Broncos kick returner Marvin Mims Jr. avoids injury scare, expected to practice Monday By ARNIE STAPLETON AP Pro Football Writer The Associated Press ENGLEWOOD, Colo.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Broncos coach Sean Payton said Thursday that All-Pro kick returner and wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. checked out fine after leaving practice a day earlier so doctors could see if he had a groin injury.
“Marvin, good news,” Payton said following practice ahead of the team's kickoff luncheon. “We have a bonus practice Monday, and he’ll be at work Monday so we’re fortunate. Pretty good week considering. There’s a lot of moving parts and to have the full 69 (players, including the 16-player practice squad), actually 70 with our international player.”
Mims caught six touchdown passes last season and led the league with a 15.7-yard average on punt returns. He averaged 16 yards per punt return his rookie year, when he had a 99-yarder for a touchdown to go with one TD from scrimmage.
Mims is expected to have an even larger role on offense this year, especially with the trade last week of wide receiver Devaughn Vele to the New Orleans Saints.
Also Thursday, general manager George Paton addressed the media for the first time since extending wide receiver Courtland Sutton and All-Pro defensive lineman Zach Allen, but he declined to address the ongoing contract talks with edge rusher Nik Bonitto.
Allen signed a four-year, $102 million extension.
“Zach, obviously, makes this thing go up front,” Payton said. "He has had a tremendous few seasons here. (He is) really good on the field, even better off the field. Obviously a priority to get Zach done. We feel good that he’s going to be here hopefully for the rest of his career.”
Sutton signed a four-year, $92 million extension.
“Courtland, since I arrived he’s been a huge piece of this team, this organization. He’s been through the ups, and the downs, the injuries, the lack of continuity and the coaches," Paton said. "He stayed the course. He’s been a leader despite all this. So it was really important, especially the way he played last year, to keep Courtland.
“We have a young (wide receivers) room. It’s ‘Court’, and then the rest are 24, 25 and (younger). He sets the tone really for that room. He sets the tone for this offense. It was important to keep him.”
As for extending Bonitto, however, Paton demurred when asked if he was waiting for a resolution in the Micah Parsons situation, which occurred later in the day when the Dallas Cowboys dealt the star defender to the Green Bay Packers .
“As far as any other stuff, we’ve done a good job of keeping these things quiet and respectful,” he said. "We’re just going to keep it that way.”
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Adam Thielen relishes his return home to the Vikings after a two-year family adventure with Panthers By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Pro Football Writer The Associated Press EAGAN, Minn.
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Adam Thielen naturally kept Minnesota as his family's offseason home after he joined the Carolina Panthers, surrounded by relatives and friends and the familiarity of his native state.
Earlier this summer, just like during the last one, Thielen was invited to join some throwing sessions in the Twin Cities area that included a new Vikings quarterback .
How convenient. Those workouts wound up giving Thielen a jump start in his chemistry with J.J. McCarthy, seemingly foreshadowing a return for the 35-year-old wide receiver to his original team and beloved home.
What stood out to Thielen immediately was McCarthy’s work ethic, mindset and communications skill, even in an informal session involving players on different teams.
“When we were working out together, there was no thought of actually playing together,” Thielen said on Thursday after his arrival at Vikings headquarters on the heels of the trade with the Panthers that reunited him with the only other team he's played for. “But at the time, I had so much respect for him and how he approaches the game, even in the summer months when you don’t really have to do those things.”
Thielen, who was acquired with a conditional 2026 seventh-round draft pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick from the Panthers for a 2026 fifth-round pick and a 2027 fourth-round pick, has the third-most catches in Vikings history behind Cris Carter and Randy Moss, two Pro Football Hall of Fame members he grew up avidly rooting for.
“I just didn’t think that this was even a possibility. I thought the next time that I would be talking to you guys would be when I was signing a one-day contract and retiring, so this is pretty surreal,” Thielen said to reporters on the indoor practice field. “I'm going to take advantage of every second I’m going to be back in this building.”
Thielen was careful to clarify he wasn't looking to leave the Panthers, who went 7-27 over his two seasons. He raved about the quality of the people he worked with, from quarterback Bryce Young to the kitchen staff at the practice facility. After being released by the Vikings for salary cap relief following the 2022 season, Thielen took his wife and three young children on a temporary relocation to North Carolina they won't soon forget.
“We grew a lot closer as a family, having to kind of do this little adventure on our own," Thielen said. "Our whole time in Minnesota, we had family, friends, loved ones right here.”
As he bro-hugged his way through the building, Thielen clearly had a couple of favorites in mind to find in coach Kevin O'Connell and wide receiver Justin Jefferson. He compared the reunion with Jefferson to coming back from college and meeting up with a childhood friend.
“It's like you never left, like it was yesterday. And that’s how I felt with Justin. It was like we’ve never been on a different team,” Thielen said. "I love that guy to death and have so much respect for him on and off the field, and we have such a great relationship. It's good to be back.”
When the regular season begins on Sept. 8 at Chicago, the Vikings won't have Jordan Addison because of a three-game suspension. They aren't sure yet whether Jalen Nailor will be healthy enough to play after injuring his hand in a joint practice with the New England Patriots. Tai Felton is a rookie. Thielen could well join Jefferson in the starting lineup, sliding back into O'Connell's system and catching passes from a kid he's already worked with.
“I’m going to make sure this emotion doesn’t just fade away,” Thielen said. "It’s going to be hopefully something that lasts my entire time here, just how appreciative I am to be here.”
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Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift attend Nebraska-Cincinnati game after engagement By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer The Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift were seen in public for the first time since announcing their engagement this week when the Chiefs tight end and Grammy-winning singer attended the Nebraska-Cincinnati game at Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday night.
Kelce, who played football for the Bearcats, spent plenty of time on the field during warm-ups in a red-and-white striped sweater before retreating to a suite for the game. He was joined there by Swift and several others shortly before kickoff.
In a five-photo joint post on Instagram on Tuesday, Kelce and Swift revealed their engagement after a courtship that lasted for about two years. The Chiefs did not make Kelce available to reporters this week, and Swift publicist Tree Paine only confirmed that the engagement ring was an old mine brilliant-cut diamond from Kindred Lubeck.
The Chiefs are preparing to play their season-opener against the Chargers next Friday night in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
One of Kelce's best friends, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, also was on hand for the game, perhaps to take in the sight of another No. 15 wearing red and white. Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola has been compared to the three-time Super Bowl MVP ever since taking over in Lincoln, not only because they look similar but because they also were the same jersey.
Others on hand included Kelce's older brother, Jason Kelce, the retired Philadelphia Eagles center who now works in TV and co-hosts the popular “New Heights” podcast with Travis, and Chiefs safety Bryan Cook. All of them attended Cincinnati.
There were no doubt plenty of supporters for the Huskers, though. Chiefs defensive backs coach Dave Merritt's son, Dawson, is a linebacker for Nebraska, while defensive line coach Terry Bradden helped Kansas City to reach five Super Bowls.
___ AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and
Jerry Jones says Micah Parsons trade doesn't change Cowboys' win-now plan By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Pro Football Writer The Associated Press FRISCO, Texas
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Jerry Jones says the Dallas Cowboys are still in win-now mode, despite the decision to trade star edge rusher Micah Parsons to Green Bay for two first-round draft picks and Kenny Clark, an aging defensive tackle whose production declined last season.
The team's owner and general manager and his son, executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones, even suggested Thursday night —a few hours after the sides agreed on the trade — that the Cowboys might use one of those future first-rounders in another deal to boost those win-now hopes.
“Kenny Clark was a big part of this, and that was a part of winning right now,” Stephen Jones said. “And we feel like when you look at the frustration is, we hadn’t been able to win the big game in the playoffs. And we think it is a direct connection to not being able to stop the run. And we think Kenny Clark can be a big piece to that.”
The Cowboys missed the playoffs in what ended up being Parsons' final season with the team that drafted him 12th overall in 2021. Part of the reason was the hamstring injury that sidelined quarterback Dak Prescott half the season.
Dallas reached the playoffs each of the previous three years, but finished 1-3 and allowed an average of 142 yards rushing in the losses. Parsons had his only sack in the only win.
The Dallas defense finished 28th overall and 29th against the run last season, and Jerry Jones said discussions about the possibility of trading Parsons went all the way back to the spring. That was also when Jerry Jones said he made a contract offer directly to the 2021 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Parsons wanted his agent to be part of the discussions, and the sides never made any meaningful progress on a deal over the past several months, including after the 26-year-old reported to training camp but never practiced while waiting on a long-term deal.
“This trade was not just thought about today,” Jerry Jones said during a news conference at the team's headquarters. “This trade has been going on in our mind and our strategies and being talked about, it’s been going on all spring. It culminated today, and it came quick. But that’s the way things go. It does happen fast when it happens.”
Parsons publicly requested a trade Aug. 1, and Jerry Jones said a day later that wouldn't happen. He acknowledged with a smirk he was being less than truthful, not long after detailing that the club targeted defensive tackles while pondering a Parsons trade.
“Do you really think if I wanted someone to be interested in him that I would say, ‘Oh, I’m going to trade him,'” Jones said. “It's the opposite. Of course. And I thank you for writing it.”
Parsons' relationship with the club seemed to deteriorate, to the point that he made a spectacle of himself in the preseason finale last week by appearing on the sidelines without his number showing, and by lying on a training table behind the bench while the game was going on.
Asked if there was a ever a sense that Parsons really didn't want to be with the Cowboys anymore, Stephen Jones said, “I never felt it.”
“Micah knows that I care about him. But more important than that I didn't give it a thought, it didn't change one thing,” Jerry Jones said of the apparently disgruntled Parsons. “Don't make so much out of that, that not talking caused this thing to be done.”
Clark, who turns 30 on Oct. 4, is a three-time Pro Bowler coming off a 2024 season in which he recorded just one sack and four tackles for loss. He played much of 2024 in pain after injuring his right foot in the Packers’ season-opening loss to Philadelphia in Brazil. Clark said during camp he was feeling better after offseason surgery.
Clark could end up taking playing time away from Mazi Smith, who has been a disappointment as the Cowboys' 2023 first-round pick.
Sam Williams and Marshawn Kneeland, two promising young players, are the likely starters at defensive end with Parsons gone, and Dallas is high on rookie second-round pick Donovan Ezeiruaku.
“Things are good here,” Jerry Jones said. “We have just decided that it was in the best interest of our team to take the consideration that we have. We appreciate (Parsons') four years. But we can take that consideration and win, in our minds, more.”
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AP Sports Writer Steve Megargee contributed.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Nebraska holds off Cincinnati with late interception for 20-17 win at Arrowhead Stadium By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer The Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Dylan Raiola threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns, and Malcolm Hartzog Jr. picked off Brendan Sorsby's pass in the end zone with 34 seconds left, preserving Nebraska's 20-17 victory over Cincinnati on Thursday night at Arrowhead Stadium.
Emmett Johnson had 108 yards rushing while Dane Key and Nyziah Hunter had touchdown catches for the Huskers.
Sorsby had just 69 yards passing for the Bearcats, but he also had 96 yards rushing and two scores. And he gamely led them to two second-half touchdowns, and nearly a third that could have won the game had Hartzog not been there to intercept it.
The Bearcats actually led 3-0 early and were still within 6-3 late in the first half when they made a crucial mistake.
Despite his offense going nowhere, Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield tried pushing the ball downfield on first-and-10 at its own 19 with 1:02 left before the break. Sorsby completed a short pass to Caleb Goodie, but the ball popped loose and was recovered by the Huskers, who needed just three plays to punch it into the end zone.
Instead of trailing by a field goal, the Bearcats headed to the locker room trailing 13-3 — a seemingly insurmountable deficit given they had managed 20 yards passing and 81 yards of total offense over the first 30 minutes.
Cincinnati fought to get back in it in the second half, though. It stopped the Huskers on fourth down early in the third quarter, and Sorsby finished the ensuing drive by diving over the pylon for a touchdown. And when Nebraska answered with a TD of its own, Sorsby needed just 3 1/2 minutes to drive the Bearcats 75 yards and get within 20-17 with 7:15 left.
The Bearcats got the ball back with about 2 minutes to go, but Hartzog made the clinching play in the final minute.
It's a love story
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift were seen in public for the first time since announcing their engagement this week when the Chiefs tight end — and proud Cincinnati alum — joined the Grammy-winning singer in a suite at Arrowhead Stadium.
Others in the star-studded crowd included Kelce's older brother, Jason Kelce, and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The Takeaway
Nebraska dominated every facet of the game except the scoreboard, including a 19-minute edge in time of possession.
Cincinnati finished with just 271 yards total offense. Most of them came as it desperately played from behind.
Up Next
Nebraska plays its home opener against Akron on Sept. 6.
Cincinnati plays Bowling Green the same day.
___ AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and
Micah Parsons joins other NFL stars traded away during their primes By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer The Associated Press
The shocking decision by the Dallas Cowboys to trade Micah Parsons to Green Bay after four dominant seasons as a pass rusher is far from unprecedented.
A very similar trade happened on the eve of the 2018 season when the Oakland Raiders shipped two-time All-Pro and one-time Defensive Player of the Year winner Khalil Mack to Chicago .
Both trades happened after failed contract talks and featured two first-round picks in return, although Dallas also got defensive tackle Kenny Clark from the Packers.
That 2018 trade didn't ultimately work out for either team. Mack was highly productive in Chicago, earning All-Pro honors his first year, but couldn't do enough to help the Bears win a playoff game in his four seasons before being traded to the Chargers.
The Raiders used the first pick on running back Josh Jacobs, who was very productive before leaving as a free agent following the 2023 season. The second first-rounder was wasted on cornerback Damon Arnette, who was cut halfway through his second season.
Here's a look at some other NFL stars who were traded in their primes:
Herschel Walker
The most famous trade in Dallas history came in Jerry Jones' first season as owner in 1989 when the Cowboys dealt Herschel Walker to Minnesota for a package that ultimately led to eight draft picks, including three first-rounders. Dallas used those picks to help draft Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith and key contributors to three Super Bowl wins like Darren Woodson, Kevin Smith and Russell Maryland.
The Vikings didn't win a playoff game in two-plus seasons with Walker.
Charles Haley
Jones has another famous deal that helped fuel Dallas' 1990s dynasty when he acquired the pass rusher from San Francisco for second- and third-round picks in 1992. Haley was the final piece on defense the Cowboys needed to win three Super Bowls in his first four seasons, eliminating the 49ers in the NFC title game on the way to the first two titles.
Randy Moss
Moss was a three-time All-Pro and the most dominant deep threat in the league when Minnesota traded him to Oakland in 2005 for a package that included the No. 7 overall pick in the draft. The deal helped neither team as the Vikings used the pick on Troy Williamson, who caught 79 passes in three seasons, and the Raiders won six games in two seasons.
Moss was then traded again in 2007 to New England and set an NFL record with 23 TD catches his first season as the Patriots became the only team to go 16-0 in the regular season.
Fran Tarkenton
Six years after being traded by Minnesota to the New York Giants, Tarkenton returned to the Vikings in 1972 after making four Pro Bowls in six seasons in New York. Tarkenton led Minnesota to the Super Bowl three times in seven seasons in his second stint — losing every time — and was the NFL MVP in 1975.
Eric Dickerson
The disgruntled Dickerson was traded from the Los Angeles Rams to Indianapolis in 1987 in a blockbuster deal that also sent Cornelius Bennett to Buffalo. Dickerson helped the Colts make the playoffs for the first time in 10 years in his first season and then led the NFL in rushing in 1988.
Marshall Faulk
Faulk led the NFL with 2,227 yards from scrimmage in 1998 when Indianapolis made the surprising decision to deal him to St. Louis. The Colts went on to draft Hall of Famer Edgerrin James in the first round as Faulk's replacement but the Rams really won the deal.
Faulk helped form the “Greatest Show on Turf” offense as St. Louis won the Super Bowl his first season. Faulk had nearly 1,500 more yards from scrimmage and 18 more TDs than any other player from 1999-2001 as he won AP Offensive Player of the Year all three seasons and MVP in 2000.
Christian McCaffrey
McCaffrey helped transform San Francisco's offense when he was acquired from Carolina during the 2022 season for a package of four picks. McCaffrey gained 3,233 yards and scored 31 TDs in his first 27 regular-season games for the Niners before being hampered by injuries last season.
He won AP Offensive Player of the Year in 2023 when he helped San Francisco reach the Super Bowl.
Fred Dean
Dean was coming off an All-Pro season in 1980 when he was traded the following year to San Francisco for a package that included a first-round pick. His addition helped fuel the start of the 49ers dynasty. He was an All-Pro in 1981 when San Francisco won its first of five titles in a 14-season span and had a 17 1/2-sack season in 1983 before ending up in the Hall of Fame.
Darrelle Revis
Revis was the NFL's top shut-down cornerback when he was traded to Tampa Bay for a package that included a first-round pick before the 2013 season. The Jets turned that pick into Sheldon Richardson and Revis spent only one season with the Bucs, before being cut. He then went to New England as a free agent where he won a Super Bowl.
Champ Bailey
In one of the biggest star for star trades, Denver acquired Bailey from Washington for star running back Clinton Portis. Portis had four 1,000-yard rushing seasons with Washington but the Broncos were the biggest winner.
Bailey played 10 more seasons, earning All-Pro honors his first three seasons, leading the league with 10 interceptions in 2006 and getting into the Hall of Fame.
Paul Warfield
Warfield had made back-to-back Pro Bowls for Cleveland when Don Shula acquired him in his first season as Miami's head coach. Warfield provided a needed deep threat for the Dolphins, making the Pro Bowl in five straight seasons. Warfield was an All-Pro twice and helped Miami win back-to-back Super Bowls, including the perfect 17-0 season in 1972.
Mike Haynes
Haynes was holding out in New England in 1983 when the Raiders acquired him for a first- and second-round pick during the season. Haynes made an immediate impact by elevating the Raiders defense as he teamed with Lester Hayes in the secondary. Los Angeles won the Super Bowl later that season and Haynes was named All-Pro the next two years.
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Trading Micah Parsons doesn't help the Cowboys in 2025 but could end up being a rare win-win deal By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer The Associated Press
Trading Micah Parsons is a bold move only a general manager who happens to be the team owner can make.
Parsons is a generational player, an elite talent in his prime. Quarterbacks fear facing the two-time All-Pro pass rusher. Offensive coordinators have sleepless nights thinking about ways to game-plan against him.
Parsons has been wreaking havoc in backfields since his rookie season in 2021. Any team would love to have a game-wrecker like him on their side.
Yet, the Dallas Cowboys were willing to send Parsons to the Green Bay Packers in a blockbuster trade Thursday following a lengthy, messy contract dispute.
Parsons, who was under contract this season, wanted a new deal to become the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history after T.J. Watt topped the money Myles Garrett received earlier this year.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was willing to make it happen except only on his terms. He negotiated directly with Parsons in April. Parsons wanted his agent, David Mulugheta, to finalize the deal. Jones didn’t want to restart the negotiations. Following a lengthy hold-in, Jones told Parsons to play under his current contract terms or go elsewhere.
So, he’s headed to the land of Lambeau and Lombardi, aiming to bring the Packers another Super Bowl title. And, Parsons got the money he wanted. A person with knowledge of the details told The Associated Press the Packers are giving Parsons a record-setting $188 million contract that includes $136 million guaranteed. Jones said he offered Parsons more guaranteed money. The person, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the terms weren’t announced, said that wasn’t accurate.
"I just want to do whatever I can to help the Packers win a championship,” Parsons told the AP.
The Cowboys get three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round picks. Presumably, the picks will be late in the round because Green Bay, an 11-win team last season, should be even better with Parsons.
On the surface, the trade makes little sense for Dallas. But Jones is the general manager and the boss doesn’t have to answer to anyone.
The Cowboys could’ve forced Parsons to play for $24 million this season or sit out, though they probably wanted to avoid a bigger distraction. They could’ve waited to move him before the trade deadline or after the season to the highest bidder. Getting two first-round picks now doesn’t help Dallas in 2025 but Jones insisted Clark, who turns 30 in October, somehow makes the defense better.
“Our judgment, this gives us a better chance to be a better team than we have been the last few several years since Micah’s been here,” Jones said. “Not any negative on Micah, but we’re trying to get better, we’re trying to stop the run and stay in the hunt.”
Jones mentioned several times the team’s desire to improve its run defense in an attempt to justify the trade. He’s right. The Cowboys couldn’t stop the run with Parsons.
They were 29th against the run last season, 16th in 2023, 22nd in 2022 and 16th in Parsons’ rookie year.
Parsons is one of only two players in NFL history to have 12 sacks in each of his first four seasons. Reggie White is the other. The Packers signed White in free agency in 1993 and won a Super Bowl with the Hall of Fame defensive lineman in 1996.
The Cowboys haven’t won a Super Bowl in 30 years, and haven’t even reached the NFC championship game since that 1995 season.
Even with Parsons, they were only 1-3 in the playoffs. Parsons had just one sack in those four games. It was in a win over Tampa Bay and the last sack ever recorded on Tom Brady.
But football is a team game. Parsons can’t be solely blamed for Dallas’ playoff failures. Neither can Dak Prescott.
The Cowboys finished 7-10 last season when Prescott missed nine games and Parsons missed four. Brian Schottenheimer is the new coach and Matt Eberflus is the new defensive coordinator.
They could have a better record this season, which would make Jones right. The trade also frees up $19 million in salary cap space for this season, according to Spotrac.
It’s rare that trades of this magnitude work out for both teams. Jones was severely criticized when the Cowboys traded star running back Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings in 1989.
But that trade ended up being a lopsided one that helped build Dallas’ 1990s dynasty. The Cowboys, with Jimmy Johnson leading the way, used the draft picks they received in that deal, including three first-rounders, to build the foundation for a team that won three Super Bowls.
Parsons could team up with Jordan Love and a young, loaded Packers team to bring one or more championships to Green Bay.
The Cowboys could turn those two first-round picks into key pieces that help them regain the glory days of America’s Team.
There’s an urgency to rush to judgment in a society that craves instant reactions so Jones and the Cowboys will be skewered for this trade.
But maybe, just maybe, there’s a possibility it could be a win-win for both teams.
Time will tell.
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Carson Beck hoped to be facing Notre Dame last season. He gets his chance Sunday with Miami By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer The Associated Press CORAL GABLES, Fla.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — It was Selection Sunday last December. Carson Beck, then Georgia’s quarterback, got an MRI that morning to figure out what was wrong with his arm, then watched the College Football Playoff selection show and saw he and the Bulldogs would meet either Notre Dame or Indiana in the national quarterfinals.
His mood picked up. For a moment, at least.
“I was like, ‘My gosh, we’ve got a real shot at this,’” Beck said. “And then I walked into the training room.”
His Georgia career was over. There were about a half-dozen people waiting for him, all with blank stares on their faces, to reveal the MRI results: his elbow was a mess and surgery was needed. Everyone in that room knew Beck wasn’t coming back to Georgia for 2025. Going into this year’s NFL draft no longer was a smart option either, not with Beck needing surgery.
Fast forward a few weeks: Beck signed with Miami for one final college season. The Hurricanes took a leap of faith because of his elbow. Beck took a leap of faith that Miami could do for him what it did for No. 1 draft pick Cam Ward in 2024. And — in some irony that isn’t lost on Beck — it’s Notre Dame waiting as his next opponent after all, with the sixth-ranked Fighting Irish set to visit the 10th-ranked Hurricanes in a much-hyped opener Sunday night.
“I remember that day, after the MRI, I left the offices and literally sat in the car for like four hours,” Beck said. “I mean, it was terrible. One of the worst times of my life, one of worst days of my life, finding that out. I didn’t know what it was going to look like after that. Thankfully, it’s all worked out in my favor, and I was blessed with this opportunity to come down here to Miami.”
The Hurricanes feel equally blessed. Ward spent one season in Miami and watched his stock rise from being someone generally considered to be a mid-draft prospect to the No. 1 overall pick, after a season in which he rewrote the Miami record book — leaving the school as its single-season leader in yards, completions (305), touchdown passes (39) and completion percentage both for a season and a career at 67.2%.
Now it’s Beck’s turn. He’s thrown for 7,426 yards over the last two years, the most of any player still in major college football. He was part of two national title teams at Georgia, has been in the pressure-cookers of the SEC and knows all about the spotlight.
“It didn’t take very long to see that the kid’s football IQ is probably as high as I’ve been around,” Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said. “You know, just the things that he talks about in football … the way his mind works football-wise is off the chart.”
Notre Dame watched a ton of Beck tape last year before facing Georgia in the CFP, then had this whole offseason to get ready to see Beck with Miami.
“Carson Beck is as experienced, talented, played in big games, as anybody we'll see, and as any quarterback in the country," Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. "We, obviously, evaluated him tremendously last year as we got ready for Georgia. And he is an extremely good quarterback and makes good decisions, fast decisions.”
Beck is convinced he made another good decision by choosing Miami.
The adjustment wasn’t easy at first. Beck was on the field for spring football but couldn’t throw while his elbow was healing; he was building relationships and getting mental reps, though wasn’t cleared for passes until shortly after the spring sessions ended. He had two of his cars — a Lamborghini and a Mercedes — stolen shortly after arriving in Miami and was in a brief relationship with former Hurricanes women’s basketball player Hanna Cavinder, one that got tons of traction on social media.
“I try to stay level-headed,” Beck said. “I don’t really ride the roller coaster. The roller coaster is there, but I’m not on it.”
Teammates rave about his work ethic. Coaches say he’s an exemplary student of the game. Friends say he is a vicious competitor, even when he’s just playing golf or cards or video games.
And there is a chip on his shoulder, a feeling that he still has things to prove even after throwing for nearly 8,000 yards and helping Georgia go 33-3 in the games where he threw a pass. He struggled at times last season, making him the subject of tons of criticism among the Georgia faithful. The ending — getting hurt in the SEC championship game and knowing that it was time to move on — was painful both physically and emotionally.
“He’s human. I mean, even if you don’t read the stuff, you can still feel everything and he had a pretty gnarly three or four months there,” said Beck’s longtime quarterback trainer, Denny Thompson. “I just think that chip grew bigger and bigger and bigger. He’s already got it naturally, but now it’s kind of been put on steroids a little bit.”
Miami wants him to play with that chip. It worked for Ward last season. The Hurricanes aren’t comparing Beck to Ward, but there are obvious similarities in the confident way that they play and how they picked Miami with hopes of being the guy who leads the school back into the national title picture.
“I want to be the best, to be honest,” Beck said. “I just have a fire inside of me that needs to be fueled, and if I’m not the best then what am I doing? I don’t want to just be good. I don’t want to be great. I want to be the best of anybody that’s out there.”
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Huskers are hoping they've kicked their habit of being on the wrong end of one-score games By ERIC OLSON AP College Football Writer The Associated Press
Nebraska came into the season having lost 35 of its last 45 one-score games, a dubious distinction that inspired a popular T-shirt for fans that reads, “We Almost Always Almost Win.”
The tens of thousands of Cornhuskers fans who filled up Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday night must have had that familiar here-we-go-again feeling as Cincinnati drove the field in the final minutes.
For a program that believes it's on the cusp of breaking through in Matt Rhule's third season, it would not be a stretch to say a crisis was averted when fourth-year safety Malcolm Hartzog Jr. intercepted Brendan Sorsby's pass to the end zone to secure a 20-17 win.
“Everybody says we can't finish games,” running back Emmett Johnson said, “and that's what we did tonight.”
The Huskers had been 2-10 in one-score games under Rhule before they held off Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl last December. They squandered most of a 20-2 fourth-quarter lead in that game, giving up two touchdowns before running out the last four minutes to preserve a 20-15 win.
The gut punches came in waves before the bowl. A late missed field goal put Illinois in position to win 31-24 in overtime. The Huskers led eventual national champion Ohio State on the road midway through the fourth quarter, gave up the go-ahead touchdown and saw Dylan Raiola intercepted with 1:16 left.
Down 28-20 at Southern California, Raiola drove the Huskers to the 14 in the last two minutes and was intercepted in the end zone. Border rival Iowa came back from a 10-0 halftime deficit to win 13-10 on a 53-yard field goal as time expired after Raiola was sacked and fumbled. The year before the Huskers turned over the ball late and lost to Iowa by the same score on a last-play field goal.
Rhule said he and his players would leave it to others to opine on whether the Huskers have put their one-score-game woes behind them. He was eager to get on the bus for the three-hour trip back from Kansas City, Missouri, to Lincoln. He said his players would be in the weight room by 11 a.m. Friday to begin preparing for next week's home opener against Akron.
“It was Game 1,” Rhule said. “We won the game, and we believe we make the biggest jump from Week 1 to Week 2. When our guys start putting these labels on things is when we get in trouble. We beat Rutgers last year in a close game but then we lost" 56-7 at Indiana.
The offense looks promising. Johnson is a threat running and catching the ball, transfer receivers Nyziah Hunter and Dane Key appear as good as advertised and tight end Luke Lindenmeyer is playing a bigger role. The downfield passing game needs work. Defensively, the front seven had trouble stopping the run and the unit as a whole struggled against Cincinnati's tempo offense.
“Let’s not forget, we’re the youngest team in the Big Ten still,” Rhule said.
Rhule indicated many of his players were wide-eyed during pregame warmups. Kansas City Chiefs players and coaches, not to mention the newly engaged power couple Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, were in the house and the Husker faithful outnumbered Cincinnati fans by an overwhelming margin.
“I told our guys we're getting a little bougie around here,” Rhule said. “We played our last game at Yankee Stadium. We show up yesterday and Andy Reid shakes everybody’s hand. We go in there and Patrick Mahomes is on the sideline. It's kind of cool to be a Husker right now.”
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Micah Parsons set to arrive in Green Bay today after joining Packers with record-setting deal By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer The Associated Press GREEN BAY, Wis.
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Micah Parsons is embracing the expectations that come from joining the Green Bay Packers with a record-setting contract .
“I just want to do whatever I can to help the Packers win a championship,” Parsons told The Associated Press on Friday, a day after the edge rusher was traded from the Dallas Cowboys and agreed to terms on a contract that makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback in league history.
Parsons, who will hold his introductory news conference in Green Bay on Friday evening, received a four-year, $188 million contract with $136 million guaranteed. The Packers sent two first-round picks and three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark to Dallas in exchange for Parsons, who already has 52 ½ career sacks through his first four NFL seasons.
Parsons’ new team could result in a new uniform number. At Dallas, Parsons had No. 11, which wide receiver Jayden Reed currently wears for Green Bay.
The 26-year-old Parsons hinted at a new number Friday when he went on X and asked, “Should I go 0 or 1!”
Adding Parsons makes the Packers among the league’s top Super Bowl contenders after they reached the playoffs with the NFL’s youngest team each of the last two years.
Parsons shores up a pass rush that wasn’t reliable last season, when the Packers went 11-7 and lost at Philadelphia in the NFC wild card round. Parsons should make up a formidable pass-rushing tandem with Rashan Gary, who has 39 career sacks in six seasons.
Although the Packers had 45 sacks to tie for eighth in the NFL, more than half of them came in four games. They had no more than one sack in seven of their 17 games.
Parsons has recorded at least 12 sacks each of his four seasons, whereas the Packers haven’t had anyone collect that many sacks in a single season since Za’Darius Smith had 12 ½ in 2020.
For a franchise that is known for traditionally building its roster by developing its own draft picks, this represents a true swing for the fences.
This Packers team had plenty of solid players but lacked star power. Parsons instantly provides that.
Green Bay has a history of signing future Hall of Fame defensive players who can lead championship runs. Reggie White came over from Philadelphia and played a huge role on the 1996 championship team. Charles Woodson arrived from Oakland and helped lead the 2010 Super Bowl run.
White’s title came in his fourth season in Green Bay. Woodson’s championship came in his fifth year with the Packers. Green Bay fans hope Parsons’ arrival provides a more immediate Super Bowl payoff.
Parsons’ acquisition and his big contract bring the Packers some potential short-term and long-term consequences.
The loss of Clark could hinder Green Bay’s run defense. Clark is coming off a 2024 season in which he recorded only one sack while dealing with a toe injury that required surgery, but he’s healthy now and has always been solid against the run.
Losing Clark and allowing defensive tackle T.J. Slaton to sign with the Cincinnati Bengals in free agency leaves Green Bay short on depth at that position. The Packers need a big season from Devonte Wyatt, a 2022 first-round draft pick.
And with all the money Green Bay is paying Parsons and quarterback Jordan Love, who signed a four-year, $220 million extension last year, the Packers may need to make some hard decisions down the road with players approaching the end of their contracts.
The list of Packers entering the final year of their deals includes wide receivers Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson, left tackle Rasheed Walker and linebacker Quay Walker, who has led Green Bay in tackles each of the last three years.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst face their own contract issues, and their futures could be tied into how well this trade works out. Both have two years left on their deals.
Ed Policy, who took over as Packers president/CEO this summer after Mark Murphy’s retirement, has praised LaFleur and Gutekunst but also said he wouldn’t extend either of their contracts before this season. Policy wanted more time to evaluate them.
This trade is hardly the first time Gutekunst has made a major roll of the dice.
Gutekunst showed his willingness to take a risk when he traded up in the first round to draft Love in 2020, when the Packers already had a superstar quarterback in Aaron Rodgers. Gutekunst took an equally big risk three years later when he traded Rodgers to the New York Jets to clear the way for Love to take over for the four-time MVP.
Those moves worked out well enough to make the Packers annual contenders. They’re hoping this latest gamble can put the over the top.
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AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi contributed to this report.
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