Saints QB Jake Haener announces ‘non life-threatening’ cancer

Haener said he learned of the diagnosis just before the start of training camp, adding that he believes the diagnosis itself was fairly rare. He went to doctors to have a bump on his face checked out and received the news.

Haener also added that the cancer isn’t considered life-threatening at this time.

The 25-year-old is headed into his second NFL season after seeing no time as a rookie last fall. The Saints selected Haener out of Fresno State in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell speaks at Khyree Jackson funeral

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell spoke on the toughness of the late Khyree Jackson at a funeral held on Friday for the rookie cornerback who was killed in a car accident earlier this month.

O’Connell said Jackson opted to play through shoulder pain in camp despite encouraging the fourth-round pick to seek treatment.

“I wouldn’t have held it against him one bit if he decided it was time to fix that shoulder,” O’Connell said. “… He looked at me, and said, ‘Nope, I can play. I have to be out there with my brothers. I would rather do what I have to do and fight through it to be out there and try to help my team win.'”

Jackson, 24, was expected to compete for a starting spot after the Vikings selected him out of Oregon in April’s NFL Draft.

Jackson was one of three killed in a three-car crash in Prince George’s County, Md., in the early hours of July 6. Isaiah Hazel, 23, and Anthony Lytton Jr., 24, were also killed. The three were football teammates at Dr. Henry A. Wise High in Maryland.

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (illness) still not practicing

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is still under the weather and missed another training camp session on Friday.

“He’s fighting through an illness, working with our doctors, doing all the tests — even more tests to make sure that we’ve got everything covered, and I’m confident that he’ll be back pretty soon,” head coach John Harbaugh told reporters after practice.

“It’s just unpredictable. I mean, you guys have been sick before, and sometimes it’s not easy. So, that’s what we’re dealing with.”

Jackson, the NFL’s reigning MVP, has missed four of the first five practices at training camp. He briefly participated on Wednesday but departed after only an hour.

Backup quarterback Josh Johnson, 38, ran the first-team offense in Jackson’s absence. Rookie Devin Leary, a sixth-round pick in April, and undrafted free agent Emory Jones are also on the 90-man training camp roster.

Jackson, 27, passed for 3,678 yards and 24 touchdowns and rushed for 821 yards and five touchdowns in 16 starts last season (13-3 record) to win his second MVP trophy (2019).

Baltimore opens preseason play Aug. 9 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Jackson hasn’t played in a preseason game since 2021, when he completed 3 of 4 pass attempts.

Saints CB Marshon Lattimore exits practice with hip injury

New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore left Friday’s training camp practice with a hip flexor injury.

Coach Dennis Allen confirmed the injury but did not provide any details about the severity.

Lattimore, 28, missed 10 games in 2022 and seven games in 2023 due to kidney and ankle issues, respectively.

The four-time Pro Bowl selection has 15 interceptions and 86 passes defensed in 90 starts since the Saints picked him in the first round (11th overall) in 2017.

Rookie Kool-Aid McKinstry worked with the first team after Lattimore departed on Friday.

Reports: Dolphins, Tua Tagovailoa agree to $212.4M deal

The Miami Dolphins and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa agreed to a four-year, $212.4 million extension, multiple outlets reported Friday.

ESPN reported that Tagovailoa’s new contract includes $167 million guaranteed and is the largest in Dolphins history. The $53.1 million average annual salary is the highest in NFL history on a four-year extension, according to NFL Network.

Tagovailoa, 26, led the NFL with 4,264 passing yards in 2023. He started all 17 games (11-6 record), completing 69.3 percent of his passes with 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

A first-round pick (fifth overall) by Miami in 2020, Tagovailoa has thrown for 12,639 yards with 81 TDs and 37 picks in 53 career games (51 starts).

Tagovailoa made his NFL playoff debut last season, completing 20 of 39 passes for 199 yards with one touchdown and one interception in a 26-7 wild-card loss at Kansas City.

Patrick Mahomes on Raiders’ puppet video: ‘It’ll get handled’

Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes didn’t put much stock in the Las Vegas Raiders’ recent attempt at humor.

The Raiders caused a stir on social media Thursday after video emerged of rookie safety Trey Taylor carrying a Kermit the Frog puppet. The Muppets character was sporting a Mahomes jersey and a wig reminiscent to the quarterback’s curly hair.

It’s a curious move by the Raiders to mock Mahomes — you know, given his resume and his dominance in the rivalry between the AFC West rivals. The two-time NFL MVP and three-time Super Bowl champion was asked if the video would provide additional motivation when the teams meet on the field.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s still early in the year. Stuff like that happens,” Mahomes said Friday. “It’ll get handled when it gets handled.”

Mahomes, 28, traditionally has handled the Raiders, posting a 10-2 record in 12 starts. He has completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 3,573 yards versus Las Vegas with 30 touchdowns and four interceptions.

The first chance Mahomes has to add to those totals is Oct. 27, when the Chiefs visit Las Vegas for a Week 8 clash. The division rivals will reconvene in Kansas City on Nov. 29.

Raiders coach Antonio Pierce downplayed the incident on Friday.

“We addressed it as a team yesterday and we nipped it in the bud. It’s over with,” Pierce said.

DL Isaiah Buggs convicted of animal cruelty charges, is appealing

Defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs is appealing his conviction on misdemeanor animal cruelty charges, AL.com reported Friday.

Buggs, a former Alabama standout who was released by the Kansas City Chiefs on June 24, was convicted July 19. Judge Joanne Jannik of the Tuscaloosa County District Court sentenced him to 365 days of hard labor and ordered him to serve 60 days.

The remainder of the sentence was suspended for two years with the “behavior of the defendant” to be taken into account, per the report. He also was ordered not to possess any guns, and Jannik said he couldn’t own any dogs or cats.

In Alabama, hard labor is defined as work on public assets, such as roads and bridges.

Buggs, 27, signed a one-year $1.29 million contract with $350,000 in guarantees in February with the Chiefs. The team released him following his third offseason arrest, that one a domestic violence/burglary charge in Tuscaloosa County in June.

In May, he was charged with animal cruelty in Tuscaloosa after two dogs under his care — a pitbull and a Rottweiler mix — were found to be neglected and severely malnourished, AL.com reported. One of the dogs had to be euthanized.

In April, he was arrested on misdemeanor charges at a hookah lounge he formerly owned after he allegedly shoved the Tuscaloosa police chief.

Buggs was selected by the Steelers in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He spent three seasons in Pittsburgh and the past two with the Detroit Lions, who released him in January.

He has played in 56 games (23 starts) and posted 89 tackles, 12 quarterback hits and two sacks. He returned one fumble for 33 yards.

Steelers QB Russell Wilson (calf) held out of practice again

The Pittsburgh Steelers exercised caution with quarterback Russell Wilson on Friday, holding him out of practice for a second straight day as he nurses a slight calf injury.

Wilson told reporters at training camp in Latrobe, Pa., that he “tweaked” his calf during a sled-push drill earlier this week.

“The good news is that I feel good,” Wilson told reporters. “We’ll get there.”

Coach Mike Tomlin said Justin Fields got the first-team reps because the coaching staff wanted “to keep a minor thing from becoming major” with the veteran Wilson.

Wilson, 35, got some work done on the side, he said.

The Steelers moved on from starter Kenny Pickett in the offseason, acquiring Wilson and Fields to fill the position.

On Wednesday, Tomlin reiterated Wilson, who won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks, was entering camp as the No. 1 QB over Fields, 25, the 2021 first-round draft pick of the Chicago Bears.

The Steelers will play their first preseason game on Aug. 9 at home against the Houston Texans. They open the regular season Sept. 8 on the road against quarterback Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons.

Patriots S Jabrill Peppers signs contract extension

New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers signed a contract extension, coach Jerod Mayo confirmed on Friday morning.

“I can confirm it. I’m the head coach. I can confirm it,” Mayo said. “… I am very happy for Peppers and for his family and also for our team and the organization. He really embodies everything that we want on the field. He’s very selfless and flying around all the time. It’s good to get that deal done.”

While Mayo didn’t provide terms of the deal, ESPN reported Peppers’ extension is a three-year contract. It reportedly has a base value of $24 million and is worth up to $30 million with incentives.

Peppers, 28, had been heading into the final year of his existing contract.

He recorded 78 tackles, two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 15 games (all starts) last season.

Peppers has totaled 471 tackles, six interceptions, 5.5 sacks, five forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries in 93 career games (79 starts) with the Cleveland Browns (2017-18), New York Giants (2019-21) and Patriots. He was selected by the Browns with the 25th overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Bucs sign former UFL TE Sal Cannella

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed former UFL tight end Sal Cannella on Friday.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Cannella, 27, most recently played with the Arlington Renegades of the UFL, winning an XFL championship with the team in 2023. This past season, he had 53 receptions for 496 yards and a league-high six receiving touchdowns in 10 games with the Renegades.

Cannella also played in the USFL (2022), where he was named to the All-USFL Team while with the New Orleans Breakers.

He’s also played in the NFL, with offseason stints with the Miami Dolphins (2021), Green Bay Packers (2022), and Seattle Seahawks (2023).

He entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Dolphins after playing college football at Auburn (2017-19) and Scottsdale Community College (2016).