to the stadium in a deal announced Tuesday. The venue will be known as Paycor...
Artie Burns struggled with Steelers, but Seahawks happy with what they’ve found
RENTON, Wash. — Through all the understandable attention on the two rookie cornerbacks the Seattle Seahawks drafted in the spring and the revival of the career of former Washington Huskies star Sidney Jones IV, Artie Burns just keeps hanging in. When the Seahawks took the field for their ninth practice...
NFL: Aaron Rodgers’ use of ayahuasca didn’t violate drug policy
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ use of the hallucinogenic drink ayahuasca during an offseason retreat isn’t considered a violation of the NFL’s drug policy. Rodgers discussed on “The Aubrey Marcus Podcast” last week how he went on an ayahuasca retreat to Peru in 2020, before...
