Colorado running back Dylan Edwards is expected to enter the transfer portal, according to 247Sports. With his departure, the Buffaloes are set to lose their top four rushers from the 2023 season to the transfer portal.
Edwards was a pivotal flip for coach Deion Sanders and his staff in the Class of 2023, a four-star recruit from Derby, Kansas, who had long been committed to Kansas State. However, Sanders had a relationship with Edwards dating back to coaching him as a youth player in Texas. The longstanding bond ultimately led to Edwards picking the Buffs.
Edwards scored four touchdowns in a 45-42 upset victory over then-No. 17 TCU in the season opener, but his usage slipped during the year as Colorado moved away from the running game. He finished with 321 yards rushing and 299 yards receiving.
Additionally, third-string running back Sy’Veon Wilkerson entered the portal from Colorado on Tuesday. With his decision, the top four running backs on Colorado’s 2023 roster have all entered the transfer portal.
The Buffaloes recently added Ohio State transfer Dallan Hayden, who posted 663 yards rushing and six touchdowns over the last two years. The Buffaloes are also recruiting Miami (Ohio) transfer Rashad Amos, who rushed for 1,075 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. Amos committed to Mississippi State as a transfer but is expected to visit Boulder this coming weekend.
Edwards becomes the 21st player from Colorado to enter the transfer portal in the post-spring window. Several players — including offensive lineman Savion Washington and Edwards — were primary starters last season. More than 30 players have entered the transfer portal overall during the 2024 offseason. Colorado has also added four highly-regarded commitments in the post-spring transfer window.
Kansas State would be a logical option for Edwards’ services. Edwards’ father, Leon Edwards, played running back at Kansas State in the early 1990s.
playoff that would be financially backed by private equity, sources tell CBS Sports.
The concept would address — if not be motivated by — disappointment felt by the Group of Five conferences (MAC, Mountain West, Sun Belt, American and Conference USA) over revenue distribution shares under the new College Football Playoff media rights agreement. The average program in those conferences will receive $1.8 million per year in CFP revenue beginning in 2026 under the new deal, up from the current $1.5 million payout.
The Group of Five splits 9% of the annual $1.3 billion deal with ESPN. While the payout marks an increase in raw numbers, it is a percentage decrease considering the Group of Five received 22% of the pot in the prior deal (2014-23).
By comparison, the Big Ten and SEC will each receive 29% of CFP money — millions more than any Group of Five league is paid in media revenue alone during a given year.
“You’ve got presidents and chancellors [from the Group of Five] now saying, ‘Why would [we sit] around waiting for the inevitable, which is a total break [by the SEC and Big Ten]?'” one Group of Five administrator familiar with Dooley’s proposal told CBS Sports. “We better start doing some things.”
Dooley did not immediately return a call requesting comment.
Some believe a Big Ten and SEC breakaway has already occurred given the incoming revenue both conferences are set to receive. The Big Ten and SEC demanded a larger share of the CFP pie, in part, because of their playoff success over the last 10 years.
The leagues have combined to earn 29 of 40 available CFP bids (based on league membership beginning July 2024) and 113 of 184 BCS/CFP slots (62%) since the Bowl Championship Series debuted in 1998. (That includes all BCS-affiliated bowls and New Year’s Six games.)
While Dooley’s idea is in the development stages, sources stressed that financial involvement would be more than just funding a playoff. In one iteration of the proposal, as described to CBS Sports, eight division champions would play at the end of the regular season for the Group of Five’s guaranteed CFP berth. “Significant dollars” would be at stake, according to one source with knowledge of the pitch.
Such an arrangement would require the 62 teams contained in the Group of Five conferences realigning into eight-team divisions.
Beginning this season, as the CFP expands to 12 teams with the five highest-ranked conference champions automatically receiving bids, at least one Group of Five conference champion is guaranteed a spot in the field.
The proposal will face the difficult hurdle needing to rework ongoing existing media rights deals with CBS, Fox and ESPN. Those networks owning the majority of Group of Five media rights.
One option would be pooling those rights into a single entity to be sold together. Private equity would then get a percentage of the new TV deal, sources told CBS Sports. It’s not known which specific private equity firms are currently involved in the pitch. Such a concept was suggested in the Super League discussion that emerged earlier this month.
The new divisions would be realigned geographically, in part to benefit Olympic sports. One of the biggest criticisms of conference realignment centers around the long distances those teams are required to travel.
“I heard about ideas like that. It certainly has to be [for less money] than the Power Five,” said Patrick Crakes, a media consultant and former Fox Sports executive. “… If somebody comes to me and asks to me to invest in this, how do I get my money back? … How do I make more than I can in [buying] Triple A corporate bonds at 9% today, or I can invest in Rice playing Texas State?”
During his introductory press conference earlier this month, incoming AAC commissioner Tim Pernetti mentioned his league taking “big swings” that include possible private equity relationships and “maverick postseason models.”
“When I look at college football … are there different levels of competition and levels of play? Of course there are,” Pernetti said. “Is there a financial disparity? We know that.”
Unanimous approval from the five conferences would be required to move forward with Dooley in the process of contacting conference commissioners and presidents to discuss his idea.
The 55-year-old spent the last two seasons as a senior offensive analyst at Alabama. Since leaving Tennessee in 2012, he has served as an assistant at both the college and NFL levels.
Dooley went 15-21 in three disappointing seasons with the Volunteers. His most successful stint as a head coach came at Louisiana Tech from 2007-09 where he went 17-20.
In January, Northern Illinois athletic director Sean Frazier proposed an NIT best-of-the-rest postseason tournament for those schools left out of the expanded playoff in the future.
Arizona State coach Herm Edwards received a five-year show-cause penalty from the NCAA for recruiting violations involving more than 30 prospects during the COVID-19 no-visit period, 247Sports reports. The punishment against Edwards, which started on April 15, is one of the longest show-cause penalties handed down to a coach in NCAA history.
According to 247Sports, Edwards, 69, was one of seven former ASU staffers (Prentice Gill, Derek Hagan, Chris Hawkins, Zak Hill and Robert Rodriguez, and equipment employee Eric Bowman being the others) to receive show-cause penalties ranging between three to 10 years by the NCAA.
Arizona State self-imposed a postseason ban for the 2023 season and will vacate nine of its 10 wins between 2021-22 for the use of one or more ineligible players.
The school also agreed to disassociate for five years with Regina Jackson, the mother of former ASU quarterback and LSU Heisman winner Jayden Daniels. Jackson was alleged to have paid for flights and lodging for ASU recruits who impermissibly visited during the COVID dead period.
Two of the former staffers are contesting “portions” of their cases, and the NCAA will not release its full decision until after those hearings. Current Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce is one of the coaches disputing his charges. He submitted a written statement to the NCAA regarding his role in the violations after he served as an ASU assistant from 2018-2021.
NCAA Committee on Infractions chief hearing officer Jason Leonard praised Arizona State for its “exemplary” cooperation in the case.
“The school’s acceptance of responsibility and decision to self-impose meaningful core penalties is a model for all schools to follow and is consistent with the expectations of the NCAA’s infractions program,” Leonard said.
The Philadelphia Eagles weren’t going to let Reed Blankenship enter the final year of his contract with an uncertain future, announcing a one-year contract extension with the starting safety that will keep him with the team until the 2025 season.
Blankenship will make $3.935 million in fully guaranteed money over the next two years, per NFL Network, a massive pay raise from the $985,000 in base salary he would have made in 2024. The former undrafted free agent finished the 2023 season with 113 tackles, 11 passes defended and three interceptions. Opposing quarterbacks targeting Blankenship completed 68.6% of their passes and had six touchdowns against him with a 86.5 passer rating.
At just 25 years old, Blankenship is locked into Philadelphia for the next two seasons. He’ll have guaranteed money through his restricted free agent year of 2025, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent in 2026. Blankenship had the second-most performance-based pay in the NFL at $923,059 for the 2023, which was announced earlier Monday, making April 1 a banner day for Blankenship financially.
What this means for Eagles at safety The Eagles have Blankenship and C.J. Gardner-Johnson signed for multiple seasons, having their top two safeties under contract until at least the 2025 season. Whether Blankenship starts or not, he and Gardner-Johnson will be part of Vic Fangio’s defense for 2024 and beyond.
Sydney Brown also is in the mix at safety once he recovers from the ACL injury he suffered in Week 18 of last season. The Eagles are targeting a return for Brown at some point early in the 2024 season, as he will be rehabbing throughout minicamp and training camp.
Mekhi Garner and Tristin McCollum are also in the mix at safety, as both players will compete for a roster spot in training camp.
With The First Pick Newsletter Prepare for the upcoming NFL Draft with the day’s big stories + mock drafts, big board updates and more.
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Blankenship gets a bump in pay, but he’s not guaranteed a starting safety spot. The Eagles would like to improve a secondary that allowed a 97.6 passer rating to opposing quarterbacks last season (29th in NFL) and 35 passing touchdowns (31st in NFL). Philadelphia signed Gardner-Johnson to a three-year deal to fill one of the safety slots and Tyler Hall at slot cornerback, while releasing Avonte Maddox (although there is a possibility Maddox could return).
The Eagles still have salary cap space available to improve at safety, even if Blankenship is signed through 2025.
Which safeties are available? Justin Simmons is the best free agent safety left, and has a history with Fangio based on his time with the Denver Broncos. Simmons had 14 interceptions and earned two Second Team All-Pro selections during Fangio’s three seasons in Denver, having a 48.1 passer rating when opposing quarterbacks targeted him in that span.
Simmons and Gardner-Johnson would be a complete revamp at safety, with Blankenship as the No. 3 safety and Brown used in sub-packages. This if the Eagles chose to pursue a starting safety, especially to improve a secondary after the front office dealt pass rusher Haason Reddick and impacted the defense last week.
Jamal Adams, Eddie Jackson (who has also played under Fangio), Quandre Diggs, Micah Hyde, Tracy Walker, Jayron Kearse, Tashaun Gipson and Julian Blackmon are the other top safeties available. The safety market is deep, so the Eagles don’t have to rush into making a move.
This is why taking care of Blankenship was beneficial for 2024 and beyond.
Carson Wentz began his NFL career with the Philadelphia Eagles. Now he’ll suit up for the most accomplished Eagles head coach of all time … in Kansas City. Almost a month after entering 2024 free agency, the veteran quarterback has signed a one-year deal with the Chiefs, as NFL Media reports, to work under Andy Reid as Patrick Mahomes’ new backup.
Wentz, 31, last played for the Los Angeles Rams, appearing in three games as Matthew Stafford’s No. 2 last season. His move to the Chiefs marks the fourth time he’s changed teams in as many years, but it comes after a brief but well-regarded stint under Sean McVay, during which he led the Rams to a Week 18 victory en route to the playoffs.
In Kansas City, Wentz immediately becomes the favorite to serve as Reid’s top insurance for Mahomes, with incumbent backup Blaine Gabbert still unsigned in free agency. The Chiefs have preferred an experienced veteran in the No. 2 spot, previously deploying Chad Henne. And Wentz offers plenty of experience, with 93 career starts under his belt.
Originally drafted No. 2 overall by the Eagles in 2016, four years after Reid exited Philadelphia, Wentz spent his first five seasons in green. He was an MVP candidate in year two, but a late-season ACL tear sidelined him for the Eagles’ historic Super Bowl run, and mercurial results the ensuing three years contributed to an abrupt departure ahead of the 2021 campaign. Traded to the Indianapolis Colts, Wentz lasted just one season in Indy before a trade to the Washington Commanders. He went 2-5 as a starter in D.C. before his release, and he didn’t join the Rams until November of 2023.
Besides starting experience, Wentz at least offers some stylistic similarities to Mahomes; though far less consistent, the former is known for his strong arm and backyard-style approach, making him a sensible match for a coach and quarterback tandem defined by their creativity and off-script production.
Since he was drafted back in 2017, Josh Dobbs has spent a whole lot of time bouncing around the NFL.
He spent the first year of his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He got traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but never appeared in a game for them. The Jaguars waived him, then he re-signed with the Steelers. He signed with the Browns, then got waived. He caught on with the Detroit Lions practice squad. Then he signed with the Titans for a brief stint and made two short-notice starts.
Then it was back to the Browns, followed by a trade to the Cardinals, where he finally got a chance to start for an extended stretch. He acquitted himself fairly well and got traded to the Vikings, where he again started on short notice but eventually was benched. Earlier this offseason, he signed with the San Francisco 49ers to back up Brock Purdy.
During an appearance on The Adam Schefter Podcast, Dobbs explained why he chose to sign with San Francisco.
“So when free agency came, the opportunities that were presented — the biggest thing that I wanted, as I said, was to get to a place that has a consistent front office, consistent coaching staff, and does a really good job of QB development, and have an opportunity to go through a full offseason in one scheme,” he said. “Get in there in April, and even though I’m still learning, and it will be learning a new offense, but it’s an offense that’s obviously very prominent throughout the league.
“And so to be able to get there in April and be around some tremendous coaches and learn the offense from the bare bones of it, and throw routes on air, and build those interpersonal opportunities with teammates. And then be able to go into the season and whatever the role looks like in the room — obviously, Brock is balling, and what they did, coming up two times short in the Super Bowl the last four years is amazing. But to be a part of that culture, in that franchise, I’m really excited.”
Dobbs also said that he is specifically excited to work with Purdy.
“At the end of the day, he wins football games and he plays efficient football,” Dobbs said. “That’s all you can ask for. So that’s what I’m most excited about, just being able to obviously provide my perspective on what I’ve learned throughout the league and be able to assume whatever role that looks like this upcoming year. But to be around that and that coaching and that type of player and that type of room and that consistency, I think it’d be really good for me, and I’m excited to see what I’ll be able to add and help the team with for this upcoming year.”
The Niners previously had Jimmy Garoppolo, Trey Lance, and then Sam Darnold in the quarterback room with Purdy, so they have had players at all different stages of their careers working alongside him. Dobbs has shown that he has enough upside to be a fill-in starter when his team needs it, and that’s really the best thing you can ask of a backup. The best-case scenario for the team is that he doesn’t have to play, but his skill set is one that can help a team compete if the starter goes down. That’s something a contending team like the Niners needs.
There are three teams without a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Each of those teams initially had the same draft capital and then decided to use it in a variety of ways. The strategies that they employed to reach this point are no different than the strategies that they will continue executing over the next few weeks.
Here is a look at those three teams and how each can still find success later in April’s draft:
Cleveland Browns Cleveland has five picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, and just two of those fall in the top 100 overall. The Browns have operated the past few years as if they are trying to win the Super Bowl. The team’s aggressiveness continued this offseason when it traded for Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy. They can continue feeding into that strategy by identifying prospects who will help them win now; that could could mean starting-caliber players or functional depth at key positions, such as the offensive line or cornerback.
Carolina Panthers The Panthers have needs on both sides of the ball and it is unlikely that all of those holes can be patched in one offseason. The worst outcome for the upcoming season would be to fall short in surrounding second-year quarterback Bryce Young with the talent that will give him a fighting chance to prove himself as a viable starter in the NFL. Young may or may not be the franchise quarterback in Carolina, but do not leave anyone wondering if more could have been done to foster his development.
It is clear that plan has already been put in motion. The Panthers signed offensive guards Damien Lewis and Robert Hunt to lucrative contracts in free agency before trading cornerback Donte Jackson for Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson. The team also traded away coveted pass rusher Brian Burns in exchange for additional draft resources. Carolina has funneled assets previously allocated for defense into the offense. One can not expect the Panthers defense to play at a high level considering the moves that have been made this offseason, but, at the very least, the offense should be competitive if Young bounces back from a disappointing rookie campaign.
Houston Texans The Texans have eight picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, including three of the top 100 overall; their first selection is not until No. 42 overall.
Houston has the most comfortable quarterback situation of the three teams discussed. Cleveland may be ‘all-in’ in the way that it operates, but there is uncertainty at the quarterback position. C.J. Stroud was one of the league’s best quarterbacks as a rookie and the Texans have the luxury of building a roster around his reasonable contract before it balloons.
The Texans do not need to over-commit on offense in the way that Carolina should. Stroud was able to uplift that unit, even as they dealt with injuries across the board. It is business as usual as they work to build a roster capable of achieving sustainable success. They can attack defensive tackle, cornerback and other positions of need in an attempt to identify additional pillars like edge rusher Will Anderson Jr., wide receiver Nico Collins, cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., Stroud and more.
The 2024 NFL Draft will take place from April 25-27 in Detroit. More draft coverage can be found at CBSSports.com, including the weekly updated draft order, mock drafts and a regularly available look at the eligible prospects.
Former NFL Pro Bowler Vontae Davis has passed away at the age of the 35. Police haven’t released very many details about the situation, but Davis was found unresponsive at his home on Monday.
The former NFL cornerback was living in Southwest Ranches, Florida, which is located roughly 20 miles west of Fort Lauderdale. Authorities have announced that they don’t currently believe that foul play was involved in Davis’ death.
Davis’ passing comes less than six years after he played his final NFL snap. The two-time Pro Bowler famously retired at halftime of a game in 2018. During the final game of his career, which came with the Buffalo Bills, Davis realized after the team’s first defensive series that he was done with football.
“I went to the bench after that series and it just hit me,” Davis said at the time. “I don’t belong on that field anymore.”
His retirement decision came during a Week 2 game against the Los Angeles Chargers. Davis was just 30 years old when he decided to retire.
“Leaving was therapeutic,” Davis said. “I left everything the league wanted me to be, playing for my teammates while injured, the gladiator mentality, it all just popped. And when it popped, I just wanted to leave it all behind. So that’s why I don’t care what people say. That experience was personal and not meant for anyone else to understand. It was me cold turkey leaving behind an identity that I carried with me for so long.”
Despite retiring at such a young age, Davis still put together an impressive NFL career. His first season came with the Dolphins after Miami made him the 25th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. During his rookie year, not only did he see action in all 16 games — with nine starts — but he also led the team in interceptions with four.
Davis lasted three seasons in Miami before the Dolphins made the decision to trade him to the Colts after the 2011 season. His trade to the Colts was actually documented on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” in August 2012.
Vontae Davis getting traded to the Colts while on Hard Knocks pic.twitter.com/i5ZYhol06t
— boxingfan333 (@boxingfan3333) April 1, 2024 During his six seasons in Indianapolis, Davis played some of his best football, which is a big reason why he ended up being voted to two Pro Bowls (2014-15). Davis recorded four interceptions in each of those two seasons, which ranked second on the team in both years.
Colts owner Jim Irsay shared his condolences on social media.
“Extremely saddened to hear of the passing of Vontae Davis,” Irsay wrote. “A great guy, teammate, player. My prayers to Vontae’s family.”
Davis ended up spending a total of 10 seasons in the NFL. He is survived by multiple family members, including his older brother, Vernon Davis, who spent 15 seasons as an NFL tight end.
The Arizona Cardinals are being ordered to pay ex-team executive Terry McDonough $3 million for “false and defamatory” statements made about him publicly to the media, per a federal court decision filed on Monday, according to ESPN.
Jeffrey Mishkin, the league arbitrator chosen by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, ruled that Arizona and its owner, Michael Bidwill, defamed McDonough “with malice” in a multi-page statement to media organizations, alleging McDonough committed spousal abuse and neglected his disabled, adult daughter. McDonough denied those claims.
Mike Caspino, McDonough’s counsel, filed the decision with the U.S. District Court in Arizona on Monday as a step in the legal process for the court to confirm his awarded compensation.
“Despite what we consider to be a fundamentally unfair arbitration process, Terry McDonough is the first person to ever win against an NFL owner,” Caspino said via a statement on the court filing, per ESPN. “Why the NFL has not held Michael Bidwill accountable remains a mystery.”
The $3 million McDonough is set to receive is a good amount of money, but it is a far cry from what he sought to receive in court. He filed for $15 million in lost future earnings, $10 million for emotional distress, $10 million for reputational harm and between $60 to $90 million in punitive damages.
Mishkin awarded him $150,000 in general damages for “the harm to his reputation” the defamatory statements caused, $600,000 in damages for emotional distress and $2.25 million in punitive damages.
The league and the Cardinals have not yet made public remarks about the case. However, McDonough didn’t win on some of his other claims centered around unlawful retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy. This arbitration claim was brought by McDonough against Arizona last April after he alleged that Bidwill retaliated against him after he said he wasn’t comfortable with the Cardinals’ use of burner phones to communicate with former general manager Steve Keim, who was suspended for “extreme” DUI at the time.
McDonough, the team’s vice president of player personnel, was fired in January 2023 — less than a year after signing a two-year contract extension in May of 2022. His termination occurred three months before his arbitration complaint. The Cardinals statements were found to be “false and defamatory” as McDonough’s and his wife’s testimonies provided a clear picture that McDonough “never committed an act of domestic violence or domestic abuse” and that “McDonough has never abandoned responsibility for his daughter or cut her off financially.”
The Cardinals procured information regarding allegations of spousal abuse against McDonough from his ex-father-in-law. He sent a letter to then-Arizona wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, and the wideout handed over the letter to a team executive. The letter was then placed in McDonough’s employee file, where it sat until the team went to put out a statement about his dismissal in 2023.
Mishkin deemed Arizona’s “own conduct in giving the letter no credence or consideration whatsoever at the time they received it is clear evidence of their own subjective doubts about the veracity and accuracy of the allegations.” The arbitrator also pointed to emails from McDonough and his wife about child support payments, and Bidwill said he offered him a 2019 contract that would have allowed him to live in North Carolina near his daughter. McDonough was amicable to that arrangement.
It was found that the Cardinals used burner phones, but the league arbiter did not find in support of McDonough’s allegation that he was prevented from being an NFL general manager because of the conduct. His sole general manager interview came with the San Francisco 49ers in 2017.
“In publicly attacking Mr. McDonough’s personal character by publishing false and defamatory statements entirely unrelated to matters at issue in the arbitration was unjustified in the circumstances and is deserving of punishment,” Mishkin wrote.
