NFL category, Page 20

Cincinnati used most of its offseason to make sure Joe Burrow had his top two playmakers wearing orange and black for a long time. With Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase signed, the Bengals turned their focus to two areas for the NFL Draft — trying to keep Burrow upright and...

Before Donovan McMillon got to college, he had an NFL combine-themed party to celebrate a birthday while he was in high school. It’s safe to say that preparation for the NFL Draft is something the Peters Township native and former Pitt player had looked forward to for a long time....

Brandon George is highly confident in his abilities, and he believes his experiences at Pitt have prepared him for a career in the NFL. But George is blessed with a high sense of self-awareness. After becoming a starting linebacker during the final of his six seasons at Pitt, George plans...

Ben Sauls just sounds like an NFL kicker. Literally. Sauls proved so to the scouts and team personnel from across the NFL during Pitt’s pro day last month. “I know today especially,” Sauls said at pro day, “people wanted to hear the ball off my foot.” Seriously? Scouts care about...

If Konata Mumpfield doesn’t make it in the NFL, rest assured it won’t be because the stress of the moment gets too big for him. An honorable mention all-ACC wide receiver for Pitt this past season, Mumpfield was drafted in the seventh round by the Los Angeles Rams at No....

Gavin Bartholomew appeared in 49 of Pitt’s 52 games over the past four seasons, starting 41 and having at least one catch in all but seven of them. “I feel great,” Bartholomew said prior to performing drills among fellow tight ends at the NFL combine earlier this year. “I’ve been...

The latest off-ball linebacker to enter the NFL out of “Linebacker U,” Kobe King during the combine relayed a chat he had with management of an unnamed NFL team. King is an old-school style inside linebacker who’s hoping to enter the league just as old-school is coming back into fashion...

A tear of the lateral meniscus in a knee ended the senior season of Pitt starting left tackle Branson Taylor. The ensuring recovery from surgery prevented Taylor from taking part in drills at the NFL combine, too. Five months of frustration and rehab, though, melted away when Taylor was finally...

Jaylen Reed didn’t take too much time to ponder what was the biggest lesson he learned from coach James Franklin over four years as part of the Penn State football program. If you’re not five minutes early, you’re late. “It might seem like a little thing, but if you show...

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Shedeur Sanders’ long wait finally has ended. The Cleveland Browns selected the Colorado quarterback and son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders in the fifth round with the 144th overall pick in the NFL draft on Saturday. That ended a stunning fall for Sanders, the most...

Born and raised in southwestern West Virginia, Wyatt Milum talks as if he’s as proud of his native state — and its flagship university — as he is of his status as one of the college football’s best offensive tackles in recent seasons. “Last three years, I don’t think I...

When speaking last week in discussing safeties available in the draft, the NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah observed that the knee injury suffered by Penn State’s Kevin Winston Jr. early last season would end up being to the benefit of the team that drafted him this spring. “I think there’s value...

Jaxson Dart received a video message from a familiar face, one who knows what it takes to be a franchise quarterback for the New York Giants. And one also from Ole Miss, at that. Two-time Super Bowl winner Eli Manning welcomed Dart to the team Friday, a day after the...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans had a pleasant surprise in store for No. 1-overall pick Cam Ward during his introductory news conference Friday. Houston Oilers legend and Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon arrived as a special guest, not only hugging Ward but giving him his blessing...

Tyler Warren made himself the highest-finishing tight end in Heisman Trophy voting in almost a half-century by way of his work with the football. Catching it. Scoring with it. Running with it. Even throwing it. The Penn State product expected to make himself a pretty good NFL tight end the...

Abdul Carter was asked for his best pass rush move during the NFL combine. “I would say my ‘ghost rush,’” Carter said. Not unlike a ghost, it didn’t take long for Carter to disappear off draft boards Thursday night. Penn State’s star defender, Carter was taken with the third overall...

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Cam Ward has gone from zero-star recruit to No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. Travis Hunter is taking his versatility to Jacksonville following a blockbuster deal. After the Tennessee Titans selected Ward first overall, the Jaguars moved up from No. 5 to select the Heisman...

Shannon Sharpe announced Thursday that he has decided to temporarily step away from his ESPN duties, four days after a woman filed a $50 million civil lawsuit in which she accuses the “First Take” panelist of raping her while they were in a two-year relationship. The lawsuit, filed Sunday in...

METAIRIE, La. — New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis confirmed for the first time Wednesday that starting quarterback Derek Carr does have a shoulder “issue,” but he declined to discuss specifics or forecast Carr’s playing status for the upcoming season. “We’re hoping to get some resolution and some clarity...

CANTON, Ohio — The Los Angeles Chargers will take on the Detroit Lions in the annual Hall of Fame game as part of enshrinement week. The Hall announced the matchup for July 31 on Wednesday with the Chargers playing just days before longtime tight end Antonio Gates will be inducted...

INDIANAPOLIS — Shedeur Sanders thrived in his father’s offensive system in high school and emerged as one of college football’s top quarterbacks while playing for him at Jackson State and Colorado. Now, for the first time, the younger Sanders is about to be on his own, likely learning his next...