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Patriots owner Robert Kraft discussed Cam Newton, free agency and Tom Brady in his first meeting with the media since the end of last season. Patriots owner Robert Kraft touched on a variety of issues during Wednesday's Q&A session with the media members, his first since the end of the 2020 season. Among the biggest topics discussed was the Patriots' quarterback situation—which Kraft called an area that the team still must solidify—despite also offering praise for incumbent starter Cam Newton. "In fairness to Cam, I'm not sure he had the proper weapons around him last year," Kraft said, per ESPN's Mike Reiss . "I really do believe Cam getting COVID, and what it did to the team, it changed a lot. Now we'll get a chance to see. "Players on the team, in the locker room, really love the guy. In the end, I trust Coach Belichick's ability to build a team, and put the right players in the best position to succeed." Newton re-signed wit...

Indianapolis's Marriott Downtown hotel will welcome NFL prospects next week for the league's medical combine after the NCAA tournament ends. INDIANAPOLIS — Three weeks ago, during the second week of March, Big Ten basketball teams started to arrive at the Marriott Downtown hotel for an open-ended stay ahead of the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments, each happening in this city. Not long afterward, this 650-room, 16-floor place transformed into a veritable bubble, completely closed to the public while shielding two dozen teams from much of the outside world for nearly a month. The Marriott Downtown hosted an initial 16 teams during the NCAA tournament’s first weekend, like three other hotels here, before being designated as the home for all those that advanced to the Sweet 16 and beyond. The Final Four participants are the only ones left, each using an entire floor until they’re bounced from the Big Dance. But this bubbled hotel won’t be popped when the national champion and runne...

NFL owners reportedly unanimously approved of Daniel Snyder's move to buy out the team's minority owners. Daniel Snyder has reportedly bought out the minority owners of the Washington Football Team after the move was unanimously approved by NFL owners, according to ESPN and  The Washington Post . This comes one week after it was reported that Snyder was planning on making the move .  Snyder reportedly bought the remaining 40.5% of the team from minority investors Fred Smith, Dwight Schar and Robert Rothman. The $875 million sale and $450 million waiver were both approved by the NFL.  Snyder needs to repay the debt by 2028, according to ESPN.  In November The Washington Post reported that a group of investors offered minority owners $900 million to sell their shares but Snyder blocked the move.  It's been a turbulent year for the The Washington Football Team and Snyder. The team is going through a rebrand after removing its previous name and this s...

Here's why the 49ers have a high asking price for their veteran quarterback. Lots of draft stuff this week from all of you. Let’s dive in … From Anthony (@a2low11): What is the compensation the Niners are looking for in a Jimmy G trade? A first? Anthony, I was told that, yes, it’d take a first-round pick for the Niners to listen at this point, which of course would be nice for San Francisco to have after it yielded its firsts in 2022 and ’23 to jump from No. 12 to 3. That, of course, is subject to change. Maybe a veteran stopgap they see as comparable to Garoppolo could come along, and they’d then be motivated to move him (I’m not sure who that would be). Maybe the rookie will arrive and blow everyone away over the summer, and the Niners will want to play him. As it stands right now? I don’t think the Niners feel any sort of urgency to move Garoppolo, which makes his market value completely irrelevant in comparison to the Niners’ price. Think about it from their perspective...

Lockett's contract is worth $69.2 million with $37 million guaranteed. Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett signed a four-year, $69.2 million contract extension that includes $37 million guaranteed, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter .  Lockett, 28, had previously signed a three-year, $31.8 million contract extension with Seattle through the 2021 season ahead of the 2018 season.  Lockett has played all of his NFL seasons with the Seahawks, catching 376 passes for 4,892 yards and 37 touchdowns for his career. In 2020, Lockett led Seattle in receptions (100) and finished second on the team in receiving yards (1,054) and tied for second in touchdown receptions (10). He broke a single-season team record for pass receptions last season that was previously held by Doug Baldwin and Bobby Engram. Lockett earned his first and only Pro Bowl honors as well as NFL First Team All-Pro honors in his rookie season in 2015. Since then, Lockett has earned second team All-Pro honors in 2016...

SI Fantasy analyst Michael Fabiano recaps the fantasy success rate of first-round wide receivers drafted from 2012 to 2020 Fantasy First-Round Reflections Quarterbacks (2012-2020)Running Backs (2010-2020) Wide Receivers (2012-2020) The wide receiver position has gained a lot of value in the world of fantasy football in the last decade, even surpassing running backs at one (inconceivable) moment in time. The position does have a ton of talent, and rule changes that favor offenses give wide receivers an advantage over opposing defenses. Still, finding elite wideouts in the first round of the NFL Draft has frequently been an exercise in futility. How futile, you might ask? Well, you're about to find that out. Historically, wideouts have not been the No. 1 overall pick often. The last one came in 1996 when the New York Jets selected Keyshawn Johnson. Furthermore, Johnson and Irving Fryar (1984) are the lone wideouts to be the No. 1 overall pick since 1965. However, the position...

Justin Fields became the latest quarterback to impress at a pro day, as the QB out of Ohio State wowed with his 4.44 40-yard dash time. So, should the San Francisco 49ers take Fields with the third pick in the upcoming NFL Draft? Sports Illustrated host Robin Lundberg discussed with SI fantasy and gambling analyst Bill Enright.

Two new civil lawsuits were filed against Deshaun Watson, bringing the total number of lawsuits up to 21. Two new civil lawsuits were filed on Tuesday evening against Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, bringing the total number of lawsuits alleging sexual harassment and assault up to 21.  The latest lawsuits focus on a massage session in July 2020 and four massage sessions from July to September 2020. The lawsuit from July 2020 details an incident in Arizona where Watson made "obscene sexual requests" to the plaintiff, a massage therapist, including "request[ing] she penetrate his anus with her fingers and to massage him there." According to the lawsuit, the session on July 7 lasted 35 minutes after the plaintiff said she "could not" and "would not" undertake the sexual requests Watson made.  "Defendant Watson realized the Plaintiff was not going to entertain his sexual advances, and stated that the massage was done," the lawsuit w...

Two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Eli Manning joins SI's Madelyn Burke to talk about the future of the Giants franchise. With the signing of Kenny Golladay, does Eli see any resemblance to one of his favorite targets, Plaxico Burress? 

Two MMQB writers duke it out, taking sides on if the 17-game season is a good thing. Conor Orr : Mitch, hello. I think we should write something on the 17-game season. Would you want to fight about it? I remember we had a spirited back-and-forth about the expanded playoffs last year. I said you were wrong and kind of inadvertently called you a nerd in the lede of my column . And then you were right . Perhaps by including both perspectives, there’s less of a chance I look like a dolt. Mitch Goldich : Conor, hello. Thank you for finally admitting that “Shut up, nerds” was directed at me. Yes, this is every editor’s dream: To suggest a writer write something and have that writer say, “Actually, you should do half of it.” I don’t know if it’s going to be a fight fight, but count me in. CO : Perfect! Just make sure to put my byline first. Glad you've caught on to my increasing laziness. What I'm about to write sounds incredibly selfish, but if 2020 taught me anything, it...

After months of insisting Deshaun Watson is Houston's QB, new Texans GM Nick Caserio comments on the recent lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct from Watson. For three months, amid a trade request, and then a slew of lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct, the Texans' new brass declared that Deshaun Watson was and would remain Houston’s quarterback. Things are changing. On a Monday taping on The Albert Breer Show, Texans GM Nick Caserio was our guest for a wide-ranging conversation, starting with the news that’s engulfed the organization he’s been charged with turning around since he took over in early January. After a couple months of sticking to his guns in saying that Watson is Houston's quarterback, I asked directly if he still feels that way. “I think we'll take it one day at a time. And I think everything is pretty fluid here,” Caserio responded. “And we'll adjust as we go. And ultimately, I think we'll do what we feel is best for the Houston Texans orga...

Strahan after the procedure: "I love it." Former Giants defensive end and Hall of Famer  Michael Strahan will never look the same.  The Super Bowl XLII champion posted a video on social media Tuesday that featured a trip to the dentist where Strahan removed the iconic gap between his two front teeth. "I got to do what I want to do for myself," Strahan said in the video. In the video, Strahan appears to believe that if he told other people that he was considering the procedure, he would be discouraged from getting it done, but he eventually returns to get his new look.   "This is the moment... 50 years in the making," he said right before the procedure.  Strahan, 49, couldn't help but laugh after he saw his new smile for the first time and left the office giddy. "I love it," he said.  More From FanNation's Giants Country

Goodell: "Football is simply not the same without the fans, and we expect to have full stadiums in the 2021 season." NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday he expects all 32 teams to play with "full stadiums" during the 2021 season. "Football is simply not the same without the fans," Goodell said . "We expect to have full stadiums in the 2021 season. Goodell's announcement comes following the league's decision to expand the regular season to 17 games. The preseason will now be trimmed to just three weeks. The additional regular-season game will pair teams across conferences in accordance with their 2021 record. For example, the Giants will now face the Dolphins in 2021 after finishing second in the NFC East and AFC East last season.  The NFL will likely need to receive approval from counties across the country to hold games with full stadiums in 2021. But as the COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues across the country, the NFL is l...

The 2022 Super Bowl will be at SoFi Stadium and could have full fan capacity. Super Bowl LVI will be held on Feb. 13, 2022 at SoFi Stadium, the NFL and Los Angeles Super Bowl Host Committee announced Tuesday. The news came shortly after the NFL approved a 17-game regular season for 2021. SoFi Stadium is home to both the Los Angeles Charger and Rams. It is located in Inglewood, California and seats over 70,000 fans but can expand to fit 100,000. It is also the NFL's largest stadium and features the biggest video screen in the league.  Unlike the 2020 season, it may actually be filled to full capacity this season. While on a conference call on Tuesday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell seemed confident that a sense of normalcy will return to football in 2021.  "We want to see every one of our fans back," Goodell said. "We expect to have full stadiums in the coming season." Los Angeles hosted the first Super Bowl at the Coliseum in 1967 and hasn't hosted...

Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians will never forget his team's 31-9 Super Bowl LV win over the Chiefs. Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians will never forget his team's 31-9 Super Bowl LV win over the Chiefs. And now, he has some new body art to prove it. The 68-year-old Arians took to Twitter on Tuesday to share a new tattoo he got to commemorate Tampa Bay's victory. According to ESPN's Jenna Laine, he had made the bet the bet with the strength staff and tight ends coach Rick Christophel back in August. He isn't the only member of the organization to get some new ink to remember their title, however. Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. played a key role in Tampa Bay's Super Bowl run this past season and got a tattoo showing off the Lombardi Trophy and the Buccaneers' logo. Wide receiver Mike Evans also added some post-championship ink. Evans, Winfield Jr. and Arians will possibly have to save room for another tattoo next offseason as the Bucs ent...

The preseason will be shortened to three games if the 17-game regular season is approved. NFL owners will vote on a resolution for a 17-game season in 2021 this week, according to The MMQB's Albert Breer .  If approved, the preseason would then be trimmed to just three games.  The schedule changes aren't the only proposals to be voted on by the NFL owners. There is also a potential change to the scheduling of international games, in which each team would play one neutral-site international game every eight seasons. This change would begin to take place in the 2022 season if approved.  International games will begin at 9 a.m. ET if the new resolution is approved. The NFL will also have the right  to schedule up to four regular season games at neutral sites outside of the U.S. 

San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said he thinks it will be hard for the team to find a quarterback who gives them a better chance to win this upcoming season than Jimmy Garoppolo. But will Jimmy G really be the starter in San Francisco given what the team did to move up in the NFL Draft? Sports Illustrated host Robin Lundberg discussed with SI fantasy and gambling analyst Bill Enright.

SI Fantasy analyst Michael Fabiano recaps the fantasy success rate of first-round running backs drafted from 2010 to 2020 Fantasy First-Round Reflections Quarterbacks (2012-2020) Running Backs (2010-2020 Wide Receivers (coming soon) There was a time when the running back position was considered highly valuable in the world of pro football. Back in the 1970s & 1980s, a running back was the first overall selection in the draft four times in five years. Ricky Bell went first to the Buccaneers in 1977 (Tony Dorsett went second to the Cowboys), the Oilers took Earl Campbell first in 1978, Billy Sims went first in the 1980 draft to the Lions, and George Rogers went to the Saints atop the 1981 draft (Freeman McNeil went third to the Jets). Nowadays, a running back going first overall is about as rare as a happy Jets fan. READ MORE : Urban Meyer on "Direction" of No. 1 Pick The last time a runner went first overall in the NFL draft was 1995, when the Bengals took Ki-Jan...

Sports Illustrated's Madelyn Burke is joined by former Giants QB and two-time Super Bowl champion Eli Manning. Manning talks about retirement, Tom Brady, and his second career as a BBQ pitmaster. 

The start of the new league year is typically busy season for the business of football, and this March was no different. The first two weeks of the NFL’s new league year are typically the busiest ones for the business of football, and this year—despite a diminished salary cap—was no exception. And not to be outdone by any player signing, it was the league—not a team or player—that made the biggest headline. Here are my top 10 business of football stories from this March’s flurry of activity. 1. The still undisputed champion of programming The NFL’s new media contracts are massive , with cumulative value north of $100 billion over 10 years. The incumbents—CBS, NBC, Fox and ESPN/ABC—almost doubled their current rights fees. And, for good measure, Amazon doubled what Fox is currently paying for Thursday Night Football . The deals suggest 1) broadcast television is not as dead as people think, at least broadcast television that carries the NFL, 2) it is always a waste of time to d...