標籤: surprisingly

Philadelphia Eagles star receiver AJ Brown leaving Philly seems less like an “if” and more like a ticking game clock. And once he hits the trade block, half the league will be lining up to play. Even after watching Brown burn on the game’s biggest stage, the Kansas City Chiefs and Andy Reid would clearly love to add that kind of firepower to the offense.

Talk of Casey potentially making a move for the Browns has intensified, and on paper, it looks like a cheat code. But that’s probably where the discussion of fantasy football should stop. Reid has built the Chiefs into a dynasty by leaning into a team-first culture, maximizing players’ roles and keeping the locker room ego-free. Putting a high-maintenance alpha receiver in that system could spoil the chemistry that has helped Kansas City stack up to Lombardi.

Patrick Mahomes could get a massive WR upgrade if Chiefs hire AJ Brown

SportsBoom’s NFL insider Jason La Canfora listed the Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers and Jacksonville Jaguars as potential trade destinations for AJ Brown.

“For example, the Chiefs were tied to several top receivers going into the draft,” La Canfora noted, “but instead they spent the first two days solidifying Steve Spagnuolo’s defense.”

Still, Casey adding a true WR1 makes a lot of sense. The Chiefs are trying to get back into full dynasty mode, and this could be Travis Kelce’s final trip to the Hall of Fame. Additionally, Kansas City will want to take some pressure off Patrick Mahomes as he tries to recover from ACL and LCL injuries he suffered last December.

Brown may no longer be the shiny new rookie, but the man still moves the chains like few receivers in football. He’s physical, explosive and ridiculously reliable — exactly the kind of weapon that can turn Mahomes’ offense into a weekly fireworks show. Right now, Rashee Rice is the only proven wideout on the depth chart. Xavier Worthy, Tyquan Thornton and rookie Cyrus Allen still have a lot to prove before anyone can crown them reliable playmakers. The addition of a battle-tested star like Brown immediately raises KC’s ceiling.

Meanwhile, in Philly, the writing is beginning to appear on the wall. The Browns reportedly want out after contract talks with the Philadelphia Eagles stalled, and the team drafting top receiver Makai Lemon has only fueled trade discussions. With Devonta Smith already locked in as a cornerstone piece, Brown suddenly looks a lot more dynamic than untouchable.

Undrafted free agent quarterback Diego Pavia has a new home in the NFL. Pavia has signed a three-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens after the 2026 NFL Draft, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The 24-year-old quarterback was the runner-up for the 2025 Heisman Trophy behind Fernando Mendoza.

Pavia, who became the first Heisman Trophy runner-up to go undrafted since Brad Banks in 2003, joins a stacked quarterback room with Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley. Earlier on Tuesday, the Ravens also signed undrafted quarterback Joe Fagnano to a three-year contract.

Pavia went undrafted due to concerns about his size and playing style transitioning to the NFL level. Despite throwing for 3,539 yards, 29 touchdowns and eight interceptions, the 24-year-old quarterback did not receive much interest in the draft. Pavia also did not receive an immediate contract as an undrafted free agent.

This gives Pavia a chance to secure a spot on Baltimore’s 53-man roster for the 2026–27 NFL season. This also means the former Vanderbilt Commodore quarterback will likely battle Fagnano for the QB3 role behind Jackson and Huntley during the summer.

Although this contract does not guarantee Pavia a spot on the 53-man roster, it is a great result after going undrafted. The Ravens were initially going to bring Pavia to their rookie mini-camp on a tryout basis, but the team already signed him.

If Pavia does not find a role behind Jackson and Huntley, he could join the practice squad to begin the 2026–27 NFL season. Either way, Pavia is likely to get a significant amount of reps with Fagnano during the 2026 NFL preseason.

Pavia has a home in the NFL, but what happens next in Baltimore depends on his performance this summer.

READ MORE: Multiple NFL teams seeking to sign Diego Pavia after going undrafted

Austin Konensky is a writer at SportsNut, covering the NHL, MLB, NFL, NBA and more. His work can also…more about Austin Konensky

Matthew Stafford is coming off the best season of his career, winning his first NFL MVP award while leading the Los Angeles Rams to a record. He is also 38 and has been considering retirement in recent years. Enter, Ty Simpson.

Thursday night, many expected the Rams to select a wide receiver like Jordan Tyson or Makai Lemon in the first round with the 13th overall selection. Tyson went to the Saints at No. 8. Lemon was still available. Other projections included the Rams making a secret selection with Oregon tight end Kenyon Saadiq, who set an NFL Scouting Combine record for a tight end with a 4.39-second 40-yard dash. No. All those mock drafts were wrong.

Instead, Rams general manager Les Snead shocked everyone by selecting Alabama’s QB, Simpson, who is now officially Stafford’s successor in L.A. Obviously, this is a move that head coach and QB guru Sean McVay has signed off on, but it’s still a decision that no one expected at the 13-year-old.

Still, last offseason, there was even a notion that the Rams might trade Stafford, a former Super Bowl LVI champion, before finding common ground and renegotiating his contract. Now re-entering the final year of his contract, Simpson’s selection makes one wonder if this could be Stafford’s final season in Los Angeles and possibly the NFL.

According to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, the Rams informed Stafford they will select Simpson with the 13th overall pick today. However, he informed her that the selection would be held “whenever Stafford decides to move forward.”

Meanwhile, it’s a tough development for former Georgia QB Stetson Bennett, who the Rams made with the 128th overall selection in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Certainly, he’s ready for QB3 duties behind Stafford and Simpson. Also, all this smoke about the Rams hoping Jimmy Garoppolo will have a change of heart and re-sign? Beautifully played by Los Angeles.

RELATED: 4 James Connor trade landing spots after Cardinals draft Jeremiah Love

Dedicated NFL copywriter/editor. My work has been found on SportsNut, Sports Illustrated, Sporting News, MSN, Yahoo, and Minnesota Sports… More about Andrew Buller-Russ

The Minnesota Vikings had no choice but to make a tough decision in the offseason, where they were $40 million over the 2026 salary cap. Several Pro Bowl veterans have been released from the team, including a pair of defensive tackles, Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, signed in free agency last offseason. But the migration does not end here.

On Wednesday, the Vikings surprisingly also released Harrison Smith from the team. The potential future Hall of Fame safety is expected to either retire after 14 NFL seasons or re-sign in Minnesota at an even lower rate.

He is being processed as a cap casualty after June 1, saving approximately $1.3 million in cap space (exactly needed to sign Kyler Murray), but the Vikings “would welcome his return” according to Matthew Coler. Right now, he won’t take up a roster spot, but his absence leaves a massive void at the safety position next to Josh Metellus in Minnesota.

The Vikings always feared a possible retirement by Smith this offseason, and this could be a precursor to an eventual announcement. For now, the 37-year-old gets some time to decide whether he wants to boost his Hall of Fame resume or begin the next phase in his life, one that will hopefully involve fewer setbacks and injuries.

RELATED: Minnesota Vikings free agency: Ranking the 10 best QBs available

Dedicated NFL copywriter/editor. My work has been found on SportsNut, Sports Illustrated, Sporting News, MSN, Yahoo, and Minnesota Sports… More about Andrew Buller-Russ

Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points on March 2, 1962. This is an NBA record and is considered one of the most unbreakable achievements in all of sports. Kobe Bryant was second on the single-game scoring list for a long time, as he scored 81 points on February 22, 2006. No one thought that this figure would also be crossed. Bam Adebayo did the unthinkable on March 10, 2026, dropping 83 points.

The Miami Heat center is a great player and one of the best in the league. However, he is far from the first player that fans would have guessed could have such an insane scoring game. In fact, Adebayo is probably more known for his defensive ability, and his career high was just 41 points before scoring 83 points.

The point is, if Adebayo can score 83 points, there are definitely other players who can surpass the 80-point threshold in the modern NBA. Perhaps Chamberlain’s 100-point record is not as secure as previously thought. So, which NBA players are most likely to score more than 80 points in a game in the next one?

Stephen Curry has a career high of 62 points. He’s an all-time great and arguably the best point guard of all time, but in reality, he’s probably past his peak. Because of that, since he has yet to score even 70 points in a game, he may not be able to do so at some point in the future. Still, the mathematics behind his game needs to be included in this list.

Curry is the best 3-point shooter in NBA history. Fans have seen him go hot many times before, and his 4,233 3-pointers in his career are 891 more than second place. Curry doesn’t just make wide-open ones. He gets up and makes shots from beyond the arc, and he can intercept long bombs off speed and go off balance to the point where defenders can’t really guard him; They just have to pray he misses.

Even at the age of 37, fans can expect a lot more amazing shooting performances from Curry, and perhaps he can take it to the next level after seeing Adebayo’s performance. It helps Curry’s case that he is more than just an outside shooter. He can get anywhere on the court with one of the best handles in NBA history, and he is well known for making circus shots, which will definitely help his 80-point goal. Curry has previously mentioned playing in a flow state, and if he just focused on scoring on the night he was unconscious, he could have scored 80 points.

Although they didn’t make this list, Joel Embiid, Damian Lillard and Donovan Mitchell have all crossed the 70-point threshold before, so they shouldn’t be counted out of scoring 80 points in a day. Anthony Edwards is already one of the best scorers in the league, and Nikola Jokic deserves praise as well.

While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made a stronger claim than ever as the best player in the NBA by hitting the game-winning shot over the Denver Nuggets on March 9, Jokic is still viewed as the unanimous best player in basketball nearly half a decade on. Part of what makes him great is that he’s the best passing big man ever, and his unselfish nature will likely keep him from scoring 80 points. However, Jokic’s touch is unmatched.

He can punch his way under 80 points while hitting deep shots as one of the NBA’s best 3-point shooting bigs, while hitting one-legged slingshot somber shuffles that leave defenders with their hands over their faces in frustration. Again, Jokic’s passing ability means an 80-point performance is unlikely, but he may have the skill set to achieve it if he ever wants to, and a fellow center scoring 83 points in Adebayo only creates more realism for this possibility.

Curry’s former teammate Kevin Durant is also one of the greatest scorers in NBA history. In fact, many fans have voted him the greatest pure scorer of all time, with NBA GOAT Michael Jordan being the only player to give him a run for his money. Durant is reported to be 6 feet 9 inches tall, but in reality, he may be closer to 7 feet.

Despite this, there is no shot that Durant cannot make, which makes him truly vulnerable. He can score from mid-range, with his back to the basket, or from beyond the 3-point arc, and he hasn’t really stepped back since tearing his Achilles. Surprisingly, Durant has never even scored 60 points in a game.

His career-high in terms of scoring is just 55 points, as he has always focused on efficiency and never just conceded jack up shots. However, that doesn’t mean he isn’t one of the most likely players to score 80 points in a game. If Durant ever changes his mentality and wants to score as many points as possible, he has the scoring nature to go crazy, and there are not many players who can guard him.

In the event that Durant surpassed his career highs and defenses began to find a way to slow him down, he became too fast for the big men to guard him, and he could make his shot above most guards and wings. Durant’s 80-point game would be surprising considering he’s never gotten that close to that mark before, but it would be far less surprising than when Adebayo did it.

Devin Booker has been responsible for several all-time high-scoring games during his career. The most memorable thing is that the Phoenix Suns guard scored 70 points in 2017. His team wasn’t very good back then, which led to the Kentucky product getting the final nod. Sixty-plus, 70-plus, and now, 80-plus point scoring games were not as common then as they are becoming more so now, however, which required Booker to imitate Chamberlain and demonstrate his high scoring output in pencil on a piece of paper in the locker room after the game.

Booker is still an elite scorer after all these years. He is averaging 24.9 points per game this year due to an excellent mid-range shot and ability to go downhill and score in the painted area. Over the last few years, it didn’t seem like Booker would be able to surpass his own 70-point game, let alone score 80 points a night. This was because he shared the court with the aforementioned Durant as well as Bradley Beal.

Now with those two gone, Booker has a clear mandate to be the top option in Phoenix. The rest of his team is filled with serious role players who don’t mind doing the dirty work, so it’s not hard to imagine a game in which Booker takes a high volume of shots while his teammates do their best to create extra possessions and get him open looks.

Adebayo fell short of Chamberlain’s single-game scoring record, but he followed up several iconic performances by dropping 83 points on the Washington Wizards. Of course, there was Bryant’s aforementioned 81-point performance, but Chamberlain also had another iconic scoring game in which he scored 78 points. Adebayo also beat Luka Doncic’s 73-point performance to tie for fifth all-time.

Doncic has proven he can get close to scoring 80 points. He has a methodical style of play that is difficult to defend. Doncic gets up and makes shots from beyond the 3-point arc, and his step-back is one of the best moves in basketball. He also has some of the best touches in the league. Doncic currently leads the NBA in scoring with 32.5 points per game.

Additionally, LeBron James is nearing retirement, and once one of the greatest players in NBA history is retired, there will be even more shots for Doncic. Then again, maybe the Slovenian star will get to 80 points before his partner in crime retires. After all, James is an incredible playmaker who demands attention on defense, which will make life easier on Doncic.

There is no denying that Victor Vembanyama is the future of the NBA. The French star, who plays for the San Antonio Spurs, stands 7 feet 4 inches tall. On the one hand, this has quickly made him one of the best defenders in the NBA, and he could take home Defensive Player of the Year awards on a consistent basis.

However, Vembanyama is also a unicorn when it comes to crime. Despite his size, Vembanyama has guard-like skills. He can hit step-back jumpers, put the ball on the floor and create rebounds, and hit fadeaways and turnarounds. Of course, Vembanyama’s size allows him to score inside with ease, as he barely has to try to dunk over anyone.

It’s going to be a night where Vembanyama will have serious mismatches and opposing teams will be unable to stop him. In that case, Vembanyama could potentially score 80 points, which would indicate that the future is now.

The defending MVP is on his way to winning his second consecutive award for being the best player in the NBA after his elite performance in which he scored 35 points en route to hitting the game-winner against the Nuggets. Gilgeous-Alexander is in his fourth consecutive season averaging more than 30 points per game.

He led the league with 32.7 points per game last year and his 31.7 points per game this year are the second-most. If the Oklahoma City Thunder did not have the deepest rotation in the league, one has to imagine this figure would be much higher. The Thunder have 13 or 14 players who can be in each team’s 10-man rotation, which means there are plenty of players to feed off. If Gilgeous-Alexander plays on a bad team, it’s not hard to imagine him averaging 40 points per game, and it’s almost less hard to imagine him scoring 80 points in a single game.

The MVP can really score whatever he wants. He has a reliable 3-point shot and is one of the best middies in the league. He probably scores better at the rim than any other guard, and he gets to the free throw line more often. If anyone is going to score 80 points again, or potentially even try to surpass Adebayo’s historic performance, it will surely be Gilgeous-Alexander.

Lonzo Ball is currently unemployed in the NBA, as the Cleveland Cavaliers traded him in a salary dump to the Utah Jazz, who immediately waived him. There are no strong indicators at this time that Ball will sign with a team before the end of the 2025–26 regular season. Now, he’s at least as busy with his brother LiAngelo on the Ball in the Family podcast, and in the latest episode of the podcast, he was reminiscing about his days with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Ball got the big break of his career when the Los Angeles Lakers traded him to the Pelicans in the Anthony Davis trade. And he looks back fondly on his time with the team, especially as he considers Zion Williamson to be the best fit for him in the NBA.

“To surround with? I would probably say, bullshit, low key probably Zion. Just because I can throw him the lob anywhere and if I get him in the pocket, just match my assists. He’s lying that shit down every time,” Ball said.

But Ball says that, considering the off-court bonding, DeMar DeRozan might be his favorite partner to wear his shoes.

“Off the court, it’s tough. [But] I respect Dibo the most. If I had to choose to be like a big brother in the league, I would say him,” Ball added.

Injuries significantly slowed down Lonzo Ball’s career

Ball was emerging as a 3-and-D playmaking point guard whose only goal on the court is to play winning basketball and make his teammates better. Sadly, he was out of action for over two years due to persistent knee problems, and while he looked good for the Chicago Bulls during the ’24-’25 season, his performance so far this season has been poor – so the Cavs decided to trade him.

At only 28 years old, perhaps Ball will get another chance to prove he deserves to remain in the NBA.