NFL

1:23 PM ET OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta vehemently defended the team’s wide receivers during Monday’s pre-draft news conference. “I’m aware that there’s some fan discontent with our wide receivers and our drafting and all that,” DeCosta said. “We’ve got some really good young receivers. It’s insulting to these guys

12:39 PM ET ESPN.com staff Alex Smith, the 2005 No. 1 overall pick by the San Francisco 49ers as well as the 2020 NFL Comeback Player of the Year as a quarterback with the Washington Football Team, announced his retirement from the league on Monday, and social media was awash in inspiring words for an

1:57 PM ET Lindsey ThiryESPN Close Covered Rams for two years for Los Angeles Times Previously covered the Falcons Has covered the NBA and college football and basketball THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The Los Angeles Rams must have seen the rave reviews Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury’s NFL draft setup — a pristine living room

12:17 PM ET HOUSTON — Attorney Rusty Hardin has filed an answer to the 22 lawsuits filed against Deshaun Watson that says the Houston Texans quarterback’s legal team has “already uncovered evidence that numerous allegations in this onslaught of cases are simply not true or accurate.” From March 16 to April 14, 23 lawsuits were

11:52 AM ET Veteran quarterback Alex Smith, who made a remarkable comeback from an injury that nearly cost him his leg, announced Monday on Instagram that he is retiring from football. Smith, 36, was the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year in 2020 after helping lead the Washington Football Team to the NFC East title.

10:12 AM ET The Cincinnati Bengals will have a new look starting in 2021. On Monday, the team unveiled its new uniforms that will be worn starting with the upcoming season. The redesign is the team’s first since 2004. “Our fans have wanted new uniforms for many years, and today represents the start of an

7:30 AM ET THERE WERE NO skulls available, so Trevor Lawrence grabbed a grapefruit instead. In July 2019, just a few months after he led Clemson to the 2018 national championship, Lawrence was cajoled by his older brother, Chase, and sister-in-law, Brooke, to fill in as a model for a series of life-sized oil paintings

Louisiana is famous for its Cajun food, jazz music, Mardi Gras — and quarterbacks. A total of 721 quarterbacks have debuted and played at least one game in the NFL during the Super Bowl era (since 1966), and the Bayou State outperformed expectations the most in a study by ESPN and Pro Football Reference. California

6:00 AM ET The most important position in sports is a tough one to get right, and teams try anything they can to find the right quarterback. We’ll leave the scouting and evaluating to the experts, but with a new crop of quarterbacks about to join the NFL through the draft (April 29-May 1 on

8:37 PM ET TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady said Sunday that his knee is recovering well from offseason surgery and that he’s hopeful he’ll be able to resume his typical training and participate in a mandatory June minicamp, if there is one. “Yeah, I hope so. I hope so. I feel

5:34 PM ET JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Even Trevor Lawrence thinks he’s likely going to be the Jacksonville Jaguars‘ choice at the top of the NFL draft. The former Clemson standout acknowledged that during a Sunday evening tweet in which he thanked Jaguars fans for purchasing a wedding gift and raising more than $11,000 for him

3:13 PM ET Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Former Kansas City Chiefs tight end Fred Arbanas, a key member of their first two Super Bowl teams in the 1960s and ’70s who later had a long career in county politics, has died. He was 82. The Jackson County Democratic Party in Missouri, for which

6:00 AM ET FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL: 1. Finding Edelman: Former Patriots vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli shined a spotlight on how the team found Julian Edelman at Kent State, posting a tweet noting that area scout Jim Nagy put Edelman on the

6:00 AM ET FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — A look at what’s happening around the New York Jets: 1. Bright lights, big city: It’s a long way from Big Man on Campus to biggest market in the country, which is why it can be overwhelming to play quarterback in New York. The 24/7 scrutiny can get

2:17 PM ET Presumptive No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence said in a series of tweets Saturday that quotes made by him that have led some to question his motivation are being “misread.” “I am internally motivated – I love football as much or more than anyone. It is a HUGE priority in my life,

11:58 AM ET NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said it is the union’s position that it is in the best interest of players to not participate in voluntary offseason workouts. “I think what a lot of players have said that they’ve heard from their coaches is that they need to show up,” Smith said Saturday

7:00 AM ET MIAMI — The conversation between Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores, general manager Chris Grier and Alabama coach Nick Saban exceeded 10 minutes as Senior Bowl players began filing out of Hancock Whitney Stadium toward the buses following a Jan. 27 practice. The visual was striking. Flores had just finished coaching a National

12:34 AM ET Lindsey ThiryESPN Close Covered Rams for two years for Los Angeles Times Previously covered the Falcons Has covered the NBA and college football and basketball The attorney representing De’Vincent Spriggs, the man who accused Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald of assault earlier this week, is now offering an apology to