Flag football is very different from tackle football. And the current and former NFL players facing the U.S. men’s national flag football team are learning that.
The first half of the game between the U.S. team and the Wildcats (captained by Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels) did not go well for the pro players. The first drive by the Wildcats failed to result in a first down. The U.S. team went right down the field, with the NFL players struggling to master the skill of grabbing flags.
The opening drive by the U.S. team included multiple penalties against the Wildcats for excessive contact. After quarterback Darrell “Housh” Doucette III scored a touchdown on a running play (which included another penalty for illegal contact), Doucette chirped at non-football player Logan Paul. Paul removed Doucette’s sunglasses and threw them, drawing another foul.
Then came a pick six of Burrow, two plays later.
The Wildcats finally woke up, with a long touchdown pass by Burrow to DeAndre Hopkins, who easily boxed out the defender caught the undersized ball with one hand.
The U.S. team scored on the next drive, pushing the score to 19-6 after one half.
While the NFL players are generally bigger and faster and stronger (that said, Doucette seems to be able to weave through and around them), the tackle football players are clearly out of their element. If NFL playershope to represent the U.S. in the 2028 Olympics, they’ll need time to learn the game, and to figure out the rules. Which will take more than a casual commitment.
Ravens Clips
Free agent defensive end A.J. Epenesa is signing a one-year deal worth up to $5 million with the Browns, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Epenesa, 27, has spent his entire career in Buffalo since the Bills made him a second-round pick in 2020.
In 2025, he played 16 games with two starts and totaled 32 tackles, 2.5 sacks, nine quarterback hits, two interceptions and four passes defensed.
In his career, Epenesa has recorded 135 tackles, 24 sacks, 53 quarterback hits, four interceptions, 21 passes defensed and five forced fumbles.
The Browns are also signing wide receiver/returner Tylan Wallace, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports.
Wallace, who turns 27 in May, is following Todd Monken from Baltimore after spending his career with the Ravens.
A fourth-round pick in 2021, Wallace played 14 games with two starts last season. He caught four passes for 45 yards and a touchdown and averaged 24.6 yards on five kickoff returns.
He has only 22 receptions for 305 yards and two touchdowns in five seasons, with one punt return touchdown.
Wide receiver Hollywood Brown will be joining the Eagles, but his search for a team almost brought him back to the first stop in his NFL career.
Brown was a 2019 first-round pick in Baltimore and spent three seasons with the team before being traded to the Cardinals. That trade came after Brown requested a move because he didn’t feel the offensive system was the right one for him.
That system has changed since Brown left the team. Jesse Minter is now the head coach with Declan Doyle on the staff as the offensive coordinator and those changes may have helped lead Brown to think about a second stint with the Ravens.
“I was really considering going back to Baltimore,” Brown said on the Speakeasy podcast. “I got good relationships there. I really let my agent handle it until it got down to what it got down to. This is my second time in free agency, so I kinda don’t want the small talk. I let him deal with it. When it got down to who really wants me, who he thinks is really showing interest, then I want to talk and get involved.”
Brown didn’t delve into how close things came with the Ravens and what ultimately swayed him to the Eagles, although he did say that they had been his favorite team growing up and that he’s looking forward to playing with quarterback Jalen Hurts.
The Ravens have not added any wideouts to the roster this month, but being in the mix for Brown might be a sign that they are looking to bolster that group ahead of the draft.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has a new head coach, a new offensive coordinator and a new offseason training method.
High-performance boxing and strength coach Dawson Saint Jour posted social media videos showing Jackson throwing a series of punches into gloves and pads, Jamison Hensley of ESPN reports.
“Had a great time with one of the best athletes out there,” Saint Jour wrote. “He’s getting sharp.”
In 2017, then-Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco added boxing into his workouts to improve his balance and core strength.
Jackson, a two-time MVP, missed four games with a hamstring injury and a back contusion last season, his first time with a losing record (6-7) in his eight-year career. In 13 games, Jackson threw for 2,549 yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions, while rushing for 349 yards and two scores.
Jackson has given up $1.5 million in workout bonuses by not participating in the minimum number of voluntary practices the past two offseasons. New offensive coordinator Declan Doyle recently said he “would expect” players to attend the offseason program despite it being voluntary.
Jackson has another $750,000 available this offseason if he participates in 80 percent of the program.
Free agent tight end David Njoku visited with the Ravens today, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Njoku, 29, spent the past nine seasons with the Browns, who made him a first-round pick in 2017. He had already announced on social media that he would not return to the Browns.
He ranks 76th on PFT’s top-100 free agents list.
Njoku made the Pro Bowl in 2023 with 81 receptions for 882 yards and six touchdowns.
He finishes his time in Cleveland with 384 catches for 4,062 yards and 34 touchdowns.
The Ravens need help at the position with Mark Andrews the only current tight end on the roster. Isaiah Likely left for the Giants and Charlie Kolar signed with the Chargers.
Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby has shared his memories of how things went down in Baltimore before the Ravens pulled out of a trade for him last week.
On the latest episode of his The Rush podcast, Crosby shared how things got off on the wrong foot with a flight to Washington D.C. followed by a drive to Baltimore ahead of his Tuesday physical and meetings with the Ravens. Crosby said he spent about an hour at the team’s facility before going for scans, but did not meet head coach Jesse Minter or General Manager Eric DeCosta until he returned from meeting with doctors.
Crosby said he had to ask for a meeting with them and the “energy was off” when that finally happened. That meeting was when he was informed of concerns that the Ravens had from his medical tests as well as their desire to get other opinions. Crosby said he was “terrified” to hear that something might be wrong and “freaking out” about what it meant for the trade, but that he calmed down once Dr. Neal ElAttrache told him his knee was “great” after recent meniscus surgery and right where it needs to be at this point in the process.
The Ravens still backed out of the trade, however, and Crosby said he believes everything worked out the way it should in the end.
“Everyone’s got their own theory, conspiracy theory, no one really will ever admit on either side what the real truth is or whatever,” Crosby said. “Ultimately, it doesn’t even matter. I am where I’m supposed to be. I know that. I’ll just say that. . . . S—t happens for a reason. I know exactly who I am. I’m f—ing crushing my rehab. I’m doing what I’m doing. I wasn’t supposed to be in Baltimore and that’s it. You know what I mean? I’m meant to be a Raider. It’s through my damn core. And that’s it. I leave it as simple as that.”
The Raiders made a number of additions to their roster in the wake of agreeing to trade Crosby to Baltimore and Crosby expressed his excitement about what players like Quay Walker, Nakobe Dean, Eric Stokes, and Tyler Linderbaum will mean to the Raiders’ chances of improving on recent results. Having Crosby should also help on that front, so the strange twists might have worked out for the best in Las Vegas.
The Raiders have a new veteran center and — presumably — will have a quarterback selected at No. 1 overall in this year’s draft next month.
The relationship between free-agent signee Tyler Linderbaum and the assumed No. 1 overall pick, Fernando Mendoza, will significantly affect the outcome of Las Vegas’ offense and the team as a whole.
Coming from the Ravens, that’s something Linderbaum understands, as he detailed in a recent interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio.
“I think the relationship with the quarterback [and] center is really important. Communication, understanding … protections and putting the team in the best position possible on that play — it’s certainly important,” Linderbaum told Jacob Hester and PatKirwan of Movin’ the Chains. “We’ve got to have a relationship. Lamar and I certainly had a relationship and I think it comes down to, it’s very important. And that starts throughout the week with your preparation, game prep. You’ve got to be seeing the same things that the quarterback’s seeing and vice versa. I think that’s what’s going to build a strong unit.”
Linderbaum, 25, was the No. 25 overall pick of the 2022 draft and started 66 games for the Ravens over the last four seasons, including all 17 in each of the last two years. Linderbaum was a Pro Bowler in each of the last three seasons as well.
After losing Tyler Linderbaum as a free agent, the Ravens are bringing in some help at center.
Per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Baltimore has agreed to sign Danny Pitner.
Jeff Zrebiec of TheAthletic.com reports the contract is worth $2.25 million for one year with a maximum value of $2.75 million.
Pinter, 29, was a Colts fifth-round pick in 2020 and had spent his entire career with the club. He’s appeared in 77 games with 10 starts in his career.
In 2025, Pinter played all 17 games with one start. He was on the field for 13 percent of offensive snaps and 17 percent of special teams snaps.
Pinter’s contract suggests he’s not necessarily Baltimore’s first choice to start at center. But with his experience, he should at least provide depth and an option if needed.
Cornerback Nahshon Wright’s play with the Bears during the 2025 season landed him a contract with the Jets and it earned him the most performance-based pay in the league for last year as well.
The NFL announced that Wright earned more than $1.44 million in performance-based pay. The bonus more than doubles Wright’s base salary for the season.
Wright signed with the Bears after being released by the Vikings last April. He was named to the Pro Bowl after recording 80 tackles, five interceptions, two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries during the regular season.
The performance-based pay fund is part of the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement to compensate all players based on a formula encompassing their playing time and salary. It paid out more than $542 million for the 2025 season.
Browns safety Ronnie Hickman earned over $1.293 million for second place and tackle Elijah Wilkinson earned over $1.272 million for his work with the Falcons. Wilkinson has since signed with the Cardinals.
Panthers safety Nick Scott, former Commanders guard Chris Paul, Ravens guard Andrew Vorhees, Vikings defensive end Jalen Redmond, Steelers guard Mason McCormick, Chiefs defensive back Chamarri Conner, and Patriots safety Craig Woodson make up the rest of the top 10 recipients of performance-based pay for 2025.
The well-traveled Josh Johnson is traveling back to Cincinnati.
The Bengals announced on Saturday that Johnson has signed a one-year deal.
Johnson, who turns 40 in May, was a fifth-round pick of the Buccaneers in 2008. He has spent time with the Bucs, 49ers, Sacramento Mountain Lions of the original UFL, Browns, Bengals, 49ers (second stint), Bengals (second stint), Jets, Colts, Bills, Ravens, Giants, Texans, Raiders, San Diego Fleet of the AAF, Washington, Lions, L.A. Wildcats of the XFL, 49ers (third stint), Jets (second stint), Ravens (second stint), Broncos, 49ers (fourth stint), Ravens (third stint), Commanders (second stint), and now the Bengals for a third time.
He has appeared in 50 regular-season games with 11 starts. His starts have happened with only three teams: the Buccaneers, Commanders, and Ravens. His two most recent starts came in Weeks 17 and 18 of the 2025 season, for Washington.
Johnson also has appeared in one playoff game — the 2023 NFC Championship, after 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy made an early exit with an elbow injury. Johnson completed seven of 13 passes before suffering a concussion.
Johnson joins Joe Burrow and Sean Clifford on Cincinnati’s roster. Joe Flacco arrived via trade in 2025, appearing in nine games with six starts. He’s currently a free agent.
