Andy Reid is voted the NFL's top head coach by AP writers for the fourth straight season By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer The Associated Press
Big Red is No. 1 again.
Andy Reid was voted the NFL’s No. 1 coach by The Associated Press in a preseason survey for the fourth straight year.
Despite coming off his first losing season in Kansas City , Reid remains the standard for coaches.
A panel of eight AP pro football writers ranked the top five coaches entering the 2026 season. First-place votes were worth 10 points. Second through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points.
Reid, who has three Super Bowl rings and leads both Kansas City and Philadelphia in all-time wins, received five first-place votes and one second. He was left off two ballots.
Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay got the other three first-place votes and finished second. Seattle’s Mike Macdonald, who led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title last season, finished third. San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan placed fourth and Denver’s Sean Payton came in fifth.
Nick Sirianni, John Harbaugh, Jim Harbaugh, Mike Vrabel and Ben Johnson also received votes.
1. Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs had 12 straight winning seasons, made 11 playoff appearances, won nine consecutive AFC West titles and reached five Super Bowls in six years before going 6-11 in 2025.
Injuries slowed the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes ended up suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 15 last season.
Reid won more games than any coach in the history of the Eagles before going to Kansas City and doing the same with the Chiefs, along with winning three Lombardis.
From 1999-2012 in Philadelphia, Reid guided the Eagles to five NFC title games and one Super Bowl. He is fourth on the NFL’s all-time career list with 307 victories.
2. Sean McVay, Los Angeles Rams
The Rams fell short against the Seahawks in the NFC title game in January after going 12-5 and winning two playoff games on the road.
The 40-year-old McVay has led Los Angeles to one Super Bowl title, two NFC championships, four division titles, seven double-digit win seasons and seven playoff appearances in nine years.
McVay got four second-place votes along with the three firsts and was on seven of eight ballots.
3. Mike Macdonald, Seattle Seahawks
Macdonald led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl victory in just his second season, beating New England 29-13 to capture the franchise’s second NFL title.
At age 38, he became the third-youngest head coach to win a Lombardi behind McVay (36) and Mike Tomlin (36).
The Seahawks went 10-7 in Macdonald’s first season in 2024. He previously spent two years as the defensive coordinator in Baltimore. His “Dark Side” defense allowed an NFL-low 292 points (17.2 per game) last season.
Macdonald appeared on seven ballots, getting three third-place votes.
4. Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers
Shanahan is the only coach on the top 5 list who hasn’t won a Super Bowl.
He guided the injury-depleted 49ers to a 12-5 record last season and a Week 18 matchup against Seattle for the No. 1 seed. San Francisco beat Philadelphia on the road in the playoffs before losing to Seattle in the divisional round.
In nine seasons, Shanahan has led the 49ers to five playoff appearances and two Super Bowl appearances, including an overtime loss to Kansas City.
5. Sean Payton, Denver Broncos
Payton led the Broncos to a 14-3 record and the AFC’s No. 1 seed last season in his third year in Denver. They fell short against New England in the AFC championship game after quarterback Bo Nix was injured in the divisional round win against Buffalo.
Payton, who won a Super Bowl with New Orleans, has taken the Broncos to the playoffs twice in three seasons.
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Josh Allen is voted the NFL's top quarterback by AP writers By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer The Associated Press
Josh Allen doesn’t need to win a Super Bowl to be No. 1.
The Buffalo Bills' franchise player was voted the NFL’s top quarterback by The Associated Press in a preseason survey.
The 2024 AP NFL Most Valuable Player beat out Patrick Mahomes, who earned the top spot each of the three previous seasons.
Allen received five first-place votes from a panel of eight AP pro football writers, who ranked the top five quarterbacks entering the 2026 season. First-place votes were worth 10 points. Second through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points.
Allen appeared on all eight ballots and also got one second-place vote, one third and one fourth.
Mahomes finished second just ahead of reigning NFL MVP Matthew Stafford . Lamar Jackson came in fourth and Joe Burrow was fifth.
1. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Allen followed up his MVP season with another excellent campaign in 2025, but the Bills had their streak of five straight AFC East titles ended by New England and were knocked out of the playoffs in the divisional round against Denver, costing coach Sean McDermott his job.
Allen threw for 3,668 yards, 25 TDs and had 10 picks for a 102.2 passer rating. He ran for 579 yards and 14 scores, making his fourth Pro Bowl and finishing third in MVP voting.
Allen and the Bills are still seeking their first Super Bowl appearance since the 1993 season despite seven straight playoff appearances.
2. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Mahomes finished his worst season in the NFL on the sideline after suffering a torn ACL in Week 15. The Chiefs were 6-8 with Mahomes and lost all three games without him.
Still, the three-time Super Bowl MVP — a unanimous choice for No. 1 in this survey in 2023 and 2024 — commands enough respect to earn two first-place votes and finished second behind Allen. He had 3,587 yards passing for 22 TDs with 11 picks before going down with his first significant injury in the NFL. Mahomes is aiming to be ready for Week 1 as Kansas City tries to rebound from its first losing season under Andy Reid .
3. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Stafford earned first-team All-Pro honors for the first time in his 17-year career, and beat out Drake Maye for his first NFL MVP award last season.
He got one first-place vote, two seconds and appeared on all eight ballots in this year's preseason survey. The Rams went 14-6, including a pair of playoff victories and a loss to Seattle in the conference championship.
Stafford led the NFL with 4,707 yards passing and 46 TDs. He threw eight picks and finished second to Maye with a 109.2 passer rating.
4. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
Jackson, a three-time All-Pro and two-time NFL MVP, had his first losing season as a starter, going 6-7, and the Baltimore Ravens missed the playoffs.
Jackson threw for 2,549 yards, 21 TDs and seven picks, posting a 103.8 passer rating. Jackson had a career-low 349 yards rushing and two scores.
Jackson got two third-place votes and appeared on six ballots.
5. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Burrow played only eight games last season because of a toe injury, leading the Bengals to a 5-3 record. It was the third time he played 10 or fewer games due to injuries.
Burrow bounced back the following season to win the AP Comeback Player of the Year award the previous two times.
The three-time Pro Bowl QB threw for 1,809 yards, 17 TDs and five picks with a passer rating of 100.7. Burrow appeared on five ballots with one third-place vote.
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Rams left tackle Jackson assigned to pre-filing diversion and can avoid domestic violence charge The Associated Press LOS ANGELES
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Rams left tackle Alaric Jackson, who was arrested on June 9 on suspicion of felony domestic violence, has the opportunity to avoid criminal charges.
Los Angeles City Attorney's Office spokesman Ivor Pine confirmed in a statement to The Associated Press on Monday that Jackson's case has been assigned for a pre-filing diversion available to eligible individuals. The City Attorney Hearing is an alternative to misdemeanor criminal prosecution.
Though charges will not be filed against Jackson at this time, the case remains open and can be re-evaluated if there are more developments.
At the time of the arrest, the Los Angeles Police Department said officers were called to Jackson's home in the West Hills neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley. NBC4 reported that Jackson allegedly attempted to take a phone away from a woman when he thought he was being recorded, and the woman had scratches on her arm.
Jackson has been the Rams’ starting left tackle for the past three seasons, starting 45 regular-season games and six playoff games. The former undrafted free agent re-signed with the Rams on a three-year, $57 million deal in February 2025.
The Rams issued a statement following the arrest saying the team was aware of the incident "and we take these matters very seriously. Due to this being an ongoing legal situation, we cannot comment further at this time.”
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Packers sign linebacker Isaiah McDuffie to an extension The Associated Press GREEN BAY, Wis.
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — The Green Bay Packers have signed linebacker Isaiah McDuffie to a contract extension.
The extension was announced by general manager Brian Gutekunst on Monday.
McDuffie, a sixth-year player from Boston College, was a sixth-round pick by the Packers in 2021.
He has played in 80 regular-season games, including 38 starts. He had 92 tackles, one sack and one interception while playing in all 17 games, including 12 starts, last season.
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Bears sign third-round pick Sam Roush, a tight end from Stanford The Associated Press LAKE FOREST, Ill.
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears have signed tight end Sam Roush, one of their two selections in the third round of this year's NFL draft.
Taken at No. 69 overall, Roush was the team's last unsigned player from the 2026 draft. The Bears announced the deal on Friday.
Roush appeared in 48 games over four seasons at Stanford, including 34 starts at tight end. He finished with 119 receptions for 1,201 yards and four touchdowns.
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Big 12 head coaching turnover includes 1st-timers at alma maters and national title winner By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Sports Writer The Associated Press FRISCO, Texas
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The largest turnover of Big 12 head coaches in seven seasons includes two first-timers at their alma maters, a national championship winner and another who last season almost got a Group of Five team into the College Football Playoff.
“I grew up a Big 12 kid," new Kansas State coach Collin Klein said Wednesday. “And being able to be part of this conference as a fan, as a player, as a coach, and now being part of helping move our game and our conference forward is absolutely tremendous.”
Klein, part of Big 12 titles at K-State as a Heisman Trophy-finalist quarterback in 2012 and then an assistant coach a decade later, returned to Manhattan after Chris Klieman unexpectedly decided to step away last December. Klieman was among the newcomers in 2019 , when the league last had four new coaches at the same time.
The other coaching changes this time are Utah alumnus Morgan Scalley, who nearly two decades ago recruited Klein as a quarterback, Jimmy Rogers at Iowa State and Eric Morris at Oklahoma State.
Scalley has been part of Utah's staff since being a graduate assistant in 2007, three years after his last game as a defensive back for the Utes. He was their defensive coordinator for 10 seasons before his debut as head coach in a Las Vegas Bowl victory last New Year's Eve, following Kyle Whittingham's surprise departure after 21 seasons and then becoming Michigan's coach.
Klein's recruiting visit to Utah
It was while recruiting the Colorado area as a graduate assistant that Scalley saw “this quarterback that I absolutely loved.” But since GAs can't do off-campus recruiting, he couldn't go see Klein in person.
“So I had him come to us, and on his own dime he flew out, showed up on campus in a suit and tie and left without an offer," Scalley recalled Wednesday. "But you know who offered him? Kansas State. It was Collin Klein. Isn’t that crazy?”
Klein still remembers the visit, including lunch at a burger joint in downtown Salt Lake City with Brian Johnson, then going into his senior season as the Utes QB.
“Coach Scalley was tremendous. I mean, he was an unbelievable relationship builder, energy, detailed," Klein said. “I knew he was going to be an unbelievable coach. I had no idea we’d end up coaching against each other in the same league as head coaches.”
Klein’s coaching career began as a GA at his alma mater in 2014, and he has since remained at Kansas State, except in 2016 as Northern Iowa's QBs coach, and the past two seasons as offensive coordinator at Texas A&M, which made the 12-team playoff last year.
Close to where Rogers won FCS title
After last season at Washington State, Rogers made his debut at Big 12 football media days 18 months after leading South Dakota State, his alma mater, to the FCS national championship . That title game was played only about four miles from the headquarters of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, where the conference's annual two-day event wrapped up Wednesday.
“This is a perfect fit for me. I’m a big people person. I’ve recruited the state for seven years when I was at my prior tenure at South Dakota State, had a prior relationship with (athletic director) Jamie Pollard and felt really confident about the leadership that was in place here,” Rogers said. “(Another) portion of that is the opportunity to compete at a Power 4 school and to compete in the Big 12. ... You win this conference, you punch your ticket into the College Football Playoff, you have an opportunity to compete for a national championship. That is the goal.”
Rogers replaced Matt Campbell, who left Iowa State after 10 seasons for Penn State.
From Denton to Stillwater
Morris took 21 players with him from North Texas, including quarterback Drew Mestemaker , the national passing leader last season as a freshman with 4,379 yards. The Mean Green were ranked for the only time since 1959 and missed out on a CFP berth after losing to Tulane in the American Conference championship game . The Green Wave made the playoff.
Before Mestemaker, Morris had coached quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes, Cam Ward and Baker Mayfield in college. The coach now takes over an Oklahoma State team that has lost 19 Big 12 games in a row — a streak that began with a 49-21 loss to Texas in the 2023 championship game before the Cowboys went 0-9 in Big 12 play each of the past seasons.
“Super-excited for Stillwater. It was a big draw for me and my family to come to Stillwater,” Morris said. "I’m from a small town in west Texas, and that’s how I wanted raise my family. So Stillwater has been nothing short of amazing. Super genuine people, hard-working, blue-collar organization.”
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Texas Tech's Joey McGuire says football has been business as usual through Sorsby gambling saga By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Sports Writer The Associated Press FRISCO, Texas
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said it has been business as usual in the football operation through the turmoil surrounding the Brendan Sorsby gambling saga.
The 54-year-old Texas native credited the school's leadership and boosters when asked at Big 12 media days on Tuesday how he has managed an offseason he couldn't have imagined in his younger coaching days.
“We’ve all been in this together,” McGuire said. “I have good mentors, and I have a very strong football team. If you would walk into that building from right now, or even January, any point of this saga, the football side of it, you wouldn’t think that anything was wrong, different.”
McGuire again defended the school's support of Sorsby, including the plan to let him play even after the Cincinnati transfer admitted he placed bets on Indiana games when he was a freshman with the Hoosiers.
Sorsby played the past two seasons with the Bearcats before joining the defending Big 12 champion Red Raiders on a lucrative deal for his name, image and likeness.
The QB ultimately abandoned a legal effort to regain his eligibility after the NCAA suspended him for gambling, and has said he will wait until next year to enter the NFL draft .
Texas Tech, which went 12-2 last season, stood behind Sorsby when he went to rehab over his gambling and after he sued the NCAA to regain his eligibility .
“I’m not going to ever change that I’m going have my players’ backs,” McGuire said. “It’s really easy to tell a mom or a dad that you’re going to be there to help their son grow into the man they’re supposed to be, and then all of a sudden, whenever adversity hits, or something like the situation we had, that you turn your back on them.”
McGuire said he talked to Sorsby in the past couple of days, and Sorsby is working out in the Dallas area, where he played in high school. McGuire said he expects Sorsby to make occasional trips to Lubbock and that he will have access to the school's athletic facilities.
“My biggest thing why I want to be there is because I have addicts in my family,” the coach said. “Some of them are no longer with us. But the biggest thing for me right now is he continues to get help so there’s no relapse and he can be the person and the player that he’s meant to be.”
Tight end Terrance Carter Jr. said he stayed in touch with Sorsby through the offseason after their relationship blossomed in just a few months together.
“When we found out he was going into rehab, I sent him a quick text, ‘I love you, bro,’” Carter said. “We still text a lot to this day. So I can say our relationship is strong. It’s more than just football for me. So just being there for my brother, that’s all I can do.”
Hammond could end up as Red Raiders' starting QB
Quarterback Will Hammond started twice and came off the bench once for an injured Behren Morton before tearing the ACL in his right knee last season.
McGuire said Hammond could be ready for the season opener Sept. 5 against Abilene Christian, but it's possible the Red Raiders could wait until the third game Sept. 18 against Houston.
Without the knee injury, Hammond might have been the projected starter this season, and Carter said he was confident in the quarterbacks regardless of Sorsby's status.
That's not to say Sorsby's former teammates were indifferent toward his fate.
“Coach McGuire always preaches about the ‘what’s next’ mentality,” center and captain Sheridan Wilson said. “This is just, unfortunately, just another ‘what’s next’ moment. It breaks my heart, obviously. It breaks a lot of people’s hearts because that’s a friend of ours. We’d love to have him on the team, but at the end of the day, we’re still chasing the Big 12 championship. We have to move on.”
While Texas Tech officials were widely criticized over the possibility of Sorsby playing for the Red Raiders after admitting to gambling on his team's games at Indiana, McGuire said fellow coaches were supportive behind the scenes.
Some of the criticism came after Texas Tech posted a video in which president Lawrence Schovanec, athletic director Kirby Hocutt and McGuire tried to explain their reasons for supporting Sorsby.
“Some of the statements we made, we were making them to Red Raiders,” McGuire said. “I was not going to change the public opinion across the board. What we were trying to explain in any video or anything like that was to get our fan base and our boosters and our alumni to understand exactly what we were trying to do. We owed it to them. And really that’s the only people that we owed it to.”
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Cornerback Rasul Douglas agrees to a 1-year contract with the Commanders, AP source says By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Sports Writer The Associated Press
Veteran cornerback Rasul Douglas has agreed to terms with the Washington Commanders on a contract for next season, according to a person familiar with the deal.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because the contract had not yet been signed.
Douglas, who turns 31 on Aug. 29, returns to the NFC East after beginning his NFL career in the division with Philadelphia. A third-round pick in 2017, he helped the Eagles win the Super Bowl in his rookie year.
With Washington coming off a season in which it ranked last in the league on defense, general manager Adam Peters has been active in adding talent on that side of the ball. Douglas is the latest addition after signing safety Nick Cross, cornerback Amik Robertson, edge rushers Odafe Oweh and K’Lavon Chaisson and linebacker Leo Chenal and drafting Sonny Styles with the seventh pick.
Douglas played in 15 and started 13 games for the Miami Dolphins last season, finishing with two interceptions and 62 tackles. He made previous stops with Buffalo, Green Bay and Carolina after leaving Philadelphia and has played in 146 career games, counting the playoffs, since turning pro.
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Teammates of Travis Kelce and others around sports attend his wedding to Taylor Swift By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Sports Writer The Associated Press NEW YORK
NEW YORK (AP) — JuJu Smith-Schuster was there. So was Cooper Kupp, fresh off winning the Super Bowl.
NFL players and other prominent sports figures made up part of the star-studded crowd for Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift's wedding at Madison Square Garden on Friday.
Kareem Hunt was one of Kelce's many current or former Kansas City Chiefs teammates spotted in New York ahead of the wedding, which was expected to also be attended by Kelce's retired Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl-winning brother Jason , San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle and others from football, golf and beyond.
Soccer even had a presence, albeit in the form of “Ted Lasso” actor Jason Sudeikis, himself a big Chiefs fan.
The wedding is taking place at the home arena of the NBA’s New York Knicks and NHL’s Rangers. Swift attended Game 4 of the NBA Finals there, sitting courtside as the Knicks pulled off the biggest comeback at that stage of the playoffs in league history by rallying from down 29 to beat San Antonio.
MSG has been the site of some iconic sports moments since the current version opened at this location atop Penn Station in 1968.
The Knicks won their first NBA title there in 1970, when Willis Reed famously returned from injury to spark their Game 7 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Joe Frazier beat Muhammad Ali there in the first of the legends' three boxing matches against each other, the “Fight of the Century,” in 1971. Ali won the rematch in '74.
The Rangers ended their 54-year championship drought at the Garden in 1994, defeating the Vancouver Canucks to win the Stanley Cup.
Kelce is a three-time Super Bowl champion with Kansas City and a four-time AP All-Pro selection at his position. Jason was a seven-time All-Pro center who helped Philadelphia win the Super Bowl in the 2017 season.
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Lions looking at options at cornerback after releasing Terrion Arnold as he faces felony charges By LARRY LAGE AP Sports Writer The Associated Press
The Detroit Lions seemed to be prepared to potentially play without Terrion Arnold , putting the cornerback on the field with backups during minicamp in mid-June.
And suddenly, Arnold is a former player for the franchise.
Detroit released Arnold on Monday, the same day a Florida judge set his bail at $1 million as he faces eight felony charges tied to allegations he orchestrated the abduction and beating of three men.
The move leaves the Lions with eight players they list as cornerbacks on the roster, including three players with a combined 164 games of starting experience in the NFL.
D.J. Reed , Rock Ya-Sin and Roger McCreary will likely compete to start when the season kicks off in September.
The team is hopeful Ennis Rakestraw, who was drafted in the second round two years ago, can contribute after missing last season following shoulder surgery and being limited to eight games as a rookie due to hamstring and ankle injuries.
“We still got Reed,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said in March, months before the team cut ties with Arnold. “We like (Rakestraw) coming back. I know it’s unproven right now, but, he’s had a good offseason to this point. We got Rock (Ya-Sin) and McCreary.
"We’ve got some things there.”
Some notable cornerbacks are still available in free agency, but four-time Pro Bowler Marshon Lattimore and 2021 All-Pro Trevon Diggs are coming off at least three injury-shortened seasons.
Kenny Moore II might be a fit after asking the Indianapolis Colts to trade him and getting released in May. The 30-year-old Moore started seven games last season and has 111 career starts for the Colts over nine seasons, including 2021, when he earned Pro Bowl recognition.
Detroit drafted Arnold with the No. 24 pick overall in 2024, when the NFL draft was in the Motor City and the former Alabama star sported a big smile and an electric salmon silk suit . He had two years left on his four-year rookie contract.
Arnold had an uneven rookie season, defending 10 passes in 15 starts without an interception. He picked off one pass last season while he was limited to eight games due to a concussion and shoulder injury.
A month after the season ended for the Lions, prosecutors in Florida say, Arnold arranged for three men to be pistol-whipped after he wrongly suspected them of stealing $100,000 in cash and luxury goods from him.
In March, Campbell said the Lions believed Arnold was not involved in the alleged crime based on the information they had at that time.
“I feel like we're going to be good here,” Campbell told reporters. “I’m going to trust what the kid said.”
Two months later, Arnold's stock with the team seemed to slip as he was not on the field with the No. 1 defense during offseason workouts while working his way back from the shoulder injury.
“We got a lot of good guys in that room and he knows this," Campbell said on June 17. "He's got to earn it."
Before the Lions released Arnold, the judge did not require him to wear an ankle monitor because it would have prevented him from taking the field for games and training. Harvey Steinberg, an attorney for Arnold, argued in court Monday that prosecutors are “not even close” to showing that Arnold knew or directed what his associates would do.
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