The NFL schedule is out and so are point spreads for the Week 1 matchups.
The Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas has installed the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles as 3.5-point favorites over the Atlanta Falcons in the season opener on Thursday, Sept. 6. The Eagles beat the Falcons 15-10 in the divisional round of last season’s playoffs.
The Green Bay Packers opened as the largest favorites on the Week 1 board. The Packers are 9-point home favorites over the Chicago Bears in the Sunday night game.
The Cleveland Browns, who enter the season having lost 17 in a row, are the biggest home underdogs in Week 1. The Browns are 7-point underdogs to the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers. Cleveland has been an underdog in 31 of its past 32 games. The Browns were 1-point favorites over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 3 of last season.
The New York Giants, Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders also begin the season as home underdogs. The Giants are 4-point underdogs against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Dolphins are 2.5-point underdogs to the Tennessee Titans, and the Raiders are 1.5-point underdogs to the Los Angeles Rams in second of two Monday night games in Week 1.
The Detroit Lions are 6-point favorites over the New York Jets in the other Monday night game.
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Former Chicago Bears greats Matt Forte and Devin Hester will both sign a one-day ceremonial contract on Monday, April 23 in order to retire as members of the organization, the team announced Wednesday.
Forte and Hester each spent their first eight NFL seasons with the Bears.
The greatest return man in league history, Hester, who Chicago drafted in the second round (57th overall) of the 2006 NFL draft, played for the Bears from 2006 to 2013 where he was named First-Team All-Pro three times.
Devin Hester, who holds the NFL record with 20 return touchdowns, also amassed over 3,300 yards and 16 touchdowns as a receiver. Scott Kane/USA TODAY Sports
Hester, who was voted to four career Pro Bowls, had a team-record five return touchdowns for the Bears as a rookie, and took back the opening kickoff of Super Bowl XLI against the Indianapolis Colts 92 yards for a touchdown.
The University of Miami product also set franchise highs in punt returns (264), punt return touchdowns (13), single-season punt return touchdowns (four), kickoff returns (222), kickoff return yards (5,504) and single-game kickoff return touchdowns (two).
Hester added 255 receptions for 3,311 yards and 16 touchdowns as a wide receiver.
Hester, who also played for the Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks, holds the NFL record with 20 return touchdowns.
He announced his retirement from the NFL on Dec. 12, 2017.
Selected by the Bears in the second-round of the 2008 NFL draft out of Tulane, Forte is the second-most productive running back in Chicago history with 8,602 rushing yards and 4,116 receiving yards.
At the time of his departure from the Bears following the 2015 season, Forte had led the NFL in yards from scrimmage since 2008.
Forte ranks second, behind only Hall of Famer Walter Payton, on the Bears’ all-time lists for rushing yards, yards from scrimmage (12,718), receptions (487) and 100-yard games (24). He’s third in total touchdowns (64) and sixth in receiving yards. Forte also set a single-season NFL record with 102 receptions as a running back in 2014.
Forte played his final two NFL seasons for the New York Jets.
FRISCO, Texas — Speaking for the first time since the release of Dez Bryant last Friday, Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said the move was made with careful consideration of a number of factors, from the wide receiver’s production to his cost.
Von Miller says he didn’t do anything wrong when on a recent shark fishing excursion in Florida that’s drawn the interest of conservation officials.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers says he needs “to trust the process” when it comes to the team’s personnel decisions.
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Bryant went three straight seasons without 1,000 yards and was set to count $16.5 million against the cap in 2018. After much internal deliberation, Garrett said the decision was made to part ways with the franchise’s all-time leader in touchdown catches.
“Dez Bryant has been a great player for this franchise during his time here,” Garrett said Tuesday at the Albertsons Companies All-Star Gala in which Pat and Emmitt Smith were presented a Lifetime Achievement Award for their charity work. “Certainly a playmaker, a difference-maker. A guy that we all love. Love him as a player, as a person and that will never change.
“It’s a challenging situation. A lot of different factors go into these kinds of decisions and again the guidepost for all of this is: What’s in the best interest of the Dallas Cowboys? And that’s why we made this decision. Wish Dez nothing but the best going forward. He’s a special guy. I love him. I will always love him and the impact that he’s made on this franchise has been significant.”
In an interview with NFL Network after his release, Bryant referred to “Garrett guys” and players who wear the “C,” as captains, as playing a part in the team’s decision. Dak Prescott, Jason Witten and Sean Lee were three of the Cowboys’ six captains in 2017.
“For me, I mean being a quarterback, being a captain, I take the blame,” Prescott said. “I take all the blame. When you lose, things like this happen. So Dez knows how I feel. We’ve shared messages and he knows my stance on everything so I wish him well.”
Bryant and Witten became close over the years, especially since Bryant moved into the same neighborhood as the Pro Bowl tight end. Witten said last Friday “was an emotional day for all of us,” but defended the captains.
“I don’t know what all that’s about,” Witten said. “I know when you go through these processes there’s a lot of things that probably go into it. I know I enjoyed my time with Dez and I think that I appreciated everything that we were able to do. Certainly invested a lot in him and he has helped me become a better player, too. So I appreciate that time together. Look, being a captain is a huge honor for me and the other guys and I know what those guys’ character is all about. There’s really nothing there.”
Lee said the Cowboys’ locker room is as close as any he has been a part of since coming in with Bryant in 2010.
“All I know is that I loved playing with him, and like anything any type of breakup can be tough,” Lee said. “But I know he’s going to be dominant and play the way he can. We can’t get into that (talk). We’ve got to move forward.”
Bryant has let it be known that he would like to play against the Cowboys once — if not twice — in 2018.
“Oh, it would be torture to play against a guy like that, who plays hard like he does, who makes all those plays,” Lee said. “As a linebacker I always felt like it was tackling a running back (with) how hard he ran, how tough he was. So that would be extremely tough for us.”
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — So much is different about the Los Angeles Rams these days. They’re coming off their first playoff appearance in 13 years, with a star-studded roster that now rivals any in the NFL, and the expectations are greater than they have been in more than a decade. The city is buzzing, the players are excited.
But one key similarity remains: Aaron Donald is absent.
Donald didn’t attend the start of the Rams’ offseason program on Monday. The reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year was absent for most of last year’s program and is still in search of a new contract, one that would make him one of the game’s highest-paid players. Donald is headed into the final year of his rookie contract, with no interest in showing up without a more lucrative deal.
After his team’s first workout, Rams coach Sean McVay said they are “proactive towards finding a solution to make sure that everybody feels good about that.”
Aaron Donald is set to make $6.89 million in the fifth year of his rookie contract. George Gojkovich/Getty Images
“What I think we feel good about is the dialogue that has existed,” McVay added. “We totally understand some of the other things that are going on with regards to wanting to get that deal. With respect to Aaron, we feel really good about where we’re at with that dialogue. This is a voluntary offseason program. You know he’s a guy that’s going to work hard on his off time, and that’s kind of where we’re at. We feel good about everything that’s going on with that.”
Donald, who remains in Pittsburgh, is set to make $6.89 million in what constitutes the fifth-year option of his rookie contract. The Rams can then keep him for up to three additional years with the franchise tag, but they have expressed a desire to sign Donald long term dating back to last year’s scouting combine.
Signing Donald to a long-term deal might actually give the Rams more space under this year’s salary cap, because the signing bonus is prorated for the life of the contract and would allow them to lower his 2018 base salary.
The Rams and Donald might be at a better place now, which could be evidenced by their exclusive, behind-the-scenes access to Donald’s hometown for their “Behind The Grind” documentary series. Donald likes playing for McVay and is excited about the direction of the team. The Rams, meanwhile, would be more willing to pay Donald now because he’s closer to free agency.
“I think the best thing that you have going is now there’s been a year of working together,” McVay said. “There’s a rapport; there’s a relationship that’s been established, and we’re in constant dialogue and communication. When this happened last year, we weren’t really involved in much communication between myself and Aaron. I think you feel good about at least knowing where he’s at.”
Locking Donald up may require at least $80 million guaranteed and an average yearly salary of more than $20 million.
Donald, Cooks and safety Lamarcus Joyner, who signed his franchise tag prior to Monday’s workout, can all be unrestricted free agents next offseason. The Rams would ideally sign all of them to long-term deals, though they face a July 16 deadline with Joyner.
Next year, their star running back, Todd Gurley, will be on the last year of his rookie contract, and the Rams might have to seriously consider a long-term deal for him, too. Gurley, represented by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, is now in the same situation Donald was in last year. But he didn’t give much thought to staying away from the team.
Asked if he would like to start contract negotiations now, Gurley smiled wide.
“I think anyone would love to talk about contract situations.”
Offseason workouts are voluntary under the collective bargaining agreement. Players can be fined only for skipping the mandatory veteran minicamp, which for the Rams takes place June 12-14. Donald showed up to last year’s minicamp, but didn’t participate in any of the team activities. He then skipped all of training camp and the preseason schedule, staying away from the team until the day before the season opener.
“I mean, we’ve dealt with it before, and we also know that it’s a business,” Brockers said. “You have the best defensive tackle in the league right now going through contract situations. I’ll kind of just leave it at that. I don’t really want to talk about if he’s here, if he’s not here. We obviously know that he’s putting in the work to get back in shape.”
