NFL

6:55 AM ET NFL NationESPN No matter the format or circumstance, NFL expansion is a losing proposition in the short term. There is no practical way to build an immediate winner out of remnants of other NFL teams. The four franchises to most recently enter the NFL as expansion teams — the Carolina Panthers (1995),

6:50 AM ET I love a good expansion draft. It has been 18 years since the NFL last expanded by adding a franchise in Houston, but while organizations have moved across the country since then, we’ve yet to see any serious consideration paid toward adding teams to the 32-squad setup. The biggest reason, of course,

8:03 PM ET Patrick Mahomes said his decision to become involved in the Black Lives Matter movement started to solidify with the video of George Floyd dying while a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on him. “I can’t watch the entire George Floyd video through and through,” the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback said. “I’ve watched it

2:52 PM ET CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers have moved the statue of former owner Jerry Richardson from outside the North Gate of Bank of America Stadium to an undisclosed site for what the team called safety concerns amid the racial unrest in the country. There have been rumblings on social media that the

6:56 AM ET The past two quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl could have been pro baseball players. Before Tom Brady won six rings, he was chosen in the 18th round of the 1995 draft by the Montreal Expos. “He was a left-handed-hitting catcher with power. He had a good future,” the Expos’ then-director of

11:26 PM ET New England Patriots owners Robert and Jonathan Kraft donated $100,000 in safety Devin McCourty‘s name as part of their social-justice initiative on Tuesday night, and coach Bill Belichick highlighted how McCourty’s tireless work in that area has sparked his interest to do more. The remarks came during a virtual fundraiser in which

6:00 AM ET MINNEAPOLIS — The waiting game has been going on for months. On Monday, Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook put his foot down. A source told ESPN that Cook, who is set to make $1.33 million on the final year of his rookie deal, will no longer participate in any team-related activities

7:11 PM ET Brady HendersonESPN New Seattle Seahawks running back Carlos Hyde believes that an NFL team signing Colin Kaepernick would show that the league is serious about doing its part to improve issues of racial inequality. Kaepernick and Hyde were teammates with the San Francisco 49ers in 2016 when the quarterback began protesting racial

5:39 PM ET Minnesota Vikings Pro-Bowl running back Dalvin Cook no longer will participate in any team-related activities until and unless he receives what he determines to be a “reasonable” deal, a source said Monday. “He’s out,” A source told ESPN. “Without a reasonable extension, he will not be showing up for camp or beyond.”

11:35 AM ET Shaquille O’Neal urged the New Orleans Saints last Thursday not to let the media divide them in the wake of Drew Brees‘ national anthem comments, a source confirmed to ESPN. “They’re going to try to divide you, just like they divided us with the Lakers! Me and Kobe [Bryant], we had a

7:00 AM ET NFL NationESPN What if every NFL team had a complete do-over in building its roster? What if every single player were a free agent? What if the worst team in the league had a chance to add a Super Bowl MVP at quarterback? Or one of the worst defensive teams out there

7:41 AM ET Andre SnellingsESPN I am a 6-foot-tall, 300-pound African American. I usually wear a goatee, if not a full-on beard. If a police officer finds me in any way physically intimidating during a routine traffic stop, I’m very aware that things could go badly very quickly. I’ve had to teach my children —

6:00 AM ET Matt Leo was six months shy of completing his plumbing apprenticeship when the constraints around his dream to play football closed in far too tight. It was 110 degrees and humid in his hometown of Adelaide, Australia, that summer day in 2014, and he was working on a bridge that connects a

6:39 PM ET DENVER — More than 70 players, coaches and other staff personnel from the Denver Broncos — most wearing black T-shirts saying “If You Ain’t With Us, You Against Us” — led a group of thousands through downtown during a Black Lives Matter protest Saturday. Many of the group from the Broncos, which

11:41 PM ET The Carolina Panthers have terminated their partnership with Charlotte-based CPI Security, the team announced Saturday night, in the wake of comments by the company’s founder and CEO downplaying police brutality against people of color. Ken Gill’s comments came in response to an open letter sent by Jorge Millares, the executive director of

11:45 PM ET An unprecedented week in the NFL culminated in a landscape-shifting 24 hours that appear to have dramatically changed the league’s stance on player protests. Things are happening quickly, and you surely have questions. Is kneeling during the national anthem OK now? Does Colin Kaepernick have a chance to get back in? What

10:39 PM ET In a message addressed to President Donald Trump on Friday night, Drew Brees stood by his apology for earlier comments on “disrespecting the flag,” after Trump wrote that the New Orleans Saints quarterback should not have changed his stance. Brees was following up on his pledge to be an “ally” for the

6:59 PM ET NFL commissioner Roger Goodell issued a statement Friday condemning racism, saying he admits the league was wrong to not listen to its players earlier and that it will try to do better. “It has been a difficult time for our country, In particular, black people in our country,” Goodell said in a