NFL Page 520 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Now that Joe Burrow is the NFL's richest player, here's a look at the QBs he surpassed on the highest-paid list
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is now the highest-paid player in NFL history. The 2020 No. 1 overall pick received a five-year, $275 million extension — an average $55 million per season — as he heads into his fourth year....

Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions won a game that mattered
Sometimes overreactions are appropriate. And in the case of Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions, they’ve earned every hysterical and asinine hot take fans and analysts will make about them Friday morning — and maybe throughout the rest of the season. It’s time to drink the Kool-Aid. The Lions are leg...

Hey, refs: Mahomes already has enough of an edge, don't give him any more!
Facing Patrick Mahomes already presents unique challenges for pass rushers. Getting past the blockers may not even be half of the battle. Mahomes moves around in the pocket with the agility of a gazelle trying to avoid becoming lunch. Trying to corral him should not be made harder by the Kansas City...

Oddsmakers are singing ‘Hail to the Chiefs’, but buyer beware
The sports-driven corner of the internet nearly descended into armageddon on Tuesday when it was revealed that Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce hyperextended his knee during practice. His long-term status came into the forefront and every fantasy owner that picked him in the first round of...

MetLife Stadium may no longer have the worst playing surface in the NFL
For all of the talk about the new look New York Jets and Saquon Barkley’s contract dispute with the New York Giants, one major change in East Rutherford N.J. has been undercovered — the new turf at MetLife stadium....

The NFL buried its best Week 1 matchup, Dolphins-Chargers, in an afternoon slot
Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season is finally upon us, and the most intriguing matchup based on what will happen on the field won’t even be available for most fans to watch live. The Miami Dolphins travel to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers in a battle of two No. 1 picks from the 2020 draft. Tua Tagov...

Russell Wilson and his diva ways weren't ready for a coach like Sean Payton
Sean Payton is an old-school head coach in his approach and one of the few remaining in the NFL. As part of the Bill Parcells coaching tree, Payton mirrors his mentor in many ways regarding his no-nonsense way of dealing with players. It doesn’t matter who the player is or what they think of themsel...

The Ravens offense will only be as good as its backup plan
The Baltimore Ravens co-opted college tactics as much as any team in the NFL over the past five years — it just wasn’t the trendy playbook. The staff built a run-oriented scheme around Lamar Jackson, taking QB-run tactics from college, and tweaking them for the pros. It worked for a while, and earne...

Can the Detroit Lions live up to all the hype around them this season?
The Detroit Lions enter the 2023 NFL season on a wild hype train of high hopes and expectations after finishing strong last year, winning five of their final six games. Jared Goff looked like Detroit’s quarterback of the future, and Dan Campbell proved that he’s much more than a barbaric man who wan...

Hard Knocks Finale: Robert Saleh ended the season with a winner
In some ways, being a head coach is like being a late-night host. Day and day out, for an entire season, this person has to perform. There may be only 17 games in an NFL season, but every single day a head coach is forced to perform for the media, the players, and bosses. So many speeches, PowerPoin...

Jerry Jones traded for Trey Lance and didn't even tell Mike McCarthy
Recently, Jerry Jones made a front-office move that shocked many around the NFL. The Dallas Cowboys owner traded a fourth-round draft pick to the San Francisco 49ers for Trey Lance. In the aftermath of that deal, what wasn’t reported at the time is that Jones made the swap without consulting his foo...

Life without Tom Brady: For the first time since 1999, here are all the things we (thankfully) never have to think about again
As far as we can tell, Tom Brady is retired from the NFL. That doesn’t mean he definitely won’t change his mind once Week 1 is underway and Brady is sitting at home, asking people if they think he can throw a football over them there mountains, or whatever. He’s kinda sorta retired before, only to c...

How much is Travis Kelce worth if TJ Hockenson can get $17M annually?
TJ Hockenson’s new contract makes him the NFL’s highest-paid tight end. The former Detroit Lion — who last year was traded to NFC North division rival Minnesota mid-season — will earn $17.125 million per year after receiving more targets, hauling in more receptions, and gaining more yards than only ...

It’s OK to feel uneasy about Damar Hamlin’s return to football
Damar Hamlin’s return is almost complete. Bronny James is “doing extremely well” in his recovery. You’re not a bad person for wondering if playing again is the best idea for both of them....

In defense of New York Giants LB Jihad Ward
I think I am on Jihad Ward’s side. Maybe the New York Giants LB shouldn’t have placed his hands on New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers at the end of a play when the ball was long gone. Two wrongs don’t make a right, and going after a person — who was minding his own business when the original wrong occur...

Green Bay’s patience with Jordan Love should make Trey Lance envious
Green Bay took the Jordan Year literally. Early in 2023, general manager Brian Gutekunst read all the stars and tea leaves, glanced at Aaron Rodgers’ advancing age — not to mention his diminishing mobility and prima donna behavior — and named the Packers’ latest first-round QB pick, Jordan Love, as ...

The Dallas Cowboys trade was the life raft Trey Lance desperately needed
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is no stranger to controversy, whether it positively or negatively affects his franchise. Jones recently made a move that won’t yield immediate results but may have saved a career. Trading that fourth-round pick to San Francisco for Trey Lance was the life preserver ...

Mac Jones operating without a net in New England
For the second consecutive season, the New England Patriots are taking an unconventional approach to their quarterback room. A year after letting Matt Patricia and Joe Judge do some on-the-job learning as co-offensive coordinators, the team cut backup quarterbacks Bailey Zappe and Malik Cunningham. ...

<i>Hard Knocks Episode 4</i>: Finally, something other than Aaron Rodgers
I would estimate that more than half of the fourth episode of Hard Knocks had nothing to do with Aaron Rodgers. Outside of an extended practice sequence that portrayed him as a conquering hero for turning the offense around after a poor drive, his lecture to Zach Wilson about Bluetooth EMF waves, an...

Jonathan Taylor is still stuck in No Man’s Land
If you were hoping the NFL would deliver a satisfying conclusion to the Colts’ Jonathan Taylor debacle before the regular season, think again. After all the reports and swirling rumors, it turns out the Dolphins and Colts couldn’t get beyond small talk. On Tuesday, Adam Schefter reported that the di...