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  • Former All-Pro running back, who had a 20 TD season in 2016, retires after eight NFL seasons

    Former All-Pro running back, who had a 20 TD season in 2016, retires after eight NFL seasons

    Nearly a decade ago, David Johnson played an integral role in the Arizona Cardinals’ surprising run to the 2015 NFC Championship game. Now, eight seasons, an All-Pro and Pro Bowl nod, 57 touchdowns and nearly 7,000 total yards later, the veteran running back is calling it a career. 

    Johnson, 32, announced his retirement Sunday via Instagram, ending a career that started fast before it was beset by injuries. 

    “There’s been highs and lows, but I’ve felt very fortunate and honored by the people who’ve supported me along this journey,” Johnson wrote in his retirement post. “The relationships and brotherhoods I’ve formed with so many of my dawgs will never be forgotten. … When it’s all said and done, I really hope I impacted at least one person on and off the field in a positive way.”

    As he alluded to in his retirement post, Johnson’s rise to NFL stardom is remarkable given that he received little fanfare coming out of high school. He made the most of his time at Northern Iowa, though, amassing over 6,400 all-purpose yards and 63 touchdowns during his four seasons with the…

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  • Looking at game changers Texas has added in Steve Sarkisian era

    Looking at game changers Texas has added in Steve Sarkisian era

    Having a roster of blue chip players doesn’t win championships. Having around eight game-altering players does. It’s why Texas is now winning at a level it hasn’t in over a decade.

    The Texas football program has long been known for recruiting good players. For years, outsiders remarked on the Longhorns’ failure to consistently win at a high level over the head coaching tenures of Charlie Strong and Tom Herman. Those teams didn’t have enough players who could take control of games. Sarkisian’s teams have that.

    Game changers have changed the course of the program. Sarkisian’s first of many such players was his only 2021 recruit, Xavier Worthy. As a freshman, Worthy put up 62 receptions, 981 yards and 12 touchdowns. Alone, Worthy wasn’t enough to alter game results, but he did make games interesting.

    The next offseason, Texas added two five-star offensive linemen. One of them was left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. who went on to a freshman All-American season in 2022. He’s on track to be selected in the first round of a future NFL draft like Xavier Worthy was this offseason.

    By the 2022 season, the Longhorns had cultivated or brought in more game changers, but not enough to win a conference title. Linebacker Jaylan Ford and tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders became players of that caliber, but you need more than four players taking over games.

    In the 2023 offseason, Texas added a couple more stars in wide receiver Adonai Mitchell and linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. Mitchell went for 11 touchdown receptions while Hill added 67 total tackles and five sacks in limited playing time. Edge rusher Ethan Burke added 5.5 sacks, while interior defensive linemen Byron Murphy and T’Vondre Sweat became All-Americans and early round draft picks. Game changers.

    This offseason has seen Texas add five Top 50 portal players in wide…

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  • In Roob’s Observations: Figuring out the Eagles’ cornerback room

    In Roob’s Observations: Figuring out the Eagles’ cornerback room

    In Roob’s Observations: Figuring out the Eagles’ cornerback room originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

    Figuring out how the Eagles’ huge stash of cornerbacks fits together, a look back at Sean Desai getting fired and five things to like and not like about the Eagles’ 2024 schedule.

    That’s just a taste of what lies in store for those who dare reading all 10 of this week’s Roob’s 10 Random Eagles Offseason Observations.

    1. With Shon Stephens in the mix, the Eagles now have 14 cornerbacks on the roster, which is nuts but shows just how serious they are about fixing their broken secondary. On my projected 53-man roster I kept seven – Darius Slay, Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Isaiah Rodgers, Avonte Maddox, Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks. I could see three corners on the practice squad – Stephens, Zech McPhearson, Josh Jobe, Tyler Hall and Mario Goodrich are good candidates. It’s tough to cut Jobe because he’s one of the Eagles’ better special teamers, and I expect him to be around. And I’m keeping Mekhi Garner but moving him from corner to safety, where he’ll have a better chance to stick. I like the idea of getting DeJean some work in the slot from the jump to get him on the field, and if Ricks or McPhearson show they can handle backup slot I could see Maddox being expendable, even if he’s able to stay healthy. No matter how I draw it up I don’t see how James Bradberry is on the roster. Keeping him would mean losing a promising young corner and I just don’t see Howie Roseman doing that, no matter what the cap hit is. My guess is the Eagles go into training camp with Bradberry on the roster and then trade him to a team desperate for veteran help. No reason to cut him now. However you draw it up, the Eagles will have more talent at the position than last year. Way more. It’s going to be fascinating to see how it all shakes out.

    2. The Eagles had 11 defensive players 28 or older play at least 100 snaps last year, and eight of those 11…

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  • Auburn RB Brian Battie injured during fatal shooting in Florida; brother, Tommie, pronounced dead at scene

    Auburn RB Brian Battie injured during fatal shooting in Florida; brother, Tommie, pronounced dead at scene

    Getty Images

    Auburn running back Brian Battie was injured during a fatal shooting Saturday morning in his hometown of Sarasota, Florida, 247Sports confirms. Battie’s brother, 24-year-old Tommie Battie, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

    The incident, which took place around 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning, sent four others to the hospital, including the Tigers running back. 

    “We are aware of the situation and are continuing to gather information,” an Auburn spokesperson told multiple outlets. 

    Battie served as Auburn’s primary kick returner and provided depth at running back during the 2023 season. He finished fifth in the SEC in kick return average with 23 yards per touch and averaged just under 50 yards per kick return per game. Battie also rushed for 227 yards for the season, scoring a touchdown in a Nov. 11 win against Arkansas. 

    Prior to joining Auburn’s roster, Battie spent three years at South Florida, where he emerged as one of the top kick returners in the nation. He was named a consensus All-American in 2021 after amassing 650 yards and three touchdowns as USF’s primary kick returner. He also earned second-team All-AAC honors as a running back in 2022 after rushing for 1,186 yards and eight touchdowns in 12 games. He was a four-star prospect in 247Sports’ 2023 transfer rankings, 

    Battie signed with South Florida in 2020 out of Sarasota High School. 

    CBS Sports will update this story as more information becomes available. 

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  • Texans wideout Tank Dell posts videos of himself running routes weeks after gunshot injury

    Texans wideout Tank Dell posts videos of himself running routes weeks after gunshot injury

    The Houston Texans were the NFL’s most pleasant surprise last season, wildly exceeding expectations. They were led first and foremost by their star rookies, C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson, whom the Texans landed with the Nos. 2 and 3 overall picks in the 2023 NFL Draft.

    But they were also not the only impact players Houston drafted ahead of last season. Wide receiver Tank Dell landed with the Texans in the third round, and he quickly emerged as one of Stroud’s top targets before suffering a season-ending injury in December.

    Earlier this month, though, Dell sustained a minor injury in a shooting incident in Sanford, Florida. He was an innocent bystander in the shooting, and according to KPRC, the local NBC affiliate in Houston, the gunshot wound went through his leg cleanly and out the other side. 

    “It looks like Tank will make a full recovery,” Texans owner Cal McNair said at the time, via ESPN. “We saw him in the office the other day and he looked good, in good spirits. But he’ll have to rehab and get back to where he was.”

    If Dell’s social media activity is any indication, he is well on the road to recovery and the rehab process is taking. Dell posted a pair of Instagram videos on Saturday that showed him running routes at full speed, catching passes, and going through other receiver drills.

    It’s a great sign to see that Dell is apparently on the mend from both injuries. He caught 47 passes for 709 yards and seven touchdowns across 11 games before his season ended with a fractured led suffered while blocking for a goal-line rushing score. In each of his final four healthy games, Dell caught at least 5 passes for at least 50 yards and at least one touchdown, averaging 6.2 catches for 92.3 yards per game in those contests.

    The Texans added even more help in the…

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  • Steve Spurrier offers thoughts on NIL, transfer portal

    Steve Spurrier offers thoughts on NIL, transfer portal

    Former Florida head coach Steve Spurrier is not a fan of the modern recruiting structure, but it’s not for the reason you might think.

    Spurrier knows that adapting is the only way to survive in the game, so he’s not outright rejecting the name, image and likeness game. Instead, he sees NIL as a new tool that needs to be tweaked. He’s more or less on the same page regarding the changes to the transfer portal over the past decade.

    “They’ve (the NCAA) gotta do something about it. I think they’ve got to come up with a budget. The Power Five teams, you’ve got $30 million to spend. If you want to give it all to the quarterback, that’s your business, but put a limit and let them spread it out and go from there. It will help even out things a little bit as far as getting recruiting back into the game,” Spurrier said on 95.3 WDAE (Tampa).

    “Right now it’s just about whoever is going to pay the most money. That’s not the way it should be, and actually, those teams that pay the most money don’t win all the time anyway. I think Texas A&M, Miami and Southern Cal have been three of the biggest spenders here in the last couple of years or so but they have not won big.

    “You still gotta have good attitude, good teamwork and players playing for each other out there.”

    Spurrier also offered a prediction for Florida’s upcoming season.

    “Everybody feels like we’ve got a better team this year. We’ve picked up some guys. Of course, we’ve lost some guys. But again, if we get off to a really good start — we open up with Miami, I think at 3:30 on August 31 there. If we get off to a good start, build some confidence, Graham Mertz is ready to go and (DJ) Lagway — the backup kid — he’s a talented player.”

    “We’re in good shape at quarterback, hopefully, our defense will be much improved. We can get…

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  • Smith details pressures of being No. 1 pick with 49ers

    Smith details pressures of being No. 1 pick with 49ers

    Smith details pressures of being No. 1 pick with 49ers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

    Former 49ers quarterback Alex Smith entered the NFL with the weight of the world on his shoulders, an experience he opened up about while addressing the crowd during Thursday’s Dwight Clark Legacy Series event at the California Theatre in San Jose.

    San Francisco selected Smith No. 1 overall in the 2005 NFL Draft, with San Francisco counting on the Utah product to resurrect a once proud franchise in the midst of a rapid decline. Smith detailed how much pressure came with not only being a No. 1 overall pick, but also following in the footsteps of a pair of Hall of Fame quarterbacks.

    “It was unique … there had never been a franchise to have a Joe [Montana] and Steve [Young], like that had never happened,” Smith explained. “Jeff [Garcia] set the franchise record for yards, so he had carried it on. And all of a sudden to be the No. 1 pick, and as a 20 year old those were things I never dealt with. I had one college scholarship offer. I had been flying under the radar my entire life, and now all of a sudden [there were] huge expectations put upon me.”

    Smith revealed how much pressure he put on himself in an attempt to live up to the legendary quarterbacks who preceeded him in San Francisco.

    “I felt like I had to be Joe Montana, Steve Young and Peyton Manning as the No. 1 pick for the San Francisco 49ers,” Smith detailed. “It was a lot. I felt like I had to be perfect. I struggled with that my first few years, walking onto a field on eggshells. Trying not to make any mistakes. I got to be perfect, it was every day at practice, in the meeting rooms, kind of became my own worst enemy.

    “As anybody can imagine, you try to do anything let alone play quarterback as a rookie, that’s certainly a recipe for disaster. At the time it wasn’t something that got talked about a lot. I didn’t get to play with a veteran quarterback early on so there wasn’t necessarily that resource there. I…

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  • Michigan linebacker transfers to rival Michigan State

    Michigan linebacker transfers to rival Michigan State

    Consider it something of a trade.

    Once upon a time, it wasn’t usual for one player to move from one side of a prominent rivalry to another. It was groundbreaking when Justin Boren left Michigan football for rival Ohio State back in 2008. But it’s now becoming a little more commonplace.

    In fact, on Friday, we saw one player go from Michigan State to Michigan and another from Michigan to Michigan State.

    On the heels of MSU safety Jaden Mangham committing to the Wolverines via the transfer portal, just a few hours later, Wolverines linebacker Semaj Bridgeman transferred to the Spartans.

    Bridgeman is entering his second year and has a full four years of eligibility at his disposal. He’s not the first Michigan football linebacker to make his way to East Lansing in recent memory as Ben VanSumeren — who moonlighted as a tailback — also made the move to MSU following a defensive coordinator change.

    Story originally appeared on Wolverines Wire

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