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Dolphins GM says Tyreek Hill did not request trade

KahawaTungu Editor — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 07:37:15 +0000

Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said star wide receiver Tyreek Hill has not directly requested a trade.

Both Grier and head coach Mike McDaniel met with Hill on Monday, one day after the wideout hinted that he was ready to leave Miami.

“There’s a lot of things that I need to reassess about my career,” Hill told reporters Sunday. “I just gotta do what’s best for me and my family, whether that’s here or wherever the case may be.

.”.. I’m out, bro. It was great playing here, but at the end of the day, I gotta do what’s best for my career. I’m too much of a competitor to be just out there.”

Grier said Hill did not retract those comments. “But he never asked for a trade with me,” Grier told reporters at Tuesday’s end-of-season press conference.

“They were (productive) conversations,” Grier said. “I will keep those between us. The one thing I would say is, in a frustrating season, he was very emotional in a game where we had a chance, coming back from 2-6. All of that with him playing through his (wrist) injury just kind of bubbled to a point.”

Also Read: Vegas Raiders fire head coach Pierce after dismal season

Hill caught two passes for 20 yards in Sunday’s season-ending loss to the New York Jets before taking himself out of the game in the fourth quarter.

McDaniel said he met with Hill to “clear the air” and told him that kind of behavior was unacceptable.

“I was very direct with him. He was very honest, and it was great terms that we were discussing,” McDaniel said.

“We discussed multiple things, including without wavering, that it’s not acceptable to leave a game and won’t be tolerated in the future, and he embraced accountability. I wouldn’t say there’s necessarily anything to fix, but we had to clear the air in a rough and tumultuous situation.”

Hill, who will turn 31 in March, caught 81 passes for 959 yards in 17 games this season — marking his lowest production in a full season since his rookie year with Kansas City in 2016. The drop came following a pair of 1,700-yard seasons to begin his tenure in Miami and with Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa limited to 11 games due to concussion and hip injuries.

Before the 2024 season, Hill signed a three-year, $90 million extension through the 2026 season that included a $7 million signing bonus and $59 million in guaranteed money. The eight-time Pro Bowl selection is due to count $28.7 million against the 2025 cap and $51.9 million in the final year of the deal in 2026.

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Vegas Raiders fire head coach Pierce after dismal season

KahawaTungu Editor — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 07:26:01 +0000

The Las Vegas Raiders fired head coach Antonio Pierce after his first full season on the job, the team said on Tuesday, the latest dismissal following the final week of the National Football League regular season.

The former Pro Bowl linebacker took over as interim head coach in 2023 but struggled through an ugly 2024 campaign where the Raiders finished 4-13, last in the AFC West.

“Antonio grew up a Raiders fan and his Silver and Black roots run deep,” the team said in a statement.

Also Read: Detroit Lions expect RB David Montgomery back for playoff run

“We are grateful for his ability to reignite what it means to be a Raider throughout the entire organization.”

Pierce is the latest coach to get the axe after NFL’s infamous annual “Black Monday” saw the Jacksonville Jaguars fire Doug Pederson.

The New England Patriots kicked off the action a day earlier, firing coach Jerod Mayo after his first year at the helm on Sunday.

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Boise State star RB Ashton Jeanty declares for NFL draft

KahawaTungu Editor — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 07:14:39 +0000

Boise State star running back Ashton Jeanty, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, announced Tuesday afternoon that he is declaring for the NFL draft.

Jeanty had one of top running back seasons of all time in 2024 by rushing for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns. The yardage is second most in a season behind legendary Barry Sanders, who rushed for 2,628 yards for Oklahoma State in 1988.

“The opportunity to play in the NFL is a dream of mine,” Jeanty said in his announcement on social media. “I’m proud to represent Boise State and all of those who have helped me along the way at the next level.”

Also Read: Bears to interview Pete Carroll; Mike McCarthy request denied

Jeanty led Boise State to a 12-2 record and an appearance in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals before the Broncos lost 31-14 to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl.

Jeanty rushed for more than 100 yards in each game this season and was known for his dazzling long runs and penchant for breaking tackles. He holds the school record of 4,769 rushing yards and completes his Boise State career with 50 rushing touchdowns.

Jeanty was named Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight season. In 2023, he won the award after rushing for 1,347 yards and 14 touchdowns.

The junior is considered the top running back prospect in the draft and could possibly be selected among the top 10 picks.
Colorado receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter edged Jeanty for the Heisman Trophy.

–Field Level Media

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Bears to interview Pete Carroll; Mike McCarthy request denied

KahawaTungu Editor — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 07:03:40 +0000

The Chicago Bears were denied an interview with Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy for their head coaching vacancy but will sit down with longtime NFL coach Pete Carroll on Thursday, according to pair of ESPN reports on Tuesday.

Carroll, 73, won a Super Bowl during his 14-year tenure with Seattle and has the most wins of any Seahawks coach (137). He also set the record for most playoff appearances (10) and wins (10) in franchise history. Carroll served as an adviser this season after stepping down following the 2023 campaign.

Carroll also guided the New York Jets (1994) and New England Patriots (1997-99) and has a 170-120-1 record as an NFL head coach.

He excelled in the college ranks, winning two national championships at Southern California during his nine-year tenure and finishing with a 97-19 record. Carroll is one of only three coaches to win both a Super Bowl and a college national championship.

As for McCarthy, his deal expires Wednesday with the Cowboys having exclusive negotiating rights through Jan. 14.

Also Read: Mike McCarthy Siblings: A Look at the NFL Player’s Family Tree

McCarthy, 61, completed his fifth season at the helm with Dallas missing the playoffs at 7-10. He is 49-35 in the regular season and 1-3 in the postseason.

McCarthy — who will meet with owner Jerry Jones this week — has said he wants to remain with Dallas after missing the playoffs for the first time since his first season in 2020.

The Bears have made formal requests to interview a number of current NFL assistants.

–Field Level Media

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Lamar Jackson, Ravens run all over Texans

KahawaTungu Editor — Thu, 26 Dec 2024 12:52:13 +0000

Lamar Jackson set an NFL record, Derrick Henry achieved a single-season franchise mark and the visiting Baltimore Ravens moved into first place in the AFC North with a 31-2 rout of the Houston Texans on Wednesday.

Jackson rushed for 87 yards, including a 48-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, to give him 6,110 rushing yards for his career. That’s one more than Michael Vick, making Jackson the all-time leader in career rushing yards by a quarterback. Henry rushed for 147 yards and a score on 27 carries, giving him 16 touchdowns for the year, the most for a single season in team history.

His performance helped Baltimore (11-5) take a one-game lead on Pittsburgh with one week left in the season. The Ravens can clinch the AFC North title next week with a home win over Cleveland.

Jackson completed 10 of 15 passes for 168 yards with two touchdowns and another 87 yards on the ground with the score as Baltimore earned a 432-211 advantage in total yardage. The Ravens collected five sacks and came up with a goal-line stand in the second quarter with the game still up for grabs.

C.J. Stroud hit 17 of 31 attempts for 185 yards with an interception for Houston (9-7), which lost its second straight game and is now locked into the No. 4 spot for the AFC playoffs.

Also Read: Boxing Day Gift Ideas

Henry initiated the scoring at the 10:08 mark of the first quarter on a 2-yard touchdown run, capping a 75-yard drive. Baltimore made it 10-0 the next time it touched the ball as Justin Tucker drilled a 52-yard field goal with 2:47 to go in the first.

The Texans got their only points with 10:09 left in the first half when Kamari Lassiter tackled Henry in the end zone for a 4-yard loss and a safety. Houston had a chance to score a touchdown on the ensuing possession but Joe Mixon was stopped at the 1 on a fourth-and-goal pass.

Baltimore sailed 99 yards down the field on its next possession, with Jackson throwing a 9-yard strike to Isaiah Likely with 1:51 remaining for a 17-2 halftime lead.

The Ravens made it a rout in the third quarter on Jackson’s long scoring run and his 1-yard touchdown pass to Mark Andrews at the 5:50 mark.

Field Level Media

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Raheem Morris ‘pleased’ with Michael Penix Jr. as Falcons control destiny

KahawaTungu Editor — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 15:56:58 +0000

After weeks of roster uncertainty and losing football, everything went right for the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

Following quarterback Kirk Cousins’ benching, eighth overall draft pick Michael Penix Jr. won his first career start, throwing for 202 yards in a 34-7 home win over the hapless New York Giants.

Atlanta (8-7) had squandered a comfortable lead over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South after dropping four in a row, but thanks to Tampa Bay’s Sunday Night loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the Falcons now sit atop the division and control their own destiny heading into meetings with the Washington Commanders and Carolina Panthers.

Ahead of Sunday night’s massive game outside the nation’s capital, Falcons head coach Raheem Morris liked what he saw from his 24-year-old quarterback.

“I was really pleased with his composure and his poise, his ability to work through progressions,” Morris said of Penix on Monday. “Realistically, it was a pretty clean game at the quarterback position. … I thought he did a great job of taking what was given to him, looking at his reads, throwing to open receivers, and really putting some nice zip on it.”

Atlanta’s eighth win of the season marks its most since 2017, when it finished 10-6. That was also the last year the Falcons appeared in the postseason. A win in Washington on Sunday, paired with a Buccaneers’ loss to Carolina, would clinch Atlanta’s first divisional crown since 2016.

Morris will be squaring off with a well-connected counterpart in Commanders head coach Dan Quinn.

When Morris played at Hofstra from 1994-97, Quinn was a defensive assistant. Morris then served on Quinn’s staff in Atlanta from 2015-20, before taking over as interim head coach when Atlanta fired Quinn midway through the 2020 season.

Also Read: Raiders’ Pierce after win hurts draft order: ‘We don’t do this to lose’

“It’s always fun to play against your friends, your confidants, your mentors,” Morris said. “From Dan coaching me in college, then having a chance to work together and now having a chance to follow the same path to the National Football League. We have a chance to compete against each other at a very high level with high stakes on the line and in primetime. But this week he’s got to be a nameless gray face and we’ve got to go out there and get a win.”

As for getting caught up in the playoff scenarios, Morris won’t be found monitoring other games.

“I am not the emotional roller coaster guy,” Morris said. “I do not like to watch those games with anything ill in my heart. I found out (Dallas) won when I woke up this morning and looked on the ESPN app. I closed the phone and realized we had the pen back. Got to go keep it.”

Field Level Media.

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Texans claim WR Diontae Johnson off waivers from Ravens

KahawaTungu Editor — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 15:38:36 +0000

Set to host the Ravens on Christmas Day, the Houston Texans claimed wide receiver Diontae Johnson off waivers on Monday after Baltimore waived him last week.

Thin at receiver behind star Nico Collins due to season-ending injuries to Stefon Diggs (torn ACL) and Tank Dell (torn ACL, dislocated kneecap), the Texans are hoping Johnson, 28, can provide depth at the position alongside Robert Woods, Xavier Hutchinson and John Metchie III.

With the Ravens, Johnson reeled in just one catch for 6 yards and received a one-game suspension for what the team said was refusing to enter a game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 1. Baltimore waived him on Friday.

Also Read: Raiders’ Pierce after win hurts draft order: ‘We don’t do this to lose’

An unrestricted free agent after this season, Johnson is joining his fourth team this calendar year after he was traded from the Pittsburgh Steelers to Carolina in March and then moved from the Panthers to the Ravens in October.

A third-round draft pick in 2019, Johnson had 30 receptions for 357 yards and three touchdowns in seven games (all starts) for the Panthers earlier this season.

In six career seasons, the 2021 Pro Bowl selection has 422 receptions for 4,726 yards and 28 TDs for the Steelers (2019-23), Panthers and Ravens.

Field Level Media

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Packers shut out Saints, wrap up playoff berth

KahawaTungu Editor — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 15:11:21 +0000

Jordan Love threw a touchdown pass, the Green Bay defense dominated and the Packers clinched a playoff berth by beating the visiting New Orleans Saints 34-0 on Monday night.

Love passed for 182 yards, three teammates rushed for touchdowns and the Packers (11-4) scored touchdowns on their first three possessions en route to their ninth victory in the past 11 games.

Green Bay possessed the ball for 37:13 and outgained New Orleans 404-196 in total yards.

Rookie Spencer Rattler completed 15 of 30 passes for 153 yards with an interception and a lost fumble for the Saints (5-10). He fell to 0-4 as a starter in place of injured signal-caller Derek Carr.

It was the first shutout in the NFL this season and marked just the second time New Orleans was shut out in its past 370 games.

The Packers received the opening kickoff and drove 63 yards in 10 plays, the last of which was Love’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Dontayvion Wicks. The 7-0 lead held up through the end of the first quarter.

On its second possession, Green Bay converted two third downs and two fourth downs during a 17-play, 96-yard march that ended with Josh Jacobs’ 2-yard touchdown run for a 14-0 lead.

The Packers then went 67 yards in six plays, and Chris Brooks ran 1 yard for a touchdown and a 21-0 lead. Green Bay didn’t face a third or fourth down on that drive.

On the ensuing possession, the Saints reached the Green Bay 29, but Rattler fumbled while being sacked by Keisean Nixon, and Rashan Gary recovered the loose ball for the Packers, preserving a 21-0 lead at halftime.

Also Read: Eagles’ Jalen Hurts in concussion protocol; Kenny Pickett hurt, too

Green Bay drove to Brandon McManus’ 55-yard field goal on its first possession of the third quarter to expand its lead to 24-0, and the score stayed that way through the end of the third quarter.

McManus kicked a 46-yard field goal and Emanuel Wilson rushed 1 yard for a touchdown to complete the scoring.

Love connected on 16 of 28 passes, while Jacobs gained 69 yards on 13 carries.

Field Level Media

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Dolphins place WR Grant DuBose on IR

KahawaTungu Editor — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 03:53:09 +0000

Miami Dolphins receiver Grant DuBose, severely injured on a helmet-to-helmet hit on Sunday, was placed on injured reserve by the team on Tuesday.

DuBose, who was hospitalized Sunday night and Monday in Houston, has movement in all extremities, according to the Dolphins.

DuBose was down on the turf for close to 15 minutes after taking a blow to the head from safety Calen Bullock of the Texans with 9:34 left in the third quarter of Sunday’s game, won 20-12 by Houston.

Medical personnel working on DuBose cut his uniform top off of him. They eventually placed the 23-year-old on a board before putting him on the stretcher and wheeling him off the field and taking him to Memorial Hermann Medical Center.

Miami also signed long snapper Jake McQuaide from the practice squad to the active roster and signed quarterback Skylar Thompson and receiver Isaiah McKenzie to the practice squad.

Also Read: Titans’ Will Levis out as QB1, Mason Rudolph to start

McQuaide, 37, has appeared in 194 career games over 14 NFL seasons. He was a two-time Pro Bowl selection during a 10-season stint (2011-20) with the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams. He also has played for the Dallas Cowboys (2021-22), Detroit Lions (2023) and Minnesota Vikings (2024).

Thompson, 27, played in three games (one start) this season for Miami and was 21 of 33 for 187 yards before being released on Saturday. In 10 games (three starts) over three seasons with the Dolphins, Thompson has passed for 721 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.

McKenzie, 29, has 152 catches for 1,427 yards and 11 touchdowns in seven NFL seasons for the Denver Broncos (2017-18), Buffalo Bills (2018-22) and Indianapolis Colts (2023). He hasn’t appeared in an NFL game this season after being released by the New York Giants shortly before the start of the season.

Field Level Media

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Falcons bench Kirk Cousins, name Michael Penix Jr. starting QB

KahawaTungu Editor — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 03:43:44 +0000

After a trip to the Strip did not instill confidence in their quarterback play, the Atlanta Falcons benched Kirk Cousins and named Michael Penix Jr. their starting QB “moving forward” late Tuesday night.

Pressed by reporters earlier in the day, head coach Raheem Morris initially insisted the staff still had to “go through all that process like we always do” without committing to a starter for Atlanta’s Week 16 game Sunday against the New York Giants.

Then the Falcons released a statement after 8:30 p.m. local time.

“After review we have made the decision Michael Penix Jr. will be the Atlanta Falcons’ starting quarterback moving forward,” the statement said. “This was a football decision, and we are fully focused on preparing the team for Sunday’s game against the New York Giants.”

Penix, 24, was a Heisman Trophy finalist last year at Washington, when he threw for 4,903 yards and 36 touchdowns to guide the Huskies to the national title game.

Atlanta selected him eighth overall in April’s draft shortly after Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million deal with the Falcons. Penix has taken 20 snaps this season over two games.

Atlanta (7-7) beat the Las Vegas Raiders 15-9 on Monday night despite a weak showing from Cousins. The veteran quarterback threw his first touchdown since Nov. 3 but was 11-for-17 for a season-low 112 yards, with one interception and three sacks.

In his previous four games, Cousins tossed eight picks without a touchdown over four straight losses. Monday’s win kept Atlanta’s playoff hopes alive, for now.

“There’s no secret. We didn’t play well at the quarterback position,” Morris said earlier Tuesday. “We got to find ways to play better. So, you know, all those things we go over the course of the week. We got to do whatever’s best to win against the Giants.”

Also Read: Kirk Cousins-led Falcons defeat Raiders to halt 4-game skid

Morris went as far as to say that there would not be a downside to playing Penix, even amid a playoff chase.

“You could never say there’s a (downside) to turn it over to somebody that you put a lot of investment into, somebody that you brought in here, somebody you’ve done some things with, somebody that (has) said nothing but the right things since they’ve been here,” Morris said of Penix.

After the Falcons’ narrow win, Cousins said it was no mystery that he needed to play better.

“Raheem says it, but it’s stating the obvious, and every week you kind of go through your process and you plan to go out there and play the very best you can,” Cousins said late Monday night. “And so, this week will be no different.”

Both 2-12, the Raiders and Giants are tied for the worst record in the NFL, and the Falcons catch them on back-to-back weeks with time running out on the season. They trail the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by one game in the NFC

South and the Washington Commanders by two games for the third and final wild-card spot in the conference.

On Monday, the NFL flexed the Falcons’ Dec. 29 visit to the Commanders into the Week 17 “Sunday Night Football” broadcast.

In injury news, Morris said kicker Younghoe Koo is dealing with an unspecified injury. Koo recently was listed on the injury report with a right hip ailment.

“We’ll kind of get a feel for what’s going on and everything that’s happening,” Morris said. “Get a better feel for him (Tuesday).”

Atlanta signed kicker Tanner Brown to the practice squad Sunday, the day before the Raiders game. Koo went 2-for-3 on field goals and made his only point-after try on Monday.

Field Level Media

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