Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis recently proclaimed he would not trade away star edge rusher Maxx Crosby. But it’s time for Davis to walk it back on that statement before Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline.

The Raiders are marching to nowhere after their latest loss, a 41-24 blowout to the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday. After the game, coach Antonio Pierce fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and two other coaches. And Las Vegas continues to be the model in how not to rebuild a franchise.

The 2-7 Raiders kickoff off USA TODAY Sports’ NFL overreactions for Week 9, and we’ve got some advice for Davis and Las Vegas: Trade Crosby away.

Sure, Crosby is the heart and soul in the locker room, but for a floundering franchise. Trade him for a first-round pick, or at least a package of picks, to turn the Raiders around.

Also, Mr. Davis, call the Detroit Lions. Dan Campbell will freak out with Crosby replacing the injured Aidan Hutchinson during a season where the Lions are contenders for the Super Bowl.

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This isn’t a slight on Pierce, the interim coach turned head coach for one of the NFL’s most dysfunctional teams. He’s cleaning up a mess made by former coaches and general managers several regimes ago, with no quarterback to incite hope for fans.

Pierce galvanized the Raiders’ fan base, leading Las Vegas to a 5-4 finish after taking over for Josh McDaniels last season. But the wins left the Raiders stranded with the No. 13 pick in the 2024 NFL draft. While Brock Bowers has shown he’s an elite tight end, the Raiders have too many holes to fill, dating back to their poor draft history when Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock ran the franchise.

Battle for No. 1 draft pick is heating up

While we’re talking about NFL draft picks, have you checked out the race for the No. 1 pick? Nine teams (!!) sit atop the 2025 NFL draft order after Week 9, with two wins each this season.

Seven teams are 2-7: The Patriots, Jaguars, Saints, Panthers, Browns, Raiders and Giants. The Dolphins and Titans aren’t far behind at 2-6.

After Week 9 and with the trade deadline Tuesday, it’s time for the other franchises to decide if they’re going to be sellers to “position themselves for a high draft pick” or dwell in their mediocrity.

As the NFL playoff race heats up later this season, keep an eye on the tankers.

Players like Miami quarterback Cam Ward, Colorado’s two-way star Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders certainly will.

Stick a fork in the Cowboys, they’re done.

The Cowboys season continues to get worse, following their 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, when starting quarterback Dak Prescott left the game early due to a hamstring injury.

The Cowboys are 3-5 with no run game. Their defense is suspect. Prescott and CeeDee Lamb must play hero ball to win. And the drama never ceases to end.

Ezekiel Elliott is the latest to bring the drama due to his reported tardiness to team meetings, leading to a healthy scratch in Atlanta. A week ago, cornerback Trevon Diggs got into it with a reporter. Two weeks ago, Jerry Jones threatened to fire radio hosts. Before that, Jones had to defend his decision not pursing Ravens running back Derrick Henry.

Jones needs to quickly decide if they’re any moves to be made to get a kickstart for 2025. The Cowboys are staring up at the Commanders and Eagles in the NFC East. They won’t make the playoffs this season. Still, there’s still plenty of time left this season for more drama.

It’s the Lions’ world. We’re just living in it.

Let’s finish up with the Lions, who may be the best team in the NFL this season. Even before the 7-0 Chiefs host the Buccaneers on Monday Night Football. And even better than the 7-3 Ravens despite Lamar Jackson and Henry’s play this season.

The Lions are certainly the best team in the NFC, following their 24-14 win over the Green Bay Packers last Sunday.

We thought the Packers would upset the Lions. We thought the Vikings would upset the Lions two weeks ago. We thought the Cowboys would give them some trouble a week before that. Okay, maybe the last one was farfetched.

Detroit is the most complete team in the NFL, even without Hutchinson, who is lost for the season after breaking his leg a month ago.

The Lions are battle tested. They’ve taken the next step after last season’s NFC title game run. And they’ve got the Super Bowl in their sights this year.

In this space last week, we set the stage for some major changes to future bowl projections with the calendar turning to November. That’s because as pressure increases in the final full month of the college football season the results can become more unpredictable.

We saw that unfold in Week 10 with five teams among the top 15 in the US LBM Coaches Poll losing. Three of those victims – Clemson, Texas A&M and Kansas State all fall out of the predicted 12-team playoff field. Each has their path to the conference title game diminished, and their potential resumes come Selection Sunday could be compromised when compared to other contenders.

So who benefits from Saturday’s results? It’s teams from the Big 12, Big Ten and SEC – Brigham Young, Indiana and Alabama. The former two are unbeaten and look in good shape to reach at least 11 wins. The Crimson Tide already has two losses, but running the table, starting with this week’s trip to LSU should be enough to make the field given they already have a victory against Georgia.

That’s where things stand now. But as we have found out in the first two-thirds of the season, nothing should ever be written in pen until the final weekend. So fans of any of the current playoff field should hold off celebrating while holding their breath in next four weeks.

CALM DOWN: The five biggest Week 10 overreactions assess the playoff

UPS AND DOWNS:  Ohio State leads winners and losers from Week 10

Note: Legacy Pac-12 schools in other conferences will fulfill existing Pac-12 bowl agreements through the 2025 season.

The last few years have given us a glimpse of what could be the norm: Packed arenas and blockbuster TV ratings for women’s games while investors and sponsors clamor for a piece of the action and women’s sports have a regular place in our conversations and consciousness.

The results of Tuesday’s election could erase all that, dragging us backward just when women’s sports are finally gaining traction. The protections of Title IX, both against sexual violence and for athletic opportunities, would be at risk if Donald Trump is re-elected. So, too, reproductive rights in blue states. Even the way women are viewed and treated would shift dramatically if the raging misogynist returns to the White House.

If you don’t connect all those dots and realize the continued growth of women’s sports are on the ballot, along with all the positive outcomes they produce, then you haven’t been paying attention.

“A Trump administration … would have disastrous effects on athletes’ rights,” said Anna Goorevich, a research assistant at the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport.

By now, the benefits of girls and women playing sports are well established. Girls and young women who play sports do better in school. Have lower rates of drug and alcohol use. Are less likely to be sexually active. Are more confident and have better self-esteem. The lessons girls learn playing sports — teamwork, leadership, dedication, resilience — carry over into adulthood, with Ernst & Young finding that 94% of women at the C-suite level played sports.

Seeing strong, confident and capable female athletes is good for boys and young men, too, disabusing them of the notion that girls and women are somehow “less than.”

Yet even now, some 50 years after the passage of Title IX, women athletes still have to fight for what they deserve. The majority of schools don’t provide their women’s teams with equitable resources, scholarships or opportunities, and enforcement of Title IX is a joke. When athletes do sue, some judges set the legal burden so high it’s insurmountable.

Just last week, a federal judge sided with the University of Kentucky in a case brought by women who said the school was violating Title IX by refusing to elevate the club equestrian team to varsity status. The judge agreed that Kentucky was not providing enough athletic opportunities for its female students. She also agreed there was a demonstrated interest in a varsity equestrian team.

Yet the judge, appointed by George W. Bush, still gave Kentucky a pass, saying the student athletes couldn’t show they had a varsity-level team ready right then and there. You might as well tell the students they needed to have a real-live unicorn as their mascot, too, for the likelihood any school is going to already have a full complement of varsity athletes, just waiting for a team to be created.

The ruling, in the Eastern District of Kentucky, doesn’t establish a legal precedent, but you could see how other conservative judges could adopt a similar line of thinking. Or find other ways to undermine Title IX.

“The onus was placed on the athletes themselves, to basically develop themselves into a varsity team with no support at all,” Goorevich said. “(Title IX) is supposed to encourage investment and development of women’s sports” by schools.

That’s really the least of the concerns, however.

The gains made by women athletes were possible only because they had bodily autonomy. Without it, an athletic scholarship is worthless to the young woman who finds herself pregnant unexpectedly or as the result of rape or incest. A professional athlete who plans her training, nutrition, sleep and competitions with the most painstaking detail is left powerless, or worse, if she cannot get proper medical care for a miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy. The already small window of an Olympic athlete’s career can close completely if she is not allowed to decide for herself when she wants to have a family.

But Trump and MAGA Republicans are obsessed with policing women’s bodies, be it stripping women of abortion care, tracking their menstrual cycles or demonizing transgender women. We’ve already seen the harm the first Trump administration did to women. No one should be foolish enough to think it won’t get worse in a second.

“The most dangerous thing any of us can do is have a lack of imagination. If you can imagine something happening, like a rollback of Roe vs. Wade, … they’re already thinking about it. They’re already planning it. It’s on the menu,” said Michelle Kinney, co-founder of The Seneca Project, a bipartisan superPAC dedicated to protecting women’s rights and access to healthcare by galvanizing support for Kamala Harris.

“Whether you like it or not, it’s coming for you. So here is your opportunity to stand up, to do the right thing and to make a choice,” Kinney continued. “Do you want to choose a more equitable future for your daughters, your wives, your sisters? Or do you want to set us back a century? That’s up to us.”

It is not a coincidence that sports was at the center of one of The Seneca Project’s most powerful ads, We Must Win, and that prominent athletes including Billie Jean King, Megan Rapinoe and Simone Biles were featured in another, American Girl. Sports has been our gateway to progress, giving us access to education and providing us with the skills we needed for advancement. For equality. For respect.

But in Trump’s worldview, women need “protecting.” Which means anything that gives us agency will be under siege if he’s re-elected, sports and the ability to play them included.

“People might say, ‘I don’t care about politics.’ Well, politics cares about you and it will affect you,” Kinney said. “It will affect you, it will affect your family and it will affect your kids, your daughter specifically.

“Anyone who thinks MAGA is not coming for women’s athletics,” she added, “is naïve.”

Women’s sports have never been more popular, never mattered more, and there’s still so much more room for growth. Don’t vote to take us backward.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

With the NFL trade deadline looming on Tuesday, there’s still not much clarity on which players are truly available for contenders to pursue.

Much of the action ahead of the cutoff, of course, has already taken place. In recent weeks, several key players – including Davante Adams, Amari Cooper, DeAndre Hopkins, Joshua Uche, Cam Robinson and Diontae Johnson – have been sent to new surroundings. But even with the league postponing the deadline by one week this year, there are few indications as to which teams are truly willing to sell off pieces in an attempt to boost their draft capital and/or clear cap space. And several players who seemed like prime candidates for a deal, including wide receivers Darius Slayton (New York Giants) and Christian Kirk (Jacksonville Jaguars), recently suffered injuries that essentially removed them from the block.

With that in mind, here are the top 10 players who still might be available ahead of the trade deadline.

1. Azeez Ojulari, OLB, New York Giants

Maybe a player who began the year as a seemingly superfluous piece of a highly powered pass rush doesn’t seem like a natural candidate to lead this list. But with many of the marquee names already having been moved, Ojulari has firmed up his place here over the last month, recording five sacks in his last four games. At 6-3 and 240 pounds, he won’t be a fit for every scheme. But his tenacity should no doubt carry over to his next team if traded, especially as he sets himself up for what could be a significant payday in free agency. With the Giants intent on keeping general manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll around for 2025 and the team’s long-term edge rushing tandem of Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux in place, parting with Ojulari is the sensible way to fast-track a roster reset.

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2. Za’Darius Smith, DE, Cleveland Browns

Once the Cooper trade materialized, all eyes turned to Smith as the next logical trade candidate to be sent out of Cleveland. The three-time Pro Bowler is in the final year of his contract and, at 32, very unlikely to be in the plans for a franchise facing a massive cap crunch for the foreseeable future. But Smith is still getting the job done, racking up five sacks this season as a fitting complement opposite Myles Garrett. Almost every contender could use more juice of the edge, so Smith should have no shortage of suitors, though he continues to be linked to the Detroit Lions.

3. Jonathan Jones, CB, New England Patriots

For teams scrounging for a quick fix in the secondary, a functional solution might be more attractive than a flashy one. In that landscape, Jones should draw a good deal of interest. While the two-time Super Bowl champion was averaging a career-worst 116 passer rating allowed when targeted through his first eight games, according to Pro Football Reference, he has remained an even-keeled presence who doesn’t often give up big gains. But prying him away from the Patriots could be difficult, as defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington indicated last week he doesn’t expect the team to trade Jones.

4. Arden Key, OLB, Tennessee Titans

In parting with both Hopkins and linebacker Ernest Jones IV – the latter a late-August trade acquisition – general manager Ran Carthon seems to be indicating he understands how things are tilting this season in Tennessee and is prepared to act accordingly. If he continues to shed veterans who likely won’t be roster staples in a year or two, one of his more intriguing pieces to offer could be Key, a supremely talented edge rusher who has come on strong with four sacks in his last three games. The 6-5, 240-pounder also wouldn’t necessarily be a pure rental, as he’s under contract for a reasonable base salary of $6.5 million – none of which is guaranteed.

5. Chase Young, DE, New Orleans Saints

After borrowing against their future for years on end, the Saints have a hefty bill coming due. But even at 2-7 and Dennis Allen’s firing on Monday signaling substantial coming changes, New Orleans doesn’t have many easy ways to alleviate its grim salary-cap outlook and stockpile more assets for the long term. Assuming the team might find it hard to ship off four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore, perhaps the most valuable chip at the Saints’ disposal is Young, who once again could be on the move at the deadline after being dealt from the Washington Commanders to the San Francisco 49ers last year. The 25-year-old former NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year hasn’t recaptured his peak form, but he still shows enough of a spark – including a six-pressure performance in the opener – for a contender to take a flier on him.

6. Dalvin Tomlinson, DT, Cleveland Browns

He won’t generate the same level of buzz as his linemate Smith, but Tomlinson offers something that’s not easy to find: a formidable presence on the interior who can help control the line of scrimmage while still disrupting the passing game. With teams investing high draft picks and investing top dollar in what has rather quickly become a premium position, Tomlinson – who is signed through 2026 – could be an attractive option.

7. Mike Williams, WR, New York Jets

Pursuing Williams with the expectation that he fills a major role for a contender requires a leap of faith, as the former Los Angeles Chargers standout has just 12 catches for 166 yards in a season that has seen him get buried on the depth chart. Nevertheless, the 6-4, 218-pounder still figures to be an imposing matchup on contested catches and in the red zone. After the Jets revived their flatlining playoff hopes with Thursday’s win over the Houston Texans, however, the organization might no longer be inclined to split with Williams given that Allen Lazard landed on injured reserve with a chest injury.

8. Kendrick Bourne, WR, New England Patriots

K.J. Osborn might be the more readily available option in the Patriots’ receiving corps, but Bourne seems like the true prize for any playoff-caliber group. The 29-year-old has proven himself to be a trustworthy target, and he posted four catches for 41 yards Sunday in his best outing since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament last season. New England might be reluctant to say goodbye to one of the few reliable options for Drake Maye, but the thinned-out market for receivers could ramp the bidding up to a point that would be enticing for the Patriots.

9. Calais Campbell, DT, Miami Dolphins

At 38, the six-time Pro Bowler is outpacing all reasonable expectations, posting the fourth-best pass rush win rate of all interior defensive lineman through eight weeks, according to ESPN. But with the Dolphins’ season teetering at 2-6, taking the off ramp to this one-year partnership might be the best decision for all parties. Campbell still has plenty to offer for a title hunt in what could be his final NFL season, and there’s little question that the former Walter Payton Man of the Year would strike the right tone in a new locker room. Miami, meanwhile, could recoup some modest draft compensation and turn the page on what is rapidly becoming a lost year.

10. Adam Thielen, WR, Carolina Panthers

He’s 34. He’s missed the Panthers’ last six games due to a hamstring injury. So why the placement on this list? Simple: Thielen is still savvy enough to navigate the challenges of joining a new offense at midseason and be a reliable contributor to a group making a playoff push. So long as he’s healthy, he should be a strong candidate to follow Johnson out the door and serve as a safety valve for a quarterback, much as he did in 2023 when he recorded 103 catches for 1,014 yards.

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Kids, don’t try this at home.

Channeling his inner eagle, Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley decided to spread his wings and fly at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday against the Jaguars. In a move that dazzled his team, coach, opponent and fans, Barkley’s reverse hurdle is one that many will try to replicate and few will succeed.

A move that was previously only possible in video games just became reality. As the love for Barkley grows amongst the Eagles faithful, it’s represents a quick turnaround in the star running back’s career. His first season in the ‘City of Brotherly Love’ has turned the once hated rival into a hometown hero. With another play added to the highlight reel on Sunday, Barkley’s 2024 montage is turning into a feature length film.

In case you haven’t seen enough of the move, here’s how it looked from all angles and a glimpse into the reaction that poured in the aftermath.

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Saquon Barkley reverse hurdle

In the second quarter of the Philadelphia’s Week 9 win over Jacksonville, quarterback Jalen Hurts swung a pass out to Barkley on a third-and-six. He slipped out of the initial tackle, put another defender in a spin cycle, picked up the first down and then put the cherry on top with a backwards hurdle over the third defender.

Barkley even had A.J. Brown in disbelief.

‘It was the best play I’ve ever seen,’ head coach Nick Sirianni, who is never lost for words, said in the postgame. ‘What I think is so cool, there’s going to be kids all over the country and all over Philadelphia trying to make that play and talking about that play and simulating that play as they play backyard football or peewee football. They ain’t going to be able to make it – I believe he’s the only one in the world that can do that. I’m speechless. It was unbelievable.’

‘Crazy,’ DeVonta Smith added. ‘I ain’t never seen nothing like it.’

While Barkley’s teammates were in awe, the running back downplayed the moment.

‘I kind of just played ball,’ Barkley said before saying the team has some things to clean up after a uneven second half.

Saquon Barkley stats

Barkley turned in another solid day at the office, posting 159 rushing yards on 27 carries. He hauled in three of four targets, finishing with 40 receiving yards. Barkley left his mark by accounting for half of the team’s points, scoring a rushing and receiving touchdown.

Through eight games, Barkley is already up to 925 rushing yards on just 157 carries. In his last season with the Giants, Barkley finished with 962 yards on 247 carries in 14 games. The star running back is over the 1,000 total yard mark and could be in position to set a career-high before the season ends. Barkley posted 2,028 scrimmage yards in his rookie season and hasn’t come close to the 2,000 yard mark since.

The often-injured running back has been durable in 2024, something that wasn’t the case with the Giants. If this keeps up, Giants owner John Mara may have a hard time sleeping.

No matter how much things change, the same goal remains in men’s college basketball: make it to the end of the road to the Final Four. 

Like college football has already seen, this year’s men’s college basketball season will be one unlike any other. The list of teams in Division I continues to grow with more than 350 programs, and there are big names in new places – schools, players and coaches – all hoping to survive and advance to San Antonio on April 5 and 7. 

With the rapid change that comes in college sports nowadays, anything can happen this season. Last season’s top teams can fall flat, while those that stumbled can become contenders. To prepare for what will surely be another wild journey to March, here are some of the key storylines heading into the 2024-25 college basketball season:

Can Connecticut three-peat?

It’s been more than 50 years since the last three-peat men’s national champion, back when John Wooden dominated the sport at UCLA. Can the Huskies be the second school to ever do it? 

The Huskies were undoubtedly the favorite last season to win the title, but there it doesn’t seem like a certainty this time around. Most of the starters are gone, but Alex Karaban remains, and is someone that has two championship rings already. Hassan Diarra is also back, and Samson Johnson can take the place of big man Donovan Clingan. Five-star recruit Liam McNeely can add some offensive firepower to a team that needs a knockdown shooter.

Connecticut is the favorite to win the Big East and will be well tested before the calendar flips over. It’ll play in the stacked Maui Invitational and then face Baylor, Texas and Gonzaga in an 11-day stretch. By the time Big East play begins, the country may know if the Huskies remain the top dog.

Will Cooper Flagg live up to the hype?

No men’s college basketball boosted their popularity over the summer quite like Duke freshman Cooper Flagg. He already was the top recruit in the 2024 class, but he proved he’s a star in the making when he left a great impression at the Olympic training camp against NBA stars that would go on to win a gold medal.

Flagg can do just about anything on the court, and the expectation will be for him to be in national player of the year consideration. He also leads arguably the best recruiting class at Duke that includes four five-star prospects and Purdue transfer in Mason Gillis, who played a big role in team’s Final Four run. 

The Blue Devils haven’t won a national title since 2015, which is their longest drought since they won their first in 1991. At just 17-years-old, Flagg will be expected to have Duke in the championship race before his name gets called in the NBA draft next year. 

Conference realignment 

There will be 23 teams in new conferences, and some new additions could be making stellar debuts.

As if the Big 12 wasn’t already stacked, Arizona is among four teams joining the conference and could be a dark-horse candidate to win it. Tommy Lloyd has won 88 games in three seasons at Tucson and won the Pac-12 tournament titles the past two seasons. 

Texas and Oklahoma enter another heavy conference in the SEC. Ranked No. 19 in the coaches poll, the Longhorns bring in several transfers and are expected to contend. Another team that can make some noise is UCLA. The new Big Ten team along with three other Pac-12 schools completely revamped its roster through the transfer portal and the conference looks to be wide open. 

New men’s college basketball coaches in new places

Who would’ve guessed Andy Enfield leaving Southern California for Southern Methodist would set off one of the wildest coaching carousels in recent memory?

Eric Musselman is now in charge of the Trojans after departing Arkansas, but the biggest change is John Calipari leaving Kentucky to succeed Musselman with the Razorbacks. Calipari disappointed in March too often recently, leading to a decision to part ways with the Wildcats. He is hopeful of bringing Arkansas back to national relevance with a rebuilt roster. The Razorbacks haven’t appeared in a Final Four since 1995 and last won an SEC regular-season title in 1994 and the conference tournament in 2000.

Other new hires to look out for include: Pat Kelsey at Louisville, Kyle Smith at Stanford, Darian DeVries at West Virginia and Danny Sprinkle at Washington. Don’t forget about Ron Sanchez, who takes over Virginia after Tony Bennett’s sudden retirement. 

Will Kansas, Bill Self shake off last season’s disappointment?

Kansas enters the season the top-ranked team in the country – just like last season – but can they live up to the hype this time around? The Jayhawks started last season 13-1, but then stumbled into a 10-10 finish that had a fortunate first-round win over Samford in the tournament and then were dominated by Gonzaga the second round.

Hunter Dickinson is back, and Kansas got some top additions in the transfer portal in guards Zeke Mayo and AJ Storr, as well as Rylan Griffen, who was a key contributor on Alabama’s Final Four team. Also coming to Lawrence is highly-touted freshman Flory Bidunga, who could bring another interior presence to help Dickinson. 

Kansas has some big early tests with North Carolina, Michigan State, Duke and Creighton all in the first month, and some fans might not be feeling good after an exhibition loss to Arkansas in October. Still, at No. 1, the pressure is on to not fall apart again.

A first-time Final Four school?

Last season, Alabama reached the Final Four for the first time in school history. The Crimson Tide are one of the favorites make another appearance, but could another first appearance happen this season?

Contenders include Creighton, which is the best candidate to dethrone UConn in the Big East, Tennessee, a team that fell just short of qualifying last season, and Texas A&M, with the Aggies having a potential SEC player of the year in Wade Taylor IV.