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Fox Sports
7 days ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Browns' Kenny Pickett on Eagles' stint: 'Was shown how it's supposed to be done'
The Cleveland Browns offer Kenny Pickett the chance to be a starting quarterback once again. Granted, Pickett is part of a crowded quarterback room that also includes veteran Joe Flacco as well as 2025 draft picks Dillon Gabriel (pick No. 94) and Shedeur Sanders (pick No. 144). Acquired from the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason in a deal that saw Cleveland send quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a fifth-round pick to Philadelphia, Pickett expressed that he's "preparing" as if he's Cleveland's starter like he "always" has, while crediting his 2024 experience in Philadelphia. "I'm extremely grateful for my time in Philly," Pickett said on Wednesday, according to "I think I was just shown how it's supposed to be done, really, from the top down. So, when you get a chance to see what it's supposed to look like and how it should look on a day-to-day basis, not just on Sundays. You know, I think it'll pay dividends for me in the future." The Eagles acquired Pickett from the Pittsburgh Steelers last year to backup starting quarterback Jalen Hurts. Pickett appeared in five regular-season games and made one start for the Eagles in 2024, while making two more appearances in the playoffs, en route to the team winning Super Bowl LIX. Speaking on the team's quarterback competition, Pickett downplayed the potential animosity among the signal-callers, saying you "become friends with these guys, and we're just pushing each other." Pickett made a combined 25 appearances/24 starts for the Steelers from 2022-23. Over those two seasons, Pickett averaged 2,237 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns, seven interceptions and a 78.8 passer rating per season, while completing 62.6% of his passes. Pittsburgh went 14-10 with Pickett under center. The Steelers selected Pickett with the No. 20 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Pittsburgh, with whom he was a finalist for the 2021 Heisman Trophy Award. Steelers legend and Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw recently expressed that he "liked" Pickett and inferred the franchise failed him. The Browns declined Pickett's fifth-year option, making him a free agent after the 2025 NFL season. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience Cleveland Browns Philadelphia Eagles Kenny Pickett recommended Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Fox Sports
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Raiders' Ashton Jeanty: OC Chip Kelly wants me to get rid of 'Halloween' stance
The Las Vegas Raiders see a star in rookie running back Ashton Jeanty, but offensive coordinator Chip Kelly wants to see the Boise State standout shine with some changes to his game, which he depicted to the running back by having him act as an on-ball defender in basketball. "Sometimes you have to, you know, go with the flow. Chip Kelly, he comes up to me on the first day of minicamp, and he's like 'You ever play basketball?' I'm like, 'Yeah, I play basketball. You know, I can dunk and all that.' He's like, 'OK, show me how you would guard me,' and he's acting like he's holding the ball. … 'that's exactly why you have to be down in your running back stance," Jeanty told Up & Adams about what Kelly told him. In the past, Jeanty had stood up straight when lined up in the backfield before the ball was snapped. Jeanty deemed it the "Halloween" stance because people repeatedly said that he looks like the character "Michael Myers" – who murders multiple people in the slasher horror series – in the backfield. For what it's worth, Detroit Lions running back and two-time Pro Bowler Jahmyr Gibbs has a similar stance where he's primarily standing straight up when lined up in the backfield. Jeanty added that Kelly had "won, for now" and that he was "going to try and persuade him one day" but also that he has "to earn" his "stripes" in the NFL first — all with a smile on his face. "I don't think it's going to be the end [of the stance]," Jeanty said. Jeanty, a two-time Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year and a one-time All-American, had an otherworldly junior season at Boise State, which went 12-2 and reached the College Football Playoff quarterfinal round. Rushing for a college football-best 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns — which led all running backs — Jeanty was the runner-up to Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter for the 2024 Heisman Trophy Award. Jeanty joins a Raiders team that was last in the NFL in rushing last season (79.8 rushing yards per game). They also added 2023 Pro Bowler Raheem Mostert, who led the NFL with 18 rushing touchdowns in said season, and still have running back Zamir White, who flashed some promise down the stretch of the 2023 season (451 rushing yards on 4.3 yards per carry). As for the rest of its 2025 draft class, Las Vegas selected TCU wide receiver Jack Bech (pick No. 58), Iowa State cornerback Darien Porter (pick No. 68) and offensive linemen Caleb Rogers (pick No. 98) and Charles Grant (pick No. 99), among other players. The Raiders are entering their first season with former Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant general manager John Spytek as their general manager and former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll as their head coach. Meanwhile, Kelly — who was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles (2013-15) and San Francisco 49ers (2016) — comes to the Raiders after helping Ohio State win the College Football Playoff National Championship as its offensive coordinator last season. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience National Football League Las Vegas Raiders Ashton Jeanty recommended Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Florida Makes Major Maurkice Pouncey Announcement
From 2007 to 2009, the Florida Gators football program won 35 games, including a BCS national championship and the Sugar Bowl. The first name to come to mind regarding the late 2000s Gators is undoubtedly Heisman Trophy Award quarterback Tim Tebow. However, Tebow's greatness would not have reached its otherworldly peak without his center, Maurkice Pouncey. Just 16 years removed from his final game in Gainesville, the University of Florida is adding Pouncey, one of its most decorated offensive linemen, to the Hall of Fame. Maurkice Pouncey Pouncey, a cornerstone of the Gators' 2008 national championship squad and one of the most dominant centers in college and pro football, will be inducted into the UF Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2025. Per the Gainesville Sun's Kevin Brockway, he joins seven other inductees in a ceremony set for October 17, the night before Florida hosts Mississippi State at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Advertisement Pouncey, a Lakeland native, was the anchor of Florida's offensive line during the height of the Urban Meyer era. He made 11 starts as a true freshman before becoming the full-time starter at center in 2008. The Gators hoisted the BCS title trophy in 2008, but his best performances came in 2009, his final year with the program. Pouncey earned the Rimington Trophy in 2009 as the nation's best center, while being named a first-team All-SEC and All-American honoree. His dominance didn't end in Gainesville. The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Pouncey with the 18th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. He dominated the 2010s as one of the most reliable centers in the league, earning a spot on the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team. During his 11-year NFL career, he made nine Pro Bowls, three second-team All-Pros, and two first-team All-Pro squads. Advertisement Pouncey becomes the latest Gator great to be immortalized in orange and blue, joining a long list of legends who helped shape the program into a college football powerhouse. A 2008 Florida national championship team staple, he joins teammates Percy Harvin, Tim Tebow, Chas Henry, Joe Haden, Brandon James, Reggie Nelson, and Brandon Spikes in the school's athletic Hall of Fame. Related: Florida Basketball Nearly Falls Out of Preseason Top 25 Despite Winning NCAA Tournament Title
Fox Sports
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Ashton Jeanty becomes highest-drafted RB in 7 years as Raiders select him at No. 6
The value of the running back position has been hotly debated in recent years. But, there's no overthinking it with Ashton Jeanty. He's arguably the most talented prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft Class, so, regardless of positional value, he will flat-out help the Las Vegas Raiders win the games. The Raiders selected Jeanty with No. 6 overall pick. The last time a running back was selected in the top six was in 2018, when the New York Giants selected Saquon Barkley second overall. Since the 2000 NFL Draft, there have been 11 RBs drafted in the top 6. Jeanty had as impressive of a college career as any of them. Jeanty spent the entirely of it at Boise State (2022-24), where he led the Mountain West in rushing yards each of the past two seasons. Jeanty rushed for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns on 7.0 yards per carry last season, helping him be the runner-up for the 2024 Heisman Trophy Award. Jeanty and the Broncos earned a No. 3 seed in the College Football Playoff before losing to Penn State in the quarterfinal round. The last time the Raiders selected a running back in the first round was in 2019, when they took Josh Jacobs with the 24th overall pick. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience National Football League Ashton Jeanty recommended Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Fox Sports
21-04-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Eli Manning-Philip Rivers trade among all-time most memorable NFL Draft moments
It's officially draft week, with the 2025 NFL Draft starting Thursday in Green Bay, Wisconsin. An annual sports spectacle like no other, the draft delivers memorable moments and selections year in and year out. That said, what are some of those moments that stand out the most? We've rounded up the top 10, in chronological order. 1999: Trading the house and kids for Ricky Williams How badly did the New Orleans Saints want Texas running back and 1998 Heisman Trophy Award winner Ricky Williams? So badly that they traded eight picks to get him; New Orleans traded its first- (No. 25), third-, fourth-, fifth-, sixth- and seventh-round selections in the 1999 NFL Draft and its first- and third-round selections in the 2000 NFL Draft to Washington for the fifth overall pick. Williams went on to have a successful NFL career, but he only played in New Orleans for three seasons, as the Saints traded him to the Miami Dolphins in the 2002 offseason. Granted, New Orleans recouped some of the draft capital that it gave up to get Williams, receiving what became two first-round picks (a conditional third-rounder became a first-rounder) and swapping fourth-round picks with Miami. 2000: Raiders select kicker in first round With the No. 17 pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, the Raiders took FSU kicker and two-time All-American Sebastian Janikowski, who went on to have a successful career (2000-16 with the Raiders and 2018 with the Seattle Seahawks). Across his 17-year NFL career, Janikowski led the league with the longest field goal in a single season three times. Lane Kiffin even had Janikowski attempt a 76-yard field goal in 2008. Janikowski stands far and away first in Raiders history with 414 career field goals, with his 436 combined career field goals tied for 10th in NFL history. He also stands as the highest drafted kicker in the 21st century. 2003: You forgot something! Making a trade during the draft can be both stressful and exhilarating. In the 2003 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens teamed up for one of the most bizarre moments in league history. Agreeing to a trade with the Ravens to move back from No. 7 to No. 10 and also receive their fourth- and sixth-round draft selections, the Vikings reported the trade to the league office before the time to select expired, but Baltimore didn't do the same. What happened as a result? The Vikings were skipped, and the Jacksonville Jaguars were put on the clock. In the end, Minnesota still picked ninth, with Baltimore staying at No. 10, and both teams would do just fine; the Vikings selected defensive tackle and future five-time All-Pro Kevin Williams, and the Ravens selected linebacker and future seven-time Pro Bowler Terrell Suggs. 2004: The trade of all trades There are chaotic drafts, and then there is the 2004 NFL Draft. Despite Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning making it known to the then-San Diego Chargers that he didn't want to play for the franchise, they took him anyway with the first overall pick. Then, the New York Giants pulled off a blockbuster trade to acquire Manning, sending the fourth overall pick (North Carolina State quarterback Philip Rivers), their 2004 third-rounder and their first- and fifth-rounders in the 2005 NFL Draft to San Diego for Manning. Who won the trade? It's difficult to say. Manning helped the Giants win two Super Bowls and is first in franchise history with 57,023 passing yards and 366 passing touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Chargers stocked draft capital and Rivers went on to spend all but one of his 17 NFL seasons with the franchise, with whom he's first in history with 59,271 passing yards and 397 passing touchdowns. But for about a half-hour, Manning was a Charger, creating an iconic photo of him holding the Chargers jersey that he never wore. Sometimes a quarterback doesn't get picked where they expect, and Rodgers' 2005 NFL Draft experience epitomized that reality. The Cal star fell to the Green Bay Packers with the No. 24 pick. When asked how "disappointed" he was that the San Francisco 49ers chose not to select him with the first overall pick — and instead take Utah QB Alex Smith — Rodgers said that he was "not as disappointed as the 49ers will be" that they didn't draft him. After sitting behind Brett Favre in Green Bay for three seasons, Rodgers went on to become one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. Following the 2024 season, Rodgers is fifth in NFL history with 503 passing touchdowns and seventh with 62,952 passing yards and, most notably, helped the Packers win Super Bowl XLV. That said, the 49ers ended up being a kryptonite for Rodgers & Co., going 0-4 in the postseason against San Francisco with Rodgers under center. 2014: "Johnny Football" goes to Cleveland It was tricky to figure out where Johnny Manziel was going to land in the 2014 NFL Draft, and the Texas A&M quarterback and 2012 Heisman Trophy Award winner ultimately fell into the bottom-third of the first round. Then, the Browns — who had already selected Oklahoma State defensive back Justin Gilbert with the eighth overall pick — traded back up with their second first-round pick to select Manziel at No. 22, sending the Philadelphia Eagles picks No. 26 and 83. Walking up to the stage to get his Browns jersey, Manziel did his signature money celebration. Unfortunately for the Browns, Gilbert only played three seasons in the NFL, and Manziel only played two. Draft day is an exciting time for every young player. For Tunsil, that excitement was derailed when his Twitter account was hacked and a video was leaked of him wearing a black gas mask and smoking marijuana. By the time Tunsil regained access to his account and deleted the post, the draft had started, and the drama affected him mightily. A projected top-10 pick, Tunsil fell to the Dolphins at No. 13, costing him roughly $8 million. The now-30-year-old has gone on to have a fabulous NFL career, however, earning five Pro Bowl honors in nine seasons. Four of the top 10 selections in the 2018 NFL Draft were acquired via trade. The New York Jets traded up three selections with the Indianapolis Colts roughly five weeks ahead of the draft to ultimately take USC's Sam Darnold at No. 3; the Buffalo Bills traded up for the No. 7 pick to select Wyoming's Josh Allen; the Arizona Cardinals traded up to select UCLA's Josh Rosen with the No. 10 pick. Rosen then claimed that "there were nine mistakes made ahead of me" and that he'd "make sure" those teams find out they "made a mistake." Five quarterbacks in total were taken in the first round, Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield (Browns at No. 1) and Louisville's Lamar Jackson (Ravens at No. 32) being the other two. Mayfield and Darnold have combined for three Pro Bowl honors, while Jackson is a two-time NFL MVP and Allen has claimed one MVP award. Rosen only appeared in 24 career games, making 16 starts. 2018: David Akers roasts Cowboys fans AT&T Stadium, home of the Cowboys, was the site of the 2018 NFL Draft, and the Eagles were coming off their first Super Bowl in franchise history. On Day 2, the Eagles had former kicker David Akers announce their second-round pick, and the six-time Pro Bowler chose violence. Getting booed by a crowd largely made up of Cowboys fans, Akers delivered this iconic line: "Hey Dallas, the last time you won the Super Bowl, these draft picks weren't born!" In March 2024, the Falcons signed veteran quarterback and four-time Pro Bowler Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal. Six weeks later, they drafted Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick. Despite the free-agent quarterback splash, the Falcons used a top-10 selection on the successor to the player who hadn't even yet played a down for the franchise. Lo and behold, with three weeks remaining in the 2024 regular season, the Falcons benched Cousins for Penix. Going into the 2025 NFL Draft, Penix is expected to be Atlanta's starting quarterback, with Cousins' future up in the air. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! 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