DETROIT — It’s official: Caleb Williams is a Chicago Bear as the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

Football’s worst-kept secret became public a few minutes after 7 p.m. CDT Thursday when the Bears, from their draft room at team headquarters in Lake Forest, sent an electronic message to Hart Plaza 326 miles away. Once that alert was received ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — A few days away from the two-year anniversary of trading for A.J. Brown, the Eagles reached an agreement to extend the star wide receiver once again Thursday night.

The extension will run through 2029, and reportedly worth up to $96 million with $84 million guaranteed. Brown, 26, was previously under contract through 2026 on an...Read more

FOXBORO, Mass. — The pick is in, and the Patriots have chosen UNC quarterback Drake Maye with the third pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

After months of speculation that the Patriots could trade down from No. 3 overall, de facto general manager Eliot Wolf, head coach Jerod Mayo and the rest of the team’s top decision-makers stood pat to select a...Read more

Chicago Bears history is intertwined with so much that is great about the tapestry of professional football.

The evolution of the middle linebacker position can be traced back more than seven decades through some of the greatest to play it: from Bill George to Dick Butkus to Mike Singletary to Brian Urlacher. Three of the game’s most electric...Read more

DETROIT — When you look around, be sure to look everywhere. When you listen, be sure to hear everything.

You’ll see fans from all cities, celebrities from all corners. Outside of the Super Bowl, the draft is the NFL’s most-celebrated event, and the impact is witnessed in the streets and written on the walls. Look up and you’ll see ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Fifty years ago, the Steelers embarked on a franchise-changing season that still reverberates to this day. In 1974, they put together a draft class that has produced four Pro Football Hall of Famers and then went on to win the first of four Super Bowl titles — kick-starting a dynasty. Throughout this season, we will look back at...Read more

CHICAGO — You have to give the Chicago Bears and Mayor Brandon Johnson credit for their boldness.

Name-dropping the likes of Daniel Burnham, former President Barack Obama, Taylor Swift and Beyonce on Wednesday during their presentation of a proposed $4.6 billion stadium project was pure genius.

Highlighting the historic Soldier Field ...Read more

DETROIT — Caleb Williams had one rule for participants in Wednesday morning’s Play Football Prospect Clinic with Special Olympics athletes: If you score, you dance.

Non-negotiable. And make it memorable.

“I mean, football is about having fun,” Williams said with a smile inside the Corner Ballpark facility on the site of the old Tiger ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears — one of the National Football League’s charter franchises — on Wednesday unveiled plans for a new stadium project on the lakefront partly funded by the public that would give the team a facility in line with many of the NFL’s ultra-modern, fan-friendly structures.

Joined by Mayor Brandon Johnson and other ...Read more

DETROIT — The Detroit Lions have come to terms on an anticipated contract extension with All-Pro wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown on Wednesday.

A source familiar with the negotiations confirmed the four-year agreement to The Detroit News. Initial reports from the NFL Network peg the package worth north of $120 million with $77 million ...Read more

BALTIMORE — When Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta was asked two weeks ago about wide receiver Rashod Bateman’s fifth-year option, he noted that he had about a month to make a decision and that he’d probably have more to say about it after this week’s NFL draft.

He didn’t wait that long.

On Wednesday, the team announced a contact ...Read more

DETROIT — Hours after agreeing to a long-term extension with All-Pro wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, the Detroit Lions locked up another cornerstone from the team's 2021 draft class, coming to terms on a four-year extension with offensive tackle Penei Sewell, a source close to the negotiations confirmed to The Detroit News.

The pact is worth...Read more

I’m not in the business of sticking up for Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. I leave that job to others.

But I had to step in on this one.

I had an email exchange Monday with someone who thinks the Dolphins should draft a quarterback this week.

Respectfully, I believe that person is wrong.

I agree 100% with general manager Chris ...Read more

Editor's note: The Union-Tribune's Eddie Brown is breaking down prospects, position by position, leading up to the NFL draft (April 25-27). Here are his top 10 quarterbacks, plus "bonus" players he believes will be drafted or signed as a priority free agent:

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— 1. Caleb Williams (Jr., USC, 6-foot-1, 214 pounds)

Williams was the No....Read more

This is not the year for suspense when it comes to the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

Signs have pointed to the Chicago Bears using that selection on USC quarterback Caleb Williams for months, and that’s expected to come to fruition Thursday when the draft kicks off in Detroit.

But the top half of the first round could be a wild ride. One ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Former Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook has settled a Dakota County District Court lawsuit in which Gracelyn Trimble, a former girlfriend, accused him of giving her a concussion and holding her hostage at his Inver Grove Heights home, according to court documents.

A hearing was set for the matter Tuesday before Judge ...Read more

SEATTLE — On March 28 I stood behind New York Giants coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen, while Michael Penix Jr. put on a show.

I watched a different one.

Because after each impressive Penix pass, Daboll provided punctuation. The 49-year-old former offensive coordinator shook his head in disbelief. Or he turned to stare at ...Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — John Lynch should be out of a job.

The 49ers’ general manager was responsible for one of the worst moves in recent NFL history — three first-round picks for the right to select quarterback Trey Lance.

The quarterback is now gone, traded away before the 2023 season, and all the 49ers received in return was a Day 3 ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears are set to announce a $4.6 billion plan for a new enclosed stadium and lakefront area, half of which would come from taxpayers, sources said, but the team will have to overcome serious skepticism from several directions.

The stadium itself would cost $3.2 billion to build, with another $1.4 billion in proposed ...Read more

DETROIT — Life is unquestionably good, both personally and professionally, for Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff.

On the field, Goff is coming off a season where he led the Lions to their first division title in 30 years, and first playoff victories in 32. The city, which had been slow to embrace the quarterback when he first arrived via a...Read more