NFL

6:00 AM ET One day before veteran players reported for training camp on July 28, the Minnesota Vikings learned their biggest free-agent acquisition would not step on the field until 2021. Michael Pierce, a former Baltimore Ravens nose tackle who signed a three-year, $27 million contract with the Vikings in March, was one of 67

9:07 PM ET Washington coach Ron Rivera has been diagnosed with cancer but plans to continue coaching, he told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Thursday night. Rivera told Schefter he was diagnosed with lymph node cancer. The team later said that he has squamous cell cancer of the neck. Rivera said the cancer is in the

7:00 AM ET Young players around the league follow the contract-year playbook: Ball out in college, make splash plays on a rookie NFL deal, land life-altering wealth via an extension from the team that loves keeping homegrown talent. Just last week, San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, Buffalo Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins and

7:10 AM ET We spent weeks — months, even — reporting on the coronavirus protocols that the NFL and its players’ union negotiated for 2020 training camps. It has been more than three weeks now since those camps opened, and a few days since players started practicing in full pads. So it’s fair to wonder:

9:45 PM ET The Washington Football Team has experienced many changes and events that have shaped the franchise, and the news continued on Thursday with coach Ron Rivera’s admission that he has cancer. There has also been the long road to a new team nickname, from one that previously existed for 87 years for Washington’s

7:09 AM ET Dwayne Haskins Jr. used to weigh about 240 pounds. Now he’s 218. Thanks to photos and videos the Washington Football Team quarterback shared on social media this offseason, it’s clear his body has transformed, along with his mobility and confidence. He hopes to do the same for his game in 2020. For

7:00 AM ET As strange as the 2020 NFL season is likely to be, there are players and coaches who have a disproportionate amount of their futures riding on how they perform over the next few months. It wouldn’t have been anybody’s choice to have their career path tied to such an uncertain season, but

9:45 AM ET Love/Hate is Matthew Berry’s definitive preseason column on which players to draft in fantasy football in 2020, from the top players in the rankings to endgame sleepers of an ESPN fantasy football salary cap draft. Still need a league? Sign up for free today! You should know right off the bat there

7:00 AM ET Daniel Jones 2.0 is coming soon to a stadium near you. He is bigger, he’s stronger and all signs point to him being better than ever in his second professional season as the New York Giants‘ quarterback. This is all music to the Giants’ ears. Jones at his best is what the

5:09 PM ET The Dallas Cowboys have released defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, who had season-ending surgery on his ruptured right quadriceps tendon Tuesday, and will save $3.25 million in 2020. The move does not preclude McCoy from re-signing with the Cowboys in the future but under terms of a new contract. There was an injury

6:00 AM ET ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — During a recent training camp practice when the Denver Broncos‘ defense was being seen — and heard — making plays all over the field, second-year quarterback Drew Lock showed off a little of his edge. Lock threw a dart up the right sideline to Courtland Sutton, over starting cornerback

6:00 AM ET METAIRIE, La. — We finally got our first glimpse of the 2020 New Orleans Saints on the practice field Monday. And as compelling as it was to see newcomers such as wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, center Cesar Ruiz and linebacker Zack Baun in action, nothing stood out more than the NFL’s most

9:07 PM ET TAMPA, Fla. — On the first pass play of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ first padded training camp practice Monday, Tom Brady, playing in a new offense for the first time in 20 years, air-mailed a deep pass to second-year wideout Scotty Miller, essentially erasing all doubt about his arm strength at age

6:22 PM ET After nearly two years away, after 17 surgeries and a near amputation, Washington quarterback Alex Smith on Sunday did what once seemed unthinkable: He put on a helmet and practiced with his teammates. Smith has accomplished plenty in his 13 active NFL seasons while playing on Sundays; simply practicing on one ranked

11:12 AM ET Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Gerald McCoy suffered an apparent injury to his right knee during the first padded practice of training camp on Monday. McCoy was hurt during individual drills and was unable to put weight on his leg after he was examined by the team’s medical staff. Before ducking into the

6:00 AM ET TEMPE, Ariz. — When Kyler Murray returned home to Texas after his rookie season with the Arizona Cardinals, he took two weeks off to rest, recover and recuperate, then it was off to the daily grind of preparing for Year 2. Waiting for him was his long-time trainer, Stephen Baca. The two

4:30 PM ET ESPN staff It was a day of positive vibes for quarterbacks during Sunday’s 2020 NFL training camps as Alex Smith of the Washington Football Team was cleared for football activity and activated off the physically unable to perform list, capping a remarkable recovery from a leg injury that nearly cost him his

6:00 AM ET Chan Gailey, 68, was living a good retirement life — playing a bunch of golf, watching his grandsons play sports and attending school events. He was finally taking advantage of the free time that had eluded him for 40-plus years of his life because he was coaching football. Then Miami Dolphins coach