Rams coach Sean McVay is liking what he’s seeing at Organized Team Activities, but he’s tempering his enthusiasm with a reminder that what he’s seeing is not actually football.
Asked for his assessment, McVay said that OTAs, which are non-contact practices, can only tell a coach so much.
“I’ve seen steady improvement, but this isn’t real football until we put the pads on,” McVay said. “But I’ve been pleased with a lot of the things before the ball is snapped, the operation, the communication, getting our cleats in the ground, getting aligned in some of the appropriate formations, so it’s been positive. Guys are working, and the other thing is learning how to practice while minimizing the risk of injury. How to be able to protect each other but positively push one another. I like the vibe of this group, but there’s so much work to be done.”
The Rams are the favorites to win the Super Bowl after adding reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett to an already strong roster. But we won’t find out whether they’re for real until they’re playing real football. And that doesn’t happen in June.
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Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers had surgery in October to repair his torn ACL, then had a second surgery this offseason to remove scar tissue. But the Giants still believe Nabers will be good to go for the season opener.
Giants General Manager Joe Schoen said this week that Nabers should be on the field on September 13, when the Giants host the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football.
“I still think he’ll be fine Week 1,” Schoen told Yahoo Sports on Monday. “So we’ll see. He’s trending in the right direction. Again, these things take time, so it’s not instant. Every patient is different.”
Nabers isn’t practicing yet, but new Giants offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said he’s been impressed with Nabers’ mental approach to the offseason, learning Nagy’s system quickly.
“I see why he’s as good as he is,” Nagy said.
Schoen noted that the Giants brought in some insurance this offseason in the form of wide receivers Darnell Mooney, Odell Beckham Jr., Calvin Austin III, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Braxton Berrios. But the Giants are optimistic that the No. 1 receiver in Week 1 will be Nabers.
In the legal profession, a five-letter “F” word carries far more weight than the popular four-letter one.
Robert Klemko of ESPN reports that five law firms representing 98 retired NFL players are accused of “scheming to defraud” the NFL’s concussion settlement fund. An audit by a pair of Special Masters pegged the losses at more than $87 million.
The audit concludes that the firms worked with specific doctors to make invalid diagnoses of Parkinson’s disease.
The findings were made public on Monday, in a 51-page written decision.
The NFL, through a spokesperson, said it was “pleased” by the decision. The concussion settlement fund ultimately was uncapped, in order to secure court approval. Any fraud against the fund amounts to direct fraud on the NFL.
The audit recommends the denial of pending claims for retired players filed by the five law firms or evaluated by eight specific doctors.
“The remedies that the Special Masters imposed are provided for by the Settlement Agreement and were necessary given the scope of misconduct uncovered by the Claims Administrator’s investigation,” the league said. “We are hopeful that this decision will deter future misconduct.”
The settlement fund has generated more than one prior controversy. In 2021, the NFL promised to end the practice of “race-norming,” which made it harder for Black players to prove cognitive decline in an effort to secure benefits. Also in 2021, a Florida law firm was deemed to have influenced doctors and forged medical records.
The settlement pays benefits based on specific diagnoses, without requiring proof that the conditions resulted from playing football at the NFL level.
No criminal charges have been filed. However, the Special Masters have the power to refer their findings to the relevant federal authorities.
The Browns wrapped up their draft class signings, getting first-round wide receiver KC Concepcion under contract, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports.
Concepcion, the 24th overall pick in April’s draft, signed a fully guaranteed four-year, $20 million deal.
In 13 games at Texas A&M last season, Concepcion made 61 receptions for 919 yards and nine touchdowns. He also ran for 75 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries and scored two touchdowns on punt returns, averaging 18.2 yards on 25 returns.
He transferred to A&M after two seasons at North Carolina State.
Concepcion joins a wide receivers room that includes Jerry Jeudy, Denzel Boston and Cedric Tillman.
Panthers coach Dave Canales, who wore a Band-Aid on his nose Tuesday, revealed he recently underwent a procedure to remove skin cancer.
Canales said he went for a routine skin cancer screening performed by the team, and a small spot on his nose tested positive for basal cell carcinoma.
“It’s a good reminder not to take these things for granted,” Canales said, via the Associated Press. “It was a basal cell type of skin cancer in a small spot, and they were able to get it off. So I’m really appreciative.”
Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer and is “highly curable, slow-growing, and rarely spreads to other parts of the body,” according to The Skin Cancer Foundation.
Canales, 45, said his mother also dealt with skin cancer when she was in her 40s. Because of that, Canales said he is diligent at applying sunscreen.
“You can imagine a Southern California kid playing outdoor sports and then getting into coaching, right?” Canales said.
The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it has expanded the list of allowed sunscreen ingredients to include bemotrizinol. Bemotrizinol is a chemical compound that has long been popular in Europe, Australia and some Asian countries.
49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk was back at it on social media on Tuesday, two days after posting a video in which he told his team to “stop running from the belt.”
In a new Instagram video, Aiyuk said the 49ers are upset because they screwed up by giving him a four-year, $120 million extension in August 2024.
“And another thing. You wanna know why they really mad, though? They mad ‘cause they stupid. They dumb. They mad that they paid me $50 million in eight months, and they [voided] my guarantees for [2026]. And I’m about to be on a new team in [2026].
“They mad at they selves, for real. They just acting like they mad at me but they stupid-ass mad at they selves.”
Aiyuk continues to be under contract with the 49ers. If he had shown up during the voluntary offseason program and insisted on practicing, they may have cut him. As it stands, he needs to be ready to report for training camp.
If/when he does, the 49ers will have to decide whether to trade him, cut him (with a reduced deal), or let him practice — and risk owing him more than $26 million if he suffers a season-ending injury in the building.
Long-time Browns offensive lineman Joel Bitonio announced his retirement on Tuesday, after 12 NFL seasons — all in Cleveland. And, as Bitonio recounted some of the things he learned from various veterans over the years, he mentioned one specific teammate who got to town when Bitonio did.
“I was drafted the same year as Johnny Manziel,” Bitonio said. “And we actually roomed together. I learned some things not to do from him.”
It’s funny now. It wasn’t at the time. The Browns ultimately wasted a first-round pick on a player who never took his job seriously. He was released after only two seasons, with eight starts and a 2-6 record.
Bitonio, a second-round pick in 2014, made it a decade longer. He appeared in and started 178 regular-season games, with seven Pro Bowls, three years as a second-team All-Pro, and two as a first-earn All-Pro.
Kirk Cousins doesn’t want to be known as a mentor to rookie Fernando Mendoza, calling the title “a bit of a reach.” Instead, the veteran quarterback says the dynamic is a collaboration.
"[It’s] more of a narrative than it is the truth,” Cousins said Tuesday, via Ryan McFadden of ESPN. “They’re pretty good players, pretty experienced, and I’m learning a lot from them, too, and asking questions to them.
“Nobody’s leading more than someone else. I think we’re all a working force together, helping each other, giving feedback, giving perspective [and] giving another set of eyes.”
Cousins, 37, signed with the Raiders only three weeks before they drafted Mendoza with the No. 1 overall. Cousins has the most experience and the most knowledge of Klint Kubiak’s offense, with the two having spent time together in Minnesota. But Aidan O’Connell, in his fourth season with the team, has the most familiarity with the organization.
Cousins said he, O’Connell and Mendoza have all participated in the learning process and pushed each other to get better.
“I’ve always felt I prepare my best during the season when we can all kind of be together in that room in the evening, going over things together rather than working in our own,” Cousins said. “I think when we can kind of all be given feedback on each other, that’s when I think the best ideas come out.”
Jaxon Smith-Njigba was Offensive Player of the Year.
But the NFL initially gave the Seahawks wide receiver an award that called him the “Oefensive Player of the Year.” Smith-Njigba said Tuesday that the league fixed the typo on a new award they shipped him.
“We checked it,” Smith-Njigba said, via video from the team. “Everybody cleared it. I had the whole team read it, make sure it was right, and it’s good, solid.”
What can’t be fixed is Druski mispronouncing Smith-Njigba’s name at NFL Honors.
Smith-Njigba initially called the typo and mispronouncing his name “disrespectful,” but said Tuesday he is no longer bothered.
“The Super Bowl, it’s a lot, a lot of things are thrown at you, and I tried my best to stay focused . . . on the game, but now I have no [negative] feelings, ways towards the NFL, Roger [Goodell] or Druski,” Smith-Njigba said. “So, I’ll just take my trophy and accolades and all that stuff and chill at home.”
The Bears claim they’re focused on building a new stadium in Indiana. And yet they’re still talking to Illinois.
On Tuesday, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker told reporters that there have been “incoming calls” from the Bears to Pritzker and legislative leaders in recent days.
“The Bears would like to see something happen,” Pritzker said, via Brenden Moore of Capitol News Illinois, “and we all do, too. And so the question is, ‘Can they do that?’”
He said the Bears are currently trying to regroup.
Pritzker added that the Bears made some “fumbles” from the outset of the process. Among other things, he mentioned the lack of focus on one location, the absence of a clear plan in the recent legislative session, and the failure to be present on the final day of the session.
The door is open for a special legislative session, if (as Pritzker said) the House and Senate can get together on one piece of legislation. (Pritzker added that legislative leaders can also call a special session.)
And so, while the Bears have a bird in the hand in Hammond, Indiana, they’re still looking for a solution in Illinois. Which makes sense.
Nothing in Hammond is official, and the team’s stated desire to advance the ball in Indiana looks like nothing more than an effort to get the ball rolling in Illinois.
