Sports briefs
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Dolphins WR Odell Beckham Jr to begin season on PUP
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. | Odell Beckham Jr. will begin the 2024 season on the physically unable to perform list and will miss at least the first four games of the regular season.
Beckham, who signed a one-year contract with the Miami Dolphins in May, has yet to suit up for his new team because of an undisclosed injury.
The Dolphins added the three-time Pro Bowler to be a strong third receiving option for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa behind star receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, but Tagovailoa has not yet had all three on the field at the same time.
“I’ve been able to hang out with him a good amount of times,” Tagovailoa said Monday of Beckham, “cool dude, 100%. But does our relationship translate on the field? I couldn’t tell you, because I haven’t gotten reps with him and that’s just the honest truth.”
Beckham, drafted 12th overall by the New York Giants in 2014, has battled multiple injuries in recent years after bursting onto the scene as a rookie. He had had 35 catches for 565 yards and three touchdowns with Baltimore last season before being released by the Ravens in March.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel has indicated that he doesn’t believe Beckham’s injury is concerning, but his unavailability to start the season is not ideal for a receiving unit that has already battled numerous injures before the start of the 2024 campaign.
Receiver River Cracraft went on injured reserve Tuesday as the Dolphins made moves to get their roster to 53 players by the NFL’s cutdown deadline. Cracraft suffered an upper body injury in the preseason that McDaniel said may not be season-ending but will sideline him for a while. Miami designated Cracraft as eligible to return at some point this season.
Miami ended Tuesday’s roster cuts with four receivers on its active roster: Hill, Waddle, Braxton Berrios and rookie Malik Washington. Waddle has missed practice time with an undisclosed injury. A thumb injury kept Hill out of the team’s final preseason game.
Packers acquire QB
Malik Willis from Titans
The Green Bay Packers got a new backup quarterback, lost their No. 2 running back to a season-ending injury and cut their incumbent kicker as they released their 53-man roster on Tuesday.
Green Bay acquired quarterback Malik Willis from the Tennessee Titans for a 2025 seventh-round draft pick and followed that up by cutting quarterbacks Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt. The moves leave starter Jordan Love and Willis as the only quarterbacks on Green Bay’s roster.
The Packers also released kicker Anders Carlson and placed AJ Dillon (stinger) and tight end Tyler Davis (shoulder) on inured reserve. Dillon and Davis won’t be able to play at all this season.
Before the Willis trade, Green Bay was lacking experienced candidates to back up Love, who signed a four-year, $220 million contract extension this summer after leading the Packers to an NFC divisional playoff appearance in his first year as starting quarterback.
Willis, 25, made three starts for Tennessee in his rookie year after the Titans’ previous general manager traded up to draft him out of Liberty in the third round in 2022. The Titans went 1-2 in those games, with the win coming in Houston as Tennessee leaned on Derrick Henry’s legs and Willis threw only 10 passes — one in the second half. Willis has never thrown for more than 99 yards in any game.
With the AFC South title on the line at season’s end, Tennessee brought in Joshua Dobbs and started the journeyman in Jacksonville rather than Willis.
In his three career starts, Willis went a combined 25 of 49 for 234 yards with three interceptions and no touchdown passes. He ran for 95 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries in those games.
Willis has completed 53% of his attempts for 350 yards in his first two seasons with three interceptions and still is looking for his first touchdown pass. He has 32 carries for 144 yards and one touchdown.
Clifford, 26, had gone 22 of 43 for 207 yards with one touchdown and an interception in Green Bay’s three preseason games. Pratt, 22, was 23 of 35 for 178 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Clifford was a 2023 fifth-round pick and Pratt a rookie seventh-round selection.
The release of Carlson leaves Greg Joseph as the Packers’ lone kicker for now. Joseph has played for the Cleveland Browns (2018), Tennessee Titans (2019) and Minnesota Vikings (2021-23).
The Packers had selected Carlson out of Auburn in the sixth round of the 2023 draft to replace Mason Crosby, who had been Green Bay’s kicker since 2007 and set the franchise’s career scoring record.
Carlson went 27 of 33 on field-goal attempts — including just 7 of 13 from at least 40 yards — and 34 of 39 on extra points last season. He missed a 41-yard field goal as the Packers were trying to protect a fourth-quarter lead in an NFC divisional playoff game they eventually lost 24-21 at San Francisco.
He went 3 of 4 on field goals in the preseason and sent a 32-yard attempt wide right in the fourth quarter of a 30-7 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday.
Dillon had rushed for 613 yards and two touchdowns while also catching 22 passes for 223 yards last season. He was expected to be the Packers’ No. 2 running back behind Josh Jacobs.
Rams are closing in
on a deal to trade Ernest Jones to Tennessee
LOS ANGELES | The Los Angeles Rams are working on a deal to trade linebacker Ernest Jones to the Tennessee Titans, two people with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the Rams and Titans hadn’t finalized the deal to send Jones to Tennessee.
Jones was the Rams’ leading tackler and defensive signal-caller last season, and he was expected to be a key component of their defense again this fall as one of the NFL’s better interior linebackers. But the 2021 third-round pick is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and he clearly had made no significant progress on a contract extension with the Rams, who have a history of minimizing the importance of Jones’ position in their payroll decisions.
Although the trade still hadn’t been announced late Tuesday, Rams coach Sean McVay acknowledged during a teleconference that Jones is on his way out of Los Angeles after three seasons.
“Football decision, what we felt was best for the football team,” McVay said. “Amazing guy. He was great for us for a few years, but we felt that this was best for our football team.”
McVay said the Rams don’t plan to add a veteran inside linebacker, instead going into the season with the collection of unsung veterans and rookies already behind Jones on the depth chart.
The Rams gave Jones permission to seek a trade Sunday. The fourth-year pro said he didn’t request a trade, but the Rams quickly found a deal to ship out one of the most important players on a defense looking to find a new identity in the absence of retired defensive tackle Aaron Donald.
The Titans are thin at linebacker, and they announced Monday that Chance Campbell will miss the season with a torn knee ligament.
The Rams are historically uninterested in paying significant amounts to linebackers, usually filling the position with fringe players making minimal salaries. They have only given a major contract to an interior linebacker once since returning home to Los Angeles, paying Bobby Wagner for what turned out to be one year with the team in 2022.
Jones became a mainstay of the Rams’ defense two seasons ago, playing alongside Wagner for a year before taking over as the lynchpin in the middle of the lineup last season. Jones led the Rams last season with 145 tackles — 51 more than safety Jordan Fuller in second place — while making 4 1/2 sacks and excelling as a blitzing linebacker.
Jones has no obvious replacement at middle linebacker for the Rams. Veterans Troy Reeder — an improbable starter on the Rams’ Super Bowl-winning team — and Christian Rozeboom could both step up, while undrafted free agent Omar Speights also made the roster in training camp.
Travis Kelce buys an ownership stake in
a racehorse named
Swift Delivery
Three-time Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has bought an ownership stake in a racehorse named Swift Delivery.
Team Valor International founder and CEO Barry Irwin announced Tuesday that Kelce and the Zoldan family recently acquired a significant share of the 3-year-old gelding.
Kelce has been dating pop star Taylor Swift for roughly a year, appearing at several of her concerts during “The Eras Tour.” Swift has been a prominent fan at many of Kelce’s NFL games over that time.
“It’s very exciting,” Irwin told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “I met him at the Kentucky Derby and got to spend some time with him and stuff, and we talked about horses and everything. When this horse came to light and it was owned by one of my partners already, with the name I figured this has got to be a no-brainer.”
Irwin said the horse was not named after Swift — just “a total coincidence.” He added Kelce has been a part owner for about a month and on Tuesday gave permission to reveal his involvement.
Kelce is friends with Phantom Fireworks CEO Bruce Zoldan’s son, Alex. The Zoldan family has a long history in horse racing, including an interest in 2011 Derby winner Animal Kingdom.
Kelce is the latest professional athlete to get involved in the sport in an ownership capacity. Retired World Series winner Jayson Werth is a partial owner of Belmont Stakes winner Dornoch, and hockey player Erik Johnson has had shares of horses, some named after teammates and friends around the NHL, for several years.
Swift Delivery has won his past two starts, each at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, after finishing no better than third in his first six. Trainer Mark Casse was wowed by the horse’s first victory and said “the sky could be the limit for him.”
“He’s a horse that we always thought a lot of, and he just didn’t perform — and now he’s performing,” Casse said by phone Tuesday. “This horse is good. He’s good right now, and he has the potential to go on and do big things.”
Swift Delivery, ridden by jockey Patrick Husbands, is set to make his next start Saturday in a 1-mile race at Woodbine. Irwin said partner Gary Barber wanted to enter the horse in a more lucrative, $3.2 million race at Kentucky Downs before agreeing to this path instead.
Lexi Thompson is among three players added to the U.S. Solheim Cup team
GAINESVILLE, Va. | Lexi Thompson is playing in the Solheim Cup for the seventh straight year, one of three captain’s picks announced Tuesday as the Americans try to win back the cup from Europe.
Thompson first played the Solheim Cup in 2013 at age 18, making her the youngest American to compete since the matches began in 1990.
U.S. captain Stacy Lewis also chose Jennifer Kupcho and Sarah Schmelzel for the Sept. 13-15 matches at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.
The seven players who automatically qualified are Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu, Lauren Coughlin, Ally Ewing, Allisen Corpuz, Megan Khang and Andrea Lee. Rose Zhang and Alison Lee qualified through the women’s world ranking.
“Lexi was probably the easiest pick to make of these three, with her experience,” Lewis said. “I know what Lexi can do at a Solheim Cup and that definitely helped her get a pick. She’s somebody who is going to help the team out a lot, on the golf course and also off.”
Cristie Kerr holds the American record by playing in nine consecutive Solheim Cup matches. Juli Inkster also played nine times, eight in a row after she had two daughters. Laura Davies of England holds the overall record by playing 12 in a row.
Thompson announced in late May this would be her final year playing a full schedule, though she has not elaborated on what that means.
“It means the world to me. To be able to represent my country, it’s the highest honor that you can possibly have,” Thompson said.
Kupcho is playing for the third time, while Schmelzel joins Coughlin as the only Solheim Cup rookies for the U.S. team.
Last year’s matches in Spain ended in a draw, with Europe retaining the cup as the previous winner. The United States leads the series, 10-7-1. The Americans haven’t won the Solheim Cup since 2017.
—From AP reports
