When the Las Vegas Raiders traded for former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, it was clear that, at least for a year or two, the same QB issues they had the last few years were gone. Now, you still have to protect the guy and give him weapons, but everything else is now taken care of.
No more Gardner Minshew randomly running out of the pocket for no reason, or Aidan O'Connell not being fast enough to get out of the pocket and having low awareness. Now they have a guy who can actually make every single throw there is. Sure, he makes mistakes every now and then, but the Raiders are confident he can help them win games now.
And one thing is for sure, he already has an advantage in Las Vegas that he didn't have in Seattle. Yes, the offensive line is better, and yes, he has the best tight end in the league in Brock Bowers. But also, he has Tom Brady to go to.
“It’s good to be on the same side with him," Smith said earlier this offseason on Good Morning Football. "He beat me a few times, and I’m still a little mad about that, but it’s good to have a guy with, you know, just the type of player that he was.
"Everything that Tom brings to the game, just who he is as a man, just to see and talk to him, and for him to give me the wisdom and the knowledge that he has had throughout his career to help me extend my career. He played well into his 40s, and that’s something I hope to do. It’s one of those things where man, it’s such a cool and surreal thing to be a part of.”
Nothing like learning from the GOAT @GenoSmith3 shares his excitement on working with @TomBrady and the @Raiders pic.twitter.com/OjHiwBqDz6
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) April 17, 2025
Brady is the greatest of all time, the all-time greatest winner, the all-time greatest competitor. And, he played the QB position better than anyone, depending on who you ask. Yes, the Raiders had some rivalries against him, like the Tuck Rule game. But, he's on the dark side now.
The Raiders are going to exhaust everything they can out of Brady now that he is part of the ownership group. And that includes using him as a QB guru, because why not? And why would he not want to help the QB of the team he partially owns? The man wants to win at everything, and that means he wants his team to win.
He especially wants the Raiders to win and beat the Kansas City Chiefs, because if there is any player who can catch Brady, it's Patrick Mahomes. So, why not help as much as possible so that the Raiders can dethrone the Chiefs?
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The ongoing saga with the NFL Players Association has taken another turn, as the organization is also reportedly the subject of a federal investigation. ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr. and Kalyn Kahler reported on Friday that there is an ongoing criminal investigation involving the NFLPA regarding potential misuse of funds and self-enrichment of union officials. A senior union attorney sent a memo to NFLPA officials this week informing them of the federal probe. The document states that the NFLPA is "now on notice of financial actions that may be criminal" and that the union faces "immediate threats requiring prompt actions," according to ESPN. While the document did not specify which individuals are part of the criminal investigation, the notice was sent days after executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. and director of strategy J.C. Tretter resigned from their positions with the NFLPA. Howell was accused of misusing union funds and faced other troubling allegations. Tretter resigned because he felt like he was left to take the heat for the scandal that has been unfolding, though he has denied any wrongdoing. The NFLPA is searching for an interim executive director. ESPN reports that the memo sent to union officials this week warns that potentially hiring an outside executive director might not be a wise move without knowing exactly how deep "the problems may be." Howell was the executive director of the NFLPA for two years.
The New York Yankees didn't come into the season with the strongest third base situation, and it only got worse over time. They converted traditional second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the hot corner after getting him at the Trade Deadline last season and installed a timeshare with him, DJ LeMahieu, Oswald Peraza, and Oswaldo Cabrera there in 2025. However, the latter player broke his ankle on May 12, and the Yankees released the now 37-year-old LeMahieu on July 10. Chisholm was primarily back at second at that point, so this left Peraza and Jorbit Vivas as their only true remaining third basemen. With Peraza hitting .147 and Vivas hitting .164, it was clear what the team's biggest need was. That's why it acquired veteran third baseman Ryan McMahon from the Colorado Rockies on Friday. New York manager Aaron Boone gave his thoughts about the 30-year-old before Friday's bout with the Philadelphia Phillies, via SNY. "I know there's real offensive potential there. I know he's had real offensive success, as well as some struggles there over the last calendar year or two," he said. "It seems like over the last month he's really started swinging the bat like he's capable of. He can impact the ball, he can control the strike zone, he's had some swing-and-misses that have probably hurt him a little bit." "But then he can really defend over there," he continued. "The handful of times that we've played against them that I watch him, you're like, 'That's what it should look like over there.' He moves really well and has that prototypical good third base thing." McMahon is slashing .217/.314/.403 with 16 homers and 35 RBI over 100 games this season. He also has a .978 fielding percentage and six errors. Right-handed pitcher Will Warren (6-5, 4.91 ERA) will start for the Yankees against Phillies right-hander Taijuan Walker (3-5, 3.75 ERA) on Friday.
Top NHL analyst Stephan Roget of 'Canucks Army' believes the Canucks could definitely offer sheet Mason McTavish or Marco Rossi, but they likely won't. Offer sheets remain one of the less common NHL deals, so a midsummer offer sheet from the Vancouver Canucks would remain highly unlikely. The player must be a restricted free agent (RFA) to be offer-sheet eligible, and come mid-July, there are not many remaining who are. Two of them are strong possibilities for whom the Canucks would consider making an offer sheet: Anaheim Ducks' Mason McTavish and Minnesota Wild's Marco Rossi. And offer sheets are a two-part process. Your team has to first make an offer. And then there has to be acceptance of a player before his current team is in a position to counter. That is uncertainty enough. Any offer sheet from the Canucks would have to be at least $11.7 million per year The Canucks would only be able to give Mason McTavish or Marco Rossi at the absolute highest compensation level, above $11.7 million annually. That would cost four protected first-rounders across five drafts to the Canucks. While both Rossi and McTavish would certainly appreciate an offer of this nature, whether either is truly worth this kind of investment of this size, especially for Vancouver, a club not comfortably in a playoff position, is questionable. 'As it stands, the Canucks are still eligible to make offer sheets to McTavish and Rossi - but only certain offer sheets. 'Whether it's realistic to expect a mid-summer offer sheet from the Canucks, is no'. - Stephan Roget Bottom line: While theoretically, a Canucks summer offer sheet is conceivable, too high a price, in cap space and future equity, makes it extremely unlikely, per NHL analyst Stephan Roget of 'Canucks Army.'
The Chicago Bears have a rookie wide receiver turning heads at training camp. It’s not Luther Burden III, as the No. 39 pick in April’s draft has missed the first three practices of training camp for a soft tissue injury that had him out of practice since rookie minicamp in May. Burden was expected to fight for the WR3 job this summer. The Chicago Bears have a rookie WR turning heads Undrafted rookie free agent JP Richardson could be making his case for a 53-man roster spot. Per multiple beat reporters, the TCU standout has impressed through the first three days of camp. “Undrafted free agent wide receiver JP Richardson has put together three solid days of camp,” wrote Courtney Cronin of ESPN. “The TCU product hauled in two catches with the third-team offense on Friday after making a one-handed catch down the sideline on the first day of practice.” Richardson caught 175 passes for 1,940 yards and 11 touchdowns during his four years in college. He spent two seasons at Oklahoma State before transferring to TCU. Richardson has yet to work with Caleb Williams Per Zack Pearson of Bear Report, the six-foot, 180-pound receiver has been a top target of backup quarterback Tyson Bagent. Richardson has yet to show what he can do with Caleb Williams. “A player I keep finding myself noting in my notebook is undrafted wide receiver JP Richardson,” Pearson wrote. “He’s been getting open frequently and quarterback Tyson Bagent continues to find him on the field. Richardson hasn’t gotten any reps with the first or second team yet, but that could change.” Richardson will be a player of interest to watch when the Bears play in the preseason. Chicago will host the Miami Dolphins on Aug. 10 to kick off the preseason.