ATLANTA — With a lot less acrimony in the process than in the past, the NFL ownership group awarded Atlanta the fourth Super Bowl in the city’s history — the latest in a string of major sporting events set for Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“We want to officially say congratulations to the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta community for hosting ...Read more

Ricky Pearsall’s return to the field is the exact boost the 49ers need right now.

And that’s not strictly on an emotional level, either.

Yes, seeing the Niners’ first-round pick, who was shot on Aug. 31 in an attempted robbery in San Francisco’s Union Square, cheating death and playing again is worthy of celebration and all the good ...Read more

DETROIT — The Detroit Lions continue to lock up their guys early and often.

After signing running back David Montgomery to a two-year contract extension on Saturday, the Lions signed defensive tackle Alim McNeill to a four-year extension on Tuesday, according to his agent, Mike McCartney.

The deal is worth $97 million, including $55 million ...Read more

Somewhere over the long football weekend in which Bill Belichick made fun of the New York Jets and Buffalo’s Josh Allen maintained control of the AFC East, a tremor of new went through the division.

The Buffalo Bills won again, then traded for Amari Cooper.

The Jets showed some life, then traded for Davante Adams.

Even the Patriots took a ...Read more

CHICAGO — Justin Fields could be headed to the bench for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but even if that happens this week, the Chicago Bears are in decent position to receive a fourth-round draft pick for their former quarterback.

Russell Wilson, now fully recovered from a calf injury that sidelined him before the season began, will get first-team...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — For the second year in a row, the Vikings are bringing in running back Cam Akers as a midseason addition.

They acquired Akers in a trade with the Texans, on condition of him passing a physical exam, adding depth to their backfield in a low-cost move.

The Vikings are sending a conditional 2026 sixth-round pick to Houston in ...Read more

FORT WORTH, Texas — Jerry Jones just celebrated his 82nd birthday and he opened the door to speculation that “he’s losing it.”

He’s not, but he is 82. He is “a senior.” He’s going to have a few “moments.”

He had one on Tuesday morning. On Tuesday, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys crossed a line that, in retrospect, it’s ...Read more

RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks’ run defense has been something of an all-or-nothing proposition lately.

That’s the way coach Mike Macdonald sees it anyway, noting that for most of their recent games the run defense hasn’t been too bad.

The issue is that on those plays when it’s been bad, it’s been really bad.

“We’re ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Davante Adams wanted out. The Raiders obliged.

And made out well in trading him to the Jets.

It had come to the point of no return for Adams and the Raiders. The star wide receiver asked for a trade two weeks ago and his wish was granted Tuesday.

You can make the argument it should have happened sooner. That the team should have...Read more

CHICAGO — Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears will capture the attention of much of the country when they play again.

The NFL on Tuesday shifted the Week 8 schedule, moving the Bears’ Oct. 27 road game against the Washington Commanders from a noon kickoff to a 3:25 p.m. start. It will be the marquee late afternoon game for CBS, which will ...Read more

Each week of the NFL season, The Baltimore Sun will recap the best and worst from around the league. Here are our winners and losers from Week 6:

Winner: Ravens offense

Let’s take a look at some numbers, shall we?

Through six games, the Ravens lead the NFL in yards per play (6.9), rushing yards per game (205.3) and overall offensive ...Read more

ATLANTA — NFL owners unanimously approved Tom Brady’s purchase of a minority ownership stake in the Raiders on Tuesday.

Owners also unanimously approved Richard Seymour’s purchase of a minority ownership stake.

Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback, and Knighthead Capital Management co-founder Tom Wagner are buying 10% of ...Read more

NEW YORK — A day after changing agencies, pass rusher Haason Reddick has been given permission to seek a trade, Jets owner Woody Johnson announced during the NFL fall meetings in Atlanta on Tuesday.

The Eagles traded Reddick to the Jets last March, but he has not played this season because of a contract dispute. He is in the final year of a ...Read more

NEW YORK — A trade seemingly in the works for over a year is finally happening.

The Raiders have agreed to trade six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Davante Adams to the Jets, according to sources.

The trade is for a conditional third-round pick that can become a second-round pick if Adams is a first or second-team All-Pro, or on the active ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is contemplating a change at quarterback this week as the Steelers prepare to play host to the New York Jets on Sunday night. Russell Wilson, after a calf injury marred his first three months with the team, is in consideration to take over as the starter.

Wilson went through a full week of practice last...Read more

NEW YORK — Following the Jets’ third consecutive loss, this time to the rival Bills, Aaron Rodgers was not in a good mood during his postgame press conference.

However, Rodgers was smiling and in much better spirits after he received a call from Davante Adams following the game when the star receiver told him they would be teammates again. ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — From the moment they signed Russell Wilson in free agency, the Steelers had one plan in mind for the former nine-time Pro Bowl, Super Bowl-winning quarterback: to help them win a playoff game and become a Super Bowl contender.

It appears that plan is about to be executed.

"This is a competitive league, and we're trying to ...Read more

Each week I’ll list the best widely available free agents for fantasy football — I define “widely available” as being owned in around half of all ESPN or Yahoo leagues — and some guys who are probably better off in the free-agent pool than collecting dust on your roster.

Follow me on X (formerly known as Twitter) @UTEddieBrown if you ...Read more

MIAMI — One more week., and likely one more game.

That’s the expected timeline the Miami Dolphins will likely have to spend without Tua Tagovailoa, the player these past six seasons has been catered to.

In 2019 the Dolphins “Tanked for Tua,” purging the roster with the goal of being bad enough to select one of the draft’s top ...Read more

BALTIMORE — The best comparison between the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson and Washington rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels is that both are playmakers.

Forget all this other nonsense about differences in styles and deliveries. Both make plays. With Jackson, he is an athletic phenom with good to average arm strength and the ability to improvise and ...Read more