Reports: Bills, Patriots bidding on 49ers WR Deebo Samuel

The two teams at the center of the bidding prior to the start of the second round of the 2024 draft on Friday were AFC East rivals Buffalo and New England, NFL Network and The Athletic reported.

NFL Network reported the Patriots and 49ers engaged in conversations around Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk during the NFL Scouting Combine, but compensation was a sticking point.

The Bills traded No. 1 wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans earlier this month and traded back twice on Thursday. Buffalo holds the No. 33 pick in the draft Friday.

49ers general manager John Lynch said on Wednesday that he “wouldn’t anticipate” a scenario in which the team would trade Aiyuk, who is looking for a long-term deal from San Francisco.

Whether Samuel could be available after Lynch used the 49ers’ first-round selection on Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall — a former Aiyuk teammate in 2019 before transferring to the Gators from Arizona State.

Lynch called Samuel “a part of this team, and a big part of this team” on Thursday night after the pick. Head coach Kyle Shanahan went further, saying trade talks took place when teams called but trading a wide receiver “doesn’t seem that likely to be honest. But I’m still on the table. If someone offered [owner] Jed [York] and John good stuff for me, I’m going to be out of here.”

Report: Panthers picking up CB Jaycee Horn’s option

The Carolina Panthers plan to pick up the fifth-year option for cornerback Jaycee Horn, NFL Network reported on Friday.

The team has until May 2 to make the decision for its 2021 first-round draft pick (eighth overall), which would pay him a guaranteed $12.472 million in 2025.

Horn, 24, played only six games (all starts) last season due to a hamstring injury and finished with 27 tackles and five passes defensed.

He has recorded four interceptions, 13 passes defensed and 85 tackles in 22 games (all starts) through his first three seasons.

Horn is entering the final season of his four-year, $21.1 million rookie deal that included a $12.7 million signing bonus. He is set to earn a base salary of $1.055 million in 2024.

Super Bowl holiday? Roger Goodell talks 18-game season, Presidents’ Day title game

Eliminating one week of preseason games, adding a week to the 17-game regular season and bumping the Super Bowl to a three-day weekend in February are all part of the long-term outlook of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Goodell said Friday in an interview with ESPN that the NFL could expand the league calendar.

“I think we’re good at 17 now. We’re looking at how we continue. I’m not a fan of the preseason. I don’t think we need three preseason games anymore,” Goodell said on The Pat McAfee Show. “I don’t buy it. I’d rather replace a preseason game with a regular season any day. That’s just picking quality, right? If we got to 18 (regular-season games) and two (preseason games per team), that’s not an unreasonable thing.

“The other thing that does: (the Super Bowl) ends up on Presidents’ Day weekend, which is a three-day weekend. Which makes (the Super Bowl) Sunday night and you’ve got Monday off.”

Previous attempts to push the regular season beyond the current 17 games — increased from 16 in 2021, when the preseason was reduced from four games to three — were met with stiff resistance by the NFLPA in recent years. In 2018, then-NFLPA president Eric Winston called Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ plan for 18 games as a “safer” alternative to four preseason weeks laughable.

The following offseason, the NFL and NFLPA held discussions about an 18-game regular season with players having a maximum participation allowance of 16 games. That plan also included the potential for adding a second bye week for every team.

Bears’ Caleb Williams breaks Caitlin Clark’s merch sales record

No. 1 pick Caleb Williams is breaking records before setting foot in Chicago.

The Bears selected the quarterback first in the NFL draft on Thursday night and his merchandise on Fanatics, including jerseys and other apparel, set the record for draft night sales in any sport, according to multiple reports.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft on April 15, had broken the existing record 10 days earlier when her No. 22 jersey sold out in a matter of hours.

The alternate orange jersey was the only version of Williams’ new duds that was still available on Friday morning, and exclusively in size 2XL. His navy jersey was available only in youth sizes.

Williams switched from his jersey number at USC (13) to No. 18 with the Bears, the team announced Thursday night.

Newly acquired wide receiver Keenan Allen, traded to the Bears by the Los Angeles Chargers, is expected to wear No. 13.

Quarterbacks Mike Tomczak and Kyle Orton previously wore No. 18 for the Bears, as did wide receiver Dante Pettis more recently.

Ex-NFL lineman Korey Cunningham found dead

Former NFL offensive lineman Korey Cunningham has died at age 28.

The New York Giants, one of three teams he played for in his NFL career, confirmed his death in a statement Friday.

“We are saddened to hear of the passing of Korey Cunningham,” the Giants said in a statement Friday morning. “He was a vital part of the spirit and camaraderie of the locker room. Our thoughts are with Korey’s family, friends and teammates.”

The team did not disclose a cause of death. ESPN reported he was found dead in his Clifton, N.J., home, and a police spokesperson told the network foul play was not suspected “at this time.”

Cunningham, who played collegiately at Cincinnati, was a seventh-round draft pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2018 and was plagued by foot issues throughout his career. He appeared in 31 games with the Cardinals (2018), New England Patriots (2019-20) and Giants (2021-22). The Giants released him last summer.

Former teammate Justin Pugh recalled his time with Cunningham when they were both in Arizona, and shared on X, “Quick story: We would invite him to the OL dinner every week even though he wasn’t on the team which doesn’t happen…ever. Team dinners are for players on the team only. Except for Korey….solely because he was beloved by all the guys regardless if you knew him or not! He’d tell stories and we’d laugh our asses off all night.

Today is a sad day but I’ll always remember the good times and the laughs. Everyone who knew Korey Cunnigham was better for it. The world lost a great soul.”

Eagles’ inside intel aided selection of Toledo CB in first round

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni made a call no other NFL coach or general manager could before the final decision was made to select Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell in the first round Thursday night.

Sirianni called his old college roommate Jason Candle and soon knew his pairing with Mitchell was a perfect match.

“Their personality match is perfect,” Candle, the head coach at Toledo who maintains a close bond with Sirianni years after they roomed together at Mount Union, said Friday of the Eagles drafting Mitchell.

What some in the NFL viewed as a risk because of his small-school production in the MAC (Mid-American Conference), the Eagles viewed as a decided edge. Sirianni knows the small-school, prove-it mentality when he sees it, and Mitchell starred in every phase of the pre-draft process. He was the best player on the field at the Senior Bowl by their estimation, then ran in the 4.3s at the NFL Scouting Combine and smashed position drills and private meetings.

Candle was able to ease some of those concerns for Philadelphia, telling Sirianni how Mitchell turned down Power 5 options — including Alabama, Georgia and Florida State — to stay with the Rockets four years and all about how he sees Sirianni’s personality and competitive mentality in Mitchell in everything from team meetings to pickup basketball games.

The game tape and production — 45 pass break-ups the past two seasons — spoke for itself.

“We think we have an extremely talented, hard-working outside corner,” Eagles president Howie Roseman said. “He’s got the right mentality, all the tools in his body. He had a great process. He had a chance to transfer out of Toledo; he stayed there and came back. He got better, he went to the Senior Bowl, and he checked all the offseason process boxes one by one, which is important.”

Mitchell walks into a loaded secondary with James Bradberry and Darius Slay at cornerback and 2023 draft pick Kelee Ringo, Josh Jobe and Eli Ricks are in the running for more time this season.

“He’s got a lot to prove as a small-school player. The MAC isn’t the National Football League. We understand that … so to take a player like this, he has to be special. We think he is a special person,” Roseman said.

Winners, losers in first round of 2024 NFL Draft

Instant reaction to NFL draft selections is dangerous territory, but we’re running with the Bears while we have the chance.

Not every team was blessed with the same great fortune on Thursday night but have a chance to shift the narrative around the following flash reactions Friday and Saturday.

WINNERS

Minnesota Vikings

–Drafted QB J.J. McCarthy 10th, DE Dallas Turner 17th

When the offseason began with Kirk Cousins waving goodbye, the Vikings were left reeling for only a moment. Minnesota struck early and often in free agency and acquired a second first-round pick from the Houston Texans to be in position to attempt a 1-2 punch in the first round capable of setting the foundation for the franchise for years to come.

“As excited as our fans are, they can know that J.J. McCarthy really wanted to be a Minnesota Viking and he can’t wait to get here and get to work,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said.

Seattle Seahawks

–Drafted DT Byron Murphy II 16th overall

As Aaron Donald is ushered out of the NFC West, the Seahawks sit tight and let one of the top players on their draft board fall into their laps. Murphy is a freakish athlete and fits at multiple positions in the varied fronts of new head coach Mike Macdonald.

“It’s a dream come true. I don’t know too much about Seattle, but I heard it rains a lot,” Murphy said Thursday night from his draft party in Dallas.

Arizona Cardinals

–Drafted Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr. 4th, Missouri DE Darius Robinson 27th

Twenty years and a day since Arizona selected Larry Fitzgerald Jr. No. 3 overall, they hit it big again.

Harrison Jr. might be the best player in the draft — he was ranked No. 1 by multiple teams — but QB need was undeniable for the teams at the top in 2024. Harrison Jr. is bigger and faster than most expect, and Ohio State felt he was elite in other areas — work ethic and leadership.

Robinson was a defensive end but his skill set projects well to multiple positions on the defensive line, a major need for the Cardinals. He’ll help the overall defense and upgrade the pass rush.

Jacksonville Jaguars

–Drafted LSU WR Brian Thomas Jr. 23rd

Thomas runs pristine routes and led the nation in touchdowns, representing a well-played mulligan for Jacksonville following the botched free agency negotiations with Calvin Ridley.

Detroit Lions

–Drafted CB Terrion Arnold 24th

One of the most maligned draft picks of the first round last year? Easily the Lions selecting Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who turned into an ideal playmaker after a slow start. And second-round safety Brian Branch was described as the “heartbeat of the defense” by Dan Campbell. So why not take a swing for a No. 1 corner from the Crimson Tide? It took a trade up in a swap with the Cowboys. But Arnold is legit, ranked as high as No. 10 and projected to be the first cornerback off the board far earlier than this point in the draft.

LOSERS

Atlanta Falcons

–Drafted Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. 8th

Penix was a fringe first-round pick and the Falcons spent serious capital — $180 million over four years — to lure Kirk Cousins in free agency and fix their QB concerns. Now they’ve created friction without addressing major needs on the roster, including almost every defensive position.

“I feel like there’s definitely something special going on over there in Atlanta,” Penix said.

Cousins leaned on Aaron Rodgers for advice and benchmarks to check in his recovery from a torn Achilles this season. Now Cousins finds himself in a situation eerily similar to the position Rodgers was in when the Packers drafted Jordan Love 26th overall in 2020.

Denver Broncos

–Drafted Oregon QB Bo Nix 12th

The sixth of six first-round quarterbacks selected, Denver bought the end of the run rather than taking better value with their choice of the top edge, cornerback, safety, linebacker and one remaining blue-chip talent — Georgia tight end Brock Bowers — a boom-or-bust roll of the dice brings Nix to a QB room in Denver that includes Zach Wilson and Jarrett Stidham.

2024 NFL Draft: Best available entering second round

With 32 picks in the books, the Buffalo Bills are on the clock to start the second round with the 33rd pick in the draft on Friday.

Six of the first 12 picks Thursday were quarterbacks while seven wide receivers and 23 offensive players total were chosen in the first round. Defense is about to have a day — or two — in the second and third round on Friday night.

FLM Rank Pos Name School

15. OT Kingsley Suamataia, BYU

17. CB Cooper DeJean, Iowa

18. DT Jer’Zhan Newton, Illinois

20. DT Kris Jenkins, Michigan

21. CB Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama

30. ILB Cedric Gray, North Carolina

35. ILB Payton Wilson, NC State

36. OG Christian Haynes, Connecticut

37. CB Kamari Lassiter, Georgia

38. DE Adisa Isaac, Penn State

39. WR Troy Franklin, Oregon

41. DE Austin Booker, Kansas

42. S Tyler Nubin, Minnesota

43. OLB Junior Colson, Michigan

45. DT Maason Smith, LSU

46. DT McKinnley Jackson, Texas A&M

47. C Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon

48. S Kamren Kinchens, Miami

49. WR Keon Coleman, Florida State

50. WR Ja’Lynn Polk, Washington

51. ILB Trevin Wallace, Kentucky

52. WR Adonai Mitchell, Texas

53. OG Layden Robinson, Texas A&M

54. CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr., Missouri

55. CB Kalen King, Penn State

56. RB Jaylen Wright, Tennessee

57. ILB Edgerrin Cooper, Texas A&M

58. RB Jonathon Brooks, Texas

59. RB Will Shipley, Clemson

60. C Sedrick Van Pran, Georgia

61. DE Marshawn Kneeland, Western Michigan

62. S Calen Bullock, USC

63. OLB Chris Braswell, Alabama

64. RB Trey Benson, Florida State

65. S Javon Bullard, Georgia

66. DE Braiden McGregor, Michigan

67. C Zach Frazier, West Virginia

68. CB Kris Abrams-Draine, Missouri

69. WR Roman Wilson, Michigan

70. WR Malachi Corley, Western Kentucky

71. OG Isaiah Adams, Illinois

72. DT Ruke Orhorhoro, Clemson

73. DT T’Vondre Sweat, Texas

74. RB Blake Corum, Michigan

75. CB Khyree Jackson, Oregon

76. S Jaden Hicks, Washington State

77. S Cole Bishop, Utah

78. WR Devontez Walker, North Carolina

79. WR Ladd McConkey, Georgia

80. DE Brandon Dorlus, Oregon

81. OLB Ty’Ron Hopper, Missouri

82. OG Tanor Bortolini, Wisconsin

83. TE Brevyn Spann-Ford, Minnesota

84. RB Braelon Allen, Wisconsin

85. DE Bralen Trice, Washington

86. TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, Texas

87. OT Delmar Glaze, Maryland

88. CB T.J. Tampa, Iowa State

89. TE Cade Stover, Ohio State

90. CB Josh Newton, TCU

91. OG Brandon Coleman, TCU

92. S Beau Brade, Maryland

93. S James Williams, Miami

94. DT Braden Fiske, Florida State

95. RB Jase McClellan, Alabama

96. TE Jaheim Bell, Florida State

97. RB MarShawn Lloyd, USC

98. TE Jared Wiley, TCU

99. ILB Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Clemson

100. ILB Tommy Eichenberg, Ohio State

Falcons pick QB Michael Penix Jr. despite Kirk Cousins signing

In a matter of six weeks, the Atlanta Falcons went from having no clear plan at quarterback to having two QBs.

Atlanta surprised many by selecting Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick in the draft on Thursday.

The selection gives the Falcons another option to go with Kirk Cousins, whom they signed to a four-year, $180 million deal on March 13 — a contract that includes $100 million guaranteed.

Cousins, 35, is looking to come back from a right Achilles tendon tear that ended his 2023 season in October.

Penix, who turns 24 in May, is coming off a spectacular senior season in which he led the Huskies to the national championship game. He threw for a national-high 4,903 yards and had 36 touchdown passes while getting intercepted 11 times.

He wound up as the Heisman Trophy runner-up behind LSU’s Jayden Daniels, and Penix captured the Maxwell Award, which goes to the county’s top college football player. Each of the past two seasons, Penix broke Washington’s single-season passing record.

Penix wound up as the fourth quarterback selected, possibly due in part to his injury history. During his six-year collegiate career (the first four seasons at Indiana), he was sidelined twice due to anterior cruciate ligament injuries and twice due to shoulder injuries.

Using two starting quarterbacks last year — Desmond Ridder produced a 6-7 record and Taylor Heinicke went 1-3 — Atlanta wound up ranked 27th in the NFL in passer rating at 80.5. The Falcons threw 17 touchdown passes and were intercepted 17 times.

Cousins is a four-time Pro Bowl selection who had missed just one start since 2015 before last year.

Vikings make first trade of draft to take QB J.J. McCarthy

Rather than wait one more pick and risk another team jumping them in the order, the Minnesota Vikings moved up from No. 11 to No. 10 in the NFL draft to take Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy on Thursday night in Detroit.

The Vikings made the first trade of the draft by swapping spots with the New York Jets. Minnesota sent New York a fourth-rounder (No. 129 overall) and a fifth-rounder (No. 157) while receiving a sixth-rounder (No. 203) from the Jets in the deal.

McCarthy was the fifth quarterback off the board, following Caleb Williams (Chicago), Jayden Daniels (Washington), Drake Maye (New England) and Michael Penix Jr. (Atlanta) at Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 8. Moments later, the Denver Broncos took Oregon quarterback Bo Nix at No. 12 for an unprecedented glut of QBs in the first 12 picks.

McCarthy helped guide Michigan to a national championship in 2023 by passing for 2,991 yards, 22 touchdowns and only four interceptions. He added three touchdowns on the ground.

The Vikings bade farewell to Kirk Cousins this offseason and entered the draft with Sam Darnold, Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall on the QB depth chart.

With the 11th pick, the Jets drafted Penn State offensive tackle Olu Fashanu.