NFL

5:33 PM ET OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens placed Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard on injured reserve Thursday, which means Baltimore will be without one of its top blockers for the must-win game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Ricard, who was named to his third straight Pro Bowl, has been dealing with a

5:11 PM ET ESPN News Services The USFL on Thursday announced the hiring of its first four head coaches — Todd Haley, Kevin Sumlin, Mike Riley and Bart Andrus — with play scheduled to start this spring. The league will have eight teams, with 10-game regular-season schedules running from April 16 through mid-June, it said.

2:05 PM ET FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur issued an emphatic mea culpa Thursday, saying he blew the call that might have cost New York an upset victory Sunday against the Buccaneers. “It’s 100 percent on me,” said LaFleur, commenting for the first time on Zach Wilson‘s ill-fated quarterback sneak late

3:53 PM ET EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants coach Joe Judge appears to have the support of his locker room despite a rough season and a rambling 11-plus-minute answer that made eyes roll across the NFL. Judge went all over the map in the much-discussed rant after Sunday’s 29-3 loss to the Chicago

1:05 PM ET The Chicago Bears placed quarterback Justin Fields on the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday, putting his ability to play in the team’s season finale against the Minnesota Vikings in jeopardy. Fields, 22, had just returned to full practice Wednesday after missing the last two games due to an ankle injury. Bears coach Matt Nagy

12:33 PM ET Adam Schefter Close ESPN Senior Writer ESPN NFL Insider Joined ESPN in 2009 Former president of the Pro Football Writers of America and the author of four books Jenna Laine Close ESPN Staff Writer Covered the Buccaneers since 2009 Joined ESPN in 2016 Four days after wide receiver Antonio Brown threw off

11:28 AM ET PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers will likely be without their top receiver in Ben Roethlisberger‘s final game. The Steelers placed wide receiver Diontae Johnson on the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday along with center Kendrick Green, making it unlikely that either will clear protocols in time for the regular-season finale at the Baltimore Ravens

6:00 AM ET Gas up the private jets. Starting next week, the NFL head-coaching hiring cycle will get cranked up, with anywhere from three to seven teams expected to be in the market. (The Jacksonville Jaguars have already started after firing Urban Meyer in December.) Candidates will pack their best suits and crisscross the country,

5:07 PM ET HENDERSON, Nev. — Las Vegas Raiders rookie nickel cornerback Nate Hobbs, who was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of DUI early Monday morning, is expected to play Sunday night in a potential playoff elimination game against the Los Angeles Chargers, according to interim coach Rich Bisaccia. “Obviously, we take that extremely serious,

9:32 PM ET TAMPA, Fla. — Speaking for the first time since abruptly leaving during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ game against the New York Jets on Sunday, Antonio Brown said he was forced to play on an injured ankle that will require surgery. An MRI on Monday revealed broken bone fragments, a ligament torn from

5:56 PM ET The Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday placed star rookie Micah Parsons on the reserve/COVID-19 list. That means Dallas could be without Parsons on Saturday night when it takes on the Eagles in the teams’ regular-season finale in Philadelphia. Under a new agreement between the NFL and NFL Players Association released last month, isolation

7:29 PM ET Brady HendersonESPN SEATTLE — A week after acknowledging his uncertain future with the Seahawks, All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner struck a more hopeful tune Wednesday, saying he has “a lot of optimism” that he’ll be back in 2022 for an 11th season in Seattle. Wagner said he hasn’t given up on the possibility

4:59 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — The NFL, not surprisingly in the midst of a rise in COVID-19 cases, has looked into other potential sites for next month’s Super Bowl. That’s not unusual because the league does so every year. But with Los Angeles the site for this year’s title game, and restrictions

4:39 PM ET GREEN BAY, Wis. — Aaron Rodgers had strong words for the MVP voter who said this week that he would not cast his vote for the Green Bay Packers quarterback because he’s “the biggest jerk in the league” and “a bad guy.” Those comments came from Hub Arkush, a Chicago-based reporter who

3:26 PM ET MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins was activated from the COVID-19/reserve list on Wednesday and will start in the season finale against Chicago, according to coach Mike Zimmer. Cousins was unable to play in the Vikings’ 37-10 loss at Green Bay on Sunday, a defeat that knocked Minnesota out of postseason

2:09 PM ET Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, the projected No. 1 selection in the 2022 NFL draft, announced Wednesday that he will be leaving the Wolverines program to turn pro. Hutchinson was the Heisman Trophy runner-up in 2021, becoming the third defensive player to finish second in the history of the award. He was

1:45 PM ET CHICAGO — Rookie quarterback Justin Fields will start the Bears’ season finale in Minnesota on Sunday after missing the last two games with an ankle injury, head coach Matt Nagy announced on Wednesday. The Bears say Fields has improved enough to practice all week and their intention is to play him. He’ll

12:38 PM ET PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger finally started to come back down to earth two days after an emotional victory Monday night in what likely was his last game at Heinz Field. “You don’t until today probably,” the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback said Wednesday morning. “Tuesday was still pretty special. You get up, and you