NFL News Updates

Author: nfltalk

  • My prediction on how Mark Stoops situation ends for Kentucky and who’s to blame

    My prediction on how Mark Stoops situation ends for Kentucky and who’s to blame

    With Kentucky football continuing to falter under Mark Stoops, many are wondering if this will be the last season we see him screaming at the refs on the Kroger Field sidelines.

    As things currently stand, if the season were to end today, I believe that Stoops would return for the 2026 season, largely due to athletics director Mitch Barnhart. Kentucky has shown ‘just’ enough promise to think things may get better with a new offensive coordinator, though we have seen that move play out several times. The bigger influence is that Kroger Field has continued to draw big crowds, even though they have lost nine straight home SEC games.

    Barnhart, who is typically very conservative when it comes to making coaching changes, will look for any and every excuse to bring Stoops back next year. A big reason for that, especially in the case of Stoops, is that Barnhart wants to make sure UK saves every penny imaginable for things like new projects and stadium renovations, not firing coaches.

    I do believe it’s possible UK can get Stoops’ buyout down lower than the $38 million it’s currently at. However, even if the school were to get it somewhere between, say, $20-30 million, it would be a bigger black eye for Barnhart to pay anything of that sort than to endure a 2-10 season next year after giving Stoops one last chance. He’d much rather take one more chance on Stoops and have it go awry than pay the buyout now and have that kind of stain on his resume.

    Mitch very much cares about his legacy, which is why he locked up both Cal and Stoops, two guys he felt would lead UK until they retire. Both men stumbled, and luckily, Cal left for Arkansas, saving UK a potential buyout of around $33 million.

    Now, Mitch is clinging to what he sees as “his guy.” It’s easy to forget that Stoops was nearly fired in 2016 after a disastrous…

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  • Carson Wentz will start for Vikings on Thursday

    Carson Wentz will start for Vikings on Thursday

    J.J. McCarthy still is not ready.

    Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell announced in his Tuesday press conference that Carson Wentz will make another start at quarterback this week as the team plays the Chargers in Los Angeles.

    McCarthy went through a workout on Tuesday morning to gauge the health of the sprained ankle that has kept him sidelined for Minnesota’s last four games.

    “J.J., the medical staff, myself — we’re all kind of encouraged about where he’s at and the progress he’s making. But he’s just not there,” O’Connell said. “And if this were a Sunday game, maybe it would be a little bit different story, and we could push it throughout the week and see where he’s at toward the end of the week.”

    But playing on Thursday, it’s already effectively about 48 hours before the game. And the Vikings have to travel from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in the next 24 hours.

    “So, we wanted to have a plan at the quarterback position, and it’ll be very similar to last week: Carson will start, Max [Brosmer] will be the backup, and J.J. will be available in the case of emergency as the third,” O’Connell said. “And, like I said, encouraged about where he’s at and very much looking forward to continuing his progression and hopefully having a chance to go next week.”

    The Vikings will have a longer time to prepare before traveling to Detroit to play the division rival Lions in Week 9.

    In his four starts, Wentz has completed 67 percent of his passes for 1,072 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions. McCarthy completed 58.5 percent of his throws for 301 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions in the season’s first two weeks.

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  • Jimbo Fisher weighs in on Mike Norvell, FSU as ex-coach eyes return to sidelines

    Jimbo Fisher weighs in on Mike Norvell, FSU as ex-coach eyes return to sidelines

    BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Jimbo Fisher, who won a national championship at Florida State in 2013, still believes Mike Norvell is a good coach amidst a four-game losing streak that has cranked up the hot seat talk in Tallahassee.

    Florida State athletic director Michael Alford issued a vote of confidence in Norvell on Monday morning, saying “we are fully committed to helping Coach Norvell and the 2025 Seminoles strongly rebound in the coming weeks.” Alford said a “comprehensive assessment” of the program would be conducted at the conclusion of the season. 

    That came off as an attempt to tamp down the considerable smoke Sunday that Norvell’s job security could be in question after a 20-13 loss to Stanford as influential boosters expressed displeasure with the program’s current trajectory. CBS Sports previously reported Norvell even addressed during a Sunday staff meeting that conversations about his future were happening. 

    Why did Florida State decide against firing Mike Norvell? Examining pros, cons as ‘Noles back struggling coach

    Chip Patterson

    Fisher, who was speaking at Birmingham’s Monday Morning Quarterback Club, was asked to assess what is wrong with the Florida State program that he led from 2010-17. 

    “It’s easy to point fingers when you’re outside or try to assess things but until you’re inside you never really know because there are so many…

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  • Doug Martin dies in police custody: Ex-Bucs RB, suffering mental health issues, struggled while being detained

    Doug Martin dies in police custody: Ex-Bucs RB, suffering mental health issues, struggled while being detained

    Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers All-Pro running back and Boise State star Doug Martin died while in police custody following a struggle with officers who were investigating a break-in at a home in Oakland, California, on Sunday according to the Oakland Police Department. Martin, 36, became unresponsive after his arrest and was transported to the hospital after receiving medical aid on the scene. 

    A cause of death has not been released, though the Alameda County Coroner’s Office will do an autopsy to determine what happened.

    A first-round pick by Tampa Bay in the 2012 NFL Draft, Martin played seven seasons in the pros prior to his career ending after a brief stint with the Oakland Raiders.

    Oakland police said Monday that Martin “was involved in a break-in at a residence in Oakland,” and as officers were attempting to detain him, a “brief struggle occurred” with Martin becoming unresponsive after being taken into custody.

    “Paramedics responded to the scene, provided medical aid, and transported Martin to a local hospital, where he later died,” police said. “Since Saturday, OPD has been in contact with Martin’s family. The family has requested privacy as they grieve this tragic loss. No additional details are being released at this time, as this remains an ongoing investigation.”

    The officers involved in the incident have been placed on paid administrative leave.

    Athletes First and agency CEO Brian Murphy, who represented Martin, released an additional statement on behalf of his family. Within the statement, it was revealed that Martin battled menal health challenges “that profoundly impacted his personal and professional life.”

    “Ultimately, mental illness proved to be the one opponent from which Doug could not run,” the statement continued. “Following recent media reports about Doug’s untimely passing, the family wishes to clarify the circumstances. Doug’s parents were actively seeking medical assistance for him and…

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  • Mike Elko giving Texas A&M what it’s long needed: An adult in the room

    Mike Elko giving Texas A&M what it’s long needed: An adult in the room

    COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Remember the Swagcopter?

    In a different era of Texas A&M football, it was merely a way for Kevin Sumlin and his staff to hop from one high school game to another but became a symbol of the program’s largesse and ultimately its superficiality as the recruits it helped sign didn’t translate to enough wins.

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    Remember the faux national championship trophy with a space left blank to fill in the year Jimbo Fisher and his groundbreaking $75 million contract were supposed to bring one back here?

    It became, yet again, the emblem of a school trying to speak something into existence that nobody around here realized had to be earned rather than bought.

    For its first dozen years in the Southeastern Conference, Texas A&M and its supporters would stand on their proverbial mountain of cash and shout to the masses how they had everything needed to win championships.

    Now, as undefeated and third-ranked Texas A&M pushes for its first appearance in the College Football Playoff, it seems the Aggies finally have the one thing money can’t buy in this sport. After all the choreographed attempts to turn this program into an image of something it could never be, it took an accident to fill the void with the substance it needed most.

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    “People always want to take the elevator to success,” said Mike Elko, the Jersey-born, Ivy League-educated 48-year-old head coach that Texas A&M never knew it needed. “That’s not really how it works for anybody. You want your program to be this but it’s actually that and there’s a slow and steady climb that gets you where you want to go. It’s not, ‘We’re going to hire this coach and he’s a magician and we got him in here and tomorrow we’re a national championship program.’ It doesn’t work that way anywhere.”

    Texas A&M head coach Mike…

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  • Why Colts are real contenders as Denver defy odds

    Why Colts are real contenders as Denver defy odds

    Daniel Jones and Bo Nix are two of the top performers for two leading teams in the NFL this season [Getty Images]

    The Indianapolis Colts firmly established themselves as genuine contenders on another pulsating NFL Sunday, while the Denver Broncos staged the mother of all comebacks.

    The Colts lead the league but challengers are coming from all angles, with the New England Patriots continuing their resurgence and the Kansas City Chiefs firmly back in business.

    Jalen Hurts finally got the Philadelphia Eagles offence moving, the Green Bay Packers showed their battling qualities and the Dallas Cowboys are still the league's gunslingers.

    NFL week seven – as it happenedRams run riot at Wembley

    Why the Colts are genuine contenders

    There's no denying the Colts are the real deal now as they top the NFL at 6-1 after dismantling the Chargers 38-24 in LA, with Daniel Jones banishing doubts about his flying start to the season being a flash in the pan.

    Running back Jonathan Taylor is a touchdown machine – scoring his third hat-trick of the season to take his total to 11 in seven games.

    That star power has been key in Indianapolis being top scorers in the NFL with more than 33 points a game – and their key strength is just how clinical they are in possession.

    They entered the game with the best points per drive stats in the league and against the Chargers scored five touchdowns and a field goal with their nine possessions.

    When they don't have the ball they're the third-best at forcing turnovers (11) and when they have it they rarely give it away and almost always score.

    The defence gives away plenty of yards but at 20 points a game is seventh best, and it all combines for a growing juggernaut that really does look tough to stop.

    Nix leads epic Denver comeback

    Nix is the first quarterback ever with two passing and two rushing touchdowns in a fourth quarter [Getty Images]

    No doubting the game of the week, with Bo Nix going bananas and leading the Denver Broncos to a mind-boggling 33-32 win…

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  • Mike Norvell under siege at Florida State as boosters mull record buyout

    Mike Norvell under siege at Florida State as boosters mull record buyout

    What’s happening at Florida State is a perfect illustration of how fluid the idea of job security is in college football’s new era. 

    The Seminoles were an early-season darling after a convincing Week 1 win over Alabama and raced off to a 3-0 start — exactly what coach Mike Norvell needed coming off a 2-10 2024 campaign. 

    Then came an overtime loss to Virginia. Then Miami. Then Pittsburgh. At that point, the heat had turned up to about medium on Norvell — no immediate firing, but perhaps in danger after this season if all hell broke loose, and if nothing else the lead face of all 2026 hot seat content. 

    But now things are at a scalding temperature. In the early hours of Sunday morning, on the East Coast at least, Florida State lost 20-13 to lowly Stanford, a game the Seminoles were favored to win by 17.5 points. 

    The fourth straight loss (the fourth time Norvell’s had a four-game losing streak in Tallahassee) was, in the words of one industry source, when Norvell’s seat went from warm to “legit fire hot.”

    It’s a long flight from Palo Alto to Tallahassee. Many boosters, per sources, spent those trips back commiserating and planning. Conversations in Tallahassee about Norvell’s status have continued throughout the day; Norvell even acknowledged during a Sunday staff meeting that conversations about his future were happening, sources tell CBS Sports. His buyout of around $55 million, per Noles247, no longer seems like a major roadblock to making a change many around the program view as necessary. 

    🏈 💰Most Expensive Buyouts in College Football History

    1

    Jimbo Fisher

    Texas A&M

    $76.8 million

    2

    James Franklin

    Penn State

    $49 million

    3

    Gus Malzahn

    Auburn

    $21.4 million

    4

    Charlie…

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  • Sunday Night Football: Expert picks, analysis on Falcons vs. 49ers

    Sunday Night Football: Expert picks, analysis on Falcons vs. 49ers

    The Atlanta Falcons look to win their third game in a row when they take on the injury-hampered San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football. San Francisco lost linebacker Fred Warner (ankle), who had to undergo season-ending surgery, and has had a growing list of injured players that have been going in and out of its starting lineup. The Falcons (3-2), who are second in the NFC South, are 1-1 on the road. The 49ers (4-2), who are tied with Seattle in the NFC West, are 1-1 on their home field. San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy (toe) remains out but George Kittle (hamstring) is set to return after being injured in Week 1.

    Kickoff from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., is set for 8:20 p.m. ET. The 49ers lead the all-time series 48-33-1, but the Falcons have won three of the last four meetings. San Francisco is a 1.5-point favorite in the latest Falcons vs. 49ers odds, while the over/under for total points scored is 46.5. San Fran is at -116 on the money line (risk $116 to win $100). Before you make any 49ers vs. Falcons bets or predictions, make sure you check out what SportsLine NFL expert Micah Roberts has to say, given his mastery of picks in games involving the 49ers. 

    New users can also target the DraftKings promo code, which offers $300 in bonus bets instantly if your bet wins + 3 months of NBA League Pass:

    Micah Roberts has worked in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry for 20-plus years, including a 13-year run as Station Casinos’ book director. Armed with an elaborate network of sources, Roberts has unmatched info in multiple sports. Most importantly, Roberts has a read on the pulse of the 49ers. He is 18-4 (+1360) on his last 22 against-the-spread picks in games involving San Francisco. Anyone who has followed him could be way up.

    Now, Roberts has zoned in on Falcons vs. 49ers. You can head to SportsLine now to see his picks. Here are several NFL odds and NFL betting lines for 49ers vs….

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