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There has been significant momentum building toward the Cleveland Browns selecting Colorado Buffaloes superstar Travis Hunter with the second overall pick in the NFL Draft, but Hunter recently made some comments that could raise some hairs in Cleveland.
Hunter is universally known for having played both wide receiver and cornerback in college, but Browns general manager Andrew Berry has made it clear that he would prefer the Heisman Trophy winner focus on the former if Cleveland drafts him.
That doesn't seem to sit well with Hunter, who made his feelings on playing both sides of the football abundantly clear during an interview with Garrett Podell of CBS Sports.
"It's up to them to want me to be on their team and the organization to believe that they can let me do exactly what I want to do, and that's play both sides of the ball and be the same Travis that I was in college and better," Hunter said. "I don't believe in wishing to be the second overall pick. If it was up to me, I'll be the first overall pick. I'm blessed to be the best player in this, one of the best players in this draft, in this class, so I'm blessed to be where I'm at."
That seemed like a direct shot at the Browns' wishes, and it's definitely something Cleveland will have to consider when making its selection later this month.
Of course, the Browns can just take Hunter and proceed from there. The 21-year-old is widely viewed as a generational talent, so Cleveland probably wouldn't pass on him just because of that comment.
Still, this is something the Browns are obviously going to have to establish with Hunter if they do ultimately choose him No. 2 overall.
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Bears receive new stadium pitch from Chicago mayor
It might be too little, too late, but the Chicago Bears received a new pitch from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson about building the new stadium project in the city. The Bears are moving full steam ahead with the site in Arlington Heights. Mayor Brandon Johnson wants the Chicago Bears in Chicago During an appearance on 670 The Score, Johnson argued that the Bears “belong” to Chicago and wants to keep them in the city for the next 100 years. “Look, the Bears belong in the city of Chicago,” Johnson said on the “Rahimi Harris Show." “And I believe that people know that. There’s a tremendous momentum. As you know, Joe Mansueto with the Fire, we’re talking about hundreds of million dollars to build a new stadium. The 1901 Project on the west side of Chicago, you’re talking about millions of dollars of investments… “We’re on a nice little hot winning streak here. So, my door’s going to remain open. And the hope is that Chicago Bears fans will rally around this moment to challenge all of us to come together to figure out a path to make sure the 100-year history doesn’t end in this moment and we can set ourselves up for the next 100 years.” Johnson points to low crime rates in Chicago Johnson touted declining crime rates as a reason for the Bears to stay in the city. “Homicides are down 32%, shooting victims are down almost 40%,” Johnson said. “We’re seeing unprecedented levels of investment. So, my door still remains open. And perhaps because I am a Cubs fan, I just remain optimistic, no matter what the circumstances are. But they really do belong in the city of Chicago.” Johnson hasn’t had conversations with the Bears in the last two weeks. For now, CEO Kevin Warren and the organization are trying to get enough government support to start building in Arlington Heights as soon as possible. If Warren doesn’t get the help he needs, the Bears could again try to angle for lakefront property in Chicago.
Steelers defender announces season-ending ACL injury
The Pittsburgh Steelers will be without a key defensive lineman for the entire season. Via an Instagram post on Tuesday, veteran Dean Lowry revealed he suffered an ACL injury during practice last week. "During a training camp practice last week I sustained an ACL injury that will likely end my season," Lowry wrote. "Hard to comprehend the thoughts and emotions I have felt since then." Lowry said he was "heartbroken" that he wouldn't be able to play with his Steelers teammates in 2025. Lowry, 31, signed with the Steelers in 2024. He played in 12 games for Pittsburgh and started one, recording five tackles and one sack. Lowry was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 2016 draft. He's appeared in 132 games and started in 85, recording 271 tackles, 16.5 sacks, 18 passes defensed and one forced fumble. The injury is frustrating for Lowry, who was entering his 10th season. He was set to rejoin his former Packers teammate, Aaron Rodgers, on a special season in 2025, but instead will have to rehab his injury.
Brewers righty deserves consideration as dark-horse Cy Young candidate
The Milwaukee Brewers' trade with the Boston Red Sox early in the season flew under the radar. The Brewers acquired former top prospect Quinn Priester from the Red Sox, sending outfield prospect Yophery Rodriguez to Boston on April 7. Pitching prospect John Holobetz was sent to the Red Sox on May 5 to complete the trade. Priester had been expected to be a top-of-the-rotation arm, lauded for his athleticism and plus fastball and curve. However, he struggled during his time in the majors in 2023 and 2024, posting a combined 6.23 ERA and a 1.555 WHiP over 99.2 innings, striking out 69 batters with 41 walks while serving up 19 home runs. Despite a solid outing in his only appearance for the Red Sox, Priester remained in Triple-A as nothing more than pitching depth. That changed with his arrival in Milwaukee. He has exceeded expectations, either as a traditional starter or following an opener. Priester has posted a 3.15 ERA and a 1.190 WHiP over his 114.1 innings for the Brewers, striking out 93 batters with 38 walks. Opponents have mustered a meager .228/.294/.382 batting line in 471 plate appearances with just 13 homers. The Brewers' 64-48 record entering Tuesday is the best in the majors despite a nondescript rotation. While Freddy Peralta is a top-of-the-rotation arm in his own right, staff ace Brandon Woodruff missed all of 2024 and most of the first half of 2025. Pitchers such as Chad Patrick, Tobias Myers and Jose Quintana are back-of-the-rotation arms at this point. The Brewers needed someone to step up with Priester being the unlikely hero. Pitchers Paul Skenes and Zack Wheeler are the prohibitive favorites to win the National League Cy Young Award. BetMGM does not have Priester listed as one of the 10 most likely candidates to take home the hardware. However, Priester's performance, coupled with the Brewers' success this season, is worthy of attention. If he can continue to perform at this level, Priester deserves at least some consideration on the ballot.
NFL, ESPN agree to two expansive non-binding agreements
Despite the day belonging to ESPN and its reporters, it was Mark Maske of The Washington Post who broke the news first. Per Maske, the NFL and Disney-owned ESPN have completed the long-rumored deal, giving ESPN NFL Network and certain other media assets (including RedZone and NFL Fantasy) in exchange for 10% equity stake in ESPN. The second non-binding agreement, per Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic, sees the NFL license to ESPN certain NFL content and intellectual property to be used by NFL Network and other assets. “Today’s announcement paves the way for the world’s leading sports media brand and America’s most popular sport to deliver an even more compelling experience for NFL fans, in a way that only ESPN and Disney can,” CEO of The Walt Disney Company Roger Iger said in a statement released by ESPN’s Lily Blum. He continued, “Commissioner (Roger Goodell) and the NFL have built outstanding media assets, and these transactions will add to consumer choice, provide viewers with even greater convenience and quality, and expand the breadth and value proposition of Disney’s streaming ecosystem.” Given ESPN’s streaming abilities — through multiple streaming apps such as ESPN Watch, ESPN+, Hulu and Disney+ — the agreements should make available lots of content exclusive to the NFL and NFL Network available in multiple formats in addition to the usual cable and satellite option. The statement also cites an additional platform in what they’re calling “ESPN’s upcoming direct-to-consumer service.” While YouTube TV still owns the rights to air NFL Sunday Ticket and ABC/ESPN/Disney/NFL Network, FOX, CBS/Paramount/Nickelodeon, NBC/Peacock, Amazon and Netflix all have individual rights to air certain games, ESPN gets “broad rights to the RedZone brand and will distribute the NFL RedZone Channel to pay TV operators for continued inclusion into their sports packages.” Though ESPN gets broad rights to the brand and TV distribution rights, the NFL will continue to own, operate and produce NFL RedZone and retain the rights to distribute it digitally. ESPN’s platforms will now license an additional three NFL games per season (all to air on NFL Network) and will adjust its overall NFL game schedule with four games shifting to NFL Network, as well. The league will continue to own and operate its retained media businesses such as NFL Films, NFL+, NFL.com, the NFL Podcast Network, the NFL FAST Channel and the official sites for all 32 teams. The two parties’ fantasy applications, NFL Fantasy Football and ESPN Fantasy Football, will merge, “creating the official Fantasy season-long game of the NFL and one best-in-class digital experience.” While much of the news is being presented by the parties involved as a shiny new present for NFL fans, there are some perceived negatives to the agreements. While Iger calls the transactions additions “to consumer choice,” in reality this is a step closer to a monopoly. At the moment, existing contracts keep the NFL readily available from several different streamers and television channels, but when those contracts expire, how willing will the NFL be to dole out games to networks other than the one it has a 10% stake in? ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio offered his usual candor in a making another relevant point about ESPN’s reporting responsibilities. When issues such as the ownership collusion case we’ve seen this summer break the NFL news circuit, how critical will ESPN be towards its minority owner? Ultimately, the transactions are still subject to the parties’ negotiation of definitive agreements, various approvals (including those of NFL team owners and federal regulators) and customary closing conditions. There’s still quite a ways to go, but Tuesday’s agreement gives a peek into what the NFL media future will look like.
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