PITTSBURGH — Needless to say, Kaleb Johnson won't be returning kickoffs Sunday. Bill Buckner didn't play much first base after 1986, either.

Question is, why was Johnson returning kickoffs in the first place?

He's not especially fast. He hadn't returned kickoffs regularly since his freshman year at Iowa. He's a rookie. He fumbled in the ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Jets won’t have Justin Fields under center against the Buccaneers.

Fields has been ruled out of Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay after suffering a concussion in last weekend’s 30-10 loss against the Bills.

Veteran backup Tyrod Taylor will start in Fields’ place.

“I just know how these things are and just to my ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Kansas City Chiefs (0-2) are down on the mat and desperate entering Sunday night’s visit to the New York Giants (0-2) at MetLife Stadium. But Super Bowl 50 champion Bennie Fowler still believes Kansas City will win Super Bowl 60.

And he thinks they’ll reacquire a familiar weapon to do it.

“They’ll end up trading for ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Because the NFL MVP award goes to a quarterback in most years, as it should, there’s also an award for Offensive Player of the Year.

No blocker ever won that honor, however. So in March, the NFL created the NFL Protector of the Year award.

Shouts of “about time!” emanated in the football heavens from the likes of Vince ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There is a problem plaguing the Carolina Panthers’ passing offense: the strange disappearance of starting wide receiver Xavier Legette.

Legette, the team’s first-round draft pick out of South Carolina in 2024, was supposed to take a leap forward in 2025. Instead, the player that most people call XL has come up XS for the...Read more

CHICAGO — There’s not a chance Ben Johnson looks at the Chicago Bears’ current situation and feels like they have to take a step back in order to move forward.

He’s not interested in dissecting what happened before his arrival in January, but he is responsible for getting the wayward franchise going in the right direction.

From a broad...Read more

ARLINGTON, Texas — When the time is appropriate, the Dallas Cowboys should take a moment of silence for the following persons: Alex Jones, Megyn Kelly, Anderson Cooper, Joe Rogan, Jon Stewart, Van Jones, Bill O’ Reilly, Stephen Colbert, Rachel Maddow and Colin Kaepernick.

Never too late to squeeze one in for Rush Limbaugh. The late Charlie ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — Looking back, it’s hard to identify the precise moment your stomach turned queasy.

It could have been when Baker Mayfield was somersaulting through the air Monday night after having his legs taken out. Or when Houston Texans defensive end Danielle Hunter sacked him and Mayfield’s left knee bent in a direction that defied ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Tom Brady caused a social media firestorm Monday night when cameras caught the Raiders minority owner sitting in the coaches’ booth wearing a headset during the team’s loss to the Chargers at Allegiant Stadium.

The scene, as well as a sideline report from Peter Schrager during ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” broadcast ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Cincinnati Bengals have begun to prepare for life without Joe Burrow.

On Tuesday, the Bengals placed Burrow on injured reserve and signed veteran quarterbacks Mike White and Sean Clifford to their practice squad.

They also signed quarterback Brett Rypien off of the practice squad and onto the active roster, where he will serve...Read more

Each week I’ll list the best widely available free agents for fantasy football — I define “widely available” as being owned in around half of all ESPN or Yahoo leagues — and some guys who are probably better off in the free agent pool than collecting dust on your roster.

Follow me on X (formerly known as Twitter) @UTEddieBrown if you ...Read more

NEW YORK — Since the start of the Super Bowl era, exactly one team has made it through the first two games of an NFL season without punting once.

That team’s quarterback? Daniel Jones.

Indeed, the man known as Danny Dimes is cashing in on his first opportunity as an NFL starter since his midseason release by the Giants last fall, leading ...Read more

If you want to make a 49ers fan’s blood pressure spike like the temperatures in the Bay Area this week, you don’t talk about Brock Purdy’s contract, Kyle Shanahan‘s clock-management, or the team’s errant trade for Trey Lance.

No, you say two simple, powerful, and seemingly maddening words:

“Offensive line.”

It’s the part of ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Vikings running back Aaron Jones is being moved to injured reserve after suffering a hamstring strain during Sunday night’s loss to the Falcons, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed Tuesday. Jones will miss at least four games.

Jones joins fullback C.J. Ham and running back Ty Chandler, among others, on IR. Ham (...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Through one of the most dominant stretches in NFL history, the most steadfast lifeline for the Chiefs has been the prolific and uncanny connection between Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. With all due respect to Kelce’s fiancee Taylor Swift, they’re the dynamic duo around here.

The catalogue of jaw-dropping moments ...Read more

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — With not much going right for the Miami Dolphins at 0-2 going into the short week and travel to Buffalo to face the mighty Bills, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wide receiver Tyreek Hill hope to build on the momentum of their connection possibly reigniting Sunday.

In the loss to the New England Patriots, the two hooked ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Rams coach Sean McVay is not expected to appear on the team's injury report this week as they prepare for Sunday's game against the defending Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles.

But McVay sustained a foot injury during last week's victory over the Tennessee Titans in Nashville, Tenn.

During the Rams' produced "Sean McVay ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Tom Brady was shown sitting in the Las Vegas Raiders coaching booth while wearing a headset during the team's "Monday Night Football" game against the Chargers at Allegiant Stadium.

Brady is a minority owner of the Raiders. He also works as a booth analyst for NFL games broadcast on Fox, and the NFL has placed certain ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — A 20-19 victory on "Monday Night Football" came at a high cost for the Bucs.

Defensive lineman Calijah Kancey is expected to miss the rest of the season with a torn pectoral muscle that will require surgery, the Tampa Bay Times has confirmed.

It is not immediately clear when Kancey sustained the injury. But on his final play in...Read more

It’s crazy to think about, but there’s a parallel universe out there, maybe situated right next to ours, where Kyle Shanahan got exactly what he wanted: Mac Jones, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft; the player hand-picked by the Niners’ coach to be his team’s next franchise quarterback after Jimmy Garoppolo.

Now, that’s not...Read more