Ahead of the unofficial (next Monday) and official (next Wednesday) start of NFL free agency, a massively seismic deal occurred Friday …

Sorry, let me try to responsibly tamp down the hype juuust a touch here given what you might have been exposed to on social media or 24-hour sports networks as your weekend started. The league was not, in fact, shaken to its foundations Friday night. But a 34-year-old, two-time Pro Bowl quarterback who’s never won a playoff game was traded, the Seattle Seahawks agreeing to send Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders for a third-round draft pick, No. 92 overall, according to multiple reports.

Does the move change the outlook of free agency and the draft? Probably … somewhat?

Does it appreciably change the trajectory of two franchises that missed the playoffs in 2024? Sure … to some degree – but it was obvious that the Raiders and Seahawks were already in the midst of course corrections prior to this move, which cannot become official before 4 p.m. ET Wednesday, the start of the NFL’s new league year.

And while you won’t see Seattle vs. Las Vegas in Super Bowl 60 – I’m pretty comfortable betting the mortgage on that – it’s fair to label a few winners and losers in the aftermath of this pending transaction, and they are as follows:

WINNERS

Mike Macdonald

The 37-year-old was the league’s youngest head coach in 2024, and led the Seahawks to a fairly surprising 10-7 record that fell a tiebreaker short of the playoffs. But Macdonald honed his coaching chops with the Universities of Georgia and Michigan when he wasn’t racking up nine years assisting on defense in various capacities for the Baltimore Ravens – which is to say, if you saw the 2024 ‘Hawks, you probably knew this wasn’t the type of football Macdonald wanted to play. Expect Seattle to quickly begin reverting to its Super Bowl DNA of yesteryear, which means a relentless, game-changing D coupled with a ball-control offense.

Since replacing Russell Wilson as Seattle’s QB1 in 2022, Smith has spent most of his time chucking the ball, averaging about 550 throws and more than 4,000 passing yards per season. (By comparison, Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson has averaged just a touch more than 400 passes per season since he became the Ravens’ full-time starter in 2019. Last season was the first time he eclipsed 4,000 yards through the air.) None of that is a knock on Smith. But given how heavily skewed Seattle’s passing ratio has been with him at the helm, the team’s inability to block or run the ball effectively and the firing of offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb after one season, it was fairly apparent changes were coming – and that was prior to the recent release of longtime WR Tyler Lockett and fellow WR DK Metcalf’s request to be traded.

Whether or not Macdonald and longtime GM John Schneider were truly on the same page in 2024, it appears they’re quickly getting aligned now.

Geno Smith

He heads to Sin City and a reunion with coach Pete Carroll, for whom he played five of his six seasons in Seattle, which is also where the former second-round pick of the New York Jets belatedly saw his career take off. Smith is probably no more than a bridge to somewhere undetermined in Las Vegas, but that’s also what he always appeared to be for the Seahawks, too, after his recent contract negotiations with them fell apart. At least he’ll know exactly what’s expected of him after getting reacquainted with Carroll and will likely enjoy a QB1 gig for at least one more season – and might even play himself into yet another extension with the Raiders, if not an opportunity elsewhere.

Ashton Jeanty

Is the star running back from Boise State quietly rising up the draft board? After rushing for 2,601 yards in 2024 – 7.0 per carry! – he might be the best player available this year on merit, the position he plays probably his biggest devaluating factor. But with the Chicago Bears already rebuilding their offensive line via the trade market, the Jets hiring a coach (Aaron Glenn) who saw first-hand the benefit of drafting an explosive runner (Jahmyr Gibbs) in Detroit, and the Raiders now in a better position to support a bellcow back without having to lean on him inordinately, it’s starting to seem incrementally likely that Jeanty might land in the top 10 next month.

Brock Bowers

Pretty safe to say his debut season with the Raiders qualified as the greatest rookie campaign by a tight end in league history. A first-team All-Pro after catching 112 passes for 1,194 yards – he wasn’t the Offensive Rookie of the Year because Washington’s Jayden Daniels had the greatest rookie year ever by a quarterback – Bowers could be even more dangerous in 2025 with a bona fide NFL passer like Smith feeding him.

Sam Darnold

Unless this is only the first of many subsequent (and more substantial) moves, the Smith trade is almost certainly not one that’s going to put the Seahawks in position to draft Cam Ward of Miami (Fla.) or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. But, all due respect to former Washington Commanders QB Sam Howell (Smith’s backup in 2024), it does appear there’s an opening here – most likely for a free agent … and I’d venture Wilson isn’t returning and Aaron Rodgers isn’t coming.

If we start to connect some dots, it seems some blinking signs point to the potential arrival of recently minted Pro Bowler Sam Darnold, who – coincidentally? – worked with new Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak in 2023, when Kubiak was the San Francisco 49ers’ passing game coordinator and Darnold was Brock Purdy’s understudy in what was something of a career rehab year. If Darnold heads to the Pacific Northwest rather than serve as what would more than likely be a stopgap for the Minnesota Vikings until their 2024 first-rounder, J.J. McCarthy, is ready to take over, he would land in a familiar scheme and – presumably – not be asked to shoulder a disproportionate amount of the burden for a team that has two studs at running back in Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet. And Darnold showed last season, in Week 16, that he’s comfortable playing in rowdy Lumen Field, his fourth-quarter TD pass to Justin Jefferson capping a Vikings comeback that ultimately doomed Seattle’s season.

TOP 25* FREE AGENTS: Best unsigned NFL veterans who could be on the move

Darnold and the Seahawks seem very likely a match made in caffeinated heaven if the 27-year-old gets one more shot to be a franchise quarterback … but for a franchise that won’t have to pay top dollar for him and can distribute its cap and draft resources more broadly to import other players Macdonald covets and can better fill a supporting cast Darnold never enjoyed in the NFL prior to 2024. Still, with Smith gone and Metcalf possibly set to follow, Darnold could get a very enticing financial offer to move back to the West Coast.

LOSERS

Jaxon Smith-Njigba

The 23-year-old wideout had a Pro Bowl coming-out party of his own in 2024, catching 100 passes for 1,130 yards in his second NFL season while establishing himself as Seattle’s new No. 1 receiver. With Lockett and, apparently, Metcalf leaving the Emerald City, no reason to expect JSN’s role will be changing. But what’s likely to change is the number of double teams and/or No. 1 corners he’s more probable to see – plus the possibility he won’t enjoy 137 targets again given the likelihood Walker and Charbonnet will be touching the ball a lot more in 2025, regardless of who the quarterback is.

Shedeur Sanders

Just because Smith, who is entering a contact year, is being re-routed to Las Vegas doesn’t necessarily mean Sanders would be out of consideration for the Silver and Black, who currently hold the draft’s sixth overall pick. But the Raiders’ desperation to upgrade behind center has certainly been reduced, and new GM John Spytek won’t have to reach, either, given all the other areas of the roster he needs to address. As for Sanders, it’s quite possible he’s a top-five pick in the draft, whether organically or if a team comes up to get him. Yet it also seems increasingly likely – especially as teams like the Raiders find alternatives – that he could find himself sliding on draft day.

AFC West

Tom Brady

The theory that his presence in his new station as minority owner of the Raiders would be a boon for recruiting coaches and players, welp … But, hey, Smith is a fine player and Carroll is a Hall of Fame coach. Yet the likelihood that either will still be here in, say, 2027? We’ll just have to see where this all goes as TB12 continues to juggle priorities in his frenetic post-playing career.

Russell Wilson

The greatest quarterback in Seahawks history … will undoubtedly merely remain part of that history. And any notion that he and Carroll might get back together after their 2022 breakup is now dead – Las Vegas preferring to surrender a Day 2 draft pick for Smith rather than simply signing Wilson from the free agency market, where his prospects already appear to be quickly diminishing.

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March Madness has arrived in the Big East.

In a back-and-forth meeting between top-25 teams, No. 6 St. John’s and No. 20 Marquette appeared to be heading towards a second overtime period. Then, St. John’s Simeon Wilcher entered the chat.

Shortly after the Red Storm missed what would have been a buzzer-beater to end the game, he caused Golden Eagles guard Chase Ross to turn the ball over and tossed it to Zuby Ejiofor, who hit a jumper inside the paint as time expired to give Rick Pitino’s Red Storm an 86-84 road win at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

With Ejiofor’s heroics on Saturday, St. John’s extended its win streak to six. The Red Storm have now won 16 of their last 17 games since New Year’s Day. Ejiofor’s shot also kept the Red Storm in the conversation for a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, which the team can further solidify in the men’s Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden.

But Ejiofor’s shot at the buzzer wasn’t the only big shot St. John’s made on the afternoon to win its ninth road game of the year. After Marquette guard Stevie Mitchell missed the tail end of two free throws with 21 seconds left in regulation, Kadary Richmond found RJ Luis inside the paint for a game-tying layup.

Luis Jr., the top candidate for Big East Player of the Year, led St. John’s in scoring with 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting, adding 11 rebounds. Richmond had a quiet triple-double on the afternoon, finishing with 12 rebounds, 11 assists and 10 points.

Kam Jones led Marquette with 32 points on 14-of-30 shooting with nine rebounds, seven assists, a steal and a block. St. John’s will now travel back to New York to prepare for its Big East tournament lid lifter on Thursday, March 13 at Madison Square Garden at noon ET against either Providence or Butler.

The busy NHL trade deadline day featured major moves, the league’s top team making important tweaks and an emotional moment.

Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk got choked up when talking about friend Josh Norris being dealt to the Buffalo Sabres for Dylan Cozens in the first significant trade of the day.

The Dallas Stars carried the day by trading for and re-signing Mikko Rantanen, and the Florida Panthers pulled off a late shocker by adding longtime Boston Bruins star Brad Marchand.

The No. 1 overall Winnipeg Jets also helped themselves by addressing specific needs. They added physical defenseman Luke Schenn and acquired forward Brandon Tanev to help their middling penalty kill.

There were 24 trades involving 47 players on Friday. Here are the winners and losers of NHL trade deadline day:

WINNERS

Brad Marchand, Seth Jones, Nico Sturm

Marchand goes from the Bruins, who are likely to miss the playoffs, to the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers. Marchand, currently injured, has a good chance to win a championship for the first time since 2011. New Panthers players Jones (Blackhawks) and Sturm (Sharks) leave bottom-dwelling teams.

Colorado Avalanche

General manager Chris MacFarland has constantly updated his roster this season with two new goalies, the original Rantanen trade and defenseman Ryan Lindgren. He added Brock Nelson at midnight to upgrade the Avalanche’s No. 2 center position and also added big center Charlie Coyle during the day.

Mikko Rantanen

After his trade to the Stars, he gets to join fellow Finnish players from the 4 Nations Face-Off and also gets a bump to a $12 million cap hit next season. And because he’ll be living in Texas, he doesn’t have to pay state income tax.

Homecomings

Vegas brought back Reilly Smith, a 2023 Stanley Cup champion. Tampa Bay reacquired two-time winner Yanni Gourde. Erik Johnson returned to Colorado, Tanev to Winnipeg and Petr Mrazek to Detroit.

Utah Hockey Club

General manager Bill Armstrong spent the lead-up to the deadline getting his key free agents under contract, including goalie Karel Vejmelka. That’s important with the team in a new market this season and pushing for a playoff spot. Utah is a different animal from the former Arizona Coyotes, who had to take on retired players’ contracts to reach the salary cap floor. In fact, Armstrong traded Hall of Famer Shea Weber’s contract to the Blackhawks on Friday.

LOSERS

Bruins general manager Don Sweeney

The usually aggressive buyers were sellers this time. Marchand, Trent Frederic, Brandon Carlo and Charlie Coyle were moved out. Injuries to defenseman Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm led Sweeney to change his plans, but some of the team’s struggles were of his own making. Offseason signings Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov didn’t pan out. Though Sweeney added Casey Mittelstadt and prospect Fraser Minten on Friday, the Bruins lack depth down the middle.

Carolina Hurricanes

They’re in win-now mode, which is why they traded for Rantanen. But after the two-time 100-point scorer wouldn’t commit to re-signing there, general manager Eric Tulsky moved him. Logan Stankoven is a promising player, and the two first-round picks will help down the road. But the Hurricanes aren’t as strong this postseason without Rantanen – and without Martin Necas, who’s excelling in Colorado after being part of the first Rantanen trade.

Edmonton Oilers

General manager Stan Bowman said the Oilers didn’t need an upgrade in net, so he added rugged winger Frederic and defenseman Jake Walman. We’ll see if Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard can get Edmonton back to the Stanley Cup Final.

Detroit Red Wings

The Sharks received a first-round pick for Walman, which brought back memories of how he ended up in San Jose in the first place. Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman gave him away and included a second-round pick to sweeten the deal. The Red Wings’ addition of Craig Smith and Mrazek doesn’t seem enough to end the team’s long playoff drought. Detroit, whose losing streak has hit five games, now has three goalies on the roster, rarely a good thing.

New Jersey Devils

This story has been updated with new information.

With the final games of the regular season taking place this weekend, teams on the bubble of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament will soon find out how much more they need to do to ensure a spot in the bracket.

This isn’t the final chance to impress for those on the fringe of March Madness with conference tournaments next week, but how a team finishes the regular season can dictate the tone for the final days before Selection Sunday. End on a high note and not much is needed in a conference tournament, while ending in a slump could mean a deep run − or even the automatic bid − is the only way to making the field.

There are matchups between teams on the bubble in the latest USA TODAY Sports Bracketology where the mood will be drastically different on the winning and losing side in what are now highly-critical contests. If there are such things as must-win games in the regular season, they’ll take place this weekend. Here are the bubble games that will heavily influence the bubble heading into conference tournament week.

Ohio State at Indiana

Time/TV: Saturday, 3:45 p.m. ET, CBS

A meeting between one team projected to make it − Ohio State − and one just on the outside − Indiana − will make for a thrilling environment inside Assembly Hall. The Buckeyes gutted out a double-overtime win over Nebraska on Tuesday to stay in the field, but their spot can easily be snatched by the Hoosiers. Thanks to some poor late-game decision making, Indiana lost to Oregon. Given how the Hoosiers have found momentum, beating Ohio State could give it a case to jump into the field and push Ohio State out. The last time they faced, it was a back-and-forth affair in January that required overtime with Indiana winning by one point. It could be another close one with major implications on the line.

Oklahoma at Texas

Time/TV: Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, SEC Network

The Red River Showdown on the hardware will be a big time bubble game between the last team in − Texas − and the first team out − Oklahoma. Both sides had a great start to the week by picking up Quad 1 victories with the Longhorns surviving at Mississippi State and the Sooners getting a huge home win against Missouri. Both teams have five Quad 1 wins, but Oklahoma can jump ahead of its rival with a road victory. With the teams separated by the cut line, it’s pretty much winner is in the field and loser is kicked out. Texas led for almost the entire first matchup against Oklahoma in January. Now with this game in Austin, Oklahoma hopes it can return the favor with a much-needed win in hostile territory.

Mississippi State at Arkansas

Time/TV: Saturday, 12 p.m. ET, SEC Network

What a roller coaster of week it has been for Arkansas. After suffering a consequential loss to South Carolina last weekend, the Hogs rebounded in a big way with a complete effort on the road against a surging Vanderbilt team. Now Arkansas can lock up a spot in the tournament with a victory over the Bulldogs. A win for the Razorbacks – currently 12th in the SEC – could get them the ninth seed. Mississippi State has split eight games since the start of February and would like to build some momentum entering the postseason.

Duke at North Carolina

Time/TV: Saturday, 6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

The game of North Carolina’s season will of course come against Duke, as the fate of the Tar Heels rides on the battle of Tobacco Road. North Carolina has improved its record with six consecutive wins but none its biggest concern – a lack of high-end victories. The Tar Heels are 1-10 in Quad 1 games, and that’s the reason why they still aren’t in the field. With Duke coming into town, it’s one last chance to add a marquee win, although it comes against the Blue Devils and Cooper Flagg, who would like nothing more than to damage their hopes. In the first meeting, North Carolina wasn’t close. The same can’t happen here if it wants an at-large spot.

Iowa at Nebraska

Time/TV: Sunday, 12:30 p.m. ET, Fox

Nebraska is on its last breath to prove it should be in the tournament. The Cornhuskers have not only lost four in a row, two of those losses in Penn State and Minnesota were severely damaging to the resume. Sunday’s home contest won’t do much to shoot Nebraska up the bubble since it’s a Quad 2 game and Iowa is at risk of missing the Big Ten tournament, but it can’t overlook the Hawkeyes since it lost to them in January. There’s a lot Nebraska still has to do to make the tournament, but it will all be moot if they don’t end the regular season with a win.

Hollywood is staying in Kansas City.

USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon has confirmed that wide receiver Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown is signing a one-year deal worth up to $11 million to remain with the Chiefs in 2025. It’s the second consecutive one-year deal that the six-year veteran is signing with Kansas City after hitting free agency for the first time last year.

Brown, who turns 28 in June, missed nearly the entire 2024 season after suffering a sternoclavicular injury – essentially a shoulder dislocation – during the preseason. He returned in Week 16 and played for two weeks of the regular season. The former Arizona Cardinal also appeared in all three of Kansas City’s postseason games.

Brown finished the 2024 season with nine catches for 91 yards and zero touchdowns in his two regular season games. He caught five passes for 50 yards and no touchdowns in the postseason.

The Chiefs’ re-signing of the former first-round pick comes on the heels of news that wide receiver Xavier Worthy, the team’s first-round pick last year, was arrested for assault on Friday.

‘We are aware and gathering information”, the Chiefs said in a statement Saturday morning.

Kansas City finished the 2024 season with a 15-2 regular-season record and ended the postseason as the league’s runner-up. The Chiefs fell to the Eagles in Super Bowl 59, 40-22. As a result, Kansas City currently holds the No. 31 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft.

Cole pitched for 2 2/3 innings in his spring training start against the Minnesota Twins on Thursday and was blitzed for six runs and five hits.

Cole, 34, said that after the start, the elbow started to give him issues and he was concerned about what imaging on the elbow might show.

“We have an initial idea, but we’re going to wait to see exactly what everybody says before we come to our conclusion,” Cole said to MLB.com. “I’ve still got some hope. I’m still just waiting for the experts to weigh in.”

Cole, the 2023 American League Cy Young Award winner,  didn’t make his first start last season until June due to an elbow injury. He ended up going 8-5 with a 3.41 ERA in 17 starts.

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The race for national player of the year has been a topic of intense and persistent conversation for much of the 2024-25 men’s college basketball season, with Duke’s Cooper Flagg and Auburn’s Johni Broome neck-and-neck for the sport’s most prestigious honor.

On Saturday, the rest of the field for that distinction was set.

Flagg and Broome headline the list of 15 men’s players who is 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.

The award is widely expected to end up in the hands of Flagg or Broome, both of whom have separated themselves from the thousands of other Division I players nationally over the past four months.

Flagg, the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, is piecing together one of the best seasons by a freshman in college basketball history. He’s averaging 19.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 49.7% from the field and 38.2% from 3-point range. In ACC play, his scoring average has jumped to 21.5 points per game.

Hed would become just the fourth freshman to ever earn the Wooden Award, joining Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and Zion Williamson.

If he doesn’t join that exclusive club, it would be because of a similarly stellar season from Broome, the best player on what has been the No. 1 team in the country for much of the season. A Morehead State transfer, Broome is averaging 18 points and 10.7 rebounds per game, making him one of 11 Division I players averaging a double-double. 

Broome was the front-runner for national player of the year for much of the season, but missed two games with an ankle injury and hasn’t been as productive of late, with a combined 17 points and 13 rebounds in Auburn’s past two games.

With Flagg and Broome leading the way, here’s a look at the Wooden Award ballot, with the players listed in alphabetical order:

Johni Broome, Auburn
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
L.J. Cryer, Houston
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Eric Dixon, Villanova
Cooper Flagg, Duke
PJ Haggerty, Memphis
Dylan Harper, Rutgers
Kam Jones, Marquette
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Chaz Lanier, Tennessee
Mark Sears, Alabama
Braden Smith, Purdue
John Tonje, Wisconsin
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee

The Buffalo Bills have continued their early offseason activity with another extension for their home-grown talent.

Buffalo and defensive end Greg Rousseau agreed to terms on a four-year, $80 million extension that runs through the 2029 season, the team announced Saturday. The contract extension includes $54 million in guaranteed money, according to reports.

Rousseau is the second of three Bills players to receive a four-year extension from the team in the last two days.

On Friday, Buffalo granted linebacker Terrel Bernard a four-year, $50 million extension ahead of the final year on his rookie deal. And later on Saturday, the Bills signed their longest-tenured player – long snapper Reid Ferguson, who has been with the team since 2016 – to a four-year deal before he became a free agent on Wednesday.

Buffalo also signed wide receiver Khalil Shakir to a four-year, $60.2 million extension last week.

Rousseau has been a key member of the Bills’ defensive front since the team selected him in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft. In the four seasons since, he leads the team with 25.0 sacks, including a team-leading eight sacks in 2024, which tied a career high.

The Miami (Florida) product finished the 2024 season with 53 tackles (including 16 tackles for loss), eight sacks, three pass deflections, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Rousseau’s 24 quarterback hits in 2024 were also a career high.

Greg Rousseau contract

Rousseau signed a four-year, $80 million contract extension to remain with the Bills through 2029, the team announced Saturday. Of the $80 million total value, $54 million is guaranteed, according to reports.

Buffalo had exercised the defensive end’s fifth-year option last offseason, so he’ll make roughly $13.39 million in 2025 before the extension kicks in at the start of the 2026 season.

Rousseau’s new deal is nearly identical to the one that Cowboys defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa signed Tuesday, though it includes $2 million more in guarantees. The $20 million average annual value is tied with Odighizuwa and teammate Von Miller for 21st of all NFL defensive linemen, according to Spotrac.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy was arrested on Friday and booked on assault charges.

According to jail records from Williamson County, Texas, Worthy was arrested and charged with assault against a family or household member by impeding their breathing or circulation.

‘We are aware and gathering information”, the Chiefs said in a statement Saturday morning.

That charge is a third-degree felony in Texas and is defined as ‘intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly impeding the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of the person by applying pressure to the person’s throat or neck or by blocking the person’s nose or mouth.’

It is punishable with a sentence of two to 10 years in jail and/or a fine not to exceed $10,000.

Worthy’s lawyers said in a statement that the allegations against their client were ‘baseless’ and that Worthy and a woman were in a dispute and she was asked to leave Worthy’s house, adding that the woman caused property damage and scratched Worthy’s face. The attorneys said Worthy did not want to press charges.

‘We will continue to cooperate with Williamson County authorities as we have full faith their thorough investigation will support Mr. Worthy’s innocence,’ the attorneys, Chip Lewis and Sam Bennett, said in a statement.

The 21-year-old Worthy, who played college football at the University of Texas, was selected with the No. 28 pick in the 2024 NFL draft by the Chiefs after breaking the 40-yard dash record at the NFL Scouting Combine with a time of 4.21 seconds.

‘We are aware of the matter and have been in contact with the club,’ the NFL said in a statement Saturday.

Worthy caught 59 passes for 638 yards and six touchdowns and rushed for three touchdowns in his rookie season, adding three more touchdown catches in the playoffs.

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

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