NFL Page 525 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Is Saquon Barkley stuck in a time loop, or just us?
On the surface, Saquon Barkley’s new contract with the New York Giants feels a lot like the franchise tag. It’s a one-year deal worth roughly the amount of same money — $10.1 million fully guaranteed vs. $10.091 million via the franchise tag — but with about a million in incentives. The main distinc...

Gifting Broncos fans with tickets is a good way for Russell Wilson to get back on the city’s good side
The 2022 NFL season was a forgettable one for Denver Broncos fans and one they’d love to tuck away and pretend never happened. Most of the blame for last year fell on the offense under one-year blunder, Nathaniel Hackett, who got the ax last December. Denver got rid of Hackett, but the other part of...

The NFL is all in on betting, just not for players
Five years after states won the right to regulate a sports betting market, American consumers are starting to get it. With sports shows adopting the language of wagering, and professional leagues partnering with fantasy and betting outfitters, those campaigns to “educate” a sports fan base where bet...

Last year Deshaun Watson apologized, this year he's playing the victim
Deshaun Watson is great at reading defenses — he’s completed 67 percent of his passes and thrown for over 100 touchdowns and 15,000-plus yards in his career. But, what Deshaun Watson is not great at, is reading the room. He has a history of it....

Arthur Smith’s Falcons are riding the Bijan Robinson train in an age of aviator offenses
Arthur Smith migrated to the Falcons after laying down the railroad tracks for the Tennessee Titans’ 2020 AFC Championship berth. One would hope he isn’t trying to put his spin on the Derrick Henry cloud of dust offense he conducted for two years, but with Bijan Robinson. An essential part of buildi...

This might be Trey’s last dance in San Francisco
Trey Lance is entering year three in San Francisco and has suited up for eight games and started just half of them. Multiple injuries coupled with the emergence of Brock Purdy during the second half of last season has built some doubt around the former No. 3 overall pick. With Purdy’s status up in t...

Jags coach Kevin Maxen isn’t obligated to shut up about his personal life
There are almost 400 coaches on NFL staffs, however, openly homosexual male coaches were non-existent from the active pool until Friday when Jacksonville Jaguars strength and conditioning coach Kevin Maxen came out to Outsports.com....

Aaron Rodgers wowing at New York Jets training camp
This might be the most highly anticipated New York Jets season in the organization’s history. Signing future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers and all that surrounded that fiasco has brought us here to the start of training camp, and A-Rod is already wowing folks with his brand of creativity. Rodgers conn...

When is the worst time to hassle an athlete for an autograph?
I’m not a big signed memorabilia type of guy. Personally, I’d rather take a picture. It lasts longer, is less labor intensive and I feel like less of a goofball displaying it. The parasocial connection between autograph seekers pressuring athletes to sign comes with the territory though. This week, ...

NFLPA prez implies franchised running backs should fake injuries for leverage
Apparently all the striking and picketing going on at various writer and actor guilds has seeped into the professional sports. The New York Giants and running back Saquon Barkley are at an impasse over the team giving him an ultimatum of a shitty contract, or the franchise tag, and now he’s mulling ...

ESPN Cleveland radio host goes off on low expectations for Browns
Success for the Cleveland Browns has been limited over the past few decades. Since 1990, the Browns have advanced to the postseason three times. The last won a division title in ‘89 in the old AFC Central. Needless to say, there aren’t too many Browns believers outside city limits. That’s what has E...

The NFL’s program for diversity in sports medicine is something this league finally got right
Doing right by diversity isn’t in the NFL’s DNA. But their venture with the league’s Physicians Society (NFLPS) and the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society (PFATS) is a great diagnosis. ...

Baker Mayfield propaganda is back in full effect for 2023
We haven’t heard much from Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield this summer. After signing a one-year deal with the Bucs in March, it’s been relatively quiet on the home front for Mayfield, which is unusual. His name hasn’t been mentioned much this offseason outside of Tampa. Now that tra...

The Seahawks are taking a trip back to 90s this season with a brief uniform change
Unlike the orange popsicle colored uniforms in Tampa Bay, the Seattle Seahawks have a throwback jersey worthy of throwing back to. The Kingdome may be long gone, but the royal blue home jerseys have returned. Rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba was featured in 90s inspired promo for the old jerseys, and there...

These NFL teams haven't been on HBO’s <i>Hard Knocks</i>
Football season is near, which means HBO is gearing up to give us another season of all-access on Hard Knocks that won’t feature anything worth seeing....

Is Sam Howell the next great Tank Commander or Kirk Cousins redux?
Renewed hope for the Washington Commanders is on the menu in 2023. New ownership will have an opportunity to leave their imprint on the organization eventually. But for now, the direction of the Commies 2023 season rests in the relatively small hands of its anointed Tank Commander Sam Howell. Tank c...

At least one NFL scout has a valid opinion of Aaron Rodgers
Once professional athletes reach a certain level in their respective sport, no matter how long they’ve played and how obvious their decline becomes, it’s rare that anyone will go out on a limb and proclaim this to the masses. The more polarizing you become in your fame, the less people are willing t...

Russell Wilson attends Tyler Lockett’s wedding, proves charisma not totally gone
Russell Wilson is back in the good graces of his teammates — at least a couple of them. The longtime Seattle Seahawks quarterback attended the wedding of past No. 1 receiver Tyler Lockett. There’s even photographic evidence of the party so Wilson now has proof of affability when he gets back to Denv...

Adam Schefter basically says to avoid <i>Hard Knocks</i> this season
Breakout the B-roll of lawnmowers and field painters, it’s almost time for HBO’s Hard Knocks. One of HBO’s crown jewels since the turn of the millennium will feature the New York Jets for the second time. When Rex Ryan’s team was featured for a month on the small screen 13 years ago, it was some of ...

Le’Veon Bell speaks out on state of NFL running back position
The deadline for franchise-tagged players and their teams to come to an agreement has come and gone, and neither Saquon Barkley nor Josh Jacobs got the long-term extension they were seeking. Of course, everyone has an opinion on the situation NFL running backs find themselves in frequently. There mi...