On Facebook
On Flipboard
On Twitter
Recently, we at Nerdist had the pleasure of speaking to Charles Edwards, who plays Lord Celebrimbor, and Charlie Vickers, who plays Sauron, about The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two. Since our recent tweet was such a hit, we couldn’t help but ask Charles Edwards if he thought Celebrimbor would have a banner season this year on The Rings of Power. As Edwards considered his answer, Charlie Vickers very helpfully illustrated our question with some evocative hand gestures. This is an, if you know, you know, kind of situation for The Lord of the Rings fans, and we’re not going to get too deep into spoiler-territory, but we’re going to put it under a spoiler warning anyway.
You can watch Charles Edwards and Charlie Vickers react to the mention of Celebrimbor, The Rings of Power, and a banner in the video above. And it is truly hilarious. But we felt the most interesting thing was Edwards’ response to the invocation of a banner. He noted that rumors of Celebrimbor’s banner year in season two of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power “might be premature.” Make of that what you will. More than that, he couldn’t possibly say. But honestly, it’s a lot to consider. Could he mean that Celebrimbor will never have a banner year on The Rings of Power? Or just that it just won’t be in season two? We’ll have to mull that over a while longer.
In the meanwhile, thanks to Vickers, we have an approximation of Sauron’s banner behavior to tide us over. Let no one ever say we never gave you any gifts, good people of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power fandom. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two begins streaming on Prime Video on August 29.
More must-reads:
- 25 TV character deaths that stay with viewers forever
- The 20 greatest improvised lines in TV history
- 20 actors whose careers suffered after winning an Oscar
- 20 A-list actors who seemingly fell off the face of the Earth
- 20 TV series you may not have realized ended with a film
TODAY'S BEST
Former Green Bay Packers RB to miss entire 2025 NFL season due to injury
The Green Bay Packers are dealing with some concerning injuries to significant members of their roster. As their fans are well aware, the Packers have seen multiple wide receivers projected to be at the top of the depth cart go down during training camp with various injuries. Christian Watson, of course, has not been practicing all offseason as he is recovering from a torn ACL suffered in Week 18 against the Chicago Bears. In addition to him, the Packers also played their previous preseason game without Romeo Doubs (back), Jayden Reed (foot) and Dontayvion Wicks (calf). And while Doubs returned to practice this week, Reed and Wicks remain out. Elsewhere around the NFL, other teams are dealing with injuries of their own, and some involve players that are former Packers. Former Green Bay Packers running back Patrick Taylor is out for the 2025-26 NFL season One of these players is former Packers running back Patrick Taylor, who played in Green Bay from 2021-2023. An undrafted free agent who often filled in as Green Bay’s third running back, he accumulated 261 rushing yards and a touchdown in his three seasons with the Packers. He found himself out of a job when the Packers revamped their running back room before the 2024 NFL season. Taylor ended up with the San Francisco 49ers last season and had the best year of his career with 183 rushing yards and a touchdown while appearing in 13 games. He will not be playing any games this season as San Francisco just put him on season-ending injured reserve: NFL teams can only have so many players on an injured reserve list. Interestingly, Taylor’s injury led to the 49ers to release another former Packer, wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown, who was placed on injured reserve last week. In order to release an injured player, teams and that player must come to an injury settlement, which St. Brown received. He is now free to sign with any team in the NFL should he be able to pass a physical.
Raiders could and should end up being a name at the top of the list of candidates to trade for a former starter looking for a new situation
When you talk about the last 20 years of the Las Vegas Raiders and even the Oakland Raiders, it’s hard not to talk about how much they have come up short on their quarterback decisions. You have to mention the position while focusing on the last two decades. The Raiders have maybe the biggest draft bust of all time in JaMarcus Russell, and Derek Carr, while he was a franchise guy, was never good enough to win a postseason game, let alone get them there more than twice. So, it’s a position that has been pretty polarizing over the last two decades, but not for the right reasons. Getting Geno Smith is about as smart a thing as the Raiders could have done this offseason, considering what the QB market was in free agency and the NFL Draft. However, he’s getting up there in age. Sure, his body may not have a ton of wear and tear on it, but the body still does age. Smith can’t play forever, so while he may be the guy this year and next year, the Raiders will eventually have to address the position again. And that could end up being next offseason, or the one after that, for all we know. And when that time comes, do we really know if the Raiders will be bad enough to have a top pick in the draft to get their next quarterback, and do we want them to continue to get older quarterbacks that we be gone in 2-3 years? The answer is no. So, they could, and should, be a candidate to trade for a quarterback who is in a very unique situation right now, and just needs a new start. Raiders should trade for Colts QB Anthony Richardson I already know what everyone is thinking – don’t you think I know he can’t throw the ball and has made some very questionable IQ plays over the last few years? Yes, I know that, but I’m not asking the Raiders to trade for a guy who is going to come in and be the starter right away. I’m asking them to trade for a guy who needs to sit behind a veteran guy and learn some more. Anthony Richardson was the former No. 4 overall pick by the Indianapolis Colts. He started four games in his first year after getting hurt for the year, and started 11 games last year before, ultimately, getting benched, and he was banged up a bit, too. But, he was taken that high for a reason, and anyone in their right mind can see the potential he has, but everyone should also be able to see the work he needs to do. But first, how did we get here with Anthony Richardson in the first place? And, will the Raiders even be able to trade for Richardson? The Colts made a puzzling decision by naming Daniel Jones the starter over Anthony Richardson ahead of the 2025 season. Now the question everyone around the league will ask is: "Will Anthony Richardson be made available via trade?" It's a good question, and I think normally the player would be, the Colts don't seem to want to do that, though. Richardson could force their hand, though, by requesting a trade. If he does, I think the Colts would have to at least listen to teams around the league. The Raiders would make a lot of sense as a destination with Pete Carroll being someone that many believed was very high on Richardson during his draft process. I think it would still take more draft capital than people realize, just due to the stubbornness of the Colts' decision makers. If I had to guess a fourth-round pick and maybe a player at a position of need, such as S, LB, or a depth offensive lineman. - Destin Adams, A to Z Sports Indianapolis Hear me out: The Raiders want to trade Aidan O’Connell, and he has shown that he may have some potential that hasn’t been tapped yet. But, he is also probably going to be a career backup, and it seems like that is a position the Colts usually need – a backup quarterback. Maybe you test the waters with O’Connell so they are still getting a backup in return, along with another player of sorts, and then a pick, not one too high, though. And, doing this trade makes sense from the standpoint of everything I have already explained about needing a future franchise guy, letting him sit and learn, but also that Pete Carroll is a huge fan of Richardson. And, he has a track record of turning guys around and finding that untapped potential. Now, if the asking price is too outrageous, of course, you don’t do this trade. But if it’s just right, I see no reason why John Spytek shouldn’t pull the trigger on it. Richardson played a handful of college football games at Florida, and he still needs some time to develop. He’ll get to do that behind one of the best pure passers this game has in Geno Smith.
Adam Schefter's latest Micah Parsons update gives Packers fans even more reason to believe in a blockbuster trade
Days after Ian Rapoport reported that the Green Bay Packers would make total sense as Micah Parsons' landing spot if the Dallas Cowboys decide to trade the All-Pro edge defender, Packers fans have gained another reason to believe that a deal is actually possible. On ESPN Radio, NFL insider Adam Schefter mentioned that the Cowboys parting ways to Parsons truly is a realistic scenario. "It sounds like at some point in time—whether that's now, after the season, after two seasons—it sounds like the two sides are headed to a divorce at some time," Schefter said. On the Pat McAfee Show, Schefter said something similar. "These things always can change, and situations often change at the end of August and September. It changed for CeeDee Lamb last year. It changed for Dak Prescott last year. This one doesn't feel that way. It doesn't feel that way today. That doesn't mean it can't change, but the way that it's tracking, it feels more likely that these sides are headed for a divorce today than they would be for a new deal. Now, I don't know that it'll play out that way, but that is what I see when I look at the market, first of all. Now, I don't know whether that means there will be a trade. I think the most likely scenario would be that he's there this year, his contract expires, they franchise tag him, and then after they franchise tag him, then they have the ability to go and try and trade him." Micah Parsons is playing on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal with the Cowboys, and he will make $24.007 million in 2025. Even though he's slated to hit the free agent market next offseason, Dallas could utilize the franchise tag to keep him around—which would be 120% of his current salary, $28.8 million. Parsons wants a long-term deal with the idea of becoming the highest-paid non-quarterback in football, surpassing $40 million in yearly salary. To make that happen, the Packers would have to be willing to spend the combination of high draft picks and the big extension. But at 26 and with his extremely productive profile, Parsons is the type of player worthy of that effort. For now, though, the Cowboys control the cards.
Three-time NASCAR champion to retire after 2025 season
A storied NASCAR career will come to an end after 2025. Three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion and 15-time race winner Matt Crafton will retire following the Truck Series championship race at Phoenix Raceway, concluding a NASCAR career that has spanned 25 years. Crafton, 49, has spent the entirety of his NASCAR Truck Series career — save for 2004 — with ThorSport Racing. His partnership with Menards has made his No. 88 truck iconic. Following Friday's eero 250 at Richmond Raceway, Crafton has made a total of 585 Truck Series starts and 592 across the top-three series of NASCAR competition. His last Truck Series victory came at Kansas in July 2020. Crafton failed to qualify for the 2025 Truck Series playoffs and will not compete for a fourth title in his final season. 2025 marks the second consecutive year that Crafton has missed the postseason and the second time he's missed it since NASCAR instituted the playoffs in the Truck Series in 2016. Through 18 races in 2025, Crafton is 16th in the Truck Series standings with three top-10 finishes. Defending Truck Series champion and ThorSport driver Ty Majeski will take over the No. 88 in 2026.
Customize Your Newsletter
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!
PRIVACY POLICY EDITORIAL POLICY CONTACT US
ABOUT YARDBARKER TERMS OF SERVICE
Use of this website (including any and all parts and
components) constitutes your acceptance of these
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
This site is for entertainment purposes only.
There is no gambling offered on this site.
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
