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What’s next for Bryce Young, Panthers after QB’s benching?

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales announced quarterback Bryce Young is headed to the bench after another lackluster performance during the team’s 26-3 Week 2 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

Canales told reporters he decided to demote Young in favor of veteran QB Andy Dalton after he reviewed film of the Panthers’ loss.

In Carolina’s Week 2 home opener, Young had just 84 passing yards, which was tied for the fourth fewest in team history for a quarterback with at least 25 pass attempts. The Panthers had four consecutive three-and-outs to begin the game and they didn’t earn a first down until second quarter.

The 0-2 Panthers were booed by the home fans at Bank of America Stadium multiple times during the defeat.

Young’s benching marks another low for the quarterback, who has had a frustrating start to his NFL career. His benching comes at a time when he has a disastrous 44.1 passer rating this season and a 2-16 career record as a starter.

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“I owe it to all the guys, the coaches, the staff, the players, everybody involved, to be really critical about what we put on film, about what I’m seeing,” Canales said. “To make sure that I’m constantly making the best decision for the team every week, and it happens to be the quarterback position.”

USA TODAY Sports explores what’s next for the Panthers and Young:

Short-term fix: Andy Dalton

Dalton takes over for a Panthers team that is 0-2 for the second time in as many seasons. The 36-year-old signal caller is an experienced player, but he’s a journeyman quarterback at this point in his career.

The 14-year veteran will likely serve as a bridge between Carolina’s next quarterback or a possible Young return to the starting lineup.

“I just know Andy gives us our best chance to win right now. His résumé speaks for itself,” Canales said Monday. “He’s an experienced player. He’s got a lot of football in his history. So, I’m excited for Andy with this opportunity, and I believe he gives us our best chance to win this week.”

The longtime Bengals QB spent his first nine NFL seasons in Cincinnati. He’s also had a cup of coffee with the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints. He’s tallied 38,511 passing yards, 246 touchdowns and 144 interceptions in 170 career games (163 starts).

What’s next for Bryce Young?

Young’s performance through two weeks suggests the quarterback has lost his confidence. He has a 55.4% completion percentage, no touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s averaged only 122 passing yards.

Young’s numbers indicate he regressed from a sub-mediocre rookie campaign in which he had a 59.8% completion percentage, 11 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and averaged 179 passing yards per game.

Canales said there were “a lot of factors” that went into the decision to bench Young. But Young’s benching was warranted. The quarterback is having a difficult time reading defenses and looks overwhelmed.

The demotion could motivate Young. He has an opportunity to learn under an experienced quarterback in Dalton and slowly regain his confidence.

However, Young’s benching necessitates questions about his future in Carolina. Will Young return later this season? Is he going to sit out the rest of the year? Or will Young get a fresh start elsewhere?

Furthermore, the concerns about Young’s 5-foot-10 height and slight build aren’t going away.

What’s next for Panthers?

Canales declined to answers inquiries about Young’s playing status going forward or the quarterback’s future in Carolina. The coach said the team is “focused” on the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3.

“Right now we’re focused on this week. We’re focused on getting Andy ready to play the Raiders, and then we’ll just take it like that,” Canales said. “We’ll attack the Raiders. We’ll attack this week, and get that mentality and the things that we’re looking for.”

The Panthers mortgaged their future when they traded two first-round picks, two second-round picks and standout wide receiver D.J. Moore to the Chicago Bears in order to move up to the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL draft to select Young.  

Young has started 18 career games in Carolina. Is that a large enough sample size to move on from the quarterback?

Canales, a first-year coach, and first-year general manager Dan Morgan inherited Young, so they aren’t tied to the sophomore quarterback. The Panthers are tracking toward a top pick in the 2025 NFL draft. The organization could decide to move on from Young and select a QB in the upcoming draft.

Young’s rookie contract runs through the 2026 season. The Panthers also have the ability to grant Young a fifth-year option that will give the QB an additional year. But a fifth-year option seems unlikely at this point in his career.

It might just be best for both parties to go in a different direction.

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Paige Bueckers’ alleged stalker arraigned and put on $100,000 bond

Since early June, UConn’s star guard Paige Bueckers has been the victim of stalking and harassment from an Oregon man, according to charges out of Connecticut Superior Court in Rockville.

Although the man, identified as Robert Cole Parmalee, is charged with making threats and attempting to get near Bueckers and her teammates in the past, it wasn’t until Friday that he faced charges.

The 40-year-old from Grants Pass, Oregon, has been charged with breach of peace, electronic stalking, and harassment, which include dozens of videos and posts on social media supposedly making disturbing and threatening comments toward Bueckers and her UConn teammates.

Stalking and harassment timeline

UConn Police first learned of Parmalee in June, when they received emails from Parmalee claiming to be a member of the royal family who wanted to marry a member of the UConn women’s basketball team.

According to reports, the emails also include pictures of figures like Queen Elizabeth II and Lucille Ball, as well as images of other female basketball players. According to UConn Police officials, Parmalee started with emails described as ‘ramblings,’ but the threats escalated to social media with Parmalee going as far as to create fake wedding invitations.

Parmalee would post threatening messages on his socials, with one post on his TikTok reading ‘And if I cannot live with a woman of my choosing, [Bueckers], then I will choose to die, and I will choose to take all of you that [op]pose me, oppose us, to hell, and return, king…’

On August 27, Parmalee was arrested by Connecticut State Police on charges unrelated to Bueckers after he had flown across the country to Hartford, Connecticut. When asked by state police what he was doing in Connecticut, Parmalee informed them he was going to see Bueckers. He claimed she was his ‘friend.’

Comments extend beyond UConn

Although Bueckers was the victim of Parmalee’s more heinous harassment, UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz stated that Parmalee’s initial emails from June also referenced several other female players from around the country. Reitz added, ‘The UConn employees, along with dozens of people throughout the U.S. unrelated to UConn, continued to receive emails in coming weeks that were again provided to police and reviewed for potentially actionable criminal conduct.’

What is Parmalee being charged with?

Parmalee is being charged with breach of peace, electronic stalking, and harassment. He is currently being held on $100,000 bond. Parmalee appeared in Rockville Superior Court Monday, and his next court date is set for October 22.

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China exerts new restrictions on exports of minerals critical to US weapons making

China slapped new export controls on a batch of minerals such as antimony – vital for the U.S. defense industry as a flame-retardant component used in machine bearings – in a move that could send prices in the defense sector soaring. 

The little-known metal antimony is used in ammunition, infrared missiles, nuclear weapons and night vision goggles, as well as batteries and photovoltaic equipment. China produced nearly half of the world’s antimony last year.

The limits, which kicked in on Sunday, apply to six antimony-related products, including antimony ore, antimony metals and antimony oxide.

The U.S. consumed some 22,000 tons of antimony last year. China accounted for 63% of U.S. imports of antimony metal and oxide last year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The next largest supplier, Belgium, offered some 8%. 

The material is being restricted ‘in order to safeguard national security and interests, and fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation,’ the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.

The U.S. and other nations have been scrambling to scale back their reliance on China for key materials for the defense and energy sectors. Yet still, China is the leading import source for 25 essential minerals, including tungsten, germanium, magnesium, barite, antimony, most rare earths, indium, graphite, gallium, and arsenic. 

It’s just the latest in a set of curbs on exports introduced over the past year.

In December, China banned the export of technology to make rare earth magnets, which followed another ban on exporting technology to extract and separate critical materials. 

Last year, it slapped export controls on gallium, germanium and graphite in part of a retaliatory trade war after the U.S. limited exports on advanced semiconductor chips to China. 

‘In the first Cold War against the Soviet Union, we were aligned against the Soviet Union with not importing national security-sensitive things,’ said Rob Greenway, a former National Security Council (NSC) official. ‘We were a net exporter across the board. Since we’ve become a net importer across the board, we have massive vulnerabilities, and our regulatory structures have not in any way kept pace with that.’

‘Our partners – Japan, South Korea, Scandinavian countries, Central American countries – they’re enormously frustrated, because not only do they have the same problem, but we’re not making it easier for them,’ Greenway, now a director at the Allison Center for National Security, went on. ‘In some cases, we’re making it easier for China. We’re taxing Taiwan’s exports, including semiconductors, more than we are Chinese exports.’

Antimony prices have nearly doubled to a record $22,750 per ton this year and export controls are expected to drive them even higher. 

The new rules require sellers to apply for a sign-off from the Chinese government through a license to sell any related dual-use civilian and military materials and technology, a process which typically takes close to three months. 

‘China’s new restrictions on antimony – which is used in everything from night vision goggles to nuclear weapons to tanks – will require exporters to apply for certain licenses that the Chinese Communist Party could delay or refuse outright,’ said Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va. Wittman leads a working group on critical minerals policy in Congress.

‘As the largest producer and processor of antimony, the CCP is using the same playbook as it did for gallium and germanium to demonstrate its market dominance and put Western economies at risk – this is why we must diversify our critical mineral supply chains away from China.’

One U.S.-based company, Perpetua Resources, is looking to produce domestic antimony with support from the Pentagon and the U.S. Export-Import Bank. It’s run into opposition from environmental groups and its first production was slated for 2028, should it obtain permits later this year. 

But China’s restrictions have prompted the company to look for ways to speed up production. 

‘We are looking at things that we can do during construction to get antimony out the door sooner for some of these strategic needs,’ Jon Cherry, Perpetua’s CEO, told Reuters.

‘The (US) Department of Defense is aware of the critical nature of antimony and the short supply available. We’ve been hearing from a lot of different sources about the lack of supply for antimony, that the market is very tight and getting tighter daily.’

In a less closely watched move, China is also limiting exports on superabrasive materials, industrial diamonds with the highest level of hardness, and the machines that make them. Such materials are used across industries in the U.S. and are essential in the defense and energy sectors. 

‘It really, truly has the ability to crater the U.S. economy. This is really terrifying,’ said Nazak Nikakthar, a former senior Commerce Department official.

‘It’s not a glamorous sector, but there is a national security obligation to alert the world to it – to build capacity in the United States [of superabrasives] to support the defense industrial base will take two to three years.’

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ESPN personality: Missouri fan ‘saved my life’ after choking on food

ESPN personality Peter Burns said a Missouri fan ‘saved my life’ this past weekend after he was choking on a piece of food.

Host of ESPN and SEC Network shows like ‘SEC Now’ and ‘SEC This Morning,’ Burns said on social media Monday that he was dining with co-workers in Columbia, Missouri on Friday night ahead of the Missouri vs. Boston College game the following day. During the dinner, Burns said he began to choke on a piece of food and he motioned to the people at the table he couldn’t breathe.

A friend tried the Heimlich maneuver but was unsuccessful. Burns asked a second person to try it but it also didn’t work. Burns said then a nurse came over to attempt it, only for it to not work.

After about two minutes of not being able to breathe, Burns said he started to lose his vision and began ‘blacking out.’

Luckily, a man by the name of Jack Foster came and tried to dislodge the food ‘right as I was about to lose consciousness,’ Burns said, and it worked. Foster told Burns he was a youth sports coach and he had just gone through training on how to perform CPR and save people from choking.

‘That training is why I am here right now. I’m thankful for him and all involved that helped saved my life that night,’ Burns said.

The ESPN personality added that Missouri football trainers assisted him later that night. As a result of the incident, Burns has slight fractures in four of his ribs.

Choking is the fourth leading cause of unintentional injury death, according to the National Safety Council, and it accounted for 5,553 deaths in 2022.

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Watchdog group sues for NASA emails with ‘Space Czar’ Harris, Boeing as astronauts linger in orbit

A conservative watchdog group sued the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) seeking documents relating to the situation that has left two U.S. astronauts at the International Space Station (ISS) for several more months.

The Oversight Project’s executive director told Fox News Digital on Monday he and his group have legally sought emails between NASA political appointees and the White House, including the office of Vice President Harris, who also holds the title of chair of the National Space Council.

The filing by Mike Howell, head of the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project, also demands outgoing emails to Harris’ presidential campaign. Just as Harris was tasked with assuaging the root causes of illegal immigration as the so-called border czar, her role as vice president makes her essentially the lead adviser on space policy in that regard.

‘This looks like to me and other experts that Kamala Harris, the space czar, chose politics over our astronauts,’ Howell said, inferring that there may have been a political calculation against bringing astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams home as planned.

‘It’s very bizarre that the mainstream media seems not to care about this massive scandal. We’re going to continue to investigate this and get Americans the answers they deserve.’

The National Space Council (NSpC) had originally been organized in a slightly different manner under former President George H.W. Bush before it was disbanded and reorganized under former President Trump.

Trump himself unveiled the first new branch of the military in decades, the U.S. Space Force, at a 2018 NSpC meeting.

In its filing, the Oversight Project seeks to compel NASA to share correspondence from agency chief of staff Bale Dalton III, Associate Administrator James Free and five other senior officials. It also seeks communications between NASA and officials in the commercial crew program at Boeing, the company that manufactured the Starliner capsule that took Wilmore and Williams to the ISS this summer.

A source close to the matter pointed to the stipulated responsibilities of the NSpC chair, as outlined by Trump in his 2021 executive order establishing the council.

‘The Chair shall serve as the President’s principal advisor on national space policy and strategy …’ the first stipulation reads.

The chair of the NSpC, therefore, has substantive advisory authority over NASA’s decision-making, the source said.

In an August press briefing, a NASA official said there was a ‘little disagreement in terms of the level of risk’ between the agency and Boeing after the capsule suffered propulsion issues and elemental leaks. Ultimately, the Starliner craft safely returned to Earth unmanned on Sept. 7.

A few weeks prior, Boeing officials said in a statement they remained confident in Starliner’s ability to return safely with crew aboard: ‘We continue to support NASA’s requests for additional testing, data, analysis and reviews to affirm the spacecraft’s safe undocking and landing capabilities. Our confidence is based on this abundance of valuable testing from Boeing and NASA.’

‘The data also supports root cause assessments for the helium and thruster issues and flight rationale for Starliner and its crew’s return to Earth,’ the statement reads.

On X, formerly Twitter, Howell listed the curriculum vitae of a handful of NASA hires made while Harris has led the NSpC, including a veteran of New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, another from the Jacksonville Symphony and an individual whose ‘scientific’ major was ‘political science.’

‘Space is serious business. Kamala Harris obviously has no business running the National Space Council… They’re lost in space right now. Part of the reason they’re lost in space is that our NASA has been turned into another woke-DEI, dismal excuse for a government agency,’ he said.

Howell also shared a copy of a document showing ‘strategic objectives’ of the ‘NASA DEIA Strategic Plan.’ 

‘The fact is that Vice President Kamala Harris’ record as Border Czar is as awful as her record as Space Czar,’ Howell said Monday.

Howell said it is important that the public see any such correspondence of a political nature between NASA, the vice president’s camp and/or Boeing because other nations like China are watching for such ‘sign[s] of weakness.’

‘It seems that Harris signaled a willingness to cede America’s space superiority in the name of an effort to ‘save democracy,’’ he said, suggesting the DEIA priority may jeopardize national security. ‘When is enough, enough?’

The astronauts, however, took their extended trip in stride.

‘I love being in space. This is my happy place,’ Williams said.

Wilmore will miss his daughter’s final year of high school but notably requested his absentee ballot Friday so that he would be able to vote from orbit.

Fox News Digital reached out to Harris’ governmental office and the Harris campaign but did not receive a response. 

In a response to Fox News Digital regarding the FOIA, a NASA spokesperson stated that Harris and NSpC staff ‘received frequent updates on the Starliner Crewed Flight Test.’

‘While the National Space Council works closely with civil, national security, commercial, and international partners to advance the nation’s space priorities, it does not make operational spaceflight safety recommendations or decisions,’ the spokesperson wrote.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Jalen Hurts dominates with legs despite loss vs. Falcons

Jalen Hurts entered Week 2 of the 2024 NFL season facing a tough task. The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback had to face the Atlanta Falcons on ‘Monday Night Football’ without the services of his top receiver, A.J. Brown.

Brown was declared out for the contest after suffering a hamstring injury at practice Friday. That thinned Philadelphia’s receiving depth chart and put the onus on Hurts to spark the offense.

Hurts accomplished that goal, as he was the catalyst on each of Philadelphia’s touchdown drives. That wasn’t quite enough to dispatch the Falcons — who erased a six-point deficit with a last-minute touchdown drive to win 22-21 — but that fell more on the Eagles’ defense than it did Hurts.

Hurts completed 23 of 30 passes for 183 yards, a touchdown and a final-drive interception that sealed the Eagles loss. Those numbers may not look overly impressive, but his production on the ground certainly was.

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Jalen Hurts rushing yards vs. Falcons

Hurts had one of the best rushing games of his career against the Falcons. He ran for 85 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, and catalyzed the offense, which missed the injured Brown during its ‘Monday Night Football’ defeat.

The Eagles clearly planned to use Hurts’ legs against the Falcons. They called a designed run on a third-and-9 on their first possession, which elicited boos from the Philadelphia crowd after the quarterback gained just 3 yards.

After that, fans were more amenable to Hurts running, especially as the Eagles’ receivers struggled to create separation. Hurts kept the offense moving with big runs in critical situations, like his 23-yard scramble on fourth-and-3 during Philadelphia’s first-half touchdown drive.

That wasn’t Hurts’ only big run on that drive. He had back-to-back runs of 9 and 15 yards to convert a second-and-20 into a first down. His second run was particularly impressive, as he used his powerful frame and contact balance to bounce off a couple of Falcons defenders and remain upright before crossing the line to gain.

The Falcons made it a point to spy Hurts more in the second half to prevent him from gashing them on the ground. The Eagles still found a way to get Hurts some opportunities to run, as they drew up some designed quarterback runs for him on their 9:34 fourth-quarter touchdown drive.

That included a couple of ‘Tush Push’ plays, one of which saw Hurts convert Philadelphia’s second touchdown.

Hurts’ 85 rushing yards are the fifth-most he has recorded in a single game, and the most he has recorded since his 86-yard outing against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 11 of the 2022 season.

They still weren’t enough to beat the Falcons in a hard-fought defeat.

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49ers star receiver miss a couple weeks with calf injury

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel will be sidelined the next few weeks.

On Monday, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that Samuel will miss ‘a couple weeks’ due to a calf strain that he sustained during the team’s 23-17 Week 2 loss to the Vikings. He had eight catches for 110 receiving yards vs. Minnesota.

The versatile wide receiver currently leads the team in targets (19), receptions (13) and receiving yards (164) through two games.

Samuel’s injury means the 49ers will be without two of their most explosive playmakers for at least the next few weeks.

The 49ers placed running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve on Saturday because of lingering calf and Achilles tendon injuries. McCaffrey isn’t eligible for return until Week 6. The two 49ers stars accounted for 3,140 yards from scrimmage and 33 total touchdowns last year.

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‘Always when you lose real good players, it’s always tough. But it happens all over the league and it’s a huge part of this league and a huge part of this game,’ Shanahan said. ‘We’ve got to deal with it.’

San Francisco will certainly miss Samuel and McCaffrey, but they still have 2023 second-team All-Pro WR Brandon Aiyuk and five-time Pro Bowler George Kittle at tight end, plus promising running back Jordan Mason to help carry the load on offense.

The 49ers travel to Los Angeles to take on the Rams in a Week 3 NFC West battle. The Rams are also dealing with their own injury issues. Rams coach Sean McVay announced Monday that WR Cooper Kupp (ankle) will be out “a good amount of time” and he could join WR Puka Nacua (knee) on injured reserve.

The 49ers return home in Week 4 to face the New England Patriots and host the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5.

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Rams lose second star WR as Kupp to miss time due to ankle injury

The Los Angeles Rams will be without Cooper Kupp for a while.

Rams head coach Sean McVay announced Monday that Kupp will be out “a good amount of time” due to a left ankle sprain that he sustained during the Rams’ 41-10 lopsided loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2.

Kupp, safety John Johnson (shoulder) and guard Jonah Jackson (shoulder) all suffered injuries against Arizona. McVay said there’s a possibility that all three players could land on injured reserve.

“We’ve had some unfortunate breaks, and it’s happened really early, and it’s definitely nothing that I’ve been exposed to,” McVay said. “This is unique.”

Kupp was injured after his fourth reception when he was tackled by Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson and cornerback Starling Thomas late in the first half. He didn’t return in the second half due to the ankle injury.

All things Rams: Latest Los Angeles Rams news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

The injury marks the third time Kupp’s dealt with injuries to his lower extremities in as many seasons. He injured his ankle in 2022 and dealt with a nagging hamstring last year.

Kupp’s injury is another big blow to an already depleted Rams wide receiver room. The Rams placed wideout Puka Nacua on injured reserve after Nacua injured his knee in the team’s Week 1 loss to the Detroit Lions.

Kupp and Nacua are the Rams’ best two receivers, and they both went down to injuries within the first two weeks of the regular season.

Wide receivers TylerJohnson, Demarcus Robinson and Tutu Atwell will be asked to step up in the absence of the team’s two leading receivers.

Kupp led the NFL in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches on the way to winning the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2021. The wideout was instrumental during the team’s 2021 title run and was named Super Bowl 56 MVP.

The Rams are 0-2 for the first time under McVay and are off to their worst start since 2011. The team faces the San Francisco 49ers at home in Week 3.

“You just have to acknowledge the reality of the situation. You feel for your teammates, but you know it’s about how do we really put together a good week of preparation. How do we start to establish a rhythm and a rapport with the guys that are playing. And you hope that we are able to stay healthy to be able to continue to build on that and to put quality football out there,” McVay said. “We’re capable of playing much better quality football on both sides of the football.”

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Report: Wisconsin Badgers QB to miss rest of season with knee injury

MADISON, Wis. — The news on Tyler Van Dyke is as bad as expected.

The Wisconsin quarterback will miss the remainder of the season due to a right knee injury he suffered during the first quarter of the team’s 42-10 home loss to Alabama on Saturday. The severity of the injury was first reported by the Wisconsin State Journal and confirmed by ESPN, which added that Van Dyke suffered a full tear of his ACL.

The loss of Van Dyke means that redshirt sophomore Braedyn Locke assumes the role of starting quarterback and true freshman Mabrey Mettauer becomes the top backup.

Wisconsin has a bye week this Saturday then travels to play Southern California on Sept. 28 to begin Big Ten conference play.

This marks the second consecutive season in which Wisconsin will be without its top quarterback for a significant amount of time. Last year, Tanner Mordecai broke his right hand during the first half against Iowa and missed the remainder of that game plus the next three.

Locke replaced Mordecai as the starter and in three full games led the Badgers to a comeback win over Illinois and losses to Ohio State and Indiana. He completed 60 of 121 passes (.496) for 648 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions in those contests.

For the season he hit 76 of 152 passes (.500) for 777 yards, five touchdowns and one interception.

On Saturday, Locke played all but the first seven snaps for Wisconsin. He completed 13 of 26 passes for 125 yards and one touchdown. The Badgers attack gained 268 total yards and averaged 4.1 yards per play with him running the show.

He led Wisconsin on a 17-play, 75-yard touchdown drive on the team’s first possession of the third quarter. Also, on the team’s final full possession of the first half, he guided the unit on a 10-play 57-yard drive that ended with a 44-yard missed field goal by junior Nathanial Vakos.

“We’ve got the utmost confidence in Braedyn,” Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell said after the game Saturday. “It had been a battle all through fall camp and even in spring football. And Braedyn can execute this offense and do some things even different than Tyler can. But it wasn’t going to be enough today.”

Thanks to a bye in the Badgers’ schedule, Locke’s first game as the starter this season will be at No 12 USC Sept. 28. The time off will also give the team time to recover from its most lopsided loss since falling to No. 3 Ohio State, 52-21, in 2022.

Fickell and offensive coordinator Phil Longo have praised Locke for his understanding of the offense. Van Dyke, who had to learn three offenses during three seasons as the starter at Miami, had a quick grasp of the UW offense, but also had the advantage over Locke in arm strength and mobility.

Now the Badgers will have to adjust to a signal caller with a different set of strengths.

What can’t be replaced is Van Dyke’s experience. He has 30 starts in college and has played in 34 games overall.

“You never hope for an injury. That’s obvious,’ Locke said. ‘He’s been a tremendous guy for our team, just a leader and a great player. He does things the right way and I have a lot of respect for him. We have a good relationship so no part of you ever hopes for that, but the second your number is called you’ve got to be ready to go.”

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Key Red Wings forward lands lucrative deal two days before camp

A deal between the Detroit Red Wings and Lucas Raymond is finally in the books.

The team announced Monday night that Raymond, one of the most important pieces in the rebuilding process, has been locked up for eight years with an average annual value of $8,075,000.

Raymond, 23, is coming off his third NHL season, which saw him reach 31 goals and 41 assists. His 72 points led the team, and his 0.88 points-per-game average ranked only behind Dylan Larkin (1.01) and Patrick Kane (0.94). Raymond’s three-year entry-level contract had a cap hit of $925,000.

Raymond emerged as a key part of the rebuild soon after the Red Wings drafted him at No. 4 in 2020.

PENGUINS: Sidney Crosby extension gives him chance to be franchise leader

That was the year the COVID-19 shuttered the regular season on March 12, and in response to all teams not having played the same amount of games, the NHL settled on a draft lottery that would include the seven teams that weren’t part of the playoffs (the Red Wings were the only team eliminated from contention at the time of the shutdown) along with the eight losers of the playoff play-in round. That led to the New York Rangers going from the playoff bubble to selecting first overall, and the Red Wings being pushed back three spots.

Yzerman looked and sounded understandably upset the night of the lottery, but he made the most of it in selecting Raymond. He spent another season in the top-level Swedish Hockey League and came to North America, making the Wings out of camp in 2021 as a 19-year-old. Raymond scored 23 goals among 57 points in 82 games as a rookie, playing mostly on the top line with Larkin.

Raymond had some growing pains in his second season, no longer an unknown to opponents, and was limited to 17 goals and 45 points in 74 games. He went into the offseason with renewed focus on getting stronger and showed up at camp in the fall of 2023 roughly a dozen pounds heavier.

His improved physique showed especially in the second half, as he withstood the grind of his third NHL season with exceptional performances. When Detroit was without Larkin for nine games in March, Raymond led the team with seven goals and eight points in that stretch. When the Wings needed to basically win out the season in the last week to keep themselves in the push for a playoff spot, Raymond led the team with five goals and eight points the last four games.

Earlier Monday, Detroit signed skilled forward Jonatan Berggren, a restricted free agent, to a one-year, $825,000 contract.

Detroit defenseman Moritz Seider remains without a contract. According to puckpedia.com, the Red Wings have about $8.75 million in salary cap space remaining.

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