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UConn football made waves on Wednesday by revealing a new red alternate jersey. It’ll be the first time any team at the school has ever worn a uniform with red as the primary color.

Reviews have been mixed online. Some people love them — the players certainly reacted positively in a video posted by the team — but those who don’t have been vocal in their displeasure. That same split occurred among The UConn Blog’s hierarchy with Dan Madigan supporting the new look and Daniel Connolly among the opposition.

Let’s embrace debate.

Initial thoughts

Connolly: I’d rather have a team go bold and fail when designing a jersey or uniform than do something that’s safe but boring. UConn absolutely went bold with red jerseys, which I can respect. I’m just not sure I like them. As someone who’s been clamoring for an alternate jersey for years, I was thrilled when the team teased such on social media earlier in the week. But when I saw the reveal, I was immediately disappointed. It just doesn’t look like a UConn jersey. I’m willing to reserve judgement until I see them on the field in game action, but I’m giving them a thumbs-down for now.

Madigan: When UConn teased this reveal earlier in the week, I told our blog chat with Dan and Aman Kidwai that I would love to see a red jersey, but I was convinced that this would be the light/powder blue uniform they teased last April Fool’s Day. I was pretty surprised to actually see the red jersey on socials on Wednesday, but I like the look. This uniform template of the past few years is quite literally as boring as it gets — there’s no piping, striping or accents anywhere — so it’s a lot of red and it’s certainly bold. It’s definitely not a subtle way to introduce the color, but I think it will look much better in real life on the Rentschler Field grass. I still wish there was more going on with these UConn uniforms overall, but I am all for this red look, and I think it will look great if they ever pair it with navy helmets and navy pants.

Should UConn teams wear red?

Connolly: My favorite color is red — anyone who knows me even a little is well-aware of that. Having said that, I don’t think UConn should use it as a primary look. I think it’s great as a secondary or tertiary color — the women’s soccer team’s jerseys from the Rachel Hill era remains a favorite of mine — on a uniform that’s mostly national flag blue or white. Again, maybe this football jersey will grow on me when I see it in action and I’ll want more teams to adopt red uniforms. But I just don’t think UConn when I see that much red.

Madigan: Jim Penders may disagree, as the UConn baseball coach famously loves his Huskies in national flag blue and white, but I think red should be involved. I wouldn’t mind seeing more red jerseys in other sports, especially basketball and hockey. It’s part of the color palette, so it’s fair game in my opinion. UConn football has worn gray before (famously in its big win over Houston in 2015) and the men’s basketball team has (rather infamously under Dan Hurley) worn gray and black. The women’s team used to rock pretty sweet gray uniforms at the XL Center and crisp whites at Gampel. The precedence is there to mix it up, and I think more red would be a great modern look for all of the teams.

Side note: There is not a more perfect UConn uniform than the women’s soccer one Dan mentioned. It’s a very clean look, and the red really ties it all together.

UConn football needs a uniform overhaul

Connolly: This is something we can certainly agree on. UConn football needs a new look. In fact, that’s been the case for a long, long time.

The Huskies’ current set isn’t bad, it’s just boring. It’s not very fun to play with UConn on EA Sports’ College Football video game franchise because the uniform options are so limited. There’s only so many times you can mix-and-match the color of the helmet and pants. These are at least a slight upgrade, though. The previous uniforms were both bad and boring. They looked like the first option that comes up in create-a-team.

But isn’t college football supposed to be fun? That’s what defines it from the NFL — the history, the pageantry, the tradition, the different styles of play. The sport’s popularity is centered on being more entertaining outside the lines than its professional counterpart. UConn’s uniforms should reflect that.

Madigan: UConn football was a punchline for the past few years before Jim Mora came in and got things relatively back on track. While there is a lot more success in the team’s 20-plus years at the FBS level than the national media is willing to give them credit for, the Huskies are not a college football institution like the likes of Michigan, Alabama and Penn State — three schools with history but also very plain uniforms. There’s no reason for UConn to have such a plain base uniform template. I think the school got so put off by the reaction to the Bob Diaco-era helmets that they played things ultra boring and safe. It’s time to mix it up a little! Even a freshened-up return to the jerseys from the first few seasons in FBS would be a massive step up.

Free ideas

Madigan: I would love to see UConn lean into its past and use the aforementioned early-FBS era jerseys, but updated with red instead of silver/gray. As much as I love the block C, I would love to see the wishbone “C” or bubble script UConn make an appearance on a helmet at some point too. If you’re going to have such a boring uniform, you might as well have some cool helmets, and there is a pretty good historical backlog to pick from.

I wouldn’t mind some more off the wall uniform ideas either. Lean into the Rentschler/East Hartford/Pratt & Whitney connection and throw some jets on some helmets and jerseys. Or loop in the Avery Point campus too and put some nearby submarines on there. Could be a nice tribute for Veteran’s Day, if it is done right. UConn could lean into its agriculture roots and do a cow theme. Ever since Utah State did a cow out at their basketball game, I feel like it could work on a uniform. I imagine it could be a tough sell for the linemen though.

As boring as UConn’s current uniforms are, I do love that the team can theoretically mix and match them in any combination and it all can look pretty good. Now they just need to release the light blue jerseys for real!

Connolly: In an idea world, UConn would have four uniforms: Standard national flag blue home and white aways (where the helmets and pants can be mixed and matched), an alternate jersey (if we’re doing something other than blue and white, I would’ve preferred light blue over red) and a throwback. There’s so much room for creativity there.

UConn has also used a lot of alternative helmet decals over the last few years. It should continue to lean into that and feature a different logo every game. Roll out the standard Husky logo or Block C, but why not throw Hook C on a helmet — if hockey can put it on a jersey, football can use it on a helmet — or the script UConn word mark, or the interlocking UC logo used by the men’s basketball team for years. Why not think outside the box, too? Use the academic logo with the oak leaves. Make a helmet that resembles Gampel’s roof. Do something involving the Dairy Bar. Have a local artist create a design involving an iconic buildings on campus like Wilbur Cross, the water towers or the Jonathan statue (similar to when Navy had hand-painted ships on their helmets for the Army-Navy Game).

It’s not the easiest time to be a college sports fan. Why not use the uniforms as a way to connect with the fanbase and community?

So yes, this is a long way of saying UConn should absolutely slap the derpy Jonathan logo on a uniform.

The Miami Dolphins on Thursday traded Tutu Atwell to the Los Angeles Rams, returning the wide receiver to the team that selected him in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. After four seasons with the Rams, Atwell had signed as a free agent on a one year contract with Miami this offseason but he was struggling to find a space on Miami’s depth chart. He will now return to the Rams.

In return, the Dolphins received running back Jacquez Hunter. A 2025 fourth-round pick, Hunter played special teams for the Rams last year, appearing in five games early in the season before spending the final 11 games of the year inactive.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported the trade.

Atwell was expected to provide a veteran presence in the wide receiver room, where Miami is relying on several rookies, but he was never able to find a chemistry with quarterback Malik Willis and was sliding closer and closer to the cut line.

Veteran wide receiver Jalen Tolbert, who signed as a free agent this year, is set to fill the role Atwell was attempting to hold this season. Rookie receivers Caleb Douglas (third-round draft pick), Chris Bell (third-round draft pick), and Kevin Coleman, Jr. (fifth-round draft pick), are all expected to see significant playing time during the season. Miami is also returning receiver Malik Washington, who appears to be entrenched as a starter.

The Dolphins have been looking to add depth to their running back group, where De’Von Achane is locked in as the starter. Jaylen Wright and Ollie Gordon II appear set to be the primary backups, but Miami continues to make moves around the position. On Wednesday, the Dolphins signed running back Coleman Bennett.

Gordon suffered a ribs injury in the team’s Preseason Week 2 loss to the New York Giants. Miami could be bolstering the position group simply to have enough running backs to finish the preseason, or they could be adding depth in case Gordon’s rib injury costs him more playing time than anticipated.

Miami closed out their 2026 training camp on Wednesday. They will play their final preseason game on Friday when they host the Atlanta Falcons.

Much like last year, the final preseason game will be a showcase opportunity for Seattle Seahawks quarterback Jalen Milroe.

Mike Macdonald told reporters after Thursday’s practice that not only will starters sit out Friday’s tilt with the Kansas City Chiefs, but that Milroe, not Drew Lock, will get the start and play the whole way.

“It’s great that he has the opportunity, just like the Green Bay game last year where you’re not subbing in, you’re not coming in at halftime,” Macdonald said. “You’re going through the whole process of starting a game and getting in rhythm and managing the situations. All those things that we want from our quarterback. It’s exciting to see him play, it’s a great opportunity for him.”

If, for some reason, Milroe can’t continue, then Lock would be ready to step in.

Milroe started the whole of the Green Bay Packers game as a rookie in 2025, completing 13 of 24 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown to Cody White. He also rushed for 31 yards but fumbled three times (losing all of them for turnovers).

It’s a decidedly different feel to Milroe this year, as his underwhelming second preseason has led to some debate over his roster spot. Macdonald indicated that it would be a case-by-case basis for some non-starters as far as their playing time against the Chiefs, so Milroe won’t necessarily be spending the whole evening with ostensible third- and fourth-string players.

Whatever happens with the lineup, Milroe has an extended opportunity to showcase why the Seahawks took him in the third round back in 2025.

The Detroit Lions have had some bad luck at center, and that may continue moving forward. It started when Cade Mays suffered a fractured wrist and backup Juice Scruggs missed time with his own injury. Scruggs is thankfully back and set to be the starter.

But, now, with training camp concluded on Thursday, the Lions are dealing with more center issues.

Let’s get into it in our daily training camp injury report.

Returned to practice:

• OL Miles Frazier (undisclosed)
• EDGE Ahmed Hassanein (unknown)

Frazier technically returned to practice on Wednesday, but he was limited to individual drills. On Thursday, he was with the second-team offense, serving as the right guard. While that has normally been Mason Miller’s job, Miller had to play as the second-team center due to Seth McLaughlin’s absence (more on that in a bit).

Despite Dan Campbell saying that Hassanein was going to sit out another practice, he was participating on Thursday and even got some team action during the scrimmage.

Not practicing:

• RB Isiah Pacheco (knee)
• OT Giovanni Manu (NFI)
• C Cade Mays (wrist)
• C Seth McLaughlin (unknown)
• G Michael Niese (leg)
• EDGE Payton Turner (back)
• EDGE Derrick Moore (unknown)
• LB Jimmy Rolder (leg)
• LB Trevor Nowaske (leg)
• S Thomas Harper (ankle)
• S Christian Izien (undisclosed)
• S Kerby Joseph (PUP, knee)
• S Brian Branch (PUP, Achilles)

McLaughlin was missing from practice, leaving the Lions extremely shorthanded at center. Detroit came into camp with Cade Mays, Scruggs, McLaughlin, and Michael Niese as their four centers, in that order. Now Mays, McLaughlin and Niese are sidelined.

At this point, we don’t have any idea if McLaughlin’s absence is injury related, but this could leave the Lions in a tight spot for Saturday’s preseason finale. They likely don’t want to play Scruggs, as he’s projected to start in Week 1. But they may only have one healthy center on the roster: Gus Hartwig, who was signed earlier this week. That said, maybe they just roll with Mason Miller at center with the starters, and Hartwig the rest of the way. Though, it’s worth noting Miller and quarterback Luke Altmyer had several botched snaps during Thursday’s practice, and Miller did not play a lick of center in college.

On Thursday evening, the Lions placed Payton Turner on injured reserve. Either his season is over, or the Lions will release him with an injury settlement. Either way, it’s a disappointing end for Turner, who just can’t seem to shake the injury bug.

Campbell provided an update on Moore prior to practice, noting that the rookie defensive end will miss a little time, but they hope to get him back sometime next week before the start of the season.

Injured during practice

• S Avonte Maddox (unknown)

We didn’t get an update from the team after practice, but on the very last play of practice, Maddox went down and was tended to by trainers. They appeared to be working on his upper body, and he walked to the locker room with trainers when practice had officially concluded. We’ll see if Campbell offers an update after the final preseason game. Otherwise, we may not hear for a while. Hopefully, given Detroit’s numerous injuries at safety, it’s nothing.

The New England Patriots visited with a former Cleveland Brown before closing out the preseason at Huntington Bank Field.

The organization worked out veteran punter Jamie Gillan on Thursday, according to the NFL transaction wire.

Gillan, 29, entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Arkansas-Pine Bluff in 2019. The Scotland native spent three years in Cleveland, beginning with AFC Special Teams Player of the Week, AFC Special Teams Player of the Month and PFWA All-Rookie honors, before clearing waivers and making a stop on the practice squad of the Buffalo Bills. He went on to serve as the New York Giants’ punter from 2022 until his release in March.

Standing 107 games into his NFL run, Gillan, nicknamed “The Scottish Hammer,” has averaged 45.2 yards per punt and 40.3 net yards per punt. The 6-foot-1, 207-pound left-footed specialist stands with a career long of 74 yards. He has seen 37.2 percent of his 436 total punts downed inside the opposing 20, while 6.4 percent have gone for touchbacks.

After incumbent punter Bryce Baringer sustained an injury in the second game of the preseason, the Patriots had rookie quarterback Behren Morton take the field in relief. New England proceeded to sign well-traveled free agent Matt Haack for punting and holding duties ahead of the summer finale in Ohio.

Thursday’s kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET. The NFL’s 53-man roster deadline will follow Sunday at 6 p.m. ET.

For the first time this offseason, Christian Gonzalez admitted he’s frustrated that he remains without a contract extension with the Patriots.

New England been adamant throughout the offseason that reaching an agreement with its star cornerback is part of the team’s plans. However, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Thursday on “The Pat McAfee Show” that the Patriots and Gonzalez haven’t “been close” on a contract extension.

“So, [Devon] Witherspoon was going to get done first, and it got done at an average of $33 [million] a year,” Schefter said. “The Patriots have not been in that category. But Witherspoon has established the benchmark, and the Patriots haven’t gone there, and they weren’t there before, and they don’t appear to be going there right now, and they’re off on the two sides of money.

“But the Patriots and Gonzalez haven’t been close. Now, I kind of think like Mike Vrabel views defensive linemen and getting pressure as the most important thing on a defense. Like, he prioritizes that. Loves corners, of course, and he knows that Christian Gonzalez is a great player, but if we’re going to pay players premiums up front, that’s something I think that’s been important to him in the past. I think they want to pay Christian Gonzalez, but they’re obviously not in the same neighborhood right now and haven’t been. Thus, his disappointment.”

It’s now been nearly two weeks since Gonzalez’s friend and Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon, who shares an agent with Gonzalez, signed a four-year, $132 million contract extension that featured $59 million in full guarantees and $101 million in total guarantees.

Speaking on Tuesday, Patriots executive vice president of player personal Eliot Wolf reiterated owner Robert Kraft’s comments from earlier this summer that the team’s current offer would still make Gonzalez the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback.

Gonzalez, who has stated he does not wish to negotiate through the media, was asked later that day if that would make him the highest-paid cornerback in every metric.

“There’s certain things that go into a contract that my team knows what we want,” Gonzalez responded. “It kind of depends how you put it.”

The Patriots will conclude their preseason Thursday night in Cleveland before turning their attention to a Week 1 matchup against Witherspoon’s Seahawks on Sept. 9. Schefter speculated that both sides will make another attempt to reach a deal by then. If no agreement is reached, a “range of options” opens up, including waiting until next offseason or potentially listening to trade offers.

“I think that there’s probably another push before the season begins, or at the start of the season, from both sides to try to get done,” Schefter said. “That’s my guess because he’s too good a player not to try to get something done, and they’re too smart not to try to get something done, and the numbers are there.”

On Thursday, the Cleveland Browns announced that the team claimed recently waived Indianapolis Colts cornerback Mekhi Blackmon off league waivers:

Regarding Blackmon:

As a former 2023 3rd round pick of the Minnesota Vikings, the 27-year-old Blackmon was traded to the Colts last late August for a 2026 6th round pick ahead of the former’s final 53-man roster cuts.

For a banged up Colts cornerback room, he ended up playing reasonably well in relief last season, recording 64 tackles (50 solo), a sack, 2 interceptions, and 7 passes defensed during 17 games (11 starts) in Indianapolis.

However, Blackmon struggled mightily in coverage through his two preseason games, having a handful of defensive penalties. 

As Blackmon’s replacement, the Colts signed undrafted rookie cornerback Kenneth Harris, out of Oklahoma State and Arkansas State, who had previously spent his debut offseason with the New England Patriots.

The Seattle Seahawks are on their way to Missouri for Friday’s preseason finale against the Kansas City Chiefs, and they’re taking a former Chiefs lineman with them.

Per Thursday’s NFL transaction wire, the Seahawks claimed offensive tackle Kellen Diesch off waivers, one day after he was let go by the Chiefs.

To make room on the 90-man roster, Seattle waived linebacker Chris Paul Jr. with an injury designation. Paul was one of the early bright spots against the Tennessee Titans for his run defense, although Paul has also been in-and-out of practice and preseason due to an ankle injury. If Paul is not claimed, he’ll revert to Seattle’s injured reserve.

The 29-year-old Diesch is a well traveled journeyman who has been with seven NFL teams since 2022 and yet never played a regular season game. It was a great spring for Diesch, who was part of the UFL champion Louisville Kings roster, appearing in six games and starting in two.

There’s not much reason to believe Diesch is anything but a preseason body to get a few snaps on Friday. Starters will not be playing, and it’s possible backup tackles like Josh Jones might get the night off, too. That leaves Diesch as a preseason depth option to go against a team he was with for six days.

Manager Derek McInnes says he take "full responsibility" for Rangers' "embarrassing" Conference League exit at the hands of Jablonec.

Rangers, who held a 1-0 lead going into the second leg of the play-off in Czech Republic, lost 4-3 on penalties on Thursday to crash out of Europe completely.

Derek McInnes' side actually led early in the shootout, only for Findlay Curtis and James Penrice to miss their final two penalties.

It leaves them without European football beyond August for the first time since the 2-1 aggregate defeat by Luxembourg's Progres Niederkorn in the Europa League first qualifying round in 2017.

• Rangers out of Europe after wretched penalty defeat in Jablonec
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And it ratchets up the pressure on McInnes after a hapless start to his reign at Ibrox, which included a Europa League exit against Jagiellonia Bialystok and a draw and defeat in their opening two Premiership games.

"I'm embarrassed with the performance," the Rangers manager said.

"The only people who represented the club well tonight were my staff and the supporters who were outstanding, getting behind the team despite watching what we all watched.

"I'm not going to make any excuses. Yes there's been a big turnover of players, yes we looked inexperienced at times but the responsibility is mine to make sure we're better than what we served up tonight.

"We're elite in everything we do in terms of preparation and the performance lacked in everything."

'We got what we deserved'

The stats back up McInnes' anger. Rangers had just over 46% possession during the 120 minutes in the Czech Republic, and just one shot on target.

They won fewer than 70% of their 16 tackles and committed 17 fouls.

"I can't accept, and we shouldn't accept, losing individual battles, duels, second balls, not winning enough tackles and just getting the momentum of the game going our way," the former Hearts manager added.

"I thought we looked young, inexperienced at times. We're trying to make some signings to help with that side of it but we need to do so much more as a team.

"We got what we deserved. If we'd won on penalties we would have taken it, of course, but it would only have covered over the cracks.

"I'm mortified with the performance. I know you can lose games of football but we should have enough in the building to take care of that tonight."

Rangers had won their two previous games - a 5-1 win over St Mirren in the League Cup and the 1-0 victory against Jablonec at Ibrox - after drawing at Dundee United and losing at home to Hibernian in their opening two Premiership matches.

But McInnes feels this latest result may set them back.

"We went into this game scrambling for some sort of confidence, some positivity," he said. "But I just thought the team that deserved to go through went through tonight and that's hard for me to take."

'One of worst results in recent history' - the pundits' view

Former Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday: "Rangers had no style, no desire, no movement, no tackles, no shots, no control. They offered absolutely nothing over 120 minutes. I'm not that shocked given what I've watched in the first few games.

"The questions are going to start coming Derek McInnes' way. Rangers played five different formations tonight and they offered nothing.

"They had a week to prepare for this game. I don't know what they did. I didn't see how they were going to score. They got played through far too easy.

"I think of Kaunas, Progres Niederkorn - that's up there with those defeats. This is one of the worst results in Rangers' recent history."

Former Rangers striker Steven Thompson: "One shot on target in 120 minutes. That tells a story about Rangers' threat.

"When players are on the pitch and things aren't going well and they look around them for someone to grab the game by the scruff of the neck, to lead, there's no answers.

"I could see Derek's frustration. He couldn't believe what he was watching. He tried numerous different things to bring about a better level of performance. But they need better quality on the pitch - and they need a gameplan."

BBC Scotland chief sportswriter Tom English: "They were passive and there was no get up and go about any of them. In a properly-functioning team, which this clearly is not, there would be one or two in there who, out of pure anger at their haplessness, would try and get something going but there was nobody.

"There was nobody out there berating, cajoling, encouraging, there was none of that. They all just went down with the ship. It didn't matter what Derek McInnes did, nobody responded.

"McInnes will be looking at this thinking they've put a lot of work into it, spent a lot of money, tried a lot of formations and nothing is working. What does he do now?"

'Worst Rangers team in 70 years' - the fans' view

Barry: Rangers are kidding themselves on. They are no where near the level they think they are, mediocre players, inexperienced staff, incompetent board. Be lucky to finish top six this season.

Lennie: Worst Rangers team I have ever seen in my 70 years of supporting this great club. Not one of them who played tonight [Thursday] deserve to wear the jersey of our great club.

Jim: Five years ago Rangers were in a European final, now we can't even qualify for the third tier European competition. Not only Rangers but Scottish football in general have to address the issues on why we are in freefall.

Brian: An absolute disgrace. The eye-watering amount of money wasted on sixth rate players is incredible. In my opinion McInnes must win at all costs on Sunday or I personally think he's a goner.

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