Category: Sports News

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
• Latest Rangers news, analysis and fan views
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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.

• Kim joins after 'surprise' Rangers interest - who is new Ibrox winger?

Cutter Gauthier was never the wrong choice for the Philadelphia Flyers with the fifth pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, but things never worked out that way, and in hindsight, Gauthier never would have made it that far to begin with.

Gauthier, 22, scored 20 goals, 24 assists, and 44 points in 82 games during his rookie year with the Anaheim Ducks in 2024-25, but exploded in a big way last year, erupting for 41 goals, 48 assists, and 69 points in only 76 regular season games.

The former Flyers draft pick was equally productive in the playoffs, producing 12 points in 12 games as the Ducks surprisingly advanced to the second round before being quelled by former Flyers head coach John Tortorella and the eventually Stanley Cup runners-up Vegas Golden Knights.

Of course, the Flyers went on to exchange the previously disgruntled Gauthier for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick that later became Jack Murtagh, but if we re-did the 2022 NHL Draft all over again today, things would be a bit different.

The Athletic prospects expert Corey Pronman recently released his re-ranking/re-draft of the 2022 draft class, and there no controversies atop the list this time.

Juraj Slafkovsky remained No. 1, where he went to Montreal, while Logan Cooley jumped from No. 3 to No. 2.

Below them, Lane Hutson jumped from 62nd to third, and Gauthier bumped up to fourth from fifth.

So, with no Gauthier on the board here for the Flyers, Philadelphia ends up with another power forward who quietly made major strides to finish out the 2025-26 season: St. Louis Blues winger Jimmy Snuggerud.

And yes, this would mean that Pronman and the Flyers passed on Shane Wright, Simon Nemec, Denton Mateychuk, Conor Geekie, Noah Ostlund, and Marco Kasper, who are all centers or defensemen.

Snuggerud would be one of the Flyers' best wingers

For those who may be unfamiliar, Snuggerud, 22, was drafted 23rd overall by the Blues in 2022 out of the U.S. National Team Development Program and spend three years with the University of Minnesota in the NCAA before joining St. Louis at the tail-end of the 2024-25 season.

Snuggerud twice scored 20 goals and 50 points twice in his three years with Minnesota; for reference, Flyers rookie Porter Martone scored 25 goals and 50 points in 35 games with Michigan State last season.

The 6-foot-1 winger had a so-so rookie year with St. Louis last year until around midseason. In the 27 games he played after Feb. 1, Snuggerud posted a sizzling 12-goal, 18-assist, 3-point stat line with an impressive +23 rating.

Much like Matvei Michkov with the Flyers post-Olympic break, this was indicative of a player who was finally starting to figure things out and got his legs underneath him.

Including the likes of Michkov and Martone, the Flyers already boast a robust group of wingers, both young and old, but it's easy to picture Snuggerud's fit in Philadelphia in a hypothetical re-draft.

He, along with Tyson Foerster, Michkov, and Martone, would give the Flyers one of the very best groups of young wingers in the entire NHL, and would subsequently allow them to move veterans like Owen Tippett and Travis Konecny to address other needs; remember, without Gauthier, there is no Drysdale here.

Fortunately for the Flyers, things are beginning to take a bright turn with Drysdale finally developing into a legitimately good two-way defenseman, as the last few years subjected the rearguard to endless and unreasonable comparisons to Gauthier with the Flyers attempting to navigate an impossible situation.

Snuggerud's continued development made it possible for a team like the Blues to make Jordan Kyrou expendable via trade, which only further proves the value of what the Flyers are doing with the development of their own young players.

The Miami Hurricanes aren’t short on star power entering the 2026 college football season.

ESPN released its annual preseason Top 100 players in college football, and Miami landed five players on the list.

There weren’t many surprises among the Hurricanes who made the cut.

But there were a few notable names missing.

Still, five Hurricanes made the cut, and some landed remarkably high.

No. 4 — Malachi Toney

It’s hard to argue with Miami’s highest-ranked player.

Malachi Toney comes in at No. 4 overall, making him one of the five highest-ranked players in the country entering the season.

Toney exploded onto the national scene as a freshman, helping Miami reach the national championship game while establishing himself as one of the most dynamic playmakers in college football.

Now, the expectations are significantly different.

Toney isn’t a breakout candidate anymore.

He’s one of the players ESPN expects to be among the best in the sport.

Toney is arguably the best football player in the country and has a huge sophomore year ahead of him with championship expectations.

No. 18 — Ahmad Moten

Miami’s defensive front gets represented by Ahmad Moten at No. 18.

Moten enters the season as one of the most highly regarded interior defensive linemen in the country and could be one of the biggest reasons Miami’s defense remains among the nation’s best.

He returned to Coral Gables after flirting with the idea of declaring for the NFL Draft. Moten was a beast and made his presence known nationally during the CFP run.

He recorded 31 total tackles, nine tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and four QB hurries last season.  

I expect another huge year and his draft projection to be a first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.

No. 23 — Darian Mensah

Perhaps the most intriguing ranking is Darian Mensah at No. 23.

Mensah has yet to take a snap for Miami, but ESPN clearly believes his production at Duke wasn’t a fluke.

And you can make an argument that he should be higher, especially with the quarterbacks that are ranked ahead of him.

After throwing for nearly 4,000 yards and 34 touchdowns in 2025, Mensah enters his first season in Coral Gables with Heisman Trophy and national championship expectations.

If he lives up to the hype, No. 23 could look silly by December and rumblings of being a top pick of the 2027 NFL Draft.

No. 29 — Mark Fletcher Jr.

Just outside the top 25 is Mark Fletcher Jr. at No. 29.

Fletcher is coming off a 1,192-yard, 12-touchdown season and returns as one of the most experienced pieces of Miami’s offense.

He was the engine of this Hurricanes offense last season and is one of the best backs in the country.

With defenses forced to account for Mensah and Toney through the air, Fletcher could have plenty of opportunities to improve on those numbers.

In my opinion, Fletcher should be ranked better.

No. 63 — Damon Wilson II

The final Hurricane on the list is Damon Wilson II at No. 63.

Wilson is coming off a nine-sack season at Missouri and gives Miami another legitimate pass-rushing threat on a defensive line that has massive expectations.

His presence could be particularly important after Miami lost Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor to the NFL.

He is already on the radar for a lot of NFL scouts, and he has a great opportunity on a big stage to prove his worth.

The Snubs

For all five players who made the list, there are a few names that Miami fans can reasonably argue deserved consideration.

Cooper Barkate is the biggest one, especially with the production he had last year at his former school.

The Duke transfer caught 72 passes for 1,106 yards and seven touchdowns last season and was Mensah’s top target. ESPN previously ranked Barkate No. 38 on its list of the top newcomers entering 2026, making his absence from the overall Top 100 somewhat surprising.

Bryce Fitzgerald deserved to be on this list, as I don’t see how he is not one of the top 100 players in college football right now. After recording six interceptions as a true freshman, he was the young stud on the defensive side of the ball that proved his worth early.

The shocking one was DL Justin Scott. He has been on NFL scouts’ radar for this upcoming season and has been projected to be a 2027 first-round pick on multiple mock drafts early into the season. His opportunities were limited last season due to the abundance of talent on that defensive line, but he still had flashes of greatness.

He recorded 13 QB hurries in just the last seven games of the season and is primed to be one of the best defensive linemen in the country alongside Moten this season.

Then there’s Omar Thornton, who enters the season with an opportunity to become a major piece of Miami’s secondary and has been the camp darling for the Canes. Another camp star and has been raved about by coaches and teammates thus far.

None of those omissions are necessarily egregious, but worth mentioning as some of the best players in the country.