NFL

9:43 AM ET The Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets and Washington Football Team are among the NFL teams not practicing Thursday in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin. The Jets’ practice field was set up for the usual start at 9:20 a.m. ET, and some staff members were seen walking the

11:16 PM ET The Washington Football Team cancelled its scheduled practice at FedEx Field Thursday due to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin, the team announced Wednesday night. Blake, a Black man, was shot seven times by police on Sunday. Blake was shot as he attempted to enter the driver’s side door of

11:03 AM ET PITTSBURGH — When Ashley Roethlisberger got the call from her husband at halftime of the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ Week 2 game against Seattle last season, she instantly knew something was wrong. “He never calls me during halftime when he’s playing,” Ashley said in a newly released mini-docuseries detailing Ben Roethlisberger‘s injury and road

6:49 AM ET INDIANAPOLIS — It was the only type of reaction you’d expect from Frank Reich. Andrew Luck, the franchise quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts, had just delivered the biggest blow to the organization in a decade when, during a private meeting at the team complex on Aug. 20, 2019, he told his head

2:23 PM ET ALLEN PARK, Mich. — The Detroit Lions canceled practice Tuesday to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. They addressed reporters as a team in front of their building to deliver a message that they will be part of the change in the United States against police brutality.

10:16 AM ET The Arizona Cardinals are making two-time Pro Bowl selection Budda Baker the highest-paid safety in NFL history, giving him a four-year, $59 million contract extension, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The deal will average $14.75 million per year, but no other financial details were disclosed. The Cardinals announced the four-year extension Tuesday.

6:00 AM ET FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — When New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick was celebrating on the championship stage after Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002, he held his youngest son, Brian, in his arms. Brian was wearing a blue Patriots jersey, a good 15 years away from graduating college. Older brother Steve Belichick was there,

6:55 AM ET NFL NationESPN After the most unusual of offseasons, we’re a couple of weeks away from kicking off the 2020 NFL season. That means it’s time to see how the league shapes up before games get going. But that’s not all we’re evaluating in this ranking. This is also a good time to

4:05 PM ET ESPN staff Baltimore Ravens safety Chuck Clark spoke for the first time since his altercation with fellow safety Earl Thomas. It has been such a big story that barely anyone noticed reigning MVP Lamar Jackson returned to practice after missing the past two sessions with an injured groin. Elsewhere in the NFL,

6:55 AM ET If it feels like I’ve prefaced every one of my columns recently by pointing out that the 2020 NFL season is going to be weird, it’s not an accident. We’re approaching a season in which it would be a pleasant surprise if each team were able to play all 16 games. Even

9:15 PM ET Matt Nagy’s phone buzzed Sunday at 2:51 a.m. For an NFL coach, a call at that hour means trouble. Bracing for the worst, Nagy listened as Andre Tucker, the Chicago Bears‘ infection control officer, told him that nine members of the organization had tested positive for COVID-19. Nagy was floored, he told

8:56 PM ET NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said that he wishes “we had listened earlier” to what Colin Kaepernick was trying to bring attention to when he began kneeling for the national anthem in 2016. Goodell was asked on former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho’s video series, “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man,” what he would

11:08 AM ET The Baltimore Ravens are moving on from Pro Bowl safety Earl Thomas, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Sunday. They either will release him for conduct detrimental to the team, for his fiery on-field argument with safety Chuck Clark on Friday, or trade him. The Dallas Cowboys are the leading contender to

9:05 AM ET OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore Ravens safety Earl Thomas was sent home Friday after a fiery on-field argument with safety Chuck Clark, a source told ESPN, confirming multiple reports. The incident between Thomas and Clark was sparked by a missed assignment by Thomas, a source said. Thomas and Clark yelled at each

6:00 AM ET One day before veteran players reported for training camp on July 28, the Minnesota Vikings learned their biggest free-agent acquisition would not step on the field until 2021. Michael Pierce, a former Baltimore Ravens nose tackle who signed a three-year, $27 million contract with the Vikings in March, was one of 67

7:00 AM ET Mike ClayESPN Writer Close Fantasy football, NFL analyst for ESPN.com Member of Pro Football Writers of America Founding director of Pro Football Focus Fantasy 2013 FSTA award winner for most accurate preseason rankings During the offseason, 2,880 human beings (32 teams x 90 players) can be rostered by an NFL team. Once

9:07 PM ET Washington coach Ron Rivera has been diagnosed with cancer but plans to continue coaching, he told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Thursday night. Rivera told Schefter he was diagnosed with lymph node cancer. The team later said that he has squamous cell cancer of the neck. Rivera said the cancer is in the

7:10 AM ET We spent weeks — months, even — reporting on the coronavirus protocols that the NFL and its players’ union negotiated for 2020 training camps. It has been more than three weeks now since those camps opened, and a few days since players started practicing in full pads. So it’s fair to wonder: