NFL

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:

7:00 AM ET Young players around the league follow the contract-year playbook: Ball out in college, make splash plays on a rookie NFL deal, land life-altering wealth via an extension from the team that loves keeping homegrown talent. Just last week, San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, Buffalo Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins and

9:45 PM ET The Washington Football Team has experienced many changes and events that have shaped the franchise, and the news continued on Thursday with coach Ron Rivera’s admission that he has cancer. There has also been the long road to a new team nickname, from one that previously existed for 87 years for Washington’s

6:00 AM ET KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes was drifting to his left and unable to step into a throw at a recent Kansas City Chiefs practice, but by merely flicking his wrist, Mahomes still got off a pass to backup wide receiver Gehrig Dieter for a touchdown. The Chiefs have seen Mahomes successfully

7:09 AM ET Dwayne Haskins Jr. used to weigh about 240 pounds. Now he’s 218. Thanks to photos and videos the Washington Football Team quarterback shared on social media this offseason, it’s clear his body has transformed, along with his mobility and confidence. He hopes to do the same for his game in 2020. For

9:45 AM ET Love/Hate is Matthew Berry’s definitive preseason column on which players to draft in fantasy football in 2020, from the top players in the rankings to endgame sleepers of an ESPN fantasy football salary cap draft. Still need a league? Sign up for free today! You should know right off the bat there