Category: Football

Mar 3, 2025, 10:05 PM ETOpen Extended Reactions

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold is unlikely to be franchise tagged ahead of Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline, league sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Minnesota still is interested in working to re-sign Darnold, but it is likely to be without any tag, the sources said.

Darnold, 27, blossomed in the Vikings’ scheme last season, with coach Kevin O’Connell‘s careful guidance, leading the team to 14 wins after winning a total of 21 games in his previous six seasons. He ranked fifth in the NFL in passing yards (4,319) and

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Mar 3, 2025, 10:32 PM ETOpen Extended Reactions

The Miami Dolphins are not expected to place the franchise tag on safety Jevon Holland, sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, making him a free agent.

Holland finished with a career-low 62 tackles in 2024 and failed to record an interception. His highlight of the season came in Week 1, when he forced a critical red zone fumble in a victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

A second-round pick (No. 36 overall) by the Dolphins in 2021, Holland started 13 games as a rookie. Under then-defensive coordinator Josh Boyer, Holland was

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Ben BabyMar 3, 2025, 03:13 PM ET

CloseBen Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN’s NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American

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Mar 3, 2025, 02:40 PM ETOpen Extended Reactions

The Cincinnati Bengals have placed the franchise tag on wide receiver Tee Higgins for the second straight year.

Higgins announced the news Monday by posting on X, “tag.”

The Bengals later announced the move, stating they did so “with the intent of continuing to work toward a long-term deal in Cincinnati” with Higgins.

Higgins’ franchise tender would pay him $26.2 million for the 2025 season if he’s unable to agree to a long-term contract with the Bengals by the July 15 deadline for such deals.

Teams have until Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET

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Associated Press

Mar 3, 2025, 02:08 PM ETOpen Extended Reactions

Jimmy Johnson, who won two Super Bowls and a national championship as a coach, has announced his retirement from Fox Sports after being a part of its NFL coverage for 31 years.

The 81-year-old Johnson made the announcement Monday during an appearance on “The Herd With Colin Cowherd.”

“The most fun I ever had in my career, that’s counting Super Bowls and national championships, was at Fox Sports,” he said, adding that he loved working for CEO Eric Shanks and Fox NFL Sunday producer Bill Richards.

“But I’ve made an extremely difficult decision,” he said.

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Sarah BarshopMar 3, 2025, 12:28 PM ET

CloseSarah Barshop covers the Los Angeles Rams for ESPN. She joined ESPN in 2016 to cover the Green Bay Packers for ESPN Milwaukee. She then moved to Houston to cover the Texans. She came to ESPN after working as a writer and editor for Sports Illustrated.Open Extended Reactions

LOS ANGELES — While he’s “been sleeping better” since Matthew Stafford agreed to an adjusted contract, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay said Monday that there was never a time he thought the quarterback wouldn’t be on the roster in 2025.

“No,” McVay said.

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Rob DemovskyMar 3, 2025, 12:07 PM ET

CloseRob Demovsky is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Green Bay Packers. He has covered the Packers since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2013. Demovsky is a two-time Wisconsin Sportswriter of the Year as selected by the NSSA.Open Extended Reactions

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers liked enough of what linebacker Isaiah McDuffie did last season to bring him back on a short-team deal.

Sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that the team is re-signing McDuffie to a two-year, $8 million contract that could be worth up to $9.5 million.

Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire

The ultrareliable

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Ben BabyMar 3, 2025, 11:29 AM ET

CloseBen Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN’s NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American

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The Atlantic East Conference is launching its first-ever varsity women’s flag football season this spring, making it the first NCAA conference to do so and increasing optimism that flag football will ultimately be recognized by the NCAA as an official championship sport.

“It’s definitely the hope that it would continue to grow at an NCAA level and that the NCAA will sponsor it,” Rebecca Mullen, interim commissioner of the Division III Atlantic East conference, said in an interview with ESPN. “To see it continue to grow and buy into that is really a unique opportunity.”

The move comes with a

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