Category: NFL News

The Indianapolis Colts signed wide receiver Josh Downs to his rookie contract, the team announced Tuesday.

Downs, who was selected in the third round, is the first of the team’s Day 1 or Day 2 picks to sign his four-year rookie deal. It is worth roughly $5.59 million and includes a $1.1 million signing bonus.

Downs figures to compete immediately for a starting role in the wide receiver room, working mostly out of the slot. He’s a crafty route runner and quick separator from the slot while boasting some of the most reliable hands in the class.

Over the last two seasons at North Carolina, Downs was one of the most productive receivers in the nation. In 2021, he had a breakout as a true sophomore, which included 101 receptions for 1,335 yards and eight touchdowns.

He followed that up with another productive campaign in 2022, recording 94 receptions for 1,029 yards and 11 touchdowns.

With Downs under contract, the Colts have now signed eight of their 12 draft picks to rookie deals. They are still waiting on quarterback Anthony Richardson, second-round cornerback Julius Brents, fourth-round offensive tackle Blake Freeland and fourth-round defensive tackle Adetomiwa Adebawore.

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Story originally appeared on Colts Wire

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The USFL is back for its second season — four decades after its original incarnation from 1984 to 1986 — and there will be a few changes.

All the league’s regular season games were held in Birmingham last year, but three new venues have been added to the mix for 2023: Memphis, Canton and Detroit. Birmingham, home to the defending champion Stallions, will also be a host.

The 10-week regular season kicks off on April 15. The top two teams in each division will qualify for the playoffs, with semifinals on June 24-25. The USFL Championship Game will be played in Canton on July 1.

Here’s a look at the full schedule (check out all our USFL coverage here):

Week 1

Philadelphia Stars 27, Memphis Showboats 23

Birmingham Stallions 27, New Jersey Generals 10

Michigan Panthers 29, Houston Gamblers 13

New Orleans Breakers 22, Pittsburgh Maulers 15

Week 2 

New Orleans Breakers 38, Houston Gamblers 31

Birmingham Stallions 42, Memphis Showboats 2

New Jersey Generals 20, Pittsburgh Maulers 3

Michigan Panthers 24, Philadelphia Stars 10

Week 3

New Orleans Breakers 45, Birmingham Stallions 32

Houston Gamblers 30, Memphis Showboats 26

Pittsburgh Maulers 21, Philadelphia Stars 13

New Jersey Generals 28, Michigan Panthers 13

Week 4

Houston Gamblers 41, Philadelphia Stars 16

Memphis Showboats 29, Michigan Panthers 10

New Orleans Breakers 20, New Jersey Generals 17

Birmingham Stallions 24, Pittsburgh Maulers 20

Week 5

Pittsburgh Maulers 23, Michigan Panthers 7

Houston Gamblers 27, Birmingham Stallions 20

Philadelphia Stars 24, New Jersey Generals 21

Memphis Showboats 17, New Orleans Breakers 10

Week 6

Pittsburgh Maulers at Memphis Showboats (Memphis)

Saturday, May 20, 12:30 p.m….

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Shanahan declares 49ers QB Darnold is ‘unbelievable thrower’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea

SAN JOSE — There might be a lot of factors contributing to Sam Darnold moving onto his third team in his short NFL career, but 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said Darnold’s arm talent is not one of them.

At the suggestion Darnold has a unique ability to throw the football, Shanahan said he fully agrees.

“I don’t think that’s a big controversial statement, Sam is an unbelievable thrower,” Shanahan said while at the Dwight Clark Legacy event at the California Theater Wednesday night. “He was born to do that.”

Shanahan went on to add that now-Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is in the same category as Darnold in regard to throwing ability. But of course, that’s not all you need to be a successful quarterback in the league.

“There are only a few people on this planet who can throw at the level that you need to throw at to succeed in this league,” Shanahan said. “Sam is one of those guys who can throw like that. That’s why Jimmy was a second-round draft pick coming from Eastern Illinois, because he was such a gifted thrower. And then it’s how do you play after that.”

The head coach detailed that being a talented passer is one element that can help a quarterback succeed in the league along with athlete ability. But then, it’s how they are able to use those skills that translate into winning games in the NFL.

Darnold saw an incredible amount of success while under center at USC completing 549 of his 846 attempts and 57 touchdowns and 22 interceptions over his two-season stretch. As a result, the Southern California native was selected by the New York Jets as the No. 3 overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft.

“He hasn’t been in the best situations, so that’s why I’m glad to have him here and glad that he wanted to come here,” Shanahan said. “He could have gone to a lot of other situations and probably made a lot more money because Sam is at…

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The upcoming NFL season will feature the first-ever Black Friday game in the history of the league. The day-after-Thanksgiving game will be between AFC East rivals in the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, but it was a different team who asked to be featured in the historic game.

According to Mike North, the NFL’s vice president of broadcast planning, the Cincinnati Bengals volunteered to play on Black Friday every year and were hoping to make it an NFL tradition — the same way the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions always play at home on Thanksgiving. 

“The Cincinnati Bengals raised their hand, they put their hand up and said we’re interested in Black Friday not just in 2023, but how about as a tradition. We play in Dallas and Detroit on Thanksgiving every year, how about playing in Cincinnati on Black Friday every year?” North said (via Mad Dog Sports Radio).

The NFL did consider a game between the Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers, which would have been an AFC North showdown, but ended up going in a different direction based on the location of the teams. Since New York is the No. 1 retail market in the country, Amazon noted it would make sense to have a game involving one of the New York teams on a day that is all about shopping.

This offseason, the Jets signed future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers, elevating them to a team everyone will be intrigued by. As a result of adding Rodgers, the number of prime-time games New York was scheduled for increased to five in 2023, including a Week 1 “Monday Night Football” home game. The league is well aware that Rodgers’ presence will enhance viewership of Jets games, so putting them on a holiday made sense.

North said that with Rodgers becoming the quarterback of the Jets, this felt like the right opportunity to showcase the team. It was also a way to keep the divisional games from the day before going. Thanksgiving will feature three…

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The Denver Broncos are releasing veteran pass rusher Jake Martin, according to the NFL’s transaction wire.

Martin (6-2, 242 pounds) was scheduled to earn $4,823,534 this season after being acquired in a trade with the New York Jets last season.

The Broncos will eat $1 million worth of “dead money” that was guaranteed in Martin’s contract while creating a net savings of $3,823,529 in 2023 salary cap space, according to OverTheCap.com.

After trading Bradley Chubb to the Miami Dolphins, Denver sent a 2024 fourth-round draft pick to the Jets in exchange for Martin and a 2024 fifth-round draft pick. He appeared in five games last season, totaling one sack.

Before going from New York to Denver, Martin previously spent time with the Houston Texans and Seattle Seahawks. He will now become a 27-year-old free agent.

The Broncos have to make five roster cuts this week to make room for their undrafted free agent signings. Martin was the first cut and he will likely be the most notable cut.

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Story originally appeared on Broncos Wire

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I’ve already picked instant impact rookies. Let’s go further than that. How about instant-impact entire draft classes? Sounds fun. 

Getting valuable contributions from multiple rookies can transform a team in a given year, as those players are as cheap as they come in the NFL. Let’s rank the top 10 instant impact classes from the 2023 draft. 

Impactful rookies: WR Quentin Johnston, LB Daiyan Henley, EDGE Tuli Tuipulotu, WR Derius Davis

Johnston is the YAC weapon the Chargers needed offensively. And to not ask him to be the de facto No. 1 out of the gate will work wonders for his development and allow him to work at optimal efficiency as a rookie. Henley was one of the older prospects at the linebacker spot in the 2023 class, and he plays with knowledge that only comes with more time on the field. Super intelligent diagnosing play designs, and he’s a blur in coverage. 

Tuipulotu is a flexible inside-out rusher with karate-master hand work and adequate power. Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack could use another capable rusher to take some attention away from them, or at least the Chargers defense would benefit from someone taking advantage of all the offensive-line attention Bosa and Mack get every week. Davis’ ridiculous feet and return ability make him feel like a rookie who’ll hit some splash plays in Year 1 in the NFL. 

Impactful rookies: WR Marvin Mims, EDGE/LB Drew Sanders, CB Riley Moss, S JL Skinner

Tiny class, don’t care. Those first four picks were dy-na-mite and can all slot into needed roles on the Broncos in 2023. Mims will take the lid off most defenses with his speed, and he’s a roadrunner after the catch. Don’t sleep on the Sanders, Nik Bonitto, Baron Browning hybrid outside rushing tandem. All three have JUICE and a diverse collection of pass-rush moves. 

Moss was one of the most pro-ready cornerbacks in the class because of his twitch, developed mirroring skill…

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The 2023 NFL draft has come and gone, which led to a new wave of free agent signings around the league as teams finish crossing off items on their to-do list. And there are still a number of unsigned New Orleans Saints free agents looking for work. Some of them may get tryout opportunities at rookie minicamps around the league, but others will have to wait until summer practice sessions ramp up. It’s unfortunate, but a few players likely won’t hear from teams at all.

It’s been a busy offseason for the Saints free agents. They’ve signed extensions with many of their own players, including tight end Juwan Johnson, punter Blake Gillikin, defensive linemen Tanoh Kpassagnon and Malcolm Roach, as well as linebackers Ty Summers and Andrew Dowell, plus safety J.T. Gray and cornerback Isaac Yiadom.

But they’ve taken a lot of losses, too: defensive linemen David Onyemata (Atlanta Falcons), Marcus Davenport (Minnesota Vikings), Shy Tuttle (Carolina Panthers), and Kentavius Street (Philadelphia Eagles); linebacker Kaden Elliss (Falcons), safety Justin Evans (Eagles), offensive tackle Ethan Greenidge (Falcons), and wide receivers Marquez Callaway (Denver Broncos) and Deonte Harty (Buffalo Bills) are also playing elsewhere. So is quarterback Andy Dalton (Panthers).

So who else still has their status up in the air? Let’s recap the list of remaining Saints free agents after the draft:

WR Jarvis Landry

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

RB Mark Ingram II

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

RB Dwayne Washington

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

RB David Johnson

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

DT Albert Huggins

AP Photo/Tyler Kaufman

LB Chase Hansen

AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith

S Daniel Sorensen

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

DB P.J. Williams

James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

CB Chris Harris Jr.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Story originally appeared on Saints Wire

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During his first week in New York, Aaron Rodgers attended more offseason workouts with the Jets than he did during his entire 2022 offseason with the Packers. 

The four-time MVP has had perfect attendance at practice during his first full week with the Jets, but don’t look for that to continue. During an interview with Pat McAfee this week, Rodgers admitted that he’ll definitely be skipping out on a few practices over the next month, but he is planning to attend quite a few. 

“I’ll definitely be here for probably more than half of the remaining days,” Rodgers said. 

The former Packers quarterback showed up to offseason workouts this week because he wanted to get to know his new teammates after spending the first 18 years of his career in Green Bay. 

“I really wanted to be here the first week to get to know the guys and to go through the workouts and be around,” Rodgers said. “I have some things planned, I got to miss a few days, but it’s been good to be out here with all the guys. I think guys feel the energy that I’ve been bringing and that I kind of bring on a daily basis and I think there’s a lot of excitement around here.”

All practices and workouts during the offseason are voluntary, except for mandatory minicamp, which the Jets will be holding from June 13-15. Until then, Rodgers doesn’t technically have to show up for anything, as Packers fans know well. During his final season in Green Bay, Rodgers skipped the voluntary portion of the offseason before showing up to mandatory minicamp. 

There are three phases to the offseason for each NFL team. The Jets started Phase II on Monday with Rodgers. During that phase, “On-field workouts may include individual or group instruction and drills, as well as ‘perfect play drills,’ and drills and plays with offensive players lining up across from offensive players and defensive players lining up across from defensive players, conducted…

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