PITTSBURGH — Will Howard is used to being the underdog. It's become part of his identity.

Tell him he's not good enough, and he'll make it his life's mission to prove you wrong. The Steelers' rookie quarterback has done that every step of the way during his football career.

At Downingtown West High School in Chester County, Pa., Howard was ...Read more

CHICAGO — A high bar has been set the last two years with Sam LaPorta making a run at Mike Ditka’s record for receiving yards by a rookie tight end in 2023 and Brock Bowers eclipsing it last season with the Las Vegas Raiders.

LaPorta blossomed instantly as a major cog in the Detroit Lions passing game under offensive coordinator Ben Johnson...Read more

LAS VEGAS — The Raiders are signing veteran linebacker Jaylon Smith, who has not played in the NFL since 2023.

The former Notre Dame standout was once one of the most productive linebackers in the league. He had 121 or more tackles in three straight seasons for the Dallas Cowboys from 2018 to 2020. Injuries have marred his career, however. ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs brought their draft picks, free-agent rookies and tryout hopefuls to Kansas City last weekend, nearly 90 of them in all.

This column is about the future of just one — because it’s the player on which the success of the Chiefs’ 2025 draft class should pivot.

Josh Simmons.

If the Chiefs have found a ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — I listened with intent and learned from Omar Khan this past week when he met with the media and talked about the wide receiver position.

Khan’s contention is the Steelers are in a much better spot than they were last year, even though they only have one legitimate top receiving option on the roster. I am willing to concede ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Before the Chargers put diamonds in any Super Bowl rings, Jim Harbaugh is looking for diamonds on the practice field.

"Rare gems, they don't just hop out of the ground and into your pocket," the Chargers coach said as the team began rookie minicamp Friday. "You gotta dig."

The Chargers are searching for their hidden gems ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Derek Carr, who rewrote the Raiders’ record book during his nine seasons with the club, is retiring from football after suffering a serious shoulder injury last season with the Saints.

Carr, 34, spent the past two seasons with New Orleans after being released by the Raiders following the 2022 season. The lingering effects of the...Read more

FORT WORTH, Texas — Amari Cooper’s unwillingness to take a shot, Michael Gallup’s ACL, and the “presence” of Ryan Flournoy, Jalen Brooks and Jalen Tolbert forced the Cowboys to bring in a person who could emasculate Brian Schottenheimer long before Jerry does.

George Pickens was not going to eat up Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin ...Read more

MIAMI — Zeek Biggers’ calves are the size of tree trunks, and they’re needed to hold up his 6-foot-6, 320-pound frame, which based on my Lasik-assisted eyes might be a conservative weight listing.

Probably a weight recommendation because this defensive lineman from Georgia Tech is a big man, arguably the biggest of all the newcomers on ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — A few times per month, sometimes without warning, Nate Mahon will look down at his phone and see Kaleb Johnson on the other end, the new Steelers running back eager to FaceTime with Mahon's three kids.

Mahon coached Johnson at Hamilton High School, located outside of Cincinnati. He visited the University of Iowa about a half-...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Steelers general manager Omar Khan doesn't make it a habit of discussing every move and every transaction throughout the offseason. His usual checkpoints are the NFL combine, league owners meetings and the draft, followed by a moratorium until the start of training camp.

But George Pickens is different. And Friday, after the team...Read more

MIAMI — For one minute, or however long it takes to read this, let’s forget about the perception that the 2025 Miami Dolphins are a finesse team, or needed to beef up the trenches, becoming tougher, more physical.

There’s plenty of truth to that accusation, and evidence of it can be found in how the team’s decision-makers altered their ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Drafting receivers with troubled backgrounds is nothing new to the Steelers. They've done it for decades now and for years managed to maximize their talents before jettisoning them when there was a point of diminishing return. Santonio Holmes is the perfect example of that.

The Steelers traded up in the first round of the 2006 ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — In a brutal bit of irony, in-custody deaths in Los Angeles were brought to the forefront by a 2023 case in which neither the County Sheriff's Department or county hospitals would acknowledge that an inmate was in their custody when he died.

Stanley Wilson Jr., a Stanford graduate and former NFL defensive back with the Detroit ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A football fan is suing the NFL for $100 million over the "severe emotional distress and trauma" that he suffered when former Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders unexpectedly dropped to the fifth round of last month's draft.

In a lawsuit filed May 1 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Buffaloes fan ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jadeveon Clowney will be looking for work elsewhere in 2025.

The Carolina Panthers released Clowney on Thursday, a league source confirmed. ESPN was the first to report the move.

The move will open up $7.78 million in salary cap space, according to Over The Cap. However, because the Panthers couldn’t trade Clowney, they�...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Rams coach Sean McVay typically rewards players for their dedicated voluntary offseason work by not holding a mandatory minicamp.

This year, players are apt to welcome one.

The Rams and the Hawaii Tourism Authority announced on Wednesday that the Rams will hold a minicamp and other events on Maui from June 16-18.

Rams ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — The most amazing part of the George Pickens story is that so many people thought Pickens was going to grow up on a moment's notice and make it work with the Steelers for one final season.

What have they been watching for the past three years?

They thought Pickens, who is headed to the Dallas Cowboys for essentially a third-round...Read more

PITTSBURGH — It very well might be addition by subtraction.

The Steelers' value proposition also includes essentially taking a third-round pick now versus potentially getting production while also risking a potential George Pickens crash out.

Where the equation doesn't balance for me involves the idea of timing.

In other words, why did the ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — The Steelers are planning to trade truculent receiver George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys for a third-round pick in the 2026 draft, a move they believe has no bearing or impact on quarterback Aaron Rodgers signing with the team, sources have told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The trade, which developed in just the past couple ...Read more