C Connor Williams, Seahawks in contract talks (2024)

Check out scores and coverage from the weekend's preseason games as well as what's on tap for Sunday.

Thursday's games

Patriots 17, Panthers 3 — FINAL

• With Panthers starters sitting, some players help themselves, others don’t
• Patriots stock report

Giants 14, Lions 3 — FINAL

• Takeaways from Brian Daboll’s 2024 debut as play caller
• Lions stock report

Friday's games

Dolphins 20, Falcons 13 — FINAL

Texans 20, Steelers 12 — FINAL

Eagles 16, Ravens 13 — FINAL

Saturday's games

Jets 20, Commanders 17 — FINAL

Bears 33, Bills 6 — FINAL

Vikings 24, Raiders 23 — FINAL

Packers 23, Browns 10 — FINAL

Jaguars 26, Chiefs 13 — FINAL

Titans 17, 49ers 13 — FINAL

Buccaneers 17, Bengals 14 — FINAL

Seahawks 16, Chargers 3 — FINAL

Saints 16, Cardinals, 14 — FINAL

Sunday's games

Broncos 34, Colts 30 — FINAL

Rams 13, Cowboys 12 — FINAL

FULL PRESEASON WEEK 1 SCHEDULE

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Find the best deals on tickets to see your favorite teams.

Free agent center Connor Williams and the Seahawks are negotiating a potential contract, according to agent Drew Rosenhaus, who appeared on the Miami-based Joe Rose Show on Monday morning. Williams, 27, suffered a torn ACL on Dec. 11 while playing for the Miami Dolphins. The Seahawks hosted Williams on a free agent visit on July 24. Rosenhaus said Monday that his client will be able to play at the start of the regular season.

“He is healthy,” Rosenhaus said. “He’s in negotiations with the Seahawks, and there’s a few other teams. I wouldn’t be surprised if Connor signs within the next 48 to 72 hours. It’s a wonderful development for Connor, who had a heartbreaking injury in the Titans Monday night game. He was on his way to a Pro Bowl season and a lucrative contract extension. Tore his ACL and this guy fought so hard. We weren’t even sure if he was going to play this year and now he’s going to be ready to play in the first game of the season. It’s probably, in my career, without a doubt, one of the greatest comebacks I’ve ever seen.”

On Monday, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said the competition between second-year center Olu Oluwatimi and veteran Nick Harris is “open.” Oluwatimi began camp as the starting center but Harris has been getting first-team reps the last few days, including Monday’s practice with Geno Smith back running the starting offense.

“Nick has done a nice job,” Macdonald said. “He’s pushing Olu.”

Browns defensive end Za'Darius Smith got a cart ride off of the practice field Monday afternoon after suffering a knee injury.

In a post-practice update, the team said Smith suffered a knee contusion and would be further evaluated Tuesday morning. Smith was in obvious pain after suffering the injury during a red zone drill, but he was quickly helped to the front seat of the cart and driven inside to the team's training room.

Smith, who turns 32 next month, had 5.5 sacks in 2023, his first season with the Browns. He's a high-energy player who has 60 career sacks as he prepares to enter his 10th NFL season.

Smith signed a new two-year contract to stay with the Browns in March. He's again slated to start at defensive end opposite Myles Garrett, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, though both Smith and Garrett play inside in some of the team's pass-down rush packages.

Garrett just started practicing on Sunday as the Browns held him out of the first week of training camp due to a minor hamstring issue. With Garrett still getting limited practice reps and Smith being forced out of practice, Alex Wright and Isaiah Thomas finished practice as the defensive ends with the No. 1 defense. Veteran Ogbo Okoronkwo is the Browns' third-down pass-rush specialist, and the team is hoping for further development and production from Wright this season even if Smith can stay healthy. Smith started every game the Browns' starters played last season after the Browns acquired him in a springtime trade with the Vikings.

Green Bay Packers RB AJ Dillon is looking to have a bounce-back season. He is no stranger to his current situation because he was once on the other end of it.

Read more here.

The Chiefs have prioritized getting O-line stalwarts Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith extended soon. After entering the league together in 2021, Humphrey and Smith are both entering the final year of their rookie contracts.

Read more here.

The stock is down on Russell Wilson ending the competition speculation

Mike Tomlin may have promised competition, but Wilson clearly has the leg-up. Had the 35-year-old come out and lit up practice, it would have put an end to any speculation that Justin Fields might seize the opportunity. Instead, by missing so much time, he’s left the door slightly cracked.

It would be a surprise to see Fields start Game 1. Still, at some point, the top quarterback is going to need to take 11-on-11 reps.

Read more here from Steelers camp.

OXNARD, Calif. — Camp practices end differently for Dak Prescott this year. The Dallas Cowboys’ franchise quarterback walked off the practice field Saturday afternoon pushing a stroller as his girlfriend, Sarah Jane Ramos, carried their 5-month-old daughter, MJ.

“I look forward to it,” Prescott said. “Obviously, I talk about being present and how present I am in anything I do. When I’m on the field and I’m locked in, that’s where all my focus and energy goes. But the moment that whistle blows, that horn goes off and I get to see my family, MJ and SJ; it’s not a moment that I take for granted. I’m super blessed.

“Going from being so locked in to forgetting about football so fast is something that I’ve never done. That is the balance that I need. … Nine years into this thing, getting to do what I love, but just being able to add that component to it makes it all worth it. And I feel younger than I ever have, to be honest.”

As he enters the final year of his contract, most would assume that family life has also helped take Prescott’s mind off the business side of football. He insists that has never been an issue. That part of the game is something he leaves to his agents. He remains confident something will get done to keep him in Dallas beyond his ninth NFL season. If it doesn’t, he’s at peace with the possibility of playing elsewhere next season.

Prescott’s current deal averages $40 million per season. When that contract was signed in March 2021, it was the second-highest average in the league behind only Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Thirteen players have since topped that average annual salary, with quarterbacks Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence and Jordan Love tied at the top at $55 million per season.

Read more here.

Since Relative Athletic Score data has been tabulated beginning in 1987, five linebackers drafted into the NFL have scored a perfect 10. The only two remaining in the league play for the Atlanta Falcons.

“Really?” asked Troy Andersen, one of the two.

Yes. Andersen, a second-round pick by the Falcons in 2022, and Lorenzo Carter, a third-round pick by the Giants in 2018 who joined the Falcons as a free agent in 2022, are the two. The Relative Athletic Score is tabulated by combining a player’s size, speed and strength testing numbers from the NFL Combine or their pro day to determine one number.

Andersen’s first guess at the perfect 10s in the league was Baltimore’s Roquan Smith. Carter guessed the two would be Andersen and Dallas’ Micah Parsons.

“That’s awesome,” Carter said.

When pressed on whether he or his teammate is the most athletic Falcon, Carter picked himself.

“Ooh, that’s tough,” Carter said. “Of course I’ll say myself, but Troy is pretty dang athletic. The things he does are very impressive, his speed, athleticism. I’ll still have to say me.”

Luke Kuechley, Manny Lawson and Raonall Smith are the other perfect 10s to join the league since 1987.

Xavier Legette isn’t playing poorly, but the former South Carolina standout has yet to make any head-turning plays. It could be a matter of getting his timing down with Young after Legette missed the last few weeks of spring with hamstring tightness. Legette left Sunday’s practice with a foot injury. He’s considered day to day after an MRI ruled out a fracture, according to a league source.

That’s good news for a receiver who needs all the practice reps he can get to develop his route running, an area some scouts believed before the draft he needed to improve. Legette was an explosive playmaker in his breakout season for the Gameco*cks last fall. Dave Canales and offensive coordinator Brad Idzik will find ways to get him the ball to take advantage of his size-speed combination.

Read more here.

ASHBURN, Va. — The inference from a reporter’s question about his depth chart status for the Washington Commanders’ upcoming preseason opener took Jayden Daniels by surprise.

“Starting?” said the puzzled rookie quarterback late in Sunday’s post-practice press conference. Seeking clarification, Daniels turned his head 90 degrees left toward Charlie Mule, a member of the team’s PR staff. “For real?”

No, not for real, that we know of. Head coach Dan Quinn hasn’t publicly revealed the starting plan for Saturday at the New York Jets — Daniels will play —let alone the Week 1 road opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The organizational approach since selecting the electric playmaker is letting Daniels go at his own pace.

“It is a journey and a process,” Quinn said on July 23, the day before Washington opened training camp. “And so as we’re going, when he’s ready, we’ll know. And when he’s ready, he’ll also know.”

The Commanders’ fan base, including the hordes of children screaming, “JAY-DEN,” at practice for Kids Day, is ready for the inevitable announcement. Teammates aren’t playing it cool when asked for impressions about the rookie quarterback in training camp.

“I think Jayden has done a phenomenal job,” tight end Zach Ertz said following a recent practice. “I’ve been impressed with him from the moment he got here.”

Read more here.

It’s foolish to make major evaluations about a sixth-year quarterback in a non-contact practice, but that won’t stop everyone from overreacting to how Daniel Jones looks over the next two days. It would be encouraging to see Jones have the offense operating at a higher level than in the first joint practice with the Lions a year ago, but the quarterback was mostly excellent last summer before the worst season of his career. So practice performance should be kept in perspective.

Jones can benefit from reps with a new supporting cast against a foreign defense, but he’ll still be wearing a red non-contact jersey. The real evaluation for Jones won’t come until he’s facing a live pass rush in regular-season games.

Read more on what to watch for the Giants here.

Browns wide receiver Elijah Moore has returned to practice after clearing the NFL’s concussion protocol.

Moore left last Friday’s practice after a collision with Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward. Moore did not practice Sunday, and Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Moore was going through the standard protocol.

Moore’s return Monday means the Browns’ passing game is whole for the first time in camp. Jerry Jeudy impressed Sunday in his first full practice after Jeudy was only a walkthrough participant for the first week.

Jeudy caught a deep ball from Deshaun Watson late in Sunday’s practice. Jeudy and Amari Cooper are the expected starting wide receivers with Moore and Cedric Tillman competing to be next in line.

Bengals’ backup defensive end Cam Sample went down at the end of Thursday’s practice and the cart was immediately called out. It did not look good and the worst-case scenario was confirmed Monday that he’d torn his Achilles and will miss the season.

Sample, in his fourth year out of Tulane, played in 47 games the last three years carving out a niche behind starters Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard. He played between 34 and 40 percent of the defensive snaps each of the last three years. In 2023, he added 32 percent of special teams snaps.

He’s totaled five sacks and 68 tackles over three seasons.

His reputation is a critical component of the roster depth and valued by the staff for his versatility and willingness to do whatever job deemed necessary that week. While the loss might not seem like much in a room with Myles Murphy and Joseph Ossai also behind the starters, his loss is very much felt in the coaching offices.

Unable to trade up for a quarterback, the New York Giants used their first draft pick on a playmaker. And through just two weeks of camp, Malik Nabers is already looking like he can be that guy.

In nearly every practice, Nabers has shown off with highlight reel catches. Even when he’s not bringing in receptions, Nabers has been learning a lot this camp. He’s also in a unique position — along with the rest of his Giants draft class — of being filmed for “Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants” so there’s been even more insight into the type of competitor the Giants are getting. For a good look into Nabers’ daily routine, check out Nabers’ practice diary from my beat partner Dan Duggan.

“Each and every day, he’s getting better and more comfortable,” offensive coordinator/assistant head coach Mike Kafka said last week. “You can see his confidence is continuing to grow, not that he lacks confidence, but he’s growing. He’s working on his relationship with the quarterback, with Daniel (Jones) and all the quarterbacks. I think that’s part of the relationship, quarterback-receiver, is getting that confidence and that chemistry early.”

The Giants are already using Nabers in a variety of ways and coach Brian Daboll has turned to the rookie receiver for play-calling input. During a two-minute drive at the end of the first week of practices, Nabers told Daboll he wanted a go-ball. Jones then connected on a deep ball down the right sideline for the type of catch that fans want to see on the regular.

“It shows how much trust they have in me,” Nabers said. “Wanting to give me the ball in open space and let me be me.”

A fun focus of practice has been his matchups with second-year corner Deonte Banks but a real test for Nabers will come this week in joint practices. Nabers will likely go up against starting outside corners Terrion Arnold or Carlton Davis III, but we want to see the rookie vs. rookie matchup of a battle against this year’s No. 24 pick Arnold.

Read more here.

Antonio Pierce didn't reveal who'll take the first snaps, but the Las Vegas Raiders' head coach said that quarterbacks Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell will play "a legit quarter" in the preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday.

"Who goes out first and who goes on second really doesn't matter," Pierce said Monday. "Hopefully, they'll get an equal amount of snaps and opportunities to showcase (what they can do)."

Minshew and O'Connell are entrenched in a quarterback battle. At this point, neither has a clear upper hand over the other as both players have had far more bad plays than good ones during training camp.

"I don't think we can sit there and say somebody's won yet. I think they've both had good moments," Pierce said. "I don't think it's just on the quarterbacks. Overall, our offensive play has to pick up. We need a sense of urgency. ... They're going against a very good defense. I think they're feeling that and I think that's good for our team — the competition part — but, obviously, somebody has to just step up. We're getting closer and closer."

The NFL on Monday reinstated Broncos defensive end Eyioma Uwazurike one year after he was indefinitely suspended for violating league gambling rules.

Uwazurike was a fourth-round pick out of Iowa State in 2022 and played in eight games as a rookie. He was suspended last July after league officials determined he bet on NFL games in 2022.

Uwazurike is now cleared to participate in all team activities.

Criminal charges against Uwazurike and three other Iowa State athletes related to a gambling investigation were dropped by state prosecutors in March, clearing the way for the 26-year-old to apply for reinstatement.

Broncos coach Sean Payton said Saturday the team was anticipating that Uwazurike would be reinstated and was eager to welcome him back.

“He’s in great shape, and we were really excited to hear that news,” Payton said. “That’ll be an additional player for us, and we’ll be glad to have him back. So good news on that front.”

Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold left practice early on Monday and was evaluated for a concussion.

During a red-zone period in the joint practice with the New York Giants, Arnold took on a block from Giants tackle Andrew Thomas. He was later spotted walking off the field with trainers prior to the end of practice. No further updates were provided by the team.

Read more here.

COSTA MESA, Calif. — Las Vegas Raiders receiver Davante Adams missed the last two practices to return to Las Vegas in anticipation of his wife, Devanne, expecting to give birth to their son soon.

Coach Antonio Pierce said Monday that Adams remains away from the team because his wife hasn't given birth yet. He won't return to action until that happens.

In the meantime, it's provided a bigger opportunity for some of the less proven receivers on the roster. Pierce noted that DJ Turner and Kristian Wilkerson have stood out in Adams' absence. Additionally, Jalen Guyton has been activated from the active/physically unable to perform list and will practice Monday for the first time during training camp.

The Broncos told safety Caden Sterns they intend to release him, a source confirmed.

Sterns, entering his fourth season, spent most of the offseason rehabbing a knee injury that limited him to two snaps in 2023.

Talented player who has shown flashes when he’s on the field.

That didn't take long. Less than an hour into the New York Giants' first joint practice with the Detroit Lions, a fight broke out between the two teams. From the sideline, it looked like the scuffle started with some words between Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and Giants defensive backs Dru Phillips. Lions receiver Jameson Williams then shoved Phillips, and a team-wide fight quickly broke out as Phillips returned the shove -- much to the delight of the crowd on hand.

While it's always tough to tell exactly who started things, a series of individual battles broke out, including when Lions CB Morice Norris laid out Giants RB Eric Gray, knocking his helmet off.

Skirmishes like this are to be expected when any teams get together for joint practices. However, the teams avoided any real fights last season on the first day of joint practice. Still, it seemed more likely this season after the Lions caught the Giants off guard last year with their aggression and intensity on Day 1. The Giants were determined not to let that happen again this year.

“They practice real hard. (Lions coach) Dan Campbell has them boys going over there. We know that,” Giants wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins said over the weekend. “We know that it’s going to be a physical practice, there’s going to be a lot of chirping and talking and everything. But it’s a different team this year. I think we’re going to be ready for it. (Giants coach Brian Daboll) has put a real good emphasis on starting fast.”

Not long after the initial fight, a second one broke out, this time between new Giants offensive lineman Greg Van Roten and a Lions defensive lineman. Giants quarterback Daniel Jones got involved in this one.