Draft capsule: Bengals changing face of franchise with 1st pickVideo
1. CINCINNATI (2-14) LAST SEASON: Bengals matched franchise mark for worst record in coach Zac Taylor’s first season. Winless at midseason, they started quest for next QB by benching Andy Dalton for three games in failed move to rookie Ryan Finley. Offensive line was again huge problem, and defense was...
Bears release veteran tight end Trey Burton, re-sign Pitt product HoltzVideo
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Chicago Bears released veteran tight end Trey Burton after his injury-riddled season on Friday. Burton dealt with a groin injury all last season and went on injured reserve in November after hurting his calf in a win over Detroit. He had 14 receptions for 84...
Ex-Duquesne corner Harrison-Ducros might hear name called in NFL DraftVideo
Duquesne hasn’t had a player taken in the NFL Draft since 1951. Only one Duke has played in a regular-season NFL game since 1953: undrafted free agent defensive back Leigh Bodden, who played parts of eight seasons, the last with New England in 2011. History isn’t the only obstacle cornerback...
DeAndre Hopkins not surprised by trade, ready to help CardinalsVideo
Most of the NFL world was stunned when the Arizona Cardinals pulled off a trade last month to land elite receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Houston Texans for running back David Johnson. One of the few people unfazed by the deal? Hopkins. “No, I wasn’t surprised at all,” the three-time...
Joe Burrow to the rescue? Lowly Bengals look for next leaderVideo
CINCINNATI — In 2003, everything was in place for the Bengals to take a quarterback with the first overall draft pick. Cincinnati was coming off a 2-14 season. Attendance was down. Jon Kitna was in his 30s. A new coach — Marvin Lewis — wanted a franchise quarterback. A Heisman...
GM Eric DeCosta seeks to make Ravens ‘undefendable’ via NFL DraftVideo
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens compiled a franchise-best 14-2 record last season and stormed into the playoffs with a 12-game winning streak, the most prolific rushing offense in NFL history and a second-year quarterback who went on to win MVP. Baltimore’s one-and-done postseason proved there still was plenty of...
Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin eager to get up to speed with Tom BradyVideo
TAMPA, Fla. — Chris Godwin isn’t making any bold predictions about what’s on the horizon for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Pro Bowl receiver and Penn State product is excited about the signing of Tom Brady and eager to begin working with the six-time Super Bowl champion quarterback. He also...
Agent: NFL star Von Miller has COVID-19, is in good spiritsVideo
Von Miller has the coronavirus, and the NFL star wanted to come forward with his diagnosis to show people how serious the disease is. “Von wants to let everyone out there know it’s serious; it doesn’t just happen to old people in nursing homes,” agent Joby Branion told the Associated...
Browns could address left tackle with No. 10 pick in NFL DraftVideo
CLEVELAND — Andrew Berry knew his first NFL Draft as Browns general manager would be special. He didn’t expect it to be unlike any draft before it or likely any again. The 33-year-old Berry couldn’t have imagined he’d be picking players inside a “virtual” draft room while connected by computer...
Browns call latest rumors of trading Odell Beckham ‘completely false’Video
CLEVELAND — Browns chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta dismissed a report the team is trying to trade star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., whose future — whether in New York or Cleveland or anywhere — always seems in question. DePodesta said Thursday on a conference call from his home in...
Rams’ Brian Allen 1st NFL player to reveal positive covid-19 test
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Rams center Brian Allen says he tested positive for covid-19 three weeks ago. Allen is the first active NFL player to acknowledge testing positive during the coronavirus pandemic. The third-year pro is not hospitalized and is “feeling good,” according to a statement issued by the...
Mike McCarthy rejuvenated in return to coaching with CowboysVideo
Mike McCarthy surely didn’t envision returning to coaching amid a global pandemic when he spent much of the last year dreaming about getting back to the NFL. And he’s loving it. Every. Single. Minute. The Greenfield native rarely left the team’s headquarters at The Star in Frisco before the NFL...
Browns return to past, unveil classic uniformsVideo
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns will look better next season. There’s still no guarantees how they’ll play or when. With a salute to their past, the Browns unveiled new uniforms Wednesday to replace old ones that had grown stale and become symbolic with losing. The “new” jerseys and pants were...
Green Bay Packers hall of famer Willie Davis dies at 85Video
Willie Davis, a Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive lineman who helped the Green Bay Packers win the first two Super Bowls, died. He was 85. The Packers confirmed Davis’ death to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Wednesday, as did his former teammate and fellow hall member, Dave...
First Call: Watt brothers star on ‘Tonight Show’; sports movie ideas for Stephen King’s list
For “First Call” Wednesday, we try to help out renowned horror writer Stephen King. And the Watt brothers take over “The Tonight Show.” The offseason of the Watt brothers continues. Steelers T.J. and Derek Watt joined older brother J.J. Watt during a segment on “The Tonight Show” Tuesday. It was...
Bill Polian on possible MVPs of NFL Draft: IT departmentVideo
Bill Polian ran many NFL drafts, making him the main man in the room for several successful franchises. Next week, the Pro Football Hall of Famer knows who the guys in demand will be for all 32 teams: the techs. “I would say simply, I-T I-T I-T,” Polian explains. “Make...
Free agency spending spree sets stage for Las Vegas Raiders’ draftVideo
The Las Vegas Raiders spent most of the free agency period bolstering one of the NFL’s worst defenses with one glaring exception. While the Raiders added a pair of starting linebackers in Cory Littleton and Nick Kwiatkoski, a new free safety in Damarious Randall and rotational players on the defensive...
Panthers make McCaffrey highest paid running back in NFLVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers agreed to a four-year, $64 million contract extension with All-Pro Christian McCaffrey, a person familiar with the contract negotiation told the Associated Press, making McCaffrey the highest-paid running back in the NFL. Details on how much of the contract is fully guaranteed were unavailable....
Ex-NFL quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, 36, dies in car crashVideo
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Former NFL quarterback Tarvaris Jackson has died in a one-car crash outside Montgomery, authorities said Monday. He was 36. The 2012 Chevrolet Camaro that Jackson was driving went off the road, struck a tree and overturned at 8:50 p.m. Sunday, Trooper Benjamin “Michael” Carswell, an Alabama Law...
ESPN and NFL Network will combine for NFL Draft telecastVideo
NEW YORK — ESPN and NFL Network will join forces for this year’s NFL Draft. They will produce a broadcast that will air on both networks over all three days. The April 23-25 draft originally was scheduled to be in Las Vegas but has been moved because of the coronavirus...
Ex-NFL quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, 36, dies in car crashVideo
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Former NFL quarterback Tarvaris Jackson died in a one-car crash outside Montgomery, authorities said Monday. He was 36. The 2012 Chevrolet Camaro that Jackson was driving went off the road, struck a tree and overturned at 8:50 p.m. Sunday, Trooper Benjamin “Michael” Carswell, an Alabama Law Enforcement...
First Call: Watt Bros. own Siblings Day; J.J. backs Cam Heyward; more noise about Jameis Winston and Steelers
In “First Call” on Monday, the Watt brothers latch onto National Siblings Day. One of them speaks out for snubbed Steelers star Cam Heyward. Another national voice pipes up about the Jameis Winston-to-Pittsburgh talk. And an update on the socially distanced NFL Draft. Friday was National Siblings Day. With so...
Column: If NFL cancels 2020 season, it should call on NHL for help
The prize was future Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby, one of the greatest prospects anyone had seen since Wayne Gretzky. And the method to determine who got him, as best as then-Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Doug MacLean can recall, was hashed out over a few meetings as the NHL...
Clemson star Isaiah Simmons do-it-all talent for NFLVideo
Several years before building a Super Bowl roster in San Francisco, John Lynch the broadcaster was pining for a new kind of defensive playmaker. What the NFL needed to counter all the offensive innovations driving up scores, he said back in 2013, was a hybrid linebacker/safety who could stay on...
Former Steelers fullback Roosevelt Nix expected to sign with the ColtsVideo
Former Steelers Pro Bowl fullback Roosevelt Nix will sign a one-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts, according to multiple reports. Nix, a 5-foot-11, 248-pounder, played with the Steelers for five seasons. He was released last month after the Steelers signed fullback Derek Watt. Nix played in just three games last...
