Sports

[gardenman]

July! Training camp month and the official start of a new football year! Expect a bit more player movement in the coming days as disgruntled guys get sent off and still-unsigned vets get signed. This used to be suspension month when everyone who did something bad in the offseason learned of their punishment, but in recent years, the league announces suspensions whenever they feel like it. 

Some teams will try to work out new deals with guys to make them happy before training camp. Some teams (cough, Dallas, cough) will try to wait until the last minute to sign their guys. Kirk Cousins will continue to live in purgatory/Atlanta until a QB somewhere gets injured or looks bad in training camp.

The bidding for some players (Kyle Pitts among them) will continue until the team holding the guy decides the price is right and off they go.

The Steelers continue to insist TJ Watt is going nowhere. A $40+ million a year deal could be in the works for him soon. Trey Hendrickson is likely out as a Bengal, unless they decide to pay him.

The Eagles will likely extend safety Reed Blankenship. He was an undrafted free agent who evolved into a solid starting safety. He'll be getting a nice payday and salary bump.

Guard Tyler Steen could get an extension also. He's in the third year of his four-year deal, so I believe they can extend him now also. 

The Eagles have approximately $31 million in cap space, allowing them to spend a little before camp. Extending Blankenship is a no-brainer. Nakobe Dean and Dallas Goedert are two other guys who could get new deals. Dean is coming off an injury, and the Eagles are now eyeball deep in good linebackers, so he could end up a cap casualty in 2026. We'll have to see. Goedert is in that bad spot of being an older guy at 31+. Hard to get a long-term deal at that age. If Ojulari or Josh Uche show out, they could get an extension mid-season. Probably not one in the preseason. Kenyon Green could get a new deal if he impresses.

Things start to get fun in July. Let's go!

[Spurt]

Let's Go! NFL training camps will soon be starting....can't wait! ADAM PLEASE SIGN TERRY!!!!

@PARedbird 

O/T

On July 1st, 2025, Luke Kornet agreed to a four-year, $41 million deal with the San Antonio Spurs, leaving the Boston Celtics. The agreement was reached in the early hours of NBA free agency, which began on June 30th.

Kornet is expected to provide frontcourt depth for the Spurs, backing up Wemby. He helps negate the Spur's too small lineup that opponents have had a field day with. He is a good teammate and high off court character and zany sense of humor, a fan favorite...: He describes himself as "a lifelong Catholic, professional basketball player and aspiring baker" and is noted for his dedication to both basketball and his faith." YEP HE SOUNDS LIKE A SPUR!

[gardenman]

Giants retired TE Darren Waller has unretired to get traded to the Dolphins. It's not the best omen for the Giants that players would rather retire than play for them. Once Waller found out the Dolphins wanted him, he quickly unretired.

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

Giants retired TE Darren Waller has unretired to get traded to the Dolphins. It's not the best omen for the Giants that players would rather retire than play for them. Once Waller found out the Dolphins wanted him, he quickly unretired.

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@gardenman 

Not a good sign .....

[Spurt]

As everyone knows or should know.....reading is fundamental.....great article on ESPN NFL HOME on what players around the NFL are reading.....

Some squads, like the Falcons have their own book club that meets every offseason. Washington is another group that likes to read together: QB Daniels, LB Wagner, CB Sainristil just finished a biography on Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. And TE Zach Ertz is reading Bill Belichick's book, THE ART OF WINNNG and was recently turned onto thriller novelist Harlan Coben by coach Dan Quinn. The Bengals OL Karras of the Bengals trades books with team president Mike Brown from time to time.

Other NFL player favorites are listed on ESPN's NFL Home section. 

Meanwhile the arrogant, narcissistic, self appointed "king", LeBron James instead of promoting reading in a commercial hides a video game in carved out pages of what used to be a book....Not a good message to send LeBron, especially to kids!!!

Thankfully, the NBA has players like the Spur's Wemby, who spends time reading before he sleeps every night! He is known to enjoy fantasy books, particularly those by Brandon Sanderson such as WIND AND TRUTH. He also brings books to games and reads before tip-off, as mentioned by his teammates (shades of the Eagle's AJ Brown). WTG Wemby!!!

[teganslaw]

Jonnu Smith was one of the top targets in Miami, so probably Darren Waller will take his place and be just as effective. 

The Steelers also have TE Pat Freiermuth so it remains to be seen whether he or Smith will be #1 in that position. 

 Former Pacers Center Myles Turner signed with the Milwaukee Bucks: 4 years totaling 107 million. 15% trade kicker. (I never heard of a trade kicker so had to look it up.) The NFL doesn't have such a thing. Turner was one of the top players during the Pacers playoff run.  

[LavernLuvsShoes]

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@gardenman wrote:

July! Training camp month and the official start of a new football year!

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Yay!!! ♥

[PARedbird]

@Spurt - that's wonderful to hear about the Spurs new addition to the team!  That gave me a laugh when you said he's a baker.  LOL!  And Wemby is such a bright spot too!  He sets a good example for the younger generation and especially when he stopped to play basketball that time with the one kid!  I just hope he fully is back to health when the new season starts!  He is really needed.

Glad to hear of all the players reading and having book clubs, etc.  However, it ticked me off when so many slammed AJ for reading on the sidelines!  Geez!!  Maybe helps him to relax before he goes back on the field.  But then again, he's an Eagle so no surprise he was called out.  

[gardenman]

Darren Waller went to the Giants and said he wanted to unretire, but play for the Dolphins and not the Giants. (May have been a wee bit of backdoor chatter between Waller and the Dolphins.) The Giants then unretired him and traded him to Miami. Just a swap of late-round picks involved in the deal. The Giants sent Waller and a seventh to get back a sixth.

Terry McLaurin and the Commanders are reportedly not close to a deal yet. The Commanders are pinning their negotiations on the Mike Evans deal (two years at $41 million in total) while McLaurin and his agent want something closer to $25-$30 million a year. Kind of a big gap in perspectives.

Both guys are similar in age and production, so it makes sense for the Commanders to use that as the comparable. McLaurin is more reliable, healthier, and never misses a game where Evans has injury issues. I still think something in the two-year $24-$27 million a year range feels right for McLaurin. We'll have to see how things settle out. Reportedly, they aren't close in terms of length or value at this point. (Any new deal for McLaurin will likely be three or four years on paper, but in reality, a two-year deal with an easy out for the Commanders after two years.)

An interesting camp battle in Philly will be WR 3. Jahan Dotson held the role last year. Last year's draft picks Ainias Smith and Johnny Wilson will be in contention. Danny Grey impressed the media during the OTA's. And there are another five or six guys all hoping for the role. I would expect Wilson and Smith to take a step forward this year. The second year in an offense is huge for WRs. They know what to do then, and can unleash their physical skills. Dotson will be more ingrained in the system also. It should be an interesting battle.

[Spurt]

@gardenman 

Interesting battle on Dotson, some still say Adam Peters got the better deal on that than Howie.....

Ya never know on these "behind the scene" reports regarding Terry's extension it seems as though his agent is putting out this stuff and talking with just a few high profile national media reporters yet not talking to good local reporters at all, which makes one wonder about reliability of the information.....The good local guys insist they know a deal will get done with Terry....STAY TUNED!

Washington will host six training camp practices which will be held at the team’s headquarters in Ashburn, Va. Three open sessions to the general public will be held on July 27, July 29, and August 2. The season ticket member practices will be on July 28, July 31, and August 4. The team will also have a joint practice with the Patriots on Aug. 6 in Foxborough, Mass., that fans in the area may attend.