COLTS BRING BACK FORMER STARTING LINEBACKER ANTHONY WALKER JR. BY ADDING HIM TO THE PRACTICE SQUAD
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts signed former starting linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. to their practice squad Monday.
Walker’s presence could add depth at a position where they needed it.
He was a fifth-round draft pick of the Colts in 2017. He had 105, 124 and 92 tackles in his final three seasons in Indy before signing with Cleveland as a free agent in 2021. Walker had 113 tackles in his first season with the Browns, but was limited to just 15 games in his final two seasons in Cleveland.
Last season with Miami, Walker had 68 tackles, one sack and one interception in 14 games. He signed a one-year deal with Tampa Bay in March but the 30-year-old Walker was released by the Buccaneers last week.
Walker has 581 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, 5 1/2 sacks, four interceptions, four fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles in his 99 games.
To make room for Walker, the Colts released defensive tackle Josh Tupou from the practice squad.
COLTS DEDICATE SEASON TO LATE OWNER JIM IRSAY, CITY
The Indianapolis Colts are dedicating the 2025 season to their late owner, Jim Irsay, and to the city the team has called home since 1984.
The Colts released a trailer to kick off the season on Sunday, narrated by franchise legend Edgerrin James, that remembered Irsay. He died at age 65 on May 21.
“This season hits different,” James says in his opening remarks. “The big man ain’t walking through that tunnel. Big man, you gave your heart to this city. Now it’s on us to carry the weight, to carry your name, to carry your legacy.”
The video shows city skyscapes, game action and Irsay cradling the Super Bowl trophy won following the 2006 season.
At age 24, Irsay was named general manager of the Colts when they relocated from Baltimore. He took over ownership of the team when his father, Robert Irsay, died in 1997.
“It started with one man,” James says of Irsay, “but this ain’t about one man. It’s about all of us. … This is foundation. A foundation built by the big man.
“This season. For the city. For the boss. For the (horse) shoe.”
The Colts open the season at home against the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 7, and will be inducting Irsay into the team’s ring of honor during the game. Irsay’s three daughters have taken over management of the team.
STEELERS SIGN RUNNING BACK JAYLEN WARREN, A FORMER UNDRAFTED ROOKIE, TO A 3-YEAR EXTENSION
PITTSBURGH (AP) — When Jaylen Warren arrived in Pittsburgh in the spring of 2022 as an undrafted rookie free agent running back, he was hoping he could do enough to earn a spot on the practice squad.
Warren has done far more than that.
Six months after letting former first-round pick Najee Harris leave in free agency, the Steelers on Monday signed Warren to a three-year contract extension that erased any doubt about his status going into 2025 and beyond.
“It’s a great feeling knowing they have my back,” Warren said shortly after the deal was announced. “I’m going to do what I can to have their back.”
Heady territory for a player who reported to Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, (about two hours south of Salt Lake City) as a freshman in 2017 a little “pudgy,” according to one of the coaches.
The staff at Snow told Warren that if he could get in shape, his future might change considerably.
He did. And it has.
Playing with a physicality that belies his size (5-foot-8, 215 pounds), Warren has methodically risen from Snow to Utah State to Oklahoma State to a surprise roster addition in 2022 to — after three years coming off the bench to spell Harris — an NFL starter.
TITANS’ REVAMPED OFFENSIVE LINE FACES BIG TEST AGAINST BRONCOS STRONG DEFENSE
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans knew if they drafted a quarterback with the No. 1 pick overall that they would have to improve the offensive line.
The time has arrived that they start finding out just how well the renovation turned out.
Cam Ward and the Titans open this season Sunday at Denver against a Broncos defense that led the NFL with 63 sacks and ranked second defending the run.
“We got a real stiff test, so we’re going to find out,” Titans coach Brian Callahan said Monday. “But I feel good about where we’re at. I think a lot of it’s due to the work put in. We’re a more talented group up front, I think from positions one through five.”
The Titans certainly revamped the line. Only l eft guard Peter Skoronski stayed in the same spot with JC Latham moving from left tackle to right as the team’s only offensive linemen to play every snap in 2024. The other returner is center Lloyd Cushenberry limited to eight games by an Achilles tendon injury.
They signed left tackle Dan Moore Jr. and veteran right guard Kevin Zeitler in free agency.
General manager Mike Borgonzi said the protection has been good through the preseason and he feels good about the offensive line. The Titans went 2-1 with joint practices against Tampa Bay and Atlanta and a preseason finale against Minnesota.
Tennessee tied with New England in allowing 52 sacks last season, ahead of only Houston, Seattle, Cleveland and Chicago. That helped the Titans rank ahead of just Cleveland with a minus-16 turnover differential in the NFL.
That made improving the line an offseason priority.
“The biggest thing was protecting him (Ward), and I think we’ve done that with the offensive line,” Borgonzi said. “There’s going to be bumps in the road as you go along the season here. But we feel good about the group that we have out there right now.”
They have nine linemen on the roster and four more on the practice squad for crucial depth. One brought back to the practice squad is Corey Levin, who has played 71 games going into his seventh NFL season. He worked at center all offseason with Cushenberry recovering.
Denver coach Sean Payton isn’t surprised at what the Titans did, especially having worked with Tennessee offensive line coach Bill Callahan before.
“He is a fantastic line coach, and I’m sure they felt they had to get better in that area and they committed a lot of resources there,” Payton said.
The Titans signed Cushenberry to a four-year deal in March 2024. He returned from the physically unable to perform list Aug. 18 and didn’t play in the preseason. Callahan said Monday that Cushenberry has worked with Ward to build chemistry snapping the ball.
“Yeah, we would like more, but I think they’ve made up for lost time pretty quickly here,” Callahan said. “And Lloyd’s a real pro. He’s a vet. He knows how to get ready.”
Cushenberry said he never doubted he would be back for opening week, bugging trainers on the timeline. He wants to prove to himself that he deserved the big deal he got, and Cushenberry said all the offensive linemen know talking does nothing.
“We’ve got to go prove it and get better from last year,” Cushenberry said.
Run blocking also is an area Tennessee has plenty of room to improve off last season when the Titans went 3-14. They tied for 19th in the league in averaging 109.1 yards rushing a game. Offensive coordinator Nick Holz said they see improvement there especially with Latham and Zeitler on the right side.
“There’s just more balance through the O-line,” Holz said. “I think then you can kind of not just be a left-handed dominant run team, which we were at times last year. And now you hopefully can kind of run to both sides a little bit and have a little better feel for that.”
AL GOLDEN PREPARES FOR REGULAR-SEASON DEBUT AS BENGALS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
CINCINNATI (AP) — Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden has been in coaching for 30 years.
When Cincinnati opens its season on Sunday at the Cleveland Browns, Golden will call defensive plays in the NFL for the first time.
“I’m excited,” Golden said. “Ready to go. It’s been a collaborative effort on the defensive side. Just trying to narrow our focus right now and put ourselves in positions where we have to make definitive decisions and say, ‘OK, if that bingo board came up, what are we going to call?’ So that’s really where we’re at in terms of the game plan and getting ready to call it.”
Golden was the Bengals linebacker coach in 2020 and ‘21 before going to Notre Dame to become defensive coordinator. He was the Broyles Award winner as college football’s top assistant coach last season after the Fighting Irish ranked second in the Football Bowl Subdivision in scoring defense (14.3 points per game) and ninth in total defense (298.3 yards per game).
Coach Zac Taylor brought Golden back to Cincinnati after firing Lou Anarumo. The Bengals were ranked in the bottom 10 in most defensive categories last season.
Golden said that he defines his defensive philosophy with the “BEST” acronym. It stands for ball disruption, effort, situational masters and tackling.
Those are the core principles that he wants to see from a Bengals defense that ranked 25th in points allowed last season. Golden said that there was a lot that encouraged him from the group in training camp.
“Cohesiveness, communication, playing fast,” Golden said.
Golden saw the defense all together on the practice field for the first time on Monday. Since defensive end Trey Hendrickson held in during the majority of training camp until he received a new contract last week. Defensive tackle BJ Hill and defensive end Myles Murphy missed time with minor injuries, but the defense was never all available at once until this week.
Golden said that he’s continuing to monitor Murphy and DJ Turner this week as they come back from injuries. Turner is still competing to be a starting cornerback with Josh Newton.
“When we’re ready to release it, it’ll be public knowledge,” Golden said. “But right now, we’re working through that. Either way it goes, I’m excited about it. And part of it is seeing just how DJ moves around today, how he feels. Obviously, we’ve had some injuries buffering this game week with Myles and DJ and a couple other guys. So we just have to see how it shakes out.”
While Hendrickson still has only completed three practices this summer and is still getting acclimated to working with a new coordinator and defensive line coach, the Bengals are counting on him to be productive on Sunday.
Golden plans to put Hendrickson in positions where he can play to his strengths. Hendrickson has six sacks in seven games against the Browns since signing with the Bengals in 2021.
“I think it’s players first, always,” Golden said. “And then plays. I think with Trey, if it’s not a full load by Sunday, then we have to do the things that he does well when he’s in there and utilize his strengths. If it’s not going to be the full load, then what are the things that he can do really well?”
IS JAXSON DART OR JAMEIS WINSTON THE GIANTS’ WEEK 1 BACKUP QB? COACH BRIAN DABOLL ISN’T SAYING
NEW YORK (AP) — Coach Brian Daboll on Monday refused to reveal whether rookie Jaxson Dart or veteran Jameis Winston will serve as the New York Giants’ backup quarterback for their season opener Sunday at Washington.
Russell Wilson is set to start against the Commanders. Dart, the first-round pick who is being groomed as the QB of the future, impressed in training camp and preseason games, though Winston has more than 100 games of NFL experience and was listed second with Dart third on the first unofficial depth chart released during camp.
“Any roster decisions based on who’s going to be the backup, we’ll have that out there on Sunday,” Daboll said on a video call with reporters.
He also declined to announce whether Deonte Banks or Cor’Dale Flott will start as the No. 2 cornerback opposite free agent addition Paulson Adebo, or whether Greg Van Roten or converted tackle Evan Neal won the competition for the starting right guard position. Van Roten took the first-team snaps and is expected to get the nod.
“We have a good idea of how we’re going to play, with the players we’re going to play with,” Daboll said. “That’ll all come out on Sunday.”
The depth chart still lists Banks or Flott among the starters in a new-look secondary that also includes safety Jevon Holland.
“Whoever’s out there, it doesn’t matter who’s out there,” nickel cornerback Dru Phillips said. “We have a really good secondary, in my opinion. … What we have on paper and what we’ve shown in practice, we can do a lot and we’re just trying to do the best that we can each and every day.”
The Giants aimed for standout left tackle Andrew Thomas to be ready for Week 1 after opening camp on the physically unable to perform list and not playing in any of their three exhibition games while rehabbing from foot surgery last October. It’s not clear if that will happen, with Daboll saying only that he expected everyone to participate in a walkthrough Monday.
That would also seemingly include top receiver Malik Nabers, who has been dealing with a toe injury and did not participate in the preseason. Nabers is coming off catching 109 passes for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie.
The league does not require teams to share injury information until the regular season, and Daboll repeatedly has said he would not talk about why players were not on the field. The first injury disclosures are expected Wednesday, when teams playing Sunday are required to publish which players did or did not practice and why.
EAGLES SET TO HANG BANNER, OPEN 2025 SEASON VS. NEW-LOOK COWBOYS
The Philadelphia Eagles have the Lombardi Trophy, while the Dallas Cowboys once again own the headlines — for better or worse.
The 2025 NFL season kick offs Thursday when the host Eagles raise their Super Bowl LIX banner before entertaining their NFC East foes, currently the subject of derision for trading away one of the best defenders in the game.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni and his locker-room leaders refuse to discuss the possibility of a repeat.
“We’re not talking anything about a title or anything. We’re talking about the Dallas Cowboys,” Sirianni said. “How do we put ourselves in the best position to win this football game … and how do you continue to get better as the year goes on? That’s your habits. That’s all we’re thinking about.”
Yet the Week 1 spotlight will shine less on the champs and more on their opponents.
Dallas owner Jerry Jones ended a contract standoff with sack master Micah Parsons by trading him to the Green Bay Packers a week before the season opener. The Cowboys acquired defensive tackle Kenny Clark and the Packers’ next two first-round draft picks, but they surrendered an All-Pro pass-rusher entering his prime.
Jones defended his decision, envisioning a world in which Parsons nets future stars for Dallas the same way the Herschel Walker trade did early in Jones’ tenure.
“Our fans, as well as my mirror, are saying, ‘Come on, let’s change something up. Let’s do something a little different here,’” Jones said.
But those draft picks won’t help this season, and fans in fact were incensed that Parsons was traded. Not even franchise quarterback Dak Prescott tried to spin the move too positively.
“I’m not going to say we’re better,” Prescott said. “We’ve got to go out there and prove it. We’d have to prove it even if (Parsons) was on this team, so I’m not going to say that by any means.”
The Cowboys’ defense already was behind the 8-ball after allowing 27.5 points per game last year, second-worst in the league (at 17.8 ppg, the Eagles were second-best). Rookie defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku will join Clark and journeymen Dante Fowler Jr. and Solomon Thomas in a remade defensive front.
Dallas traded for mercurial receiver George Pickens to line up opposite CeeDee Lamb, but the run game will be another question mark. Rico Dowdle left in free agency after a 1,000-yard season, and the Cowboys will balance vets Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders and rookie Jaydon Blue out of the backfield.
They’ll all have to come together under a new coach in Brian Schottenheimer after the team moved on from Mike McCarthy. Promoted from offensive coordinator, the career assistant gets his first crack as a head coach.
“Nothing’s changed. My goals haven’t changed. Our team goals haven’t changed,” Schottenheimer said after the Parsons trade. “I hit the players on that … after I talked about the tough couple of days for all the guys. It doesn’t change. The standard is the standard.”
The Eagles won’t look much different from the team that routed the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in February. Saquon Barkley will try to replicate the ninth 2,000-yard rushing season in league history, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith still lead the receiving corps and the defense remains chock-full of former Georgia Bulldogs.
Whatever his critics say, two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Jalen Hurts can call himself a Super Bowl champion as well. He threw for just 2,903 yards and 18 touchdowns in 15 starts last year, but had his fourth straight year with double-digit rushing touchdowns (14). No one will benefit more from the owners voting down attempts to ban the “tush push” play last spring.
Hurts’ relationship with Sirianni, which appeared strained 12 months ago, has grown “day by day,” per the quarterback.
“We obviously, both of us, love to work, love hard work, have a ton of grit to ourselves,” Hurts said this week. “We’re passionate about that. We express that through our work. So I think it’s been able to grow and evolve.”
The Eagles may not have three-time Pro Bowl left guard Landon Dickerson (back) for the opener as he missed practice Monday. Backup quarterback Tanner McKee (right thumb) also missed practice, while linebacker Joshua Uche (groin) and rookie safety Andrew Mukuba (hamstring) were limited.
The only Dallas player to miss practice Monday was defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey (back). Star cornerback Trevon Diggs and left tackle Tyler Guyton, both dealing with knee injuries, were full participants.
CHARGERS RB NAJEE HARRIS (EYE) CLEARED FOR CONTACT, MAY PLAY WEEK 1
The Los Angeles Chargers have cleared running back Najee Harris for contact and “there’s a possibility” he will be available to play in Week 1 following a July 4 eye injury, coach Jim Harbaugh said Monday.
“He’s looked really good in practice,” Harbaugh said at a press conference. “Cleared for contact. Just take it one day at a time.”
The Chargers open the season Friday against the Kansas City Chiefs in Sao Paulo, Brazil. If Harris can’t play, then first-round draft pick Omarion Hampton is expected to tote the majority of carries.
Harris missed the start of training camp and didn’t begin participating in football drills until mid-August. He didn’t play in the preseason, but was activated from the non-football injury list last Tuesday.
The former Pittsburgh Steelers running back suffered what his agent described as a “superficial eye injury” during a July 4 fireworks mishap. The Chargers haven’t disclosed further details about the injury.
Harris topped 1,000 rushing yards in all four of his seasons with the Steelers and has 4,312 yards and 28 rushing touchdowns in 68 NFL games (all starts). The Steelers selected him 24th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft and Harris made the Pro Bowl and the NFL All-Rookie team after that season.
RAMS’ MATTHEW STAFFORD EXPECTED TO START OPENER VS. TEXANS
Los Angeles Rams starting quarterback Matthew Stafford is expected to start the opener against the visiting Houston Texas, coach Sean McVay told reporters on Monday.
Stafford missed the first several weeks of training camp, battling an aggravated disc in his back. According to ESPN, he has been a full participant in practice since Aug. 18, in both individual and team drills.
The 17-year veteran restructured his contract in the offseason, signing a two-year deal with cap hits of $47 million-plus in 2025 and 2026, according to Over The Cap.
Stafford, 37, played in 16 of 17 regular-season games for the 2024 Rams, who upset Minnesota in the wild-card round of the playoffs and lost a 28-22 decision to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
He threw for 533 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in those two contests after amassing 3,762 passing yards, 20 TDs and eight interceptions in the regular season.
The longtime Detroit Lions starter, Stafford led Los Angeles to its first Super Bowl championship in his first season of 2021. He is ranked 10th in NFL history with 59,809 passing yards.
McVay also believes left tackle Alaric Jackson, a Monday participant in practice, will start against Houston. He has been dealing with blot clots in his lower leg.
“I do believe that we’ll be at our best with him out there,” McVay told reporters.
REPORTS: MICAH PARSONS DEALING WITH JOINT SPRAIN IN BACK AHEAD OF PACKERS DEBUT
Micah Parsons’ Green Bay Packers debut is suddenly in question as he deals with a facet joint sprain in his back, several reports said Monday.
The Packers acquired Parsons in a blockbuster deal with the Dallas Cowboys last Thursday and gave him the richest contract for a non-quarterback in NFL history, worth $47 million a year.
But before the deal, the Cowboys had placed Parsons on a five-day plan of a corticosteroid to help back inflammation and had him on a physical therapy program. Parsons may need an epidural injection to play Sunday against the Detroit Lions, according to reports from ESPN, NFL Network and The Athletic.
Monday was Parsons’ first official day at Packers practice. He did not participate in practice with Dallas throughout training camp as he engineered a hold-in.
At his introductory press conference Friday, Parsons said, “Physically, I’m great.”
A two-time All-Pro pass rusher and a Pro Bowl selection in each of his four seasons, Parsons has racked up 52.5 sacks through the first 63 games of his career. He was the 12th overall pick by the Cowboys in the 2021 draft but did not want to play 2025 on his fifth-year option, claiming that owner Jerry Jones tried to go around his agent.
EAGLES ADMIT MASSIVE CHANGES FACING COWBOYS WITHOUT MICAH PARSONS
Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata shared his sense of relief preparing to play the Dallas Cowboys without Micah Parsons in the NFL season opener on Thursday night, but head coach Nick Sirianni said Philadelphia has plenty to worry about.
“We have so much going on here,” Sirianni said. “Obviously, we’re getting ready to play the Cowboys, so he’s on your thoughts of game-planning, but they still have guys that we have to prepare for. Obviously, they got Kenny Clark, who is a really good player and they have good depth at the defensive end group, so you don’t get too wrapped up into that except for some of the things you’re doing with the game plan. But also understand that they have a lot of good players still over there and get ready for those guys and shift your attention to that.”
Mailata said he breathed a “sigh of relief” because Parsons is a player the Eagles always game-plan to slow down.
“I say that as a joke, but at the same time, it’s just kind of crazy,” he said. “The last four or five years that we’ve played the Dallas Cowboys, we’ve come up with a game plan because Micah’s a gamer. It is a sigh of relief that you don’t have to plan like that anymore. However, that is a talented D-line and a challenging defense. You’ve got to treat them with the same respect, with or without Micah Parsons. They’ve got Kenny Clark there. He’s been in the league a long time. He’s a great bloody player. So, now we’ve got to figure out how he affects our game plan and how we control that.”
With 335 QB pressures since being drafted in 2021, Parsons caused problems for a lot of offensive linemen during his four seasons with the Cowboys.
Mailata and the Eagles’ offensive line are getting more familiar with second-round rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku and have their own concerns on the offensive line.
Mailata said not having to contend with Parsons on Thursday night is a definite game-changer.
“It changes a lot. I’m gonna be honest with you, it changes a lot,” Mailata said. “Eleven (Parsons) is a great player and we always have protection plans built in for great players and now we just have to figure out the players that they have on their defense, how can we stop them?”
Tight end Dallas Goedert said he always finds Parsons and wants to know where he is before each snap.
“Now that he’s gone, they still have great players and they have a scheme that we haven’t seen, so we have to prepare for everything,” he said. “It’s really about us being on our game and doing what we do.”
