This week’s newsletter starts with the sad news that Cowboys legend and Hall of Fame offensive lineman Larry Allen suddenly passed away while on vacation with his family. He was 52.
https://twitter.com/dallascowboys/status/1797656646002655708
Wolf Sports news
First, if you missed it, our Fantasy Consigliere 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Guide is now available on Amazon. You can get it in either paperback or Kindle versions. Short of signing up for Fantasy Consigliere, this is our top resource to prepare for the fantasy football and NFL season.
https://twitter.com/wolfsports/status/1796920597995286764
Also, the annual NFL Expansion Series was released last week. It’s a four-part series that dives into what an NFL expansion team might look like in 2024, from picking the city and staff to the expansion draft to building the roster. You can read each part in the links below:
- Building a 2024 NFL Expansion Team: Part I
- Building a 2024 NFL Expansion Team: Part II
- Building a 2024 NFL Expansion Team: Part III
- Building a 2024 NFL Expansion Team: Part IV
Highlights include Bill Belichick as the team’s head coach, Mike Williams and Tre’Davious White among expansion draft selections, and quarterback Caleb Williams as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
https://twitter.com/wolfsports/status/1796209963158638596
Justin Jefferson headlines huge extensions
Four wide receivers received extensions last week, headlined by Vikings superstar receiver Justin Jefferson getting a four-year $140 million extension. The $35 million per year eclipses 49ers pass rusher Nick Bosa’s mark to make Jefferson the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. Plenty of (apparently unfounded) trade rumors swirled this offseason, but this agreement keeps Jefferson in Minnesota through the 2028 season.
https://twitter.com/Vikings/status/1797621456400245078
The Dolphins signed Jaylen Waddle to a three-year, $84.75 million extension.
https://twitter.com/MiamiDolphins/status/1796980032939626989
Houston signed receiver Nico Collins to a three-year, $72 million extension after his breakout 2023 campaign.
https://twitter.com/HoustonTexans/status/1795851661144961296
And the 49ers agreed to a two-year, $15.4 million deal with Jauan Jennings, who was a restricted free agent. Jennings is a trusted target of quarterback Brock Purdy and does a ton of dirty work for San Francisco.
Changes coming to OTAs?
The NFLPA is working on a proposal to overhaul offseason training dates as soon as next offseason, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Essentially, an OTA-style ramp-up period would be moved from late-spring to just before training camp, giving players more of a break from the end of the season until they must report back to their teams.
Basically, the idea here would be to roll an extended, OTA-style ramp-up — strength and conditioning, non-padded work, etc. — straight into training camp without a six-week break/de-escalation in between. A major change. https://t.co/gVgVDiYmGj
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 28, 2024
There is speculation that the NFL could use this to help get an 18-game regular season.
Bears to be featured on Hard Knocks
Hard Knocks is headed to Chicago, with fans getting insight into Bears training camp this summer on HBO and streaming on Max. No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams will be the first-ever top overall pick featured on the show as a rookie.
Bear down. Hard Knocks is going to Chicago.#HardKnocks Training Camp with the Chicago Bears premieres August 6 on Max. pic.twitter.com/groYOw7DOU
— Max (@StreamOnMax) May 30, 2024
More NFL news
Legendary quarterback Drew Brees was inducted into the Saints Hall of Fame.
https://twitter.com/Saints/status/1796252435322699962
Along with franchise-tagged teammate Tee Higgins, Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase did not report to the start of Bengals OTAs. Chase is no doubt seeking a new contract in the range of his friend and former LSU teammate Jefferson.
The Bills signed Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA national champion wrestler Gable Steveson as a defensive lineman.
Gable Steveson, Olympic wrestling gold medalist, signing with Bills as DT.
He won gold at the 2020 Olympics and is a 2x NCAA wrestling national champion. pic.twitter.com/jG9PEIjxRm
— NFL (@NFL) May 31, 2024
49ers All-Pro tight end George Kittle revealed he played about ten weeks last year with a core muscle injury that required surgery this offseason. Sticking with the Niners, the team signed veteran tight end Logan Thomas.
Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson gave insightful comments on why he decided to stay in Detroit instead of taking a head coaching gig for the second consecutive year. Johnson cited the awesome situation with the Lions, his desire to win a championship, and that his family also loves the area.
Ben Johnson on why he returned to the #Lions pic.twitter.com/JxKOZsFroO
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) May 31, 2024
Rams quarterback Stetson Bennett is back with the team after being away as a rookie last year. He did not want to get into specifics but did say you could call it a mental health situation.
Saints defensive end Tonah Kpassagnon is out indefinitely with a torn Achilles.
The Panthers unveiled proposed renovations to Bank of America Stadium.
This is our home. This is our future. Welcome to the Crown Jewel of the Queen City.
We are excited to unveil a first look at the proposed renovation of Bank of America Stadium.#KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/n1JfPUK0QA
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) June 3, 2024
The Commanders cut kicker Brandon McManus, who was recently accused by two women of sexual assault on a Jaguars team flight to London last year.
Chiefs defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs has two animal cruelty charges against him.
Other Sports Updates
The Stanley Cup Final is set after the Panthers and the Oilers each won their conference finals in six games. Game 1 is Saturday, June 8.
https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1797628057773076883
Real Madrid defeated Borussia Dortmund to win their 15th Champions League title… And then signed superstar forward Kylian Mbappe.
Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano is facing a lifetime ban for betting on baseball. First reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Major League Baseball is now counting all Negro League stats in its official statistics. Josh Gibson is the MLB’s new all-time leaders in batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS.
Several Major League records are now held by Josh Gibson as he and other Negro Leagues legends officially join the all-time leaderboards.
The statistics of more than 2,300 Negro Leagues players launch today in a newly integrated https://t.co/Z3s2EpgF39 database that presents… pic.twitter.com/UyvCu0pSzi
— MLB (@MLB) May 29, 2024
Novak Djokovic broke Roger Federer’s record for most all-time Grand Slam match wins.
All charges against No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler after his ridiculous arrest while arriving to his PGA Championship round were dropped.
Islam Makhachev defeated Dustin Poirier at UFC 302, which was attended by NFLers Aaron Rodgers and Marcedes Lewis and former president Donald J. Trump.
In Case You Missed It
- 2024 fantasy draft guide now available
- Building a 2024 NFL Expansion Team: Part I
- Building a 2024 NFL Expansion Team: Part II
- Building a 2024 NFL Expansion Team: Part III
- Building a 2024 NFL Expansion Team: Part IV
- Cardinals 2024 fantasy preview
- Potential post-June 1 NFL moves
- 2024 Fantasy Football Mock Draft 2.0
- Bears to be on Hard Knocks
- Latest MLB power rankings