Tagged in: NFL

NFL

Los Angeles Chargers LT Rashawn Slater (torn biceps) out for season, LB Joey Bosa (groin) week-to-week

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Left tackle Rashawn Slater and edge rusher Joey Bosa are among the Los Angeles Chargers players who suffered significant injuries in a lopsided Week 3 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Slater will miss the remainder of the season after tearing his left biceps tendon and Bosa will be sidelined indefinitely because of a groin injury, as per coach Brandon Staley.

“It’s going to be a tough loss for us,” Staley said about Slater, the Bolts’ 13th overall pick in 2021 who earned Pro Bowl recognition as a rookie last season. “We’re going to make sure over the next couple of days that we put good contingency plans in place.”

Staley stated he was unclear if Bosa would be placed on injured reserve. “He’ll probably be week-to-week,” Staley said. Wide receiver Jalen Guyton also will be sidelined for the remainder of the season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament late in the fourth quarter.

“It’s a tough one, he was playing a good game,” Staley said of Guyton, a fourth-year pro who in a reserve role had two catches for 64 yards.

Storm Norton, who lost a training camp competition with Trey Pipkins III for the right tackle job, took over at left tackle when Slater left the game in the third quarter. Veteran linebacker Kyle Van Noy and edge rusher Chris Rumph II took over for Bosa.

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With the 38-10 loss to the Jaguars, the Chargers fell to 1-2, and now prepare for back-to-back road match at Houston and Cleveland.

Staley expressed confidence that despite losing multiple key players, several other starters who have been dealing with injury issues, including quarterback Justin Herbert, were holding steady, if not improving.

“Not setbacks at the game,” Staley stated of Herbert, who completed 25 of 45 passes for 297 yards and a touchdown, with an interception and lost sack fumble, while playing through fractured rib cartilage suffered 10 days earlier.

A day removed from leaving Herbert in the game late in the fourth quarter, down 20 points, Staley would not go so far as to say he regretted leaving the Pro Bowl quarterback in the game, but indicated that moving forward, a different decision would be made.

“It definitely was my decision to keep him out there,” Staley said, adding later, “If I had to do it again or if I have to do it again, I need to make sure that I communicate to Justin [that] in a tough circumstance like that when you’re behind, that you’ve already done enough. I look forward to that next time, but in that moment, I don’t regret how we went through that together.”

Herbert told reporters after the game he stayed in the game because he “just didn’t want to quit on the team.”

Staley said that Pro Bowl center Corey Linsley, who was inactive Sunday because of a knee issue, was improving and expressed optimism that he would return to practice, along with receiver Keenan Allen, who has been sidelined the last two games because of a hamstring injury.

And Staley provided some clarification in regard to the situation surrounding cornerback J.C. Jackson, their marquee offseason free agent acquisition. Jackson underwent ankle surgery last month and was sidelined for the season opener, but played 100% of the snaps in Week 2 before he was inactive again Sunday.

Staley said Jackson had “inflammation” inside his ankle, but that there was “nothing structural.” “Just making sure that he doesn’t go out there and have something else happen,” Staley said. “There was just some inflammation that we were taking a look at and again, just being cautious looking at the long term.”

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NFL

Diggs scores 3 TDs for Bills in 41-7 rout of Titans

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Josh Allen threw four touchdown passes, including three to Stefon Diggs, and the Buffalo Bills rolled past Derrick Henry and the Tennessee Titans 41-7 in their home opener on Monday night.

The Bills followed a season-opening 31-10 rout of the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams by throttling an opponent that has been their nemesis in each of the past two seasons. Fullback Reggie Gilliam and linebacker Matt Milano, with a 43-yard interception return, also scored touchdowns for Buffalo.

Allen topped 300 yards passing for the 15th time of his career, completing 26 of 38 attempts for 317 yards, and sat out the entire fourth quarter. Diggs had 12 catches for 148 yards. He has exceeded 100 yards in each of his first two games, a feat accomplished previously for the Bills only by Hall of Famer Andre Reed.

“When we execute, how we know we’re supposed to execute, success typically leads to success,” Allen said. “We’re just trying to be the best version of ourselves.”

The Bills have topped 30 points twice after doing so nine times last year. And their defense limited Tennessee to 182 yards of offense and 12 first downs, while registering two sacks and forcing four turnovers.

The Titans, coming off a 21-20 season-opening loss to the New York Giants, opened 0-2 for the first time since 2012.

The two-time defending AFC South champions face numerous questions about a defense that gave up 313 yards passing a week after allowing 238 yards rushing. Meantime, Henry and their offense continue to sputter. The two-time rushing champion was limited to 25 yards on 13 carries while scoring on a 2-yard plunge.

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“We got our (butts) kicked, plain and simple,” coach Mike Vrabel said after the most lopsided loss in his four-plus seasons coaching the Titans.

“They outplayed us and they outcoached us, and that’s the definition of it. We’re going to go back to work and try to figure out how to win a football game.”

Injuries affected both teams, the most serious involving Bills cornerback Dane Jackson, who hurt his neck in a troubling collision with a teammate and was taken to a hospital for valuation. The Bills stated Jackson had full movement in his limbs.

Coach Sean McDermott stated Jackson was still awaiting test results.

The entire Bills team gathered around Jackson as he was loaded into an ambulance on the field.

“You go from being a coach to just a human. That’s a real moment,” McDermott said. “Just praying for him. It’s an unfortunate situation.”

Otherwise, the two-time defending AFC East champion Bills continued making a splash in their second consecutive prime-time appearance, while at the same time easing frustrations of the past, including a 42-16 loss to Tennessee in 2020.

Still stung by memories of Allen being stuffed for no gain on fourth down near the goal line in the final seconds of the last season’s loss 34-31 loss in which Buffalo squandered a seven-point fourth-quarter lead, the Bills scored on their opening drive and never looked back.

“When you can play a game like that, it doesn’t matter who it’s against,” Allen said. “That’s a good team that we played. It’s a very well-coached team. For us to go do that was great.”

Up 10-7, Allen and Diggs took over by connecting for two touchdowns spanning halftime. Faking left, Allen found Diggs in an opening for a 4-yard touchdown with a minute left in the second quarter.

Allen and Diggs then blew the game open by connecting on a 46-yard touchdown on Buffalo’s first possession of the second half. Given time in the pocket, Allen threw a perfectly placed pass to Diggs, who reached out to catch the ball before tumbling head-first into the end zone.

The wheels fell off for the Titans, who were outscored 24-0 in the third quarter. Tennessee rookie Kyle Philips muffed a punt for a second consecutive week, and Ryan Tannehill threw interceptions on consecutive possessions.

Tannehill concluded 11 of 20 for 117 yards and was benched following Milano’s interception with 3:49 left in the third quarter. Rookie Malik Willis took over, and if Tannehill continues to struggle, Tennessee fans will want to see more of the young backup.

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NFL

Stafford, Rams hold off Falcons for 31-27 victory

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Jalen Ramsey was calm and collected, even in the maelstrom of the fourth quarter that saw the Atlanta Falcons putting together a late rally versus the Los Angeles Rams.

While most of the 71,802 inside of SoFi Stadium were dreading the worst Sunday, the All-Pro cornerback knew he was going to be a deciding factor in the final minutes.

With the Falcons driving for a potential go-ahead touchdown, Ramsey picked off Marcus Mariota’s pass intended for Bryan Edwards in the end zone, permitting the Rams to hold on for a 31-27 victory.

“I told my teammates it was gonna come back to me and it did,” Ramsey said. “I just continued to focus and do my job. That was going through my mind because in the past we pressed to make those plays. And when you do that, it doesn’t end up well for you.”

The defending Super Bowl champions led the entire game. But they nearly blew a 28-3 third-quarter lead that would have given the young Falcons an unlikely comeback of their own from that infamous score — Atlanta’s lead in the 2017 Super Bowl before New England rallied to win — to celebrate.

Mariota had second-half touchdown passes to Drake London and Olamide Zaccheaus to bring the Falcons within 31-17. Special teams and defense then came through to give the veteran quarterback a final chance.

Troy Anderson blocked a punt that Lorenzo Carter returned 26 yards for a touchdown, and a 2-point conversion pass from Mariota to London brought the Falcons within 31-25 with 5:06 left. It was their first blocked punt TD since 1990.

Los Angeles turned it over on their ensuing drive when Darren Hall forced Kupp to fumble and recovered it at the Rams 37. Mariota got the Falcons to the Rams 24 before throwing the fateful interception.

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“That’s on me, I’ve got to do a better job of communicating that across the board,” said Mariota, who was 17 of 26 for 196 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. “I think, kind of throughout the game I could have done a better job operationally and just communicating with the guys so that everybody’s on the same page.”

Los Angeles took a safety when returner Brandon Powell ran out of the end zone on punt formation after a three-and-out.

After the free kick, Atlanta took over at the Falcons 40, but Mariota was sacked before he could get a Hail Mary attempt off on the final play to ensure Atlanta’s fourth consecutive 0-2 start.

“There’s a lot of different, very uncharacteristic things, but they happened. And we still found a way,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “We’re not going to run away from some of the things that we didn’t do well today. But we’re also going to allow ourselves to appreciate being able to come away with a win.”

Matthew Stafford threw for 272 yards and three touchdowns and Cooper Kupp had two TD catches for the Rams, who bounced back from a disappointing defeat versus the Buffalo Bills in their season opener.

Stafford completed his first 12 passes en route to going 27 of 36. Kupp had 11 catches for 108 yards and touchdowns on consecutive drives in the second and third quarters.

Kupp made an over-the-shoulder catch on a fade pattern on second-and-3 from Atlanta’s 3 late in the first half to give the Rams a 21-3 lead. The Super Bowl MVP’s first score came three plays after Rams rookie cornerback Cobie Durant picked off a pass bobbled by Cordarrelle Patterson and returned it 51 yards up the right sideline to the Falcons 9.

The Rams then took the second half kickoff and extended their lead by another touchdown when Kupp caught a quick pass and juked safety Jaylinn Hawkins for a 10-yard TD.

The Falcons were able to move the ball in the first half, but were done in by mistakes. The Rams scored their 21 points after a missed field goal by Younghoe Koo, turnover on downs near midfield and Mariota’s first interception.

“Obviously it wasn’t perfect and we need to break through, but one thing about our guys, no matter what has happened, we have a chance until the last play to win it,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “Obviously we didn’t make enough plays, but the game playing gave us enough and the guys kept grinding out.”

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NFL

Seattle Seahawks star safety Jamal Adams expected to miss rest of NFL season

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Seattle Seahawks safety Jamal Adams is expected to miss the remainder of the NFL season after suffering an injury to his quadriceps tendon in the team’s opener, a source confirmed to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

The Seahawks placed Adams on injured reserve on Thursday and signed defensive back Teez Tabor off the Atlanta Falcons’ practice squad to take his place on their 53-man roster.

Adams and the Seahawks considered the three-time Pro Bowl selection was in for a bounce-back campaign after a disappointing 2021 season in which he was held without a sack in 12 games. But any chance of that ended in the second quarter of Seattle’s 17-16 victory over the Denver Broncos on Monday night when Adams was carted off the field after he was hurt while blitzing former teammate Russell Wilson.

Coach Pete Carroll called it a “serious” injury postgame and said on his weekly radio show on Seattle Sports 710 AM on Tuesday morning that Adams would “have to get some work on that,” though he stopped short of declaring then that Adams’ season was over.

NFL Network first reported Thursday that Adams would have season-ending surgery.

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Adams limped off the field in obvious pain, heavily favoring his left leg, after delivering pressure and a hit on Wilson that helped force a third-down incompletion. After being examined in the medical tent, he was helped onto an injury cart. Adams was visibly upset, at one point appearing to burst out in frustration, as he was driven into the locker room.

Carroll has said the injury is to Adams’ quadriceps tendon, which attaches the quad muscle to the top of the kneecap.

“The fact that he is such a heartthrob about the game of football, he loves playing and he just can’t deal with it right now about ‘how could this keep happening?'” Carroll stated on his radio show. “It was good he had his mom and dad in the locker room really during the game when he was in there to kind of help him through it and all that, but it was really tough. So I hope everybody sends the love to him.”

Adams had three tackles and defended a pass before his injury. Josh Jones replaced him for the rest of the game. Seattle also has Ryan Neal as a safety option. Neal made four starts in 2020 while Adams was sidelined by a groin injury.

Tabor, 26, played safety last season with the Chicago Bears under defensive coordinator Sean Desai, who’s now on Seattle’s defensive staff.

Adams missed only two games over his first three seasons with the New York Jets but then missed nine matches over his first two seasons with the Seahawks — four in 2020 and the final five last season after he suffered another torn shoulder labrum that required surgery.

Adams missed time early in training camp this summer after rebreaking the middle finger on his left hand, another injury he has dealt with in the past. He had finger surgeries in each of the past two offseasons.

Adams and the Seahawks were hoping that Seattle’s new defense — with its emphasis on split-safety looks — would put him in position for a bounce-back.

During his stellar debut season in Seattle in 2020, Adams set the NFL record for sacks by a defensive back with 9.5, earning him his third straight Pro Bowl nod, despite playing through a shoulder labrum tear that season. But then came his zero-sack 2021 season, which ended after 12 games when he retore his left shoulder labrum.

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NFL

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, Los Angeles Chargers receiver Keenan Allen ruled out

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Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker will not play in Thursday night’s game versus the Los Angeles Chargers due to an ankle injury.

The Chargers, meanwhile, will be without starting wide receiver Keenan Allen, who suffered a hamstring injury in Los Angeles’ Week 1 triumph over the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Chiefs listed Butker as out — as did the Chargers with Allen and tight end Donald Parham Jr. (hamstring) — for the game on their final injury report of the week.

The Chiefs this week signed former New York Jets kicker Matt Ammendola to their practice squad, and he could be elevated to their active roster in time for Thursday night’s game.

Ammedola, who kicked for the Chiefs during their only practice session of the week on Tuesday, made 13 of 19 field goals for the Jets last season.

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Butker injured his left ankle on a kickoff during Sunday’s win versus the Cardinals in Arizona. Coach Andy Reid blamed the injuries to Butker and cornerback Trent McDuffie on what he said was loose turf on the recently re-sodded field in Arizona.

McDuffie was placed on injured reserve this because of a hamstring injury.

After his injury, Butker made three PATs and a 54-yard field goal. Safety Justin Reid handled kickoffs and went 1-of-2 on PATs.

Chargers coach Brandon Staley had stated Tuesday that it wasn’t “looking great” that Allen, who has been selected to five Pro Bowls in his career, would be able to play on Thursday night. Allen had four catches for 66 yards before departing in the first half on Sunday because of his injury.

With Allen out, expect receivers Joshua Palmer, DeAndre Carter and Jalen Guyton to see increased opportunity.

Also, Chargers cornerback J.C. Jackson was limited Wednesday and is officially questionable. He has a “50-50” chance of playing, Staley said earlier this week.

“He’s improving,” Staley said Tuesday. “He’s headed in the right direction, but I think there is still a lot to be decided before game time on Thursday night.” Jackson underwent ankle surgery on Aug. 23 and was given a two-to-four week timetable to return. He was inactive versus the Raiders.

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NFL

Dak Prescott undergoes surgery on right thumb as Dallas Cowboys prep for QB’s absence

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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott had surgery on his right thumb Monday afternoon, and sources continue to believe he will miss six to eight weeks as he goes through rehabilitation.

Given that timeline, Prescott is looking at a return date of Oct. 30 vs. the Chicago Bears at the earliest, but it’s more likely to be Nov. 13 versus the Green Bay Packers in Mike McCarthy’s return to Lambeau Field.

Prescott suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of the Cowboys’ 19-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after his hand twice hit the hand of linebacker Shaq Barrett. After a screen pass to Ezekiel Elliott, Prescott went to the sideline because he could no longer grip the ball.

After the game, Prescott said, “I was told it was much cleaner than it could have been.” He visited with the team’s hand specialist, Dr. Thomas Diliberti, on Monday and had the surgery soon thereafter. “You know Dak’s personality, I mean, he would’ve had the surgery last night if they would have allowed it,” McCarthy said. “That’s the way he’s wired.”

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The Cowboys now have to figure out how to win without Prescott while he recovers, starting with Sunday’s matchup versus the Cincinnati Bengals with Cooper Rush as their starter. The Cowboys are 5-7 in games without Prescott in his career, although Rush won his first career start last year against the Minnesota Vikings, throwing for 325 yards and two touchdowns.

He completed 7 of 13 passes for 64 yards after replacing Prescott against the Buccaneers.

“I think the biggest thing is especially at the quarterback position because obviously the importance of it, is don’t overreact to it,” McCarthy said. “… Because at the end of the day, we’ve got to make sure we’re giving the players the tools to win the game on Sunday. The nice thing about Cooper is Cooper’s been in our system, knows our system inside and out. We won’t be in that position of trying not to do too much or vice versa. Cooper gives us the ability to keep playing.”

McCarthy acknowledged there is an emotional challenge the Cowboys will have to deal with in losing their leader.

In 2020, Prescott suffered a compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle that knocked him out for the season, and the Cowboys lost their first four games without him.

“Definitely going to be tough, but being in the NFL, that’s all a part of this game,” running back Tony Pollard said. “It’s a 100 percent injury rate so guys get injured, so we just have to make up for it. Everybody has to lock in, continue doing what they’ve been doing and just focus on doing their job the best that they can.”

McCarthy stated the Cowboys are looking to add a third quarterback to the roster with Will Grier on the practice squad and ready to assume the No. 2 role in Prescott’s absence. He has started two games in his career, both with the Carolina Panthers in 2019.

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NFL

Baltimore Ravens RB Gus Edwards moved to reserve/PUP list, out at least first four games

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The NFL’s most dominant rushing attack will be without one of its top runners to start the season.

Baltimore Ravens running back Gus Edwards was placed on the reserve/physically unable to perform list Tuesday, which will sideline him for at least the first four matches of the regular season. He is one of two players in NFL history to produce at least 700 yards rushing and average 5-plus yards per carry in the first three seasons of a career.

This was one of the six moves made by Baltimore to trim its roster to 80 players.

Edwards, 27, tore an ACL during a practice last September, which caused him to miss all of last season. He signed a two-year, $10 million extension in June last year and has yet to play a game since. “We did not expect him to be back probably the first part of [the season],” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “Gus is still on schedule and I fully expect him to play quite a bit of football this year.”

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Edwards’ absence is compounded by the insecurity surrounding starting running back J.K. Dobbins, who is looking to come back from a torn left ACL from a year ago. Dobbins has been limited to individual drills since being activated off PUP on Aug. 8. When asked last week whether Dobbins would be ready for the regular season, Harbaugh said, “We’ll see.”

Mike Davis, who is entering his eighth season, has started at running back in the first two preseason games and could play a prominent role early in the season. He had an excused absence Tuesday for the birth of his child.

The Ravens have averaged an NFL-best 180.5 yards rushing per game since 2019.

Over the past three seasons, Baltimore has also run the ball 1,668 times, which is 151 more than any other team in the league.

In other injury news, Ravens first-round pick Tyler Linderbaum returned to practice. The rookie center injured his left foot Aug. 4. Linderbaum was limited during the media viewing portion of practice, but he did snap to quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Another rookie, backup defensive tackle Travis Jones, is expected to miss three to five weeks after spraining his left knee in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s preseason game.

“It just depends on how fast he recovers and how good he looks when he comes back,” Harbaugh said.

The Ravens also announced they have signed wide receiver Demarcus Robinson, who had totaled 1,679 yards receiving over the past five seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs. Robinson was cut last week by the Las Vegas Raiders.

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NFL

Carolina Panthers name Baker Mayfield as starting QB for Week 1 vs. Cleveland Browns

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Baker Mayfield insists this is not a “redemption year,” but he will make his first start at quarterback for the Carolina Panthers versus the team that gave up on him.

The Panthers on Monday named Mayfield the starter for the Sept. 11 opener against the Cleveland Browns, who moved on from the first pick of the 2018 draft after trading with the Houston Texans for Deshaun Watson.

Watson will not play in the opener after being suspended by the NFL for the first 11 games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, so it will be Mayfield against Jacoby Brissett.

Mayfield won what the Panthers described as an open competition against 2021 starter Sam Darnold, although league sources said the job was his to lose all along.

“When we started the process, we said we were looking at three things,” coach Matt Rhule said. “No. 1, mastery of the offense; No. 2, situational football excellence; and No. 3, moving the ball and getting guys involved.

“Baker has made a lot of improvement, a lot of growth in all three areas in a short amount of time.”

Mayfield stated last week during joint practices versus the New England Patriots that he wasn’t worried about when the decision would be made.

“I’ve said it before, the locker room and the organization is going to go as the QB room goes, and as long as we’re leading correctly and we’re supporting each other, good things are going to happen,” Mayfield said. “So we’re not worried about when that’s going to happen, just trying to get better each day.”

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Mayfield never lost confidence after Cleveland gave up on him.

“It’s not a redemption year,” he said. “I know what I’m capable of. I’m not trying to prove anything to anybody else. I’m just trying to lead this locker room the best I can and win a bunch of ballgames.”

Carolina hopes to get the 2020 version of Mayfield, who went 11-5 and won a playoff game for the Browns with 26 touchdowns to only eight interceptions. The 2017 Heisman Trophy winner struggled to a 6-8 record last season with 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while dealing with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder.

The Panthers started looking to upgrade at quarterback almost immediately after the 2021 season, when Darnold went 4-7 as the starter. They were among four teams aggressively going after Watson, who at the time had 24 lawsuits of sexual misconduct filed against him.

When Watson signed with the Browns, the Panthers explored the possibility of trading for Mayfield around the draft before adding Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral in the third round. The holdup was Cleveland’s unwillingness to the majority of Mayfield’s 2022 salary of $18.9 million.

That changed in early July when Cleveland agreed to pay $10.5 million of the contract, leaving the Panthers $4.58 million after Mayfield agreed to take a $3.5 million cut with the potential to earn that back in incentives.

Being named the starter is the first step in reaching those incentives, 70% of the snaps, according to a league source.

Mayfield wasn’t handed the job immediately. He and Darnold split repetitions evenly through the first three weeks of training camp.

But as Mayfield quickly learned offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo’s system, it became apparent he was going to earn the job. Even McAdoo, who rated Mayfield the sixth-best quarterback in the 2018 draft and had questions about Mayfield’s ability to run a pro-style offense, was won over early.

Mayfield kept his flamboyant personality under control throughout camp, selecting his words carefully and talking with great respect for Darnold and the competition between them.

Wide receiver Rashard Higgins, who played the past four seasons in Cleveland with Mayfield, laughed early in camp at the thought that that would continue for long.

“He’s just holding it in right now,” Higgins said. “But when it comes out, it’s going to come out. May God be with you when it comes out.”

Perhaps that will happen now that Mayfield has been named the starter and begins preparing for the Browns. “Baker, I’ve seen big trash talk, and he’s usually got a lot of F-bombs in there,” Higgins said. “I don’t know when it’s going to come out, but it’s going to come out.”

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NFL

Rams coach Sean McVay announces he signed extension with team during offseason

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Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay stated Tuesday that he signed a contract extension during the offseason, but the team was waiting to announce it until general manager Les Snead signed an extension as well, which hasn’t happened yet.

During his first press conference of training camp, McVay was asked about a possible contract extension. He said, “We are in a good place. … I feel really good about the direction that’s going in and I think it’ll be something where it’ll be me and Les and you guys will know when that is finalized for us.”

McVay said Tuesday that he gave that answer in July because “We wanted to be able to announce that when both of us [had] gotten done.” McVay built on that further by saying that’s why he had hoped to wait to confirm his deal, prior to its mention in an extended profile of the coach posted Tuesday on ESPN.com.

“It is something that we’ve been taken care of, but it is very important for Les and I to kind of have that represented as we’re a partnership and a pair,” McVay said. McVay, who didn’t disclose the terms of the long-expected deal, said he feels “good” about the extension, saying it was “always a really good dialogue that existed.

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“These things, they take time, but I think it is important,” McVay said Tuesday. “We had a respect for the process. We wanted it to be able to be announced when both Les and I got done because of the partnership. And I think it’s only gotten better as we go, but that’s kind of where it’s at right now.”

The Rams, led by McVay and Snead, are coming off a Super Bowl LVI victory and their second Super Bowl appearance since McVay was hired in 2017.

McVay, who was the youngest head coach in modern NFL history when he was hired by the Rams, has led Los Angeles to a 55-26 record in five campaigns.

Snead joined the Rams as general manager in 2012, and the franchise is 86-74-1 in his 10 seasons at the helm. In 2016, Snead moved up the draft board from the 15th pick to the first overall pick to take quarterback Jared Goff.

His recent blockbuster trades involved adding quarterback Matthew Stafford in January 2021 and linebacker Von Miller in November 2021. He also signed wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. mid-season, another crucial piece to the Rams’ playoff run and Super Bowl conquest.

Snead and the Rams’ front office have also given out several large contract extensions this offseason, signing Stafford and wide receiver Cooper Kupp through the 2026 season and reworking defensive tackle Aaron Donald’s contract to make him the highest paid non-quarterback in the NFL.

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NFL

Baltimore Ravens sign K Justin Tucker to four-year NFL extension

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Justin Tucker signed a four-year extension with the Baltimore Ravens, the team revealed Monday, with a source saying it’s worth $24 million and continues to make Tucker the NFL’s highest-paid kicker.

Tucker, the most accurate kicker in NFL history, will earn an average of $6 million per season, the source said, which is $1 million more per season than any other kicker. Tucker’s new deal comes a week after Chris Boswell signed an extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers that had matched Tucker for being the league’s highest-paid kicker at $5 million per season.

Tucker, who had two years left on his current deal, is now signed through 2027 and will receive signing and option bonuses that total $11.5 million, according to the source. The extension also includes $17.5 million guaranteed, the source said, which is $5 million more than any other kicker.

After Monday’s practice, Tucker stated being the league’s highest-paid kicker was not at the top of his priority list but “it certainly has a nice ring to it.”

“Listen, this deal, for sure, checks all the boxes for me,” Tucker said. “And for all intents and purposes, this is the type of deal that will more than ensure that I will be a Raven for life. And for that alone, I couldn’t be happier.”

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Tucker acknowledged that the deal came together quickly.

At a recent practice, he joked with coach John Harbaugh that a deal could get done in five minutes.

“And sure enough, it took about five minutes,” Tucker said. “There’s the saying in business that [with] a good deal, maybe neither side gets exactly what they want and neither side is happy, so it’s a good deal. But in this case, I believe everybody is super stoked, and I think that makes a great deal.”

Tucker, 32, has become one of the NFL’s all-time best kickers in his 10 seasons. Undrafted out of Texas, Tucker currently has the best field goal percentage in NFL history (91%) as well as the league’s record for the longest field goal (66 yards).

He has been named to the All-Pro first team five times, which is two more than any other kicker. Since entering the league in 2012, he ranks first in the NFL in field goals made (326) and points (1,360).

Known for being clutch, Tucker is 16-of-16 on field goals in the final minute of regulation and has converted 58 consecutive fourth-quarter/overtime tries, marking the NFL’s longest active streak. Last season, his record-setting, 66-yard field goal beat the Detroit Lions as time expired in regulation.

Harbaugh said Tucker is more than the game’s best kicker. He is also a great leader.

“Being out here with the mindset that he takes to it in terms of his work ethic, also his sense of humor, his understanding of the moment,” Harbaugh said. “So, we’re happy to have him back.”

In other news Monday, starting running back J.K. Dobbins was activated off the physically unable to perform list and practiced for the first time since tearing the ACL in his left knee on Aug. 28, 2021.

He was limited to individual drills and looked like he was laboring at times. When Baltimore held team drills, Dobbins worked off to the side. “I thought he looked pretty good in individual [drills],” Harbaugh said.

“Maybe we add a little more each day and see how he handles it and how the knee responds. It seems like, so far, so good.”

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