NFL

11:50 AM ET FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson will make his NFL debut Sunday without one of his top receivers. Slot receiver Jamison Crowder, who tested positive last week for COVID-19, was ruled out Friday for the season opener against the Carolina Panthers. He remains on the reserve/COVID-19 list. The

12:14 AM ET TAMPA, Fla. — The “Tommy and Gronky” show with Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski picked up right where it left off a mere seven months and two days ago: with two touchdowns, or “tuddies,” as they call them, matching their two “tuddies” from Super Bowl LV,

9:05 PM ET Jenna Laine Close ESPN Staff Writer Covered the Buccaneers since 2009 Joined ESPN in 2016 Todd Archer Close ESPN Staff Writer Covered NFL since 1997, Cowboys since 2003 Previously covered Bengals and Dolphins Lives in Dallas area with his wife and two children TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ quest to

7:14 AM ET TAMPA, Fla. — At around 8:30 on the morning after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 in Super Bowl LV, Bucs quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen was enjoying a visit with his grandchildren when his phone rang. It was a FaceTime call from none other than Tom Brady, who

6:43 PM ET GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers had high expectations entering last season because of their appearance in the NFC Championship Game. That feeling hasn’t changed after a second straight loss with a Super Bowl spot on the line. What has changed is Aaron Rodgers‘ situation, and given all the uncertainty

5:56 PM ET SANTA CLARA, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan still won’t explicitly say who his starting quarterback is, but all signs point to the same person they have throughout the preseason: incumbent Jimmy Garoppolo. In fact, it was Garoppolo himself on Wednesday who all but confirmed that he will start Sunday’s

1:33 PM ET The NFL’s high COVID-19 vaccination rates provides a “unique opportunity” to model a way out of the ongoing pandemic for the entire country, NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills said Wednesday in an interview with ESPN. “We know we are going to have positive cases this season,” Sills said a day

5:39 PM ET The New Orleans Saints have released veteran running back Latavius Murray, the team announced Tuesday. The Saints on Monday asked Murray to take a reduction in pay and he refused, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Murray, 31, was due to make $3.15 million in salary and bonuses this season. That, combined with

3:54 PM ET FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Rookie Mac Jones commented publicly for the first time since being named the New England Patriots‘ starting quarterback, saying he plans to remain in contact with Cam Newton and wasn’t surprised he won the job. “He was a really good mentor to me,” Jones said on sports radio WEEI’s

7:00 AM ET ESPN Stats & Information The benchmark for a great season depends on era. Being a 4,000-yard passer meant something quite different in 1980, 2000 and 2020. The meaning of our standard benchmarks — like a 1,000-yard rusher or, in fantasy football, a 300-point quarterback — have shifted over time, but they’re also

12:04 PM ET HOUSTON — Tyrod Taylor was officially named the starting quarterback for the Houston Texans and will make his debut for the franchise on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars. “Tyrod Taylor will start for us at quarterback, for sure,” head coach David Culley said Monday. The announcement was not a surprise, but Culley

6:00 PM ET NFL NationESPN The 2021 NFL season is nearly here, with teams taking on a 17-week slate of games for the first time in history. The season opener is Thursday night, when the reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Dallas Cowboys. Our NFL Nation reporters have you covered with intel

7:15 AM ET Heading into the 2021 NFL season, ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) simulated the entire 285-game slate 20,000 times to create our projections. Having a sample size that large allows us to have the most accurate projections possible, which is, of course, what we want most of the time. But today, we’re only

4:19 PM ET Brady HendersonESPN RENTON, Wash. — Continuing their reshuffling at cornerback, the Seattle Seahawks are expected to sign former New York Jets starter Bless Austin, a source confirmed to ESPN on Sunday. The Jets waived the 25-year-old Austin on Wednesday, a surprise move given that he was projected to remain one of their

2:23 PM ET PITTSBURGH — Former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle and longtime broadcaster Tunch Ilkin died Saturday, the team confirmed. He was 63. Ilkin, who revealed that he had been diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) in October 2020, was hospitalized recently with pneumonia. He announced in June that

12:35 PM ET Dallas Cowboys Pro-Bowl guard Zack Martin has been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list after testing positive for the virus and is out for Thursday night’s regular-season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, coach Mike McCarthy said. Connor McGovern will replace Martin in the starting lineup at right guard. Tackle Brandon Knight also

10:16 PM ET TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady not only had a scare last year when both of his parents tested positive for COVID-19 — he himself was diagnosed with it too in February. In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times on Saturday, Brady revealed that he tested positive for

7:00 AM ET FRISCO, Texas — Mike McCarthy is finally feeling at home. The coach’s family has settled into a house north of the Dallas Cowboys‘ practice facility after they spent the 2020 season in Green Bay, Wisconsin, while McCarthy was in a condo next to The Star in Frisco. His two daughters are going