Since it was learned Dante Moore would be staying in college for the 2026 season, the Jets’ quarterback approach for the upcoming draft has been a question mark. New York owns two first-round selections, but it remains to be seen if strong consideration will be given to using one of them on Ty Simpson. The one-year Alabama starter has drawn a wide range of opinions regarding his draft stock, but interest has been shown by a number of teams. That includes the Jets, as illustrated by the workout Simpson recently conducted with the them. At this point, though, it may come as a surprise if Simpson were to wind up in New York. During his latest appearance on Jets Final Drive, Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic predicted the Jets will not select Simpson given the risk involved with doing so. New York could elect to wait until next year’s draft to identify a long-term starter. That is an approach expected of other teams as well with next year’s class held in much higher regard than this year’s. As such, a veteran backup to trade acquisition Geno Smith will be a strong possibility. On that note, SNY’s Connor Hughes confirms (video link) the Jets’ preference was to sign Carson Wentz in free agency. Doing so would have reunited him with new offensive coordinator Frank Reich, but Wentz wound up remaining in place with the Vikings. The list of remaining free agents has been thinned out since the new league year began, but there are still a few veteran passers on the market. Of those, Hughes names Cooper Rush as one to watch closely. The longtime Cowboys backup joined the Ravens on a two-year deal last spring, but things did not go according to plan during his time in the lineup. Rush was expectedly released in March, and he has not previously been linked to any suitors. The 32-year-old has made 16 starts and 42 appearances in his career, and he would be familiar with a backup gig in the event he signed on to be New York’s QB2. Hughes adds that Tyrod Taylor is still well-liked in the Jets’ building. Another deal for the Jets’ 2024 and ’25 backup will be something to watch for as a result. Taylor, 36, made four starts last season following Justin Fields‘ benching; he has totaled 62 in his career. A low-cost contract allowing him to remain in the QB2 role would give New York a bridge tandem under center in advance of the 2027 draft. Smith is in position to start for the Jets, something which was the case for his first two years in the NFL. How the team approaches the quarterback position over the coming weeks will be something to watch for, with a stopgap veteran seeming to be more likely than a high-profile draft investment at this point.
There are certain cities that professional athletes love traveling to on road trips, or playing in as the home team. Somewhere near the beach. New York City. Los Angeles. Las Vegas. Big markets with big money, big nightlife scenes and big marketing opportunity. On the other side of that spectrum there are cities that players hate, probably because they perceive it as boring or with few opportunities away from the game. They are usually quiet about the latter group as not to offend anybody or capture the anger of an entire fan base. Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was not quiet about it this week when he sounded off on what it is like to play in Memphis against the Memphis Grizzlies. He hates it. A lot. So much so that he is urging them to move elsewhere within the state of Tennessee. LeBron James sounds off on playing in Memphis James made the comments while golfing on the Bob Does Sports YouTube show, and covered a lot of ground on his lack of desire to play in Memphis. After joking that he might have pulled an Eli Manning and not shown up had the Grizzlies won the NBA Draft Lottery in his draft year, he really went to town on the city. “I’m f--king 41 years old, you think I want to do that s--t being in Memphis on a random a-- Thursday? I’m not like the first guy even to talk about in the NBA. Like, we all like you guys have to move. Go over to Nashville… their only chance for me to play there was in 2003 if they would have won the lottery. And I might have pulled an Eli Manning and not showed up.” The big takeaway from this: LeBron James is apparently not a fan of good blues music or barbecue. Or Hyatt hotels. He then suggested moving the team to Nashville, which in his words, "has everything." The Lakers played one game in Memphis this season back in October and do not return there this season. With the Grizzlies already being mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, they will not go back there until next season. Whether James is playing for the Lakers or another team next season, his first trip to Memphis will probably not result in a warm welcome. The Grizzlies have played in Memphis since the start of the 2001-02 season. Prior to that they spent six years playing in Vancouver.
After spending three weeks on the open market, quarterback Kirk Cousins joined the fourth franchise of his 14-year NFL career Thursday. Cousins is heading to Las Vegas, where he could open 2026 as a bridge starter in front of soon-to-be No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza for the Raiders. The Raiders brought Cousins in on a contract that could max out at five years and $172M, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, but there is no chance of that happening. This will likely end up a a one-year, $20M investment in the four-time Pro Bowler. The Falcons, who cut Cousins last month, will handle $8.7M of the tab. The Raiders gave Cousins a $1.3M salary and a fully guaranteed $10M roster bonus that they will pay out on the third day of the league year in 2027. Two days after the Raiders pay Cousins’ bonus next March, a two-year, fully guaranteed option worth $80M will kick in if he is still on their roster, Pelissero reports. That makes this a three-year, $81.3M pact on paper, Pelissero notes, but it is highly improbable his option will vest. The Raiders added two void years to the end of the deal, meaning Cousins will be on their books through 2030. While the 37-year-old Cousins’ stock is down after back-to-back down seasons in Atlanta, he and agent Mike McCartney did well for themselves yet again. The two have been masterful in negotiations, evidenced by the fact that Cousins will go past Tom Brady for second on the NFL career earnings list when he collects his $10M bonus next year (via Spotrac). Cousins will climb over the $341M mark then, while Brady wrapped up his legendary 23-year career at $333M. Brady, now a part-owner of the Raiders, is behind only Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford for now. Having already taken home over $408M, the 38-year-old Stafford could secure a raise before next season. Doing so would make it even more difficult for someone to catch him in the near future. Cousins entered the league as a Washington fourth-round pick in 2012, the same year the franchise chose Robert Griffin III second overall. Griffin’s once-promising career flamed out as a result of injuries, leading to Cousins taking over as Washington’s full-time starter in 2015. Cousins went on to play 2016 and ’17 under the franchise tag, earning approximately $44M in those two seasons. He then left for a Vikings offer worth $84M over three years. That was the first fully guaranteed contract in league history, but it was not the last enormous payday for Cousins. He later pulled in two more Vikings extensions that combined for three years and $101M. Cousins’ Vikings tenure came to an end when he left for the Falcons’ four-year, $180M offer in 2024. Despite awarding Cousins $100M in guaranteed money, the Falcons cut him halfway through the pact. Cousins will now attempt to put together a renaissance season in Las Vegas, where he will play a staggering 11th straight season on a fully guaranteed contract.
We're just over one week into the 2026 Major League Baseball season and you know what that means, it's time to overreact. It's been a fun first week. There have been a few surprises, like the Miami Marlins going 5-1 to begin the campaign. Who saw that one coming? No one. The Milwaukee Brewers are tied with the Marlins and the New York Yankees for the best record in baseball at 5-1, despite trading Freddy Peralta away. At this point, it's pretty safe to say that Milwaukee just knows what it's doing in the trade market. At the end of the day, the Brewers pull off some sort of move that theoretically should make the team worse by trading a star away. But it just hasn't happened yet. They won 97 games in 2025 and currently still have the best record in baseball without their ace from last season. Go figure. The Yankees have shocked the baseball world with their pitching. In fact, what the Yankees' rotation has been able to do this season hasn't been seen since 1913. There have been plenty of other stories to follow as well, like the Pittsburgh Pirates promoting No. 1 prospect Konnor Griffin and giving him a historic extension on top of that. It's been a busy week. Now, let's get to the rankings. No. 30: Colorado Rockies: The Rockies are 2-4 on the season so far. That's not the worst record in baseball. But, still. They need to do a bit more to move up on this list. No. 29: Minnesota Twins The Twins are 2-4 on the season so far and aren't even in last place in the American League Central, but arguably aren't in a great place. No. 28: Chicago White Sox The White Sox are 1-5 on the season so far and are in last place in the AL Central but there arguably is some fun talent in Chicago, including Munetaka Murakami. No. 27: Athletics Like Chicago, the Athletics are 1-5 on the season so far. There's some talent here as well, but it hasn't resulted in wins. No. 26: Tampa Bay Rays The Rays are 2-4 on the season so far and aren't in last place in the American League East, but don't have a lot of love this season. No. 25: Washington Nationals The young Nationals have been a bit of a surprise so far this season. They are 3-3 on the campaign. There's talent, but it's too early to move them up much higher than this. No. 24: Los Angeles Angels Mike Trout has looked like Mike Trout this season so far, which is incredible for baseball. The Angels are 3-4 as a whole. But if Trout can keep it up, this club will move up the list. No. 23: Pittsburgh Pirates Paul Skenes struggled on Opening Day, but looked better in his second outing. The Pirates are 3-3 so far but should be better with Konnor Griffin coming to town. No. 22: Cincinnati Reds The Reds have the talent to move up this list. They are 3-3 on the season so far, but they should be much higher later on. No. 21: San Diego Padres This will not be the case all season. In fact, this likely won't be the case next week. But the Padres went 2-4 in their first six games. No. 20: St. Louis Cardinals Baseball is better when St. Louis is good. The Cardinals are 4-2 on the season and have one of the youngest rosters in baseball. It could be just a good first week. But it would be a great story if this young roster can shock the baseball world. No. 19: Boston Red Sox The Red Sox should be in the top 10 or more even the top five. But the Red Sox are 1-5 on the season. This spot is based solely on the talent, rather than the production so far this season. No. 18: New York Mets Same concept as above with the Red Sox. The Mets are 3-4 but they should be much better. They will be, but not the start they wanted. No. 17: San Francisco Giants Another team with plenty of talent, but an up-and-down start to the season. The Giants are 3-4 so far this season. No. 16: Chicago Cubs The Cubs got Alex Bregman, but are 3-3 so far on the season. This will change as well. By the end of the season, the Cubs will be much higher. But they have been just fine so far. No. 15: Philadelphia Phillies The Phillies will be fine. But they are 3-3 on the season so far. With a bigger sample size, they will be much higher on this list. No. 14: Seattle Mariners Where's the power? The Mariners' offense hasn't been as expected. But the Mariners still have the talent to assume they will figure it out. No. 13: Detroit Tigers There is too much pitching here for the Tigers to not be good. They are 2-4 so far this season, but will be fine if the starters stay healthy. No. 12: Baltimore Orioles The Orioles are showing progress over the 2025 season, despite the fact that they are 3-3. No. 11: Kansas City Royals The Royals have talent all over the place starting with Bobby Witt Jr. They are 3-3 on the season so far. No. 10: Cleveland Guardians The Guardians always find a way. Right now, they are 4-3 on the season and in first place in the AL Central. No. 9: Texas Rangers The Rangers are trending up and are 4-2 on the season in second place in the AL West. No. 8: Arizona Diamondbacks This may be a hot take. The Diamondbacks are loaded and are going to get better when Corbin Burnes is ready. The Diamondbacks had to face the Los Angeles Dodgers to begin the season, which isn't good for anyone, but there's enough to think this team could be good. No. 7: Toronto Blue Jays The Blue Jays need more pitching, but this club is going to be good this season. Right now, they are 4-2. No. 6: Atlanta Braves The Braves have been a pleasant surprise this season. They are 5-2 on the season. Hopefully, this is a sign the Braves are back. No. 5: Miami Marlins The Marlins are 5-1. They may not stay in this spot all season. But they've earned it so far. No. 4: Houston Astros The Astros are 5-2 on the season and just swept the Red Sox. Are they back as well? No. 3: Milwaukee Brewers The Brewers don't even have their best player right now in Jackson Chourio. Plus, Peralta was traded. And yet here we are. The Brewers are 5-1. No. 2: Los Angeles Dodgers The Dodgers are the most talented team in baseball, but they are 4-2. No one else should be favored to win the World Series over Los Angeles, but it hasn't been the best team in baseball. No. 1: New York Yankees The Yankees have been the best team in baseball and are on a historic run in the starting rotation. The Yankees have been great and Aaron Judge hasn't even gotten it going yet. This team is scary in the American League.
