NFL category, Page 198

CLEVELAND — Browns star wide receiver Odell Beckham has fully participated in the early stages of training camp after expressing reservations whether the NFL should forge ahead and have a season with the coronavirus still spreading. Beckham reported to Cleveland’s camp last week, passed the covid-19 testing and has taken...

What seemed like a simple enough process of players deciding whether to skip the 2020 NFL season because of the coronavirus pandemic has turned into a major story. It’s a story that will affect team makeups and, perhaps, the relative peace the clubs and players’ union had reached. The latest...

NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees said he’ll remain standing for “The Star Spangled Banner,” but professed respect and support for those who protest racism and social injustice by kneeling during the national anthem. “I’ll always stand for the flag because of what it means to me...

DETROIT — The coronavirus does not discriminate. Tall, short, skinny, fat, star quarterback or little-known backup. On Saturday, the Detroit Lions placed quarterback Matthew Stafford on the reserve/covid-19 list, meaning he either tested positive for coronavirus on Friday or was around someone who had. Stafford is the biggest-name player in...

NEW YORK — New York Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley chose to opt out of the NFL season because of family health concerns, two people familiar with the decision told the Associated Press. The 28-year-old Mosley was entering his second season with New York after signing as a free agent in...

BOSTON — Like all NFL teams, the New England Patriots face a variety of unknowns heading into a 2020 season in the midst of the ongoing pandemic. So it’s no surprise Bill Belichick is being coy about his expectations for the quarterback position as his team prepares for the start...

CLEVELAND — Instead of a whistle dangling from his neck, Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski wears a sensor that blinks and beeps whenever he’s within 6 feet of someone in the team’s facility. Nothing could have prepared him for his first training camp in Cleveland. Stefanski said Thursday he still...

Now we know why a key topic in talks between the NFL and the players’ union focused on opt outs. Already, more than two dozen players have decided not to play the 2020 season. It certainly is not about the money, because those opting out voluntarily are getting a $150,000...

Baltimore Ravens quarterback and reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson is eager to get started at training camp after an offseason in which he had a perilous encounter with a jet ski, tossed footballs to Antonio Brown and diligently avoided the coronavirus. Jackson guided the Ravens to a 14-2 regular-season record...

MLB is imploding, and not just the Pittsburgh Pirates’ bullpen. As of this writing, 18 Miami Marlins have tested positive for covid-19. This past Sunday, when the outbreak began via three players testing positive, the Marlins players voted to play that day anyway. Memo to morons: You can’t rub dirt...

Don’t expect any footballs — or players — on fields at NFL training camps anytime too soon. No blocking sleds. No pass-rush drills. No whistles. As teams adhere to the medical protocols that wisely and necessarily have been ordered by the league and the players’ union, any sort of football...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes is joining the ownership group of the Kansas City Royals. The Royals announced the addition of Mahomes, the star quarterback who led the Kansas City Chiefs to a Super Bowl title last season, Tuesday. Mahomes is a former baseball prospect and...

Former NFL legend and Pitt Panther Mike Ditka has some unkind words for athletes and coaches who kneel for the national anthem. In an interview with TMZ Sports about his women’s pro football X League, Ditka was asked if his players would be allowed to do it. He gave an...

NEW YORK — The New York Jets traded disgruntled star safety Jamal Adams to the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday, splitting with a gifted player whose relationship with the franchise quickly deteriorated because of a contract dispute. The Jets received a massive haul in the stunning deal Saturday, sending a 2022...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was on every call involving the NFL Players Association and took a significant role in putting in place the return-to-play protocols for training camp. So while he acknowledges “some risk” in returning to the team facility Saturday, when Mahomes joined...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif of the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs became the first player to opt out of the upcoming NFL season because of the coronavirus pandemic Friday. Duvernay-Tardif earned a medical degree from McGill University in Canada and has been working to fulfill...

NFL training camps are set to open after the league and the players’ union reached agreement on several issues, including future salary cap mechanisms and how players can opt out of the upcoming season because of the coronavirus. The NFL Players Association’s executive committee and 32 player representatives approved the...

Chiefs, 49ers, Saints, Ravens. All powerhouses last season. All in excellent position to be so again if the NFL gets to play during the coronavirus pandemic. Anyone who believes continuity isn’t an essential part of pro football success will need to re-examine that philosophy. As NFL teams finally get together...