Football - Chicago Bears news

• John Elway: Sean Payton is a "perfect fit" for Broncos right now

  14-07-2023 18:23
  
  John Elway is no longer a day-to-day member of the Broncos front office. But the Hall of Fame quarterback will always be connected to the franchise after winning three Super Bowls as a player and executive. At the American Century Championship golf tournament this week, Elway said he’s excited about the franchise having Sean Payton as its head coach.“He’s a perfect fit for where we are right now, where the Broncos are right now,” Elway said, via Troy Renck of Denver7. &l
  
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• Sione Takitaki: I feel like I can make a big comeback from torn ACL

  17-07-2023 15:31
  
  Browns linebacker Sione Takitaki set a career high with 71 tackles during the 2022 season, but the year did not have a happy ending.The Browns finished with a 7-10 record and Takitaki missed the final five games of the season after tearing his ACL. During an appearance on the Browns' in-house Best Podcast Available, Takitaki updated where things stand with his rehab and said that he thinks he is going to be able to bounce all the way back during the 2023 season. "I am excited," Takitaki said. "
  
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• Austin Ekeler: I know Justin Herbert will be more locked in than ever

  17-07-2023 15:31
  
  Entering his fourth season, Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is in line for a contract extension that will make him among the highest-paid players in the sport. But even as a new deal has not been finalized, teammate Austin Ekeler feels like Herbert is primed for a big 2023. "As an individual, he’s already super motivated, wants to do the best, but now there’s more on [his plate]," Ekeler said in an interview with the Rich Eisen Show last week. "So, it continues to solidify how y
  
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• Scott Van Pelt, Laura Rutledge are leading candidates to replace Suzy Kolber on Monday Night Countdown

  17-07-2023 15:00
  
  ESPN's recent purge creates spots that need to be filled, presumably with internal candidates.For one of the bigger spots during football season, a pair of internal options have emerged as the leading candidates.Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reports that Scott Van Pelt and Laura Rutledge are the favorites to replace Suzy Kolber as the host of Monday Night Countdown. Kolber was included in the recent round of layoffs.Van Pelt already hosts the SportsCenter that follows the game. If he bec
  
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• Jets open training camp on Wednesday

  17-07-2023 14:13
  
  The slow time is over.In two days, the New York Jets become the first team to open training camp. They're getting the early start because they play in the Hall of Fame game in Canton, on Thursday, August 3. (Their opponents, the Browns, open camp on Friday.)For the Jets, the launch of camp includes the arrival of Hard Knocks cameras and microphones. It's well established that the Jets don't want the assignment. If the show hopes to maximize interest, NFL Films should fully embrace the tension,
  
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• Report: No long-term deal expected for Tony Pollard and Cowboys

  17-07-2023 13:36
  
  Cowboys running back Tony Pollard signed his franchise tag earlier this offseason and it looks like that will be the only thing he signs ahead of the 2023 season. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that Pollard is not expected to sign a multi-year deal with the Cowboys before Monday afternoon's deadline for tagged players to sign anything other than a one-year deal with their teams. Barring a late change of heart on both sides, Pollard will be in line to make $10.091 million this year. He won't be a
  
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• CBA dramatically limits ability of franchise-tagged players to sign long-term deals after mid-July

  17-07-2023 13:06
  
  As the annual deadline for franchise-tagged players signing multi-year deal contracts arrives, it's a good time to address a couple of interesting wrinkles regarding what comes next. One is potentially relevant to this year's franchise-tagged players. One is not, but could have been. And there's a third one to file away for future reference, possibly.First, a reader asked last week whether a team could rescind the franchise tag after the mid-July deadline and then sign the player to a long-term
  
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• DeAndre Hopkins motivated to prove his "haters and doubters" wrong in Tennessee

  17-07-2023 10:20
  
  Titans wide receiver Deandre Hopkins is motivated this season to prove he's still an elite playmaker.After agreeing to a contract with the Titans on Sunday, Hopkins wrote on Twitter that those who doubt him fuel him."I always loved having haters and doubters but I appreciate it even more now. Titan up!!" Hopkins wrote.It's not unreasonable to doubt that the 31-year-old Hopkins will ever again play at the level he played at in his 20s. He's been injured the last two years and had his two lowest
  
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• DeAndre Hopkins can earn up to $3 million a year in incentives with Titans

  16-07-2023 21:50
  
  Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins can earn up to $3 million a year on his two-year contract if he meets certain incentives.To get the full $3 million, Hopkins needs 95 catches, 1,050 yards and 10 touchdowns. Those are all totals Hopkins has reached in his career, although he hasn't reached the catches and yardage totals since 2020, and hasn't reached the touchdown total since 2018.Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Hopkins' contract calls for him to receive $250,000 for 65 catches, $500,000 fo
  
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• Bill Belichick loses face-off with Mike Vrabel for DeAndre Hopkins

  16-07-2023 21:10
  
  Friendship, smiendship.Patriots coach Bill Belichick and Titans coach Mike Vrabel have had a great relationship over the years. They surely still do. But, on Sunday, Vrabel won the face-off with Belichick for receiver DeAndre Hopkins.Both teams wanted him. Hopkins wanted more than either team was offering. Eventually, he accepted what likely was the better financial offer — reportedly, two years, $26 million with $12 million this year and potential incentives of $3 million. (t's not known
  
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• DeAndre Hopkins agrees to sign with Titans

  16-07-2023 20:14
  
  DeAndre Hopkins has found his new home.Betting odds shifted this week to make the Titans the favorites to land the veteran wide receiver and anyone who wagered that way appears to be on their way to a payday. According to multiple reports on Sunday, Hopkins has agreed to a deal with the AFC South club. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that he has agreed to a two-year deal worth $26 million with another $6 million available in incentives. He is set to have a base salary of $12 million for the 2
  
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• DeSean Jackson hints he is retiring

  16-07-2023 19:14
  
  Longtime NFL wide receiver DeSean Jackson appears ready to call it a career.Jackson posted on Instagram today, "Did it my way 15 years strong!! Neva anotha like it!" in a message that has been widely perceived as a retirement announcement, although Jackson didn't specifically say that.Realistically, the 36-year-old Jackson may be done whether he wants to be or not. Last year he managed just nine catches while playing for the Ravens, his sixth NFL team.Jackson will be remembered as one of the be
  
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• Despite new representation for Saquon Barkley, Giants aren't willing to re-set talks

  16-07-2023 18:43
  
  As previously reported, the Giants had an offer on the table for running back Saquon Barkley before the franchise tag was applied. As we've recently heard, the Giants had another offer on the table during the offseason program. Barkley, represented exclusively at the time by Roc Nation Sports, accepted neither offer.So what impact will his recent involvement of CAA have on the ongoing discussions? From the Giants' perspective, none whatsover.Per a league source, the Giants aren't inclined to re
  
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• Jaguars, Evan Engram agree to three-year contract

  16-07-2023 18:33
  
  One of the franchise-tagged players has agreed to a long-term deal just before Monday's deadline. According to multiple reports, tight end Evan Engram and the Jaguars have agreed to a three-year contract worth $41.25 million with $24 million guaranteed. Engram would have made $11.345 million if he'd played on the franchise tender in 2023. A Giants first-round pick in 2017, Engram signed a one-year, $9 million contract with the Jaguars last March. He went on to have arguably his best season as a
  
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• Report: Josh Jacobs, Raiders believed to be too far apart to reach deal

  16-07-2023 17:34
  
  Word last week was that Raiders running back Josh Jacobs will not be reporting to training camp if he does not strike a deal with the Raiders on a long-term extension and it looks like that report will be put to the test. Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the feeling around the team is that the gap between their offer and Jacobs' desired contract is too large to bridge by Monday afternoon's deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign multi-year deals. That's no s
  
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• PFT's top ten coaches for 2023, No. 6: Sean Payton

  16-07-2023 16:48
  
  Of the men making the 2023 PFT list of top 10 head coaches, only one didn't coach at all in 2022. He nevertheless did enough during his years before 2022 to land at No. 6.Sean Payton — offensive expert, Bill Parcells disciple, quarterback whisperer, and Super Bowl XLIV champion — will try to add another label to his football story: Russell Wilson fixer.That's the challenge for Payton in 2023, the thing that will cement his status or jeopardize it. Then again, if Wilson doesn't impro
  
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• Tweaks to the redesigned PFT continue

  16-07-2023 16:19
  
  It's been nearly three weeks since we flipped the switch on a redesigned PFT experience. As you might have noticed, we've been making plenty of tweaks on the fly.One of the first adjustments related to the headlines. There are more of them on the home page, in both the desktop and mobile versions of the site. Most recently, you possibly have noticed that the full headline of the lead story now shows up on all devices and in all browser sizes.The masthead has more conspicuous PFT signage. Also,
  
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• Allen Robinson on Kenny Pickett: You don't see guys that young with command that strong

  16-07-2023 16:15
  
  Quarterback Kenny Pickett's growth heading into his second season has been a topic of conversation throughout the Steelers offseason. Defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi recently said that he's seen "true growth" in Pickett's confidence and demeanor since the end of his rookie year and those traits have also stood out to those who were not members of the team last year. Wide receiver Allen Robinson joined the Steelers in a trade earlier this year and he said on SiriusXM NFL Radio this week that he
  
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• In 18 seasons of preseason Hard Knocks, 18 teams have avoided the show

  16-07-2023 15:52
  
  As the Jets prepare to be the first team in the history of the Hard Knocks series to submit against their will, it's worth noting that most teams have managed to avoid the assignment altogether.As noted by Mike Reiss of ESPN.com in his excellent Sunday rundown of Patriots-related news and notes, the Pats are one of 18 teams that have yet to have Hard Knocks at their doorstep.That was a surprise, so I went down the rabbit hole of Hard Knocks history. It started in 2001, with the Ravens. That was
  
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• Lavonte David: Baker Mayfield is "great for our locker room"

  16-07-2023 14:46
  
  Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. recently described the competition between quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask as a 50-50 proposition. Another defensive player has explained that Mayfield has one big factor in his favor.“Obviously, Baker already he’s been ‘the guy’ and, you know, he’s expected to live up to what everybody expected him to be,” David said in an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio, via JoeBucsFan.com. “Baker is great for our loc
  
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• Report: Panthers have made a contract offer to Brian Burns

  16-07-2023 14:40
  
  Brian Burns has been in the market for a contract extension and he's reportedly heard from the Panthers about his desire for a new deal. Burns said in June that he wants to be among the highest-paid edge rushers in the league when he signs his next NFL contract. Darin Gantt of the team's website reports that the Panthers have made an offer to Burns, who is headed into the final year of his rookie pact, but that a deal may be on hold until another deal is done for another edge rusher. 49ers star
  
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• Robbie Gould says he's ready to play this year, hoping for a training camp invitation

  16-07-2023 13:26
  
  Free agent kicker Robbie Gould hopes he won't be a free agent much longer.The 40-year-old Gould, who played for the 49ers the last six seasons, says he's eager to play in 2023 and hoping he'll be in a uniform when training camps open at the end of the month.“I know training camp is coming up and I’m ready for the next opportunity,” Gould told NBCSportsBayArea.com. “And I’m sure these teams will give these young kids a chance and find out who has a chance to compete
  
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• Aaron Curry uses his failures as a player to help him as a Steelers assistant coach

  16-07-2023 10:12
  
  Aaron Curry is one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history. A linebacker out of Wake Forest, Curry went to the Seahawks with the fourth overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft, and he was seen as a sure-thing prospect. Instead, he was a major disappointment in Seattle until the Seahawks traded him to the Raiders for a seventh-round pick, and after 13 games with the Raiders his career was over.Now Curry is in his first year as the Steelers' inside linebackers coach, and he thinks he's uniquely posi
  
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• Kirk Cousins had undisclosed rib injury prior to the November 2022 win over the Bills

  16-07-2023 05:31
  
  The excellent Quarterback series on Netflix devotes an entire episode to the bumps and bruises that go along with playing the most important position in pro football. Titled Kings of Pain, the third installment discloses some injury information about Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins that never made it to the official injury report.Before the Vikings faced Buffalo in Week 10, the biggest question regarding quarterback health related to Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who had suffered an elbow inju
  
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• Tyreek Hill says he'll get 2,000 yards and a Super Bowl this year

  16-07-2023 00:16
  
  Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill has very high hopes for the 2023 season.Hill said on his podcast that he believes he's going to get 2,000 receiving yards, and that the Dolphins will win the Super Bowl."I will break 2,000 yards next year," Hill said. "2,000 yards was on my bucket list to get before I leave this league. You all think Cheetah gonna leave without doing something he promised himself he was going to do as a kid? 2,000 yards and another Super Bowl. We're getting that. Believe that.
  
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• Blake Martinez left the NFL for a multimillion-dollar Pokemon business

  15-07-2023 22:26
  
  Former NFL linebacker Blake Martinez made nearly $30 million during his seven-year career, but after retiring last season, he's making plenty of money in a very different field.Martinez has started his own business in the world of Pokemon card sales, and he says that world is becoming as lucrative for him as football was.Martinez told TheAthletic.com that his retirement came when he realized he could do very well financially in the Pokemon business, and do so without risk of injury.“I jus
  
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• C.R. Roberts, fullback who stood up against segregation, dies at 87

  15-07-2023 20:02
  
  C.R. Roberts, a star at USC whose very presence on the field for a 1956 road game in Texas challenged the segregated South, has died at the age of 87.When Texas scheduled a game against USC, the Longhorns didn't want Roberts and USC's one other Black player to attend, and USC struggled to find a Texas hotel that would house them. But Roberts didn't just defy segregation, he turned in one of the great performances in college football history.In that game at Texas, Roberts carried 12 times for 25
  
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• Patrick Mahomes said Bengals were better than Bills before playoff matchup

  15-07-2023 18:48
  
  During the last postseason, when the Chiefs had won their divisional round game and knew they'd be playing the Bengals-Bills winner in the AFC Championship Game, Patrick Mahomes felt the Bengals were the better team.Although Mahomes didn't say it publicly, he did say it privately, in comments that aired on the new Netflix documentary series that followed him through the 2022 season.“I think the Bengals are better, but I think with all those injuries on the o-line that the Bills have a cha
  
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• Trevor Lawrence showed unprecedented improvement from Year 1 to Year 2

  15-07-2023 14:51
  
  Has any quarterback ever benefited from a coaching change more than Trevor Lawrence, who went from Urban Meyer in his first season to Doug Pederson in his second?Statistically, there's a case to be made that Lawrence's improvement was unlike any other player's in NFL history.Via NFL Research, Lawrence's improvement from a passer rating of 71.9 in 2021 to 95.2 in 2022 is the largest increase in NFL history for any quarterback who threw at least 400 passes in each of his first two seasons.The swi
  
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• Kirk Cousins on Justin Jefferson not calling him a Top 5 QB: "People have to be honest"

  15-07-2023 14:16
  
  Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson was recently asked to name the Top 5 quarterbacks in the NFL. Kirk Cousins didn't make the cut.Jefferson named Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen, in that order. The audio wasn't entirely clear, but it sounded like he then mentioned Cousins after Allen, but still, his Top 5 were clear, and Cousins wasn't one of them.Asked about it, Cousins said he's fine with it."I didn't even see it. This is the first time hearing about
  
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