Due to a trade with the Atlanta Falcons for the Rams' 26th overall pick, Los Angeles owns two first-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, and considering Matthew Stafford may retire within the next 24 months, the Rams may be seeking the grandson and nephew of NFL legends.
Back in late March, Rams GM Les Snead was photographed speaking with quarterback Arch Manning as Snead was in attendance for Texas' Pro Day. Manning, who is taking over the starting job from Quinn Ewers, is projected to come out of school after next season in anticipation of being a first-round pick.
Rams' GM Les Snead is chatting with Arch Manning at Texas' Pro Day
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) March 25, 2025
: @AlexDunlapNFL pic.twitter.com/Kqo9qN4FCi
Manning coming to the Rams makes a lot of sense from both sides. Manning has the tools, the pedigree, the look, the experience, and the familial support to excel. The Rams have the right environment, stability, media attention, and supporting cast to help Manning become the player many believe he can be.
From a tools standpoint, there is a lot to love. The man has the Manning touch on the football. It's not as consistent as his uncle's and grandfather's yet, but it's clearly there, and with more reps, that consistency should come.
He's got a strong arm, he is coachable, he is able to operate in a variety of formations, his throw of a fade route is a beauty, he's very mobile to the point where he is able to gain yards downfield, but more importantly, he's fast enough to extend plays.
Los Angeles is a massive media market, but not to the point that it could turn detrimental if Manning struggles early. It's not New York, and while Los Angeles always craves another sports star, they can wait as they have other sports to pay attention to.
However, the Los Angeles community embraces it's stars and Manning has star written all over him. He's a perfect fit for Sean McVay's spread offense, and McVay could utilize the pistol formation a lot more with him than Stafford due to Manning's mobility.
He wouldn't have to start right away with either Stafford or Jimmy Garoppolo likely being QB1 in 2026, which would give Manning time to develop.
If Manning takes over in 2027, that would help the Rams financially as they could re-sign their other stars while having him on a rookie deal.
With two first round picks, they have more than enough capital to grab Manning should they desire.
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Mascots are beloved in college sports and for every team that has one, the school's fans think its the best. That's no different at Notre Dame where the leprechaun has long been rallying fans from the sideline during games. When it comes to human mascots, it's hard to find one that's more engaged than the leprechaun. As a result, ESPN's Ryan McGee recently ranked it as the top human mascot in college sports. It beat out West Virginia's Mountaineer, Tennessee's Davy Crockett, Texas Tech's Masked Rider, Osceola at Florida State, and Vili the Warrior at Hawai'i. McGee mentioned the gauntlet that potential Notre Dame leprechauns must go through during spring tryouts: "As long as they can survive the spring tryout gauntlet of Notre Dame trivia, 50 pushups and their best Irish jig, they have a chance to share a field with Marcus Freeman and Rudy." The USC Trojan mascot was nowhere to be found on this list, nor was its horse, Traveler. Speaking of, I wonder if the USC mascots are as afraid of the Notre Dame rivalry as their head football coach is.
The Boston Red Sox appear to have no interest in trading outfielder Jarren Duran, at least not in the near future. Trade rumors have swirled around Duran for most of the season, especially after designated hitter Rafael Devers was traded to the Giants. However, Sean McAdam from MassLive reported that the Red Sox may wait until the offseason before moving on from the former All-Star. The decision to wait on Duran is not due to a lack of offers. McAdam also reported that the Padres made a significant offer for Duran involving pitcher Dylan Cease, catching prospect Ethan Salas and another unnamed prospect. That offer was quickly rejected. The Padres have long coveted Duran. McAdam had previously reported that the Padres have been "relentless" in their pursuit of the Red Sox outfielder. The reported trade offer including Salas, the Padres second-best prospect and the 21st-best prospect in baseball per MLB.com, illustrates how serious they are about acquiring Duran. Likewise, the Red Sox's refusal to entertain such an offer, even as a starting point for negotiations, speaks volumes about their interest in moving Duran. The Padres' offer would help solve several problems for the Red Sox in both the present and future. Moving Duran would help clear up the logjam in the outfield, while Cease and Salas would respectively improve the back of their rotation and provide a possible cornerstone behind the plate going forward. Duran is a valuable trade chip as he is under team control through 2028. He has also taken a step back in production from his stellar showing in 2024, posting a respectable .254/.321/.428 batting line in 459 plate appearances entering Friday, with nine homers and 25 doubles while stealing 16 bases. That production would be an upgrade for several teams looking to improve their outfield going forward. The question is whether or not the Red Sox will be realistic in their asking price for Duran. Considering how quickly the Padres' offer was reportedly rejected, that may not be the case.
The Orioles are going to select infielder Jeremiah Jackson to their roster. Manager Tony Mansolino informed reporters, including Steve Melewski, that he will take the roster spot vacated by left-hander Gregory Soto. Soto was traded to the Mets earlier on Friday. Jackson, 25, gets called up to the majors for the first time and will be making his debut as soon as he gets into a game. He signed a minor league deal with the club in the offseason and has been putting up huge numbers in the minors this year. Split between Double-A and Triple-A, he has 351 plate appearances with 15 home runs. He’s only drawing walks at a 4% clip but is also only striking out 14.2% of the time. He has a combined line of .311/.340/.538 line and a 135 wRC+. Prior to joining the Orioles, Jackson spent time in the systems of the Angels and Mets. The Halos flipped him to the latter club in the 2023 deadline deal , which sent right-hander Dominic Leone to Los Angeles. The lack of strikeouts this year is notable, as that was a key problem for Jackson in previous seasons. He had a 33% strikeout rate in 2021, but he has dropped that down over the years. Defensively, he’s played the three infield spots to the left of first base and all three outfield spots as well. He has some speed on the bases, regularly putting up double-digit stolen bases totals, including ten already this year. It’s possible that this will be a short big league stint for Jackson. Putting him in for Soto gives the club 14 position players and just 12 pitchers. That’s less than ideal, and they will likely look to even that back to 13 and 13 soon. On the other hand, it’s possible the Baltimore roster is set for further moves in the coming days. Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Urías, Ramón Laureano, Cedric Mullins, Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano, Trevor Rogers, Seranthony Domínguez and Andrew Kittredge are all candidates to be moved before the deadline. It’s anyone’s guess how the roster will look in the wake of all those theoretical trades. Since Jackson can play multiple positions, perhaps he’ll find a way to still have a role once the dust settles next week.
The New York Yankees are looking for answers at third base, and many analysts think they've found their guy in Arizona Diamondbacks star Eugenio Suárez. CBS Sports writer Mike Axisa urged the Yankees to make a big swing for both Suárez and Diamondbacks right-handed pitcher Merrill Kelly. "Suárez is the guy this trade deadline. The big rental bat who fits so many contenders. The Blue Jays, Cubs, Mets, and Tigers all make sense for Suárez in addition to the Yankees," Axisa wrote. "He's on pace for more than 50 homers, and although his third base defense leaves something to be desired at this point in his career, the power makes up for it." While Suárez has been linked to the Pinstripes over and over again for the past month, the move is unlikely after the team traded two prospects for Colorado Rockies infielder Ryan McMahon Friday afternoon. Kelly is a bit of a newer name and would fit nicely in the Yankees' starting rotation, according to Axisa. "Kelly, 36, is having yet another terrific season, one in which he's again outperformed ERA estimators that are based on exit velocity and other measures of contact quality allowed. Do it once and it might be a fluke, but Kelly has done it for close to 1,000 innings now. It's a skill," he wrote. "Kelly is plug-and-play. He'd slot in nicely as New York's No. 3 in October behind Fried and Carlos Rodón." Though it may be a difficult trade to pull off, especially with so many teams vying for Suárez, the Yankees have been struggling in the infield, and Axisa urged the team to pick up him and Kelly, no matter the expense. For a team with historically deep pockets, like the Yankees, they just might be able to pull it off. "Barring a surprise addition to the trade market (always possible), Suárez will be the best power bat available at the deadline, and Kelly will be one of the top starters available," he wrote. "Winning a bidding war to get one of them will hurt. Getting both would really put a dent in New York's young player pipeline. Both would fill needs and fill them very well though. They're worth the price." Make sure to bookmark Yankees On SI to get all your daily New York Yankees news, interviews, breakdowns and more! Yankees Floated in Massive Three-Team Trade Idea Yankees' Aaron Judge Leads MLB in Wild Pitching Stat Yankees Interest in Rockies Infielder Gaining Steam Yankees Star Pitcher Struggles in Rehab Assignment Aaron Judge Surpasses Yankees Legend on Home Run List
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