Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end William Gholston spoke during an appearance on Fox Sports Radio about how quarterback Baker Mayfield quickly became a favorite among teammates shortly after Mayfield signed a one-year "prove it" contract with the organization early last offseason.
"For me, I can say that I like a guy who I know will knuckle up when it’s time to knuckle up, and he’s not going to shy away from that," Gholston said about Mayfield, according to the JoeBucsFan website. "So it’s easy to follow a guy like that."
Gholston then was asked what it was like to have living legend Tom Brady as a teammate from 2020 through the 2022 season.
"He was, man, somewhat in the same [as Mayfield], I would say," Gholston responded. "I would knuckle up with Brady, too."
Mayfield and others inside the Tampa Bay locker room quickly embraced an "us against the world" mentality last summer as analysts and reporters throughout the NFL community predicted that the Buccaneers would finish this season near the basement of the overall league standings following Brady's retirement.
The first pick of the 2018 draft then guided Tampa Bay to a division title and a home playoff win, and Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin noted last month that Mayfield had the club "playing free" following Brady's departure.
"He’s one of the coolest guys I’ve ever met," Gholston said about Mayfield. "Real down to earth. Real genuine guy. Super competitive. Like, I’ll walk through a dark alley with that guy."
Head coach Todd Bowles previously explained how the Buccaneers let "Baker be Baker," and the club has since hired Liam Coen as its new offensive coordinator seemingly with Mayfield in mind.
Mayfield played under Coen with the Los Angeles Rams late in the 2022 season, and the 28-year-old admitted earlier in the week that the Buccaneers have "the upper hand" as it pertains to getting his signature on a contract before he reaches free agency in March.
Of course, Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht can always retain Mayfield's rights via the franchise tag worth roughly $35M for 2024. However, Mayfield has indicated he realizes inking a team-friendly deal before the March 5 deadline for clubs to use their tags could ultimately benefit him in the long run and beyond just a single payday.
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The Chicago Bears don’t appear satisfied with their running back room with one week left to decide the 53-man roster. The Bears have until Aug. 26 to make their final cuts before preparing for the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1. The Bears entered training camp with questions at running back. Veteran D’Andre Swift had a down year in 2024. Roschon Johnson isn’t a long-term solution, and seventh-round pick Kyle Monangai will have a steep learning curve when the regular season begins. The Chicago Bears worked out a former running back Per Aaron Wilson of KPRC, the Bears worked out running backs Royce Freeman, undrafted rookie Kylin James and former Carolina Panthers practice-squad player Dillon Johnson. Royce Freeman played with the Bears in 2024 Of the three, Freeman is the only running back with stats at the NFL level. Freeman, a third-round pick by the Denver Broncos in 2018, has appeared in 79 games and started nine games. He’s rushed 471 times for 1,472 yards and 10 touchdowns. The Bears signed Freeman to the practice squad in December. He was then signed to the Los Angeles Rams practice squad in January. He last played a regular-season game in 2023, when he added 319 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games for the Rams. The Bears are signaling their need for a running back this summer. There are other options available in the trade market, as the Washington Commanders are shopping Brian Robinson Jr. during the preseason. More running backs will be available after other teams trim their rosters to 53 players, but they might not be the type of athletes to make a significant boost for the offense early in the regular season.
Injuries continue to be the pitfall for the Indiana Fever this season. Per ESPN, Fever guard Sophie Cunningham has been ruled out for the rest of the season following a knee injury she suffered in Indiana's 99-93 win over the Connecticut Sun on Sunday. The injury comes with nine games left in the regular season for the Fever. At 19-16, Indiana has the third-best record in the Eastern Conference and is set to make a playoff push this summer. The Fever have been without second-year star Caitlin Clark since July 15, as the guard has been dealing with a groin injury. The team hopes she can return in the regular season, but Indiana could be significantly shorthanded on offense until her return. Cunningham has averaged 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 30 games played this season. She has been crucial as a rotational player, averaging 25.2 minutes for the Fever. The 29-year-old became an early darling of the WNBA this season for standing up for Clark both on and off the court. Cunningham recently signed a podcast deal with Colin Cowherd. The good news for Cunningham is that she is expected to make a full recovery. However, the injury will crush what could have been a special season for the Fever if and when Clark returns.
The St. Louis Cardinals have seemingly waved the white flag on the season and the fan base is already preparing to riot for the call up and big league debut of top prospect JJ Wetherholt. Wetherholt is slashing .310/.403/.670 with nine home runs, a triple, and seven doubles in less than 30 games at the Triple-A level. Thomas Gauvain of Redbird Rants recently suggested that Wetherholt wasn't in the big leagues because he is blocked from receiving consistent playing time. Why hasn't JJ Wetherholt been called up yet? "Even with third baseman Nolan Arenado and second baseman Brendan Donovan on the IL, St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol is trying to squeeze in playing time for Masyn Winn, Nolan Gorman, and Thomas Saggese," Gauvain wrote. "Alec Burleson and Ivan Herrera are rotating between corner outfield duties and designated hitter appearances. There's not much time or space for Wetherholt on the major-league roster as things currently stand. "You don't promote a prospect of Wetherholt's caliber unless you intend on playing him every day. There's an argument that you make the roster work around JJ Wetherholt rather than the other way around, but the focus throughout the 2025 season in the majors has been to give young players full runway to prove their value or lack thereof. Bumping down Thomas Saggese, who is still only 23 and is 11 for his last 41, and Nolan Gorman, who has a .936 OPS over his last 11 games, for Wetherholt is a difficult argument to make." Every player listed who is supposedly blocking Wetherholt from receiving consistent playing time is under contract for next season, too. Would that mean the Cardinals would leave their top prospect in Triple-A next year? This doesn't make too much sense, as Wetherholt is the level of prospect that a team builds around. If he was the team's fifth or sixth ranked prospect, this argument would make sense. But he's the fifth or sixth ranked prospect in all of baseball. The star infielder has proved he can dominate at Triple-A. It's time for the Cardinals to bring him up to the big leagues to see what he can do. The rest of the roster can form around him.
Previous reports indicated that unsettled Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin was looking to land "parts" of the five-year, $150M contract that the Pittsburgh Steelers gave DK Metcalf earlier this year. For an article published on Wednesday morning, Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic offered an update regarding why McLaurin and the Commanders haven't come to terms on an extension after the 29-year-old requested a trade on July 31. "One person with knowledge of McLaurin’s contract negotiations said the veteran receiver has asked for more than DK Metcalf," Jhabvala revealed. McLaurin is in the final year of his current deal and will turn 30 years old in September. To compare, Metcalf will turn 28 in December. That said, McLaurin emerged last season as the favorite target for quarterback Jayden Daniels as Daniels guided the Commanders to the NFC Championship Game. "McLaurin believes he’s one of the best receivers in the NFL," Jhabvala added. "He’s been the Commanders' leading receiver every season since he entered the league (in 2019), and last year had the second-most receiving TDs in the league behind Ja’Marr Chase’s 17. He also ranked third in (expected points added) on targets and seventh in catch rate among receivers with at least 100 targets last year, but among that same group, McLaurin’s total receiving yards (1,096) ranked 12th and his average yards after the catch ranked 25th." Daniels seemed optimistic while speaking about the ongoing contract standoff during the ESPN broadcast of Monday's preseason game between the Commanders and Cincinnati Bengals when he said he knew McLaurin would "be coming through the door soon." However, Jhabvala noted that "it wouldn’t be a surprise if the [Commanders have] set a maximum range of $27M to $28M a year in average annual value for McLaurin." That seems to suggest the two sides aren't all that close to coming to terms on an agreement. It's unclear if McLaurin is willing to forfeit money by sitting out Washington's Week 1 game against the New York Giants on Sept. 7 amid his desire for a pay raise. If he isn't, he may have to soon accept the offer that's on the table to guarantee himself future earnings beyond the upcoming season.
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