Bucs make it official: terminate Antonio Brown’s contract
TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have officially severed ties with Antonio Brown, terminating the contract of the mercurial receiver who claimed he was fired in the middle of a game for not playing through an ankle injury. The Bucs announced the move Thursday, one day after Brown broke...
Antonio Brown says Bruce Arians forced him to play injured
Antonio Brown says he was forced to play injured by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and that an MRI on Monday revealed damage to his ankle. While not specifying which ankle was hurt, Brown — through a statement released by his attorney Wednesday — said the MRI showed broken bone fragments,...
Browns’ No. 2 QB Keenum admires Mayfield’s ‘gutsiest’ seasonVideo
CLEVELAND — Case Keenum didn’t doubt Baker Mayfield’s toughness for a second. He might have underestimated his tenacity. “There were some weeks just to get him to the field was a small miracle,” said Keenum, Cleveland’s backup quarterback who will start for Mayfield in the Browns’ season finale Sunday. With...
Ravens veterans face uncertain futures after season finaleVideo
For Baltimore defensive back Jimmy Smith, the possibility of retirement is now more than just talk. “Anybody who knows me knows that I’ve been retiring since my rookie year. I always say it. It’s just how I talk,” he said Wednesday. “But to actually really think about it, it’s too...
Return of crowds did little to boost home advantage in NFLVideo
The cheering fans returned to NFL stadiums this season, forcing road teams into silent counts and other coping mechanisms to deal with the noise. But the home-field advantage that could be expected over road teams that have to deal with travel, time zone changes on occasion and the din from...
Micah Parsons, Joe Mixon latest stars added to covid-19 list
Dallas Cowboys star rookie linebacker Micah Parsons and Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon were the latest big-name players added to the covid-19 reserve list Wednesday. Penn State’s Parsons likely will miss the season finale for the Cowboys on Saturday against Philadelphia when Dallas has a chance to improve its...
NFL looks at contingency sites for Super Bowl amid covid-19
NEW YORK — The NFL, not surprisingly in the midst of a rise in covid-19 cases, has looked into other potential sites for next month’s Super Bowl. That’s not unusual because the league does so every year. But with Los Angeles the site for this year’s title game, and restrictions...
AFC North champ Bengals will rest Burrow in season finale
CINCINNATI — The AFC North champion Cincinnati Bengals won’t play quarterback Joe Burrow in the regular-season finale against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday to make sure he is healthy for the first round of the playoffs. Burrow is nursing aches and pains, including his right knee and pinky finger on...
Titans star running back Derrick Henry cleared to practice
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans have moved a step closer to having the 2020 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year back, opening the 21-day window Wednesday for Derrick Henry to start practicing. Coach Mike Vrabel said Monday a decision was expected by mid-week on Henry’s status, and the...
Former Bengals defensive lineman Ross Browner, father of Max Starks, dies at 67
Ross Browner, a two-time All-American at Notre Dame and one of four brothers who played in the NFL, has died. He was 67. Browner’s son, former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Max Starks, posted on Twitter early Wednesday morning that his father had died. “The world has lost a Titan,” Starks...
First Call: Betting on Ben Roethlisberger’s post-NFL job; legal issue for Bud Dupree; debating records for T.J. Watt, Cooper Kupp
Tuesday’s “First Call” looks at Ben Roethlisberger’s life after the NFL. We get some bad news on Bud Dupree, an interesting opinion on NFL records in a 17-game season and a look at what may go down as the goal of the year in the NHL. Guess who was in...
NFL’s 2nd season of covid just as trying as 1st, maybe moreVideo
The NFL worked around covid-19 with pauses and postponements during a 2020 season that figured to be the worst in dealing with the virus. Now the league — and its teams, coaches and players — are just working through coronavirus concerns in 2021, even with positive tests skyrocketing compared to...
Titans linebacker Bud Dupree cited for misdemeanor assaultVideo
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee outside linebacker Bud Dupree was charged with misdemeanor assault in connection with a physical altercation at a Walgreen’s hours after the Titans clinched their second straight AFC South title. Metro Nashville police detectives cited Dupree on Tuesday morning after consulting with the district attorney’s office. Dupree...
Browns’ Baker Mayfield will have shoulder surgery, miss season finaleVideo
CLEVELAND — Baker Mayfield’s broken fourth season with the Browns has mercifully ended with one game left. His time in Cleveland could be running short as well. Mayfield is sitting out the season finale against Cincinnati so he can undergo surgery on his left shoulder, an injury that affected his...
Washington to reveal new name Feb. 2; won’t be RedWolves
Washington’s NFL team announced Tuesday it will unveil its new name on Feb. 2 and that it will not be called the Wolves or RedWolves. Commanders, Defenders, Red Hogs, Armada, Presidents, Brigade and the status quo “Washington Football Team” were the other finalists. Team president Jason Wright said the decision...
Raiders rookie Nate Hobbs arrested on misdemeanor DUI charge
Las Vegas Raiders rookie cornerback Nate Hobbs was arrested on a misdemeanor DUI charge shortly after the team returned from a road game in Indianapolis. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement Monday that dispatch received a call at about 4 a.m. about a driver asleep inside...
Eagles put 12 on covid-19 list with playoff spot in handVideo
The Philadelphia Eagles placed defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and tight end Dallas Goedert along with 10 others on the reserve/covid-19 list Monday ahead of Saturday’s regular-season finale against Dallas. The Eagles (9-7) already have a playoff berth clinched with only the seeding still to be decided Saturday night when they...
Back at .500, Ravens have little chance of playoffs
The Baltimore Ravens are a few plays from being 13-3 and a few plays from being 3-13. So 8-8 feels reasonable — and unless a lot of things break their way next weekend, they won’t be heading to the playoffs. After rising to the top of the AFC on the...
Bucs coach: Antonio Brown didn’t claim injury before walkoff
TAMPA, Fla. — Antonio Brown’s latest messy departure from an NFL team, the Buccaneers, was not about an injury, coach Bruce Arians said Monday. Yes, the Buccaneers are moving on from Brown, whose NFL career is on hold yet again after another in a series of incidents, including two women...
Surging Bengals await Browns while looking to playoffs
CINCINNATI — Joe Burrow danced and puffed on a cigar as the Cincinnati Bengals staged a locker room celebration worthy of a worst-to-first AFC North champion. “I said it in the preseason, we were talking about the playoffs,” the second-year quarterback said after Cincinnati rallied to beat the Kansas City...
Analysis: Antonio Brown’s mental health is no joke
Antonio Brown tossed his jersey and shoulder pads toward the bench, threw his glove and undershirt into the stands and ran off the field bare-chested, waving a peace-out sign to fans in the end zone while Tom Brady huddled the offense for an important play. Following his strange outburst Sunday,...
NFL finale is showdown for playoffs: Chargers at Raiders
The NFL’s schedule changes for Week 18 will feature exactly what the league wanted: a Sunday night showdown for a playoff berth. To finish off the NFL’s first 17-game season, the Los Angeles Chargers at Las Vegas Raiders game was flexed from daytime to prime time. Both AFC West rivals...
Packers rout Vikings in cold to take NFC’s No. 1 seed
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers once again have made sure they won’t have to leave Lambeau Field for the conference playoffs. They’re hoping it works out better for them this time. Rodgers threw two touchdown passes, A.J. Dillon ran for two more scores and...
Short-handed, stumbling Ravens see skid hit 5 games after loss to RamsVideo
BALTIMORE — Matthew Stafford shook off three turnovers to guide a fourth-quarter rally Sunday that carried the Los Angeles Rams to their fifth straight victory, 20-19 over the short-handed but stubborn Baltimore Ravens. Stafford threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Odell Beckham Jr. with 57 seconds left immediately after completing...
Bengals rally past Chiefs, clinch AFC North titleVideo
CINCINNATI — Evan McPherson kicked a 20-yard field goal as time ran out, and the Cincinnati Bengals earned their first AFC North title and postseason appearance in six years with a wild 34-31 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. Rookie Ja’Marr Chase had a franchise-record 266 yards receiving...
