When USC sophomore guard JuJu Watkins went down with an apparent knee injury against Mississippi State on Monday, she might have taken the Trojans' title hopes with her.
Midway through the first quarter, with USC already leading 13-2, Watkins drove up the court against two defenders following a Mississippi State turnover when she fell down and immediately clutched her right knee.
After moments of laying down, USC staff assisted Watkins, who didn't put any weight on her leg, off the court.
JuJu Watkins was carried off the court and taken to the locker room after suffering an injury on this play. pic.twitter.com/zFgm8PkVnu
— ESPN (@espn) March 25, 2025
USC Women's Basketball posted to social media, "JuJu Watkins is being evaluated by USC Keck Medicine staff and will not return to competition in tonight's NCAA Second Round game."
JuJu Watkins is being evaluated by USC Keck Medicine staff and will not return to competition in tonight’s NCAA Second Round game.
— USC Women's Basketball (@USCWBB) March 25, 2025
The highly decorated standout second-year guard led the Big Ten in scoring this season, averaging 24.6 points per game. Watkins was named the 2024-25 Big Ten Player of the Year as she guided USC (30-3) to consecutive NCAA Tournament No. 1 seeds for the first time since 1982-84.
The Trojans didn't feel the effects of Watkins' absence against Regional 4 - Spokane No. 9 Mississippi State, building a 50-27 lead after two quarters.
Per ESPN, the 23-point halftime lead was the second-largest for USC in an NCAA Tournament game in program history.
While you wouldn't know it from Monday's rout, it will be a major blow to the Trojans' title hopes if Watkins misses the rest of the tournament. The same could be said if any of the other best players on this year's championship contenders were taken off their respective rosters.
But even in a scenario where Watkins misses an extended period, her long-term outlook as a generational talent won't change.
Just look at UConn guard Paige Bueckers, who tore her ACL in August 2022 and missed all of the 2022-23 season. She returned last season and led the Huskies to the Final Four. On Monday, Bueckers scored 34 points against South Dakota State as No. 2 UConn advanced to the Sweet 16.
Watkins' injury is particularly disappointing because players like her deserve to play on the biggest stages. She's a transcendent star who plays her best when the lights are brightest. It would be disheartening if Watkins was robbed of the opportunity to have a defining March moment.
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The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently constructing the team's final roster for the 2025 season, which is one of the toughest things to do for every organization throughout the NFL. Players on the edge of rosters are traded from team to team, while other players are waived where teams will then have the option to pick them up on the waiver wire. The Steelers will have a chance to do this, but it will be interesting to see what positions the franchise prioritizes before the start of the regular season. Wide receiver is a spot fans want to see upgraded, but the organization could also use some added depth on both sides of the trenches. Many players were released on Monday and Tuesday, and there are a ton the Steelers could consider picking up. However, there is an intriguing name available at wide receiver after Tuesday's news. The New York Jets released Malachi Corley, who was a wide receiver the organization drafted in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. The Steelers showed some interest in him during the pre-draft process, but didn't have the change to pick him in the third round. Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports was the first to report the news. There was a ton of potential for Corley coming out of college. He played at Western Kentucky, and over four seasons, he caught 259 passes for over 3,000 yards and 29 touchdowns. His production was consistent, but he had some trouble transitioning to the NFL. It doesn't help that he went to a dysfunctional organization like the Jets, and a part of his release is the fact that a new regime came in and took over. The guys who drafted Corley are no longer there. An obvious connection between Corley and the Steelers is at quarterback with Aaron Rodgers. It was reported that Rodgers wanted the Jets to draft Corley back in 2024, which probably played a factor in the organization doing so. He has some familiarity with the young receiver, and that could lead to him swaying Pittsburgh into bringing him in. Rodgers liked Corley, and Pittsburgh had interest in him prior to the 2024 NFL Draft. Both of those are reasons the organization may submit a waiver claim for him. He had a rough rookie season in 2024 as he struggled to even make it onto the football field, but a change of scenery and a new organization could play a role in helping him improve. Steelers May Need To Luck Into Landing Malachi Corley If The Organization Wants Him Until the first three weeks of the regular season are over with, the waiver wire goes in the order of the 2025 NFL Draft. After the first three weeks of the regular season, it changes to the current standings in the NFL. So, currently, Pittsburgh has the 21st priority on the waiver wire. That means the 20 teams in front of them can submit a claim for Corley, or any other player Pittsburgh may be interested in on the first claim. That cycle will then repeat itself, and that is how waived players end up on new rosters. Corley still has potential, and one of the 20 teams in front of Pittsburgh could try to grab him.
The Chicago Bears took another big step toward slashing their roster to the final 53-man squad on Tuesday morning. According to team insider Brad Biggs, the Bears have waived training camp favorite J.P. Richardson, and undrafted rookie wide reciever from TCU. Poles also cut ties with offensive lineman Ricky Stromberg, a former third-round pick who some presumed would offer interior line depth at the time he was added. The Chicago Bears were 20 roster moves away from the 53-man limit before these two transactions. Richardson made an early impression at Bears training camp and emerged as the summer's fan-favorite in late-July. His momentum cooled quite a bit once the preseason schedule rolled around, and with so much depth at receiver on Chicago's roster, Richardson's chances never seemed strong. There is, however, a possibility he returns to the Bears on the practice squad. It's highly unlikely another team will put a waiver claim in for him (it guarantees an active roster spot). Once Richardson clears waivers, he's a name to monitor for Chicago's practice team. Richardson finished the 2024 season with 57 catches for 733 yards and two touchdowns for the Horned Frogs.
In a little over a week, the Dallas Cowboys will take the field for their season-opening showdown against the reigning, defending Super Bowl champions in the Philadelphia Eagles. Micah Parsons‘ status is still firmly up in the air. The star defender hasn’t been taking the field due to an ongoing, and very public, trade request, combined with the contract dispute he’s been going through in Dallas. Cowboys fans are growing restless waiting for a resolution, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter provided the latest on Tuesday. “I want to give you the good news and the bad news,” Schefter stated, via Get Up. “The good news is, we heard a lot of strong language surrounding Trey Hendrickson and Terry McLaurin—about how far apart the sides were, how nobody was willing to budge, how it could drag on and on. And then, lo and behold, less than two weeks before the opener, both players remarkably get deals done. “That brings us to Micah Parsons. Here’s a player who, again, sounds like he doesn’t want to be in Dallas. He’s issued a public trade request. The Dallas Cowboys have had zero negotiations with him since they felt like they had an agreement—one he didn’t follow through on. All we’ve heard is how bad the situation is, and I think it is bad. “I’ve even heard this situation referred to as Jerry Jones’ Waterloo. He doesn’t want to lose it. But I’ll say this—we’ve seen other sides come through and get deals done. Still, this one feels a little bit different. Now look, McLaurin and Hendrickson looked hopeless. And yet, lo and behold, they got deals done. The Dallas Cowboys open their season a week from Thursday night, and Micah Parsons still has a tight back. He still hasn’t practiced. We still don’t know whether he’s going to play. And this is Jerry Jones’ Waterloo. “There are a lot of elements at play here that point away from a deal. It doesn’t look good. It doesn’t sound like Micah wants to be there. But the hope is, if Trey Hendrickson can get a deal done in Cincinnati, if Terry McLaurin can get a deal done in Washington, then there has to be a way for the Cowboys and Micah Parsons to bridge their differences, somehow, as vast as they are, and get a deal done.” As you can tell, Schefter believes Hendrickson and McLaurin can provide some hope in Dallas, but it seems as if this situation with Parsons is a bit unique. Regardless, the Cowboys have been in similar situations in the past, and they’ve always found a way to get a deal done with their star player at the end of it all. Whether it’s before Week 1 or not remains to be seen, but Micah Parsons not being on the field against the Philadelphia Eagles would be a major loss for the franchise. Don’t count out Jerry Jones and his ability to close though, even in a unique situation like this.
Before quarterback Justin Fields, center Josh Myers and wide receiver Garrett Wilson began sharing the New York Jets' locker room this year, they were previously teammates at Ohio State. Myers is among those associated with the Jets who believe Fields will silence doubters when the games begin to matter next month. "I think there's definitely a chip on his shoulder," Myers recently said about Fields, as shared by Rich Cimini of ESPN. "Every time we've had a day that wasn't to our standard, he called out the whole offense, including himself. When we have those days, he lets everyone know about it." Two teams have given up on Fields since the Chicago Bears made him the 11th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft. He went 10-28 as a starter during his Bears tenure before the club decided to replace him with Caleb Williams via the first overall selection of the 2024 draft. Fields then lost a competition for the Pittsburgh Steelers' starting job to Russell Wilson last summer, but Fields entered the 2024 season as Pittsburgh's QB1 after Wilson went down with a calf problem. Fields guided Pittsburgh to a 4-2 record but nevertheless was benched in favor of Wilson from Week 7 through the Steelers' wild-card playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens. It now seems that Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin viewed future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers as an upgrade at the position before Fields reached free agency this past March. Fields signed a two-year contract to join the Jets, but the club can escape that deal as soon as next offseason. The fact that he reportedly "had an uneven training camp" has some Gang Green supporters fearing that he hasn't improved as a passer after he completed 60.3% of his pass attempts while with the Bears. "He can be an accurate passer when his feet are set and his weight is balanced," an unnamed scout said about Fields while speaking with Cimini. "When he doesn't have that, he's all over the place." Perhaps the alleged "chip on his shoulder" will help Fields enjoy a positive revenge-game performance when the Jets open the upcoming season with a home game against none other than the Steelers on Sept. 7.