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  • Michigan football, LBs coach George Helow reportedly parting ways

    Michigan football, LBs coach George Helow reportedly parting ways

    Michigan football and linebackers coach George Helow have mutually agreed to part ways, according to Fox Sports college football reporter Bruce Feldman.

    A message seeking comment from the U-M football spokesperson has not yet been returned.

    Last week, U-M brought back former assistant coach Chris Partridge to the staff in an undisclosed role. Partridge coached linebackers in Ann Arbor from 2016-17.

    Helow, 26, was hired by U-M before the 2021 season from Maryland, where he was special teams coordinator and inside linebackers coach. Since then, the Michigan defense was ranked in the top five in points allowed in 2021 and last season. The Wolverines won the Big Ten and reached the College Football Playoff both years.

    Last month, Michigan fired co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss days after he was placed on administrative leave while being investigated for possible computer crimes that took place at Schembechler Hall. The new quarterbacks coach is Kirk Campbell, who served as an off-field analyst for U-M last season.

    This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football, LBs coach George Helow reportedly parting ways

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  • Agent’s Take: Aaron Rodgers, Joe Mixon among 15 players who could be on new teams via trade, as cap casualty

    Agent’s Take: Aaron Rodgers, Joe Mixon among 15 players who could be on new teams via trade, as cap casualty

    An offseason roster purge is an annual occurrence in the NFL. Players are often released when salaries aren’t deemed to match production.

    Trades can occur for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, a Pro Bowl-caliber player wants a change of scenery. A new regime might look to move high-priced veterans who aren’t a good scheme fit.

    A majority of the time when a player is traded, released or retires, there is a residual salary cap charge. This cap charge for a player who is no longer on a team’s roster is commonly referred to as dead money. It exists because the remaining proration of the salary components that are treated like signing bonus immediately accelerate into his team’s current salary cap with a trade, release or retirement. Dead money is typically a sunk cost where money isn’t owed to a player. Only if there are salary guarantees when a player is released will there be a payment associated with dead money.

    There are two major exceptions to this general rule of bonus proration accelerating: 

    1. Only the current year’s proration counts toward the salary cap with transactions occurring after June 1. The bonus proration in future contract years is delayed until the next league year beginning in the following March.

    2. A team can also release two players each league year prior to June 1 (known as a post-June 1 designation) that will be treated under the cap as if they were released after June 1. With a post-June 1 designation, a team is required to carry the player’s full cap number until June 2 even though he is no longer a part of the roster. The player’s salary comes off the books at that time unless it is guaranteed.

    Here’s a look at 15 noteworthy players who could be in different uniforms next season because of a trade or as salary cap casualties.

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  • No. 10 Tennessee tops No. 1 Alabama, handing Crimson Tide first SEC loss and snapping two-game slide

    No. 10 Tennessee tops No. 1 Alabama, handing Crimson Tide first SEC loss and snapping two-game slide

    USATSI

    No. 1 Alabama spent just two days atop the AP Top 25 college basketball rankings before taking a loss in the very next game, falling 68-59 at No. 10 Tennessee on Wednesday night in Knoxville. The loss drops Alabama to 22-4 overall, but more importantly marks the team’s first SEC loss of the 2022-23 season.  

    While the win sours what has been a celebration of the Crimson Tide’s highest ranking in 20 years, the game also marks an impressive response from Tennessee after losing two straight games in buzzer-beating fashion. Even more notable is how the Vols dug deep despite being shorthanded. With senior Josiah Jordan-James and freshman forward Julian Phillips unavailable due to injury, Tennessee had just an eight-player rotation to battle a deep. talented and athletic Alabama side. But Tennessee relied on its elite defense to carry it, holding Alabama to just 35.4% shooting from the field. 

    The Vols established an edge early with their defense, forcing Alabama into turnovers and then turning those errors into points. Of Tennessee’s 29 points at the half of a tied game, 22 came off turnovers. The Crimson Tide tightened up after halftime and finished with 19 turnovers, but they proved insurmountable when coupled with the poor shooting effort. 

    For a rivalry between fanbases that extends through generations and recently included an iconic Tennessee win on the football field, there was already going to be plenty of jubilation for a home win against the hated Tide. When you factor in the buzzer-beater…

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  • Patriots waive WR Kristian Wilkerson, two others

    Patriots waive WR Kristian Wilkerson, two others

    Patriots waive WR Kristian Wilkerson, two others originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

    The New England Patriots parted ways with three players on Wednesday.

    Wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson, kicker Quinn Nordin, and defensive back Tae Hayes were waived, the team announced in a press release.

    Perry’s Mailbag: How utilizing empty sets under O’Brien can elevate Jones

    Wilkerson originally signed to the Patriots practice squad in 2020. The 27-year-old played one game in 2020, three in 2021, and spent the entire 2022 season on injured reserve. He caught four passes for 42 yards with two touchdowns vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars on Jan. 2, 2023.

    Nordin signed with New England as a rookie free agent out of Michigan before the 2021 season. He made the 53-man roster but was inactive for the season opener and did not appear in a regular-season game. He finished the year on injured reserve and signed a futures contract in 2022, but spent the season on the reserve/non-football injury list.

    Hayes signed to the Patriots practice squad on Dec. 27 and joined the 53-man roster on Dec. 31. The 25-year-old played the final two games of the 2022 season for New England and tallied three tackles. He previously spent time with the Carolina Panthers, Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, and Arizona Cardinals.

    The Patriots’ cuts come one month ahead of the start of the new NFL league year. The free-agent and trade markets open March 15.

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  • Georgia football named No. 1 by ESPN’s 2023 SP+ rankings

    Georgia football named No. 1 by ESPN’s 2023 SP+ rankings

    Georgia football is projected at the top of college football in 2023, according to ESPN’s 2023 SP+ rankings.

    ESPN states the SP+ measurements are based on returning production, recent recruiting and recent history.

    The back-to-back national champion Bulldogs come in at No. 1, followed by Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama and Penn State.

    Tennessee (No. 6) and LSU (No. 7) round out the SEC’s top selections.

    The Bulldogs were ranked No. 3 at this time last year.

    The SEC is projected as the top conference in college football in 2023, followed by the Big Ten and Big 12.

    Georgia’s returning production on defense should help the offense’s transition as new offensive coordinator Mike Bobo replaces Todd Monken, who was hired by the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday.

    The Bulldogs return six starters on offense and seven on defense for 13 total, which is three more than Georgia returned from its 2022 national title team.

    Story originally appeared on UGA Wire

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  • 2023 NFL offseason: Sean Payton’s Broncos among five teams poised to make a major leap next season

    2023 NFL offseason: Sean Payton’s Broncos among five teams poised to make a major leap next season

    The 2022 NFL season is in the books after the Chiefs won their second Lombardi Trophy in four years Sunday night. Now, it’s time to look ahead to the 2023 offseason. We don’t yet know which big names will be relocating via trade or free agency, and we don’t yet know which teams will swipe the hottest prospects in April’s draft. But we can still make educated guesses as to which clubs are best positioned to take real steps forward next season.

    Here are five early picks to make a major leap in 2023:

    2022 record: 3-14

    Justin Fields
    USATSI

    We’re a little hesitant to hurl flowers at a regime that willfully ignored Justin Fields’ dire supporting cast going into 2022, but this time around, with so much cap space at his disposal, general manager Ryan Poles would have to try to avoid improving the young quarterback’s lineup. Fields was MVP-level electric as a second-year player, even while coach Matt Eberflus continued to risk injury to the QB in the name of late-season pride. As long as Fields’ protection and weapons improve in the slightest, there’s no reason to think Chicago can’t play spoiler out of the NFC North. Eberflus’ young defense also can’t be much worse.

    2022 record: 5-12

    Sean Payton
    Getty Images

    You don’t get much more uninspired than the “offense” produced by Nathaniel Hackett and Russell Wilson in 2022. The latter remains, but if anyone’s going to force the ex-Seahawks star back into form, it’ll be Sean Payton, whose public conviction as their new head coach is backed by a been-there, done-that resume. Wilson, by the way, can’t be anymore sluggish than he was under Hackett; assuming he’s rightly re-saddled to more run-heavy,…

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  • Chiefs’ Khalen Saunders jabbed at Bengals after winning Super Bowl

    Chiefs’ Khalen Saunders jabbed at Bengals after winning Super Bowl

    The rivalry between the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs keeps getting amplified in the wake of the season ending.

    At one point, Joe Burrow’s name came up after the Chiefs won the Super Bowl. And after that game, Chiefs defensive tackle Khalen Saunders didn’t have much nice to say while chatting about how doubted his team was.

    “Man, I remember being doubted,” Saunders said, according to  Aaron Ladd of KSHB 41 News. “I remember being doubted every game. I remember being picked against every game. I remember them saying the funky-a** Bengals was gonna beat us four times. I remember them saying we couldn’t stop Jalen Hurts. I remember all of that s***. And now, they’re gonna remember that I’m a two-time champ.”

    The whole “Chiefs were doubted” thing went a little overboard by a preseason favorite that ripped off 14 wins, but it’s standard-fare motivation-seeking by pro athletes and not unlike what the Bengals did at times this year.

    Still, Sanders’ shot here and the rest of the chirping coming from the Kansas City side speaks to what an intense rivalry this suddenly is in the AFC. And luckily for all involved — fans included — the two teams will play again next year, potentially in the season opener.

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    Story originally appeared on Bengals Wire

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  • Maryland hires Kevin Sumlin as tight ends coach: Terrapins land former Houston, Texas A&M and Arizona coach

    Maryland hires Kevin Sumlin as tight ends coach: Terrapins land former Houston, Texas A&M and Arizona coach

    USATSI

    Maryland has hired former Houston, Texas A&M and Arizona coach Kevin Sumlin to join the Terrapins as their co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach according to multiple reports including InsideMDSports.com and On3 Sports. Sumlin, 58, was the head coach and general manager of the Houston Gamblers of the USFL in 2022.

    Sumlin has plenty of experience in the college ranks as the head coach at Houston from 2008-11, Texas A&M from 2012-17 and Arizona from 2018-20. Legendary college quarterback and 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel was his signal-caller during Sumlin’s first two seasons with the Aggies. He was named the SEC Coach of the Year in 2012 after posting an 11-2 record and a No. 5 ranking in the final AP Top 25.

    It’s unclear how much play-calling power Sumlin will have under Terps head coach Mike Locksley.

    The tight ends coach role is a position Sumlin has had in the past. He held the title at Oklahoma from 2003-05, which included BCS Championship Game appearances in 2003 and 2004. However, none of his tight ends finished with 100 or more yards in any season during his final 11 seasons as a college head coach. With that said, the tight end position has evolved into more of a hybrid position over the last decade, which fits in with Sumlin’s style not only as an “Air Raid” guru, but as a coach with plenty of experience as a dedicated wide receivers coach during the majority of his time in the business.

    This will be the first time that Locksley and Sumlin will work together on a…

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