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  • NFL: Bucs’ QB battle: Baker Mayfield feels ‘comfortable’ in new offense

    NFL: Bucs’ QB battle: Baker Mayfield feels ‘comfortable’ in new offense


    The quarterback competition between Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask is getting into full swing this week at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ minicamp.

    Mayfield, the former No. 1 overall draft pick now with his fourth NFL team, said Tuesday he’s feeling comfortable with the Bucs’ offense so far.

    “I feel comfortable with where I’m at right now. Now, it’s about making sure that my comfortability resonates with everyone else,” Mayfield said. “That is the quarterback’s job, is to make sure everybody gets on the same page and make sure we breathe that confidence throughout the whole team. I feel good with where I am at right now, but there is obviously always room to improve.”

    Though it’s only June, Mayfield was concerned about cleaning up turnovers the offense committed during drills against the Bucs’ tough defense.

    “But that’s what happens when you get the full defense back out there and the competition starts flying around a bit,” Mayfield said. “We just need to hone it in, but luckily, it’s minicamp now, so we’re going to be able to watch the film altogether and do a walkthrough to correct some of those mistakes.”

    Mayfield was traded from the Cleveland Browns to the Carolina Panthers ahead of the 2022 season, but the Panthers went 1-5 in his six starts and his stay was short-lived. He was granted his release in early December and the Los Angeles Rams claimed him off waivers while dealing with quarterback injuries.

    Across 12 games (10 starts) for the Panthers and Rams, Mayfield threw for 2,163 yards, 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 2022.

    Trask, meanwhile, got into his first NFL game last season and went 3-for-9 for 23 yards. After backing up Tom Brady for two years, Trask has more of a chance to earn playing time.

    Only a few years removed from his college days at Florida, where he was a Heisman finalist in 2020, Trask said he looked at Tuesday’s assignment like a final exam.

    “We’ve been studying all throughout OTAs and then you’ve got three days to put it altogether,” Trask said. “The first day, we’re still working through some things and tightening up some things, but altogether, I think we’re really getting all of the concepts down together well and looking pretty solid.”

    Head coach Todd Bowles revealed little about his quarterbacks’ progress, saying both Mayfield and Trask are “getting used to” playing with star receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and receiving play calls from first-year offensive coordinator Dave Canales.

    Asked where the QBs have shown the most growth recently, Bowles said, “Understanding the offense and making audibles at the line of scrimmage.”

    –Field Level Media

  • NFL: Pro Bowl pass rusher Frank Clark officially a Bronco

    NFL: Pro Bowl pass rusher Frank Clark officially a Bronco


    The Denver Broncos made official the signing of Pro Bowl edge rusher Frank Clark to a one-year contract on Tuesday.

    Clark, who turns 30 on Wednesday, played the past four seasons for the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, who released him in March.

    Clark will have a guaranteed $5.5 million base salary with an additional $2 million eligible to be earned through incentives, according to multiple media reports last Thursday.

    Broncos head coach Sean Payton said Clark won’t attend the team’s minicamp as he has an upcoming Super Bowl ring ceremony in Kansas City “that will be a little awkward.”

    Payton expects Clark, who’s projected to play outside linebacker, will be with the Broncos at the start of training camp in July.

    “(Clark is) a pressure player and someone that I remember doing a lot of work on when he was coming out in the draft,” Payton said. “We followed him, obviously, in Seattle first and then in Kansas City. It’s one of the areas that we paid close attention to. We’ll find a role within what we are doing and where he can help us. I think it’s always a challenge to find those guys who you can say are pressure players, but he is one of them. Certainly, he’s excelled in the postseason, both in Seattle and in Kansas City. That’s the vision.”

    A three-time Pro Bowl player (2019-21), Clark won Super Bowl titles with the Chiefs in 2019 and last season, when he had five sacks and 39 tackles in 15 regular-season games (all starts). He began his career with the Seattle Seahawks, who selected him in the second round (63rd overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft.

    For his eight-year career, Clark has 58.5 sacks, 263 tackles (180 solo), two interceptions, 14 forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries in 120 regular-season games (88 starts). He also has 13.5 sacks in 17 postseason games, the most among all players since entering the NFL in 2015.

    –Field Level Media

  • NFL: Texans: Open competition between QBs C.J. Stroud, Davis Mills

    NFL: Texans: Open competition between QBs C.J. Stroud, Davis Mills


    A notable training camp battle is already brewing in Houston where new head coach DeMeco Ryans said the role of QB1 will be decided via open competition between Davis Mills and rookie C.J. Stroud.

    It’s the third-round pick in 2021 (Mills) vs. the No. 2 overall pick in 2023 (Stroud).

    “We’ll see where their process goes in training camp and see as the competition continues,” Ryans said Tuesday. “We’ll see who separates themselves.”

    Tuesday was Day 1 of the Texans’ mandatory minicamp.

    Stroud and Mills have rotated reps with the first team all throughout the offseason program, from OTAs to this week’s minicamp. Stroud ran the first team Tuesday because it was his turn.

    “They’ve been rotating each week,” Ryans said. “As you guys came to practice, you’ve seen we’ve rotated those guys each week, and this just happened to be the week that C.J. was running with the ones.”

    Mills, 24, has a track record, albeit on a losing team — he’s 5-19-1 as the Texans’ starter the past two seasons, under two different head coaches and offensive schemes. He’s thrown for 5,782 yards and 33 touchdowns against 25 interceptions in 28 games overall.

    Stroud, 21, meanwhile, continues to learn the pro game.

    “The best thing I’ve seen about C.J. with his improvement and his growth is he doesn’t make the same mistake twice,” Ryans said. “He learns from his mistakes, he puts those behind them, and he finds a way to continue to improve and get better.”

    –Field Level Media

  • NFL: RB Dalvin Cook looking for ‘right situation’ with next team

    NFL: RB Dalvin Cook looking for ‘right situation’ with next team


    Free agent running back Dalvin Cook said he is in no rush to find his next employer.

    Released by the Minnesota Vikings last week, Cook detailed what he’s looking for in his prospective new team on Tuesday while speaking on “The Rich Eisen Show.”

    “I want the value,” Cook said. “I want somebody who values Dalvin Cook. I want somebody that wants me to be there and give me the ball. I just want to go into the right situation so I can go help somebody win.

    “Like you said, the money is going to come. If you play good, they’re going to pay you. I just want to go somewhere where it feels like it’s home to me and help somebody win and just go be me. Just go turn it loose and look for a home. That’s it.”

    Cook, who turns 28 in August, said his shoulder is “feeling great” after undergoing surgery in February.

    A four-time Pro Bowl selection, Cook rushed for 5,993 yards and 47 touchdowns and added 221 receptions for 1,794 yards and five scores in 73 career games (72 starts) in Minnesota. He was selected by the Vikings in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

    “I got a lot of love for Minnesota. They brought a kid in that didn’t know what to expect and they embraced me,” Cook said.

    “I’m looking forward to this next step in my life and it’s going to be fun. Whoever gets Dalvin Cook, they know what they are getting. That’s just plain and simple. You know what you are getting out of me, and I’m going to be a great team player, great teammate, great person in the locker room. I’m just ready to go run the rock and help somebody win games.”

    –Field Level Media

  • NFL: Jets sign former Packers S Adrian Amos

    NFL: Jets sign former Packers S Adrian Amos


    The New York Jets signed safety Adrian Amos to a contract Tuesday, adding yet another former member of the Green Bay Packers to the team.

    The Jets did not divulge terms of the deal, however multiple media outlets reported it was a one-year contract worth up to $4 million.

    Amos, 30, played the last four seasons in Green Bay. He’ll see a few familiar faces in New York — ex-Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers, wide receivers Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb and offensive lineman Billy Turner.

    Amos played in — and started — all 66 games for the Packers from 2019-22. He has 10 interceptions, six sacks and 48 passes defensed in 126 career games (122 starts) with the Chicago Bears (2015-18) and Packers.

    He was selected by the Bears in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

    Amos adds depth to a position group headlined by Chuck Clark and Jordan Whitehead. Tony Adams also is on the roster.

    –Field Level Media

  • NFL: Chiefs DT Chris Jones skips mandatory camp

    NFL: Chiefs DT Chris Jones skips mandatory camp


    Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones skipped mandatory minicamp Tuesday in Kansas City as he positions himself for a contract extension.

    Jones posted to his Instagram account a video highlight reel, set to the song “YoungBoy Never Broke Again.” The clip ends with Jones celebrating a quarterback sack against the Los Angeles Rams with a money-spraying motion.

    “Coming for it all. #year8,” Jones account read.

    Jones, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, signed a four-year, $80 million contract in July 2020. In the final year of his current contract this season, he’s scheduled for a base salary of $19.5 million. The 28-year-old can earn $500,000 for a workout bonus and a $1.25 million incentive bonus if he records 10 sacks in 2023.

    The defensive tackle market is trending upward with three contracts this offseason that far exceed the full value of Jones’ deal. Jeffery Simmons (Tennessee Titans) signed a four-year, $94 million deal that falls just $1 million short of the full four-year value of Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald’s existing contract. Washington Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne (four years, $90M) and Dexter Lawrence of the New York Giants (four years, $87.5M) also jumped Jones among highest-paid DTs.

    Chiefs head coach Andy Reid called Jones’ contract “well deserved” in 2020.

    With Jones in the fold, Kansas City has the potential to start 10 homegrown defensive players in 2023, with free safety Justin Reid the lone player drafted by another team.

    –Field Level Media

  • NFL: Eagles CB Darius Slay working it out with former coach Matt Patricia

    NFL: Eagles CB Darius Slay working it out with former coach Matt Patricia


    Senior defensive analyst Matt Patricia is new to the Philadelphia Eagles, but he’s very familiar to the team’s top cornerback.

    Darius Slay spent the 2013-19 seasons with the Detroit Lions, where he had an acrimonious relationship with Patricia starting in 2018, when the latter took over as head coach.

    Slay, who was traded to the Eagles before the 2020 season, said Patricia met with him upon joining the Lions and told him he was not an “elite” coverage defender.

    “He said I wasn’t an elite corner and that I’m not in their category. I was coming off an All-Pro year, eight picks,” Slay said in 2020. “That told me right there that he didn’t have no respect for me. He told me I was a good player, but then to tell me what I’m not, so I said, OK. I just took that to the chin and said, ‘OK, that’s cool.’ Then I bounced back to two back-to-back Pro Bowlers on him. Let him know how elite I was.”

    Slay said the final straw with Patricia was accusing him of taking it easy, to put lighter words to the actual phrase Slay alleges the coach used, on a young wide receiver. Slay said “I lost all respect for him.”

    Slay, who signed a three-year, $42 million extension with the Eagles in the offseason, told the Detroit Free Press that he and Patricia have been cordial since the Eagles hired him to assist with the defense.

    “We both got the same goal, just going out there to compete and win a championship, so that’s the main focus,” Slay said.

    The Eagles nearly traded Slay, who was named to the Pro Bowl each of the past two seasons, to the Baltimore Ravens in March, according to Slay.

    Patricia went 13-29-1 in two-plus seasons with the Lions, getting fired after Week 12 of the 2020 season.

    –Field Level Media

  • NFL: Ravens WR Odell Beckham Jr.: Pain no longer an issue

    NFL: Ravens WR Odell Beckham Jr.: Pain no longer an issue


    Odell Beckham Jr. is expected to slowly get up to speed with the Baltimore Ravens while working his way back from an ACL injury.

    Signed to a one-year, $15 million contract in April, Beckham said Tuesday that he’s encouraged by the progress he’s made since sustaining the injury during Super Bowl LVI.

    “It feels good to be able to get out of bed and not feel pain,” said the 30-year-old Beckham, who sat out all of last season.

    “It feels good to feel like if I needed to take off running right now, I could take off running. It’s been a long journey this time around and it was its own process, so I just had to take that for what it was.”

    Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told reporters that Beckham is considered a “full go” for practice.

    “He’s learning the offense for the first time like a lot of guys have been,” Harbaugh said. “So, I think we’ll kind of be a see as we go. (He’ll) go through individual (work), take a few reps in group (work) and team and see how he and the other guys feel and go from there.”

    A three-time Pro Bowl selection, Beckham has recorded 531 catches for 7,367 yards and 56 touchdowns in 96 career games (91 starts) with the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Rams. He exceeded 1,000 receiving yards in five of his first six seasons.

    One of Beckham’s new teammates, fellow wide receiver Rashod Bateman, is not participating in minicamp. Bateman is working his way back from a Lisfranc injury and recently received a cortisone shot in his left foot. He did work out during organized team activities in May.

    “I’m not expecting Bate to a part of” minicamp, Harbaugh said. “Right now, he had a shot for healing purposes, so that will keep him out for a couple of days. We just decided to let him just keep rehabbing and make sure he’s ready to go for training camp.”

    Bateman was a first-round pick by the Ravens in 2021 and has played in just 18 games (nine starts) over his first two NFL seasons due to injuries. He has 61 career catches for 800 yards and three touchdowns.

    –Field Level Media

  • OTHER: Jordy Lopez gets first eNASCAR win by .005 seconds

    OTHER: Jordy Lopez gets first eNASCAR win by .005 seconds


    Jordy Lopez led only lap on Tuesday night, but it was the only lap that mattered.

    After spinning out the race leader to take the lead on the final lap, Lopez edged Michael Conti in a door-to-door drag race to the finish line to prevail at a virtual World Wide Technology Raceway for his first career eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series win.

    “I just can’t believe it,” said an emotional Lopez, whose No. 3 Chevrolet edged Conti’s No. 8 Chevrolet by .005 seconds at the virtual Madison, Ill., track. “So many years of frustration and it’s finally paying off.”

    Despite the runner-up finish, Conti remains atop the season standings with 312 points through 10 races. He is tied for the series lead with two wins and leads all racers with six top-five finishes. Lopez’s win moved him into second with 273 points.

    “I’m not going to go up there and dump somebody because I feel entitled to a win,” said Conti, who got Lopez loose with a bump in Turn 4 to get even with him down the stretch. “I just wanted to give Jordy a nudge just to kind of get him a little bit upset with those old tires, and I did, and we just locked together coming down the front stretch in Kurt Busch-Ricky Craven Darlington fashion.”

    The final move to give Lopez the lead ruined Garrett Manes’ shot at his first career win in his 46th career eNASCAR race. When a caution came out with 17 laps to go, Manes stayed out — despite having 26 laps on his tires — and moved from 29th place to the lead.

    Manes and his No. 12 Ford then maintained the lead thanks to a series of yellow flags, including one that forced a green-white-checkered restart.

    Manes actually took the white flag, as well, but Lopez got to Manes’ bumper and turned him heading into Turn 2. That sent Manes spinning and caused a massive pileup that set up Lopez’s sprint with Conti.

    Manes, who led 19 laps, finished the race in 30th place. That was one spot better than Nick Ottinger, the series leader in laps led this season who led a race-high 79 on Tuesday. Ottinger got shuffled to the back while pitting on the caution with 17 to go and got caught up in the final wreck.

    Parker White finished the race in third place in his No. 11 Toyota, followed by Garrett Lowe’s No. 15 Ford in fourth and Graham A. Bowlin in fifth in the No. 48 Toyota.

    The series resumes at virtual Chicago Street Course on June 27.

    –Field Level Media

  • WNBA: Sami Whitcomb hits six treys as Storm top Mercury

    WNBA: Sami Whitcomb hits six treys as Storm top Mercury


    Sami Whitcomb came off the bench to sink six 3-pointers and score a team-high 18 points as the Seattle Storm opened a three-game road trip with an 83-69 win over the host Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday.

    Seattle (2-6) came into the contest on a two-game losing streak, but the Storm jumped ahead of the Mercury early and never trailed.

    The lead grew to 11 points in the first quarter, then 17 in the second when Whitcomb sank one of her 3-pointers. She shot 6-for-10 from beyond the arc, and she missed her lone 2-point attempt of the night.

    Phoenix (2-6) cut the deficit to single digits a little more than four minutes into the third quarter, but Whitcomb hit from deep on two of the next three Seattle possessions to quash any hope of a Mercury comeback.

    Seattle failed to top 66 points in any of its three games preceding Tuesday, but the Storm had 50 by halftime in Phoenix.

    Storm star Jewell Loyd, who came into Tuesday leading the WNBA in scoring at 26 points per game, finished with 17 points. She led the Seattle starters, all five of whom scored at least eight points.

    Ivana Dojkic scored 14 and shot 3-for-7 from 3-point range. Rookie Jordan Horston finished with 13 points and a career-high 14 rebounds for her first career double-double. Ezi Magbegor added nine points, and Kia Nurse scored eight points.

    Phoenix’s Sophie Cunningham led all scorers with 21 points, while Sug Sutton added 15 points and Michaela Onyenwere finished with 10 points. Shey Peddy came off the bench to contribute nine points and seven assists.

    Mercury center Brittney Griner scored two points in just nine minutes, coming out in the second quarter with an apparent hip injury. Diana Taurasi went scoreless on 0-of-6 shooting.

    –Field Level Media