NFL News

Players are increasingly recognizing that if they don’t think the workouts at the Scouting Combine are going to raise their draft stock, they’re free to skip them. This year, the NFL invited 321 players to the Scouting Combine. Barring some type of emergency, players who are invited always show up to meet with teams, and they almost always do the …

North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye throws against Virginia in October. Maye is among the players projected to be selected in the top 10 of the 2024 NFL draft. (Chris Seward / Associated Press) Many NFL teams are looking for quarterbacks, and there are plenty of enticing prospects out there this season. This inaugural mock draft contemplates quarterbacks going with the …

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, seen here working an NFL game in 2006, died on Sunday. He was 72. (Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images) (Al Messerschmidt via Getty Images) Longtime NFL reporter and ESPN journalist Chris Mortensen died on Sunday morning, the network announced. He was 72. Specifics of his death are not yet known, though Mortensen had been battling cancer for years. ESPN …

Timing of players at the Scouting Combine isn’t just done with stopwatches. It’s also done with chips worn by every player, that tracking their speed during every drill. And last year, that player tracking data showed off the talents of Puka Nacua, a relatively unknown receiver out of BYU who went from fifth-round pick of the Rams to the most …

INDIANAPOLIS — And then there were four. Well, at least four. That seems to be the general consensus among personnel men regarding the quarterback class coming out of this past week’s NFL scouting combine. More precisely: As we roll toward the pro day circuit and personal workouts, a swath of talent evaluators believe that Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy has joined USC’s …

Report: 49ers expected to address Aiyuk extension after free agency originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area Another 49ers offseason, another contract extension saga — this time, for wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. But San Francisco has an excellent track record of paying its proven stars what they deserve, and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport doesn’t believe that will change with Aiyuk. …

INDIANAPOLIS — Caleb Williams marketed the decision differently. As USC’s star quarterback confirmed he was indeed declining to participate in medical evaluations at the NFL scouting combine, he clarified that he wasn’t declining to undergo medical evaluations altogether. Rather, Williams will cycle through medical evaluations with teams whom he visits in the coming weeks leading up to the NFL Draft. …

The NFL scouting combine has come and gone, with many prospects showing off their skills in front of league personnel for the first time. This year’s crop of players had some strong performances and some duds, giving us the perfect avenue for a classic winners and losers evaluation from the 2024 combine. Winners Fiske turned heads with his performance during …

Ex-NFL QB believes drafting Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze would give Bears ‘scariest’ rookie duo originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago Former Chicago Bears quarterback Chase Daniel believes the Bears have an opportunity to make a huge splash in the 2024 NFL Draft if they play their cards right. On NFL Network, Daniel said if the Bears draft USC quarterback Caleb …

If you can’t beat ’em, hire ’em. Apparently, that’s what the 49ers considered after firing defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. Via Taylor Wirth of NBC Sports Bay Area, ESPN’s Dan Graziano recently reported that the 49ers explored luring Steve Spagnuolo away from the Chiefs. Spagnuolo’s contract was expiring. He could have gone anywhere. He signed an extension with the Chiefs. The …

WASHINGTON — Longtime Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov cleared waivers Sunday after not being claimed by any of the NHL’s other 31 teams and has been assigned to Hershey of the American Hockey League. The Capitals put Kuznetsov on waivers Saturday, hours after he was cleared to practice by administrators for the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. It’s unclear if Kuznetsov …

Chris Mortensen, an award-winning ESPN reporter who covered the NFL, dies at 72 originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago Chris Mortensen, the award-winning journalist who covered the NFL for close to four decades, including 32 as a senior analyst at ESPN, died Sunday morning. He was 72. ESPN confirmed Mortensen’s death on Sunday. There was no immediate word on the …

USATSI Former NFL wide receiver Braylon Edwards rescued an 80-year-old man who was being assaulted inside a Michigan YMCA locker room this past Friday.  Edwards, a standout receiver at Michigan who enjoyed an eight-year NFL career, stopped a 25-year-old from further assaulting the elderly man. Edwards said he initially heard an argument about music and how loud it was being …

Joe Burrow still hasn’t been fully cleared for full contact after tearing a ligament in his throwing wrist in November, but he has a date in mind for when he wants to return. The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback is hoping to get full clearance by “the middle of May,” he told ESPN. “Over the next month [to] month and a half, …

The Bills are moving on from running back Nyheim Hines. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Buffalo plans to release Hines at some point in the coming week. By making that known now, the Bills are likely signaling that they’re willing to trade Hines if any team is interested in parting with an asset for him. Schefter notes that Hines will …