BALTIMORE — There are a few players who can motivate and inspire. The Baltimore Ravens had one for 17 seasons in middle linebacker Ray Lewis. Another was Reggie White, the great defensive lineman for the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers.

Then there’s defensive end Calais Campbell, whom the Ravens re-signed to a ...Read more

Embattled New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and former The Athletic reporter Dianna Russini reportedly rented a boat together in June 2021.

The two spent at least a couple hours on a lake in Putnam County, Tenn., while Russini was pregnant with her first child, according to TMZ.

Vrabel was coaching the Tennessee Titans at that time.

...Read more

SEATTLE — Russell Wilson — broadcaster.

The concept seemed neither unthinkable nor inevitable.

No doubt that there's a presence on camera. He's confident, put together, and as annoying as it might be to some — almost incessantly positive.

It's a little Ted Lasso-like, minus the one-liners … and that's where I start to wonder whether ...Read more

NEW YORK — John Harbaugh had to bolster the Giants’ interior defensive line before he traded Dexter Lawrence.

Once the head coach shipped his best player to Cincinnati, New York’s D-line went from being a weakness to a gaping hole.

That explains why Harbaugh continued to add to the line on Tuesday by agreeing to terms with Detroit Lions ...Read more

DEDHAM, Mass. — A jury found ex-Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs not guilty of assault and battery and strangulation after hearing two days of testimony in his trial regarding an alleged incident at his home last December.

The jury delivered its verdict after just a few hours of deliberation Tuesday.

During the second day of testimony, ...Read more

SEATTLE — After several weeks of speculation that they would do so, the Seattle Seahawks have agreed to a deal to sign veteran pass rusher Dante Fowler Jr., filling what was perceived to be the last remaining hole on their roster.

The deal is for one year and up to $5 million, as first reported by ESPN and the NFL Network. A source confirmed ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers have displayed saint-like patience waiting for Aaron Rodgers to say he is coming back for the 2026 season, even though a large portion of their fan base doesn’t agree with their approach.

But that patience could be starting to wear thin.

After watching two of their “expected” deadlines come and go ...Read more

MIAMI — The best lesson I ever learned from the NFL was provided by Reggie Bush.

Bush had just been traded from the New Orleans Saints to the Miami Dolphins, which signed the NFL superstar to an extension before the 2011 season kicked off on the eve of an NFL lockout.

Bush had a “Hollywood” reputation accompanying him from his time at ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — They gathered on the practice field over the weekend, more than 100 players wearing Kansas City Chiefs jerseys for the first time.

It’s 104 on the roster, to be exact, or 11 more than a year ago.

But the focus here is on seven.

The Chiefs’ 2026 draft class has arrived in Kansas City, the most anticipated group since ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Treydan Stukes couldn’t help but read the words in his dad’s voice.

It was the same affirmations and lessons the Las Vegas Raiders second-round draft pick had been hearing in his home his entire life.

This time, they were printed in a book.

“The Self-Centered Perspective: Using Self-Mastery, The Power of Introspection, and...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — From just about the minute the plummet-back-to-earth 2025 season ended for the Chiefs, coach Andy Reid has seemed almost eerily upbeat and energized.

Certainly, that was his abiding demeanor in a pre-NFL scouting combine meeting with the media over Zoom. And it was what he projected in a pre-NFL draft session that came ...Read more

CHICAGO — As lawmakers consider helping the Chicago Bears build a new stadium, the ghosts of past stadium deals still haunt the present.

Soldier Field, Rate Field and even Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis loom over the landscape, marking steel and concrete warnings and justifications for a new stadium deal. Critics and boosters alike say we ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is in the midst of an ongoing knee-rehab process after tearing his ACL and LCL during a game in mid-December.

This weekend, the Chiefs played host to their annual rookie minicamp in Kansas City. Veteran players are slated to enter the fold for Phase 2 of the team’s offseason ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Sometimes, it’s funny what draft picks can turn into.

The Steelers sent George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys a year ago this month and effectively got Drew Allar in return, more or less. The compensatory selections they received for letting Dan Moore Jr. and Justin Fields leave in free agency effectively allowed them to draft ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There’s a man who saved the life of Laveranues Coles.

And Coles will testify to that.

He just doesn’t know the man’s name.

“I’ve battled with this over the last month,” Coles told The Charlotte Observer on Thursday morning. He was set to speak in about an hour to the Hood Hargett Breakfast Club, a membership ...Read more

MIAMI — Everyone (and by everyone I mean the folks who set the betting odds driven by public consensus) agrees the Miami Dolphins will be pretty awful this coming season. Whether they will be awful enough is open to some debate. So is how they might parlay that awfulness to best advantage ... and how they should.

All of the above assures this...Read more

PITTSBURGH — In the post-NFL draft era, the mania of predicting which players will be drafted by what teams has been replaced by the ungovernable excessiveness of evaluating how well teams drafted which players.

Both can be profitless exercises in futility.

The success or failure of the Steelers’ most recent draft, which got off to a bit ...Read more

I don’t buy the idea of a “weak” draft class.

Every draft gives 32 teams a chance to get younger, cheaper and better: the holy trinity of roster building.

The board may not be overflowing with blue-chippers. The depth may get uncomfortable by Saturday afternoon. But every team in the NFL still gets three days to find starters, role ...Read more