The Kansas City Chiefs have reached an agreement with JuJu Smith-Schuster to return to the team. Smith-Schuster was a key player for the Chiefs during their 2022 Super Bowl-winning season, catching 78 passes for 933 yards. He joined the Chiefs in 2022 but left as a free agent after the season to sign a three-year, $25 million contract with the New England Patriots under the previous leadership of Bill Belichick.
In his single season with the Patriots, Smith-Schuster’s performance was less impactful, as he recorded 29 receptions for 260 yards and one touchdown over 11 games. His underwhelming season with New England led to his release earlier this month, which has now paved the way for his return to the Chiefs.
JuJu Smith-Schuster (NFL)
Before joining the Chiefs, Smith-Schuster spent five seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he had a standout year in 2018 with 111 catches for 1,426 yards. His tenure with the Steelers also included a strong performance in 2020, further establishing his credentials as a prominent wide receiver.
The Chiefs have been active in bolstering their wide receiver lineup this season, bringing in veteran Marquise Brown and drafting Xavier Worthy in the first round. However, Brown’s preseason injury, a dislocated shoulder, raises concerns about his availability for the September 5 regular season opener against the Baltimore Ravens.
Fanatics Updates Lawsuit Adding Fraud Allegations Against Marvin Harrison Jr. and His Father
Fanatics has updated its lawsuit against Marvin Harrison Jr., a rookie wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals, by adding allegations of fraud involving his father, Marvin Harrison Sr. The revised complaint, filed late last week in the New York State Supreme Court, accuses Harrison Sr. of assisting his son in defrauding Fanatics. The original lawsuit, initiated in May, centered on an alleged breach of contract by Harrison Jr.
In the updated legal filing, Fanatics claims that both Harrison Jr. and Harrison Sr. misled the company into believing that a binding contract existed between Harrison Jr., his company, and Fanatics and that Harrison Jr. had personally signed it.
This new version of the lawsuit is based on affidavits from both Harrison Jr. and Harrison Sr., which revealed that it was Harrison Sr., not Harrison Jr., who had signed the term sheet that is at the heart of the dispute.
Fanatics Updates Lawsuit Adding Fraud Allegations Against Marvin Harrison Jr. and His Father
Fanatics’ revised suit argues that the signatures on the binding term sheet are similar to Harrison Jr.’s signatures on other documents, such as his W-9 form and autographs sold through his company’s website. The company contends that both Harrison Jr. and his father deliberately misled them about the nature of the contract and used the term sheet to gain negotiating leverage with other parties.
The revised legal claims also shed light on the various agreements between Fanatics and The Official Harrison Collection, Harrison Jr.’s company. Fanatics has detailed three agreements— a promotion and license agreement, the binding term sheet, and an amended agreement— highlighting that Harrison Jr. was never personally obligated by the term sheet, despite previous beliefs.
Additionally, a letter from Fanatics’ attorney in mid-August mentioned potential mediators for the dispute. The court has asked for the mediator’s name to be submitted by September 6. This development suggests an ongoing effort to resolve the conflict through mediation, emphasizing the complexities involved in contractual disputes in the sports and business sectors.
Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur suggested after the team’s preseason finale that they might look outside the current roster for a backup quarterback. His hint turned out to be accurate when the Packers traded a 2025 seventh-round draft pick to the Tennessee Titans for Malik Willis, who is expected to back up Jordan Love this season.
This move came after a summer-long competition between second-year player Sean Clifford and rookie Michael Pratt, neither of whom sufficiently impressed the Packers’ coaching staff.
The competition between Clifford, who served as a backup last season, and Pratt, a recent draft pick, did not produce a standout performer. The Packers’ evaluation revealed that neither Clifford nor Pratt had demonstrated enough potential to confidently step in if Love were injured. This uncertainty led to the decision to acquire Willis from the Titans.
Malik Willis (NFL)
After the preseason finale, LaFleur expressed concern over the backup options, stating that the team needed to evaluate all available options. He noted both promising moments and areas needing improvement from the current backups, which influenced the decision to seek external help. The team’s assessment of the quarterbacks on their roster contributed to the move for Willis.
The Packers’ investment in Love is significant, highlighted by his recent four-year, $220 million contract, making the backup quarterback position crucial. Willis, who would have been the third-string quarterback behind Will Levis and Mason Rudolph for the Titans, now finds himself in a potentially prominent role with Green Bay.
However, it might be challenging for him to be fully prepared as the No. 2 quarterback by the season opener against the Eagles.
Tennessee’s decision to trade Willis was influenced by their roster constraints, as they needed to prioritize other positions such as tight ends and running backs. Willis, who had shown improvement under new coach Brian Callahan, became expendable due to the numbers game. Callahan’s comments on the third quarterback rule further underscored the complexity of roster management and contributed to the decision to let Willis go.
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb has concluded his holdout and signed a substantial four-year contract worth $136 million, positioning him as the second-highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
This deal includes a groundbreaking $38 million signing bonus, the highest ever for a wide receiver, and $100 million in guaranteed money. Initially, Lamb was set to play the 2024 season on the $17.99 million fifth-year option of his rookie contract, after which he would have entered free agency. The new agreement locks him in with the Cowboys through the 2028 season.
Lamb’s new contract surpasses the earnings of other top NFL wide receivers. Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson leads the market at $35 million per year, while Philadelphia Eagles’ A.J. Brown earns $32 million annually.
Detroit Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown and Miami Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill are also in the upper echelon, with respective salaries of $30.003 million and $30 million. Lamb’s deal not only sets a new benchmark for the Cowboys but also places him above previous team records held by Amari Cooper and Dez Bryant.
CeeDee Lamb (NFL)
Despite missing training camp and three preseason games, which could have resulted in fines exceeding $3 million, the Cowboys are expected to forgive these penalties, given Lamb’s rookie contract status. Coach Mike McCarthy is optimistic about Lamb’s return, highlighting his positive effect on team morale and his energetic presence in the locker room.
Although Lamb has been training individually, the team plans to integrate him gradually into practice sessions to minimize the risk of injury before the season opener against the Cleveland Browns.
Since being drafted 17th overall in 2020, Lamb has become a key player for the Cowboys, breaking multiple team records in just four seasons. He holds the team records for most receptions and yards in a single season and has showcased his versatility by performing effectively in various positions on the field.
His impressive stats include 32 touchdown catches in his first four seasons, demonstrating his significant contribution to the team’s offense.
As the Cowboys prepare for the upcoming season, attention will also turn to quarterback Dak Prescott, whose contract is set to expire after this season. The team is eager to secure a long-term extension for Prescott, but if negotiations fall through, he could enter free agency.
With Lamb’s contract now finalized, the Cowboys can focus on finalizing Prescott’s deal, with hopes that Lamb’s presence and performance might help facilitate a successful negotiation.
Jameis Winston and Deshaun Watson in the NFL training
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski initially planned to have quarterback Deshaun Watson play in Saturday’s preseason finale against the Seahawks, but that plan changed in the past few days.
On Saturday afternoon, the Browns announced that Watson will not be playing in Seattle.
Watson was limited in practice on Wednesday due to what Stefanski described as “general arm soreness” but participated fully in Thursday’s session.
Deshaun Watson talks with the teammates
The quarterback is recovering from a right shoulder injury that ended his 2023 season in November and required surgery.
Watson has not played in any preseason games this summer, so his first game since the injury will be on September 8 against the Cowboys.
The Steelers’ quarterback competition is still unresolved, and both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields performed well during their limited time in the first quarter of the preseason finale at Detroit.
Wilson started the game and guided the Steelers on a five-play, 60-yard touchdown drive. He completed 2-of-2 passes for 26 yards, and the drive ended with a 31-yard touchdown run by Cordarrelle Patterson.
Russell Wilson passes the ball in the 1st half of the game
Fields took the next possession and led the Steelers on a six-play, 35-yard touchdown drive. He completed 2-of-2 passes for 27 yards, with the drive ending in a one-yard touchdown run by La’Mical Perine.
The Steelers appear ready to give Wilson the starting role for the Week One game against the Falcons. However, the preseason competition has been close enough that Mike Tomlin still faces a difficult decision.
Max Verstappen can indeed be challenged at his home Dutch Grand Prix.
Lando Norris put in an impressive lap to qualify in pole position, ahead of the three-time world champion, on Saturday. Norris will now aim to end Verstappen’s winning streak on home soil in Sunday’s race and further reduce the Dutch driver’s lead in the championship standings.
With gusty winds from the North Sea making conditions tricky for drivers, Norris’ final lap was significantly faster than anyone else’s, beating second-place Verstappen by .356 of a second. Norris said his McLaren felt “amazing” but expected Verstappen to “put up a good fight” in front of his home fans.
Verstappen, who will be racing in his 200th Grand Prix on Sunday, had secured pole position and won all three of the Dutch Grand Prix races held at Zandvoort since it returned to the F1 calendar in 2021.
Lando Norris in the qualifying session
“I think the whole qualifying we just lacked a bit of pace,” Verstappen said and mentioned that catching Norris on Sunday might be tough. “We’ll give it a good go, but of course, when you are more than three-tenths behind in qualifying, I think we have to be realistic.”
Norris has started from pole position three times before but has not yet won a race from that spot. To earn his second career win and close the gap to Verstappen’s 78-point lead, Norris will need to change that.
“I’ve started toward the front a lot of times. I know my stats are not the best for that and, more often than not, I’ve gone backwards rather than holding positions,” Norris said.
“But that’s just what I’ve done so far and I’ve worked hard, I’m working hard, to try and change that. But it’s not something that affects me. I’m not going to go out tomorrow to try and suddenly prove people wrong.”
West Ham’s Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen had to stop their goal celebrations to rescue a ball boy who got trapped under an advertising screen that fell during their 2-0 win at Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday.
Soucek had just scored the first goal in the 67th minute, and Bowen jumped onto his back as they celebrated with the away fans at Selhurst Park.
However, some of the fans came onto the field when the advertising boards collapsed, trapping a ball boy under one of the screens.
Jarrod Bowen celebrates after scoring
Soucek quickly lifted the screen while Bowen helped the boy get up. They then checked to make sure the boy was okay before the game continued. Bowen later scored West Ham’s second goal five minutes later.
This was West Ham’s first win with new manager Julen Lopetegui.
A fully rested Erling Haaland could make it even harder for any Premier League team to challenge Manchester City’s top spot this season.
Haaland scored his seventh Premier League hat trick in a 4-1 victory over promoted Ipswich on Saturday, bringing his total to four goals in the first two games of the season.
City manager Pep Guardiola said Haaland’s early success is partly because he had the summer off after Norway did not qualify for the European Championship.
“Last season he struggled a lot, especially at the beginning,” Guardiola said. “He felt tired and had niggles most of the time. This time with the rest, with no Euros, he has arrived with a good vibe. The numbers are unbelievable.”
Erling Haaland waves fans in the game
Haaland has been the Premier League’s top scorer in each of his two seasons at City, which has won the last four titles, but his goal count dropped from 36 in 2022-23 to 27 last season. He now has 10 hat tricks in all competitions for City.
After scoring the first goal in a 2-0 win at Chelsea last weekend, he quickly scored twice in the first half to help City turn a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead against Ipswich in under four minutes.
Haaland first equalized with a penalty in the 12th minute and made it 3-1 in the 16th after running onto a perfect pass from Kevin De Bruyne and going around goalkeeper Arijanet Muric.
De Bruyne had scored the second goal into an empty net after City winger Savinho took the ball from Muric, and Haaland completed his hat trick with a shot from outside the area in the 88th minute.
Bundesliga runner-up Stuttgart started the new season with a 3-1 loss at Freiburg, while Leipzig managed to win 1-0 against Bochum on Saturday despite having a player sent off.
Ermedin Demirović gave Stuttgart an early lead with a scissors-kick in the second minute at his old club, but that was the only highlight for Sebastian Hoeneß’ team, which had a record-breaking points total last season.
Freiburg, playing its first league game since long-time coach Christian Streich’s retirement, scored three goals to give new coach Julian Schuster a winning start.
Bochum could not take advantage of Leipzig captain Willi Orban’s late red card for stopping Myron Boadu from scoring. A second-half goal from 19-year-old Antonio Nusa on his Bundesliga debut was enough for Leipzig.
Justin Njinmah celebrates after scoring a goal
Holstein Kiel had a tough start in the league with a 3-2 loss at Hoffenheim, where they gave away an early penalty and had a player sent off late in the game.
Augsburg drew 2-2 with Werder Bremen, and Mainz finished 1-1 against Union Berlin.
Later, Borussia Dortmund was set to play against Eintracht Frankfurt. The home fans planned protests against the club’s sponsorship deal with an arms manufacturer, and Nuri Sahin was making his Bundesliga debut as Dortmund’s coach.
Naomi Osaka is competing at the U.S. Open for the first time in two years, and she mentioned on Saturday that being back at the place where she won two of her four Grand Slam titles gives her a boost. However, it’s not because she thinks about her past victories.
Osaka explained that it’s more about remembering her childhood days in New York when she would come as a fan to watch “all the famous players that you could name,” including Rafael Nadal, Serena and Venus Williams, and Maria Sharapova.
“I do think coming to this specific tournament helps me out. But also, whenever I step foot here, I don’t really think about the two tournaments I won,” said the 26-year-old Osaka, who was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and Haitian father. The family moved to New York when she was 3.
“I just think about how I felt when I was a kid, because I did grow up coming here, and I have such vivid memories of watching my favorite players. It’s more of a childhood nostalgia that I really enjoy.”
Naomi Osaka serves against Lucia Bronzetti
She won the U.S. Open in 2018 and 2020 and the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021. She used to be ranked No. 1 but is now 85th after taking time off for mental health breaks and giving birth. She has had mixed results this season, with an 18-15 record in 2024.
She will play against No. 10 seed Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, on Tuesday at Flushing Meadows. Last year at the U.S. Open, Osaka visited to watch some tennis and appeared with Michael Phelps in a discussion about mental health.
After losing in qualifying at the hard-court Cincinnati Open this month, Osaka posted on social media about struggling with defeats and not fully understanding why she hasn’t been playing as well as she used to.
“My biggest issue right now isn’t losing matches; it’s that I don’t feel like I’m in my body. It’s a strange feeling, missing shots I shouldn’t miss and hitting the ball softer than I remember doing before.
I try to reassure myself, ‘It’s okay, you’re doing well, just get through this one and keep pushing.’ But mentally, it’s really tiring,” she wrote. “Inside, I feel like screaming, ‘What … is happening?!?!’”
Naomi Osaka
She also mentioned that “the only way I can describe how I feel now is like being postpartum” and “I don’t understand why everything feels almost brand new again.”
One problem is adjusting to different surfaces, from the red clay at the French Open to the grass at Wimbledon, then back to clay at the Paris Olympics, and now to hard courts.
Another issue is a lack of self-confidence, partly due to early exits: in the second round of the French Open against eventual champion Iga Swiatek, despite being close to winning; in the second round of Wimbledon against Emma Navarro; and in the first round of the Summer Games against three-time major champion Angelique Kerber.
“I feel like, for me, throughout the year I have had really tough matches, and it kind of lowered my confidence a little,” Osaka said. “I wouldn’t say that I played bad tennis. I just played against really good players.”
Sharing her thoughts on social media helps her find clarity. “It’s like speaking your words into the universe and letting them go,” Osaka said. “After you see it, you’re kind of just free from the thoughts that clutter your mind.”
Douglas Coleman is treated on the field after an injury
The Bears will be adding three players to their injured reserve list as they finalize their roster at 53 players.
According to multiple reports, they will place defensive back Douglas Coleman, wide receiver Nsimba Webster, and running back Ian Wheeler on the list.
Coleman was taken to the hospital after hurting his neck in Thursday’s preseason game. He was released on Friday and returned to Chicago from Kansas City.
Chicago Bears players hug each other
Wheeler tore his ACL in the same game. He had 12 carries for 52 yards and two touchdowns this month.
Webster had a groin injury. He played in eight games for the Bears during the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
