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Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young is expected to miss this week’s game against the Buffalo Bills after suffering a high-ankle sprain during Sunday’s game against the New York Jets, according to Tom Pelissero fo NFL Network.

Young left the game late in the third quarter after appearing to get stepped on while he was being sacked. Andy Dalton replaced him at quarterback.

Young was 15-of-25 for 138 yards and a touchdown before exiting the contest, taking one sack. He also rushed for 10 yards.

It’s been an up-and-down season for Young, who had three interceptions in the team’s first two games (both losses) but has a 7-to-2 touchdown-to-interception since.

In turn, the Panthers have turned an 0-2 start into a 4-3 record after Sunday’s 13-6 win. The Panthers won all of five games last season.

The story of the 2024 season was Young’s rough start and subsequent benching, though he was reinstated as the starter after Andy Dalton was injured in a car accident. Young was much better after returning, leading the team to a 4-6 record down the stretch after a 1-7 start.

Whether the 2023 No. 1 overall pick has proven he’s truly a franchise quarterback—or worth the price of two first-round picks and wideout DJ Moore that the Panthers dealt to move up to that selection—remains to be seen. But by the end of last year and into this season, he at least was trending in a better direction after a rough start to his career.

With Young reportedly expected to miss the game against the Bills, Dalton would return to starting duties. He was 4-of-7 for 60 yards in relief duty on Sunday.

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Las Vegas Raiders fans can take a sigh of relief.

Star defensive end Maxx Crosby, who exited Sunday’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs with a knee injury, “should be OK,” according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Rapoport noted that pulling Crosby from the game was “more of a precaution than anything.”

Raiders head coach Pete Carroll addressed Crosby’s injury after the game, noting that Crosby has been dealing with knee soreness.

“Maxx has had a bit of a sore knee and I don’t know how it happened today in the game, but he wasn’t his full self,” Carroll told reporters. “But he could play and he wanted to be in there and he was. But then we had to yank him because he didn’t look right.”

Crosby, who signed a three-year, $106.5 million extension this offseason, is putting together another strong campaign in Year 7, logging 25 tackles, 10 tackles, four sacks and five passes defended. Needless to say, a serious injury would have been a big loss for the Raiders.

Like most of Las Vegas’ season, Sunday’s game was one to forget for the Raiders. The Chiefs had their way all game as Patrick Mahomes threw for 286 yards and three touchdowns.

The Raiders were abysmal on offense, as Geno Smith threw for just 67 yards and the team netted just 25 yards on the ground in the 31-0 loss.

While Las Vegas fell to 2-5 with the loss, the fact that Crosby doesn’t appear to have a serious injury is good news.

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The Tennessee Titans fired head coach Brian Callahan on Monday and installed and promoted senior offensive assistant Mike McCoy to interim head coach, though the team has begun the process of identifying a successor.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported Sunday, “Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the latest search is in the ‘beginning stages.’ No outside search firm will be used. Instead, the search will be led by president of football operations Chad Brinker and general manager Mike Borgonzi. The team intends to conduct, we’re told, an extremely calculated process.”

McCoy’s first crack at interim duties didn’t go terribly well, as the Titans lost 31-13 to the New England Patriots on Sunday, dropping to 1-6 this season. He was 27-37 in his time coaching the then-San Diego Chargers between 2013-16.

“What Mike brings right now is experience, leadership,” Borgonzi told reporters last week. “He has been a head coach. He’s a former quarterback who’s had some years in the NFL as a player and has been around NFL quarterbacks like Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning, and he was with Trevor Lawrence last year.”

His “résumé” as a head coach was certainly better than Callahan’s, who went 4-19 in parts of two seasons leading the Titans.

“We just felt like this was the right time to make a change,” Brinker told reporters after Callahan was fired. “We were looking for growth in this football team, and that’s what this is about right now. We’re not seeing enough growth from this football team.”

The Titans will be an interesting job opening. On one hand, they have an intriguing young quarterback in Cam Ward, the top overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft. He’s shown flashes of brilliance but has also suffered from bouts of inconsistency, throwing for 1,356 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions in seven games, completing just 57.6 percent of his passes.

But the Titans haven’t surrounded him with much talent, and it’s very clear the organization is in the very early stages of a full rebuild. Getting the most out of Ward—who is enduring a rough rookie season and already experiencing a midseason coaching change—will be the top priority for the team’s next head coach.

Given the lack of talent elsewhere, however, it won’t be the sexiest opening for high-profile candidates.

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Shaedon Sharpe has agreed to a four-year, $90 million extension of his rookie-scale contract with the Trail Blazers, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania — a move that keeps the hyper-athletic young swingman in Portland through the end of the decade, and that represents a vote of confidence that the seventh overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft can be a player of consequence for the next competitive iteration of the Blazers.

The new deal for Sharpe comes on the heels of extensions in Portland for general manager Joe Cronin and head coach Chauncey Billups after the 2024-25 NBA season. The Blazers finished 36-46 — their fourth straight sub-.500 season following the firing of longtime former head coach Terry Stotts. They improved dramatically over the course of the campaign, though, bouncing back from a 9-20 start to go 27-26 after Christmas. Portland posted the Westâ€s eighth-best record and net rating after Feb. 1, fueled by a defense that allowed fewer points per possession over its final 34 games than any team outside of Golden State, Oklahoma City, Orlando and Boston — all playoff teams (and, in the Thunder, the eventual NBA champions).

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While correlation isnâ€t causation, it seems notable that the Blazers†significant defensive uptick began in earnest when Sharpe moved from the starting lineup to the bench mid-season. After a 22-point beatdown by the Rockets stretched their losing streak to five games, the Blazers ranked 28th in the NBA in defensive efficiency. Billups sent Sharpe to the bench, explicitly calling out his shortcomings on the defensive end of the floor.

“We need to be better defensively. … He’s struggled a little bit,†Billups said, according to Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report. “As a head coach, as I’m trying to build and develop these guys, I don’t believe in playing on one side of the ball. I just can’t allow that. I can’t have that on my watch. Shae has to get better. I’ve seen him be so good so many different times, but he’s just struggled a little bit. And when he struggles, there needs to be consequences for that.â€

[Get more Trail Blazers news: Portland team feed]

Over the next six weeks, the Blazers went 13-5 with the leagueâ€s second-best defense — setting a template for an identity shift that continued this summer when Portland plucked ace defensive veteran Jrue Holiday from the fire-selling Celtics. Sharpe, for his part, responded to the demotion well, continuing to score well in a reserve role and maintaining his offensive potency after a late-season return to the starting five, averaging 21.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 35.2 minutes per game down the stretch.

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That sort of up-and-down season produced something of a conundrum for Portlandâ€s braintrust as Sharpe became eligible for an extension this summer. If the Blazers want to be a defense-first team, built around sturdy wings Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara and backstopped by 2024 lottery pick Donovan Clingan at center, and they have an eye on improving their collective long-range game — 19th in made 3-pointers per game, 26th in team 3-point accuracy — then would it make sense to throw the proverbial bag at a career 33% 3-point shooter that they had to bench for defensive malfeasance?

On the other hand: For an organization thatâ€s been searching for its next foundational star since before trading Damian Lillard, and thatâ€s still searching even with Dame now back in the building, might Sharpe be the best bet they can make at the moment? And might making it now — rather than letting Sharpe play out the season and enter a restricted free agency market where, unlike this frigid summer, more teams might have the financial flexibility with which to toss him an offer sheet if heâ€s coming off a breakout run — actually be the more prudent course of action? (Especially with extension decisions on the likes of Avdija and former No. 3 overall pick Scoot Henderson fast approaching.)

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All told, Sharpe averaged 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 31.3 minutes per game on .551 true shooting in his third professional campaign. The list of players to produce like that by their age-21 season includes only 26 other names; 24 of the 26 went on to become All-Stars, and Magic forward Franz Wagner was on pace to make it 25 last season, if not for a torn oblique muscle. (Weâ€ll keep a candle lit for you, John Collins.)

Thatâ€s not to say that Sharpe will wind up blossoming into a LeBron/Luka/KD/Tatum/SGA-level top-flight perimeter superstar. But when youâ€re talking about a 6-foot-5 wing with a near-7-foot wingspan and nuclear athleticism, whoâ€s still playing catch-up a bit after skipping college ball entirely, and whose development curve already compares favorably to where several somewhat similarly styled players were at the same age, you can understand a team deeming it reasonable to ante up, paying for the right to see if that kind of blossoming does happen — and to be able to reap the benefits if it does.

Thatâ€s the path the Blazers took, agreeing to terms that will carry Sharpe through his mid-20s, the anticipated upswing toward his athletic prime. Theyâ€re betting that Sharpe — who has reportedly turned heads in training camp — will continue his upward trajectory, taking the kind of leap that will solidify him as not only one of the most exciting young perimeter talents in the NBA, but as a bona fide cornerstone of the core theyâ€re building in Portland.

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“Shaedon, man — I think everybody knows the talent that he is and what he can do, but that boy can hoop,†the veteran Holiday recently told reporters when asked who had stood out to him in camp. “When you go up against him in practice, first-hand, every single day — heâ€s got it.â€

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With the 2025-26 NBA season set to tip off this week, the Portland Trail Blazers are locking up one of their most promising players. Blazers forward Toumani Camara has agreed to a four-year, $82 million extension to stay with the team, his agent told ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Camara, who was drafted in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft, has grown into a bigger role for Portland across his first two seasons. The Belgium-born forward started in 77 games for the Blazers last season and was named as a member of the NBA All-Defensive second team.

Camara’s rookie season came to an early end after he suffered a rib fracture and kidney laceration in March 2024. But he returned to full form last year, averaging 32 minutes per game and only missing five games during the season.

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Camara averaged 11.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in the 2024-25 season. But his defensive strength has been a major boost for Portland, as the 6-7 forward picked up 116 steals — the ninth-most in the NBA — and 50 blocks last year.

The Trail Blazers will kick off the regular season by hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. It’s unclear if Camara, who has been day-to-day with a knee injury, will get the start. The Blazers also reportedly signed guard Shaedon Sharpe to a four-year, $90 million contract extension on Sunday.

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The University of Florida reportedly fired football head coach Billy Napier on Sunday, per Chris Vannini of The Athletic.

Florida will owe Napier a buyout of more than $21 million after this move, per multiple sources:

Receivers coach Billy Gonzales will reportedly take over as the interim coach for the remainder of the season, per Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.

The Gators hired Napier in Nov. 2021, signing the former Louisiana head coach to a seven-year, $51.8 million contract. That deal included a buyout for 85 percent of the remaining compensation on his deal.

Napier previously enjoyed great success with the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, amassing a 40–12 record in four seasons (and 33-5 from 2019-2021).

Louisiana went 22-2 over its final two seasons (15-1 in Sun Belt), finishing 15th in the Associated Press poll in 2020 and 16th in 2021. The Ragin’ Cajuns had never won 10 games in a season before Napier’s arrival, nor had they finished Top 25 in the AP poll.

Napier took over a Florida program from head coach Dan Mullen, who had found success over his first two seasons (21-5 record, top seven finishes in both polls). However, Florida fell to 8-4 before going 6-7 in 2021, and the school parted ways with him.

Napier was not able to find much success in Gainesville. The 2022 Gators matched the 2021 squad’s record but fell to 5-7 the following year.

There was some hope in 2024, with the Gators improving to 8-4 and even winning their final four games, including a 24-17 against No. 9 Ole Miss.

The 2025 season began with the Gators at No. 15 in the AP poll, but Florida struggled. After a 55-0 win over Division I-FCS LIU, Florida suffered a massive home upset to South Florida, 18-16. The Gators then fell 20-10 at No. 3 LSU and 26-7 at No. 4 Miami.

The Gators showcased their talents in a 29-21 win over No. 9 Texas, but then they were outmatched at Texas A&M, falling 34-17 to go to 2-4.

One day later, Pete Nakos of On 3 reported, per his sources, that the bye week after the Oct. 18 game against Mississippi State “looms large as the possible point where Florida moves on Napier.”

However, Nakos also noted how hard Florida Gators have played for him.

“Despite all the rumors about Billy Napier’s future at Florida, his players continue to play hard for him,” Nakos wrote. “Athletic director Scott Stricklin has shown patience, not making a quick move on Napier after the USF loss.”

That prediction ended up being accurate, as not even Saturday’s win over the Bulldogs was enough to save his job.

Ultimately, the results simply weren’t good enough, and now Florida is left turning the page once more. Since the end of the Urban Meyer era (2005-2010), when the team won two national championships, the team has had four different head coaches, and none have made it through four full seasons. The Gators hope their next coach can finally bring stability and success to the program.

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How badly did Kevin Durant want to be back in Texas — the state where he played his college ball — and to be on a team with a legit title chance in the next couple of years? Hereâ€s the answer:

Durant took about $30 million less than his max in agreeing to a two-year, $90 million contract extension with the Houston Rockets, a deal first reported by Shams Charania of ESPN. The second year of that extension is a player option. Durant is in the final year of his current contract at $54.7 million and now is locked in with the Rockets for two years beyond that — and is taking a nearly $10 million a year drop from that salary to be part of a contender in Houston.

It was expected that Durant would get less than the max from Houston, but the expectation this summer was that he still wanted a nine-figure contract extension. This came in a little below that number, but it gives the Rockets flexibility in roster building over the next couple of years, such as signing Tari Eason to an extension but staying below the second tax apron.

Durant had Houston on his list of preferred destinations where he wanted to be traded out of Phoenix last summer, and he is a hand-in-glove fit for the teamâ€s needs — shooting and half-court offensive creation. The Rockets had an elite defense and a wealth of high-level young players and athletes — Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun are at the top of that list — but their offense in the halfcourt became stagnant and ineffective (22nd in the league in halfcourt offense via Cleaning the Glass). Durant singlehandedly changes that and brings shooting to the table.

Durant is hopeful he can retire in Houston, he told Chris Mannix of SI.com.

“Iâ€m looking to be here as long as I can, play my last years of my career. Thatâ€s the intent. I know, I said that about Phoenix, too, but thatâ€s the intent. I would love to do that. I mean, Iâ€m 37 years old and Iâ€m going on 19 years in the league. I want to be solidified in a spot and build with a team with a group of guys thatâ€s going to be around for a while. So hopefully this is it.â€

Last season, in a rough season for the Suns, Durant, 37, still averaged 26.6 points, six rebounds, and 4.2 assists a game while shooting 43% from 3-point range. He is still one of the best pure bucket getters in the game and exactly what the Rockets need.

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Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy reportedly could be back on the field for the team’s Week 9 game against the Detroit Lions.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Sunday that the high ankle sprain was initially seen as a six-week setback when he suffered it in Week 2.

“That means it’s unlikely he’ll be back next week against the Chargers. They’re hopeful he’ll be back a week after at Detroit.”

The Vikings selected McCarthy, a former Michigan star who led the Wolverines to an undefeated, national championship-winning 2023 season, with the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft.

Unfortunately, McCarthy suffered a torn meniscus in the 2024 preseason opener against the Las Vegas Raiders, and he missed the entire campaign.

McCarthy returned for 2025 and played his team’s first two games, completing 24-of-41 passes for 301 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. He also rushed for 50 yards and another score.

Unfortunately, McCarthy suffered a right high ankle sprain in Week 2, when Minnesota fell 22-6 at home to the Atlanta Falcons. Per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, McCarthy completed the game but “reported significant soreness the next morning.”

Carson Wentz has been the team’s starter in McCarthy’s place. Over three starts, Wentz has completed 69 percent of his passes for 759 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.

He will remain in the role for Sunday’s game against his former team, the Philadelphia Eagles.

Max Brosmer has been the team’s backup with McCarthy out. Brosmer is an undrafted rookie who played college ball at New Hampshire before transferring to Minnesota for the 2024 season. He was a First-team FCS All-American for New Hampshire in 2023.

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The nature of Jacob Fatu’s injury has seemingly been revealed.

The report of the heavyweight star dealing with an injury first came out earlier this week. At the time, it was reported that he was dealing with a major injury that could keep him out of action for a long time but no other details were given.

Fightful Selectrecently provided an update on the situation. They revealed that the former US Champion has actually been dealing with a dental injury and he’s told people that he will be out of action for at least a month:

“It was confirmed by Fightful Select that the injury Jacob Fatu was written off with is a dental injury that will keep him sidelined. He was telling people he wouldn’t be back for at least a month.”

The Samoan Werewolf was written off TV with an angle on this week’s SmackDown. He was originally scheduled to compete in a singles match with Drew McIntyre in the main event of the show.

Nick Aldis confirmed the match to be #1 Contenders bout for the WWE title during the episode. Just before the bell, however, Fatu was shown to have been attacked backstage, and the match was called off. Cody Rhodes then had an impromptu match with McIntyre which ended in a DQ and a big brawl.

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The Green Bay Packers reportedly won’t know if running back Josh Jacobs can play Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals until shortly before kickoff.

Jacobs is being considered a “true game-time decision” ahead of the Week 7 matchup, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Saturday.

The running back was listed as “questionable” due to illness and a calf injury on Saturday’s injury report.

The Packers and Cardinals are set to kick off in Arizona at 4:25 p.m. ET Sunday.

Schefter previously reported Saturday afternoon that running back Pierre Strong Jr. had been elevated from the practice squad to the active roster ahead of Sunday’s game.

Jacobs vomited before and during the Packers’ Week 6 win over the Cincinnati Bengals despite contributing 93 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns to the victory.

“I really don’t know where it came from. I just kind of woke up this morning just not feeling my best,” Jacobs said after last Sunday’s win.

Jacobs was limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday but returned as a full participant Friday, according to the Packers’ injury report.

The Packers then adjusted the report to add cornerback Keisean Nixon as questionable due to illness on Saturday.

Having multiple sick players on the roster may have made it even worse news when the Packers’ plane was delayed by almost six hours on the tarmac ahead of a Saturday night flight to Phoenix.

The Packers will have less than 18 hours on the ground before it’s time to kick off on Sunday afternoon against the Cardinals.

After Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor dominated against Arizona’s offense in a Week 6 win over the visiting Cardinals, the Packers may have been hoping to stick to a similar script with Jacobs.

If illness, injury or the short turnaround keeps their star running back on the sideline this weekend, wideouts like Romeo Doubs could get more usage as the Packers turn lean away from their run game in Week 7.

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