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AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post/TNS

Sean Payton translator: Decoding some of the Broncos coach's most common phrases

Sports / Football /

DENVER — Sean Payton is heading into his fourth season as the Broncos' head coach.

He has helped restore the franchise to regular contention in the AFC and has led the Broncos to the postseason in each of the past two seasons.

The Broncos have built a deep roster, have an apparent franchise quarterback in Bo Nix and stability atop their ...Read more

Nelvin C. Cepeda/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

Nearly 10 years after the Chargers left, one former fan has no team -- and no regrets

Sports / Football /

SAN DIEGO — It was dark on Jan. 11, 2017 when reports began spreading the news San Diego had spent years fearing: The Chargers were leaving for Los Angeles.

Dan Wellington was already out filming a video when he heard it on the radio.

By then, Wellington had built a sizable internet following making public prank videos, a hobby he had turned...Read more

Quinn Rooney/Getty Images North America/TNS

Dieter Kurtenbach: 49ers DC Raheem Morris stole the Rams' secret sauce and broke Sean McVay

Sports / Football /

NFL coaches are petty, ruthless thieves.

It’s a shameless, desperate profession, particularly at the highest level.

All of that worked out wonderfully for the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday (U.S. time) when new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris took the Los Angeles Rams’ special sauce and turned it right back on them.

Morris didn’t ...Read more

Kevin Richardson/Baltimore Sun/TNS

Josh Tolentino: DeCosta's Ravens roster reflects lessons learned

Sports / Football /

BALTIMORE — Eric DeCosta descended from his second-floor office at the Castle in Owings Mills on Friday morning and made his way toward practice.

Rap music blared from the speakers as the Ravens’ general manager stepped onto the grass wearing a dark gray long-sleeved shirt, black shorts and sunglasses. DeCosta observed the roster he ...Read more

Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times/TNS

John Romano: He's barely 22, but the Buccaneers have been waiting decades for Rueben Bain Jr.

Sports / Football /

TAMPA, Fla. — It wouldn’t be fair to say the Buccaneers have never drafted an elite pass rusher on the edge.

Tempting, perhaps. Mostly accurate, for sure. But not entirely fair.

Fifty years and 468 draft picks ago, Tampa Bay used the first pick in franchise history to select defensive end — and future Hall of Famer — Lee Roy Selmon. He...Read more

L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

'Genius of Jeanty': Fantasy owner's bet on Raiders RB goes viral

Sports / Football /

LAS VEGAS — What started as a playful way to shake up his company fantasy football league has become personal.

Gerald Kimble went viral for selecting Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty No. 1 overall in his work league. A video of his selection garnered over a million views on several social media platforms.

A reach? Kimble admitted...Read more

Brad Biggs: How did Ben Johnson improve as a coach for Year 2 with Bears? By digging into the details.

Sports / Football /

CHICAGO — The challenge ahead for Ben Johnson is to ascend the peak the Chicago Bears have found difficult to navigate.

Twenty years since the Bears last enjoyed consecutive winning seasons, here they are with a chance to validate that last season’s dramatic turnaround was a launching point, that they have arrived — with a bright, young ...Read more

Heidi Fang/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

Raiders agree to 3-year extension with Michael Mayer

Sports / Football /

LAS VEGAS — It’s a big week for Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer.

Ahead of being thrust into a bigger role in the absence of star Brock Bowers for the start of the season, Mayer agreed to a lucrative three-year contract extension with the Raiders on Saturday morning.

Sources confirmed the details of the new deal to the Review-...Read more

Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

Mike Bianchi: Let's go, Roarrrrr-lando! Mayor Dyer officially proclaims us a Jaguars town, so it's time to jump on Jagwagon!

Sports / Football /

ORLANDO, Fla. — Roarrrrrrr-lando!

Can you feel it, Orlando?

Can you hear it?

Can you sense the teal tidal wave beginning to roll down I-95, hanging a right on I-4 and heading straight toward the City Beautiful?

Because I can.

And I have an announcement to make as we prepare for the first Sunday of the 2026 NFL season:

I am officially ...Read more

John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/TNS

The summer of Caleb Williams is over. A pivotal season for the Bears QB is about to get serious.

Sports / Football /

CHICAGO — The viral video was a Chicago sports fan’s dream.

Caleb Williams, with his beard freshly shaved, mustache remaining, looked into the TV camera and pointed. The camera panned from Williams in his front-row seat behind the Cubs dugout to the dugout itself, where Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong waved to his fan club before coolly ...Read more

Emily Curiel/Kansas City Star/TNS

Vahe Gregorian: Patrick Mahomes' speedy return to Chiefs? It began as he was getting fateful MRI.

Sports / Football /

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Whether he was in shock or denial or simply thought he could summon his indomitable will to the cause, Patrick Mahomes’ first instinct after he was helped up and off the Arrowhead Stadium field with a horrendous knee injury last December was to lobby to get back in the game.

Even as it was being made clear hours later ...Read more

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images North America/TNS

How the legendary QB and a hard-nosed special teamer became Pittsburgh's newest Odd Couple

Sports / Football /

PITTSBURGH — Their relationship was a joke.

Literally.

At least, that’s how it began.

“I just tried a couple jokes on him when he was first here and he laughed,” Ben Skowronek said. “I figured out, you know what, we’ll probably be friends.”

And they are.

The special teams guy and the iconic quarterback, an incongruous match if...Read more

Elsa/Getty Images North America/TNS

Mac Engel: When the Cowboys play the Giants, expect to see this play a lot

Sports / Football /

FORT WORTH, Texas — The person who deserves his due credit for his role in one of the greatest plays in the history of the sport is not the quarterback who threw the ball, or the receiver who caught it, but the man who tried desperately to stop it and ultimately gave it up.

Former Dallas Cowboys defensive back Brandon Carr played 13 years in ...Read more

Jennifer Buchanan/Seattle Times/TNS

Drew Lock's long and winding road back to starting at QB for Seahawks

Sports / Football /

RENTON, Wash. — No matter what else happens, Drew Lock will always have a spot in Seahawks history as the quarterback they received as part of the Russell Wilson trade.

Lock was one of three players and five draft choices who came to Seattle from Denver on that momentous date of March 8, 2022.

The team regarded Lock as more than just a throw...Read more

Jane Gershovich/Getty Images North America/TNS

Former Seahawk who sacked Sam Darnold taunts old team on social media

Sports / Football /

SEATTLE — The injury bug bit Sam Darnold just five plays into the season opener against the Patriots on Wednesday night. The quarterback was injured after landing awkwardly on a sack by former Seahawk and current New England linebacker Dre'Mont Jones.

Darnold was transferred to Harborview that night. The most recent report says that he is ...Read more

John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/TNS

'I plan on playing': Rome Odunze questionable but is optimistic he'll suit up for Bears opener

Sports / Football /

CHICAGO — Chicago Bears receiver Rome Odunze was again a limited participant in practice Friday and has been listed as questionable for Sunday’s season opener against the Carolina Panthers.

Odunze injured his right calf last week in practice. He sat out practice Monday and Tuesday before returning to the practice field Thursday and Friday ...Read more

Giants WR Malik Nabers downgraded to questionable for opener vs. Cowboys

Sports / Football /

NEW YORK — Malik Nabers meant what he said: He really might not play in Sunday night’s Giants-Cowboys season opener.

The Giants downgraded Nabers (knee) to questionable on Friday’s final injury report, increasing the likelihood that their top receiver will sit out entirely in Week 1.

Nabers’ designation still leaves the door open to ...Read more

Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Running back D'Andre Swift and Bears agree to 3-year, $33.75 million extension

Sports / Football /

CHICAGO — Of all the narratives surrounding the Chicago Bears the last two years, none has been further from the truth than the notion D’Andre Swift would not be a fit for Ben Johnson’s offense.

That was bandied about after Johnson was hired in January 2025. Then the team’s depth at running back — with Swift and rookie Kyle Monangai �...Read more

Jane Gershovich/Getty Images North America/TNS

Patriots placing A.J. Brown on injured reserve: What that means for star WR

Sports / Football /

Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown will miss at least the next four games.

The Patriots are placing Brown on injured reserve with the high ankle sprain he suffered in Wednesday night’s loss to the Seahawks, ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported on Friday.

The Patriots play the Steelers, Jaguars, Bills and Raiders. The earliest Brown is ...Read more

Robert Cianflone/Getty Images North America/TNS

Bill Plaschke: Sean McVay's travel gamble turns Rams' Australian opener into a jet-lagged flop

Sports / Football /

LOS ANGELES — The Rams did worse than arrive late.

They didn't show up at all.

Amid a weeklong barrage of criticism, the Rams didn't land in Melbourne for their season opener Thursday until 28 hours before kickoff while the San Francisco 49ers had been there all week.

Turns out, the 49ers were smart, and the Rams were sorry.

The 49ers were...Read more