Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins spent his first six seasons in the NFL with Washington. He made a Pro Bowl in 2016 and went 26-30-1 as a starter.

He was back in the nation’s capital on Friday and took the time to meet with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office.

Margo Martin, a special assistant to the president and communications advisor, posted a photo to her account on X captioned ‘#18 #47′, referencing Cousins’ jersey number and Trump being the 47th president of the United States.

Cousins said Friday in a post on his Instagram page that he and his wife Julie were taking a trip to Washington, D.C.

Cousins is the latest NFL player to visit the White House this offseason. Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker met with President Trump last week.

Cousins is facing some uncertainty this offseason after the Falcons ended the 2024 season with rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. as the starter. Cousins will be 37 by the start of the 2025 season and nearly two years removed from surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon.

If you were owner of the Cleveland Browns (you, yes you) and the best player on your team, Pro Bowler Myles Garrett, who is actually one of the best players in the history of the NFL, wanted to meet with you. What would you do?

A) Meet with him. It’s Myles Freaking Garrett.

B) Meet with him. It’s Myles Freaking Garrett.

C) Meet with him. It’s. Myles. Freaking. Garrett.

D) All of the above.

If you (you, yes you) owned the Browns, the answer would be the last one. Because you’re not an idiot.

But Browns owner Jimmy Haslam apparently feels differently. In what is one of the most confounding stories of the week, month, year, decade, Garrett, as first reported by the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero on Friday, and confirmed by ESPN and others, reached out to meet with Haslam and, according to those reports, the owner declined.

There are a million reasons why Haslam could have declined and none of them are likely valid. This is Ownership 101. If your player wants to meet with you, especially one of Garrett’s caliber, you just do it. If you want to have agents or lawyers present well, okay, whatever, but what you don’t do is decline.

Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported that Haslam told Garrett he should speak with Andrew Berry, the team’s general manager. That’s even worse. Haslam was slouching off Garrett onto the GM. If Haslam wanted to enforce some sort of chain of command, well, no. Just no. There’s no chain of command when it comes to Garrett if he wants to speak with the owner of the team.

The Browns and Garrett are dug in over the player’s trade request. He wants to leave. The Browns say they won’t trade him. Would a conversation have changed things? Probably not but it couldn’t hurt. But also, Garrett deserves that audience. He’s the team’s No. 1 overall pick from the 2017 draft. He has 102.5 career sacks.

Last year was his seventh straight double-digit sack season. He’s had four consecutive seasons with 14 or more sacks. He has earned five straight Pro Bowl bids, has received four career first-team All-Pro honors, and is a former NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He will skip into the Hall of Fame and he’s still relatively young at 29.

There are simply almost no players on Planet Earth like Garrett.

Most of all, Garrett commands respect not just in that locker room, but around the NFL. I promise you players on both the Browns and across the league heard about this news and didn’t understand why Haslam was taking that approach.

Haslam could have at least attempted to deescalate it by meeting with Garrett. Instead, Haslam made it worse.

When Garrett first requested a trade from the team, he issued a heartfelt statement: ‘As a kid dreaming of the NFL, all I focused on was the ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl − and that goal fuels me today more than ever. My love for the community of Northeast Ohio and the incredible fanbase of the Cleveland Browns has made this one of the toughest decisions of my life. These past eight years have shaped me into the man that I am today.

‘While I’ve loved calling this city my home, my desire to win and compete on the biggest stages won’t allow me to be complacent. The goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton, it has always been to compete for and win a Super Bowl.’

In other words, Garrett requested a trade because he doesn’t think the Browns can compete for a Super Bowl.

Moves like the one Haslam did shows Garrett might be right.

The Athletics shared updated renderings of their proposed $1.75 billion stadium on Thursday at the Las Vegas Stadium Authority meeting, offering the public an in-depth look at the stadium’s state-of-the-art features as the franchise inches closer to relocating to Nevada for the 2028 season. The massive 33,000-seat stadium will be built at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip, where the Tropicana hotel previously stood, and will feature a partially-retractable roof that gives onlookers an ‘outdoor feel with climate-controlled temperatures.’

The stadium will offer the ‘closest seats to home plate and the smallest foul territory of any MLB ballpark,’ the Athletics boast on their website. The latest renderings also show the home locker room and the home and visitors bullpens staggered next to each other in left field, in addition to various concourses and seating experiences for fans.

The Athletics are expected to break ground and start construction in June.

The Athletics temporarily have relocated to Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, California, for the next three seasons after playing their last game at the Oakland Coliseum in September 2024. The Athletics are projected to make their Las Vegas debut in the 2028 MLB season.

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MEDLEY, Fla. – The Lunar Owls and the Rose have the most heated rivalry in Unrivaled women’s basketball.

And the best part about it: They could potentially face each other again in the Unrivaled finals later this month.

The Lunar Owls won the latest matchup in the brewing rivalry, coming back to beat the Rose 66-56 in the second of two games Friday night to begin the league’s final weekend.

The Lunar Owls already own the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, which begin with two semifinal matchups on March 16 before the March 17 final.

And they already have their eyes on the prize money – Unrivaled announced Friday that players from the championship team will earn $50,000 each.

“We’re public enemy No. 1,” Lunar Owls guard Courtney Williams said during a postgame interview on the court.

“This is not a Super Bowl for us. This is like another rodeo. We’re going to continue stacking days, and we’re going to keep taking down whatever team is in front of us, because we’re going to get those 50 bands.”

Napheesa Collier hit the game-ending shot to finish with 16 points, but the Lunar Owls’ “bench mob” of Williams and Shakira Austin took the game over in the third quarter.

No team led by more than four points until the Lunar Owls turned a four-point deficit into an eight-point lead before the fourth quarter, and extended it to 12 points during the fourth quarter.

Austin finished with 17 points in less than 14 minutes, while Williams scored 12 points in nearly 12 minutes as the Lunar Owls improved to 12-1.

“Me and Court, we came in and had that fire,” Austin said. “We’ve been trying to set our own tone. Not just building on what the starters did, but making people stay on their toes a little bit more.”

“Shakira and Courtney just gave us unbelievable minutes,” Lunar Owls coach DJ Sackmann said. “They’re both starters, and they can play on any team in the world and get a lot of minutes. We all know that.”

The fierce and heated competition between both teams – sparked by the fact each club beat each other once already this season – was evident throughout the game.

Rose guard Brittney Sykes and Lunar Owls forward Skylar Diggins-Smith were competitive against each other on both sides of the floor. Austin and Rose center Angel Reese got into several brief dustups under the basket. Reese got called for an offensive foul when her elbow appeared to hit Collier in the face in the third quarter.

The Rose remains in second place in Unrivaled with a 7-6 record, already clinching one of the four playoff spots. Reese and Sykes each scored 17 points, while Chelsea Gray had 10 points in the loss.

“You look at these teams from top to bottom, and you see nothing but passionate and competitive-ass players. So, when you put this type of format with players that we have on our teams, respectively, it’s going to be a dog fight every time,” Sykes said.

“You want that. We knew coming into this game it was going to be a type of game with a playoff atmosphere. Obviously, we hate that we lost tonight. Nobody likes to lose, but also we got a taste of what playoffs could potentially be. … By all means, we would love to see them again.”

The Lunar Owls beat the Rose 79-70 on Jan. 18, and the Rose handed the Lunar Owls their first loss of the season, 72-63, on Feb. 21. The Lunar Owls used their 24-16 advantage in the third quarter Friday to take the third matchup between both teams.

In the first game Friday, the Laces beat the Phantom 73-59. Kayla McBride scored 22 points and the game-winning 3-pointer, Jackie Young had 18 points and Stefanie Dolson added 16 points off the bench in the win. The Phantom (3-10) were eliminated from playoff contention with the loss.

The Laces (6-7, No. 3) will face the Mist (5-7, No. 4) in the first of two games on Saturday, beginning at 6 p.m. ET. The Vinyl (5-7, No. 5) will face the Phantom in the second game at 7 p.m. ET.

On Monday, Unrivaled’s regular season will end with the Lunar Owls meeting the Mist at 7:30 p.m. ET, and the Vinyl playing the Rose at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Only two more clubs will join the Lunar Owls and Rose in Unrivaled’s inaugural postseason.

The Las Vegas Raiders will have a new quarterback in 2025 after acquiring Geno Smith from the Seattle Seahawks Friday, according to multiple reports.

Las Vegas is reportedly sending Seattle a third-round pick in return for acquiring Smith, who will reunite with former Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. The two were in Seattle together from 2019 through 2023.

The third-round pick Las Vegas is sending to Seattle is the No. 92 overall selection, per reports. That pick came to Las Vegas from the New York Jets as part of the Davante Adams trade.

Smith was entering the final year of his three-year, $75 million extension signed ahead of the 2023 season. He was slated to cost $44.5 million against the Seahawks’ cap in the final year of that extension in 2025. Instead, Seattle saves $17.5 million with this deal.

Las Vegas has started five different quarterbacks since Derek Carr signed with the New Orleans Saints in the 2023 offseason: Gardner Minshew, Aidan O’Connell, Desmond Ridder, Jimmy Garoppolo and Brian Hoyer.

In Smith, the Raiders have their first Pro Bowl quarterback since Carr. They entered the offseason with the second-most cap space in the league and still have money to spend following edge rusher Maxx Crosby’s record extension.

The Seahawks now have two quarterbacks on their active roster: Sam Howell and Jaren Hall.

This story will be updated as more information is available.

Stephen A. Smith confirmed he was confronted by LeBron James after Thursday’s Los Angeles Lakers game, responding to the NBA superstar after a video that showed James appearing irritated during a courtside exchange with Smith went viral on social media by the morning.

Smith offered a lengthy breakdown of the situation at the beginning of ESPN’s ‘First Take’ on Friday, emphasizing that James only spoke about Smith’s comments concerning Bronny James. Smith is among those critical of how James’ son reached the NBA this season with the Lakers, and specifically targeted LeBron James’ role in the situation.

‘That was LeBron James coming up to me, unexpectedly I might add, to confront me about making sure I mind what I say about his son,’ Smith explained to host Molly Qerim. ‘I can’t repeat the words because they aren’t suited for FCC airwaves. That’s what he was doing.’

‘That wasn’t a basketball player confronting me,’ Smith added. ‘That was a parent. That was a father.’

James briefly approached Smith after the Lakers’ 113-109 win over the New York Knicks Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena, appearing to speak animatedly to Smith and walking away with a scowl on his face. Smith said he was sitting with Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel and Larry David. The incident occurred just hours after reports surfaced that Smith had agreed to a new $100-million contract with ESPN.

Smith previously said James’ representatives at Klutch Sports reached out to him about his criticism of Bronny James. As James’ son struggled last month, Smith pleaded on air for James to ‘Stop this’ because ‘we all know Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad.’

Bronny James has played minimally during 18 NBA appearances for the Lakers as a rookie, while also spending time with the franchise’s G League team. Smith noted Friday he and LeBron James have not had a good relationship for years, but ‘neither of us lose sleep over it.’

Smith insisted, however, that how James approached him Thursday night did not bother him, though he would have preferred if James had requested a private conversation to air his grievances. Smith did not, however, back off his stance.

‘I wasn’t talking about Bronny. I was really, really talking about him because of the position that Bronny was in,’ said Smith, noting he stood by his original comments on the situation. ‘But I really understood where he was coming from. He was very, very upset. I could tell. He could have called me. I’d have come to see him. I’d have had a conversation with him. He could have been just as upset face-to-face, man-to-man, as opposed to being courtside at the game.

‘I had no idea everybody saw it until I woke up this morning, but it is what it is,’ Smith added. ‘And, in the end, like I said, as a father, I get it. I’m not offended. I’m not insulted. I don’t have any animosity, I have no animus towards LeBron James for this, nothing like that.’

The New York Knicks will be without All-Star guard Jalen Brunson for at least two weeks after he sprained his ankle Thursday night.

Brunson suffered the injury during the Knicks’ 113-109 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. Brunson was fouled as he drove to the cup with 1:24 remaining in overtime with the Knicks trailing 107-105. He landed awkwardly on the foot of Lakers guard Austin Reaves and immediately grabbed his right ankle while writhing in pain. Brunson briefly remained in the game and hit both free throws to tie the contest 107-107, but the Knicks immediately fouled so Brunson could be subbed out of the game.

Brunson limped off the court under his own power and went straight back to the locker room. He finished the night with 39 points, 10 assists and four rebounds.

Brunson has been readily available this year and has played in all but one of the Knicks’ 62 games this season. He is set to miss time as the Knicks jockey for position in the Eastern Conference in the final weeks of the regular season. Entering Friday, New York (40-22) is currently third in the Eastern Conference behind the Cleveland Cavaliers (52-10) and Boston Celtics (45-18).

Brunson fractured his left hand in the Knicks’ Game 7 loss to the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the 2024 playoffs.

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INDIANAPOLIS – The NFL is set up to push all 32 of its teams toward .500 – or eight or nine wins, as the case may be, until the league jams the long-anticipated 18th regular-season game onto the schedule.

But generally speaking, the deeper you go into the playoffs, the worse your draft position. The more you shell out for free agents one year, the less you’re able to spend the next. The more games you win in the regular season, the tougher your schedule is when the next one rolls around.

However, the savvy organizations find the cheat codes that separate them from the pack.

The Chiefs haven’t played in five of the past six Super Bowls because they’re lucky – or even because they have a quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, who might be regarded as the best of all time whenever he hangs up the cleats. Perhaps nearly as important is their stability and continuity, Andy Reid heading into his 13th season with the organization – all of that time spent with current GM Brett Veach, who’s worked for and with Reid in various capacities going back to the coach’s days in Philadelphia. Their rapport and shared philosophy explain why this franchise is typically several steps ahead of the competition, whether it’s drafting for anticipated needs, or moving on from seemingly indispensable players like former WR Tyreek Hill or All-Pro OL Joe Thuney, who was traded earlier this week.

“(W)e’re fortunate to have enough nucleus of good players that will be joining us and giving us an opportunity to have a productive ‘25 season and still compete,” Reid said at last week’s scouting combine.

As it pertains to roster construction, he added that it’s “all part of trying to bring the best people in that you can for your team. You can’t help but try to figure out how the pieces fit in the puzzle there, and we’ll work together and then inevitably, (they) can complement one another and win games for you.”

But while the Chiefs are again dealing with champagne problems, another club has a more foreboding K.C. issue. Among the Falcons’ myriad challenges is determining what to do with now-backup QB Kirk Cousins.

“We’re having all of those discussions,” GM Terry Fontenot said at the combine. “That’s the critical part right now. It starts with our roster. We’ll make sure we make the right decisions. Get in a good place with the cap. Then we have to make the right decisions in free agency.”

However, for teams like the Falcons and Chiefs, cheat codes notwithstanding, there seem to be far fewer decisions to make in 2025 due to their specific circumstances. Unlike the better-resourced teams poised to have highly impactful offseasons in 2025, these eight – ranked from most to least able to affect change – could struggle to make headway (salary cap projections courtesy of Over The Cap):

7. Kansas City Chiefs

Offloading Thuney, 32, cleared $16 million in cap room even if he didn’t fetch nearly the return (a fourth-rounder next year) that Hill did in 2022. Thuney’s departure goes a long way toward paying for the $23.4 million franchise tag recently applied to RG Trey Smith. However, the AFC champs are still $3 million overspent, don’t have a reliable left tackle, will likely lose LB Nick Bolton and S Justin Reid, among several others, to the open market and only have six draft picks – most coming at the end of each round – to partially reload the roster. They’d also like to lay the groundwork to extend defensive stalwarts George Karlaftis and Trent McDuffie with both a year away from what will be cap-stretching fifth-year rookie options.

“Every offseason, there seems to be a unique challenge, and this will be no different,” said Veach.

6. Miami Dolphins

At least they’re set at the offensive skill positions, assuming Hill has successfully completed his damage control after shutting himself down in the team’s Week 18 loss to the New York Jets last season? Regardless, not a ton of quality or depth elsewhere on this roster – both lines, in particular, areas of significant concern. S Jevon Holland headlines the Fins’ fleet of free agents. But with only $12 million in cap space and a cluster of Day 3 draft picks, it appears Miami will be forced into something of a youth movement, if not necessarily blue-chip youth.

5. Baltimore Ravens

Similar situation in Charm City, where the AFC North champions don’t have much in the free agency bank (about $10 million) but have a load of draft choices, if concentrated in the later rounds. But unlike the Dolphins, the Ravens may also have to switch kickers given the salacious allegations surrounding Justin Tucker. But he’ll likely be easier to replace than Pro Bowl LT Ronnie Stanley, who’s scheduled to reach free agency.

4. Houston Texans

And the theme continues in Space City, where the AFC South champions’ budget hovers around $14 million while the draft quiver holds just six selections. It adds up to a much less aggressive approach than last year … though kudos to GM Nick Caserio for obtaining WR Christian Kirk from the division rival Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday for a song, i.e. a 2026 seventh-rounder.

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

They’re pretty much capped out and only have six whacks at the draft board. But after a massive reinvestment in their own players last year – QB Baker Mayfield, LT Tristan Wirfs, WR Mike Evans and FS Antoine Winfield Jr. among them – that’s probably OK given it returned yet another NFC South crown. And if underrated GM Jason Licht can finagle a bit more room to keep WR Chris Godwin, so much the better.

2. New Orleans Saints

About one-sixth of their 2025 cap is tied up in three players who are long gone: CB Marshon Lattimore, WR Michael Thomas and QB Jameis Winston. And yet the Saints, who annually treat the cap like a kid who can’t pay down a high-interest credit card, still have $40 million they need to shed by Wednesday – which doubtless means more restructures like the one C Erik McCoy recently agreed to. Having the extra third-round pick obtained from Washington in last year’s Lattimore trade will help, but rookie HC Kellen Moore will likely be relying heavily on the draft for roster replenishment given the team’s cap constraints.

1. Atlanta Falcons

In the aftermath of a disappointing season, they still need to trim $5 million off the cap and own just four draft picks – their third-rounder belonging to New England and fifth-rounder forfeited for a tampering violation.

“You know, it is (a) tough market, because we are talking to a lot of players right now,” Fontenot said. “A lot of agents. Obviously, players on our roster.”

But it could get worse than trying to figure out how to re-sign 26-year-old C Drew Dalman.

Much worse.

Keeping Cousins means carrying the most expensive backup quarterback ever. Cutting him would incur a $65 million dead cap hit, including an additional $25 million accelerated onto this year’s bottom line (though Atlanta could spread that out with a post-June 1 designation). Given how the 36-year-old played in 2024, trading him seems like a non-starter unless – again – the Falcons are willing to eat a good chunk of Cousins’ contract.

“Yeah, we understand that it’s not ideal to have a quarterback at that cap number,” said Fontenot. “Now, when we gave him that contract, the expectation was for him to be the starter at this point. So, that is a good number for a starting quarterback. But now that he’s the backup, when we say we’re comfortable, we’re talking about the total funds allocated to the quarterback position. That’s already baked in.”

Unless second-year QB Michael Penix Jr. is superhuman in his first season as the full-time starter, seems more than likely that this team is already baked.

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