Sports briefs
By NewsPress Now
Brandon Aiyuk
appears at 49ers
practice as a spectator
SANTA CLARA, Calif. | Star receiver Brandon Aiyuk was back out at San Francisco 49ers practice as a spectator as his contract hold in enters a fourth week still in search of a resolution.
Aiyuk had mostly stayed off the field the past two weeks after making waves with his boisterous handshakes with general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan two weeks ago.
Aiyuk skipped the entire offseason program and hasn’t practiced yet in training camp as he seeks either a long-term contract with San Francisco or a trade to a team that can agree with the receiver on a new deal and give the 49ers enough compensation to part with him.
Neither of those options has come to a resolution yet although an end may be getting closer with NFL Network reporting earlier this week that the Niners have a framework for a potential deal with Pittsburgh in place but are waiting to see if they can reach a deal with Aiyuk before making any trade.
Aiyuk came out to practice late in the session on Wednesday. He shook hands with Lynch and watched part of practice, chatting at times with teammates Deebo Samuel and George Kittle.
“I don’t see him all the time, because I’m in camp mode. So being able to have a conversation with him is fantastic, to see how he’s doing and if everything is going the way that he wants it to go,” Kittle said. “Just the chance to see him is always fantastic. I love the smile on his face.”
Even Aiyuk’s choice of wardrobe caught his teammates’ attention as he wore a red 49ers shirt.
“Wearing red for the first time, too,” Kittle said. “It’s crazy.”
Aiyuk had been set to play on the fifth-year option worth about $14.1 million this season and wanted San Francisco to make him the latest receiver to cash in with a long-term deal. Ten receivers before Aiyuk had signed contracts worth at least $70 million already this offseason with Justin Jefferson’s four-year, $140 million extension with Minnesota setting the top of the market.
Aiyuk had been a key part of San Francisco’s offense last season as he formed a great connection with quarterback Brock Purdy. Aiyuk had 75 catches and a career-high 1,375 yards last season with seven touchdowns as he earned second-team All-Pro honors.
His absence would be hard to overcome if San Francisco has designs on getting back to the Super Bowl and winning it this upcoming season.
“The season hasn’t started yet so we don’t know how much we miss him yet,” cornerback Charvarius Ward said. “I don’t want to say nothing crazy but they’ll figure it out, eventually for sure.”
Vikings WR Jordan Addison hurts ankle during joint practice
BEREA, Ohio | Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison was taken off the field on a cart Wednesday with an ankle injury suffered while trying to make a catch against Cleveland’s first-team defense during a joint practice.
Addison, who had 70 catches for 911 yards and 10 touchdowns as a rookie last season, was treated on the field before being driven off for further treatment and evaluation.
The sight of Addison, a 2023 first-round pick out of Southern California and Minnesota’s No. 2 receiver, was a jarring one for the Vikings after rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy was declared out the season hours earlier following knee surgery.
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said he doesn’t believe Addison’s injury is serious.
“We’ll make sure we go through all the processes and get some pictures of really knowing exactly what it is,” O’Connell said. “But I think he’s going to be all right. You hate to see that, especially early in the practice like it was.”
O’Connell ruled Addison out of Wednesday’s practice with the Browns, but didn’t know how much time the 22-year-old will miss.
“I know we’re going to evaluate him,” he said. “I don’t believe it to be something that’s going to allow him to practice tomorrow. But I also am hopeful to get some good news on kind of what that timeline looks like. I just have no idea.”
The Vikings got another scare when wide receiver Thayer Thomas went down later in the workout.
Thayer was on the ground for several minutes before being helped to his feet. He walked off under his own power.
While he was down, O’Connell walked over and talked to Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. O’Connell said the conversation had nothing to do with Cleveland’s aggressive play on a day the defense got the better of Minnesota’s first-team offense.
O’Connell said he was simply telling Schwartz to make sure they gave their players a break and got them hydrated. He insisted it didn’t have anything to do with rough play.
“Not at all,” he said. “I thought it was a physical practice and exactly what you hope to accomplish. Guys are gonna get juiced up but nothing even near crossing the line, just getting really good work.”
Rams QB Matthew Stafford leaves practice with Cowboys early
OXNARD, Calif. | Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford came out of a joint practice with the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday early because of hamstring tightness, a team spokesman said.
Stafford missed approximately the second half of the workout, but the 36-year-old remained on the sideline in pads and did not show any apparent signs of injury during or after the two-hour session.
“(Stafford) operates at a world class level,” offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said. “But we know that every rep is going to be valuable for him, no matter how many plays he’s had. Unfortunately, he had some tightness.”
Jimmy Garoppolo worked with the first-team offense in Stafford’s absence, which is valuable because Garoppolo did not play in the preseason opener against the Cowboys on Sunday and is unlikely to do so in the two remaining exhibition games.
Garoppolo is suspended for the first two games of the regular season for a violation of the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancers.
“Anytime you get those ops, particularly against a defense like this with all the players they got, is going to be valuable,” LaFleur said.
Stetson Bennett took Garoppolo’s snaps with the backups three days after he threw four interceptions before leading a last-minute touchdown drive against the Cowboys.
Coach Sean McVay said Tuesday that Bennett would need to show “more body of work” after being away from the team last season to focus on his mental health to secure the No. 2 spot behind Stafford for the games at the Detroit Lions on Sept. 8 and Arizona Cardinals the following week.
“He did some good things, but we got to work on the turnovers, no doubt,” LaFleur said. “But there were a lot of positives for him to be able to get out here and practice.”
Falcons acquire edge rusher Matthew Judon from Patriots
The New England Patriots have traded four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Matthew Judon to the Atlanta Falcons for a third-round draft pick, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the teams haven’t announced the trade.
Judon had 28 sacks in his first two seasons with the Patriots before finishing with four in four games last year when he was limited by injuries.
Judon became available because of a contract dispute. He has a base salary of $6.5 million this season and is seeking a new deal.
The Falcons needed a pass rusher to bolster a defense that hasn’t had a player with double-digit sacks since Vic Beasley had 15 1/2 in 2016.
Judon, who turns 32 on Thursday, played his first five seasons in Baltimore. He had 34 1/2 sacks for the Ravens and made two of his four Pro Bowls. He thrived in Bill Belichick’s defense in New England, making a career-high 15 1/2 sacks in 2022.
The Falcons pursued the trade for Judon after losing rookie edge rusher Bralen Trice to a season-ending knee injury in their first preseason game at Miami.
Trice, a third-round pick from the University of Washington, was competing for a starting job after leading the nation in quarterback pressures the last two seasons.
Trice had been listed as the No. 2 outside linebacker behind Arnold Ebikeite before the injury.
Now, it’s Judon who figures to take a prime pass-rushing role on the Falcons’ defense.
PGA Tour releases its 2025 schedule with no involvement of LIV Golf
MEMPHIS, Tenn. | The PGA Tour released its 2025 schedule on Wednesday with no real surprises and every indication the tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf will be going their separate ways at least until 2026.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said talks with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia are “complicated discussions” but that the sides continue to meet as they try to work out a deal for an investment with the commercial PGA Tour Enterprises.
“As it relates to times and timeframes and where we are, I’d just say that we’re in a good place with the conversations,” he said. “That’s the most important thing.”
Asked if the release of the 2025 schedule suggested there would be no involvement with LIV through 2026 or 2027, Monahan replied, “That’s fair.”
The only real change in the schedule was putting the Memorial and the RBC Canadian Open back to where they were previously — the Memorial on May 29 through June 1, followed by the Canadian Open and then the U.S. Open at Oakmont.
In an effort to create space between the signature events this year, the Memorial was the week before the U.S. Open — a week after Memorial Day — and Memorial host Jack Nicklaus expressed his displeasure.
The 2025 season begins Jan. 2 with the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua. Without the Olympics on the calendar, the regular season ends Aug. 24 at the Tour Championship. The rest of the tournaments are in the same order as 2024.
The eight signature events now will have a minimum of 72 players. There were times last year the field dipped below 70 if there was a withdrawal.
LIV Golf players, such as Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka, are only together with the best of the PGA Tour at the four majors if eligible.
Rory McIlroy, who is on a transaction subcommittee that is negotiating with PIF, said he hasn’t been on a call since the first week of June. He had referenced conference calls that occur on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but “players aren’t expected to hop on those.”
Patrick Cantlay in on the board of the PGA Tour and the for-profit PGA Tour Enterprises and noticed that chatter has “definitely quieted down.”
“There’s going to be ebbs and flows, depending on what kind of information comes out or what announcements,” he said. “But I know all of us are working incredibly hard all the time to get the best outcome.”
The only other changes to the 2025 schedule are the venues. The BMW Championship is the only postseason event that moves around, and it will return to Caves Valley outside Baltimore next year, the course where Cantlay rallied to beat DeChambeau in a playoff.
The U.S. Open returns to Oakmont for the first time since 2016. The PGA Championship will be at Quail Hollow for the second time, and the British Open goes to Royal Portrush, a quick turnaround for the links in Northern Ireland where Shane Lowry won in 2019.
The Truist Championship is moving from Quail Hollow next year because of the PGA Championship and will be held at the Philadelphia Cricket Club.
—From AP reports
