For years, Kyler Murray has been vocal about his Korean heritage. He’s worn a South Korean flag on his helmet and spoken out on social media against acts of hate targeting Asian Americans.
Now, he’s making his first trip to the country. And this week, in an interview with KBS Radio in Seoul, he hinted at potentially representing South Korea on the global stage in 2028, when flag football will make its debut as an Olympic sport.
NFL teams scooped the top defensive talents off the board early during the league’s ‘legal tampering’ period. The offensive market has moved a bit slower, especially at quarterback and receiver, but many of the league’s best offensive linemen have found new homes for the 2025 season and beyond.
Among USA TODAY’s top 25 free agents of the 2025 offseason, 19 have already signed free agent contracts. Below are the grades for those signings based on the value of each player’s deal and their fit with their club.
Contract: Three years, $45 million ($30.3 million guaranteed)
Grade: B+
Holland turned 25 on the eve of free agency and is an instinctive safety who has 301 tackles in 60 career games (57 starts). It’s worth wondering why the Giants were comfortable giving Holland $15 million in average annual value (AAV) after letting Xavier McKinney walk with a $16.75 million price tag last season, but there’s little doubt that Holland will be a strong long-term partner for Tyler Nubin.
Contract: Three years, $66 million ($44 million guaranteed)
Grade: A
Godwin reportedly received a contract offer worth $20 million more than what the Buccaneers paid him from the Patriots. He decided to stay in Tampa Bay, which should aid the team in its quest to make the playoffs for a sixth consecutive season.
Godwin was one of the NFL’s most productive receivers last season before suffering an ankle dislocation in Week 7. The 29-year-old will continue to complement Mike Evans and serve as Baker Mayfield’s No. 1 target.
Contract: Three years, $48 million ($32 million guaranteed)
Grade: A-
The Lions lost Carlton Davis in free agency but may have landed an upgrade in Reed, who hasn’t allowed a passer rating greater than 91.7 in a season since the 2019 campaign. Having both Reed and Amik Robertson in the same cornerback room could be challenging since both are on the smaller side at 5-9, but Reed’s veteran presence will be welcome as the Lions look to develop Terrion Arnold.
Contract: One year, $18 million (fully guaranteed)
Grade: B+
Mack has appeared in 50 of 51 possible games during his three seasons with the Chargers and logged 31 total sacks across them. He had just six sacks in 2024, tied for his second-lowest single-season total, but still ranked 26th league-wide in pressures with 49.
Mack is entering his age-34 season, so getting him on a one-year deal was a risk-free move for the Chargers. He can play a key role as the team’s top pass rusher after it moved on from Joey Bosa during the offseason.
Contract: Three years, $100.5 million ($50 million guaranteed)
Grade: C-
Swapping Geno Smith for Sam Darnold makes the Seahawks younger, but will it make them better? Proponents of Darnold will say his familiarity with Seattle’s new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak will allow him to smoothly transition into the Seahawks offense.
Detractors will point out that Darnold had the third-longest time to throw in the NFL last season. Only the hyper-mobile combination of Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts took more time than him. That could be a recipe for disaster behind Seattle’s shaky offensive line.
Perhaps the Seahawks will upgrade their blocking or Darnold will quicken his release. Nonetheless, this feels like a boom-or-bust signing for the Seahawks; it’s a coin flip to see which way it goes.
Contract: Four years, $76.4 million ($41 million guaranteed)
Grade: A-
Sweat led the Eagles with eight sacks last season and notched 2.5 sacks in the team’s Super Bowl 59 win against the Chiefs. The Cardinals have needed a top-tier edge rusher since Chandler Jones left the team following the 2021 NFL season and Sweat has previous experience with head coach Jonathan Gannon from their time together with the Eagles.
Contract: One year, $14 million
Grade: B+
Reddick had a difficult 2024 season, notching just one sack for the Jets after missing the first seven games of the season while holding out for a new contract. As a result, he had to settle for a one-year deal. The Buccaneers needed a high-end pass rusher and they aren’t risking much long-term to see if Reddick – who had at least 11 sacks in four consecutive seasons from 2020 to 2023 – can regain his form.
Contract: Three years, $31.5 million ($22.25 million guaranteed)
Grade: A
Four safeties got more than $15 million in AAV on the open market. Reid got just $10.5 million, making him a solid bargain. The 28-year-old averaged 88 tackles, 1.3 sacks and one interception across his three seasons with the Chiefs and will give the Saints a hard-hitting safety who holds up well enough in coverage. He can also kick in a pinch, so the Saints did well with this deal.
Contract: Four years, $104 million ($63 million guaranteed)
Grade: B
The Patriots paid a slight premium to beat the Panthers in the Williams sweepstakes. It could be worth it, as Williams ranked 19th among interior defensive linemen in pressures last season (40) despite playing just 47.85% of the Eagles’ snaps. Mike Vrabel should get the most out of Williams’ pass-rushing talents, so even at an a higher-than-expected price, Williams is a strong signing.
Contract: Three years, $45 million ($20 million guaranteed)
Grade: A-
Hufanga got the same basic terms as Holland. The difference? Hufanga got $10.3 million less in guarantees because he has struggled with injuries the last two seasons. Still, this was a strong signing by the Broncos, as Hufanga has seven interceptions over the last three years and was an All-Pro first teamer in 2022. If he can stay healthy, he should outplay this contract.
Contract: Three years, $60 million ($35 million guaranteed)
Grade: B+
Ward is coming off a trying 2024 season during which he was mourning the death of his 1-year-old daughter. Before his down year, Ward was named a 2023 second-team All-Pro after allowing a 62.3 passer rating and logging five interceptions.
The Colts are banking on Ward bouncing back after a change of scenery. He is entering his age-29 season, so this is a rational deal for the Colts to make.
Contract: Three years, $66 million
Grade: A
Murphy is a six-year NFL veteran but he is still just 27 years old. He had a career-high 81 tackles and six interceptions last season while earning a Pro Bowl nod for the first time in his career.
Murphy has two seasons of experience in Brian Flores’ defense and has comported himself well as a No. 1 cornerback. The Vikings know what they’re getting in re-upping with the veteran corner, so this seems like a great deal for all involved.
Contract: One year, $6 million
Grade: B
Hopkins will turn 33 before the 2025 NFL season and is likely past his prime. The Ravens aren’t risking much to find out if Hopkins has anything left in the tank, though it’s hard to imagine him improving significantly upon his 56 catches, 610 yards and five touchdowns from last season.
Contract: One year, $12.6 million ($12 million guaranteed)
Grade: B+
Bosa has struggled to stay healthy in recent seasons, but the Bills managed to ink him to a one-year deal after the Chargers released him. He profiles as a solid replacement for the soon-to-be 36-year-old Von Miller, who played just 25.27% of Buffalo’s snaps last season. Bosa, 30 in July, comes at a much cheaper cost than Miller so this was a solid swap for Buffalo.
Contract: Three years, $51 million
Grade: B-
Allen’s deal was initially reported to be worth $60 million, but it actually came in at $51 million. That’s a reasonable sum for the 30-year-old defensive tackle, who made back-to-back Pro Bowls in 2021 and 2022.
That said, Allen has seen his sack numbers decline in each season since 2021, so this deal isn’t without risk. Brian Flores should still be able to get the most out of the talented veteran, so this isn’t a bad deal.
Contract: Three years, $60 million ($34.5 million guaranteed)
Grade: B
Davis essentially got the same deal as Ward got in free agency. Davis had the better season in 2024, allowing just an 87.9 passer rating in 13 games with the Lions, but he has never played more than 14 games in a season because of injury. That makes him a slightly riskier signing than Ward, even if the 28-year-old is still a strong starting cornerback.
Contract: Three years, $42 million ($28 million guaranteed)
Grade: A-
Dalman was Pro Football Focus’ fourth-best center in 2024 and made 40 starts in 57 career games with the Falcons. The Bears had a big need at center so it’s hard to complain about the team making him the second-highest-paid center in the league behind only Creed Humphrey.
Contract: Three years, $35 million
Grade: A
Greenlaw missed always all of the 2024 season while recovering from a torn Achilles he suffered in Super Bowl 58. Before that, he was a strong three-down starter for the 49ers and was one of the best run-stoppers in the league.
A couple of linebackers with less starting experience, Zack Baun and Jamien Sherwood, got considerably more in AAV than Greenlaw, at $17 million and $15 million respectively. Greenlaw turns just 28 in May, so he should be a bargain if he can return to form as he gets further removed from his injury.
Contract: Two years, $40 million ($30 million)
Grade: B
Fields got a rare middle-class quarterback contract worth $20 million in AAV. That ranks him 20th league-wide in AAV with Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson still yet to sign free agent contracts.
Fields hasn’t been a great passer during his career but completed a career-high 65.8% of his passes last season. Between that and his top-end running abilities, he’s a worthwhile gamble with the Jets.
Bill Hancock stopped himself before saying never.
He still considers the Bowl Championship Series to be “a brilliant mathematical system,” even though it’s remembered today as another lukewarm attempt at improving college football’s postseason.
There were no meetings and no deliberation like the College Football Playoff or NCAA Tournament selection committees conduct now. The way the BCS worked at its most granular level as recently as a decade ago, according to Hancock, is he would receive emails each week containing the computer rankings that constituted one portion of the BCS.
The former BCS executive director would then send those figures to a neutral entity to be compiled along with the national polls and strength of schedule components that made up the remainder of the formula to determine the sport’s national championship game beginning in 1999 through the start of the CFP ahead of the 2014 season.
And Hancock, who retired last month after serving as the CFP executive director since its inception, never wants college football to use something like that again.
“It lost favor quickly, and what it was missing was the human element,” he said. “I was going to say I don’t ever see the loss of the human element, but I’ve been following what’s been happening with the Big Ten and SEC. I think it would only go back if people forget their history.”
As Selection Sunday approaches and March Madness begins, there will be seven different metrics on team sheets to help the 12 members of the men’s basketball selection committee fill out the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket. There are predictive ratings that reflect a team’s performance based on offensive and defensive efficiency and results-based ratings that judge a team’s resume.
There was nothing near that in place for the CFP selection committee when the college football’s playoff expanded to 12 teams last season and chose SMU over Alabama for the final at-large spot last December. Conference commissioners have discussed changes to the format since then, most notably an increase in the number of teams in the bracket and more automatic bids for the Big Ten and SEC, in particular.
Given the likelihood this will continue to yield more subjective decisions ripe for controversy, might college football benefit from relying more on objective metrics? At least one prominent member of the college basketball analytics community wonders why it hasn’t already gone down that path.
“There’s a huge contrast between college football and college basketball in my mind, which doesn’t make sense because there’s a ton of rating systems out there for college football as well,’ said Ken Pomeroy, who created kenpom.com in 2002 and is credited with ushering in the modern analytics movement in college basketball. “Obviously they went through the whole BCS thing and maybe people are scarred from that or something. But it just feels like there’s so little objective criteria in college football, which is extremely weird to me.”
Matt Morris, ESPN’s director of analytics, confirmed the CFP selection committee did have access to ESPN’s Football Power Index and Strength of Record metrics for its deliberations on selection day this year. But he is among those who believe the smaller sample size in college football – teams play 12 regular-season games as opposed to as many as 31 in college basketball – makes the endeavor much harder and more likely to produce anomalies or outliers on the gridiron.
Michigan State athletic administrator Kevin Pauga, who created the results-based Kevin Pauga Index used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee and has a separate business that helps conferences build schedules, noted whereas each game in college basketball counts for 3% of a team’s resume, that figure rises to 8.5% in college football.
‘You can come up with adjusted efficiency numbers … a lot easier in basketball just by the nature of how the sport is played,’ Pauga said. ‘The availability of the predictive data in basketball is just more prevalent. There’s some ways to do better in terms of football data, but it’s far less a perfect science.”
Morris and his team at ESPN nonetheless formulated a “playoff predictor” for this past season, but found predicting what football committee members might do to be a lot trickier than their basketball counterparts.
Not only did the model need to project the winner of each game, but it also had to predict what a committee might do on selection day with a format being implemented for the first time.
“The nebulous eye test just becomes so much more paramount,” Morris said. “You had a little bit more opportunity to leverage the data with 12 (teams), and it seemed like they did that to some degree. But I think there were some thumbs on scales a little bit this year. I don’t mean that controversially. I don’t mean they wanted certain teams in and certain teams out. I just meant the narrative played a little bit of a bigger role in not having another SEC team, for example, when the metrics in the past might have indicated they would have picked (Alabama) for that 12th spot.”
The 16-team NCAA men’s hockey tournament adopted something akin to a metrics-based selection process in recent years, awarding its 10 at-large berths through a computer system that uses record against common opponents, head-to-head record and the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) to measure a team’s season. There are only 40 Division I men’s ice hockey programs in the country, compared with 134 Football Bowl Subdivision teams and 364 Division I men’s basketball teams this year.
Hancock, who was also the first full-time director of the men’s basketball Final Four from 1989 to 2002, believes there will always be teams that feel unfairly left out no matter which system is put in place over college football and college basketball in the future.
‘It just really works best with a human committee that can use human judgment – informed by the data, of course,’ Hancock said. ‘Consulting the data, using the data, but I’m a big believer in that it’s the best the way it is, both in basketball and football.”
He just knows better at this point than to say that won’t change.
Follow Mark Giannotto on social media @mgiannotto and email him at mgiannotto@gannett.com.
Boxing star Claressa Shields still faces possible enforcement action for testing positive for marijuana last month in Michigan even though her suspension was ‘dissolved’ Friday, according to an order issued by the Michigan Unarmed Combat Commission (MUCC), which regulates boxing in the state.
Shields, 29, announced the news on her social media account.
‘Officially unsuspended!’’ Shields wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “But y’all a little quiet! Y’all was real loud about me ‘supposedly’ smoking marijuana and being suspended! No worries! And still an Undisputed heavyweight champ! I have the Order to prove it!!!’
However, the last line of the Order issued by the MUCC reads, ‘The Order does not resolve the Formal Complaint … and does not close the enforcement action.’
Anne Morrell, newly elected chair of the MUCC, told USA TODAY Sports she could not comment on the matter.
Shields faces a fine and the possibility of having the victory from her last fight overturned. That bout took place Feb. 2, when she became the undisputed heavyweight champion after beating Danielle Perkins by unanimous decision in her hometown of Flint, Michigan.
But after the fight, Shields has said, she tested positive for ‘trace” levels of marijuana.
Shields was one of eight boxers on the card that night randomly drug tested, in adherence with MUCC rules. Marijuana is legal in Michigan but banned at Dort Financial Center, where the Feb. 2 fight was held.
Shields attorney, David Slutsker, said he and Shields were ‘happy and relieved that the suspension issue has been resolved in her favor.” But Slutsker also said he is ‘astounded’ the Formal Complaint – that Shields violated MUCC rules by testing positive for marijuana – is not resolved.
The Complaint led to an order of suspension, which was issued Feb. 12 stated the MUCC ‘investigated and determined that sufficient and good cause exists to find that the conduct of Respondent Claressa M. Shields, a licensed professional boxer, constitutes an imminent threat to the integrity of the sport of professional boxing, the public interest, and the welfare and safety of a professional requiring emergency action.’
Slutsker represented Shields at a compliance meeting March 6 with Michigan officials and told USA TODAY Sports, ‘the Complaint was most definitely part of our defense presentation. It was in the evidence booklet we presented.’ He also sought to have the suspension dissolved, and succeeded.
The order issued by the MUCC Friday stated, ‘Based on the information the Respondent provided at the compliance conference, the Department (of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs), on behalf of the MUCC, finds there is no longer immiment threat to the integrity of the sport, the public interest, or the welfare and safety of a contest that requires emergency action. … The Department will remove Respondent’s name from the suspension list of the sanctioned record-keeping organization (Friday).”
Mark Taffet, Shields’ manager, expressed gratitude for the suspension being dissolved.
‘We appreciate the Michigan Commission’s swift elimination of the suspension, and look forward to Claressa getting right back to business as boxing’s GWOAT.”
Slutsker, however, said he is unsure what will be required to resolve the Formal Complaint and avoid enforcement action.
Shields’ victory over Perkins by unanimous decision improved her record to 16-0 and elevated her to the undisputed women’s heavyweight champion. But things subsequently unraveled for Shields, a two-time Olympic gold medalist whose rise to fame from poverty and abuse was chronicled in ‘The Fire Inside,’ a feature-length film released Christmas Day.
Her story took on a new chapter of adversity.
Shields was one of eight boxers drug tested after the event Feb. 2, according to her attorney and Dmitriy Salita, the event promoter. Boxers are chosen for drug testing by random, according to MUCC rules.
Shields has said a saliva test after her fight against Perkins showed trace levels of marijuana in her system, but her drug results were not publicly released.
She denied ever using the drug.
Informed about the failed drug test Feb. 7, Shields fought back against critics who attacked her integrity on social media.
One theory about the failed test is it could have been triggered by secondhand smoke.
Three boxers on the Feb. 2 card at the Dort Financial Center in Flint tested positive for marijuana. Joe Hicks, one of those boxers, said he tested positive for trace levels of marijuana and that the smell of the drug permeated areas of the facility. Mark Taffet, Shields’ promoter, and Salita also said marijuana could be smelled at the event.
Shields also was expected to argue that protocol was not followed when the saliva test was administered, according to Victor Conte, who describes himself as a ‘dietary supplement and training adviser” for Shields. She is sponsored by Conte’s supplement company, SNAC.
The Department of the Navy is offering transgender sailors and Marines the option to voluntarily separate from the service by March 28. Otherwise, they risk being booted from the service — cutting the benefits they’re eligible for in half, according to a Thursday memo released by the Department of the Navy.
The policy aligns with an executive order that President Donald Trump signed in January to bar transgender individuals from serving in the military, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s subsequent orders in February instructing each of the service branches to start separating transgender troops within 30 days.
Acting Secretary of the Navy Terence Emmert said in the memo that the Department of the Navy recognizes male and female as the only two sexes, and that ‘an individual’s sex is immutable, unchanging during a person’s life.’
As a result, Emmert said that those who have a history or ‘exhibit symptoms consistent with’ gender dysphoria may no longer serve in the military and may voluntarily elect to depart the service by March 28. After that date, the Navy will remove sailors and Marines involuntarily from their respective services.
‘A history of cross-sex hormone therapy or sex reassignment or genital reconstruction surgery as treatment for gender dysphoria or in pursuit of a sex transition is disqualifying for applicants for military service, and incompatible with military service for military personnel,’ the memo said.
Even so, the Navy said it will not go through medical records or health assessments to identify transgender service members, unless explicitly requested to do so.
Transgender service members who don’t take the Navy up on its offer to voluntarily separate are not eligible for as many benefits post-separation. Those who voluntarily depart from the service will receive double the separation pay as those who are involuntarily removed, according to the Navy’s memo.
For example, the Pentagon said on Feb. 28 that an E-5, a petty officer first class in the Navy, with 10 years of experience, would collect a total of $101,628 in voluntary separation pay, but only $50,814 if that service member were to opt for involuntary separation pay.
Those with less than six years of service, or more than 20 years of service, are not eligible for voluntary separation pay.
‘The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) and Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) will maximize the use of all available command authorities to ensure impacted personnel are afforded dignity and respect,’ the Navy’s memo said.
Some exceptions to the rule may apply. The memo said that the Secretary of the Navy may issue waivers for those seeking to remain or join the service on a ‘case-by-case basis,’ if there is proof that keeping or recruiting such individuals ‘directly supports warfighting capabilities.’
The Navy referred Fox News Digital to its press release on the order when reached for comment, and did not provide an answer as to how many sailors this order would likely impact.
The Navy released its guidance the same day that a federal judge heard arguments for a lawsuit that LGBTQ legal rights advocacy group GLAD Law and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed in February against the Trump administration, seeking a preliminary injunction pausing the ban while litigation is pending.
U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes is expected to issue a final decision on the preliminary injunction by March 25. GLAD Law did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation and Lambda Legal also filed a separate lawsuit in February challenging the Trump administration’s order on behalf of six trans service members and asked a federal judge to block the order amid the legal proceedings.
‘A dishonorable action from a dishonorable administration,’ the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and Lambda Legal said in a Feb. 27 statement. ‘This attack on those who have dedicated themselves to serving our country is not only morally reprehensible but fundamentally un-American. Forcing out thousands of transgender servicemembers, who have met every qualification to serve, does not enhance military excellence or make our country safer.’
The Human Rights Campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Navy leaders have previously defended LGBTQ service members. For example, former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday defended a nonbinary Navy officer assigned to the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford featured in a video the Navy Judge Advocate General Corps shared on Instagram about participating in an LGBTQ spoken-word night during deployment.
The video attracted scrutiny from Republican lawmakers, who called into question the Navy’s war-fighting priorities. For example, then-Sen. Marco Rubio shared the video on X in April 2023, and said: ‘While China prepares for war this is what they have our @USNavy focused on.’
But Gilday, who retired in August 2023, told Republican lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee in April 2023 that he was proud of the officer and that people from all different backgrounds serve in the Navy.
As a result, Gilday said it is incumbent upon Navy leaders to ‘build a cohesive warfighting team that is going to follow the law, and the law requires that we be able to conduct prompt, sustained operations at sea.’
‘That level of trust that a commanding officer develops across that unit has to be grounded on dignity and respect,’ Gilday said in April 2023. ‘And so, if that officer can lawfully join the United States Navy, is willing to serve and willing to take the same oath that you and I took to put their life on the line, then I’m proud to serve beside them.’
The first wave of free agency is complete.
Every year the free agency period provides us a glimpse inside each organization – what they are thinking, approach for the immediate and long-term future and roster construction.
The New England Patriots spent upwards of $200 million during the first wave of free agency and the Washington Commanders aggressively made trades.
The quarterback carousel is churning as Geno Smith, Sam Darnold and Justin Fields all found new homes. All eyes are on Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson as we await their decisions.
The first week of free agency featured many highlights. Here are my favorite moves of free agency thus far:
Adams is originally from the Bay Area and played college football at Fresno State. He was the No. 1 free agent on my board when the Jets released him.
The 32-year-old wide receiver isn’t the prolific playmaker he once was but he’s still a smooth route runner who knows how to create separation.
The Rams officially parted ways with Cooper Kupp. While Kupp ranks third in franchise history in receiving touchdowns and receptions, Adams is the superior all-around wide receiver, especially at this point in each of their respective career.
Adams is a six-time Pro Bowler and has five straight 1,000 receiving-yard seasons, tied for the second-longest active streak in the NFL. He’ll form a tremendous wideout due with Puka Nacua in Los Angeles. Adams has the versatility to line up in the slot or outside. He had slot 361 snaps in the slot and played on the outside 431 times last season, and he thrives running intermediate routes.
“We’re going to do some good things,” Rams wide receiver Tutu Atwell said. “He is a great player, excited to play next to him and just can’t wait for this season to start.’
Armed with the most cap space in the NFL entering the new league year, New England justifiably went on a spending spree. The Patriots doled out over $200 million dollars in overall contract value to players who should make immediate impacts this season.
Milton Williams agreed to a four-year deal worth $104 million, a person familiar with the situation told USA TODAY Sports. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t given permission to discuss contracts.
Williams’ 54 pressures last year ranked in the top 10 for all interior defensive linemen this past season. He’s a disruptive defensive tackle with huge upside. But my favorite move in New England is the addition of Landry.
Patriots new head coach Mike Vrabel and Landry know each other well from their days together in Tennessee. Landry’s familiarity with Vrabel’s defensive philosophy should make for a seamless transition and he’ll instantly become a defensive leader.
The Patriots had an NFL-worst 28 sacks last year. Landry will swiftly improve New England’s pass rush. He’s tallied 64 pressures and 19.5 sacks the past two seasons. He comes to the Patriots with 50.5 career sacks all in a Tennessee uniform, which ranks sixth in Titans history.
The Texans traded their standout left tackle to the Commanders for a collection of draft picks.
Tunsil bolsters Washington’s offensive line and will be tasked to protect Jayden Daniels’ blindside. He’s a five-time Pro Bowler who’s just 30 years old.
The 6-foot-5, 313-pound left tackle allowed only two sacks and 19 pressures during 1,026 snaps last season. He had a 93% pass block win rate, per ESPN analytics.
Washington had the seventh ranked total offense and a top three rushing attack in 2024. Tunsil’s ability at left tackle will only strengthen the Commanders offense in Daniels’ sophomore season and beyond.
Tunsil marks the second big trade the Commanders made since the start of March. The Tunsil trade was preceded by a deal that landed wide receiver Deebo Samuel in the nation’s capital. Both moves signal the Commanders are going all in while they are in an advantageous position of having a budding star quarterback on a rookie contract.
The Bears made a concerted effort to bolster their offensive line. Chicago acquired guards Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney in separate trades and then signed USA TODAY Sports’ top ranked free agent center in Drew Dalman.
Dalman allowed just a 4.8% pressure rate in nine games last year and Jackson gave up zero sacks and nine pressures in four games, per Pro Football Focus. Both Dalman and Jackson were limited by injuries, but they present a clear upgrade from Chicago’s 2024 O-line. Plus, Thuney is a four-time Super Bowl champion and regarded as one of the best guards in the NFL. Thuney had the third-highest pass blocking grade for all guards last season, per Pro Football Focus (even though he slid over to left tackle later in the year to help end Kansas City’s revolving door at the position).
Thuney’s experience and leadership will be invaluable for Caleb Williams and the Bears. Williams was sacked 68 times last year, which is the third-most in NFL history.
Williams acknowledged some of the sacks were his fault. He tended to play oft-script and hold onto the football too long. Offensive-minded head coach Ben Johnson can help Williams become a better quarterback. The offensive line Chicago’s assembled will aid, in a big way, in that effort as well.
Kansas City went through four starting left tackles last year. Guard Joe Thuney filled in admirably when he moved to left tackle to finish the season, although, he was overwhelmed playing on the outside (just rewatch Super Bowl 59).
The Chiefs seem to be confident that they fixed a glaring position of need after they acquired career backup offensive tackle Jaylon Moore.
Is it risky choice? Sure. But the Chiefs clearly studied Moore, liked what they saw on tape and Andy Reid and Brett Veach deserve the benefit of the doubt.
The former 49ers tackle registered only 12 regular season starts in four seasons, albeit playing behind Trent Williams doesn’t warrant criticism. He looks the part when on the field. He’s 6-foot-4, 311 pounds and moves well. The left tackle allowed one sack and 10 pressures in 271 offensive snaps, including 159 pass-block snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. He’s given up five sacks and 31 pressures in 447 career snaps.
Moore signed a two-year deal worth $30 million, a person familiar with the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren’t authorized to discuss the contract. He has the potential to fill a big void and be Kansas City’s long-term answer at left tackle.
The Los Angeles Rams released wide receiver Cooper Kupp on Wednesday after failing to find a trade partner for him ahead of the NFL’s new league year.
The veteran receiver didn’t last long on the free agent market. He reached an agreement with the Seattle Seahawks on Friday. The deal is for three-years and $45 million, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Kupp played in 12 games for the Rams last season and recorded 67 catches for 710 yards and six touchdowns. He largely served as Los Angeles’ No. 2 receiver, as second-year receiver Puka Nacua continued to establish himself as Matthew Stafford’s favorite target following a historic rookie season.
The Seahawks had perhaps one of the funnier confirmations of a player joining a franchise during this free agency period by posting a picture of a cup.
Kupp was a first-team All-Pro in 2021 after leading the NFL in receptions (145), receiving yards (1,947) and touchdowns (19). He became the first receiver to win the league’s triple crown since Steve Smith Sr. in 2005.
However, since then, Kupp has played just 33 of a possible 51 regular-season games while battling injuries. During that span, he has averaged just 753 receiving yards per season, with a high of 812 in 2022.
That played a part in the Rams releasing Kupp. They replaced him with fellow veteran Davante Adams; the 32-year-old has posted five consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons while playing for three different teams – the Green Bay Packers, Las Vegas Raiders and New York Jets.
President Donald Trump kicked off the week driving a red Tesla on the White House South Lawn and closed out the week addressing the Department of Justice.
In his remarks Friday, Trump railed against former President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice and accused the agency of turning into the ‘department of injustice.’
‘Our predecessors turned this Department of Justice into the department of injustice,’ Trump said Friday at the Department of Justice. ‘But I stand before you today to declare that those days are over, and they are never going to come back.’
Trump has regularly condemned the Justice Department and the FBI since his first administration after multiple investigations and lawsuits filed against him. For example, the FBI investigated Trump and his 2016 campaign for alleged collusion with Russia. The probe determined there was no evidence the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the outcome of the election.
Under the Biden administration, Trump faced more legal scrutiny when former Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped former special counsel Jack Smith in 2020 to conduct investigations into alleged efforts by Trump to overturn the 2020 election results and Trump’s alleged efforts to preserve classified materials at Mar-a-Lago after his first term as president.
‘They tried to turn America into a corrupt communist and Third World country, but, in the end, the thugs failed, and the truth won,’ Trump said. ‘Freedom won. Justice won. Democracy won. And, above all, the American people won.’
A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Here are some other key moments from the week:
Trump also met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte Thursday, and the two discussed efforts to bolster NATO’s defense spending and the U.S. potentially acquiring Greenland.
Trump has long advocated for NATO allies to boost defense spending to between 2% and 5% of gross domestic product. He also has called for European nations to pick up more responsibility for defending their continent.
‘You’re starting to hear the British prime minister and others all committing to much higher defense spending,’ Rutte told reporters Thursday at the White House. ‘We’re not there. We need to do more, but I really want to work together with you … to make sure that we will have a NATO which is really reinvigorated under your leadership. And we are getting there.
‘When you look at Trump 47, what happened the last couple of weeks is really staggering.’
He made the remarks after an $841 billion proposal European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pitched March 4 for European Union nations to up their defense spending.
Additionally, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed in February to boost his country’s defense spending to 2.5% of its gross domestic value. That is up from the 2.3% the U.K. currently spends and amounts to a nearly $17 billion increase.
Trump also expressed optimism during the meeting about the likelihood of the U.S. acquiring Greenland, even though the Danish territory has said it’s not interested in Trump’s offer.
‘I think it’ll happen,’ Trump told reporters Thursday. ‘And I’m just thinking. I didn’t give it much thought before, but I’m sitting with a man that could be very instrumental. You know, Mark, we need that for international security, not just security, international.’
In response, Rutte said he didn’t want to ‘drag NATO’ into the discussions but said Arctic countries must work with the U.S. to preserve security in the region as Russian and Chinese vessels increase their activity there.
The White House shut down concerns Tuesday and Wednesday that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) ordered employees to destroy classified documents amid efforts by the Trump administration to close the agency.
USAID acting Executive Secretary Erica Carr emailed employees, instructing them to begin shredding and burning documents, according to a motion that government labor unions filed in a federal court Tuesday.
But the documents remain available on computer systems, and Carr’s directive coincides with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s impending move into the USAID building, according to White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly.
‘This was sent to roughly three dozen employees,’ Kelly said in an X post regarding Carr’s order Tuesday night. ‘The documents involved were old, mostly courtesy content (content from other agencies), and the originals still exist on classified computer systems. More fake news hysteria!’
All involved in purging the documents had a secret security clearance or higher and were not among the USAID employees on administrative leave, an administration official told Fox News Digital Wednesday.
Those involved were familiar with the content they were handling and were specifically appointed by the agency to review and eliminate materials, the official said.
Thousands of employees at USAID were either fired or placed on administrative leave in February, following recommendations from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut wasteful spending.
Trump bought a red Tesla Tuesday and showed off the vehicle on the White House’s South Lawn with SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who heads DOGE. The event coincided with Tesla’s stock dipping earlier in the week, but the share price rose after the White House event.
Democrats were quick to pass judgment on the move, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee labeled the Trump administration the ‘most corrupt administration in American history.’
Major League Baseball’s 2025 campaign is set to get underway with the Los Angeles Dodgers looking to defend their World Series championship.
The Dodgers should be even better this season, going big in the winter to sign two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell and Japanese pitching phenom Rōki Sasaki. MLB’s greatest hitter Shohei Ohtani is also expected to make his pitching debut for Los Angeles, introducing three new ace-level starters to the Dodgers staff.
Some of baseball’s other top groups include the Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks.
With the Dodgers array of arms earning the No. 1 ranking, here’s a look at baseball’s top 10 rotations entering 2025:
Blake Snell
Tyler Glasnow
Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Rōki Sasaki
Dustin May
The World Series champions added Snell and Sasaki in the offseason and should welcome Shohei Ohtani back to the mound at some point. Clayton Kershaw is also on the mend and while just about everybody has injury or workload concerns, this is the most talented group in baseball.
Logan Gilbert
Luis Castillo
George Kirby
Bryce Miller
Brian Woo
Seattle’s starting pitchers led the majors with a 3.38 ERA last season but Kirby looks set to start 2025 on the injured list. This is something of a unicorn pitching staff that was let down by offensive ineptitude, also posting baseball’s best WHIP (1.03) and average against (.222).
Zack Wheeler
Aaron Nola
Cristopher Sanchez
Ranger Suarez
Jesús Luzardo
Wheeler is an ace’s ace, tossing 200 innings to finish runner-up in Cy Young voting last year. The trade for Luzardo could prove to be huge, buying low on the 27-year-old lefty who racked up 208 strikeouts for the Marlins in 2023. Nola has averaged 32 starts over the past four years and received Cy Young votes for the fourth time in his career ln 2024.
Corbin Burnes
Zac Gallen
Merrill Kelly
Eduardo Rodriguez
Brandon Pfaadt
Burnes’ arrival on a $210 million pact pushes Gallen to a ‘co-ace’ role and the Diamondbacks should get more from Rodriguez after an injury-shortened first season in Arizona. The continued development of Brandon Pfaadt is something to keep an eye on and lefty Jordan Montgomery should see some starts as well if he isn’t traded.
Chris Sale
Spencer Strider (expected to return in May)
Reynaldo Lopez
Spencer Schwellenbach
Grant Holmes
Certainly dinged here with Strider coming off Tommy John surgery, the Braves boast the NL Cy Young winner in Sale and one of the game’s top young pitchers in Schwellenbach. The 24-year-old had a 3.35 ERA in 21 starts as a rookie last season and Atlanta hopes he takes another leap forward.
Cole Ragans
Seth Lugo
Michael Wacha
Michael Lorenzen
Kris Bubic
Getting back to the postseason for the first time in nine years Royals starters had baseball’s second-best ERA in 2025. In his first year with Kansas City, the veteran Lugo finished runner-up in Cy Young voting while Ragans had 223 strikeouts in 32 starts to place fourth. Wacha has become one of baseball’s most consistent starters over the past three years.
Tarik Skubal
Jack Flaherty
Reese Olson
Casey Mize
Kenta Maeda
The Tigers brought back Flaherty after trading him to the Dodgers last summer, and he slots back in behind the Cy Young winner in Skubal. Mize is one to watch as a post-hype sleeper, the former No. 1 overall pick who returned in 2024 after missing nearly two full seasons.
Paul Skenes
Mitch Keller
Andrew Heaney
Jared Jones
Bailey Falter
Skenes is obviously the star attraction and may be the most dominant pitcher in baseball right now, but don’t sleep on Keller, an All-Star in 2023 who has averaged 31 starts over the past two seasons. Jones enjoyed a fine rookie campaign at the age of 22 with a 4.14 ERA in 22 starts while averaging more than a strikeout per inning.
Dylan Cease
Michael King
Yu Darvish
Nick Pivetta
Kyle Hart
Cease is primed for a big contract year, while King looks to build on a stellar first year with the organization after coming over from the Yankees in the Juan Soto trade. Darvish is 38 now and something of a question mark, but he could be one of the better No. 3 starters in baseball.
Hunter Greene
Brady Singer
Nick Martinez
Nick Lodolo
Andrew Abbott
Greene’s 6.3 WAR led all NL pitchers last season and Cincinnati acquired Singer from the Royals in the offseason, giving the staff another veteran presence in addition to Martinez. Abbott had a 3.72 ERA in 25 starts last season, his second full year in the majors.
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Duke is one win away from the ACC tournament championship and likely securing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but it will have to play one more game without its star player.
In the first half of Duke’s quarterfinal matchup against Georgia Tech, freshman sensation Cooper Flagg sustained a left ankle injury after he took an awkward landing from a rebound attempt. He didn’t play the rest of the game as the Blue Devils beat the Yellow Jackets, and in the semifinal matchup against rival North Carolina, Flagg was on the bench in street clothes as his team fended off a late comeback from the Tar Heels.
Now with Duke set to face Louisville for the conference crown on Saturday, Flagg will be a spectator again. Here’s the latest updates on Flagg’s injury status for the ACC tournament final:
No, Flagg will not play against the Cardinals.
After Friday’s 74-71 win over North Carolina, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer addressed his star player’s injury and determined he wouldn’t play.
‘As far as Cooper goes, he’s doing better. Sprained ankle, all the imaging came back negative. He sprained it pretty good, though. It’s a good sprain. I’m not breaking any news. He’s not going to play tomorrow. He can’t play,’ Scheyer said Friday night.
Scheyer had previously said it was a ‘long shot’ Flagg would come back for any more games in the ACC tournament. Now he said the focus will be on making sure Flagg is healthy enough for March Madness next week.
‘Our goal is to have him ready for the tournament. But we need to see how this weekend goes with the swelling and what he can do,’ he said.
Flagg appeared to be in a good condition during Friday’s game, walking on his own and was seen celebrating with teammates on big plays.
Flagg suffered a sprained ankle, Scheyer confirmed.
The Blue Devils will certainly be without a major contributor against Louisville on Saturday as Flagg leads the team in several statistical categories, including points (18.9), rebounds (6.1), assists (4.1), blocks (1.3) and steals (1.5) per game.
Flagg’s stellar play this season has put him on the list of 15 men’s players on the ballot for the John R. Wooden Award, which is presented annually to the most outstanding men’s and women’s college basketball players. He is one of the favorites to win the award along with Auburn’s Johni Broome.