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Baylor freshman V.J. Edgecombe, a potential top five selection, has declared his intentions to enter the draft, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets.
Edgecombe is ranked as the No. 4 prospect on ESPN’s Best Available list, just below Duke’s Cooper Flagg and the Rutgers duo of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey. The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie has Edgecombe going off the board with the No. 3 pick ahead of Bailey in his latest mock draft.
Edgecombe plays with a high motor and defends, which makes the 6-foot-5 wing a safe pick despite his rollercoaster offensive season, Vecenie writes. NBA executives are mixed on his on-ball upside, Vecenie adds, with some comparing him to Victor Oladipo, whereas others see him more as a standout 3-and-D player with tremendous athleticism.
Edgecombe averaged 15.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.1 steals in his lone season with the Bears. A native of the Bahamas, Edgecombe shot 43.6% from the field and 34% from distance. He averaged 15.5 point and 5.5 rebounds in two NCAA Tournament games and had a season-high 30 points against Kansas State in January.
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Browns play cruel joke on Shedeur Sanders before preseason opener
The Cleveland Browns aren't setting fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders up for success before he makes his debut against the Carolina Panthers on Friday night. Amid hamstring injuries to Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel, the Browns are giving the start to Sanders, hoping to keep QB1 Joe Flacco healthy before the regular season. However, the Browns aren't making Sanders' life easy before Friday's game. Per Zack Jackson of The Athletic, Sanders has yet to receive reps with the first-team offense in practice and has mostly worked with the third team in training camp. "Through 10 days of camp, Sanders is the only one of the four Browns quarterbacks not to take snaps with the No. 1 offense," Jackson wrote. "He piloted the No. 2 offense in one drill last week against the Browns’ No. 1 defense, but the majority of his snaps in camp have come with and against the No. 3 units... "Wednesday’s joint practice should provide some clarity on the Browns’ exact thinking and availability for Friday. Sanders likely won’t take No. 1 reps in the joint session, but he’ll have that practice and a Thursday walk-through to prepare further — and potentially get the chance to play the full game in the preseason opener." Per Fred Greetham of 247 Sports, Sanders did not receive reps with the first-team offense during the joint practice on Wednesday, but did take part in four plays during an 11-on-11 period against the Panthers following Flacco's reps. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski thinks Sanders has received enough reps from the second and third team units to be ready for Friday night, arguing that the only thing different about the players on the first team is the "batteries" they're built with. "That's part of, I think it's just preseason ball, where you may have some ones going against twos," Stefanski said. "Two's going against one's. You could have, there's different guys in there at different times, but I think both sides, particularly in that first game, it's all about playing fast. "So you typically don't see a ton of looks that are unusual per se. So if you stick to your rules and you stick to what you've been taught over the last few weeks, you should be able to operate and function well." Sanders is going into his first NFL game flying blind after the Browns played a cruel joke on him this week. Frankly, there is a considerable difference in throwing to the equipment staff and players signed as undrafted free agents versus the speed that a first-team offense in the league has. The Browns aren't giving Sanders a fair fight by allowing him to practice a few reps with the first team. It's now up to Sanders to quickly respond to the differences if he wants a chance to move up the depth chart.
Jaydon Blue injury update: Major news emerges on Cowboys RB after Thursday practice exit
According to Nick Harris of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Cowboys running back Jaydon Blue suffered a bone bruise in his heel on Thursday. Blue was stepped on during practice, initially looking at an ankle sprain. Thankfully, the MRI came back with some positive news. “Cowboys RB Jaydon Blue’s MRI revealed a bone bruise in his heel after it was stepped on in today’s practice, according to a @startelegram source,” Harris said via X. “No ankle sprain. Good news for the young back who has emerged as an offensive playmaker in camp.” Blue previously told Harris that an ankle injury was what he suffered. Questions about the running back’s availability for Saturday’s preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams are now present. Something to watch as kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT from SoFi Stadium. Dallas took Blue in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, hoping to address its running back situation. Blue played his college ball inside the Lone Star State, suiting up for the Texas Longhorns. Plenty of guys at the position have come out of Austin and found quick success. Blue is hoping to be the next one. For now, there is an injury for him to deal with. No exact timeline has been provided per a report or by a team official. Hopefully, Blue is able to get things cleared up quickly and get his first taste of the NFL before Sept. 4’s season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. More on Jaydon Blue, Cowboys running back situation Running back was a position the Cowboys needed to desperately figure out this offseason. Rico Dowdle, the team’s leading rusher, was no longer on the roster. Behind Dowdle, Dallas did not have much else. A nice mix of veteran presence and youngsters was needed. Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders provide the former, while Blue was a part of the draft class alongside Phil Mafah. A combination of those four figures to be on the opening night roster. Exactly how head coach Brian Schottenheimer splits up the carries is not yet known. Blue’s injury certainly does not help the situation. Cowboys players, in general, have been going down throughout training camp thus far. Making sure everyone is healthy will be critical heading into the season. Especially an explosive back like Blue, someone who can change the outcome of any game in just the snap of your fingers.
Gap between star WR Terry McLaurin, Commanders revealed
As of Thursday morning, the Washington Commanders and Terry McLaurin remained in a contract stalemate after the 29-year-old wide receiver in the final year of his current deal requested a trade. During Thursday's edition of the ESPN "Get Up" program, NFL insider Jeremy Fowler noted that the Commanders and McLaurin are locked in "a classic standoff" as McLaurin allegedly looks to secure "parts" of the five-year, $150M deal that the Pittsburgh Steelers gave DK Metcalf this past March. "They have been far apart," Fowler said about the negotiations between the Commanders and McLaurin, as shared by Joseph Zucker of Bleacher Report. "...[McLaurin] has wanted metrics of the DK Metcalf contract, which is $32M. I'm told the Washington Commanders have only been slightly above where he was before, which is $23M. So take that gap, that's $7M to 8M that they have to bridge." Fowler added that Washington "has got some calls about McLaurin" this summer because "there's some interest league-wide" in learning whether or not the wideout could become available. For what it's worth, numerous reporters have said since McLaurin went public with his trade request that he likely won't go anywhere before Washington opens the season with a home game against the New York Giants on Sept. 7. ESPN's John Keim mentioned that Washington's joint practice with the New England Patriots on Wednesday showed that the Commanders "need McLaurin back on the field" as soon as possible. That's understandable, as McLaurin recorded team highs of 117 targets, 82 receptions and 1,096 receiving yards to help quarterback Jayden Daniels become the Offensive Rookie of the Year for the 2024 season. Additionally, McLaurin finished the 2024 campaign ranked second in the entire NFL with 13 touchdown catches. As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook continued to list a Washington team coming off a trip to this year's NFC Championship Game sixth among the betting favorites at +1800 odds to win Super Bowl LX. Perhaps Wednesday's joint practice will spark more positive conversations between McLaurin's camp and the Commanders that will result in the playmaker rejoining summer practices as soon as early next week.
Rory McIlroy's controversial decision leaves PGA Tour 'very concerned'
Seventy players qualified for the first round of the playoffs at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, but only 69 will tee it up at TPC Southwind this week. That's because Rory McIlroy, who ranks second in the FedEx Cup standings behind only Scottie Scheffler, is skipping the first playoff event to prepare for the BMW Championship and Tour Championship. The PGA Tour isn't thrilled with his contentious decision. Peter Malnati, a PGA Tour pro and player director on the PGA Tour Policy Board, told Golfweek he's "very concerned" the new playoff format allows top players in the standings to skip playoff events. "I think there is stuff in the works, and I'll leave it at that," he said. The PGA Tour must make changes because McIlroy won't face any repercussions for skipping the FedEx St. Jude Championship. As the No. 2 player in the FedEx Cup standings entering the postseason, McIlroy is guaranteed to qualify for the Tour Championship. Before this year, he would've been incentivized to improve his spot in the standings because of the advantage the starting strokes format gave the No. 1 player. That's no longer the case. This year, the Tour Championship will operate like every other tournament on the PGA Tour schedule. There will be no starting strokes advantage for the top players, so every player from No. 1 to No. 30 will have an equal chance to win the $10 million prize. It doesn't matter where McIlroy resides in the standings. It just matters that he makes it to East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, and he's already locked up his spot in the season finale. Why spend a week in scorching-hot Memphis when you could stay home and prepare for the tournament that actually matters, right? The new playoff format will make the Tour Championship more entertaining for fans, but it renders the other two playoff events irrelevant for the PGA Tour's top players. The Tour must make playoff events mandatory to prevent other stars from following McIlroy's lead.
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