Category: NFL News

Carson Steele #42 and the Kansas City Chiefs play their final preseason game tonight against the Chicago Bears. (David Eulitt/Getty Images)

It’s almost time for the NFL season to kick off, but first, we have to finish up the 2024 NFL preseason. This Thursday, the preseason continues with the final preseason match up for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Chicago Bears, kicking off at 8:20 p.m. ET on NFL Network. Bears QB Caleb Williams will be sitting out this game, but it will be fans last preview of the Chiefs before they embark on their attempt to achieve a three-peat this season. Are you ready to watch? Here’s everything you need to know about tonight’s NFL preseason game: Bears at Chiefs. Plus the dates and times for the rest of the preseason games, and how to watch the whole NFL preseason.

How to watch the Chicago Bears vs. Kansas City Chiefs game:

Date: Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024

Time: 8:20 p.m. ET/5:20 p.m. PT

Game: Chicago Bears at Kansas City Chiefs

TV channel: NFL Network

Streaming: NFL+, Fubo, DirecTV and more

What channel is the Bears vs. Chiefs game on?

The Chiefs host the Bears this Thursday, Aug. 22, airing on NFL Network and streaming on NFL+. Don’t have cable? Here’s what we recommend to help you watch live:

How to watch the Chicago Bears vs. Kansas City Chiefs game:

(Fubo)

Fubo TV gives you access to ESPN, NFL Network, Fox, ABC, CBS and 100+ more live channels. At $80/month, the live TV streaming service is definitely a big investment for football fans. But it offers nearly every channel you’ll need to watch the NFL preseason and regular season, and still leaves you with major savings compared to a traditional cable package. Fubo subscribers also get 1000 hours of cloud DVR storage. The platform also offers a free trial period, so you can catch some preseason games risk-free.

Try free at Fubo

(Photo: NFL)

A basic $6.99 per month (or $40 annually) NFL+ subscription will get you live out-of-market preseason games across supported devices, live local and primetime…

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The Miami Dolphins are already dealing with multiple injuries, and now their star wide receiver has apparently joined that list. Wideout Tyreek Hill was held out of team drills during Wednesday’s joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers due to a thumb injury. 

Hill — initially seen with a removable brace on his right hand during Tuesday’s practice — did participate in some portions of Wednesday’s practice, according to head coach Mike McDaniel, who added that the team is trying to make sure that Hill does not turn a minor injury into a serious one. 

Hill could have practiced fully on Wednesday in Tampa but is being held out of team drills for precautionary reasons to not “put him at risk for further injury,” McDaniel said ahead of the joint practice with the Bucs, via the Miami Herald.

“So he’s been very active but we’re trying to make sure we keep him out of harm’s way,” McDaniel said, via ESPN.

Despite not practicing with the team Wednesday, Hill was spotted in full pads catching the ball without wearing his cast.

Hill led the league in receiving yards last…

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Eliot Wolf tries to alter Patriots’ offensive line reality originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The New England Patriots’ offensive line remains an area of concern with the team’s regular-season opener less than three weeks away.

The unit struggled throughout training camp, and that factored into head coach Jerod Mayo’s decision to limit rookie quarterback Drake Maye to just one series in the preseason opener vs. the Carolina Panthers. Mayo acknowledged the importance of protecting the third overall draft pick.

On Sunday, Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard asked Pats vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf directly about the offensive line. Bedard asked whether having to limit Maye because of the state of the o-line was an indictment of his offseason moves, resulting in the following exchange:

Bedard: “You went in saying (Chukwuma) Okorafor was going to be your left tackle, (Mike) Onwenu was the best tackle in free agency, (Caedan) Wallace could play left tackle. Not a lot of that stuff has happened.”

Wolf: “Which one of those hasn’t happened?” “

Bedard: “I mean, we didn’t see Mike Onwenu at right tackle until yesterday.”

Wolf: “So, yeah, Okorafor’s taken reps on both sides, Onwenu took some reps at tackle yesterday. Again, I think we’re just trying to find the right combination.”

Those comments from Wolf didn’t sit well with our Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry. The duo discussed them, as well as their thoughts on the offensive line heading into the season, on the latest episode of the Patriots Talk Podcast.

🔊 Patriots Talk: Patriots GM Eliot Wolf tries to alter offensive line reality | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube

“I found that to be a knee-buckling disappointing answer from Eliot Wolf,” Curran said. “I mean, either he’s naive, or he thinks we’re naive, or he’s being disingenuous, or he thinks we’re stupid or he’s stupid. So I’m gonna go with disingenuous.

“But to me, to counter Greg’s contention that Okorafor’s playing left tackle and Mike…

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EAGAN, Minn. — The 2024 Minnesota Vikings season may be temporarily marred by the recent injury to first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy. The one saving grace, besides the offense’s splashy playmakers, a seemingly rejuvenated Sam Darnold and happy-go-lucky optimism of Kevin O’Connell’s leadership? 

The Brian Flores defense. There is Flores’ reputation, of course, as a scheming whiz brought up under Bill Belichick, forever bent on confusing quarterbacks due to unpredictable and pressure-heavy alignments. There are the hopeful prospects (Dallas Turner) and proven veterans (Stephon Gilmore) at premium positions. And then there is the secret weapon forged alongside the Sioux River at the heart of America.

Andrew Van Ginkel.

Signed to a two-year contract this spring, the 29-year-old began his career with the Miami Dolphins. And he’s listed at outside linebacker. But his half-decade of NFL experience in Florida masks the fact he was practically born and bred for the Midwest. His positional listing masks the fact he’s built to do it all, an admitted chess piece for a coordinator who prides himself on disguising his on-field pawns. And his first summer in purple has not masked but rather uncovered a homegrown selflessness.

Born and raised in Rock Valley, Iowa (population 4,000), Van Ginkel knows he was targeted by the Vikings for his versatility, which began in high school as he juggled quarterback, wide receiver, linebacker and safety roles, and continued as a rotational pass rusher for the Dolphins.

“I try to be a Swiss Army knife, and that’s ultimately why I’m here,” he told CBS Sports after Monday’s training camp practice. “Flo has a lot of respect for what I can do on the football field, to play multiple positions. Being able to know the whole defense allows me to play faster and play at different positions.”

One of several experienced free agents to join Flores’ unit, along with fellow…

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Lenoir to ‘shoot for the stars,’ has lofty goals for 2024 season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Deommodore Lenoir, entering his fourth year in the league, aims to have a massive 2024 NFL season for the 49ers.

The 24-year-old cornerback has been a rising star in San Francisco’s secondary over the past two seasons — after making only two starts as a rookie in 2021 — and is ready to make the leap.

“I’m setting the bar so high,” Lenoir recently told former 49ers corner Richard Sherman of his lofty goals on “The Richard Sherman Podcast.” “I want to shoot for the stars. When I set myself to a standard, I try to do more than the standard. I’m trying to be higher; Pro Bowl, All-Pro, five interceptions, a good amount of tackles — you know, they say [defensive backs] aren’t supposed to have a lot of tackles — that means you’re getting the ball caught on you.”

Lenoir has been on an upward trajectory for a while now. He started in all 17 games for San Francisco in 2023 and finished with 10 passes defensed and three interceptions.

The Oregon product was targeted 98 times and allowed 69 total receptions while recording 67 solo tackles (h/t Pro Football Focus), proving to be valuable in both the pass- and run games.

Versatility has been a desired tool within the 49ers organization throughout the John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan era. And, the already well-rounded Lenoir wants to be even more versatile this upcoming season.

“[I want to] just strap the whole season,” Lenoir added. “[Tackles for loss], sacks. I’ve been doing good on my pass-rush moves and getting to the quarterback. I feel like I can showcase some of that, too.”

Lenoir has been key in the slot for San Francisco over the past two campaigns.

And that is with former 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks making questionable decisions and putting certain players — including Lenoir — in unfavorable, counterintuitive situations.

Lenoir, however, appears ready and optimistic ahead of…

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Another week, another round of NFL preseason action. And you can tell things are heating up around the league, whether in battles for roster spots and starting jobs or in anticipation of the real games around the corner. Which players and teams stood out during the Week 2 slate of exhibition matchups?

Here are some of the top highlights:

Packers snap shutout with safety on Zach Wilson

Through nearly three quarters, the Green Bay Packers were without a single point in their preseason matchup against the Denver Broncos. With less than a minute to go until the fourth quarter, defensive end Zach Morton was able to take down Zach Wilson in the end zone for a safety and put Green Bay on the board. 

Can’t take down Josh Dobbs 

The Saints had no answer for Josh Dobbs during San Francisco’s closing drive of the first half. Working a two-minute drill, Dobbs orchestrated a touchdown drive to give the Niners the lead at the break. Arguably the top play of that drive came on a first-and-10 play from midfield where Dobbs slipped out of a number of tackles to move the chains for a new set of downs. 

The veteran would later cap the drive off with a 1-yard touchdown run. 

Stidham lowers the shoulder

The Denver Broncos QB battles is at a fever pitch as a couple of signal-callers have put together some highlight plays on Sunday night. Jarrett Stidham, who came in after rookie Bo Nix got the start, flashed his strength on a 9-yard touchdown run in the closing seconds of the first half. Stidham took a third-and-5 scramble up the right sideline and trucked a Packers defender as he barreled into the end zone. 

Bo Nix dialed in as he fights for QB1

Bo Nix is living up to his first-round hype this summer as his stock continued to climb in Denver’s Week 2 preseason exhibition against Green Bay. As he fights to earn the Week 1 job under center, Nix started out the game completing 8 of 9 passes for 80 yards,…

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Chris Smith, director of equipment operations for the Chargers, inspects helmets at the team’s practice facility. (Sam Farmer / Los Angeles Times)

Chris Smith didn’t just saunter into his position as director of equipment operations for the Chargers. His career started at the ground floor.

As in the grass under his feet.

“We had a blank grass field at UC San Diego, and Sid said, ‘Oh, if you didn’t know, you’re painting the fields out there for training camp,’” said Smith, 58, referring to legendary equipment manager Sid Brooks, who was with the Chargers from 1973 to 2000 before a five-year stint at USC.

“I had never painted a football field in my life. So he handed me a schematic of a football field, and I had a group of four high school kids that were there to help me, and I had to figure it out. … And we did it.”

Read more: Chargers’ injured quarterback Justin Herbert finally gives protective device the boot

That was a lifetime ago for Smith, known around the Chargers facility as “Smitty.” He and assistant equipment manager Kevin Duddy have been with the franchise more than 30 years, and now oversee an entire wing of “The Bolt” — the team’s new training facility in El Segundo — that’s dedicated to equipment storage.

The wing is next to the locker room, and players drift in and out, clearly at home and at ease with the staff.

“These guys are like my uncles away from home,” safety Derwin James said. “I won’t even call them like they work for us. It’s like family, man. These guys are first class with everything.”

One of the theories as to why players and equipment staff tend to have close relationships is that every other department is asking something of the players — coaches, front office, community relations — but in the equipment room, it’s the players doing the asking.

The Chargers recently gave the Los Angeles Times a peek at life on the other side of the equipment room doors.

Chris Smith, director of equipment…

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The New York Giants hope they have found a star in wide receiver Malik Nabers, who they selected with the No. 6 overall pick out of LSU this offseason. 

After dealing with an ankle injury, Nabers suited up for the Week 2 preseason game against Houston this Saturday with Daniel Jones under center — our first chance to see what Giants fans hope is a budding dynamic duo. 

It didn’t take long for the rookie to showcase his skills, as he hauled in his first catch with the Giants — a leaping 14-yard grab.

The two connected again late in the first half, this time for a bigger gain down the sideline:

In 2023, the unanimous All-American caught 89 passes for 1,569 yards and 14 touchdowns. LSU has a claim to “WRU,” and Nabers is one of the best to ever come through Baton Rouge, as he recorded the most receptions (189) and receiving yards (3,003) in program history.  

This week at training camp, Nabers spoke with CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones. The wideout hopes to put an ankle injury behind him, and said he feels great running around and being back with the team. 

The key to unlocking Nabers will have to be quarterback Daniel Jones. After a career year in which he went 9-6-1 in 2022, the Giants gave the Duke product a four-year, $160 million extension. In 2023, Jones regressed behind a bad offensive line, going 1-5 as the starter while suffering two serious injuries — including the torn ACL which prematurely ended his season.

Jones has been working hard in recovery, but also in creating chemistry with Nabers. The rookie pass-catcher says he can see Jones is trusting him more and more on the practice field.

“We’ve been getting on page with a lot of different routes, and as we keep on going in practice, you know, he’s trusting me more and more,” Nabers said. 

Nabers says that Jones has watched film with him after practice, and talked him through some routes. Jones…

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