Nostalgia’s the preferred narcotic of desperate NFL front offices, but sometimes bringing back an old flame’s just smart business.

It was on Tuesday, when the San Francisco 49ers jettisoned a 2027 fourth-round pick to rescue DeForest Buckner from Indianapolis Colts purgatory.

Six-plus years ago, John Lynch shipped Buckner out of town ...Read more

CHICAGO — The failed drug test that led to a two-game suspension under the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy was “accidental,” Chicago Bears defensive end Montez Sweat said Tuesday at Halas Hall.

Sweat returned to the practice field as the team began preparations for Monday night’s matchup with the defending Super Bowl champion ...Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — DeForest Buckner is circling back to the San Francisco 49ers.

Buckner, dealt in March 2020 to the Indianapolis Colts, will cost the 49ers a mere 2027 fourth-round draft pick, pending a physical, a league source confirmed Tuesday.

“Come home,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk commented on ESPN’s Instagram post of Buckner ...Read more

FORT WORTH, Texas — Watching the ESPN telecast of the Dallas Cowboys’ game on Monday night in Philadelphia was uncomfortable, not just because of the state of either team, but viewers are literally watching a “couple” in the midst of an ugly divorce.

Former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman’s time with ESPN as its top NFL in-game ...Read more

Four years of high school French taught me how to conjugate verbs and navigate a menu.

It did nothing to explain why I was awake at 6:30 a.m. Sunday trusting Aaron Rodgers to quarterback two of my fantasy teams in Paris.

I understand French better than I speak it, but Pittsburgh’s second-half offensive philosophy needed no translation: Risk ...Read more

SEATTLE — To prove a point, Craig Nelson once held a piece of paper in front of his sons, Connor and Quenton.

“These are all the kids playing rec and Pop Warner football,” he said.

Then Craig tore the paper in half, dropping one piece to the floor.

“These are the guys playing in high school.”

Then he tore another, significantly ...Read more

SEATTLE — Early on, anyway, the 2026 Kansas City Chiefs sure were trending toward redemption and resumption of their modern identity as a perennial championship contender.

In the wake of the distressing 6-11 dud last season, they entered Sunday night’s game against reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle at Lumen Field as one of just two ...Read more

MIAMI — Imagine the sheer, and utter gall.

The supposed disrespect.

Your team is rallying from a possible loss, pulls within three points in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and the opponent is facing a critical fourth-and-1 from the 49-yard line.

If your defense stops them, you’re in position to at least tie the score if the ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Blake Cashman’s contract with the Minnesota Vikings expires at the end of this season. The organization brain trust should not let it come to that.

In case anyone needed any further proof of Cashman’s value in Brian Flores’ defense, the veteran linebacker delivered an All Pro-worthy performance Sunday in a 16-10 win over ...Read more

NEW YORK — Aaron Glenn keeps promising better days.

The New York Jets keep finding new ways to lose.

Now the losses are piling up and so are the calls for his job.

Sunday’s 28-25 home loss to the previously winless Miami Dolphins dropped the Jets to 2-5 and turned up the heat on their second-year coach. Glenn knows the noise is coming. ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — If Jeffrey Lurie had known Monday would be so awkward, if he could have foreseen that the Eagles would be the focus of such scrutiny and so many questions, who knows? Maybe he wouldn’t have agreed to stage and take part in a ceremony to celebrate himself.

But the show, such as it was, had to go on. So a red carpet was ...Read more

DENVER — The Orange Mush is dead.

“Oh yeah,” Denver Broncos icon Louis Wright told me over the phone Monday. “I mean, their tackling has improved.

“But the Kansas City running back, (Kenneth) Walker (III), he’s probably the best in the NFL right now. So it’s not like you’re just tackling anybody. He’s an expert at what he ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Nearly 13 months ago after a 30-17 victory over Detroit at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid embellished his postgame news conference with a nod to the men in the trenches for the offensive production.

“All of that,” he said, “because the offensive line played well.”

But in that 2 minute, 15 ...Read more

The parent company of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders has filed a petition aimed at preventing emo-rock band My Chemical Romance from continuing to use dancers wearing outfits nearly identical to those worn by the iconic cheering squad since the 1970s.

Pro Silver Star filed a document Monday in the District Court of Collin County, Texas, asking...Read more

SEATTLE — On Dec. 23, 2018, the Seattle Seahawks hosted Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs. On "Sunday Night Football," Seattle was buoyed by indomitable running back Chris Carson, who bulldozed defenders for 116 rushing yards and two touchdowns in a 38-31 win.

“Chris Carson is the best that there is in this league,”...Read more

LAS VEGAS — The Fernando Mendoza era is still on pause.

Las Vegas Raiders coach Klint Kubiak said after a fourth consecutive loss Sunday that all options were on the table to turn around the team’s fortunes.

That does not yet include going with the No. 1 overall pick as the starting quarterback, Kubiak announced Monday.

“There is no ...Read more

SEATTLE — So much for the demise of the Seattle Seahawks.

After two losses in five days led to some hard talks among the Seahawks and a lot of talk from the outside that their hopes of winning another Super Bowl might already be over, they responded with their best effort of the season to beat the previously unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs, 20-3....Read more

DENVER — After Bo Nix admitted Wednesday that his ankle was slowing his return to form, he wasn’t about to put his foot in his mouth.

Nix has been slumping all season. Not badly enough to get benched— a reflection of his backups more than anything else — but enough that he became unrecognizable. He hasn’t been himself since his right ...Read more

DETROIT — Just when it looked like the Detroit Lions would make easy work of the Green Bay Packers, they fumbled to end the second quarter, fumbled to start the third and allowed Green Bay to take the lead as Ford Field went silent.

And in a critical fourth-down spot, the offense failed tremendously, handing what appeared to be a sure-fire ...Read more