SEATTLE — It's a 2020 Dodge Ram 2500, if you're wondering. And those aren't hydraulics he installed — it's an air-suspension system called air ride.

The cost to get it to where it is now versus when he bought it off the lot is upward of $70,000. For Seahawks outside linebacker Derick Hall? Worth every penny.

The first Hard Knocks" episode ...Read more

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Trey Smith is standing inside a white tent off the edge of the Chiefs’ practice field, thinking back to his first time here in St. Joseph, because he’s been asked to recall his rookie year.

But before he answers a question, he interrupts with a description.

“You’re taking me back,” he says, “to a nightmare.”

...Read more

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The next time you watch Dolphins defensive tackle Zach Sieler on a passing down, whether it’s training camp, a preseason game or regular season game, study him very closely. Perhaps you’ll detect the same level of unselfish play that coach Jeff Hafley detected.

Hafley compared Sieler, the 6-foot-6, 300-pound eight-...Read more

DETROIT — Sonic just picked up a whole lot of rings.

The Detroit Lions and running back Jahmyr Gibbs on Thursday reached a three-year, $67.5 million contract extension, according to an Instagram post from his agent, Todd France, ending the hold in that's prevented Gibbs from seeing the practice field in camp.

The deal makes Gibbs, who just ...Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Of all the vast injuries to monitor at 49ers training camp, one very important recovery is being scrutinized each practice, albeit in the literal background.

That would be coach Kyle Shanahan’s apparently positive recovery from a concussion he sustained in his July 14 car crash.

“He’s been around,” backup ...Read more

ALLEN PARK, Mich. — If there was any separation anxiety before, there can’t be now.

Not with this team. Not on Dan Campbell’s watch. And certainly not after what the Lions’ head coach saw last season and the “embarrassment” he says he felt when it was all over.

The reasons for his team’s precipitous fall — from the top of the ...Read more

RENTON, Wash. — Mike Macdonald’s reaction to the first episode of “Hard Knocks” should not be a surprise considering the way the Seahawks coach has asked his players to embrace the exposure.

“I thought it was great. Shout out to HBO. You realize how many people it takes to make this thing come to life. There’s people everywhere, ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — This is where it all started for Jim Harbaugh, this idyllic hilltop University of San Diego campus with its sweeping views of the city and ocean, Spanish Renaissance architecture and courtyards lined with palm trees.

Harbaugh had been an assistant coach elsewhere, learning the ropes as an offensive consultant at Western Kentucky ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers thinks pandemic czar Dr. Anthony Fauci is a coward for invoking the 5th Amendment more than 100 times before Congress last week.

Fauci's attorney thinks Rodgers has no idea what he's talking about and says the future Hall of Famer should stay in his lane.

Here's how we got to this ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — I don’t agree with Aaron Rodgers on a handful of topics surrounding public health, especially his views on vaccinations and the COVID-19 pandemic. But that’s OK.

I respect Rodgers’ right to not only have an opposing opinion but share that opinion whenever and wherever he sees fit.

That said, what took place during Monday�...Read more

LAS VEGAS — It’s a word used at every level of sport. Something teams preach as they try to either improve what is a losing standard or continue winning ways.

Culture.

You have heard it time and again. How important it is to build a successful one. How it can come to define a program. The Las Vegas Raiders are no different. And with a new ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Most likely the name Lynn Stiles is at-best vaguely familiar to Chiefs fans. That was practically by design.

“He was not a man of pretense,” former Chiefs president Carl Peterson wrote in his recent eulogy to Stiles. “He was not a man of ego. He never (sought) adulation. He deflected it.”

Low profile ...Read more

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — New Miami Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis will have question marks surrounding him as he nears his first regular season as a starter.

But he is earning the praise of his coaches a week into training camp.

“I’ve been really, really pleased with Malik,” offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said. “Just his work ...Read more

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Odell Beckham Jr. is finally in the mix.

The former Giants star was featured with Jaxson Dart’s first-team offense on Tuesday after seeing sparing playing time with the starters — and minimal targets overall — through the first week of camp.

Beckham caught a pass over the middle from Dart while sinking ...Read more

CHICAGO — Darnell Wright has a chance to do something only one other player has accomplished for the Chicago Bears since Brian Urlacher.

After the franchise made him the highest-paid right tackle in the NFL on Tuesday, you can believe general manager Ryan Poles is sure hopeful that Wright becomes the franchise’s second first-round pick to ...Read more

SEATTLE — There are 35 extra people at training camp with the Seahawks right now. Brian O'Connell’s hope is that the guests from NFL Films don't stand out.

“We worked really hard so that when you’re out at practice the crew blends right in,” said O’Connell, the director of broadcasting for the Seahawks and conduit between the team ...Read more

BALTIMORE — During the first round of the 2023 draft, Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta got a few calls about trading back from the 22nd overall pick. But he liked Zay Flowers, thought there would be a run on wide receivers and former great Steve Smith Sr.’s high opinion of Flowers weeks earlier had resonated.

More than three ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears are signing right tackle Darnell Wright to a four-year, $116 million contract extension. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Jeremy Fowler first reported the deal.

The contract will keep Wright under team control through the 2030 season, with an option for 2031.

The $29 million average annual value will make Wright ...Read more