Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera said Wednesday that the team hasn't decided whether it'll pick up defensive end Chase Young's fifth-year option, according to The Washington Post's Nicki Jhabvala.Rivera said he and the team need to discuss Young's health and development before making a final decision prior to the May 1 deadline. Young's option will cost just under $17.5 million, per Spotrac's projections. The option becomes fully guaranteed once exercised.Young totaled seven-and-a-half sacks on his way to winning Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in his debut campaign, but the pass-rusher has struggled to stay on the field the last two seasons. Young has only played in 12 of a possible 34 regular-season games since he tore his ACL in November 2021."Most certainly," Rivera said when asked if not exercising the option could be used as a motivator. "If you look at what (defensive lineman Daron Payne) did, why wouldn't you think of it that way? Believe me, that would be my approach."The Commanders picked up Payne's option last season but didn't sign him to a long-term extension. Payne went on to make the Pro Bowl with 11.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss this season.Young, 23, was selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft after a standout career at Ohio State. He accumulated 30.5 sacks and 40.5 tackles for loss for the Buckeyes, including 16.5 sacks and 21 tackles for loss in his final season with the team.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find positional rankings, additional analysis, and subscribe to push notifications in the NFL Fantasy News section.Welcome to theScore Fantasy Football Podcast, hosted by Justin Boone.Find the show on iTunes, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, and Anchor.In this episode, Boone opens up the fantasy mailbag to answer your questions heading into the offseason.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy plans to undergo elbow surgery on Feb. 22 to repair his torn UCL, sources told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.The procedure will allow Purdy to return for training camp in late July, Rapoport added. The rookie signal-caller - who suffered the injury in the NFC title game - reportedly sought a second medical opinion to avoid Tommy John surgery, which requires a significantly longer recovery time.The final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Purdy established himself as a household name after taking over as San Franciso's starter following injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo.With Garoppolo expected to leave as a free agent, the 49ers are planning to roll with Purdy and Lance as their top two quarterbacks in 2023.Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan said last week that he's heard Purdy will be "the same dude and ready to go" after six months.Meanwhile, Lance should be cleared for organized team activities in May after needing two ankle surgeries.Shanahan wouldn't say if San Francisco will hold a battle between Purdy and Lance, who entered the 2022 campaign as the club's starter.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell backed the quality of the league's officiating during his press conference Wednesday."I don't think it's ever been better in the league," Goodell said. "There are over 42,000 plays in a season. Multiple infractions could occur on any play. ... That's hundreds, if not millions of potential fouls. Our officials do an extraordinary job of getting those."Are there mistakes in the context of that? Yes, they are not perfect and officiating never will (be)."Goodell also disagreed with the idea that television networks hiring former officials has diminished the quality of officiating on the field."Are we losing people from the field to the booth? There are some that never even officiated on the NFL field," Goodell told reporters. "So, we didn't lose anyone. We may have lost some from our office, but we didn't lose them from officiating on the field. Others are taking on that responsibility at the end of their careers. So, I do not think that's a factor at all."Criticism of officiating was rampant following the conference championship games in January. On one play, the Kansas City Chiefs received an additional opportunity when an unsuccessful third-down play was replayed due to a clock error. In the NFC title game, a reception by Philadelphia Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith was ruled a catch, though replay later showed it should have been incomplete.Goodell noted that advanced replay technology affects the perception of calls made on the field, though he said the league would always attempt to improve officiating."I think we all have to realize through the quality of what we see on our broadcast, you've never been able to see the kinds of things that you can see today," Goodell added. "Sometimes that distorts a call potentially, but the reality is our officials are held to an incredibly high standard. Will we try to get better? You betcha."Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

In the AFC Championship Game, it seemed like the Chiefs' receiving corps systematically got decimated by injury, leaving the status of JuJu Smith-Schuster and Kadarius Toney up in the air. Meanwhile, Marquez Valdes-Scantling temporarily silenced his haters, only to be lined at just 36.5 for Super Bowl LVII. There's a lot of uncertainty as to who will be prominent in the Chiefs' passing game.As for the Eagles, we have a little more certainty from a player personnel perspective, but given that Philadelphia had their two playoff games and regular season finale all locked up at halftime, the recent numbers are somewhat skewed.That said, when it comes to air strikes, there are enough betting markets that we can make a case for a handful of valuable bets.Isiah Pacheco over 16.5 receiving yards (-110)With star cornerbacks like Darius Slay and James Bradberry, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the Eagles allowed the fourth-fewest receiving yards to opposing wide receivers. Given the Chiefs' issues on the outside, that might not be a huge problem.Particularly because Kansas City finally deployed Isiah Pacheco in the passing game against Cincinnati - possibly because of receiver depth issues. Pacheco caught five balls on six targets and played 12 more snaps than Jerick McKinnon - the tailback presumed to be the passing game option.Pacheco's running style, shown in his role as kick returner, shows he's dangerous in the open field. The Eagles led the league in sacks this season, so Andy Reid's reputation for having an elaborate menu of screen plays should precede him, allowing Pacheco to get loose once or twice on a short pass.Miles Sanders over 4.5 receiving yards (-115)The Chiefs gave up the most receptions to opposing tailbacks this season. The Bengals likely knew that, and targeted their running backs seven times in the AFC title game. They even went against tendency by throwing to Joe Mixon three times. I expect the Eagles to do the same by taking advantage of Miles Sanders in early-down matchups with the Chiefs' linebackers. With a short total, it may just take one reception for this to cash.Dallas Goedert over 4.5 receptions (-135)Whether it's touchdown, yardage, or receptions, Dallas Goedert has been a go-to bet throughout the postseason. A Week 10 injury that kept him out of five regular season games devalues a 702-yard season that might have turned into his first 1000-yard year.Goedert's had five catches in each of the Eagles' two playoff games despite Jalen Hurts not needing to force the ball down the field because the game was already in hand. With what should be a tighter matchup, Hurts will rely even more on his underrated tight end.DeVonta Smith anytime touchdown (+170)There are two advantages that the former Heisman Trophy winner has in yet another game on a big stage. The first is that the second-year star out of Alabama might be the more veteran player in his matchup against a Chiefs secondary that plays three rookie cornerbacks.The second element that's game-specific is the assumption that the Chiefs' defensive coordinator will need to use a spy on Hurts, while also trying to mix in blitzes from every position in the back-seven. Quick screens to the outside will force the Chiefs' young corners to tackle, and in the red zone their interior defenders will be focused on Hurts' mesh with the Eagles' tailback. So whether it's a deep-shot or a play near the end zone, Smith is more likely than usual to score.Matt Russell is a betting writer for theScore. If there's a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on Twitter @mrussauthentic.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is close to full health ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Wednesday."Yeah, so he's been doing really well with his ankle," Reid said, according to NFL.com's Kevin Patra. "We had a fast practice a couple days ago, and he moved well. He can really do just about everything, at least everything in the game plan that we've asked him to do. I think he'll be fine today."Mahomes suffered a high ankle sprain in the divisional-round win over the Jacksonville Jaguars but was able to finish the game after briefly exiting. The MVP favorite played through pain in the AFC championship a week later and admitted postgame that his ankle "definitely didn't feel good."But Wednesday, the 27-year-old said he's improved since the win over the Cincinnati Bengals."I don't think you'll know exactly until you get to gameday," Mahomes said. "I'm definitely in a better spot. I definitely can move around better than I was moving last week or two weeks ago. So just trying to continue to get the treatment and the rehab and get to as close as I can to 100 percent and then rely on some adrenaline to let me do a little extra when I'm on the field."It's gonna be definitely better, more mobile, be able to move around a little bit better for sure, and then we'll see on gameday how close to 100 percent I can be."Kansas City's star passer will need his extra mobility against the Eagles, who boast the NFL's best pass-rushing unit.Philadelphia generated 70 sacks in the regular season, 15 more than the second-place Chiefs. They also became the first team to ever have four players with 10-plus sacks each (Haason Reddick, Javon Hargrave, Josh Sweat, and Brandon Graham).Mahomes - who's playing in his third Super Bowl - is expected to win his second career MVP award after leading the league with 41 touchdown passes and 5,250 yards this season.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews is confident he'll be catching passes from Lamar Jackson for a long time to come."I think Lamar's a Raven for life. ... I know they want Lamar, and I know that he has a lot of respect for the organization as well," he told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk on Tuesday. "I think both parties want to get this deal done, it's just about doing it."Andrews joked that he'd give Jackson his paycheck if that's what it took to keep him in Baltimore.Jackson, a former NFL MVP, will be a free agent at the end of the season after failing to come to terms with the Ravens ahead of the campaign. The signal-caller opted to pause contract talks in September.Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson's fully guaranteed five-year, $230-million deal appears to be complicating negotiations between Baltimore and Jackson. The two parties could potentially be $100 million apart in terms of guaranteed money, reports ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.Jackson will likely be hit with the franchise tag to prevent him from reaching the open market. He would then need to play on the one-year tender if he and Baltimore can't agree to a deal by July 15.The exclusive franchise tag, which prevents other teams from negotiating their own deal with Jackson, will cost $45.3 million. Meanwhile, the non-exclusive tag comes in at $32.4 million.Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said in January that he's "200%" confident Jackson will be the club's long-term starter.Jackson's injury struggles continued for a second straight season in 2022. A PCL sprain sidelined him for the last six games of the campaign, including the wild-card round loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We've got two quarterbacks that come into the Super Bowl not at 100%. After a 17-game regular season and two more hotly contested playoff matchups, that's not the most surprising circumstance. The bumps, bruises, and sprains didn't derail Matthew Stafford last year, but whether it's Patrick Mahomes' ankle or Jalen Hurts' shoulder, the market is fully aware that both quarterbacks might not be at their best.There probably shouldn't be a bet placed because of rumor, speculation, or hearsay about an injury, so we'll stick with matchups, tendencies, and hypothetical game-scripts in a smattering of passing props for Super Bowl LVII.Patrick Mahomes under 294.5 passing yardsMahomes' usage is impervious to game-script. Whether the Chiefs are trailing, leading, or tied, the game will rest on his shoulders. However, you could say that for every matchup, and therefore expect Mahomes to always go over. In Super Bowl LV, the Chiefs trailed throughout, Mahomes had to throw 49 times, and, despite finding Travis Kelce for 133 yards, he only had 270 yards passing.It's easy to look at the quarterbacks the Eagles have faced this season and poke holes in Philadelphia's league-leading 5.5 yards per pass attempt against. The team gave up 347 yards to Dak Prescott in its regular season game that most resembles this matchup.However, the difference is actually on the other side of the ball. In Dallas, the Eagles' defense was left vulnerable by the style of offense they had to play with Gardner Minshew under center. The element that Hurts brings to the Eagles is game-control - extending time of possession with third and fourth down runs, and his threat in the run game on every play.The Eagles ran for just 3.0 yards per carry with a more traditional run-design, and had a rare failure on a quarterback sneak with Minshew. With five Eagles turnovers, there were 20 possessions in that game. Hurts had just six interceptions this season and didn't lose a fumble.With an ineffective run-game of their own, the Chiefs won't be able to strike quickly via the big play, and the Eagles' offense does a good enough job playing keep-away from Mahomes to limit his opportunity to rack up big yardage.Jalen Hurts under 31.5 pass attemptsLast week we touched on Hurts and the Eagles' ability to hit one big explosive pass play, betting over 37.5 on his longest pass completion. If Hurts strikes it big on one play, that would help tamp down his passing attempt volume since he's accruing yardage on one pass attempt.There are a few other things that will go against the idea of Hurts dropping back to pass repeatedly. The first is the point spread, as Eagles -1.5 suggests a close game, which means a somewhat neutral game state where Philadelphia shouldn't panic in their play-calling, maintaining a run-heavy approach. That leads us to the second issue for high-volume throwing.Hurts showed more of a proclivity to call his own number on the ground, and along with the emergence of Kenneth Gainwell and incumbent starting tailback Miles Sanders, the Eagles will have three good options in the run-game. The Eagles' run-design will try to take the starch out of Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's potentially blitz-heavy scheme.Both quarterbacks to complete their first pass (+105)If you built this market based entirely on season-long pass completion percentage, you'd multiply Mahomes' 0.671 with Hurts' 0.665 and get .446. That translates to fair odds of +124/-124.So why would we bet both quarterbacks to complete their first pass at +105 - an implied probability of 48.8%?Mahomes has completed his first pass attempt in 10 straight games, as the Chiefs have honed their early game-script to a point where Andy Reid sets him up for an easy, short throw that, more often than not, gains less than 10 yards.The Eagles are slightly more aggressive with Hurts' opening throw, but he's completed six straight first attempts - three before he got hurt and three after.There are no guarantees, but under the bright lights, you'd expect both coaches to do whatever they can to have their quarterback start in a positive way.Matt Russell is a betting writer for theScore. If there's a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on Twitter @mrussauthentic.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Las Vegas Raiders granted Derek Carr permission to meet with the New Orleans Saints, who recently invited the quarterback for a visit, sources told NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.Carr, whose contract has a no-trade clause, will reportedly visit the Saints on Wednesday. The veteran signal-caller is doing due diligence, and no trade is imminent, Rapoport adds.The Raiders and Carr are parting ways following a disappointing 2022 campaign in which the team compiled a 6-11 record despite making several high-profile acquisitions in the offseason. Carr has been the club's starting quarterback since 2014.Last Friday, the Raiders reportedly granted Carr permission to speak with teams that already agreed to the compensation they're seeking in a potential trade involving the quarterback.Las Vegas is expected to cut the veteran signal-caller or find a trade partner for him by Feb. 15, the deadline for when his $40.4 million in salary for the next two years becomes fully guaranteed. Carr said last week that he doesn't intend to push his contract deadline to help facilitate a deal.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers plans to do some unique isolation and reflection before deciding on his NFL future.The four-time MVP highlighted the importance of an upcoming "darkness retreat" as he continues to mull over whether he wants to return to the Packers for a 19th season, retire, or request a trade."It's just sitting in isolation, meditation, dealing with your thoughts," Rodgers said Tuesday during his weekly appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," per ESPN's Rob Demovsky."It stimulates DMT, so there can be some hallucinations in there, but it's just kind of sitting in silence, which most of us never do. We rarely even turn our phone off or put the blinds down to sleep in darkness. I'm really looking forward to it."He added, "Just to be able to contemplate all things (about) my future and then make a decision that I feel like is best for me moving forward and in the highest interest of my happiness."The 10-time Pro Bowler also addressed speculation that he could be joining the Las Vegas Raiders for the 2023 season."I'm not a free agent," the 39-year-old said. "I'm under contract with the Packers ... that gets lost in the conversation."Raiders star wideout Davante Adams called a reunion with Rodgers "a dream scenario," according to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.The Packers dealt with some turmoil this season after Rodgers recorded back-to-back MVP campaigns in 2020 and 2021. Green Bay's signal-caller was hampered with a thumb injury while playing without Adams for the first time since 2014.Green Bay concluded the 2022 season with an 8-9 record, missing the postseason as Rodgers threw double-digit interceptions for the first time since 2010 and finished with one of his lowest passer ratings (91.1) since becoming a starter.Rodgers won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this past weekend.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

With free agency and the draft still ahead, NFL rosters will undergo significant changes over the next few months.Before the shuffling begins, let's take an early look at the AFC players positioned to break out in 2023.Baltimore RavensRashod Bateman, WR - The Ravens' front office needs to make plenty of decisions this offseason, beginning with a new contract for looming free agent Lamar Jackson. It's also likely the team brings in some much-needed help at receiver after struggling to find consistent playmakers at the position following Bateman's season-ending foot issue in October. Even if Baltimore fills out its WR depth chart, fantasy managers shouldn't discount Bateman who flashed plenty of upside during his two injury-shortened campaigns. The 23-year-old put up over 50 yards and/or a touchdown in nine of the 14 games where he's played at least 50% of snaps. He just needs to stay healthy.Fantasy breakout potential: ★★★★☆Buffalo BillsJames Cook, RB - Even though the Bills used a second-round pick to select Cook last year, Devin Singletary managed to hold on to the lead back job. Now, Singletary's contract is about to run out, which could open the door for Cook to carve out a bigger role in the backfield. As a rookie, the 23-year-old played limited snaps through the first three-quarters of the season but saw more opportunities down the stretch and topped 100 yards from scrimmage twice in December. One concern for Cook's fantasy outlook is the gluttony of quality veteran backs available in free agency. There's a chance the Bills end up signing someone to a team-friendly deal, which may affect Cook's fantasy ceiling.Fantasy breakout potential: ★★★★☆Cincinnati BengalsTrenton Irwin, WR - For the second straight year, the Bengals don't have an obvious breakout candidate. That's because their skill positions are mostly solidified with strong talent. Tight end Hayden Hurst is a free agent, and it wouldn't be surprising to see the team invest in a rookie tight end who could fill this section. For now, we'll give some love to No. 4 receiver Irwin who stepped up on multiple occasions this season as an injury replacement and delivered some notable stat lines like 3-42-1, 2-58-1, and 3-45-2. If one of Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, or Tyler Boyd were to miss extended time, Irwin would be an intriguing fantasy add in deeper leagues.Fantasy breakout potential: ★☆☆☆☆Cleveland Browns Jason Miller / Getty Images Sport / GettyDonovan Peoples-Jones, WR - Peoples-Jones continues to be a boom-or-bust fantasy receiver but showed signs that he could develop into more when he topped 50 yards in seven straight games this season. Unfortunately, that streak happened prior to Deshaun Watson's return from suspension, after which Peoples-Jones' targets took a sharp decline. Hopefully, the duo will develop more chemistry with a full offseason together. For now, consider DPJ a fantasy WR4 with room to grow.Fantasy breakout potential: ★★★★☆Denver BroncosGreg Dulcich, TE - The days of rookie tight ends being fantasy afterthoughts are over. In the last couple seasons, we've seen several first-year players make an impact at the position, including Dulcich who finished as the TE18 in fantasy points per game in 2022. Despite injuries limiting him to just 10 appearances, The 22-year-old instantly emerged as the Broncos' starter when healthy and should benefit from the arrival of new coach Sean Payton who helped athletic tight ends like Jimmy Graham, Ben Watson, and Jared Cook to top-10 fantasy finishes during his time in New Orleans.Fantasy breakout potential: ★★★★★Houston TexansNico Collins, WR - A foot injury landed Collins on injured reserve in early December, making it easy to overlook his improvement in Year 2. The 23-year-old wideout eclipsed all of his rookie totals and did it while playing in four fewer contests. The fact that he managed at least 40 yards in seven of his 10 outings while being a part of one of the league's worst passing attacks is notable. Also notable is the likely departure of veteran Brandin Cooks. Houston will probably address the position in free agency or the draft, but there's an outside chance Collins begins this season as the team's No. 1 receiver, making him an underrated fantasy pickup at the moment.Fantasy breakout potential: ★★★★☆Indianapolis ColtsJelani Woods, TE - Woods' size and athleticism made him an intriguing prospect but one that was raw and would likely need time to develop. His rookie season played out as expected with some brief flashes, including an eight-catch, 98-yard performance in Week 12. However, he was mostly used as part of a committee at tight end with Mo Alie-Cox and Kylen Granson also factoring in. It wasn't until Granson missed time that Woods' snaps consistently rose, and even then he was on the field for just 60% of the plays in the final month. If the Colts make an effort to feature Woods - which they haven't done with a lone tight end in a while - he could flirt with fantasy relevance, especially given his touchdown potential.Fantasy breakout potential: ★★★☆☆Jacksonville JaguarsTrevor Lawrence, QB - Lawrence doesn't qualify as a traditional breakout candidate since he finished as a top-12 quarterback in fantasy points per game among qualified passers. However, he gets the nod here because he has a path to take his fantasy production to an even higher level in 2023. Lawrence and the Jaguars made massive leaps under head coach Doug Pederson's staff, and the club put an emphasis on finding weapons for its young QB. In addition to spending in free agency to acquire Christian Kirk, Zay Jones, and Evan Engram, the Jags also made a move for the future by trading for Calvin Ridley. The team is committed to helping Lawrence reach his ceiling as a pro, and his career is headed in the right direction after a turbulent rookie campaign under Urban Meyer. If he continues to progress, we could be talking about Lawrence in the same conversation as the top fantasy players at his position.Fantasy breakout potential: ★★★★★Kansas City Chiefs David Eulitt / Getty Images Sport / GettyKadarius Toney, WR - Toney's untapped fantasy value is something managers will continue to chase, even though his inability to stay healthy has held him back to this point. The 2021 first-round pick has yet to make his mark in the NFL but could enter next season as Patrick Mahomes' top receiver (not counting tight end Travis Kelce). JuJu Smith-Schuster is a free agent, and it was widely believed the trade for Toney was a long-term move. When watching Toney's rare change-of-direction ability and burst, it's hard not to envision him as an eventual star. With a full offseason to get more comfortable in the Chiefs' offense, he'll be given every opportunity to make good on his talent, and fantasy GMs would be wise to take the risk on his upside.Fantasy breakout potential: ★★★★★Las Vegas RaidersZamir White, RB - After speculation prior to the season that White might eat into Josh Jacobs' workload, we witnessed a rejuvenated Jacobs lead the league in rushing yards and finish as a top-four fantasy back. Now, Jacobs is heading toward free agency, and while a new contract or franchise tag seems likely, there are no guarantees he'll be in Vegas next season. If he departs, White will have a path to earning more touches. Turning their backfield over to an unknown fourth-round pick is a long shot, but the Raiders don't have many breakout candidates for 2023.Fantasy breakout potential: ★☆☆☆☆Los Angeles ChargersJosh Palmer, WR - At this time last year, Palmer was a breakout candidate because of Mike Williams' looming free agency. Even after Williams inked a long-term deal with the Chargers, Palmer remains an intriguing fantasy asset due to 30-year-old Keenan Allen's uncertain future with the Bolts. The Athletic's Daniel Popper identified Allen as one of the most likely cuts the team could make this offseason due to the $14.8 million that would be saved against the salary cap. The most probable outcome is the Chargers finding a way to keep Allen on the roster, but if he were to leave, Palmer's value would skyrocket. The 23-year-old Palmer posted over 50 yards and/or a touchdown in eight of the 10 games where he played at least 75% of the snaps this season. Fantasy managers need to keep a close eye on this situation.Fantasy breakout potential: ★★★★☆Miami DolphinsTua Tagovailoa, QB - Tagovailoa's breakout already happened. Sadly, some people might not realize it because it was overshadowed by his concussion issues this season. Thankfully, he cleared concussion protocol in recent weeks, and the Dolphins have voiced their support for him as the starting QB in 2023. If you remove the Week 4 game where he left early, Tua averaged 19.71 fantasy points across 12 games, which would have made him the QB6 on the year. With arguably the best receiver tandem in the league at his disposal and one of the NFL's most creative play-callers in Mike McDaniel, health is the only question mark for Tua moving forward.Fantasy breakout potential: ★★★★☆New England PatriotsTyquan Thornton, WR - When an NFL front office selects a receiver in the top 50, the hope is certainly for more than 22 receptions, 247 receiving yards, and three total touchdowns in his rookie campaign. That's a negative data point Thornton will have to overcome if he's going to emerge as a real-life weapon and a fantasy starter. However, there were a couple bright spots, like his two-touchdown performance in Week 6 and a 60-yard, one-score outing in Week 17. Even so, New England's embarrassing track record of WR draft busts looms large over Thornton's fantasy outlook.Fantasy breakout potential: ★★☆☆☆New York Jets Justin K. Aller / Getty Images Sport / GettyElijah Moore, WR - Moore's sophomore season didn't play out as many had hoped. After a solid opening month with at least 40 yards in every game, his playing time dropped off, resulting in a trade demand and benching before he eventually reclaimed a near regular role in the offense. Most importantly, his production trended in the wrong direction after his rookie season - due in part to a revolving door at quarterback. Like most of the Jets' skill-position players, many of Moore's worst stat lines came with Zach Wilson at the helm. With a quarterback upgrade on the way, there's still an opening for Moore to step up as a quality No. 2 wideout alongside budding superstar Garrett Wilson. Keep your expectations in check, but Moore remains a buy-low target in fantasy.Fantasy breakout potential: ★★★☆☆Pittsburgh SteelersGeorge Pickens, WR - Pickens has quickly become a polarizing fantasy asset, with some arguing his hype train got out of control due to highlight-reel catches and others viewing him as the next star receiver to come out of the Steelers' system. However, both outlooks can be true in this instance. There's no doubt the casual fan can be overly impressed by a one-handed sideline catch, and considering Pickens was hauling in difficult grabs all the way back in OTAs, it's easy to see why his value was inflated early on. We also saw a first-year wideout who missed most of his last year in college with a torn ACL enter the NFL and put up top-40 fantasy numbers on a per-game basis over his last 14 contests with underwhelming quarterback play. It's too early to tell if Pickens can be a No. 1 receiver in the pros, but he displayed more than enough to keep that debate alive, especially if Kenny Pickett can improve in Year 2. If managers in your league are looking to sell at a reasonable price, Pickens remains a buy or hold.Fantasy breakout potential: ★★★★★Tennessee TitansTreylon Burks, WR - Burks' rookie season was disrupted by injuries that limited him to 11 games broken up into no more than four consecutive outings at one time. He appeared to be finding his rhythm midway through the season with back-to-back stat lines of 7-111-0 and 4-70-0. And he was off to a strong start the next game too before suffering a concussion on a beautiful 25-yard touchdown grab between two defenders. When healthy, the 22-year-old earned targets at an impressive rate and showed he can be an impact player. We feel so strongly about Burks that we were leaning toward him when selecting the main image for this column, but Pickens emerging from the tunnel with the lights behind him was too hard to pass up. Burks should be near the top of your breakout list when drafting later this year.Fantasy breakout potential: ★★★★★Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Brock Purdy's impressive 2022 season apparently wasn't enough to change Joe Montana's mind about who the San Francisco 49ers should start at quarterback moving forward.The 49ers legend - who's previously supported Jimmy Garoppolo as the club's QB1 over 2021 third overall pick Trey Lance - recently said Garoppolo remains the best option for San Francisco under center over Purdy and Lance."I start Jimmy," Montana said on the "Open Mike" podcast when asked what the 49ers should do at quarterback in 2023. "How many games has Jimmy won? For the longest time, questions were out with Jimmy for a while. But the one thing he has been able to do is to win games for those guys. He'll make a mistake here and there, but some of those things I don't just put on Jimmy."The 49ers carry a big question mark at quarterback in 2023. They began the 2022 campaign with Lance as the No. 1 guy, but he suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2 that forced San Francisco to ride with Garoppolo. However, Garoppolo fractured his foot in Week 13, leaving Purdy - the last overall pick in the 2022 draft - as the team's only option at QB.Purdy took the NFL by storm, posting a 5-0 record while helping the 49ers reach the divisional round. Many considered Purdy the front-runner for the starting job in 2023 before he suffered a torn UCL in the NFC championship game that could sideline him until at least training camp.49ers coach Kyle Shanahan recently said it's unlikely that Garoppolo, set to become a free agent, returns in 2023. But Montana said he believes the veteran's knowledge of the offense should speak louder in this case."Yeah, (Garoppolo) made a crazy throw and mistake in the playoff game a couple of years ago, but he has won a lot of games," Montana said. "I can't say the same for Trey. You don't know that from him. ... You start the guy who has won all the games for you. You've got to figure out the backup situation with Trey. Does Trey know the offense well enough?"Lance started four games over the last two years.Garoppolo has battled multiple injuries throughout his career and has made 55 regular-season starts since 2017, going 38-17. He completed 67.2% of his passes for 2,437 yards and 16 touchdowns against four interceptions in 11 appearances in 2022.The 31-year-old is also 4-2 in the playoffs. Garoppolo helped the 49ers reach Super Bowl LIV against the Kansas City Chiefs.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Part of the fun of betting Super Bowl props is being able to cover every element of the game. With enough well-managed small bets, there will literally never be a dull moment. Here is a pair - one that will have you interested in every kickoff, and another that doesn't kick in until after you've had your last chicken wing.Longest drive: Under 81.5 yards (-110)First, the obvious: You can't have a drive of longer than 81.5 yards if you never start with the ball inside the 20-yard line.There are three ways a team can start inside the 19-yard line:

The San Francisco 49ers plan to hire Steve Wilks as their defensive coordinator, according to Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.Wilks was the interim head coach of the Carolina Panthers for 12 games after Matt Rhule was fired. Wilks served as the Panthers' defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach before being named the interim head coach.Former 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans took the Houston Texans' head coaching job on Jan. 31. The 49ers allowed the fewest yards and points per game this season.Wilks was the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2018. He went 3-13 before being fired after just one season. He was then the Cleveland Browns' defensive coordinator in 2019.The 53-year-old Wilks ran a 4-3 base defense in Carolina, which is what the 49ers ran under Ryans. The Panthers ranked 22nd in yards allowed per game in 2022.Wilks has also served as a defensive backs coach for the Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Philadelphia Eagles owner and CEO Jeffrey Lurie praised Jalen Hurts and gave him a vote of confidence as the team's long-term quarterback."I don't think he has anything to prove," Lurie said when asked if Hurts is the Eagles' long-term answer at quarterback, according to Sal Paolantonio and Tim McManus of ESPN.Hurts catapulted himself into the conversation as one of the best quarterbacks in the league. He's 16-1 in games he has started this season, leading the Eagles to Super Bowl LVII."He is an MVP-caliber quarterback, an incredible leader of the team on the field, off the field. He's 24 years old, incredibly mature, and, most importantly, driven to be even better. What we're seeing today, I think, is just the beginning for Jalen," Lurie added.Hurts is scheduled to make roughly $4.8 million in 2023, according to Over the Cap. The Eagles are expected to negotiate a long-term deal with Hurts after the season, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network."He's just what we're looking for," Lurie said when asked if negotiations will start after the Super Bowl, according to McManus and Paolantonio.The 24-year-old Hurts had 4,461 total yards and 25 touchdowns in the regular season. He set the record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a single campaign with 13."We'll kind of handle that later on," Hurts said when asked about a contract extension at Super Bowl Opening Night.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick complimented Tom Brady on an exceptional 23-year career."The greatest player. The greatest career. The great, great person," Belichick said on Brady's "Let's Go!" podcast. "It was such an opportunity and an honor for me to coach Tom. I guess it's got to end at some point, you know, but it's the greatest one ever. Congratulations, Tom."Belichick and Brady spent 20 years together in New England. Brady was drafted in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft, Belichick's first year as head coach.Brady and Belichick took the league by storm, winning six Super Bowls together and becoming the greatest quarterback-head coach duo of all time."The memory and the capacity that Tom had to remember plays, situations, and finer points like hard counts and getting out-of-bounds plays and things like that, from years before in the exact same situation and time frame, was remarkable," Belichick said.The 45-year-old Brady left the Patriots to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in March 2020. Brady won his seventh Super Bowl in his first season in Tampa, defeating the Kansas City Chiefs.Brady leaving New England sparked a conversation about a potential rivalry between the two."There's nobody I'd rather be associated with," Brady said. "I think that from my standpoint, it's always such a stupid conversation to say, 'Brady versus Belichick,' because, in my mind, that's not what partnerships are about. Coach (Belichick) couldn't play quarterback, and I couldn't coach … In my view, it was just people always trying to pull us apart, and I don't think that we even felt that with each other."Brady announced Monday that he'll begin his broadcasting career during the 2024 season. He signed a 10-year, $375-million deal with Fox Sports in 2022.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

In the NFL's fantasy football-driven world, defenses aren't often looked at when it comes to prop markets. The Super Bowl is an exception, with two weeks to prepare for one game allowing for a deeper dive than we'd normally take. That means we can find some value where it's not commonly found and also means you might be cheering for things you're not used to getting excited about. That's the fun of Super Bowl prop betting.Justin Reid over 5.5 tacklesIn-between bites into a chicken wing, as you're balancing various plates with a cold beverage, always be ready to cheer for a tackle on a run-of-the-mill 3-yard gain.Justin Reid averaged 4.88 tackles per game this season, so you can understand why his tackle total is lined just above five. However, whether it's quick throws or Jalen Hurts running the read-option to put linebackers in decision-making paralysis, the Eagles force opponents' defensive backs to make tackles.We saw it in the first game of the season - where the Lions' Tracy Walker made a team-high 13 tackles - and throughout the year, as safeties like Minkah Fitzpatrick, Harrison Smith, and Malik Hooker led their respective teams or had close to a season high in tackles. Sometimes both safeties were forced to rack up tackles. Packers safeties Rudy Ford and Adrian Amos had nine each, and three Titans safeties combined for 19 in Philadelphia.In the divisional round, Giants safeties Julian Love and Xavier McKinney made eight tackles each, and Talanoa Hufanga went over this total in the NFC title game.With more tackles and fewer passes defensed than teammate Juan Thornhill, look for Reid to be the support in the run game, particularly for when Hurts keeps the ball and takes off for the outside. Lastly, only four teams ran more plays than the Eagles this season, and more plays mean more opportunities for tackles.Total sacks: Under 5.5 (-130)One of the headlines for the Eagles' defense is the number of sacks the unit has racked up this season - a league-high 70. Plus, we all saw one quarterback pressure that changed the NFC Championship Game early. However, while the Eagles' soft schedule doesn't preclude them from winning the Super Bowl, there's no denying they haven't faced a quarterback with the ability to maneuver in the pocket like Patrick Mahomes.With Creed Humphrey and Joe Thuney, the Chiefs boast two second-team All-Pro selections on the offensive line, and only two teams allowed fewer sacks than the Chiefs this season.And while the Chiefs have a pair of second-team All-Pro linemen, the Eagles have a pair of first-teamers in Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson. Kelce will be the key in organizing double-team blocking against Chris Jones. With the Eagles' desire to get the ball out quick enough to challenge the young Chiefs secondary to tackle, Hurts likely won't be holding the ball long in the passing game. And when offensive coordinator Shane Steichen does call for a shot down field, Hurts can escape if protection breaks down.Total field goals: Under 3.5 (-160)Andy Reid and Nick Sirianni are two coaches who should know what type of contest they're involved in. They won't care that the game total is over 50 points but should know that field goals may not cut it. Both Reid and Sirianni aren't afraid of going for it on fourth down in plus territory.Harrison Butker has battled injury all season and was just 18 for 24 for a career-low 75% field-goal make rate. Jake Elliott, meanwhile, only attempted 23 field goals despite playing in 16 games this season - furthering the point that the Eagles are willing to risk it on fourth down for a chance at seven points.While both kickers are capable of striking from long distance in crunch time, I expect the coaches to save the field-goal attempts for when there's no other option.Matt Russell is a betting writer for theScore. If there's a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on Twitter @mrussauthentic.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Every NFL decade has produced its own dynasty. In most, a second powerhouse team also wins multiple championships. The trend has held true since Vince Lombardi's Packers christened his namesake trophy.These dynasties won games and rings in different ways. Pittsburgh's defense, which the Steel Curtain fronted, routinely shut down opponents. Bill Walsh brought Joe Montana and other future legends to San Francisco, then schemed pass plays that catered to their strengths. Elite defensively at first under Bill Belichick, New England started scoring at will once Tom Brady morphed into a quarterbacking cyborg.The cores of these franchises remained intact for a while. Every Steelers title team in the '70s counted on the same 10 Pro Football Hall of Famers (five on either side of the ball). Cowboys fans saw Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin demoralize defenders together during the team's peak. The Brady-Belichick bond endured as the salary cap, introduced in 1994, constricted spending and as roster turnover and parity became NFL norms. It's getting harder to field a perennial contender. This decade's first two champs, the Buccaneers and Rams, loaded up on star talent to summit the mountain once before cratering in quality this season. It's unlikely they'll reign again anytime soon. So it's meaningful that both Super Bowl LVII finalists won a title recently and are built to vie for more.The Chiefs and Eagles won't care about this in the moment, but the inside track to become the team that dominates the 2020s is on the line Sunday. Patrick Mahomes could deliver a second championship in four seasons to Kansas City. Philadelphia last prevailed when Jalen Hurts was a college sophomore and returns to the big game at the triumphal end of his breakout NFL season.Their matchup is compelling and inspires big-picture questions. Will Mahomes and Hurts square off in several Super Bowls before they retire? How soon will Joe Burrow and Josh Allen bounce back from the disappointment they've experienced to spearhead title runs? Could as many as 10 teams split the spoils this decade, making it anomalous in NFL history?We won't find out until long after Sunday's game. It pits a two-way juggernaut - the Eagles rank second on offense and defense in expected points added per play, according to Ben Baldwin's database - against the supernova passer who just eliminated multiple division winners on a bum ankle. Cooper Neill / Getty ImagesMahomes and two fellow superstars from the 2019 title team still carry the Chiefs. Tight end Travis Kelce caught a career-best 12 touchdowns this season while lining up wide or in the slot on 74% of his pass snaps, according to PFF, to help compensate for Tyreek Hill's departure. Chris Jones led all defensive tackles in sacks (15.5) and pass rush win rate (21%, per ESPN Analytics).This trio accounted for 35% of Kansas City's 2022 cap hit, according to Over The Cap. To make the math work, the Chiefs signed two receivers, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and JuJu Smith-Schuster, at a fraction of the cap number Hill will command when his Miami contract extension kicks in.They also drafted shrewdly. Seven Chiefs who were drafted since 2020 - running back Isiah Pacheco, offensive linemen Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith, and defenders Nick Bolton, Trent McDuffie, L'Jarius Sneed, and Mike Danna - scored above 70 this season in PFF's grades rubric, signifying they were impact players.Philadelphia enhanced the talent around Hurts in the midst of his rookie contract, taking advantage of his readiness to elevate a great team. Hurts' cap hit of $1.64 million this season accounted for 0.7% of the Eagles' outlay, per Over The Cap. He ranks fourth in EPA/play (postseason included) while costing less than 52 other quarterbacks. Tim Nwachukwu / Getty ImagesAfforded leeway to spend last spring, Philly added wideout A.J. Brown, edge rusher Haason Reddick, and cornerback James Bradberry, who all put up career seasons and became All-Pros.The Eagles don't have a weakness. They field one of the NFL's three best pass-blocking, run-blocking, pass-rushing, and coverage units, as graded by PFF, and they boast a top-10 player at every position group except running back. The Eagles still finished fifth in rushing yards this season and led the league in rushing touchdowns by a wide margin.Besides the Eagles and Chiefs, two teams in each conference were much stronger than the pack in the regular season.The Cowboys hit a wall in the divisional round and, because of Dak Prescott's megadeal, face a cap crunch that theScore's Jordan Schultz recently broke down. Allen and Burrow, like Hurts, each commanded a small proportion of his squad's cap total, but injuries sidelined too many teammates.Banged up and missing difference-makers all season, the Bills' defense yielded 412 yards and five long scoring drives when the Bengals bounced Buffalo from the playoffs. Playing behind three backup offensive linemen, Burrow absorbed five sacks in the AFC title game and produced his worst passer rating since Week 1. Mahomes outshone his positional rivals on one leg.San Francisco's roster blueprint was unique. Stocked with superb defenders and strengthened by Christian McCaffrey's midseason arrival, the 49ers trusted unspectacular quarterbacks - Jimmy Garoppolo, then Brock Purdy - to keep their Lamborghini offense on the road. But every last Niners QB got hurt and the defense finally met its match, crumpling against Philadelphia.Maybe the offense will hum again if either Purdy or Trey Lance rebounds well from injury and can stay healthy. Meanwhile, Allen's salary is about to spike, meaning Buffalo might have to let defensive stalwarts Tremaine Edmunds and Jordan Poyer walk in free agency.Cincinnati has ample cap space but has to pay Burrow significantly more starting in 2024, whether on a new deal or his fifth-year option. That'll create constraints even if the cap keeps climbing. Bryan M. Bennett / Getty ImagesNo core can stick together forever. The Eagles will lose financial flexibility when Hurts' and DeVonta Smith's rookie contracts elapse. Mahomes' favorite target, Kelce, is the same age as Rob Gronkowski. As the decade progresses and contention windows shrink, up-and-comers could supplant today's big dogs.The ascendant Jaguars, who caught fire down the stretch to finish seventh in point differential, look primed to take another step in 2023 as Trevor Lawrence matures. The Jets' tremendous defense could swing playoff games in their favor if the club can add a decent QB. Far down the standings, the three-win Bears could use or trade the No. 1 draft pick and leverage $90 million in projected cap space to accelerate their rebuild.Contenders rise as others fall. A year after the additions of Brady and Gronkowski powered the Bucs to glory, the Rams sold the kitchen sink to acquire Matthew Stafford, Von Miller, and Jalen Ramsey, going all-in to win while Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald were in their primes.Retirement, roster churn, and a rash of injuries have already enfeebled both teams. The Lions own the Rams' No. 6 pick, the cost of L.A. trading for Stafford.At least the Bucs and Rams capitalized on their best kicks at the can. The 49ers' last six playoff teams all lost in the NFC championship or the Super Bowl. Winning the AFC East for three years running has yet to net the Bills a Super Bowl appearance. The Bengals rank second in franchise Elo rating behind Kansas City, as calculated by FiveThirtyEight, yet they remain stuck on zero championship banners.That said, the decade is young and could wind up belonging to Allen or Burrow. They're great enough to trouble Mahomes for years to come. But Hurts earned the next crack at spoiling Mahomes' coronation. Whichever QB wins Sunday will get to savor that victory and rightfully believe he can repeat it.Nick Faris is a features writer at theScore.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Minnesota Vikings hired Brian Flores as their new defensive coordinator, the team announced Monday.Flores spent the 2022 season as a defensive assistant and linebackers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was previously the Miami Dolphins' head coach from 2019-2021.

New Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton said Monday that Russell Wilson's personal quarterback coach, Jake Heaps, won't have access to the team's facility this year."That's foreign to me. That's not going to take place here. I'm unfamiliar with it," Payton said at his introductory press conference, according to Albert Breer of MMQB. "Our staff will be here, our players will be here, and that'll be it."Wilson, who's coming off a disappointing 2022 season, brought Heaps with him after joining Denver in a blockbuster trade from the Seattle Seahawks.Payton also praised Wilson on Monday, describing him as "an extremely hard worker," per Zac Stevens of DNVR, and expressing optimism about his performance based on the end of the 2022 campaign."Obviously, it wasn't the type of season he wanted to have," the coach said, according to Andrew Mason of Denver Sports. "I do feel like the last couple of weeks, we saw more of what we were expecting and accustomed to."The 59-year-old coach is also optimistic the Broncos won't repeat their disaster 2022 season in his first year in charge."I think it's realistic for our fan base to expect a completely different type of culture," Payton said when asked about the team's chances of competing in 2023, according to Stevens. "It's realistic for them to expect us to win."Denver entered 2022 with high expectations after hiring Nathaniel Hackett as head coach and acquiring Wilson in a blockbuster trade. However, the season ended in major disappointment. Hackett was fired after 15 games and Wilson posted career lows in wins (four), completion percentage (60.5%), touchdown passes (16), and passer rating (84.4). Denver ended the year 5-12.Payton spent last season as a studio analyst for Fox after stepping down as the New Orleans Saints' sideline boss following the 2021 campaign. Because he was still under contract with the Saints, Denver reportedly sent New Orleans a 2023 first-round pick (29th overall) and a 2024 second-round selection in exchange for Payton and a 2024 third-round choice.He interviewed with multiple clubs with head coaching vacancies, though he noted that ownership was a major factor in his return and praised the Broncos' brass for their efforts."The first day I could be interviewed, Greg (Penner), George (Paton), and (Condoleezza Rice) were there at breakfast time. I knew that meant something," Payton said.He added: "What I was looking for, I knew existed in one place."Payton is regarded as one of the brightest offensive minds in the NFL. He coached the Saints to a 152-89 record with nine playoff appearances and one Super Bowl victory across 15 seasons.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni will not only get a chance to win his first Super Bowl title Sunday, but he'll get to do so against the man who fired him 10 years ago.Sirianni was the Kansas City Chiefs' wide receivers coach when Andy Reid took over ahead of the 2013 campaign. With Reid bringing along David Culley from Philadelphia, Sirianni was among those staffers let go.While the Eagles coach has no hard feelings toward Reid, he still uses his exit from his first NFL home as motivation."Do you always have this little chip on your shoulder? Sure, yeah, you do," he said, according to ESPN's Tim McManus. "But that's who I am as a coach and as a person - I want to make sure I'm working my butt off to get as good as I possibly can. And sure, you hold on to some of those things."Sirianni commended Reid for how he handled the transition in Kansas City after taking over for Romeo Crennel, who went 2-14 in his lone full season in charge."Andy came in because we weren't good enough in Kansas City. And he stepped in and did an unbelievable job," Sirianni said. "What I appreciated is that he brought everyone in and talked to them."I didn't coach with Andy, but he gave me a good example of what to do with a hard part of the job of: 'Hey, I got a guy here.' He was complimentary. He knew I would be down, so he gave me strength when I was down. I appreciated that, and it sounds like that's who he is as a person and a coach."Sirianni next spent five seasons with the then-San Diego Chargers before leaving to become Frank Reich's offensive coordinator with the Indianapolis Colts. His success in Indy led to him landing the top job in Philadelphia in 2021.The 41-year-old has helped turn the Eagles into a juggernaut in just his second season in charge. Philadelphia earned an NFC-best 14-3 record before blowing out both the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs to set up a Super Bowl matchup against the Chiefs.Reid will also have a chance at revenge in Arizona on Sunday. He was fired by the Eagles in 2012 after 14 years at the helm of the NFC East club.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver A.J. Green announced his retirement via Instagram on Monday.The seven-time Pro Bowler posted six seasons with 1,000-plus receiving yards throughout his career.

Tom Brady will begin his role as a Fox Sports broadcaster in the fall of 2024, Brady told Colin Cowherd in an interview on "The Herd."

The Kansas City Chiefs activated running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire and placed wide receiver Mecole Hardman on injured reserve, the team announced Monday.Kansas City opened the 21-day practice window to activate Edwards-Helaire on January 17. The 23-year-old suffered a high ankle sprain during the Chiefs' Week 11 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.The 2020 first-round tailback saw his role within the offense diminish behind Jerick McKinnon and rookie Isiah Pacheco. Edwards-Helaire has rushed for a career-low 302 yards and three touchdowns while averaging 4.3 yards per carry through 10 games in 2022.Meanwhile, Hardman will have to watch his teammates in the Super Bowl as a spectator. He missed the final nine games of the regular season and the divisional playoff win over the Jacksonville Jaguars due to an abdominal strain. The former Pro Bowl wideout returned to the Chiefs' lineup for the AFC Championship Game against the Cincinnati Bengals, recording two catches for 10 yards before exiting the contest with a pelvis injury.Hardman was listed as doubtful for the Super Bowl after missing practice last week. He concluded the regular season with 25 receptions, 297 yards, and four touchdowns.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The New Orleans Saints are expected to hire Joe Woods as their new defensive coordinator, sources told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.Woods served as the defensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns for the last three seasons. The Browns fired him in January.The Saints will continue to run head coach Dennis Allen's scheme, according to Nick Underhill of NOF Network. Woods will be Allen's top assistant.The 52-year-old was with Allen in 2014 when Allen was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders.Woods led a Browns defensive unit that finished 19th in points per game allowed in 2022. Cleveland struggled against the run this season, ranking 25th in rushing yards allowed per game.The Saints had co-defensive coordinators in 2021, as Kris Richard and Ryan Nielsen shared the position. Richard and the Saints decided to part ways on Feb. 1, while Nielsen took the job as the Atlanta Falcons' defensive coordinator.Woods was the defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos from 2017-18. The Broncos finished 22nd in yards per game allowed in Woods' final season with the team.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett suffered what is believed to be a dislocated toe while competing in the Pro Bowl Games Sunday, a source told NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.Initial X-rays were negative for the star pass-rusher, Pelissero reports.Garrett limped off the field during the event, according to Pelissero.The two-time first-team All-Pro defender represented the AFC in the Gridiron Gauntlet competition during the final day of the league's all-star festivities. He also competed in the dodgeball game earlier in the week.The 27-year-old Browns star was making his fourth appearance at the Pro Bowl after tallying 60 tackles, 16 sacks, and 18 tackles for loss in 16 games in 2022.Garrett was among several players taking part in the revamped all-star festivities, which replaced the traditional tackle football game with flag football and a variety of challenges and competitions.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Carolina Panthers hired Ejiro Evero as their new defensive coordinator, the team announced Sunday.He held the same role with the Denver Broncos but was let out of his contract following the arrival of head coach Sean Payton. Evero was a head coaching candidate for both the Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts, while the Minnesota Vikings were eyeing him for their defensive coordinator position.Carolina was previously believed to be targeting Vic Fangio, who ultimately joined the Miami Dolphins.Evero adds to a new-look Panthers staff led by former Colts head coach Frank Reich, who beat out last season's interim coach Steve Wilks for the job.Evero's defense was one of the lone bright spots for Denver amid a disappointing season. The unit finished seventh in total defense and 14th in points allowed.The 42-year-old previously held coaching roles with the Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk expects the Kansas City Chiefs to handle business against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII."I don't know fully about that defense," Aiyuk said in an interview with TheSFNiners. "They talk about them being a good defense; I'm not sure. I think the pass game, this Kansas City pass game, will expose what we thought we were going to be able to expose before some unfortunate circumstances."The Eagles own the top-ranked pass defense in the NFL, holding teams to just 171 yards through the air per game in the regular season. They've allowed 192 total passing yards in two playoff games.Aiyuk doubled down, saying he would bet on the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl."If I were going to bet on this game, I would take everything that I own, get it in cash, and put my money on the Kansas City Chiefs," Aiyuk said.He added: "You got to get lucky to win a Super Bowl, and (the Eagles) just got extremely lucky last week, so who's to say they can't do it twice?"The Eagles defeated the 49ers 31-7 in the NFC Championship Game. San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy was hurt in the first quarter from a strip sack by Haason Reddick, suffering a torn UCL on the play.San Francisco's offense struggled following the injury, mustering only 78 passing yards after Purdy left the game.Aiyuk, 24, claims the 49ers had the best roster in the NFL this season."We have a talented football team," Aiyuk said, according to Jarrod Castillo of NBC Sports. "We have, hands down, the best football team in the league. Hands down. I'm not going even going to argue with anyone who thinks they should argue that."The 49ers had won 12 straight games heading into the NFC championship. Purdy led the team to a 7-0 record after replacing Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 13 when Garoppolo suffered a season-ending ankle injury."We felt like it was our time, and for that to get cut short, it's sickening," Aiyuk said.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence is excited about the direction of his team."I have a lot more confidence in where we're going moving forward," Lawrence said, according to Grant Gordon of NFL.com. "We have our coach, we've got a lot of our guys coming back on offense, defense."The 23-year-old Lawrence made the Pro Bowl as an alternate in his second year, helping the Jaguars take a giant leap from his rookie season. Jacksonville went 9-8, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round after a 4-13 season in 2021.After getting off to a 4-8 start, the Jaguars rallied to win their last five games to secure the AFC South title.Lawrence picked up his play in those five games, throwing for 1,279 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions. A miraculous comeback victory in the wild-card round over the Los Angeles Chargers got the Jaguars their first playoff win since 2017."We were 4-8, and we knew we would pretty much have to win the rest of our games to have a shot in the playoffs, and we did," Lawrence said. "We always had that belief in ourselves, but it is cool."The hiring of head coach Doug Pederson worked wonders for Lawrence."Our personalities really are similar, I think," Lawrence said. "And we get along really well. That was evident early."Lawrence has help on the way, as the Jaguars acquired wide receiver Calvin Ridley at the trade deadline. Ridley was suspended for the 2022 season for betting on NFL games. The Jaguars also hold the 25th overall pick in the upcoming draft.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said Raiders fans have been encouraging him to come to Las Vegas at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am."I'm just going to say the predominant team that we hear as we're walking is Raiders," Rodgers said when asked if there's a favorite color or city on his mind for next season, per CBS Sports. "A lot of Raider fans are encouraging me. A lot of 'Davante (Adams) misses you' comments."Adams teased on social media Thursday about a possible reunion with his former teammate. A fan at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am said, "I heard Davante is looking for a neighbor," and Rodgers replied, "Tell him to buy me a house."

Christian Petersen, a staff photographer at Getty Images, shot memorable college football action before graduating to the pros. He covered the USC Trojans during the Matt Leinart era when the quarterback and Reggie Bush were Heisman Trophy winners and starred in epic bowl games that sealed undefeated seasons.Petersen's instinct at the start of his career was to plant himself behind the end zone and hope the game would come to him. Distanced from the play on most downs, he realized his subjects looked small. He needed to move freely and hug the sideline to capture images that struck people."Peak action. Strong emotion. Defining moments. All of these things get put together (in a great football photo)," Petersen said. "Maybe there's some artistic spin on it. The fundamentals: it's a sharp, clean photo with a nice background. Something that tells the story of what's going on."The biggest game in the sport arrives in Petersen's backyard this month. The Arizona resident will be Getty's lone photographer credentialed to roam the sidelines when the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles clash in Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12.Getty plans to station four photographers at the corners of the end zones. Another will shoot peering down from the 400 level of State Farm Stadium, home of the Cardinals. Two more photographers will chronicle Rihanna's halftime show and the rest of the entertainment. Getty editors handpick the best snapshots and disseminate them within minutes of being taken to editorial clients worldwide, theScore included.Petersen covered two Super Bowls as an editor; this is the fifth he'll work with cameras in hand. (Canon bodies, specifically.) Only the players and game officials get closer to the greatest spectacle in American sports. The protagonists are ecstatic in victory and brood over defeats. Petersen watched Tom Brady navigate that emotional gamut a few years apart.Feb. 1, 2015: Patriots 28, Seahawks 24. Christian Petersen / Getty ImagesFeb. 4, 2018: Eagles 41, Patriots 33. Christian Petersen / Getty ImagesEach indelible Super Bowl moment authored since 1967 lives on in pictures. Skilled photographers record them by being in the right place at the right millisecond. Former Sports Illustrated staffer John Biever has shot all 56 Super Bowls to date and once expressed a grim fear to his hometown San Diego Union-Tribune: "I'm looking to not miss the best play, because if you do, you have a year to think about that."Petersen photographs every major Arizona team, plus playoff action elsewhere and marquee events that range from golf championships to the Summer Olympics. He never played football except in the street with childhood friends. But the Super Bowl is one of his favorite assignments."It's definitely top three," Petersen said this week. "I'm such a fan of the NFL and the product they put on the field every week. It's a dynamic event that has eyes from all over the world - people looking in, people interested, people grabbing the photos right away. It's iconic. It's incredible."Petersen spoke to theScore about the pressure to perform next Sunday, the team tendencies he'll scout in advance, the appeal of a Chiefs-Eagles matchup, and the time in Glendale that Katy Perry and Malcolm Butler stole the show. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs isn't a fan of the league's new format for the Pro Bowl."This shit is stupid," Jacobs said Saturday, according to The Athletic's Tashan Reed.Jacobs is participating in Pro Bowl activities in Las Vegas this week after earning his second career nod. The NFL revamped its All-Star weekend festivities, replacing the traditional tackle football game with a wide array of skills competitions and flag football.The non-football activities include a dodgeball game and a competition for the longest golf drive while featuring other challenges, such as precision passing.Additionally, Jacobs said he hasn't discussed contract negotiations with the team but expects to start next week, according to Reed.When asked if receiving the franchise tag next season would be an issue, Jacobs, who turns 25 next week, expressed his displeasure with a colorful response."Hero turned villain," Jacobs said.Placing the franchise tag on Jacobs would cost the Raiders $10 million in 2023 if the two sides are unable to agree on a new pact, according to OverTheCap.Jacobs is set to become an unrestricted free agent after Las Vegas declined the fifth-year option in his rookie contract last offseason. The Raiders similarly declined to exercise the clause with fellow 2019 rookie classmates Clelin Ferrell and Johnathan Abram, who they released last November.The Alabama product captured the league's rushing title after tallying 1,653 yards and averaging 97.2 yards per contest while adding 53 receptions for 400 yards and 12 total touchdowns in 2022. He has racked up three 1,000+ rushing yard seasons since joining the franchise in 2019.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Dallas Cowboys have named Brian Schottenheimer their new offensive coordinator, the team announced Saturday.Schottenheimer spent the 2022 season as a consultant for the Cowboys. He replaces Kellen Moore, who parted ways with the franchise after four seasons as offensive coordinator.Schottenheimer will not be tasked with calling plays after Cowboys owner Jerry Jones confirmed earlier this week that head coach Mike McCarthy will handle those duties.A longtime NFL assistant, Schottenheimer previously served as offensive coordinator for the New York Jets (2006-11), St. Louis Rams (2012-14), and Seattle Seahawks (2018-20). The Seahawks finished with a top-10 scoring offense in each of his three seasons with the team.Dallas had the fourth-best scoring offense in 2022, averaging 27.5 points per game. But the unit turned the ball over 23 times as quarterback Dak Prescott led the league with 15 interceptions.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New Orleans Saints pass-rusher Cameron Jordan thinks the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' days of controlling the NFC South are over without Tom Brady under center."We salute him and wish him the best," Jordan said when asked about Brady's retirement by NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe.He added with a laugh: "We're glad that he's out of the division. Tampa Bay will probably go back to where Tampa Bay has been."Brady, who retired earlier this week after 23 NFL seasons, spent the last three years with the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay made the playoffs in each of his three campaigns with the team, winning one Super Bowl and two division titles.The Buccaneers finished last in the NFC South seven times from 2011-2020 before Brady arrived as a free agent in the 2020 offseason. They posted eight losing records from 2011-19.The Saints have also struggled to find postseason success since former quarterback Drew Brees retired after the 2020 campaign. New Orleans has missed the playoffs in each of the last two years and went 7-10 this season.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Story contains coarse languageTo find the Yoda of performance coaches, one must travel to a mountaintop in the far reaches of the country.I exited Interstate 5 in early December about a half hour north of San Diego. The rental car climbed into the coastal foothills, ascending to a public space: Stagecoach Community Park in the city of Carlsbad.What was once a stop for the two-day stagecoach journey from San Diego to Los Angeles is now a sprawling suburban space of playgrounds, tennis courts, and artificial turf athletic fields nestled between subdivisions. To unlock one's potential, no fancy state-of-the-art facility is needed. Tom House uses this space and a few other public areas near his home.House doesn't advertise. To get here as an athlete, to attempt to master the force House teaches about the optimal ways to throw baseballs and footballs, you have to really want to be here - and House must invite you.Those who arrive know the history.House helped resurrect Drew Brees' professional fortunes after a catastrophic shoulder injury early in his career. Tom Brady might not have played at an elite level into his mid-40s if not for House. House helped Randy Johnson after one bullpen session. When Nolan Ryan was dominant into his 40s, House was his pitching coach with the Texas Rangers.Now 75, House has been around so many great athletes and moments that he jokes he's something like film icon Forrest Gump. But his experience is real. It goes back as far as April 8, 1974. House, then a left-handed reliever for the Atlanta Braves, was watching through the chain-link, left-field fence from the bullpen at Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium. He made a prediction about where a ball might land if Dodgers starter Al Downing hung a pitch, and planted himself there. A few moments later, a ball soared through the night sky and came to rest in House's glove. He was holding Hank Aaron's 715th home run.Tom House congratulates Hank Aaron on his 715th home run. Bettmann Archives / Getty ImagesHouse calls himself lucky often, even though he's been battling Parkinson's disease for years.House built his coaching reputation as a pioneer in the field of biomechanical analysis and weighted-ball training. The so-called "father of modern pitching mechanics" also holds a Ph.D. in psychology. He's accumulated as much wisdom as perhaps any coach on the planet.He says he was "put on this earth to be a coach," and his passion for the craft is apparent on this December day. He's seated at the center of a picnic table between two recreational baseball fields, surrounded by three-minor league pitchers, a couple of pro hopefuls, and a quarterback from IMG Academy.They wear hoodies, generally from their pro or college team's apparel stock. One of the hopefuls here, Jack Liebesman, sports a Brady T-shirt bearing a screenprint of a cartoon goat.

Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce said the outcome of Super Bowl LVII won't dictate whether he returns to the NFL in 2023."I don't think so," Kelce said when asked if the game's result will decide his future, according to Dave Zangaro of NBCS Philadelphia.Kelce flirted with retirement last offseason but decided to return to Philadelphia on a one-year, $14-million deal.The 35-year-old is playing some of the best football of his career while anchoring one of the top offensive lines in the NFL."From everybody I've been told about when it's time to retire or not, you just know when you know," Kelce said. "And it's just going to be when you don't want to play football anymore. And I don't think winning this game is going to determine whether I want to play football or not."The Eagles selected center Cam Jurgens in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, and he was widely regarded as Kelce's potential replacement. But it will be hard to move on from Kelce after his performance this season if he wants to return.Selected by the Eagles in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft, Kelce is a five-time first-team All-Pro with six Pro Bowl selections.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Raiders granted Derek Carr permission to speak with teams that already agreed to the compensation Las Vegas is seeking in a potential trade involving the quarterback, sources told Adam Schefter of ESPN.Carr said at the Pro Bowl Games skills competition Thursday that the Raiders hadn't allowed him to discuss a potential move with other clubs.The Raiders and Carr - their starting quarterback since 2014 - decided to part ways following a disappointing 2022 season. Las Vegas benched the veteran passer for its final two games of the campaign and gave him permission to walk away from the team to avoid being a distraction.Carr, 31, completed just 60.8% of his passes for 3,522 yards and 24 touchdowns against 14 interceptions. The Raiders, who made the playoffs in 2021, posted a 6-11 record in 2022 despite adding multiple high-profile players and hiring head coach Josh McDaniels in the offseason.Las Vegas is expected to cut or find a trade partner for Carr before Feb. 15, the deadline for his $40.4 million in salary for the next two years to become fully guaranteed. The signal-caller said Thursday that he doesn't intend to push his contract deadline to help facilitate a deal.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Veteran quarterback Geno Smith said Friday that contract extension talks with the Seattle Seahawks are progressing well."We've had talks, and we're in the process of getting all that settled right now," Smith told SiriusXM. "It's looking very good. We think we can get some things done, but obviously, those things take time. This is the process that I hate about the NFL because I just want to play football. But it's a business as well, so we've got to take care of business, and then we'll get back to the football."Smith and Seattle both publicly expressed interest in signing a new deal following the signal-caller's impressive 2022 season."I love Seattle," the 32-year-old added, according to ESPN's Brady Henderson. "We have a great relationship, and I think we'll work things out. When it comes to contracts, I think every player just wants to get paid his worth. ... Your contract just wants to say, 'We respect you, we understand what you bring to the table, we understand what caliber of player you are, and we appreciate you.'"Smith, who was a backup in Seattle in 2020 and 2021, was given a chance to compete for the starting job with Drew Lock last offseason after the Seahawks traded Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos. Not only did Smith beat out Lock for the No. 1 role, but he went on to post an NFL-high 69.8% completion rate with 4,282 yards and 30 touchdowns against 11 interceptions.Smith also earned the first Pro Bowl berth of his career while helping Seattle reach the playoffs with a 9-8 record."I really wanted to prove those guys right," Smith said. "Coach (Pete) Carroll, (general manager) John Schneider, just how much faith they showed in me. Trading away Russell Wilson - it had nothing to do with me - but just trading away the franchise cornerstone for 10 years and then making a transition. And a guy like myself who had been written off, being on the bench, and for them to see the work that I've been putting in ... meant a lot to me."Smith played on a one-year, $3.5-million contract in 2022.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy praised the Philadelphia Eagles' defense Friday ahead of Super Bowl LVII."Seventy sacks - these guys are pretty damn good," Bieniemy said, according to Aaron Ladd of KSHB 41 News. "That's a nightmare for an offensive coordinator."The Eagles roster arguably the NFL's deepest defense after the midseason additions of the likes of Linval Joseph, Ndamukong Suh, and Robert Quinn to an already solid unit. This season, Philadelphia became the first team to ever have four defenders with 10-plus sacks (Haason Reddick, Javon Hargrave, Josh Sweat, and Brandon Graham).Philly finished the regular season with 70 sacks, comfortably the best mark in the league and 15 ahead of the second-place Chiefs."It's going to be a challenge," Bieniemy said, according to Charles Goldman of The Chiefs Wire. "Their second wave of guys they have coming in are very good."Kansas City has done a solid job in pass protection, ranking seventh in pass blocking, according to PFF. However, it was outplayed in the trenches during its last Super Bowl appearance, a loss to the Buccaneers in 2021 in which Tampa Bay registered 10 quarterback hits and three sacks on Patrick Mahomes.The Chiefs have since bolstered their O-line, bringing in four new starters through the draft and free agency. Bieniemy believes Kansas City - owners of the league's top-ranked offensive unit - will rise to the occasion come Feb. 12."We've got five guys up front that take tremendous pride in protecting the quarterback," Bieniemy said."Our guys will be ready," he added, per Ladd.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We try to be responsible bettors, but darn it if we don't want to try for a big score as part of our otherwise prudent portfolio each week. That's why our round-robin underdog moneyline and round-robin touchdown parlays exist: to satiate our human urge for a big payout so that we can be responsible with our other single-event wagers.First touchdown scorer is a market best described as silly. Are any Eagles or Chiefs players more likely to score the first touchdown than they are any other touchdown in the game? If they are, that's a player who might have value because this market is priced based on how likely one is to score at any time. Since it's the Super Bowl, and we're here for a good time, let's take a quick look at a popular market.1st TD scorer oddsPLAYERODDSTravis Kelce+700Isiah Pacheco+800Jalen Hurts+800Miles Sanders+800AJ Brown+900DeVonta Smith+1100Jerick McKinnon+1100JuJu Smith-Schuster+1100Dallas Goedert+1300Marquez Valdes-Scantling+1300Kadarius Toney+1500Kenneth Gainwell+1500Boston Scott+2500Skyy Moore+2500Patrick Mahomes+3000KC Chiefs D/ST+3000PHI Eagles D/ST+3500Noah Gray+3500Quez Watkins+4000Jody Fortson+5000Justin Watson+5000Blake Bell+6000Jack Stoll+6000Michael Burton+6000Ronald Jones II+6000Zach Pascal+8000*Other players available at 100-1 or longerDuring the first 12 games of the playoffs, it's been a long list of favorites scoring the first touchdown, with Dalton Schultz (+1500) being the longest shot when he found the end zone first in San Francisco. Oddly, that was his second first touchdown of the playoffs. As the Cowboys were favored in the wild-card round, he was around 12-1 when he scored in Tampa Bay. That shows how the odds change relative to whether a player is on the favored team or not.Travis Kelce is the favorite for the first touchdown of Super Bowl LVII, as - like Schultz - he was the initial touchdown scorer in both of his playoff games this season. Let's look at his odds over the course of the playoffs - as the Chiefs' win probability has increased by opponent.OPPONENTKELCE 1ST TD ODDSSPREADJaguars+600KC -9Bengals+700KC -2Eagles+700PHI -1.5Kelce scored first three times in 17 regular-season games - a 17.6% rate that was profitable since his odds were longer than +476 each week, according to BestOdds.How often has he scored first in a game where the Chiefs weren't the favorite, though? The Chiefs played in three games where the point spread was pick'em, or they were short underdogs. Kelce scored first at Tampa Bay in Week 4, making him a profitable bet in that sample size, too.Add in Dawson Knox and Dallas Goedert finding the end zone first earlier in the playoffs, and exactly half of the first touchdowns this postseason have come from tight ends, and both Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts love looking to their stars at the position in the red zone.Best betsGenerally, we'd love to downplay the favorite, but over and over, Kelce's proved valuable relative to his price. Meanwhile, his tight end counterpart - Goedert - scored first in just one of his 12 regular-season games, which is why he's priced 13-1. But he's frequently had plays drawn up to target him, only to have Hurts keep it for a score. After two weeks of preparation, the Chiefs should have stopping Hurts near the goal line as a top priority.Mahomes has been priced to score first as short as +1700 against the Jaguars - a situation with Kansas City a strong favorite and Mahomes in full health. While the Chiefs won't be significant favorites in the Super Bowl, Mahomes may be closer to full mobility, and if that's the case, 30-1 is worth putting a portion of the budget allocated for this type of bet.Lastly, we're already on record with our favorite long shot anytime touchdown scorer, so let's make some room in the portfolio for Jody Fortson in case the secret weapon gets out early, breaking down a single-unit bet across four players.PLAYERODDSUNIT VALUEPAYOUTNETTravis Kelce+700.5 unit3.5 units+3 unitsDallas Goedert+1300.25 unit3.25 units+2.5 unitsPatrick Mahomes+3000.15 unit4.5 units+3.65 unitsJody Fortson+5000.1 unit5 units+4.1 unitsMatt Russell is a betting writer for theScore. If there's a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on Twitter @mrussauthentic.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find positional rankings, additional analysis, and subscribe to push notifications in the NFL Fantasy News section.theScore's Justin Boone was first overall in FantasyPros' Most Accurate Expert Competition in 2019 and finished among the top seven each of his last seven years in the contest.In an effort to help you find trades that could improve your fantasy team, we present the Dynasty Trade Value Chart.You can use this chart to compare players and build realistic trade offers. Values are based on 12-team PPR leagues.Follow the links below to see the trade values for each position.Dynasty Rankings & Trade Values

Lisa Guerrero's infamously short stint as Monday Night Football's sideline reporter in 2003 came down to the difference between two words: former and current. The flub - referring to a Washington athlete as a former teammate rather than a current one - added fuel to the fire of her detractors and by the season's end played a role in changing her employment status with ABC - from current to former.It was the defining moment of a season that, for Guerrero, had been a sequence of disappointments. Nabbing a role on what was football's most revered weekly broadcast is usually considered a career pinnacle. But, before the cameras even started rolling, Guerrero began to see signs of a toxic work environment - one where her confidence quickly eroded. The shame of enduring a career flop on a massive stage sent Guerrero into a tailspin. After her firing, she would never return to sports journalism.But Guerrero did push forward, reinventing herself as a determined investigative reporter responsible for uncovering scams and solving the murder of a 2-year-old child. Nearly 20 years later, she's ready to face the turmoil of that fateful NFL season. She documented the process of coming to terms with her tenure on MNF and her comeback from that in a memoir titled, "Warrior: My Path to Being Brave."Guerrero spoke to theScore about dusting off those old VHS tapes of her on-air debacle and how she feels about discovering her second act.This has been edited for length and clarity.theScore: Your childhood played a major role in the career path you chose. What is your earliest memory of sports?Guerrero: When I was 8 and my mom was 29, she died of cancer. My dad raised me, and he was a huge sports fan. We've lived in San Diego and our house overlooked Jack Murphy Stadium, which became Qualcomm Stadium. I remember him taking me to Chargers games and thinking that someday I was going to grow up to be the Chargers' quarterback. He didn't tell me I couldn't. Instead, he said, "Well, you better practice." He taught me how to throw a perfect spiral. We could see the stadium lights from our house and I was convinced that was my destiny.So I think my first real sports moment was not just going to a game to see a specific player or a specific team, it was more of the potential of being this athlete that I wanted to be. ... I wanted to be the next Dan Fouts. Sports filled me with this sense of opportunity and this sense of camaraderie. I connected with my father through the language of sports, which became the platform for me for the next several decades. Sporting News Archive / Getty ImagesThe 50th anniversary of your mom's death is coming up. You would have been around the same age she was at the time of her death when you made the career switch from cheerleading to sports broadcasting. Was there a connection between pursuing this new direction and living to an age your mom didn't?How I viewed my life up until then was that I had a sell-by date, that I was gonna die by the time I was my mom's age. As a child, when you see a parent die like that, you think, "Well, that's probably when I'm gonna die."When I turned 30, I was so excited, I felt like I had somehow ducked this dark cloud, and then I was able to live the rest of my life. ... I always felt like she didn't get to fulfill her destiny. I felt like I was going to fulfill my destiny and hers. She was an actress and she starred in all of the church plays and she sang. She was a dancer, she was very beautiful, and her life was cut short.Part of the reason I took her last name was to honor her, to bond with her, to be part of this legacy of this heritage of Chilean women that I'm really proud to be a part of, going back to her mother and grandparents. So I felt definitely when I was 29 that was the time that I kind of came into my own as a Guerrero, which means "warrior."Throughout the book, you said sports is where you found your belonging. I know you felt like an outsider when you were in high school. As a cheerleader, you felt like an insider. Through the rest of your career, do you feel like you ever found acceptance?The reason I spend a lot of time in my book writing about the cheerleading experience, as a cheerleader and entertainment director, was that I didn't have a mother. I didn't have sisters. And to this day, I don't have a daughter. So for me, that sisterhood was crucial to me at a time when I needed it - at a time when I didn't know how to wear makeup or how to talk to boys or any of those normal typical things girls learn from their mom. In fact, when I had my period, I thought I was dying. I thought there was something wrong with me. I was screaming. My dad took me to the emergency room and they said, "Sir, your daughter is fine, she's having her first period." Nobody taught me about anything like that. So my female friendships are crucial to me, and the reason why I don't feel like an outsider is that I have this group of women to rely on. Elsa / Getty ImagesI'm thinking forward to Monday Night Football because it was clear that you really felt like an outsider in that context. Was the feeling of being an outsider further elevated because you had gone through these periods of time when you had felt left out?Yes, and I write about in the book how I couldn't tell my friends what was happening to me. I was so ashamed and so humiliated by the criticism and the slut-shaming and the verbal abuse and all that I endured that season. It made it impossible for me to share that grief with other people. I didn't want to burden anyone with that, and I didn't want to tell my dad about it because I didn't want him to worry about me. And so they thought I was living this perfect life in a dream job, getting married to this handsome athlete, living in Malibu, living the dream - when in fact, I was in pain every day and it was very lonely.I grieve for that young woman because she didn't reach out. That's part of why I thought it was so important to write this book. It is a love letter and a cautionary tale to other young women but also a love letter to my younger self: You shouldn't have had to be alone, you shouldn't have had to endure that by yourself. It was devastating.And at the same time, I look back on it now, knowing that what I went through has made me a stronger person and a more empathetic person, which has driven me in terms of my investigations and what I do now ... you can turn pain into power. But, before you do that, you've gotta face what you went through. I write about it honestly and emotionally because I'm still emotionally connected to it.What's the point of writing a book if you're not gonna tell the truth and really get to the emotional heart of the story? I don't want somebody to spend $28 on my book and think it's just a series of behind-the-scenes fluff about being a sideline reporter or an actress or an investigative reporter. I want people to really consider what I went through and hopefully find that they can relate in some way to it and learn something through what I went through.When you watched all the footage of that season, what was the one thing that you wanted to tell that version of yourself?You did a good job. I was able to look at everything. I was physically unable, emotionally unable to view any of those tapes for almost two decades. When I was writing the book, I had to go back and look at old journals and finally I said, "I've got to look at the tape." A lot of it was on VHS and Beta so I had it transferred and then I looked at my performances. Because my performances were edited into just my performances and not the entire three-hour broadcast, I was able to chronologically go through and I saw something that other people weren't able to see - the improvement and progression every game. I realized, "OK, I made that mistake on the second game, but look, I didn't do that on the third game." My timing was better, my throws were cleaner, my ability to grab the player at the right time when Al (Michaels) was throwing down to me, everything improved every week until the final game.That game was the famous Brett Favre game where he threw for four touchdowns in the first half. It was a flawless game. I looked at every single hit, I think there were nine or 10, and it was word-perfect. If you just saw that person, you would go, "Oh, she must have been on the show for 20 years. She looks so solid."But, my younger self wasn't able to absorb that I was improving. That's part of why I'm grieving for this girl, this young woman. I was getting better. David Maxwell / Getty ImagesI'm sure it's kind of similar to when you look at old pictures of yourself and - I think we all have this experience - say something like, "I was beautiful. Why was I worried about my weight? I look so good." But you don't really feel that way in the moment.We're all very hard on ourselves. In my case, what made it worse was that other people were also very hard on me. I like to call it the culture of cruelty that runs throughout sports, whether it was the sports radio guys or sports columnists, colleagues, sports fans, call-in talk radio, all of that stuff is very cruel, and of course, now we see it in social media.It's kind of accepted in the world of sports to be vicious, to be misogynistic or racist or hurtful or just mean-spirited. That runs through sports and has always been accepted, and I am pushing back on that now. Part of why I'm writing this is to say, "No, it's not acceptable." I spoke to Bob Costas when I was writing the book to get his advice on some things, and he said to me, "You know, I had really good producers that yelled at me too back in the day." I thought to myself, "That's not acceptable to anybody in any work environment, I don't care what you do for a living."You shouldn't be yelled at or demeaned. You shouldn't be shamed. But, back then it was acceptable and it hurt me deeply. It almost cost me my life. It cost me a life because I had a miscarriage. Then, the following year it almost cost me my life.I don't know if you saw Michele Tafoya's rant on YouTube. She seemed to take the approach that this is just kind of standard and people have to deal with it. It sounds like you take the complete opposite approach.I do, I've never met her, and I am so grateful that she didn't have the experience that I had. What I endured was traumatic and it was real and it was painful. I wouldn't want anybody to experience that.Although we've evolved in terms of women in sports, I think as long as we keep judging other women and saying, "You didn't do it the way I did it, or you should have come up this way, or your experience isn't validated because it wasn't my experience," that hurts us all. That is damaging to all of us. We all have unique experiences and backgrounds, we all bring to the table different assets and different skill sets. To somehow describe somebody else's experience as less than or invalid because it's not the way you experienced it is so damaging. It's really sad.The big mistake that seems to haunt you was just one word: former teammate versus current. Did it look like as big of a mistake when you watched the tapes?It doesn't seem like a big deal now, but it couldn't have been more crushing at the time. It was basically the excuse that everybody had to say that I was horrible and that I was just a bimbo and I was just a model and just a cheerleader. It was an opportunity for everybody to say that I was just as bad as they had been writing about. It was so damaging and thank God I do have the tapes and I could see the progression. Ultimately, that job was not the right job for me. I like to say that football wasn't the last line on my resume. Thank God I went on to do other work that I'm super proud of.But at the time it was devastating. Those lessons that I learned, having endured that and enjoyed that criticism has helped me to be more empathetic to the people I interview today. Rodin Eckenroth / Getty ImagesLet's talk about the reinvention because that's something that not a lot of people can do. And it's something that a lot of people have to figure out how to do, especially in today's age, with cancel culture, slut-shaming and social media bullying.What my dad shared with me was a really important thought. He said, "You think of yourself as this sports personality, and yes, that's what you've done since you were 8. We bonded through sports. But at the end of the day, there are people in this world that don't know who's playing in the Super Bowl, they don't care about sports. You're a good reporter, and maybe your efforts are better spent on something else rather than somebody's groin injury on a sideline." That perspective started to shift my change in attitude. I'm not saying it happened overnight because it took two full years where I was still depressed. It was difficult for me to get out of bed. I couldn't watch any sports at all for two straight years.I got therapy, very importantly. Interestingly, that therapist I had seen during some of these crucial incidents just reached out to me. She just called me and said she heard about my book, and she was so happy that I was healthy.What I did was just shift that energy and that spotlight to a different group of people who needed me more. Frankly, those are survivors and victims of scams and crime and abuse. Now, I get to tell their stories. I'm the same reporter with the same skill set. I didn't take a class to get better in the interim between Monday Night Football and "Inside Edition," I just looked at myself differently and I became a better storyteller. Now, 600 investigations later, I'm proud to say that I did the hard work of rebranding myself.You've had so many successes at "Inside Edition," and you did a lot of work that you're really proud of. But in your book, you said running into Erin Andrews in a restaurant was a remarkable moment because you felt you were going to be remembered only as a low point on Monday Night Football, and Andrews heaped a lot of praise on you. Has the way you see yourself shifted?That's the reason I wrote my book, to really examine what happened, what led up to that season, what I learned from it going forward, and how other people can learn from what I went through.I can forgive myself for the mistake I made or the lapses in judgment. To have young women say, "I can relate to this," or, "this is still happening to me," has impacted me so emotionally.Do you watch sports anymore? Is that still part of your connection with your dad?I do. Now, I'm a huge sports fan again. Yes, it took me a minute. I'm not gonna lie. But yeah, I enjoy sports now. I love going to a Dodgers game, just having a beer and a hot dog and cheering on my teams.My dad and I did just recently watch NFL games together. We'll call each other after games and say, "Can you believe that call? What about that injury?"What would your mom say about the book?I think she would be incredibly proud. I know she is, I don't believe she's actually gone. I think her spirit still lives within me and around me.I think she would be proud of the name of the book. Guerrero means "warrior." The book is named for her. I especially think she would be just proud of me for writing it, for having the strength to go back and to think about these things. I feel like I've reclaimed her legacy. I feel like I've reclaimed my name. I say at the end of the book that I'm a warrior, I feel like that now.Jolene Latimer is a feature writer and video host at theScore.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr does not intend to push his contract deadline back from February 15, which is when $40.4 million of his current deal will be fully guaranteed over the next two years."I'm just looking for teams that have made that decision consistently, that they'll continually choose to do whatever it takes to put a winning program out there," Carr told ESPN's Stephen Holder at the Pro Bowl Games Thursday. "And so, for me, I just wanna win a championship."Carr was abruptly benched for the final two games of the 2022 campaign and then excused from the team. The Raiders are expected to move on from Carr in 2023, but there hasn't been much conversation about an impending deal involving the veteran passer.Carr also confirmed that Las Vegas has not permitted him to discuss a trade with other teams.Raiders general manager Dave Ziegler said earlier in the day that it was just a matter of time before clubs begin inquiring about Carr."There's going to be people interested in Derek Carr," he said on SiriusXM NFL Radio. "There's no doubt about that. He's been a good football player in this league for quite some time. Like I said, he's a phenomenal human being, and we'll kind of see where it goes."The Raiders' all-time passing leader struggled in his first season under head coach Josh McDaniels. He racked up 3,522 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions while posting the second-lowest QB rating (86.3) of his career in 15 games.Carr, who turns 32 in March, signed a three-year, $121.5-milllion contract extension last April that contains a no-trade clause. The Raiders could part with their former starter via trade or release.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

DeMeco Ryans shared that choosing the Houston Texans head coaching job over the Denver Broncos was a "no-brainer.""When it came down to it, there's no greater place I wanted to be than H-Town," he said Thursday during his introductory press conference, according to the Houston Chronicle's Brooks Kubena.Ryans, who previously served as the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers, drew interest from several clubs, including the Broncos, who reportedly made a late pitch to land the coveted candidate.Denver opted to acquire former Super Bowl-winning coach Sean Payton from the New Orleans Saints in exchange for draft picks.Ryans insisted that becoming the Texans' bench boss is his "dream job." He highlighted the opportunity to return to a franchise where he suited up as a player for six seasons, was named Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2006, and earned two Pro Bowl nods."It's a dream job because we can win here," he added.Houston concluded a three-week search for its next sideline leader after dismissing Lovie Smith following a 3-13-1 campaign, marking the second consecutive year the team fired its coach. The Texans relieved David Culley of his duty following a 4-13 record in 2021.Ryans, who climbed up the coaching ladder under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, became a hot commodity for his resume as a defensive play-caller. The Niners allowed the fewest points (16.3) and yards (300.6) per contest last season.The 38-year-old will be tasked with improving a roster that surrendered a league-high 170.2 rushing yards per game. Ryans is seeking both "precision" and "balance" as the club searches for an offensive coordinator."Everything about our offense, we want to be adaptable to the players we have," he said.Owner Cal McNair believes adding a familiar face will result in different circumstances despite another offseason coaching hire. He also noted the cap space and draft capital the Texans possess, owning the No. 2 and No. 12 overall picks in the 2023 NFL Draft.Houston has not made a playoff appearance since winning the AFC South in 2019 under then-coach Bill O'Brien.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon on a count of aggravated menacing, according to a police affidavit obtained by Local 12's Cassy Arsenault.Mixon, 26, pointed a firearm at a female victim and said, "You should be popped in the face," and, "The police can't get me," per the affidavit.The incident reportedly occurred in Cincinnati on Jan. 21 before the Bengals' wild-card round matchup against the Buffalo Bills."The club is aware misdemeanor charges have been raised against Joe Mixon," the Bengals said in a statement, according to ESPN's Ben Baby. "The club is investigating the situation and will not comment further at this time."Peter Schaffer, Mixon's agent, said the charges will be dropped Friday."It was a rush to judgment," Schaffer told NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. "They're dropping the charges first thing in the morning. I really feel that police have an obligation before they file charges - because of the damage that can be done to the person's reputation - to do their work. They should be held to a higher standard. Because I don't play with people's lives."Aggravated menacing is considered a first-degree misdemeanor according to Ohio penal code.Mixon was charged in 2014 after punching a female student in the face and sending her to the hospital. The Oklahoma product accepted a plea deal that included one-year probation and 100 hours of community service. He wasn't invited to the NFL Scouting Combine due to the incident.Cincinnati selected Mixon with the 48th overall pick in 2017. He was initially considered a first-round talent before concerns arose regarding his character.This season was Mixon's sixth in the NFL.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Las Vegas Raiders pass-rusher Maxx Crosby blasted Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Joey Bosa for his complaints about NFL officiating.Crosby criticized Bosa during an appearance on "Bussin' With The Boys," scorning his conduct after Bosa received two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the Chargers' wild-card loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars."A couple of games ago, when f-----g dude had a meltdown and blaming the refs ... I'll never be that guy. Shit like that is so weak to me," the 25-year-old said. "You're going to get held. I know I get held all the time. You watch the (Los Angeles) Rams' last drive against us, I was getting literally tackled. But I'm not going to go and double down and go look like a little f-----g crybaby, you know what I mean? That's not me."Bosa drew his first flag of the wild-card game after appearing to argue a missed call to a referee. His second came after he slammed his helmet on the ground. The 27-year-old called for more accountability from officiating crews after the loss, telling reporters he's "sick" of officials.The NFL subsequently fined Bosa $55,546 for unsportsmanlike conduct and public criticism of officiating.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Thursday he's optimistic wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Kadarius Toney will be available to play in Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles, according to Adam Teicher of ESPN."He's in a good place," Reid said of Smith-Schuster, who suffered a knee injury in the AFC title game last week. Toney, meanwhile, is battling ankle and hamstring ailments.However, Reid doesn't expect wideout Mecole Hardman to suit up for the big game Feb. 12."I doubt that he'll make the Super Bowl," Reid said, according to Nate Taylor of The Athletic. "He was not going to be denied the other day (last Sunday). That's a tribute to the kid. He pushes himself like no other. He's a tough, tough kid."Hardman is dealing with a pelvis injury. He previously missed 10 games due to the ailment before returning in the AFC Championship Game. He apparently reinjured his pelvis during the contest and exited early.Smith-Schuster, Toney, and Hardman, as well as cornerback L'Jarius Sneed, didn't practice Thursday. Sneed is currently in concussion protocol.With Smith-Schuster, Toney, and Hardman nursing injuries against the Cincinnati Bengals, Marquez Valdes-Scantling stepped up for the Chiefs, catching six passes for 116 yards and one touchdown.Tight end Travis Kelce led Kansas City with 110 catches, 1,338 yards, and 12 touchdown receptions during the regular season. Smith-Schuster ranked second with 78 catches for 933 yards but scored only three TDs.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Drew Brees said he believes new Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton can bring out the best version of Russell Wilson we've ever seen."To me, this is set up to be Russell Wilson's prime, especially with Sean Payton and a system that's going to be built around him," Brees told ESPN's Ed Werder on Wednesday. "This is a great opportunity for Russell Wilson."Brees and Payton spent 15 seasons together with the New Orleans Saints. Although Brees was a productive quarterback during the beginning of his career with the then-San Diego Chargers, he didn't blossom into a Hall of Fame-caliber player until paired with Payton in 2006.Wilson was on his own path to Canton after a standout decade with the Seattle Seahawks, which included two Super Bowl appearances, one championship, and nine Pro Bowl nominations.However, Wilson produced the worst season of his career in 2022 following a blockbuster trade to Denver.Wilson posted career-worst marks in completion percentage (60.5%), touchdown passes (16), passer rating (84.4), sacks taken (55), and adjusted yards per attempt (6.9). His four regular-season wins are the fewest he's posted across a single campaign.After starting every game over the first nine years, the 34-year-old missed time for the second straight season. A concussion and hamstring injury sidelined Wilson for two contests in 2022.Payton's primary task will be revitalizing Wilson, who is just two seasons removed from a 40-touchdown campaign. The head coach said Wednesday that he's "excited" to work with Wilson."Russell is a hard worker and has played at a high level and won a lot of games in this league," Payton told Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune. "The pressure is on us to put a good run game together and reduce the degree of difficulty on his position."Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find positional rankings, additional analysis, and subscribe to push notifications in the NFL Fantasy News section.Welcome to theScore Fantasy Football Podcast, hosted by Justin Boone.Find the show on iTunes, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, and Anchor.In this episode, Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus joins Boone to discuss the biggest fantasy questions heading into 2023 free agency.

The Philadelphia Eagles are one win away from Super Bowl glory, but New York Giants safety Julian Love doesn't believe that success has anything to do with head coach Nick Sirianni.After initially commending Sirianni for "not getting in the way of his team," Love was critical when asked about the Eagles coach celebrating straight into the camera during the 38-7 divisional-round win over the Giants."I don't like it. I don't like it at all," Love said during a Thursday appearance on "Good Morning Football," according to NFL.com's Nick Shook. "He's in for a free ride right now. You guys can coach this team."