EA Sports is “working through a strategy” to bring college basketball back into the video game world. 

The video game company teased college sports fans in June when it teased the development of a college basketball game.

A college basketball video game hasn’t been made since NCAA Basketball 10, released in 2009. The series was shelved, but the success of reviving the College Football video game series led a renewed interest in bringing back one centered around March Madness.

Now, EA Sports confirmed to USA TODAY Sports it’s in the early stages of hopefully putting a game together.

“We’re up for the challenge, and we’re in the process of trying to figure out how that could come together,” said EA Sports vice president of business development Sean O’Brien.

The EA Sports executive confirmed the plan for the game would be to include all Division I men’s and women’s basketball teams, which he called “a daunting task.” But he noted the success of the company reviving the college football video game, and the overwhelming response it got from it paved way for another college sports franchise.

“You’re dealing with passionate fan base who are at a special time in their lives, and then that carries with them for the rest of their life,” O’Brien said. “We felt that we really captured lightning in a bottle with college football. I think we would love to try to do the same for college basketball.”

In a company earnings call in July, EA Sports CEO Andrew Wilson said the company would commit to a college basketball game the same way it did in college football, bringing “iconic traditions and rivalries, and of course, March Madness.”

It’s also renewed a possible competitor in the college basketball landscape. Not long after EA Sports teased its return, 2K Games hinted at wanting to get in the business. The publisher of the NBA 2K series made College Hoops 2K8 in 2007. 

‘2K is the undisputed home of basketball gaming. We have a strong history with college hoops and are exploring exciting new ways to bring athletes and schools to life. Class is in session,” 2K Games said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports. 

While talks have renewed about college basketball video games, there haven’t been many details revealed about when it would be released. Matt Brown of Extra Points reported a memo from the Collegiate Licensing Company indicated the EA Sports game would return for the 2028-29 season and would be a series released every two years with updates added in between.

Former NFL and Georgia Tech coach Bobby Ross, 88, is battling chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
Ross plans to watch his former team play Colorado in their season opener, coached by Deion Sanders, who recently recovered from bladder cancer surgery.
Ross led Georgia Tech to a shared national championship in 1990 with Colorado, marking the first time the two teams will play each other.

Former NFL head coach Bobby Ross has endured some troubling health issues recently at age 88 but won’t be kept from watching the big game this week on television. His old college football team, Georgia Tech, opens the season at Colorado on Friday Aug. 29 in an 8 p.m. ET game on ESPN.

Ross coached Georgia Tech to a share of the national championship for the 1990 season, when the Yellow Jackets finished 11-0-1. The national title was shared with Colorado, which finished 11-1-1. The two teams have never played.

“It’ll be interesting to see,” Ross recently said in a recent interview with USA TODAY Sports. “I hope (Colorado coach) Deion Sanders recovers from his illness. That’s sad. I hope he can get through that.”

Sanders had surgery to remove a cancerous bladder in May but has recovered and otherwise is coaching his team as normal.

Ross’ health situation also involves a form of cancer: chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). CLL is “very hard to cure,” but most people can live with the disease for many years, according to the American Cancer Society.

“It is a form of cancer, but it’s not usually thought of as a serious one,” Ross said. “But if your lymph nodes start to grow… then you’ve got to be careful. That’s where I am right now.”

What is ex-NFL coach Bobby Ross doing now?

Ross lives in Richmond, Va., with his wife Alice, having retired from coaching after the 2006 season as head coach of Army. He previously coached the Detroit Lions and San Diego Chargers, a team he led to the Super Bowl in January 1995.  

He said he recently was invited to a football-related event in Atlanta but wasn’t sure if he’d make it because of his health. He said his wife also had cancer removed.

“So it’s been a rough winter for us health-wise,” Ross said.

He still was adamant he’d watch Georgia Tech’s season opener.

“Oh, for sure,” Ross said. “I’ll watch it. I sure will. Very much so.”

Ross coached the Yellow Jackets for five seasons from 1987 through 1991 before he was hired by the Chargers in the NFL.

One of his former Georgia Tech players, Mike MacIntyre, later became head coach at Colorado from 2013-2018. Under MacIntyre in 2016, Colorado and Georgia Tech agreed by contract to play this game in 2025 and another one in Atlanta in 2026.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

When Billie Jean King looks for the next up-and-coming tennis star, the International Tennis Hall of Famer searches for attributes and intangibles that go far beyond how hard you can hit the ball.

‘I’m always looking for players that can take our sport to another level in the next generation,’ King told USA TODAY Sports ahead of the 2025 US Open. ‘What can you do off the court? Not just be a great player.’

King has made a career of doing just that. The 39-time major winner — who won 12 in singles — has championed gender equality and equal pay, a fight that must be carried on by the next crop of superstars, King said. When asked which tennis stars possess the capability of transcending tennis, King confidently offered two names: Canadian teen sensation Victoria Mboko, who turns 19 on Aug. 26, and two-time major champion Coco Gauff, 21.

‘When I was young, I was thinking about how to change the sport. I’m still thinking about how to change the sport,’ King said. ‘What do you do to help your sport? What do you do to help other human beings? How do you make the world a better place? Those were the things that would gnaw at me as a young person.’

VENUS WILLIAMS: Barbie honors tennis legend’s push for equal rights

US OPEN ODDS: Favorites to win 2025 men’s and women’s singles titles

USA TODAY Sports caught up with King to catch up on the 2025 US Open, young changemakers in the sport, her wish for tennis’ future and her preferred ride of choice with Lyft Silver.

Billie Jean King’s favorite US Open moment

King may be approaching her 82nd birthday in November, but the legend is far from slowing down. ‘I have a schedule that’ll choke you. I don’t stop,’ King playfully tells USA TODAY Sports. Her schedule this week includes appearances at the 145th edition of the US Open, which is being hosted at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Having a tennis venue named after you comes with perks.

‘Because it’s called that, (tournament officials) actually will take care of my transportation if I want to,’ said King, a spokesperson for Lyft Silver designated for seniors. King is part of Lyft’s ‘Silver is Gold’ campaign that’s changing the conversation around aging and independence by providing rides with greater accessibility, larger fonts on the app and live phone support.

When King first made her debut in New York in 1959 at age 15, the US Open was called the U.S. National Championship and professionals were ‘only making $14 a day,’ she recalled. Despite saying she ‘didn’t do that well at the US Open,’ King won the tournament four times. Her favorite memory from the New York-based slam, however, has nothing to do with her actually playing.

‘My most exciting moment … was when we got equal prize money in 1973,’ King said of the U.S. Open, which was the first to award men and women equal prize money. The Australian Open followed suit in 2001, while the French Open and Wimbledon made the change in 2007. ‘I didn’t really care about my results in tennis as much as I did about helping change the sport and then helping women’s sports.’

The pivotal milestone was largely brought on by the tireless work of King. After she won the 1972 US Open and took home $10K, compared to the $25K awarded to men’s singles champion Ilie Năstase of Romania, King staged a boycott among the female competitors and demanded equal pay.

‘In ’72 when I won the tournament, I said, ‘The women aren’t coming back next year unless we get equal prize money.’ And of course, I hadn’t really talked to the women about it,’ said King, who simultaneously lobbied sponsors to make up the difference in prize money. ‘I was panicking and I went and talked to them. They were great.’

Victoria Mboko, Coco Gauff are ‘my favorites to watch’

King’s contributions to tennis are cemented in the history of the game, but King isn’t one to get caught up reminiscing. She’s focused on the sport’s future and the superstars that can advocate for change because King just wants ‘tennis to keep improving.’ Gauff and Mboko are two that come to mind.

‘Players are the ones that can force the issue and take it to another level,’ King added. ‘Those two make a difference off the court as well as on the court.’ 

Gauff made her professional debut at the age of 15, like King. Gauff burst on the scene at 2019 Wimbledon as the youngest qualifier at the tournament in Open Era history and beat five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in straight sets in their opening-round match. In her short career, Gauff has climbed as high as No. 2 in the world (June 2024) and has two singles Grand Slam titles, including 2023 US Open and 2025 French Open.

Mboko similarly made a splash at age 18 by taking down four former Grand Slam champions (including Gauff) to win the 2025 Canadian Open, a WTA 1000-level hard court event that leads up to the US Open. Mboko, who is ranked No. 23 in the world after starting the 2025 season at No. 333, suffered a 6-3, 6-2 first-round exit against Czech Barbora Krejčíková at the Open on Monday.

‘You can listen to a lot. It’s how they talk,’ King explained. ‘Do they use the ‘we’ word instead of the ‘me’ or ‘I’ word? Can you tell they think about social justice? Do they think about other things besides just hitting a tennis ball? Are they interested in history?’

In June, Gauff told USA TODAY Sports she feels ‘lucky’ that King and other trailblazers ‘put their foot down’ to create systemic change. Gauff continued, ‘I do feel like tennis can be a little bit years ahead … I think in tennis it’s important to continue push it in our own sport.’

Gauff opens the tournament on Tuesday with a first-round matchup against Australian Ajla Tomljanović.

Tennis players aren’t making enough money

Although tennis has ‘come a long way,’ King said change is still needed. She has brainstormed many ways to make tennis more efficient and when you happen to be the godmother of tennis, people listen. Her first gripe is one she’s had for decades — players are not making enough money. (The 2025 US Open singles champions will make $5 million, with the runner-up getting $2.5 million.)

‘I don’t think the players are making enough at the majors,’ King said. ‘It’s really way too low, the prize money for what the tournament’s taking in. I think we need to change it.’

King also believes the scoring system needs updating (‘It should be 1, 2, 3, 4 instead of 15-love or 30-love’), the dress code needs refinement (‘You shouldn’t have the same outfit on as your opponent’), in addition to a touch of individuality (‘You should have names on the back of the shirt.’)

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

Willson Contreras was ejected after arguing a called third strike and flung his bat, which struck Cardinals hitting coach Brant Brown.
Contreras said he didn’t object to the pitch and was only asking for consistency from the home plate umpire.

The incident stemmed from a borderline pitch that umpire Derek Thomas called strike three on Contreras in the bottom of the seventh inning.

As Contreras was walking back to the dugout, he apparently said something that got him ejected. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol came out to argue as Contreras turned around and became more animated in his protests. Marmol ended up having to hold his player back until other Cardinals coaches stepped in.

As they were walking off the field, Contreras, still holding his bat, flung it toward the field – stiking hitting coach Brant Brown in the arm.

Afterward, Contreras said he didn’t understand why he was ejected in the first place.

‘I didn’t argue any pitch,’ Contreras said. ‘The only thing I said was, ‘Call the pitches on both sides because you’re missing for us.’ That’s it. Then, I turned around. The next thing I hear, he threw me out. He had no reason for it.’

Contreras was still angry as he left the field. He said he didn’t look back when he flung his bat behind him. He said he later apologized to Brown for hitting him.

Still not finished showing his displeasure, Contreras flung a bucket of bubble gum out onto the field before finally heading into the clubhouse.

The Cardinals ended up winning the game 7-6 on a walkoff home run by Alec Burleson.

Former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne revealed he voted for Georgia Tech over Colorado for the 1990 national championship.
Osborne cited Colorado’s controversial fifth-down win against Missouri and Georgia Tech’s more decisive victory over his own team as reasons for his vote.
The two teams will face each other for the first time in the 2025 season opener.

Nearly 35 years later, former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne finally is willing to talk about which team he voted to win the national championship for the 1990 college football season.

Did he select Big Eight Conference rival Colorado as the nation’s No. 1 team after the Buffaloes beat Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1, 1991?

Or did he instead coronate Georgia Tech, which beat his Nebraska team that same day in the Citrus Bowl?

Osborne, 88, discussed it by phone with USA TODAY Sports as Colorado and coach Deion Sanders prepare to face Georgia Tech in a season-opening game in Boulder on Friday, Aug. 29. It will be the first meeting of Colorado and Georgia Tech despite forever being linked by what happened in the voting for that national championship.

“If you wanted to know how I voted, I did vote for Georgia Tech,” Osborne said.

Osborne was seen as an important vote because his team was the only one that played both teams in the 1990 season. He previously has declined to talk about it publicly, even though many speculated he voted Georgia Tech No. 1, perhaps even to deny league foe Colorado of a national championship prize that he had had yet to win.

Osborne denies he did it to spite Colorado. “I would never do that,” he said.

He had other reasons.

What happened with the Coaches Poll voting?

There was no College Football Playoff back then. The national championship instead was decided by voters in two main polls after teams played their postseason bowl games.

Their link to a shared national title serves as a reminder of how controversy and conflicts of interest could shape the sport back then in an age before replay review and rules to prevent such conflicts.

Something seemed especially strange about the Coaches Poll then because the balloting was secret and the winning margin in that poll was only one point (847-846), including a 30-27 margin in first-place votes for Georgia Tech.

The coaches’ voting then was tabulated by Jeff Shain, then the sports editor of United Press International (UPI), which sponsored the poll. Shain told USA TODAY Sports recently that after 58 ballots were counted in the final Coaches Poll on Jan. 2, 1991, Colorado and Georgia Tech were tied at No. 1 with one vote left to be tracked down. That 59th and final coach then voted for Georgia Tech to break the tie.

“That coach, unbeknownst to him, essentially swung the national title,” Shain said. “All 59 votes count the same, but because he was last, it was the determining ballot.”

Who was the final vote in the Coaches Poll?

Shain said it wasn’t Osborne. But because the margin was only one point, any coach who voted Georgia Tech No. 1 could have changed the result had he voted for Colorado instead.

Shain declined to say who cast the final vote, citing a confidentiality agreement with the coaches’ association back then.

He confirmed the ballots were required to be kept secret and then thrown away.

“Our procedure was to tally them and toss them,” Shain said.

By contrast, the final Associated Press poll wasn’t as close or controversial: It was 39-20 in first-place voting for Colorado over Georgia Tech. That poll of voters in the news media also had consistently kept Colorado No. 1 since November 1990 as the Buffaloes navigated one of the nation’s toughest schedules.

Swing in final voting for Georgia Tech

In a big shift, the Coaches Poll moved Georgia Tech into the No. 1 spot even though Colorado was in first in the previous poll in December 1990 and the Buffaloes beat No. 5 Notre Dame the day before, 10-9. It was the first time in that poll’s history that a No. 1 team fell out of the top spot after winning a bowl game. 

This flipflop stunned then-Colorado coach Bill McCartney, who learned the results of the final UPI Coaches Poll after landing at the airport in Denver after the Orange Bowl, according to University of Colorado athletics historian Dave Plati

“That’s not right,” McCartney said then. “You call UPI back and tell them to have the coaches vote again.’ 

McCartney, who died in January,  long suspected Osborne had ranked Georgia Tech No. 1. Plati said he never got confirmation of Osborne’s ballot.

“He would never come out and say where he voted us,” Plati said recently.

Why did Tom Osborne vote for Georgia Tech?

Coaches weren’t required to reveal their ballots in the final poll, unlike now in the US LBM Coaches Poll, administered by USA TODAY Sports. 

The secrecy of the ballots and lack of confirmation from Osborne led to decades of rumors about how he voted and why.

Osborne told USA TODAY Sports he doesn’t remember where he voted Colorado on his final ballot or final regular-season ballot. He cited two big factors for his final vote.  One was that Colorado had received an illegal fifth down to beat Missouri that season on the final play of the game, 33-31.  Another was that Georgia Tech beat his Nebraska team more soundly than Colorado did (45-21 by Georgia Tech, 27-12 by Colorado).

“They were both good teams, and I think the distinguishing factor was Colorado ended up having five downs in one of their wins and Georgia Tech didn’t have any somewhat questionable finishes,” Osborne told USA TODAY Sports. “So I voted for Georgia Tech, and of course we played them both. I thought Georgia Tech at the end of the year was pretty good.”

Why was the Colorado fifth-down game an issue?

Colorado started the year 1-1-1, including a loss at Illinois and a tie against Tennessee in Anaheim, California, before finishing with 10 consecutive wins. But one of those wins came on that fifth down at Missouri.

It wasn’t Colorado’s fault, but the Buffs won on a final play that shouldn’t have been allowed.

The officiating crew and scoreboard indicated it was third down when quarterback Charles S. Johnson spiked the ball to stop the clock. It was really fourth down after Colorado had run three previous plays from the Missouri 3-yard line, including another spiked ball to stop the clock on first down. Missouri was set to win, 31-27, if the game ended there.

But if the quarterback had known it was really fourth down instead of third, he wouldn’t have spiked the ball to surrender the game on downs. He instead would have tried to win as he did on the next play − a 1-yard touchdown run on “fifth down” as time expired.

The confusion stemmed from when game officials had failed to change the down marker from “2” to “3” after 2-yard gain on second down.

Then-Missouri coach Bob Stull was a voter in the final poll back then, too. He told USA TODAY Sports he doesn’t remember how he voted. The Tigers were also Big Eight members with Nebraska and Colorado.

“I wasn’t bitter on the (fifth-down) thing, so I don’t know if it carried at all,” Stull said. “You’ve got your conference you’re trying to vote for too, you know. I can’t tell you how I did, but that wouldn’t have come into play for me.”

Major voting change in final Coaches Poll

In previous voting to end the regular season in December 1990, the Coaches Poll had Colorado ranked No. 1 by a margin of 38-7 over Georgia Tech in first-place votes – 45 points total out a panel of 59 coaches. That means 14 coaches didn’t vote in that previous poll.

But then in the final poll on Jan. 2, 1991, all 59 coaches voted, including 30 first-place votes for Georgia Tech, 27 for Colorado and two for Miami (Fla.).

Shain said sometimes some coaches were simply hard to track down for their ballots because they were on the road recruiting and didn’t have cell phones then.

“Voting is not high on their priority list,” he said.

Why did Colorado lose support in that poll?

Many coaches who voted back then have died or said they don’t remember how they voted. McCartney of Colorado voted his team No. 1 and Georgia Tech No. 2, according to Plati. Then-Georgia Tech coach Bobby Ross told USA TODAY Sports recently he also voted his own team No. 1.

In Colorado’s case, there were other issues – the fifth-down win and a controversial clipping penalty against Notre Dame that nullified a last-minute punt return for a touchdown in the Orange Bowl by the Fighting Irish. Add them both together and coaches might have felt Colorado didn’t deserve it.

Georgia Tech looked good in comparison. The Yellow Jackets finished the season undefeated with one tie against North Carolina, including wins against then-No. 1 Virginia and then-No. 13 Nebraska

Ross also brought up the fifth-down win by Colorado but said he didn’t remember where he voted the Buffs.

“Colorado won one game on a fifth down that was given to them,” Ross told USA TODAY Sports. “That was, to me, was another thing that would have worked against them.  I know they were an outstanding team. I think we were too at that time.”

Poll conflicts and loyalty tests

In today’s game, members of the committee that vote for the 12 teams in the College Football Playoff are required to recuse themselves from voting if there is a conflict of interest, including if they work for the school in question.

But back then, these coaches decided part of the national title. And they not only voted for their own teams but also could possibly penalize others to their advantage in their secret balloting.

What was to stop Ross from putting Colorado a little further down his list than where he thought they belonged?

“I would have Colorado where I think they should have been,” Ross said.

We don’t know if Ross or any coach sought to influence the final result this way. We do know that at least one coach or possibly two voted Georgia Tech multiple places behind Colorado because the Yellow Jackets finished with three more first-place votes but only a one-point margin.

Others had reason to vote for teams in their own conference to enhance their league media exposure. Ironically, then-Nebraska athletic director Bob Devaney raised a stink about some Big Eight coaches voting Virginia No. 1 earlier in the 1990 season instead of Nebraska.

Osborne ultimately didn’t follow Devaney’s Big Eight loyalty beliefs, nor was he required to do so.

“Georgia Tech beat us by a bigger margin than Colorado, and then there was that little bit of a controversial thing with Colorado,” Osborne said. “So I thought I Georgia Tech deserved at that point to be No. 1. You make a judgment. That’s the basis of my judgment.”

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

USA TODAY Sports preseason glance at the Heisman favorites is loaded with quarterbacks.
Texas QB Arch Manning finally becomes the Longhorns’ unquestioned starter.
Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith is the strongest non-QB contender for the Heisman Trophy entering the 2025 season.

One year after Travis Hunter became the most unconventional Heisman Trophy winner in the award’s history by virtue of his both-ways brilliance for Colorado, look for the 2025 race to drift back toward tradition by focusing on a class of very specific and traditional contenders: high-profile and productive quarterbacks playing for the nation’s best teams.

With the regular season just weeks away, the closest thing to an alternative option is Ohio State sophomore Jeremiah Smith, who after one year with the Buckeyes is beginning to build a case for being counted among the best wide receivers in recent Bowl Subdivision history.

Otherwise, USA TODAY Sports preseason glance at the Heisman favorites is loaded with quarterbacks such as Arch Manning, Cade Klubnik and Drew Allar.

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Manning has the name recognition to cruise to the Heisman – something his famous grandfather and uncles didn’t achieve – but will spend his debut year as the starter at Texas under a blindingly bright spotlight.

His obvious ability and the Longhorns’ surrounding talent makes Manning the early favorite, with Klubnik, Allar and others just behind. Here are the eight players to watch heading into regular season:

QB Arch Manning, Texas

Manning was very good in limited duty as a redshirt freshman, completing 61 of 90 attempts for 939 yards with 13 combined scores, four on the ground. But he also did the overwhelming majority of that work early in the year, against opponents such as Texas-San Antonio, Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State. From October on, Manning made 12 pass attempts for 38 yards while running for 26 yards and a touchdown. Basically, there is much to prove but plenty to like about how well he’ll play as the Longhorns’ unquestioned starter.

QB Cade Klubnik, Clemson

Klubnik started coming into his own in 2024 to help deliver Clemson’s eighth ACC championship in the past decade. He also hit a few speedbumps, as in the opener against Georgia and later losses to Louisville and South Carolina. Consistency will be key for the senior to deliver the first Heisman in program history. As with Manning, though, Klubnik will be surrounded by a terrific supporting cast and could have his team at or near the top of the polls heading into the postseason.

WR Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State

Smith is a transcendent talent capable of changing the complexion of every game Ohio State plays. Virtually unguardable as a freshman, when he delivered 76 catches for 1,315 yards and 15 scores, Smith’s reliability will be even more vital given the Buckeyes’ offseason changes at quarterback and offensive coordinator. He’ll have plenty of opportunities to deliver a Heisman moment, beginning with a non-conference home against the top-ranked Longhorns to open the year.

QB Drew Allar, Penn State

Allar could check all the boxes for the Heisman. He’ll play alongside an elite backfield, throw to a deeper receiver corps than in 2024 and take snaps in front of the strongest offensive line of the James Franklin era. Importantly, the senior could lead the Nittany Lions to the Big Ten championship and one of the top seeds in the College Football Playoff. Throw in a nice framing device – the attempt to bounce back from the interception he tossed to end last year’s loss to Notre Dame in the national semifinals – and Allar has all the ingredients for a run at the award.

QB Garrett Nussmeier, LSU

The only returning 4,000-yard passer from last season, Nussmeier will put up Heisman-level numbers in one of the nation’s two strongest conferences. Whether the senior can rise to Heisman frontrunner status depends on where LSU falls in the SEC and playoff chase: Will Nussmeier’s numbers have an empty-calories feel amid another disappointing season for the Tigers? Or is this team ready to take the leap and make Nussmeier the program’s third Heisman-winning quarterback in six years? Regardless, he could land at or near the top of next year’s NFL draft by improving his touch and ball placement while trimming his turnover-worthy plays.

QB John Mateer, Oklahoma

How Mateer’s game translates from Washington State to Oklahoma will determine whether Oklahoma can rebound from last season’s disastrous SEC debut and solidify coach Brent Venables’ weakened job security. If the SEC doesn’t prove too much for Mateer and former WSU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, the Sooners could add three or four wins to become the surprise team in the Power Four. Mateer had 44 combined touchdowns and ranked eighth nationally in efficiency rating last season.

QB LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina

Sellers is a burgeoning star for the Gamecocks who might be one year away from being a top-end Heisman contender. But the sophomore could be a legitimate option this fall should he match his run over the second half of 2024 and push South Carolina into the playoff after coming up just short last season. Sellers accounted for 17 touchdowns and ran for 166 yards on 10.4 yards per carry against rival Clemson as USC won six in a row to end the regular season.

QB Sam Leavitt, Arizona State

Leavitt will need to take on an even larger role as the Sun Devils rework things offensively to offset the loss of star running back Cam Skattebo. The sophomore should be up to the challenge after throwing for 2,885 yards and 24 touchdowns against six interceptions in 2024.

The NFL’s roster cutdown deadline is at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Teams aren’t waiting until the last minute, however, with several already taking action over the weekend.
Several backup quarterbacks and former high draft picks could be on thin ice for their respective teams’ final roster spots.

For many NFL teams, Tuesday’s roster cutdown deadline marks perhaps the biggest hurdle remaining before preparation for the regular season begins in earnest. For hundreds of players, however, the paring down can mark a painful end of the line.

Established starters and early draft picks typically have nothing to fear as teams set their initial 53-man rosters, but the culmination of the preseason schedule necessarily leads to some disappointment and difficult decisions. Some long shot bids will officially come to an end. But those who set out to scrape for a spot at the end of the roster are signing up for a transient lifestyle, and this might just be the first – or latest – in a series of setbacks. But hope remains, as any notion of finality with the cutdowns is quickly dispelled by additional waiver moves, trades and practice squad transactions in the coming days, weeks and months.

Here’s a look back at all of the notable moves from Monday:

Broncos roster cuts: Backfield reshuffling continues

The Denver Broncos continue to reshape their running back rotation.

The team plans to waive backup Audric Estime, according to multiple reports.

Estime, a fifth-round pick last April out of Notre Dame, ranked fourth on the team in rushing yards with 310 as a rookie. But with veteran J.K. Dobbins and second-round rookie RJ Harvey coming aboard to pace the ground game and backup Jaleel McLoughlin returning a change-of-pace option, Estime became the odd man out in Sean Payton’s attack.

Buccaneers roster cuts: Kyle Trask out, Teddy Bridgewater in as QB2

Baker Mayfield has a new backup.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers plan to release quarterback Kyle Trask, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported.

Trask was the Buccaneers’ second-round pick in 2021, which was Tom Brady’s penultimate season with the team. But the former Florida standout couldn’t beat out Baker Mayfield in the 2023 preseason after Tom Brady retired, and Trask has attempted just 11 passes in his career to date.

Tampa Bay then signed veteran Teddy Bridgewater on Aug. 5 and seemed to quickly favor him for the backup role. Bridgewater started the second preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and threw two touchdown passes. He was held out of the finale with an illness.

Raiders roster cuts: Familiar figures not sticking around

The Las Vegas Raiders’ initial round of cuts didn’t feature any surprises, but some recognizable names won’t be on the 53-man roster.

Wide receivers Marquez Callaway, Phillip Dorsett II and Collin Johnson were all released Monday, as was linebacker Jaylon Smith.

The three veteran wideouts provided depth in camp, but Las Vegas looked to other options in its receiving corps, with multiple reports indicating Monday that five-time Pro Bowler Amari Cooper is heading back to the franchise that selected him No. 4 overall in 2015. Meanwhile, fourth-rounder Dont’e Thornton Jr. could potentially play a sizable role as a rookie while second-rounder Jack Bech and sixth-rounder Tommy Mellott wait for their turns as backups. Meanwhile, leading wideout Jakobi Meyers is seeking a trade amid a contract standoff, per reports.

Smith was signed in May after a tryout at rookie minicamp, but the former Dallas Cowboys standout will have to look elsewhere as he tries to find his first game action since 2023.

Commanders roster cuts: Michael Gallup’s comeback hits a roadblock

A bevy of former Dallas Cowboys players have followed Dan Quinn to Washington. Michael Gallup, however, won’t be among those joining the Commanders’ roster to start 2025.

The wide receiver was among six players released by the team on Monday.

Gallup, 29, was attempting to make his comeback with the team after announcing his retirement last summer. He broke out by recording 1,107 receiving yards for the Cowboys in 2019, but a 2021 anterior cruciate ligament tear proved to be a sizable setback. The former third-round pick signed with the Las Vegas Raiders last year but stepped away from football last June.

Washington, meanwhile, appears to have its receiving corps set with Terry McLaurin, Deebo Samuel Sr., Noah Brown, Luke McCaffrey and rookie Jaylin Lane.

Buccaneers roster cuts: Desmond Watson’s trial run is up

The Buccaneers are waiving the undrafted free agent defensive tackle from Florida, according to multiple reports.

Watson, who was listed by the team at 449 pounds, had remained on the non-football illness list throughout the summer as the team pushed him to cut weight. Unable to do so, he was released outright rather than moved to the reserve-NFI list, suggesting that a return to Tampa Bay’s practice squad is unlikely.

Lions roster cuts: Hendon Hooker’s time is up

The Detroit Lions are cutting bait on the Hendon Hooker project.

The team is releasing the quarterback, according to multiple reports, in a move that could position journeyman Kyle Allen to secure the backup spot behind Jared Goff.

Hooker, 27, was a third-round pick out of Tennessee in 2023 and sat out his entire rookie season while recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered late in his final collegiate season. In 2024, however, he played in just four games, and Detroit signed veteran Teddy Bridgewater late in the campaign to hold down the backup role.

Hooker struggled throughout the preseason, and Lions coach Dan Campbell seemed to suggest after the game that both sides might be best off moving on.

“How much development do you believe there is?’ Campbell said. ‘We’re talking about Hooker right now, how much development do you believe there still is? Sometimes, does the player need a change of scenery?”

Buccaneers roster cuts: Another key undrafted rookie dismissed

Shilo Sanders isn’t the only notable undrafted rookie whom the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won’t be keeping on their 53-man roster.

The team decided to release linebacker Nick Jackson, according to multiple reports.

Jackson, who finished his college career at Iowa after transferring from Virginia, was a preseason standout who led the team in tackles (14) while adding two sacks and an interception. But even with the team parting with Anthony Walker Jr., who was recovering a lower left leg injury, Tampa Bay saw fit to turn to other options at inside linebacker. Jackson, however, could be a candidate for the practice squad if he goes unclaimed.

Titans roster cuts: 16 players sent packing

On Monday, the team parted ways with 16 players. Those who were waived included: WR Jha’Quan Jackson, WR TJ Sheffield, DT Josiah Bronson, DT TJ Smith, OLB Desmond Evans, ILB Amari Burney, CB Jalen Kimber, CB Clarence Lewis, CB Jermari Harris, CB Davion Ross, S Julius Wood, S Joshuah Bledsoe. Tennessee also released DE Joe Gaziano, G Arlington Hambright and C Sam Mustipher and waived WR Matt Landers with an injury designation.

Saints roster cuts: Cam Akers among 14 players dropped early

Cam Akers’ stint with the New Orleans Saints was a short one.

The running back was released Monday, Saints coach Kellen Moore confirmed. The team also waived 13 other players: punter James Burnip, wide receivers Roderick Daniels Jr. and Moochie Dixon, defensive ends Jasheen Davis, Jeremiah Martin and Omari Thomas, offensive tackles Josiah Ezirim and Jonathan Mendoza, tight ends Seth Green and Michael Jacobson, offensive guards Kyle Hergel and Mike Panasiuk, and linebacker Tyreem Powell.

Akers, 26, signed a one-year deal with the Saints in June after a minicamp tryout. But with New Orleans having sufficient depth behind Alvin Kamara with Kendre Miller, sixth-round rookie Devin Neal and Clyde Edwards-Helaire, the team opted to move on.

Eagles roster cuts: Former first-round pick waived

Kenyon Green won’t be a part of the Philadelphia Eagles’ adjusted offensive line after all.

The offensive guard was waived Monday, according to CBS Sports, just five months after he was traded to the team by the Houston Texans in exchange for safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

Green, 24, was the No. 15 overall pick by the Texans in the 2022 NFL draft out of Texas A&M, but the 6-4, 323-pound blocker struggled throughout his tenure in Houston.

Eagles executive vice president and general manager Howie Roseman was busy over the weekend reshuffling the backups for his offensive front, sending offensive guard Darian Kinnard to the Green Bay Packers while also acquiring offensive tackle Fred Johnson in a deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Dolphins roster cuts: CB Mike Hilton released

The team is releasing Mike Hilton, the cornerback’s agents told ESPN.

Hilton, 31, was signed to boost depth in the slot after Kader Kohou, the lone returning starter in the secondary, suffered a torn Anterior cruciate ligament. A longtime standout for both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals, he collected 13 interceptions in the last eight years, during which he also started 56 games.

Fifth-round rookie Jason Marshall Jr. now could be in line to take over the nickel role.

Offensive tackle Jalen McKenzie was also waived, according to ESPN.

Lions roster cuts: QB clarity coming?

Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes don’t expect to keep any Detroit Lions players twisting in the wind, as the team plans to make the bulk of its cuts by end of day Monday.

‘There could be a couple that we don’t get to, maybe last minute tomorrow,’ Campbell said Monday. ‘But that is what it is and it’s – there’s nothing easy about it and it’s worse on them than it is us. I mean, it’s hard on us but there’s no woe-is-me here. I feel sorry for those guys, but at the same token, what I would tell them, man, use this as fuel and move onto the next step of this.’

The spot most closely monitored for Detroit is at backup quarterback, where journeyman Kyle Allen appears to have taken a lead on Hendon Hooker, the 2023 third-round draft pick who has played sparingly and struggled this summer. After the preseason finale, Campbell appeared to leave the door open to the team moving on from Hooker in some form.

“How much development do you believe there is?’ Campbell said. ‘We’re talking about Hooker right now, how much development do you believe there still is? Sometimes, does the player need a change of scenery?”

Cowboys roster cuts: A surprise in store?

First-year Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer created the kind of stir that bossman Jerry Jones would appreciate when he suggested last week that the team could throw a curveball or two come cutdown time.

‘We’ll sit down after we play Friday and we’ll make some decisions about the entire roster,’ Schottenheimer said last Monday. ‘There will probably be some surprises from some of the mock things that are out there in terms of, ‘Hey, I thought for sure this guy was gonna make it.”

There don’t appear to be many mysteries for a team that sat a huge number of starters and key contributors in the finale, though embattled 2023 first-round defensive tackle Mazi Smith among those still in action. Schottenheimer said Saturday that the positions giving Dallas’ decision-makers the most trouble were cornerback, wide receiver, linebacker and defensive end.

No surprise here, though: Offensive tackle La’el Collins, a former linchpin of the offensive line who signed with the team just this month, was cut Sunday, per multiple reports.

Eagles roster cuts: Dorian Thompson-Robinson out as QB shuffle continues

Howie Roseman is never one to stand pat at a key moment for roster building. That aggressive mentality was on full display this weekend, as the executive vice president and general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles executed a slew of moves.

The most notable decision might be the reworking of his quarterback room. With backup Tanner McKee still sidelined by a finger injury, Roseman swung a trade with the Minnesota Vikings to acquire Sam Howell. That led Sunday to the official ouster of Thompson-Robinson, who was acquired in the Kenny Pickett trade but looked unlikely to stick around after battling sixth-round rookie Kyle McCord for the presumed No. 3 job. McCord, however, was also released on Monday, per reports.

Buccaneers roster cuts: Shilo Sanders gets the boot, but could he return?

Shilo Sanders went down fighting – literally – in Tampa. The Buccaneers on Sunday waived the undrafted rookie free agent safety from Colorado, just one day after Sanders was ejected from Saturday’s preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills for throwing a punch against tight end Zach Davidson.

Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles made his stance clear on Sanders’ action, calling it ‘inexcusable’ in his postgame remarks. But Bowles has been largely complementary of the young defensive back, leaving open the question of whether he could land back on the Bucs’ practice squad if he goes unclaimed.

‘Shilo is very aggressive, very young, and very hungry,’ Bowles said last week. ‘He can make plays in the box and run down to give us 100% on special teams.’

Browns roster cuts: Tyler Huntley out, but four-QB approach seems to be a go

The Cleveland Browns are never short on quarterback news.

On Sunday, the team announced it had released Tyler Huntley, along with three other veterans and 17 players who were waived.

Yet things appear to be clear for the Browns to keep their quartet of quarterbacks – starter Joe Flacco, veteran Kenny Pickett and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders – on the 53-man roster, with general manager Andrew Berry indicating as much during his team’s preseason finale against the Los Angeles Rams.

‘Honestly, it’s not much of a decision for us,’ Berry told Chris Rose and Joe Thomas on the Browns’ broadcast, per the Akron Beacon Journal.

Jets roster cuts: Former first-rounder dropped

Linebacker Jamin Davis’ attempt to revive his NFL career has hit another snag. The 2021 first-round pick of the Washington Commanders was released by the Jets on Sunday.

Davis, who re-signed with New York in March after being claimed on waivers by the team last December, wasn’t able to latch on with Aaron Glenn and Co. despite some promising flashes over the summer.

The Jets also waived six other players on Sunday: QB Adrian Martinez, DE Michael Fletcher, OT Liam Forandel, TE Zack Kuntz, DB Tanner McCalister and RB Lawrance Toafili. Six more were waived Saturday: CB Mario Goodrich, OT Samuel Jackson, TE Neal Johnson, WR Dymere Miller, DT Fatorma Mullbah and WR Ontaria ‘Pokey’ Wilson.

Falcons roster cuts: Atlanta moves on from DL Morgan Fox five months after deal

The Atlanta Falcons are parting ways with 12 players, including one who might come as a surprise to many.

Defensive lineman Morgan Fox was released Saturday despite having $3 million guaranteed in the two-year deal he signed with the team this offseason.

Rams roster cuts: Eleven players sent packing

Count the Los Angeles Rams among the teams not waiting until Tuesday to get started making cuts.

The team on Sunday announced it was releasing linebacker Tony Fields II and waiving 10 others.

When is the NFL roster cut deadline?

By 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 26, all 32 teams must reduce their active rosters to 53 players. Official word for some teams’ moves, however, might not come until slightly later.

What happens once the NFL roster deadline passes?

NFL teams have until noon ET on Wednesday, Aug. 27, to claim players who are waived as part of league-wide roster reductions. Once those claims are resolved, clubs will begin filling out their practice squads.

When the clock starts ticking during fantasy football drafts, it’s best to move forward with caution.

While much of the focus is on finding the best sleepers, it’s also prudent to be aware of potential busts.

Tight ends aren’t often considered a highly valued position. In 2025, only three players are being selected inside the top 50 of fantasy drafts, according to FantasyPros’ average draft position (ADP). That said, these three tight ends are being drafted as starters in the majority of leagues, but could fail to meet expectations.

2025 FANTASY FOOTBALL SLEEPERS: QB | RB | WR | TE | K

2025 POSITION RANKINGS: QB | RB | WR | TE | K | D/ST | Overall

TE busts to fade in fantasy football 2025

Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

The veteran tight end has been a staple in fantasy lineups for over a decade, but it’s time to start fading him at his current ADP. He had declining production in 2024 and still managed to finish as TE6 in PPR points per game. He was the third-most targeted tight end in the NFL with 133 targets and led the position in red-zone targets (26). So why fade the soon-to-be 36-year-old in 2025?

It’s not a complete fade but it’s probably better to treat Kelce as a borderline TE1 than a sure-fire stud at this stage. Only one tight end in NFL history has finished with more than 90 catches at the age of 36 or older (Tony Gonzalez, 2012).

Kelce’s yards per route run and yards after the catch both declined in each of the last three seasons. The biggest question mark surrounding Kelce heading into 2025 is the availability of wide receiver Rashee Rice. With Rice healthy, Kelce averaged just four targets per game. However, following Rice’s season-ending knee injury, Kelce averaged over nine targets per game. There’s a chance Rice could miss half of the season due to a suspension, but there’s also a chance Rice only misses a couple of games. Kelce’s usage hinges largely on Rice’s presence and the risk at taking him as the TE5 outweighs the production at this stage.

Evan Engram, Denver Broncos

This potential bust could backfire if Engram were to surprise and lead his new team in targets in 2025. However, the likelihood of that happening is slim because he is coming off his worst season and a torn labrum, which required surgery.

Engram joined the Broncos in free agency, and some are excited about his potential in Sean Payton’s offense. But Payton – who has been a head coach for 18 NFL seasons – has only had a tight end finish inside the top 10 in PPR five times. Those being seasons from Jimmy Graham (2011, 2013, 2014), Ben Watson (2015) and Jared Cook (2019).

The soon-to-be 31-year-old has relied heavily on volume more than explosiveness and touchdowns. He has failed to find the end zone more than four times in a season since 2017. He’ll play second fiddle to Courtland Sutton. Engram could even potentially finish third on the team in targets behind third-year breakout candidate Marvin Mims Jr. Expectations should be tempered for Engram at his current TE8 ADP.

Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears

It’s challenging to fall in love with Loveland and trust him to finish inside fantasy football’s top 15 tight ends in 2025.

The rookie is a terrific prospect in a Bears offense that is expected to improve. New head coach Ben Johnson is calling the shots and he was the offensive coordinator in Detroit when Sam LaPorta finished as TE1 overall as a rookie in 2023. The issue for Loveland is that there are plenty of mouths to feed as Chicago loaded up on offense in the offseason. The presence of wide receivers DJ Moore, Rome Odunze and Luther Burden, along with veteran tight end Cole Kmet will likely keep the rookie from Michigan in deep TE2 range all season.

It’s unlikely Loveland can make a significant mark in such a crowded room but he’s still a worthwhile pick in dynasty leagues. He has top-10 draft capital and will likely grow in the Bears offense in the coming years, but don’t expect him to be elite in 2025.