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Mike Sielski: Russell Wilson rejected a trade to the Eagles? If so, here's what it really tells us.

Sports / Football /

So the Eagles wanted Russell Wilson, but Russell Wilson wanted no parts of the Eagles. If you like a good what-if, this one’s a strip of stale beef jerky: You can chew on it forever.

The suggestion that Wilson turned down a trade proposal last year that would have made him the starting quarterback here is the stuff that fuels debate shows and...Read more

Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Brad Biggs: After youth on special teams proved costly last year, the Chicago Bears hope that experience turns into a plus

Sports / Football /

After upgrading the roster on both sides of the ball, the Chicago Bears hope to be in more close games in 2023, the kind in which a key play here or there on special teams can make the difference.

The Bears lost by nine or more points seven times during last year’s 3-14 season. In four of the losses by eight or fewer points, a key special ...Read more

Bob Wojnowski: As Lions' expectations rocket, Jared Goff eager for more

Sports / Football /

ALLEN PARK, Mich. — Jared Goff is unbothered. Go ahead, ask him how he feels about heightened expectations, or how he feels about a possible contract extension. Ask him how much more he needs to do as the Lions' quarterback. Ask him how he feels about Jameson Williams’ occasional social media stir.

Shrug. A few pleasant words. Quick smile....Read more

Chris Perkins: Dolphins watching Heat and Panthers, await their chance at success

Sports / Football /

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Now, it’s the Miami Dolphins’ turn.

In a region currently consumed by the Miami Heat playing the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals (the series is tied at one game apiece heading into Wednesday’s Game 3) and the Florida Panthers facing the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final (Vegas leads, 2-0, heading into ...Read more

49ers' Deebo Samuel gives harsh self-assessment of 2022: `I was awful'

Sports / Football /

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Not satisfied with what the 49ers got from Deebo Samuel last season?

You’re not alone.

“It was awful,” Samuel said Tuesday. ‘I was awful . . . in every way.”

Samuel offered that harsh self-assessment on the first day of the 49ers’ mandatory minicamp, which continues Wednesday and ends Thursday with a family...Read more

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Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson ready to be 'the guy' in 2023 after Damien Harris' departure

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Rhamondre Stevenson emerged as the Patriots’ lead option in the backfield last season over Damien Harris, who seemed to lose his top role early in the season and never reclaimed it after catching the injury bug late in the year.

Going into this season, though, there’s no question.

Harris is gone after signing with the...Read more

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Paul Zeise: Antonio Brown is the entertainment gift that keeps giving, but it's so sad to watch

Sports / Football /

I'll admit it: Every time I see the words "Antonio Brown" in a headline, it is must-read, no matter what it is. It is almost always a great mix of entertainment, bizzaro-world behavior and something that makes you say to yourself, "This is not what I expected to read."

Brown's adventurous ride as the owner of the Albany Empire, an arena ...Read more

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Self-awareness of Kayvon Thibodeaux, Evan Neal is a great sign for Giants

Sports / Football /

Giants second-year right tackle Evan Neal, the No. 7 overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, purposefully spent time this offseason making changes to his foundation: his stance.

“With anything,” Neal said after practice last week, “you want to refine it to the point where you get better results out of it.”

Second-year edge rusher Kayvon ...Read more

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Brian Wacker: What a new offense and new receivers means for Ravens star tight end Mark Andrews

Sports / Football /

The NFL offseason is a lot of things, depending on the team. For the Ravens, it’s been a roller coaster.

There were notable departures (left guard Ben Powers, defensive end Calais Campbell), significant additions (wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., offensive coordinator Todd Monken) and, of course, the drama that swirled around Lamar Jackson ...Read more

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Kansas City Chiefs visit White House for first time to celebrate Super Bowl victory

Sports / Football /

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said the Kansas City Chiefs are building a dynasty as he welcomed them on Monday to the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

Joking that it was good First Lady Jill Biden, a die hard Eagles fan, wasn’t there to witness the ceremony, Biden talked about the unity and ...Read more

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New OT Cedric Ogbuehi believes Dolphins have 'something special going'

Sports / Football /

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — New Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi hasn’t been counted on as a consistent starter for years since his early time with the Cincinnati Bengals after they took him in the first round of the 2015 draft.

But after starting five games for the New York Jets in 2022, the most he has had in a season since 2017, ...Read more

Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times/TNS

Gene Collier: Le'Veon Bell wants to retire as a Steeler? Well, that's nice.

Sports / Football /

PITTSBURGH — Again this week someone asked how I was enjoying retirement, and while that's always a good reminder that these columns aren't exactly required reading across the tri-state area, it's getting harder and harder not to respond with, "Well, that's a question better directed to a retired person."

Instead I just say, "Not at all ...Read more

Tammy Ljungblad/The Kansas City Star/TNS

Norma Hunt, wife of longtime Chiefs owner & only woman to attend every Super Bowl, dies at 85

Sports / Football /

Norma Knobel Hunt, the wife of longtime Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar, has died, the team announced Sunday. She was 85.

Norma, who is the only woman to attend all 57 Super Bowls, also is the mother of current Chiefs owner Clark Hunt.

The Hunt family released a statement about Norma’s death Sunday night.

“She was a wonderful mother and an...Read more

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Vahe Gregorian: With Chiefs up next, meaning of White House visit still resonates with past KC honorees

Sports / Football /

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When the phone call came around 6:30 in the morning after Mario’s Miracle propelled Kansas to the 2008 NCAA title, KU coach Bill Self and his wife, Cindy, had just returned to their San Antonio hotel room.

Somewhere between over-served and wiped out, a groggy Self answered. On the other end, he heard either someone ...Read more

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Pat Leonard's NFL notes: Bengals' AFC North prominence suddenly has rivals chasing

Sports / Football /

NEW YORK — For football fans of a certain age, it may seem unthinkable that the entire AFC North division is now playing catch-up with the Cincinnati Bengals.

This is a franchise that did not appear in a single playoff game from 1991 through 2004. They lost in the AFC’s wild-card round five straight years from 2011 through 2015.

They ...Read more

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Dieter Kurtenbach: The 49ers mere mocked for drafting a kicker in the third round, but they'll get the last laugh

Sports / Football /

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — If the Warriors or Sharks had their leading scorer in each of the past six seasons leave the team, it would be a pretty big deal.

But when that exact thing happened to the 49ers this offseason with kicker Robbie Gould’s exit, more attention was paid to when the team drafted his replacement.

Kickers get no respect — ...Read more

John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Bears listen to proposal from Naperville for stadium site. Arlington Heights 'no longer our singular focus,' team says.

Sports / Football /

Chicago Bears officials met with Naperville Mayor Scott Wehrli on Friday to discuss the possibility of abandoning their plans for a new stadium development in Arlington Heights in favor of building it in the large western suburb.

In a move that could be used as bargaining leverage, the team said in a statement Friday that plans to build “the ...Read more

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Mike Sielski: Bill McGovern spent a short time coaching with the Eagles and a long time coaching the right way.

Sports / Football /

PHILADELPHIA — When Bill McGovern died Tuesday, it would have been understandable if a ripple of recognition, and nothing more, swept over those Eagles fans who happened to notice the news. McGovern spent three years with the team — the entirety of Chip Kelly’s tenure, from 2013 through 2015 — as its outside linebackers coach. In fact, ...Read more

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Bob Condotta: Does Seahawks' salary cap situation make it possible for another big move?

Sports / Football /

SEATTLE — When the Seahawks restructured the contract of receiver Tyler Lockett in early May, they might have also raised the expectation that a big move was on the horizon.

Lockett's restructure — in which his 2023 base salary of $8.53 million was turned into a bonus, allowing it to be spread out over the final three years of his deal for ...Read more

Matt Calkins: Kenneth Walker III might not have been top rookie, but he could be better in Year 2

Sports / Football /

The question was about his pass-catching, but few actually heard the answer. Not as Seahawks running back coach Chad Morton was walking by.

Running back Kenneth Walker III was fielding questions Thursday during his first news conference since the end of last season, when Morton screamed out: “They stole that rookie of the year! It should have...Read more