Report: Bengals restart talks with star DE Trey Hendrickson

The NFL sack leader has been at odds with the franchise over the lack of a contract extension, but ESPN reported Sunday that dialogue has picked up.

Hendrickson, 30, skipped last week’s mandatory three-day mini-camp and is reportedly subject to $105,000 in fines.

Hendrickson is slated to earn $15.8 million in base salary in 2025. That pales in comparison to the recent $40 million average deal Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett signed in the offseason. Hendrickson has indicated he won’t play without a bump in pay and expressed disappointment in the process in mid-May.

“When there’s a lack of communication in any relationship, where it’s a business or personal relationship, lack of communication leads to animosity, and that leaves my narrative only to me with no clear direction,” Hendrickson said May 13 when asked about whether he wants to remain with the Bengals.

Hendrickson had 17.5 sacks in each of the past two seasons with that output being the best in the league in 2024. He has 57 total sacks in his four seasons with Cincinnati and has made the Pro Bowl on each occasion.

Overall, Hendrickson has 77 career sacks in 110 games (81 starts), divided equally between the New Orleans Saints (2017-20) and Bengals.

Bengals rookie defensive end Shemar Stewart also is in a dispute with the team over the language in his contract.

Missouri governor signs off on financial aid for Chiefs, Royals stadiums

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed off on legislation that could provide millions of dollars for stadium upgrades for the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals.

Under the bill approved in a special session Wednesday by Missouri lawmakers, the state agreed to authorize bonds to pay for up to half of the cost to build or renovate a stadium, as well as offer tax credits. Local governments also would provide unspecifed assistance.

The two teams play at the Truman Sports Complex, with their stadiums side by side. Arrowhead Stadium opened in 1972 as the home of the Chiefs, with the Royals moving into what now is called Kauffman Stadium the following season.

Though still aesthetically pleasing, the two stadiums are among the oldest in their sports.

In the NFL, only the Chicago Bears (Soldier Field, built in 1924) and Green Bay Packers (Lambeau Field, 1957) play in older venues. In Major League Baseball, only the Boston Red Sox (Fenway Park, 1912), Chicago Cubs (Wrigley Field, 1914), Los Angeles Dodgers (Dodger Stadium, 1962) and Los Angeles Angels (Angel Stadium, 1966) have stadiums with a longer life span.

The signed bill in Missouri applies to any assistance for any NFL or MLB team that wants to undergo a stadium renovation or build of at least $500 million. That means the St. Louis Cardinals also could get financial aid should they want to improve Busch Stadium, which opened in 2006 amid a wave of new stadiums.

The Chiefs and Royals have a looming deadline, however.

In an effort to lure the teams to Kansas, that state last year authorized the issuance of bonds for as much as 70 percent of the cost of new stadiums. That offer is scheduled to expire June 30.

Kansas City, Mo., tucked in the northwest corner of the state, sits right on the border with Kansas. Kansas City, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo. are separated by just four miles, for example.

Neither team has discounted a move to Kansas.

The Chiefs previously unveiled renderings for a proposed multimillion dollar renovation of Arrowhead Stadium. The Royals have said they want to move from Kauffman Stadium, preferably to a new ballpark downtown.

In April 2024, voters in Jackson County, Mo., rejected a sales tax measure that would have helped to pay for Arrowhead renovations and a stadium for the Royals.

The teams’ leases for their existing stadiums expire in January 2031.

Saints sign RB Cam Akers to 1-year contract

The New Orleans Saints signed free agent running back Cam Akers to a one-year contract.

Financial terms were not disclosed in the team announcement on Friday for Akers, who participated in the Saints’ minicamp on a tryout basis.

Akers, who turns 26 on June 22, had 104 carries for 444 yards and two touchdowns in 17 games (two starts) split between the Houston Texans and Minnesota Vikings in 2024.

He has rushed for 2,025 yards and 13 touchdowns and caught 52 passes for 388 yards and four scores in 53 games (17 starts). He also has played for the Los Angeles Rams (2020-23), who selected him in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Report: Anthony Richardson should be healthy for Colts training camp

Despite a recent injury scare surrounding his right (throwing) shoulder, quarterback Anthony Richardson is expected to be healthy for Indianapolis Colts training camp, NFL Network reported Friday.

The third-year signal-caller aggravated the AC joint in his right shoulder and was held out of team minicamp this week. That shoulder is the same one he had AC joint surgery on in 2023.

A second opinion on this latest setback confirmed that surgery wouldn’t be necessary. Moreover, the timetable for his return looks more optimistic than previously suggested.

In an interview a week ago, head coach Shane Steichen said Richardson would return “at some point” in training camp.

“Doctors, trainers checked it out,” Steichen said. “He’s got some aggravation in his AC joint … We’ll see when he comes back. Not gonna put a timetable for training camp on it, but when he does come back, we’ll ease him into throwing, and then we’ll go from there. The good thing is he’s not gonna need a procedure right now.”

Richardson, the fourth overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, is expected to battle former New York Giants starter Daniel Jones for the Colts’ starting quarterback job this season.

“Obviously, it’s frustrating, but he is in good spirits,” Steichen said. “So, we’re working through it right now.”

Richardson, 23, enters his third season with 15 starts under his belt (8-7 record), a 50.6 completion percentage, 11 touchdown passes, 10 rushing touchdowns, 13 interceptions and 12 fumbles (four lost).

He completed 47.7 percent of his passes in 2024, historically bad from an accuracy perspective and easily the worst among NFL starters. He had 10 or fewer completions in six of the 11 games he appeared in last season.

Jones, 28, has appeared in 70 games (69 starts) over six seasons in New York. He is a career 64.1 percent passer with 70 touchdowns and 47 interceptions. He also has 15 touchdowns rushing and has suffered 50 career fumbles.

Barry Sanders reveals he suffered a heart attack last year

Barry Sanders is imploring folks to undergo a complete medical checkup, nearly one year after the Hall of Fame running back suffered what he initially labeled as a heart-related health scare.

During an exclusive interview with CBS Sports, Sanders disclosed that the “health scare” indeed was a heart attack.

“Of all things, I don’t know why, that just never entered my mind,” Sanders said of his heart attack. “I’m learning through this process that there aren’t necessarily any warning signs, unless you do what we’re encouraging people to do, which is to go the doctor, get tested for LDLC levels, or bad cholesterol. That’s the only way to find out if you have high cholesterol. It’s not something you’re going to be able to feel. You don’t have to fit a certain physical profile.”

Sanders, 56, shared his experience in “The Making of a Heart Attack,” which will air on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET on A&E.

He said he woke up with a burning sensation in his chest while attending a recruiting visit for his son.

“I couldn’t believe it, honestly. I thought it was like heartburn, but it just kind of persisted,” Sanders said.

He said he drove himself to the emergency room later that afternoon, with tests revealing that his enzyme levels were “really high and getting higher.”

Sanders was a first-ballot selection to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

The Lions made Sanders, a Heisman Trophy winner at Oklahoma State, the third overall pick of the 1989 NFL Draft. He spent his entire 10-year career with Detroit (1989-98), running for 15,269 yards — now the fourth-most rushing yards in NFL history — and 99 touchdowns while catching 352 passes for 2,921 yards and 10 TDs.

Sanders rushed for 2,053 yards in 1997 when he shared Most Valuable Player honors with Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre. Sanders was selected to 10 Pro Bowls in 10 seasons, named first-team All-Pro six times, voted the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1989 and selected to the NFL 100 All-Time Team.

Report: Rams LT Alaric Jackson dealing with blood clots

Los Angeles Rams left tackle Alaric Jackson is dealing with blood clots for the second time since 2022, NFL Network reported on Friday.

While Jackson is expected to play this season, the Rams secured insurance at the position by agreeing to terms with free agent tackle D.J. Humphries on Thursday.

Jackson, 26, followed up the 2022 season in which he played just eight games (six starts) by starting 29 of the Rams’ 34 games over the past two campaigns.

Humphries, 31, started 15 games with the Arizona Cardinals in 2023 before sustaining a torn ACL. He joined the Kansas City Chiefs in late November of last season and started two games.

Humphries has started all 100 career games he has played since the Cardinals selected him with the 24th overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft. He made the Pro Bowl in 2021.

Colts inducting late Jim Irsay in Ring of Honor in Week 1

The Indianapolis Colts will induct late owner and CEO Jim Irsay into their Ring of Honor during the Sept. 7 season opener against the Miami Dolphins at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The team made the announcement on Friday, which would have been the longtime executive’s 66th birthday. Irsay passed away on May 21.

Irsay will become the 20th member of the Colts Ring of Honor, a prestigious list that includes Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, Dwight Freeney and former coach Tony Dungy.

Earlier this month, team ownership was passed down to Irsay’s three daughters: Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Casey Foyt and Kalen Jackson.

“There was no bigger advocate for the Colts, the NFL, the city of Indianapolis and the state of Indiana than our dad, Jim Irsay,” Irsay’s daughters said in a statement. “It’s only fitting that he now joins the other amazing Colts legends in our Ring of Honor who contributed so much to our franchise and our community over the past four decades.”

Under Jim Irsay’s involvement with the franchise from 1984-2024, the Colts went 316-294-1 in the regular season and 13-16 in the playoffs with a victory in Super Bowl XLI.

Report: Antonio Brown sought on attempted murder charge

Former All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown is being sought by authorities in Miami-Dade County on a charge of attempted murder with a firearm, according to a warrant reviewed by The Washington Post.

The charge stems from a shooting Brown allegedly was involved in at a celebrity boxing event in Miami last month.

The warrant, signed by a judge on Wednesday, requires Brown to post a $10,000 bond and remain under house arrest until trial.

Brown, 36, temporarily was detained by police after gunshots were fired at the boxing event in the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami on May 16. The mercurial wide receiver was spotted fighting with several people on a video posted to social media.

“Regarding the boxing event that happened last night,” Brown wrote on the following day on X. “I was jumped by multiple individuals who tried to steal my jewelry and cause physical harm to me. Contrary to some video circulating, Police temporarily detained me until they received my side of the story and then released me. I WENT HOME THAT NIGHT AND WAS NOT ARRESTED.

“I will be talking to my legal council (sic) and attorneys on pressing charges on the individuals that jumped me. I will keep you all posted step-by-step on the process.”

Per the warrant, people in the parking lot told police that Brown was the shooter. Brown did not have a weapon on him when he was patted down, but investigators discovered two used shell casings and an empty gun holster.

Police found video footage that showed Brown punching another person. That same footage showed Brown appearing to take the gun of a security officer and running in the direction of the person he had initially hit.

Cell phone footage revealed two gunshots as Brown approached the victim, who ducked the bullets.

Per the warrant, detectives met with the alleged victim on May 21. He said Brown “began to run toward him with a firearm” and shot at him twice. Brown walked away before police arrived, and the man went to Aventura Hospital for treatment of his injuries.

Brown previously was a top wide receiver in the NFL before his erratic behavior led to a turbulent exit from the league.

He was named a first-team All-Pro four times and made seven Pro Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2010-18 before being traded to the then-Oakland Raiders. He didn’t play a down there, however, and ended his career after one game with the New England Patriots (2019) and 15 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2020-21).

Brown caught 928 passes for 12,291 yards and 83 touchdowns in 146 games. He led the league in catches twice, receiving yards twice and touchdown receptions once.

Patriots to unveil Tom Brady statue on Aug. 8

The New England Patriots will unveil a statue of quarterback Tom Brady outside of Gillette Stadium before their Aug. 8 preseason game against the Washington Commanders.

The team announced the details on Thursday, since June 12 is known as “Tom Brady Day” in Patriots territory because the date also can be written as 6/12. That represents the number of Super Bowl championships Brady won with the team (six) and his jersey number (12).

Plans for a 12-foot-tall bronze statue were originally announced in June 2024 when Brady was inducted into the franchise’s Hall of Fame.

“(The statue) will stand alone in the plaza outside of the Hall of Fame to symbolize his position, not as the greatest in franchise history, but as the greatest in all of NFL history,” team owner Robert Kraft said at the time.

Brady, 47, was a three-time NFL Most Valuable Player who holds the league records for completions (7,753), pass attempts (12,050), passing yards (89,214) and touchdown passes (649). He added his record seventh Super Bowl championship with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2020 season.

Texans S Jimmie Ward arrested in alleged family violence incident

Houston Texans safety Jimmie Ward is facing a felony assault family violence charge following an alleged incident at his home on Thursday morning in Magnolia, Texas.

Ward, 33, was arrested on the scene around 5:30 a.m. and was being held on third-degree felony charges, per information from the Montgomery County Jail. Bond had yet to be set.

“We are aware of the report involving Jimmie Ward,” the Texans said in a statement. “We are gathering more information and have no further comment at this time.”

Ward has not been spotted at the team’s offseason workouts or this week’s mandatory minicamp as he works his way back from a foot injury that required season-ending surgery.

He recorded 48 tackles and two interceptions — one returned for a touchdown — in 10 games (all starts) last season.

Ward has totaled 549 tackles, 10 interceptions — three returned for a touchdown — in 126 career games (99 starts) with the San Francisco 49ers (2014-22) and Texans. He was selected by the 49ers with the 30th overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft out of Northern Illinois.