NFL News Updates

Author: nfltalk

  • Cowboy football notebook: Oklahoma State kicks off first spring practice of Morris era

    Cowboy football notebook: Oklahoma State kicks off first spring practice of Morris era

    A new era of Oklahoma State football is officially underway.

    New head coach Eric Morris and the Cowboys held their first spring practice Monday afternoon at the Sherman E. Smith Training Center with a total of 81 new players. It was typical Day 1 stuff, but it didn’t play out like many might have predicted a practice with offensive guru Morris to go.

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    Morris said the defense “got after” the offense for much of the day, on an afternoon with sunny skies but winds approaching 20 mph.

    “I didn’t think we adjusted very well to that,” Morris said. “Threw a bunch of balls over the receivers’ heads today. Had some guys open, but the wideouts did a nice job. But at quarterback, I thought we were pretty sporadic. Some of these guys that haven’t been here yet, kinda the first day trying to do too much, not settling into the system. So, to be honest with you, pretty poor on offense today, and I thought the defense had a nice day to start.”

    That’s not easy for an offensive guy like Morris to admit, but he said he’s learned how to deal with it and understand that’s a good sign for the new defense under defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity.

    On offense, Morris said there weren’t presnap issues, just more of a lack of execution on their first day not inside with controlled environments. It was the first day of practice in a new system with a new group, though, so he’s confident they can build off of Monday.

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    “And that’s why we’re here. That’s why we’re doing spring ball. All-time record 81 new guys for college football. So, that’s why these are so important right here, and you don’t want to waste a day,” Morris said.

    “I thought it was good for us to get outside today and see how they handle it. It didn’t go as planned, but that’s the good thing about sports,…

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  • How Micah Parsons ripple effect opened door for Rashan Gary trade to the Cowboys

    How Micah Parsons ripple effect opened door for Rashan Gary trade to the Cowboys

    When the Dallas Cowboys initially pulled the trigger on trading away Micah Parsons, the football world reacted with a collective gasp. Critics and fans alike flooded social media with skepticism, wondering how a franchise could ever justify moving a generational talent. The general consensus was that the Cowboys had decided to start an unprompted rebuild right in the midst of their championship window. It wasn’t ideal.

    But the Cowboys had a plan. In an effort to reshape the roster, they immediately reallocated their newfound resources to fortify the interior of the defensive line by acquiring Kenny Clark and later using some of the Parsons draft capital to land Quinnen Williams. This double swoop gave the Cowboys a massive boost in the trenches, giving their run defense a fighting chance.

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    While the interior was improved, the strategic pivot left the Cowboys dangerously exposed at the edge rusher position. With Parsons gone, the feared outside pass rush that once defined their defense became a glaring vacancy on the roster. Opposing quarterbacks who used to live in fear of a blindside hit suddenly found themselves with enough time in the pocket to take up a new hobby. They quickly learned that the defensive end position group was a huge weakness for the team.

    The front office is not ignoring the problem. They have made several high-profile attempts to find a veteran solution on the perimeter. They were reportedly swinging for the fences in trade talks for Maxx Crosby, but those negotiations eventually came up short when the Baltimore Ravens were willing to give up more. The attention turned to Trey Hendrickson, but it quickly became clear that his impending free agency would trigger a bidding war that the Cowboys weren’t likely to win.

    Taking matters into their own hands, the Cowboys pivoted aggressively by striking a trade for Rashan Gary. To secure the veteran pass rusher, it only cost the Cowboys a 2027 fourth-round draft pick; however, they must…

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  • Arch Manning injury details emerge after Texas QB’s offseason surgery

    Arch Manning injury details emerge after Texas QB’s offseason surgery

    Texas will keep it simple with quarterback Arch Manning this spring as sixth-year coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns gear up for a pivotal 2026 season as one of college football’s national championship frontrunners. 

    Manning, a redshirt junior sitting near the top of the preseason Heisman list, will be limited to start after offseason foot surgery as Texas opens spring drills Monday.

    In a new interview with Chip Brown of Horns247, Cooper Manning said his son suffered the foot injury in 2024 — when Arch was a backup to Quinn Ewers and saw action as a run threat and spot starter. Cooper said Arch’s ailment worsened during the Longhorns’ 17-7 win at Texas A&M in November during a first-quarter touchdown run.

    Facing a 4th-and-2 situation, the quarterback planted near the sideline to maintain his balance and stay in play en route to the end zone for the game’s first points. That foot pain persisted throughout the 2025 season as QB1, but Manning didn’t miss time.

    “The injury was something that had been bothering him all year,” Cooper Manning told Chip Brown of Horns247 this week. “He’d been doing therapy for it, and I think he kind of aggravated it in the Texas A&M game the year before on that (15-yard) touchdown run he had (in 2024). So, he’d been doing therapy on it all year, and finally just said, ‘Look, I want to go ahead and just get this thing fixed and not have to worry about it anymore.’

    “So he feels good. He’s out of the boot, walking, doing some throwing, and excited to get back to full speed. When that is, I’m not sure. He’s just following the doctor’s orders. But he’s getting in the groove, and his exposure to spring ball will only increase as we get more toward the spring game (on April 18).”

    Here’s the play where Manning…

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  • Trent McDuffie agrees to record contract extension with Rams, per report

    Trent McDuffie agrees to record contract extension with Rams, per report

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    The Los Angeles Rams reached an agreement with newly acquired cornerback Trent McDuffie on a record four-year, $124 million contract extension that makes him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history, according to ESPN. The deal includes $100 million guaranteed and sets McDuffie up to earn an average of $31 million per year.

    The expectation when the Rams agreed to a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs on March 4 was that they would come to terms on a new contract for McDuffie. It took a matter of days for them to lock up their prized defensive back for the long term. McDuffie will join the Rams officially when the new league year begins on March 11 in return for four draft picks.

    McDuffie was set to enter the final season of his contract when the Chiefs picked up his fifth-year option. General manager Brett Veach put the two-time All-Pro on the trade block, though, instead of paying up to keep him beyond 2026. McDuffie would have made $13.6 million on his old contract but will instead make more than double that figure in his debut season in Los Angeles.

    It was a cost-cutting measure for the Chiefs, who entered the offseason more than $57 million over the salary cap and still needed to shed space in advance of the new league year. On the other side of the deal, the Rams secured an immediate elite contributor to a roster they hope is capable of winning a Super Bowl as soon as next year. They filled a spot in their greatest position group of need in the process.

    McDuffie was always going to get paid; it was just a matter of whether it would be with the Chiefs or another team. In the end, the Rams agreed to pay him the biggest annual salary the NFL has ever seen at his position — nearly $1 million more than what Sauce…

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  • Rutgers Targeting LSU Assistant to be Next Women’s Basketball Coach

    Rutgers Targeting LSU Assistant to be Next Women’s Basketball Coach

    Rutgers athletic director Keli Zinn is already closing in on a new head coach for Rutgers women’s basketball. According to Brian Fonseca and Steve Politi of NJ.com, Rutgers is targeting LSU assistant coach Gary Redus II to be the program’s new head coach. A deal has not been finalized yet, but it could be done early this week, barring any drastic disruptions. If a deal is finalized, Redus would become just the fourth head coach in the entire program’s history.

    Redus has spent the last four years with LSU and was on staff when the Tigers won the national championship in 2023.

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    Redus has no head-coaching experience, but he is regarded as one of the nation’s top recruiters for women’s basketball. On top of that, he has familiarity with Zinn and the current Rutgers University president, William Tate IV, from their shared time at LSU.

    Redus’s coaching experience includes his stint as an assistant at LSU and stints as an assistant at SMU, Vanderbilt, and Division II Delta State. He was also a graduate assistant at West Georgia.

    In addition to his role as an assistant coach, Redus was also the recruitment coordinator for the Commodores during his time there. He played a major role in recruiting one of Vanderbilt’s top recruiting classes of the decade in 2021. On top of that, his LSU bio credits him with helping to recruit the unanimous No. 1 freshman class that included all five-stars in 2025.

    Redus spent his playing career at South Alabama, where he appeared in 32 games. Redus also spent time overseas, playing in professional leagues in China, Iraq, Mexico, and Venezuela.

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    His current contract at LSU is valued at $305,000, and it states that he would not owe the Tigers a buyout if he is moving on to a collegiate head coaching job.

    If everything goes through, Redus will be tasked with…

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  • Report: Rams, Trent McDuffie progressing toward contract extension

    Report: Rams, Trent McDuffie progressing toward contract extension

    Cornerback Trent McDuffie is set to officially join the Rams in a trade with the Chiefs this week and he could also have a new contract soon.

    NFL Media reports that McDuffie and the Rams have made “significant progress” toward a long-term extension that would make him the league’s highest-paid cornerback. There is hope that the deal will be done in the near future.

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    Sauce Gardner of the Colts is currently at the top of the cornerback pay chart with an average annual salary of $30.1 million per year.

    McDuffie is currently in the fifth year of his rookie deal and set to make $13.632 million for the 2026 season.

    The Rams agreed to trade the 29th overall pick in this year’s draft along with 2026 fifth- and sixth-round picks and a 2027 third-round pick to Kansas City for McDuffie. The trade can become official at the start of the new league year on Wednesday.

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  • NFL free agency: Ranking 2026 best available cornerbacks

    NFL free agency: Ranking 2026 best available cornerbacks

    With NFL free agency contract negotiation window opening March 9 at noon ET, CBS Sports is providing a position-by-position look at the free agent landscape. The free-agency cornerback pool can be a risky one to wade into. The drop-offs can often be stark and sudden as players approach their 30s, and there are plenty of examples of big-ticket items not working out. Still, there are several interesting options for cornerback-needy teams this offseason.

    Top five free agent cornerbacks

    2025 team: Buccaneers

    2025 stats: 46 tackles, 3 interceptions, 9 passes defensed, 5.3 yards per attempt allowed as primary defender, PFF’s No. 5 cornerback
    Age: 29

    Jamel Dean put forward a tremendous 2025, any way you look at it. He allowed just a 42% completion percentage, third-lowest of 79 cornerbacks who were the primary defender on at least 50 passes. He also allowed just one touchdown, and his 34.4 passer rating allowed was best in the NFL. Teams will have to determine if that’s the rule or the exception with Dean; this…

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  • Michigan, USC among seven Power Four teams poised to take a huge leap in 2026

    Michigan, USC among seven Power Four teams poised to take a huge leap in 2026

    College football’s offseason is built on optimism. Every program talks about progress, development and the pieces finally falling into place. But not every team is actually positioned to take a real step forward. That’s the idea behind this group of Power Four teams entering 2026. 

    Each program improved its win total from 2024 to 2025 — a sign that some level of progress is already underway — even if a few on this list are navigating new head coaches despite last season’s improvement. At the same time, none reached double-digit wins in 2025, leaving plenty of room for another jump this fall.

    Those distinctions narrow the field to 17 Power Four programs, omitting a handful of teams that might rebound in a big way. Programs like Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech, for example, will look far different in 2026 after disappointing campaigns. But both took steps backward last year rather than forward, making them harder to consider true “on the rise” candidates right now.

    Instead, the programs below are already trending upward and positioned to turn last year’s progress into something much bigger in 2026.

    Arizona

    Arizona made waves in 2025, more than doubling its win total and emerging as one of the Big 12’s biggest surprises. Under coach Brent Brennan, the Wildcats notched nine wins — an improvement from only four in 2024. 

    Star quarterback Noah Fifita returns as one of the more experienced passers in the conference, giving Arizona the chance to maintain its balance on both…

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