It’s been more than two months since the story of the offseason landed out of the blue, courtesy of photos from the New York Post and (more importantly) clear and strong denials from the people involved.
Although the drip-drip of worthwhile developments has ended (that hasn’t stopped some from using anything/everything they can to harvest clicks and video views), there’s one unresolved issue that apparently will remain that way, into the summer.
Via Oli Coleman of the New York Post, The Athletic executive editor Steven Ginsberg recently provided an internal update regarding its investigation into the reporting of Dianna Russini, given the evidence that emerged of her relationship with Patriots coach Mike Vrabel.
“It’s going to take a few more weeks,” Ginsberg reportedly said. “There’s just a lot to go through, and we obviously want to take our time and be careful doing that. We will update everybody when we get to the end of that. We’ve also said that if we find anything that needs to be corrected, we will correct it along the way.”
In her April 14 resignation letter, Russini repeated her strong denial of wrongdoing that blamed the media for engaging in “self-feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts.” The Athletic continued its investigation after her departure.
It’s unclear why it has taken so long for The Athletic, which is owned by the New York Times, to finish its investigation. As Coleman notes, the delay is creating internal concerns.
For now, it appears that The Athletic intends to continue its investigation, to conclude it, and to share its outcome. Even if The Athletic doesn’t publish any final report, chances are that someone within the broader Times apparatus will get it, and leak it.
Even without publication of the report (or a leak of it), The Athletic may go back and “correct” past reporting.
It’s a delicate balance for The Athletic and the Times. Photos of Vrabel and Russini from March 2020, which emerged after her resignation, raise questions about the quality of the vetting process and/or the oversight of Russini. Basically, what did management know, what should it have known, when did it know it, and when should have been known? A full and transparent investigation could make the publications, which already look bad as to their initial statement on the matter, come off even worse.
Brushing it all under the rug won’t be acceptable, either. The issue highlights pre-existing tensions between the Times and The Athletic. Will the employees of The Athletic be held to the same standard as employees of the Times?
Hovering over everything The Athletic says or does is the possibility of litigation, if Russini continues to adhere to her denials and is willing to back them up by filing a defamation case against anyone who says otherwise.
Titans wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson wore No. 17 in his four seasons with the Giants. When he signed with the Titans, Robinson could have tried to buy the No. 17 from Chimere Dike, who earned All-Pro honors as a returner last season as a rookie, or pick another number.
He chose another number in honor of a friend.
“I didn’t want [No. 17],” Robinson told Kay Adams of FanDuel TV. “I was going in wanting a single digit, and then also my late friend, Rondale Moore, he wore No. 4. So that was kind of the reasoning behind me getting that number. Just kind of to honor him, and the time that he was here. That’s where I was going in. I wanted No. 4. I don’t know about Carnell [Tate] and exactly what went on with him and Chim. But, yeah, I was good with leaving 17 in the past.”
Tate wore No. 17 at Ohio State. The first-round wide receiver will wear No. 14 with the Titans.
Moore died in February from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Robinson and Moore trained together in the Louisville area the final two years of Robinson’s high school career and became fast friends.
There may be a reunion in Kansas City.
Veteran cornerback L’Jarius Sneed is visiting with the Chiefs on Thursday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
Sneed, 29, played his first four seasons with the Chiefs before they traded him to Tennessee in the 2024 offseason. Sneed was instrumental in helping Kansas City win back-to-back Super Bowls in 2022 and 2023.
But his two seasons with Tennessee were marred by injury, as Sneed played just 12 games over the last two years. He was on the field for seven contests in 2025, recording 26 total tackles with three passes defensed.
The Chiefs have to replace two starting corners for 2026, as Trent McDuffie was traded to the Rams and Jaylen Watson followed him to Los Angeles in free agency.
In his 69 career games with 66 starts, Sneed has tallied 10 picks with 43 passes defensed, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and 6.5 sacks.
There’s not much physical resemblance between running backs Derrick Henry and Tony Pollard, but Pollard has proven to be a capable replacement for Henry in the Titans’ backfield.
Pollard has crossed the 1,000-yard mark in each of his two seasons with the Titans and he did the same in his final two seasons with the Cowboys, which means that he and Henry are the only two backs with four straight 1,000-yard campaigns under their belts as they head into the 2026 season.
Pollard said last week that he takes “a lot of pride in my consistency” and feels he’s still growing as a player in his eighth season.
“The work ethic, everything that I’m doing behind the scenes, it’s paying off,” Pollard said, via Teresa Walker of the Associated Press. “I slowly feel like throughout my career I’ve just slowly progressed more and more, and I feel like I’m still trending in that direction.”
Pollard’s steadiness has not led to a lot of winning for the Titans and that would be the best kind of progress for Tennessee to make over the rest of the year.
Tony Pollard has had four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, the past two with the Titans. Still, the Titans were betting favorites to take Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love in the draft.
The Cardinals ended up drafting Love third overall, one pick ahead of the Titans, so it’s unknown whether Tennessee would have drafted Love.
Pollard was unbothered by talk of the Titans taking his replacement.
“I know in this league, it’s their job to try to replace you,” Pollard said, via Nick Suss of The Tennessean. “That’s what comes with the business. To be honest, I wasn’t really paying attention to it. Not much. I’d seen it, but I’ve got a wife and three kids and my wife’s pregnant, so I’ve got a lot of things that keep me occupied.”
Pollard and former Titan Derrick Henry are the only running backs who have 1,000 yards each of the past four seasons. In two seasons with the Titans, Pollard has 576 touches for 2,605 yards and 10 touchdowns in 33 games.
“The work ethic, everything that I’m doing behind the scenes, it’s paying off,” Pollard said, via Teresa Walker of the Associated Press. “I slowly feel like throughout my career I’ve just slowly progressed more and more, and I feel like I’m still trending in that direction.”
