LAS VEGAS — Leave it to Kirk Cousins to confront Maxx Crosby toward the end Friday morning of Las Vegas Raiders practice at Intermountain Health Performance Center.

As the Raiders tested their two-minute offense with Cousins quarterbacking their starting unit, the star defensive end hit his arm — triggering a testy confrontation. Cousins ...Read more

Haynes King is an NFL star.

That is, the Carolina Panthers undrafted rookie quarterback is an NFL star in early August after exactly one preseason game.

Sure, Thursday's Pro Football Hall of Fame game between the Panthers and Arizona Cardinals was nothing more than a meaningless exhibition in which few, if any, actual starters played.

But NFL...Read more

NEW YORK — Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes are facing pushback in a federal lawsuit over the name of the Kansas City Chiefs stars’ restaurant.

The tight end, 36, and 30-year-old quarterback — who are pals as well as Super Bowl-winning teammates — are being challenged by 1587 Sneakers as they move to dismiss the shoe company’s New ...Read more

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs are set to open their three-game preseason schedule a week from Saturday, when they host the Los Angeles Rams in a midafternoon game at Arrowhead Stadium.

In past years, it would be typical to see quarterback Patrick Mahomes for a series or two, but this particular offseason has been anything but ...Read more

SEATTLE — It's a 2020 Dodge Ram 2500, if you're wondering. And those aren't hydraulics he installed — it's an air-suspension system called air ride.

The cost to get it to where it is now versus when he bought it off the lot is upward of $70,000. For Seahawks outside linebacker Derick Hall? Worth every penny.

The first Hard Knocks" episode ...Read more

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Trey Smith is standing inside a white tent off the edge of the Chiefs’ practice field, thinking back to his first time here in St. Joseph, because he’s been asked to recall his rookie year.

But before he answers a question, he interrupts with a description.

“You’re taking me back,” he says, “to a nightmare.”

...Read more

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The next time you watch Dolphins defensive tackle Zach Sieler on a passing down, whether it’s training camp, a preseason game or regular season game, study him very closely. Perhaps you’ll detect the same level of unselfish play that coach Jeff Hafley detected.

Hafley compared Sieler, the 6-foot-6, 300-pound eight-...Read more

DETROIT — Sonic just picked up a whole lot of rings.

The Detroit Lions and running back Jahmyr Gibbs on Thursday reached a three-year, $67.5 million contract extension, according to an Instagram post from his agent, Todd France, ending the hold in that's prevented Gibbs from seeing the practice field in camp.

The deal makes Gibbs, who just ...Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Of all the vast injuries to monitor at 49ers training camp, one very important recovery is being scrutinized each practice, albeit in the literal background.

That would be coach Kyle Shanahan’s apparently positive recovery from a concussion he sustained in his July 14 car crash.

“He’s been around,” backup ...Read more

ALLEN PARK, Mich. — If there was any separation anxiety before, there can’t be now.

Not with this team. Not on Dan Campbell’s watch. And certainly not after what the Lions’ head coach saw last season and the “embarrassment” he says he felt when it was all over.

The reasons for his team’s precipitous fall — from the top of the ...Read more

RENTON, Wash. — Mike Macdonald’s reaction to the first episode of “Hard Knocks” should not be a surprise considering the way the Seahawks coach has asked his players to embrace the exposure.

“I thought it was great. Shout out to HBO. You realize how many people it takes to make this thing come to life. There’s people everywhere, ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — This is where it all started for Jim Harbaugh, this idyllic hilltop University of San Diego campus with its sweeping views of the city and ocean, Spanish Renaissance architecture and courtyards lined with palm trees.

Harbaugh had been an assistant coach elsewhere, learning the ropes as an offensive consultant at Western Kentucky ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers thinks pandemic czar Dr. Anthony Fauci is a coward for invoking the 5th Amendment more than 100 times before Congress last week.

Fauci's attorney thinks Rodgers has no idea what he's talking about and says the future Hall of Famer should stay in his lane.

Here's how we got to this ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — I don’t agree with Aaron Rodgers on a handful of topics surrounding public health, especially his views on vaccinations and the COVID-19 pandemic. But that’s OK.

I respect Rodgers’ right to not only have an opposing opinion but share that opinion whenever and wherever he sees fit.

That said, what took place during Monday�...Read more

LAS VEGAS — It’s a word used at every level of sport. Something teams preach as they try to either improve what is a losing standard or continue winning ways.

Culture.

You have heard it time and again. How important it is to build a successful one. How it can come to define a program. The Las Vegas Raiders are no different. And with a new ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Most likely the name Lynn Stiles is at-best vaguely familiar to Chiefs fans. That was practically by design.

“He was not a man of pretense,” former Chiefs president Carl Peterson wrote in his recent eulogy to Stiles. “He was not a man of ego. He never (sought) adulation. He deflected it.”

Low profile ...Read more

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — New Miami Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis will have question marks surrounding him as he nears his first regular season as a starter.

But he is earning the praise of his coaches a week into training camp.

“I’ve been really, really pleased with Malik,” offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said. “Just his work ...Read more

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Odell Beckham Jr. is finally in the mix.

The former Giants star was featured with Jaxson Dart’s first-team offense on Tuesday after seeing sparing playing time with the starters — and minimal targets overall — through the first week of camp.

Beckham caught a pass over the middle from Dart while sinking ...Read more