If you think a story about a cabinet secretary cutting the penis off of a dead raccoon is the craziest thing you’ll hear all day, think again.
Actually, it’s hard to top the raccoon penis thing.
In any event, Daniel Kaplan recently reported for the Guardian on the case of Luther Davis. He’s a former member of the Alabama football team. More recently, he allegedly scammed lenders out of nearly $20 million, in part by impersonating a trio of NFL players: Michael Penix Jr., Xavier McKinney, and David Njoku.
Per the report, Davis plans to plead guilty later this month on charges based on allegations that he “obtained at least thirteen fraudulent loans totaling more than $19,845,000.” Of the amount, $11.6 million was obtained by pretending to be Penix, McKinney, and Njoku.
Davis allegedly worked with CJ Evins to secure the loans. Evins also plans to plead guilty.
As Kaplan explains it, the scheme began with the registration in Georgia of fake companies with names closely related to the players’ names or initials. Then, bank accounts and fraudulent email accounts were opened. Next, Davis and Evins secured fake identification documents for the players. At that point, they contacted loan brokers, providing fabricated documents.
Then came the kicker — Davis would attend the loan closings disguised as the player. The effort included makeup, wigs, and (when Davis was impersonating Penix) a durag.
The only connection by the players to the scam is that they had their identities stolen.
The fake loan obtained in McKinney’s name became the subject of civil litigation between the lender and the broker. A trial is set for July 2026.
Falcons Clips
The initial reporting regarding the new Kirk Cousins contract with the Raiders was confusing, to say the least. Clarity has finally arrived.
It was described as a clear-as-mud “five-year, $172 million deal . . . that in reality is a one-year, fully-guaranteed $20 million deal that also contains a club option for two years at $80M.”
Here’s the full breakdown, per a source with knowledge of the terms:
1. 2026 base salary: $1.3 million, fully guaranteed.
2. 2027 offseason roster bonus: $10 million, fully guaranteed and not subject to offset.
3. 2027 base salary: $1.345 million, not guaranteed at signing but fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2027 league year.
4. 2028 base salary: $78.655 million, not guaranteed at signing but fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2027 league year.
5. 2029 base salary: $40 million.
6. 2030 base salary: $40 million.
The contract, if terminated before the fifth day of the 2027 league year, pays $11.3 million fully guaranteed for one season. The $1.3 million salary for 2026 leaves the Falcons on the hook for $8.7 million, since Cousins had a $10 million fully guaranteed roster bonus with offset for 2026.
The end result for Cousins will be $20 million for 2026, with the Raiders paying $11.3 million of it. Next year, if he’s cut, he’ll keep everything he gets from another team.
If the Raiders, for whatever reason, decide to keep Cousins beyond the 2026 season, he’ll make $91.3 million from the Raiders for three seasons, plus the $8.7 million from the Falcons. That equates to $100 million over three years.
It’s unlikely the Raiders will retain Cousins beyond 2026. If, for some reason, they decide to do so, the three-year investment isn’t ridiculous. It works out to an average of $30.43 million per year.
The Falcons have put one of their best players under contract for 2027.
Per Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, Atlanta has exercised running back Bijan Robinson’s fifth-year option on Friday.
Robinson is projected to make $11.3 million in 2027 under the option.
This was an expected move, especially after Robinson led the league with 2,298 yards from scrimmage in 2025. He rushed for 1,478 yards with seven touchdowns and caught 79 passes for 820 yards with four TDs.
The No. 8 overall pick of the 2023 draft, Robinson has played every game for which he’s been eligible over the past three seasons. He’s registered 3,910 yards rushing with 25 touchdowns and caught 198 passes for 1,738 yards with nine touchdowns.
The Saints have meetings with a couple of wide receivers on the docket for Saturday.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Ted Hurst and Omar Cooper are both slated to visit with the NFC South team.
Hurst had 127 catches for 1,965 yards and 15 touchdowns at Georgia State the last two seasons. He transferred to the school after playing at Valdosta State and is meeting with the Falcons on Friday. Another local prospect, former Georgia defensive tackle Christen Miller, is also in Atlanta.
Hurst is not generally projected to go as early in the draft as Cooper, who starred at Indiana en route to last season’s national title. Cooper is meeting with the Commanders on Friday.
Falcons running back Bijan Robinson says he feels like he’s entering his physical prime, and he says offseason workouts with 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey are a big part of that.
“Now going on my fourth year, I want to be a leader of these guys,” Robinson said at the start of the Falcons’ offseason program.
“I’m pretty excited. How I feel, they talk about your prime years, this is the best I’ve felt my whole time being here.”
Robinson said he and McCaffrey work hard together but also are very mindful of not over-taxing their bodies and the importance of recovery to go along with the importance of working out.
“I was working in California with McCaffrey. That’s a cool deal. We put in work. We take care of our bodies. His regimen has been really good for me,” Robinson said.
Robinson’s production has increased in each of his first three NFL seasons, and he said constant improvement is the goal.
“Every year I’m just trying to be better than the last year in all aspects of my game,” Robinson said.
Robinson said he and new Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski have spent a lot of time going over the offense, and he said he’s excited by the changes Stefanski is making, while also crediting Stefanski for keeping running backs coach Michael Pitre, the only position coach Robinson has had in the NFL, on the Falcons’ staff.
“I’m super excited. We’ve been talking since he’s been here, going about the plan and what to expect. I’m super pumped to get out there,” Robinson said. “Looking at the plays and starting to study, it’s going to be explosive.”
Jessie Bates has spent the past three seasons in Atlanta after signing a four-year, $64.02 million deal as a free agent. The one-time Pro Bowl safety enters the final year of his contract hoping to finish his career with the Falcons.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Bates said, via Tori McElhaney of the team website. “I want to retire as a Falcon. I have a beautiful house here, a beautiful family. My family loves it here. Why would I not want to be a Falcon?”
Bates said the Falcons have not discussed a potential extension with him.
“I think every year is a one-year contract,” Bates said. “Things can change. People can get traded, get cut. That’s the mindset you’ve got to have when you’re talking about a one-year approach. Whether I had two years left on my deal or I had one, I would come in here and work like I only had one.”
Bates, 29, has started all 51 possible games the past three seasons and has totaled 332 tackles, 13 interceptions, 27 passes defensed and eight forced fumbles.
He wants to show he still can play at a Pro Bowl level as he approaches 30.
“I say every year you have something to prove,” Bates said. “Every single year you have to prove to whoever it is that you’re still this player, or this leader. Whatever it is, you want to go and prove to somebody that you’re still that guy.”
Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren appears headed to being a late first-round draft pick later this month.
McNeil-Warren has become a popular top-30 visitor.
He is currently visiting the Dolphins in Miami after recent visits with the Patriots, Browns, Cowboys and Falcons, according to Jordan Schultz of The Schultz Report. McNeil-Warren will head to Pittsburgh after finishing in Miami today.
McNeil-Warren earned second-team All-American honors last season when he totaled 77 tackles, three forced fumbles, two interceptions and seven passes defensed.
Dane Brugler of TheAthletic.com ranks McNeil-Warren as his 23rd-best player in the draft, third among safeties.
After Kaleb McGary announced his retirement, the Falcons have found a veteran candidate to slot in at right tackle.
Jawaan Taylor has agreed to a one-year deal with Atlanta, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
Schefter notes the deal is worth $5 million with another $1 million in incentives.
Taylor, 28, was released in March after three tumultuous seasons with the Chiefs. While he won Super Bowl LVIII with the club in 2023, he also amassed a whopping 54 penalties in his time with the club.
Taylor started all 17 games in 2023 before starting 16 in 2024 and 12 in 2025.
Taylor’s presence on the right side will be particularly important with lefty quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa atop the Falcons’ depth chart.
The Falcons are in the market for a new right tackle.
Kaleb McGary is retiring, his agent announced on Wednesday.
McGary, 31, was the No. 31 overall pick for the Falcons in 2019. He played 93 games with 92 starts for the club over six seasons before missing the entire 2025 campaign with a knee injury suffered during training camp.
McGary had signed a two-year extension with the Falcons in August of last year.
Elijah Wilkinson, who started at right tackle for Atlanta last season, has since signed with the Cardinals.
With lefty quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa atop the depth chart for Atlanta, the club’s right tackle position is that much more important.
Word earlier this week was that edge rusher James Pearce would not be at the Falcon’s voluntary workouts while facing multiple criminal charges and the team got to work without him on Tuesday.
Pearce is not on paid leave from the league and it is unclear when he might be back with the team. On Wednesday, head coach Kevin Stefanski said only that the Falcons are remaining in touch with the 2025 first-round pick.
“We’ve been in constant communication with his representation,” Stefanski said, via Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com.
The NFL has said that they are investigating Pearce’s situation. He is currently set for a court date in early May on four criminal charges stemming from a February incident with his ex-girlfriend.
