標籤: Veteran

The Green Bay Packers were relatively quiet in NFL free agency this offseason, with general manager Brian Gutekunst looking to preserve compensatory selections in the 2027 NFL Draft. Now that that is no longer a factor, the team is being linked to a potential role player who is still available.

ESPN’s Matt Bowen reports the Packers are the best fit for free-agent edge rusher AJ Epenesa.

“The Packers lost rotational edge rusher Kingsley Enagbare to the Jets in free agency, so the team could add his replacement in Epenesa. He’s a long, powerful mover who can break the edge with his 6-foot-6, 260-pound frame. He can also make disruptive plays under new coordinator Jonathan Gannon, as he recorded 24.5 sacks and four interceptions in six seasons with the Bills. Are.”

Matt Burrows on AJ Epense as fit for Green Bay Packers

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Once the 2026 NFL Draft concludes, free-agent signings have no impact on the compensation formula for the 2027 NFL Draft. That’s why Green Bay wasted little time in signing veteran quarterback Tyrod Taylor.

There are still obvious areas for improvement on the Packers’ roster. Green Bay could use an in-line blocking tight end to pair with Tucker Craft, depth at running back is an issue due to Marshon Lloyd’s durability issues, and depth at nose tackle is still needed.

Connected: Green Bay Packers players who may be out in 2026

6-foot-6 edge rusher Epenesa has been a rotational player for most of his career. Last season, he played 438 snaps for the Buffalo Bills, and he played less than 50 percent of the team’s defensive snaps in five of his six seasons in the NFL.

In 2025, Epenesa recorded 12 pressures, 9 quarterback hits and 17 solo tackles with 4 pass deflections, 2.5 sacks and 2 interceptions in 16 games. Epenesa, who turns 28 in September, earned a 48.6 PFF run-blocking grade along with a 63.5 pass-rushing grade in 2025.

RELATED: Green Bay Packers who could be on the roster bubble in 2026

With All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons likely to miss the first four games of the season recovering from ACL surgery, pass-rushing depth is essential. Signing Epenesa would allow Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon to rotate him with Carl Brooks, Lucas Van Ness, Brenton Cox Jr. and Barry Sorrell.

Realistically, any veteran Green Bay signs in NFL free agency at this point will be landing a one-year contract. Beyond Epenesa, there are also options like Derek Barnett, Dante Fowler Jr., Brandon Graham, and Haason Redick.

Matt Johnson is the senior NFL and college football editor for Sportsknot. His work including the weekly NFL and college… More about Matt Johnson

Despite the massive injury problems facing the Toronto Blue Jays’ pitching rotation, they still decided to designate Eric Lauer for the job last week. Now, the left-hander has found a new life with none other than the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In return, Toronto gets the old standby, “cash consideration.”

With a 9-2 record, Lauer did everything the Blue Jays could from him during the 2025 season. He was a starter for half the year, and in 15 starts, he had a good 3.77 ERA with 9.0 strikeouts per nine innings. He was then moved to the bullpen, which was not his first choice, but he adapted to it. big time. He posted a 1.76 ERA in 13 relief appearances. He also made five strong appearances in the postseason in that role with a 3.12 ERA.

In fact, Dodgers fans from Chavez Ravine will remember Lauer for his stellar performance in the Game Three 18-inning marathon. He came on in the 12th inning and pitched 4.2 scoreless innings on 68 pitches, allowing only two hits.

It seems the Dodgers have made a mental note of the 5.2 scoreless innings that Lauer threw in the two World Series games against them.

Lauer joins the Dodgers with a 6.69 ERA this season

But 2026 has been a whole new game for Lauer. No matter what role he played, the southpaw couldn’t bring it together. He has a 6.69 ERA overall. In six starts, he posted a 6.15 ERA and 1.56 WHIP, with a strikeout to walk ratio of only 18:13. In two stints in the bullpen, it was even uglier, with an 8.10 ERA in 10 innings. He surrendered a league-leading 11 homers in his eight contests.

But the 30-year-old has seen ups and downs in his eight-year career and has often come back stronger. It would surprise no one if the Dodgers were able to get the lefty back to his winning ways.

The Dodgers are in desperate need of help in the rotation. Blake Snell went back to the IL after only one appearance, and Tyler Glasnow is also currently out due to back spasms. Reports are that Lauer will initially serve as a length option in the bullpen when he joins the team this week, but as he progresses, a spot in the rotation will certainly be on the table.

For his career, Lauer has a 4.26 ERA with 8.5 K/9 in 737.2 innings.

It will be very difficult to argue against the unexpected impact of the Montreal Canadiens’ depth players in the 2026 NHL Playoffs.

While the first line has scored exactly one goal at 5v5, the top five goalscorers are far from the guys you would consider star players in Montreal.

Alex Newhook leads the way with five goals, while Kirby Dach is close behind with four. Once we overcome the gap between the above players and the rest of the lineup, we reach the players who have managed to score two goals: Alexandre Texier, Zachary Bolduc and Josh Anderson.

Yes, you read that right, only Newhook, Dach, Texier, Bolduc and Anderson have scored more than one 5v5 goal.

If it’s not related to the division of the NHL’s youngest team, it’s very interesting.

Room for another veteran

And yet, I would argue there is room for another veteran in the mix.

An experienced player who is the oldest player in the organization.

Yes, I’m talking about none other than Brendan Gallagher, the oft-maligned winger who gets far more criticism than he deserves, while also admitting that his talent level has dropped significantly in recent years.

Consider this: In three playoff games, not only has Gallagher scored a goal, but the Habs have outshot the Lightning by a huge margin whenever he’s been on the ice.

During his shift, the Canadiens controlled nearly 70 percent of the shots, expected goals and high-danger scoring opportunities.

The sample size is small, but Gallagher has provided the Habs’ best individual results in the playoffs from an underlying numbers standpoint.

More importantly, Gallagher quickly made his way to his natural habitat and created chaos in the crease, troubling opposition goalkeepers with ease.

In addition to frustrating opposing netminders, he quickly takes his coverage to the wall, making for a frustrated, unfocused opponent.

The playoffs are truly made for players like Gallagher.

And you know he will never hesitate to put his body on the line to ensure his team gains even the slightest advantage.

This struggling lion won’t roam the Savanna forever, but it’s quite clear that he’s not quite satisfied with his last kill.

Considering his dedication to the organization, not to mention his excellent on-ice numbers, using Brendan Gallagher vs. the Buffalo Sabers could be the kind of small advantage that could swing a series in Montreal’s favor.

All Montreal Canadiens and Brendan Gallagher statistics via Natural Stat Trick.

Mark has been covering the Habs for over a decade. He previously worked for the Journal Metro, The Athletic, The… More about Mark Dumont

Veteran sports journalist Jeff Pearlman has sharply criticized the WNBA media coverage following the selection of Ezzie Fudd by the Dallas Wings as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 draft.

In a TikTok video, Pearlman highlighted what he alleged was Fudd’s almost complete silence about Fudd’s long-term romantic relationship with teammate Paige Bueckers, the Wings’ star guard who will be drafted in 2025.

He described the reunion of the former UConn Huskies stars – both on the court and in their personal lives – as “the number one piece of this story”, arguing that drafting Fudd effectively created a starting backcourt of longtime partners.

He said, “Ezzie Fudd and Paige Bueckers are in a long-term relationship, and no one is mentioning it. And the WNBA has apparently asked people not to mention it. And that’s very confusing to me journalistically.”

“Like, it’s fascinating that these two guys who have been dating for a long time, dating since college, would be the starting backcourt for a team. To me, that’s really the number one piece of this story. It’s not that they drafted AZ Fudd, they drafted AZ Fudd to play with his longtime teammate, Paige Bueckers.”

@jeffpearlmanauthor Why isn’t the media covering the AZ fad and page buyers in a journalistic manner? #wnba #azzifudd #pagebueckers #dallaswings ♬ Original Sound – Jeff Pearlman

Perlman calls for journalistic “blackout” on Fudd-Bueckers romance after Dallas draft reunion

Pearlman presented the situation as an “amazing” story of young love and on-court chemistry, while acknowledging the risks of pairing romantic partners in a high-stakes professional environment.

The relationship between Bueckers and Fudd, who played together at UConn and publicly confirmed their romance in 2025, has received limited mainstream attention, despite Bueckers attending the draft to support Fudd. One outlet, People magazine, Did Reference it directly in its draft coverage. Even in the headline.

Pearlman said, “Either these players’ agents or the league itself are telling reporters, if you want access, don’t mention it. Don’t bring it up.”

“I really think it’s an unfair judgment about women, not to mention it. Like, why is this taboo? Why is two women in a relationship even remotely considered taboo in 2026? This should not be happening at all.”

Fudd was, by no stretch of the imagination, a guaranteed number-one pick in the WNBA Draft, leading one to wonder if the deciding factor for the Wings was making their star, Bueckers, happy.

Any media blackout is almost certainly not about the relationship. The WNBA and ESPN will be thrilled to highlight this pairing.

In fact, some critics say the fad selection has shades of the Los Angeles Lakers drafting Bronny James to cool the LeBron situation. Except that Fudd is a legitimate WNBA player, while Bronny is nowhere near NBA-caliber. And Dallas likely doesn’t want to share the embarrassment of being manipulated into a special draft pick like the Lakers.

Rusty Weis is a lifelong fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Dallas Cowboys and Xavier Musketeers. He has been writing professionally… More about Rusty Weiss

Creighton recently announced that coach Greg McDermott will retire at the end of the season, ending his illustrious 16-year career with the program.

McDermott led the Bluejays to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, including a memorable run to the Elite Eight in 2023. He was hired by Creighton in 2010 and compiled a record of 365–188.

He produced countless players during his long tenure, some of whom made it to the NBA. On Tuesday, he reunited with two of them: his son, Sacramento Kings forward Doug McDermott, and Charlotte Hornets center Ryan Kalkbrenner.

The elder McDermott posed for a photo with him at the Spectrum Center Posted with pride It’s on X.

“These two made me a great coach! It was so fun to see them share the court at an NBA game!” McDermott wrote.

Both of them made me a great coach! It’s so fun to see them share the court in an NBA game!! #RDJ pic.twitter.com/eRbVhYzUZy

– Coach McDermott (@cucoachmac) 25 March 2026

The Hornets defeated the Kings 134–90. Kalkbrenner had six points, four rebounds and two blocks, while the younger McDermott had nine points and two assists.

The Bluejays missed the NCAA Tournament this year after a 15–17 record, including 9–11 in the Big East.

Other Creighton alumni who played for the elder McDermott and went on to make it to the NBA are Dallas Mavericks guard Ryan Nembhard, Boston Celtics guard Baylor Shearman, New Orleans Pelicans guard Trey Alexander, and former NBA players Justin Patton, Khary Thomas, and Ty-Shawn Alexander.

“I am extremely proud of the young men who have proudly worn the Bluejays’ uniform and represented our program in a first-class manner. It was especially gratifying to watch their growth on and off the playing field,” McDermott, 61, said in his statement about his retirement.

He also had stops at Wayne State, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa and Iowa State.

Alan Huss, who had two stints as an assistant coach at Creighton, will take over the program.

Although some interesting reports are suggesting otherwise, all signs point to the Las Vegas Raiders making Fernando Mendoza the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. After all, they already moved on before the start of last year by sending Geno Smith to the New York Jets.

With Aidan O’Connell the only quarterback left on the Raiders roster, Las Vegas has no choice but to add another arm to the roster this offseason. Chances are, he’ll be a veteran who can help Mendoza navigate the ups and downs of his first season.

A potential guru came forward on Wednesday. according to athleticAccording to NFL insider Diana Russini, Raiders fans should “expect” the team to “show interest” in signing the recently released Kirk Cousins ​​to help Mendoza.

While Cousins ​​certainly wants to play in 2026 rather than play a backup role, he would be an ideal fit for the Raiders. The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback has mastered the art of preparing for his opponents, whether it’s adjusting his body or diving into individual matchups and film to break down coverages. Cousins ​​could be a huge asset for the young QB.

Additionally, if he is pressed into action, Cousins ​​could still help swing some games in the Raiders’ favor. The 37-year-old still led the Falcons to a 5-3 record last season, keeping them in the playoff race for as long as he could. If asked to do the same in Las Vegas, both parties need to be confident he is the right person for the job.

RELATED: NFL Insider updates Raiders Max Crosby trade price after failed physical

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 Atlanta Hawks have seen different iterations of their team come and go this season, but they currently have this group they are used to down the stretch. With a mix of experienced and young players, the Hawks have the right ingredients to make the playoffs, and they are doing so, as evidenced by their current winning streak.

One player who has been a big help for the Hawks since January is CJ McCollum, and he seems to fit in well with what the team is trying to accomplish. Quin Snyder recently made the move to insert him into the starting lineup, as statistics show he is a much better team when he plays with Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu.

Players also see the difference McCullum makes when he is on the field.

“From an experience standpoint, we have CJs who are experienced, and the same thing with nickel, Okongwu said. “They’re leading us to better basketball, we’re having fun out there.”

“C.J. has been great for us,” Daniels said. “That vet presence, a guy who can make things happen. He’s a leader for us. A guy we can rely on, a guy who can get a bucket when we need to. It’s been really good to have him.”

When the Hawks needed a bucket, McCollum was there to make the save many times. This is what he has done throughout his career, and he is helping the Buckeye Hawks as they try to climb the Eastern Conference standings.

Snyder believes the Hawks have found something with McCollum and the other newcomers to the team.

“There was a period of about a week or two where those guys were really trying to figure it out,” Snyder said. “The thing that allows teams to come together is to bring yourself to the team and not be able to worry about a lot of numbers. I think those guys have really started to embrace that, and it makes the whole greater than the sum of the parts.”

The Hawks are clicking at the right time of the season, and if they take care of business, they could find themselves higher than the ninth seed by the end of the year.

The NBA’s 2025-26 season has been surrounded by controversy, from one hot-button topic to the next, including the latest in which San Antonio Spurs veteran Luke Kornet condemned the Atlanta Hawks’ upcoming “Magic City Night” promotion. Cornette doubled down on his criticism of the Hawks’ plans, leading to an open letter asking the NBA to intervene in Atlanta’s scheduled promotion for their upcoming home game on March 16 against the Orlando Magic.

Cornette says the Hawks honoring a strip club by calling it “the city’s iconic cultural institution” is inconsistent with the values ​​of all NBA players, and the association should not have approved it.

“The NBA must be willing to protect and respect women, many of whom work diligently every day to make it the best basketball league in the world,” Kornett wrote in his personal blog. “We must foster an environment that is protective and respectful of the daughters, wives, sisters, mothers and partners we know and love.

“Allowing this night to proceed without protest would reflect poorly on us as an NBA community, especially given our society’s complicity with the potential objectification and abuse of women. Regardless of how a woman finds her way into the adult entertainment industry, many in the field experience abuse, harassment and violence to which they should never have been subjected.”

For the NBA, a league already mired in ethics concerns tied to its enthusiastic support of sports gambling, Cornette’s points are valid, given the negative connotations associated with the adult entertainment business. While the association’s effort to embrace the culture of the area, the Magic City, has been considered one of the foundations of Atlanta’s hip-hop music scene for the past two decades, the Hawks may have gone too far with their latest promotion.

Kornet’s latest campaign adds up to a difficult season for the NBA, given that the league has bigger issues to deal with technically. After Jonte Porter was banned from the NBA for life in April 2024 for violating league gambling policies, Terry Rozier of the Miami Heat was arrested in connection with an illegal gambling scheme.

Former Portland Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups was also named in the federal investigation, which involved sports betting and rigged, high-stakes poker games. Former Detroit Pistons forward Malik Beasley was at the center of a separate investigation for alleged improper gambling on games during the 2023-24 season.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver has generally been open to thinking outside the box, which has inspired league front offices to do the same in order to rebuild their rosters and compete for championships. Teams deliberately sitting their best players to increase their chances of receiving a high selection in the upcoming draft has emerged as one of the most controversial topics in sports.

The NBA has considered taking intense measures in response to teams intentionally sitting their players to improve their chances of losing. Changes included expanding the lottery to include all play-in tournament teams, determining lottery odds based on team performance over two years, and freezing draft lottery odds at the time limit to discourage intentional losing at the end of the regular season.

Luke Cornet addresses open letter ahead of Spurs matchup

Spurs veteran center Luke Kornet knows it’s rare for an NBA player to speak out about the Hawks’ promotion. Nevertheless, Cornette feels passionately about the topic and has not backed down since his initial blog post.

Cornette was forced to do so after learning of the Hawks’ “Magic City Night” promotion a week earlier. To declarehe said, according to ABC 6’s Jason Dumas.

“I feel like it doesn’t really represent what I know about myself and a lot of other N.B.A. [players] thought. So, I just want to make sure that part of the discussion is expressed. It comes with people like criticism and things like that – that’s part of the process as to why people are hesitant to do it, but I think really trying to start and enable conversation,” Cornet said during the Spurs shootaround on Tuesday.

“It’s important to help make sure that everyone in the league is willing to be represented, and there’s an environment that you want.”

Luke Cornette caused some stir nationally when he urged the Atlanta Hawks to cancel their “Magic City Night”, saying it was disrespectful to women.

I asked him about it after the shooting in Philly. Says he has not spoken to the league since his statement. pic.twitter.com/eTwFuZGAGQ

-Jason Dumas (@JDumasReports) 3 March 2026

The Cornets have reached the league, but no changes have been made regarding the upcoming event. When asked by a reporter if he had spoken to anyone from the Hawks organization, he said, no.

Still, it’s another bad look for the NBA amid a season filled with bad publicity, ranging from allegations that the Clippers circumvented the salary cap to sports gambling investigations to issues stemming from teams intentionally tanking; It feels like one issue after another is coming to the fore during the 2025-26 campaign.

It seems like the offseason has just begun, yet the Detroit Lions are already busy, showing they aren’t afraid to shake things up. We’ve already seen that the Lions have hired Drew Petzing as the new offensive coordinator. Lions general manager Brad Holmes is also making changes to the roster.

On Monday, the Lions revealed that they have released offensive guard Graham Glasgow from the roster. Glasgow, a 10-year veteran, spent seven seasons with the Broncos in Detroit and three seasons in Denver.

Glasgow has started 136 of 147 games since being drafted as the 95th overall pick in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He started 14 of his 15 appearances last season for a Lions team that went 9-8.

Set to turn 34 in July, Glasgow should have no trouble finding another starting opportunity this offseason. He had one year left on his contract in Detroit, but releasing him saved $5.56 million in 2026. The Lions will also face a $2.88 million dead cap charge for moving on from Glasgow a year ago.

The Lions have already secured a potential replacement, by sending David Montgomery back to the Houston Texans in exchange for Juice Scruggs, as well as a fourth- and seventh-round selection. The 26-year-old Scruggs is entering the final year of his rookie contract and has started 20 of his 37 appearances since being made the 62nd overall pick in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

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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

Is one car spinning enough to label a driver dangerous? Should NASCAR require results before allowing drivers onto superspeedways? Or does bringing new fans to the game justify the risk?

Those questions echoed like fireworks in the garages and online after the opening weekend at Daytona International Speedway, after social media personality Garrett Mitchell and NASCAR driver Natalie Decker were both involved in some pretty nasty-looking incidents, reigniting all kinds of criticism of how NASCAR handles driver endorsements.

Some fans were quick to point out that you can win multiple races and still cause a major upset at Daytona. Even guys like Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch have managed to have some major crashes over the years. Others asked a tough question: Is NASCAR really making an endorsement about having a good person behind the wheel or is it just about marketability?

For veteran spotter Freddy Craft, the answer was blunt.

Freddie Kraft questions NASCAR’s approval process

Mitchell, known to his fans as Cleetus McFarland, was cleared for the Truck Series season-opener at Daytona after passing a high-speed test. But his debut ended quickly. He lost control coming out of Turn 4 and crashed in just six laps, finishing last.

Kraft called it “dumb luck” that other people did not die in the accident. “This is going to be very unpopular, and I’m sorry, but what are we doing? Are we trying to get the best racecar drivers on the racetrack, or are we trying to get the biggest social media followers?” Craft said at the door bumper clear.

“The system shouldn’t be based on participation; it needs to be based on results. This guy ran two Plate races last year, got wasted in both of them, got half the field wasted in one of them trying to start again.”

“We were lucky that night that he didn’t destroy the truck area… It was just dumb luck. We talk about safety. I’m sure he’s a great guy, he seems like an extraordinary person. But he’s not prepared for what he’s doing. So, you can’t approve of these guys going in there.”

Natalie Decker incident deepens criticism

Kraft also mentioned the ARCA accident involving Decker, where he hit Sam Mayer after an earlier incident. Sadly for Decker, the results of his series aren’t exactly what you’d call encouraging. Every time she raced, she finished 22nd or worse.

The experienced spotter placed the responsibility solely on NASCAR. “First of all, how did he get sanctioned? He ran 13 races and finished 29th on average, plus he had a lot of trouble,” Kraft said.

“At what point do you look and say, ‘Okay, we made a mistake by sanctioning this person, now we need to take him back.’… The system is broken.”

Those comments also touched on a bigger issue: Is it a good idea to use superspeedways as a learning environment for drivers?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. urges growth, not boycott

But not everyone agreed with Kraft’s conclusions. NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. felt strongly that Mitchell’s best bet would be to focus on getting more experience under his belt.

“Is he ready to race trucks yet? No. Will he be? Can he be? Yes, if I were NASCAR, I would do everything I can to make him better. And he needs more ARCA races. He needs to race on short track asphalt,” Earnhardt said.

He said Daytona, arguably the toughest track in the sport, demands a level of experience you just can’t teach. He said, “What happened to him at Daytona could happen to anybody, could happen to me, could happen to anybody. But I think he needs a bigger library of experience.”

Fans divided as NASCAR faces decisive question

The fans are right in the middle, torn apart. Those who support Mitchell see him as an old-fashioned personality who brings a real authentic vibe to the sport and a whole new crowd, with approximately 60,000 people tuning in to watch footage of his car during races.

Critics, on the other hand, cannot accept the idea that being popular is enough to put you in the driver’s seat. He argues that it’s Daytona, of all places, where you want to get some experience before actually heading out on the track.

At its core, the debate raises a difficult question: Should NASCAR protect the ladder or open the door?

Because the answer could define who will be in the race for years to come and why.

My love for motorsports began as a child watching races with my family in Tunisia. Fast forward to today… more about Farah Ben Gamra