Pro Football Hall of Famer Floyd Little, known as “the Franchise” during his career with the Denver Broncos, has been diagnosed with cancer.
A former teammate of Little’s at Syracuse, Pat Killorin, made the diagnosis public as Killorin created a GoFundMe page called “Friends of Floyd” to aid Little and his family with treatment costs. On the page Killorin said “no doubt this will be the toughest fight of his life.”
The 77-year-old Little was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2010. A three-time All American at Syracuse, Little is also enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Always a vibrant presence at many Broncos’ reunions and functions through the years, Little has also become a fixture at recent enshrinement ceremonies in Canton at the Pro Football Hall of Fame as well. He has also participated in the Hall of Fame’s Hear from a Hall of Famer program in speaking to students.
“I feel so blessed in everything, and as long as I can I will always come back [to Canton], and I always hope to see many more Broncos here with me as the years go by,” is how Little put it last summer when both Champ Bailey and Broncos owner Pat Bowlen were enshrined. “Football has given me so much and I will always try to give back in every way to young people who need our help.”
Little, who was the sixth pick of the 1967 AFL-NFL draft by the Broncos, played nine seasons in Denver as he rushed for 6,323 yards with 43 touchdowns. Those formative years of the Broncos franchise — they were one of the original AFL teams in 1960 — were often a struggle on the field as Little starred for teams that didn’t make the playoffs.
The Broncos finished with a winning record just twice in Little’s career — in 1973 and 1974. But he was a five-time Pro Bowl selection.
Between 2011 and 2016, Little worked in Syracuse’s athletic department and in the spring of 2016 Little was given an honorary doctorate degree from the school.
With league sources saying that the market to sign Cam Newton has cooled over the past month, the veteran quarterback is expected to take his time before joining a team, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Newton could wait until teams resume regular activity following the shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. That could give teams the chance to check Newton’s health and meet with him in person.
Sources around the league aren’t sure whether Newton would take a backup job.
League sources believe Newton and the New England Patriots talked early during his free agency but nothing materialized.
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Newton, 31, has been a free agent since the Panthers released him March 24, ending a nine-year relationship with the quarterback they drafted No. 1 overall in 2011.
Newton, who holds most of Carolina’s career passing records, missed 14 games last season with a Lisfranc injury in his left foot and the final two games of the 2018 season with a shoulder injury that also required surgery. He underwent surgery for the Lisfranc injury in December.
Newton had a physical in Atlanta on March 23 that was coordinated by the Panthers and his agency, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Newton passed the physical and is healthy, with both his shoulder and foot “checking out well,” a source told Schefter.
Information from ESPN’s David Newton was used in this report.
Hayden Hurst impacted at least one teenage boy’s life by opening up about what led him to almost taking his own.
Last May, Hurst, then with the Baltimore Ravens, was at South Hagerstown High School in Maryland — the final stop on a four-school mental health education campaign — sharing how he dealt with depression and anxiety, which began during an unsuccessful stint as a pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. Although he left baseball to play college football, his struggles with depression persisted, and he started drinking heavily and using drugs and, eventually, attempted suicide in January 2016, when he was playing tight end at South Carolina.
Hurst refers to it at his “come to Jesus moment.”
After Hurst shared part of his story with the South Hagerstown group, he said, a boy approached him, still in tears.
“He was pretty short in his response,” Hurst recalled, “and he was just like, ‘Hey, thank you for telling your story. I really appreciate it. It meant a lot to me.'”
Hayden Hurst has spent much of his spare time during the coronavirus pandemic promoting the importance of mental health treatment. Courtesy of BTST Services
A woman then stopped Hurst before he exited. It was the boy’s mother, and she explained how her son was going through the loss of his father and had attempted suicide himself.
“She said, ‘Your story really hit home with him,'” Hurst said. “I always say that to all the kids: ‘Hey, if I just affect one of you today, that’s my goal.’”
Hurst, who was drafted 25th overall by the Ravens (seven spots ahead of former teammate
The South Carolina football staff, including then-newly named head coach Will Muschamp, showed empathy for Hurst’s plight and applauded his progress.
“It’s awesome to see him grow up in front of your eyes and to see how he is handling the situation now moving forward,” Muschamp said of Hurst. “To be honest with you, I’m a football coach, not a psychiatrist, so I felt a little hopeless when the situation arose. But we have a wonderful support system here at the University of South Carolina.
“You have to compliment Hayden and his family. He’s got a great support system at home with his parents and sister. And Hayden himself, you have to credit the young man for recognizing some things he needed to deal with in life. That’s why I think he has such a strong voice.”
Hurst repeatedly praises his parents, Jerry and Cathy, and his sister, Kylie, for keeping his spirits up. The four of them refer to themselves as the “Core Four” because of their tight bond. Kylie, a veterinarian in Atlanta, now gets to see her brother on a regular basis. And Cathy, who is retired in Jacksonville with her husband, runs her son’s foundation.
The work ahead
Hayden Hurst created the Hayden Hurst Family Foundation in 2018 to focus on mental health awareness and suicide prevention. His story is a powerful tool in accomplishing the foundation’s mission.
New Denver Broncos running back Melvin Gordon said he’s not concerned if fans can’t be in the stands when the NFL season begins because he has already dealt with that.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, playing games without fans in attendance is one possibility for the 2020 NFL season. During an interview with former NFL cornerback Marcus Cromartie that was posted Wednesday on Twitter, Gordon said the past three years with the Chargers in Los Angeles prepared him for this.
“Bro, we didn’t have fans anyway,” Gordon said while laughing. “We didn’t have many Chargers fans at the game. I’m just going to be honest. We didn’t have many Chargers fans at the game. Much loyalty, love, but we didn’t have many. So I’m not missing anything.”
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Since the start of the 2017 season, the Chargers have played in Los Angeles at the Dignity Health Sports Park. Originally built to host soccer matches, the Chargers’ home stadium has an NFL-low capacity of 27,000. Of those in attendance at Chargers games, most were identified as fans of the opposing team while the Chargers began to build a fan base in Los Angeles after moving from San Diego.
The Chargers will begin play this season at SoFi Stadium, a new arena that it will share with the Los Angeles Rams.
Gordon, however, won’t be calling Southern California his football home this season, as he signed a two-year deal with AFC West rival Denver.
