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Winnipeg Free Press
23 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Longtime offensive tackle Taylor Moton emotional about potential final season with Panthers
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Taylor Moton has been a mainstay at offensive tackle for the Carolina Panthers since coming into the league as a second-round draft pick in 2017. So it's understandable that Moton got emotional following Wednesday's training camp practice talking about the possibility of this being his last season in Carolina. The 30-year-old Moton is entering his final year of his contract and is set to become an unrestricted free agent in March. As of yet, Moton has not received an extension. 'I try not to think about it,' Moton said. 'I have had some of my best years of my life in Carolina. The city, and being a Panther means a lot to me. I obviously want the years to continue. But if it's my last year here, I want it to be my best year, the offensive unit's best year and the team's best year. I will do whatever I can for it to be the best yet. I'm a little emotional about that.' Moton has started 113 games for the Panthers (13th most in franchise history). He's played in 129. Although he's never been selected to the Pro Bowl, Moton has been remarkably consistent, durable and productive. His streak of 104 straight starts came to an end last season in Week 5 when he missed three games with an elbow injury. He recovered to finish the season, and enters year nine 'feeling like a rookie' when it comes to his health. Panthers executive vice president of football operations Brandt Tilis and general manager Dan Morgan have some tough decisions to make at offensive tackle. Along with Moton's impending free agency, the Panthers need to decide whether to work out a contract extension with the team's other offensive tackle Ickey Ekwonu, a 2022 first-round draft pick and fan favorite as a Charlotte native. The Panthers picked up the fifth-year option on Ekwonu, but a new contract could mean limiting a potential $17.5 million salary cap hit in 2026. For now, Moton seems to be the more pressing issue. 'I did see Taylor get a little emotional up here,' Tilis said as he stood behind a podium after practice Wednesday. 'That's the hard part of our business that somebody pours their whole life into this like Taylor has and he's faced with potentially going to a new place next year. But at the same time we are going to make the best decision for the organization. If that means keeping Taylor here, then that's great. If those two things align, we are open to' re-signing him. At this point, Tilis isn't feeling any pressure to extend anyone. He prefers to keep contract talks to the offseason, but the Panthers aren't against to negotiating a deal during the season. The Panthers rewarded running back Chuba Hubbard with a four-year, $33.2 million deal last November. 'Whatever makes the best sense for the Panthers, we'll do,' Tilis said. The Panthers still have plenty of time to make a long-term decision on quarterback Bryce Young, who overcame an early season benching in 2024 by showing promise down the stretch with 10 combined touchdowns throwing and rushing and no interceptions in his final three games. He's under contract through 2026, and the Panthers hold a team option for 2027. Tilis, who previously worked as the lead contract negotiator in Kansas City, was responsible for getting a 10-year, $450 million extension for Patrick Mahomes in 2020 just months after the QB led the Chiefs to a Super Bowl win in just his second season as a full-time starter. Young, who was 4-8 as a starter last year, still has plenty to prove. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. 'We had something good going' in Kansas City, Tilis said. 'With Bryce, it's just like the (Ekwonu) conversation. Bryce is an ascending player, so I don't want to sit here and make any kind of promises, any kind of statements about what we're thinking about for Bryce's contract or anything like that.' Tilis said for now it's best that Young focuses on football. 'He needs to focus on being the best version of himself, and the contract itself will get figured out,' Tilis said. ___ AP NFL:
Winnipeg Free Press
23 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Coach Deion Sanders' return to Colorado lifts team spirits after his battle with bladder cancer
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — To Colorado defensive back Carter Stoutmire, Deion Sanders is more than just a coach. He's like an uncle who's been in his life since pretty much the day he was born. So hearing his coach's booming voice back in meetings and seeing his coach's swagger at camp this week, well, it lifted his spirits. Not just for him, but the entire team in the wake of Sanders announcing news of his private battle with bladder cancer. 'Whatever hardship trials he goes through, he always makes it through,' Stoutmire said after practice Wednesday. 'Seeing him back, just a breath of fresh air for the whole team.' It's been a few months since they've seen their coach after Sanders stepped away to deal with his health. He revealed Monday that doctors removed his bladder to ward off an aggressive form of cancer. He had a section of his intestine reconstructed to function as a bladder. 'Honestly, just having Coach Prime's presence back in the building is an amazing feeling,' said safety DJ McKinney, whose team opens the season Aug. 29 against Georgia Tech at Folsom Field. 'I feel like everybody just has a chip on their shoulder.' Namely, to work as hard they can for him. 'I mean, it hit different for me, just because that's like family to me,' Stoutmire said. 'That was like real, genuine concern.' Stoutmire's father, Omar, played for the Dallas Cowboys with Sanders in the 1990s. His dad and Sanders have been longtime friends, which is why he considers him an uncle. 'First time I met him? I don't remember — he was in my birth room,' Carter Stoutmire said of Sanders. 'We've just got a whole lot of history, so it's hard to remember the first genuine time I really met him.' He's had a big impact, too. So much so that Carter Stoutmire was part of Sanders' inaugural high school recruiting class at Colorado. Asked if his coach's bravado was indeed back at practice, Stoutmire simply responded, 'Oh yeah. Ain't no question about that.' Upon his return to campus, Sanders tried to pick up right where he left off. Defensive coordinator Robert Livingston said he met with Sanders last week and the first thing Sanders inquired about was Livingston's family. He wanted to know about his son, Luke, who's playing baseball. Sanders, a Pro Football Hall of Famer who also played Major League Baseball, wanted to hear all about it. 'Prime's talking about his stance and all these things, and he wants to know how that's going,' Livingston recounted. 'His leadership is one of one. He's the Pied Piper — the world will follow him if they just listen to him.' Livingston's first reaction to the news? 'Scared, just like everybody,' he said. 'We're talking about a life here. This football stuff, that doesn't really matter at the end of the day. 'He was away and we were working and just knowing that when he comes back, he's going to hit the ground running. That first staff meeting went about like you thought it would, 'Hey, we're going to do this. We're going to do that.'' Sanders missed a series of camps in Boulder this summer due to his health. His veteran staff, which includes Pat Shurmur, Warren Sapp and Marshall Faulk, held things down. 'The conversation was never had, like 'if, then,'' Livingston said. 'We knew he'd be here day one.' The Buffaloes are coming off a season in which they went 9-4 and played in the Alamo Bowl. They have big holes to fill with quarterback Shedeur Sanders now part of the Cleveland Browns and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter with the Jacksonville Jaguars. 'When you're a phenomenal leader as Coach Prime is, you establish a culture, a situation where people just go to work,' Livingston said. 'And that's what it was. It was a joy to see.' Sanders preached checking in with a healthcare provider in his news conference Monday, something that helped him. His cancer was discovered when he went for an annual CT scan as a precaution given his history with blood clots. It's a message that resonated with Livingston. 'Too often in this profession, we worry about what happens inside these walls more than we worry about what happens outside in being a husband and being a father and taking care of yourself,' Livingston said. 'It's eye-opening for sure.' ___ AP college football: and
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Jarren Duran's 4 RBIs, Bello's one-run outing give Boston 13-1 win over Twins in series finale
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jarren Duran went 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs, Trevor Story hit his second homer in as many games, and the Red Sox earned a series win with a 13-1 victory at Minnesota on Wednesday. Red Sox starter Brayan Bello yielded one earned run on five hits in seven innings with four strikeouts. The Dominican right-hander has recorded a quality start in nine of his past 10 outings. Boston finished the month 17-7 and has the American League's fifth-best record at 59-51. Minnesota (51-57) is 4-8 since the All-Star break and sits fourth in the AL Central. Story's 17th home run of the season gave Boston a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Abraham Toro had an RBI sacrifice fly in the third, and Duran's two-run single in the fifth made it 4-1 and ended starter Zebby Matthews' day. Matthews (2-3) gave up five earned runs on eight hits with four strikeouts. Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman sat to rest the quadriceps that kept him out for seven weeks. He's expected to return Friday. The Twins placed outfielder Byron Buxton on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with left rib cartilage irritation. Minnesota shortstop Carlos Correa is listed as day-to-day after exiting Tuesday's game with a migraine. Key moment After his 416-foot home run to the second deck in right-center field in the sixth inning, Duran rounded the bases with his arms outstretched to mimic an airplane, an homage to the turbulent charter flight that brought the Red Sox to the Twin Cities on Sunday night. Key stat Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Going into Wednesday, Boston led the AL and ranked third in the majors with a 2.94 ERA in July. Up next Both teams are off Thursday. The Red Sox open a six-game home stand Friday against Houston, while Minnesota begins a six-game road trip Friday at Cleveland. ___ AP MLB:
