Jan 9, 2022; Tampa, Florida, USA;Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prior to the game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Seeking NFL comeback, Cam Newton to throw at Auburn’s pro day

Former NFL Most Valuable Player Cam Newton revealed Monday that he will throw passes for scouts attending Auburn’s pro day on Tuesday.

Newton, who starred at Auburn and won the Heisman Trophy there in 2010, is looking for a new team after he went unsigned throughout the 2022 season.

Newton announced his intentions to work out at Auburn in a video posted to social media that ended with him saying, “Ain’t 32 (expletive) better than me, you dig?”

Newton last appeared with the Carolina Panthers in 2021 as a midseason addition after starter Sam Darnold was injured. He split playing time with P.J. Walker and wound up starting five of the eight games he played, throwing for 684 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions and running for another five touchdowns.

Drafted No. 1 overall by Carolina in 2011, Newton spent 2011-19 with the Panthers, winning Rookie of the Year in 2011 and MVP in 2015. He led Carolina to a Super Bowl berth in his MVP season. He started 15 games for the New England Patriots in 2020 but was released shortly before the 2021 season began as the Patriots preferred to start rookie Mac Jones.

In 148 career games (144 starts), Newton has thrown for 32,382 yards, 194 touchdowns and 123 interceptions. He has also rushed for 5,628 yards and 75 touchdowns, the latter an NFL record for quarterbacks.

–Field Level Media

Dec 11, 2022; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz (86) runs after the catch against the Houston Texans during the second quarter at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports

Reports: Texans sign RB Devin Singletary, TE Dalton Schultz

The Houston Texans added to their offense by signing free agent running back Devin Singletary and tight end Dalton Schultz to one-year deals, multiple reports said Monday.

Singletary signed a contract worth up to $3.75 million, ESPN reported, and Schultz’s deal will be worth up to $9 million, according to NFL Network.

Singletary, 25, spent his first four NFL seasons with the Buffalo Bills and was their full-time starting running back for the past three. In 2022 Singletary started all 16 games he played, ran for 819 yards on 4.6 yards per attempt and scored six total touchdowns (five rushing).

In 61 career games (56 starts), Singletary has 3,151 rushing yards (4.7 per carry), 16 rushing touchdowns, 145 receptions, 971 yards and four receiving TDs.

Schultz, 26, had been the Dallas Cowboys’ starting tight end since 2020 and spent his first five pro seasons with the club. In 15 starts last season, he caught 57 passes for 577 yards and five touchdowns.

In 75 career games (51 starts), Schultz has 211 receptions for 2,122 yards and 17 scores.

–Field Level Media

Jan 1, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots running back Damien Harris (37) rushes against Miami Dolphins safety Jevon Holland (8) during the first half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

RB Damien Harris signing with Bills

Free agent running back Damien Harris is switching AFC East allegiances, leaving the New England Patriots to sign with the Buffalo Bills.

“LETS GO BUFFALO,” Harris tweeted Monday night after ESPN and the Buffalo News reported he agreed on a one-year contract with the Bills.

The Bills lost starting running back Devin Singletary to the Houston Texans earlier in the day.

Harris, 26, spent his first four NFL seasons with the Patriots, who picked him in the third round of the 2019 draft. He played in 11 games in 2022, starting nine, and finished the year with 462 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Harris’ 15 rushing touchdowns in 2021 tied for second-most in the league.

In 38 career games (34 starts), Harris has run for 2,094 yards (4.7 per attempt) and scored 20 touchdowns.

–Field Level Media

Jan 7, 2023;  Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) reacts after giving up a fumble for a touchdown to Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Josh Allen (41) during the fourth quarter at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports

Agent: QB Josh Dobbs signs with Browns

Quarterback Josh Dobbs signed a one-year contract with the Cleveland Browns, his agent Mike McCartney said on social media Monday.

Dobbs, who has bounced around the NFL since 2018, will be a prime candidate to be the backup quarterback in Cleveland behind Deshaun Watson.

Dobbs, now 28, signed with the Cleveland Browns in April 2022 on a one-year, $1 million deal, but he was waived in November without having played a game for the team once Watson returned from a 11-game suspension.

In December 2022, with Ryan Tannehill injured, the Tennessee Titans signed Dobbs off the Detroit Lions’ practice squad and had him start the final two games of the season — the first two starts of Dobbs’ NFL career. Dobbs went 40-for-68 passing for 411 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in those games.

After being drafted in the fourth round in 2017 by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dobbs saw action in five games in 2018 and one in 2020. Pittsburgh traded him to the Jacksonville Jaguars ahead of the 2019 season and claimed him off waivers from Jacksonville before 2020.

Kellen Mond is the only other quarterback on the Browns’ roster behind Watson.

–Field Level Media

Jun 2, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; ESPN analyst Magic Johnson before game one of the 2022 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Magic Johnson joins Josh Harris’ bid for Commanders

Magic Johnson is joining billionaire NBA and NHL team owner Josh Harris’ bid to purchase the NFL’s Washington Commanders, Sportico reported Monday.

Harris also welcomed Johnson into the fold last season when he made an unsuccessful bid to buy the Denver Broncos.

Commanders owner Daniel Snyder, long embroiled in several controversies and accusations of an abusive work environment and financial improprieties, is looking to fetch $7 billion in a potential sale of the team, Front Office Sports reported last month.

Johnson, the 63-year-old NBA legend and former Los Angeles Lakers part-owner, is a member of the ownership group of the Los Angeles Dodgers and is said to bring “both money and expertise” to the table for Harris’ bid.

ESPN reported this month that Washington, D.C., billionaire Mitchell Rales joined Harris’ bid as well.

Harris is the principal owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils and is the general partner of Crystal Palace of the English Premier League in soccer. Rales is the founder of Danaher Corp.

Snyder reportedly has barred Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos from placing a bid on the Commanders. That could clear a path for Harris’ group of investors.

Harris lost out to Walmart heir S. Robson “Rob” Walton, like Bezos one of the richest people in the world, in the race to buy the Broncos last year.

–Field Level Media

Feb 12, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, US; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell walks on the sideline before Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Commish Roger Goodell closing in on contract extension

NFL owners and Roger Goodell are finalizing a contract extension that’s expected to be the most lucrative for any commissioner in any sport, ESPN reported Monday.

The deal is expected to be ratified during a special privileged session on March 28 in Phoenix, site of the NFL owners’ meetings, per the report.

Only one member from each team will be permitted in the meeting, where the league’s compensation committee will present the proposal, per the report.

The sides have discussed a three-year extension but that’s not final, per ESPN. Financial terms were not reported but Goodell is expected to get a deal that’s heavy on incentives. Goodell reportedly made $63.9 million per year in 2020 and 2021.

This would be the fourth extension for Goodell since he took over for Paul Tagliabue in September 2006. The previous extensions were 2009, 2012 and 2017.

–Field Level Media

Oct 30, 2022; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans tight end O.J. Howard (83) runs with the ball as Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Teair Tart (93) attempts to make a tackle during the first quarter at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Raiders sign TE O.J. Howard, DL Jordan Willis

The Las Vegas Raiders announced deals Monday with tight end O.J. Howard and defensive lineman Jordan Willis.

The team also reached an agreement with safety Jaquan Johnson, according to multiple reports.

Howard ostensibly becomes the heir apparent to Darren Waller, whom the Raiders traded to the New York Giants earlier this month.

Howard, 28, a former first-round draft pick, caught 10 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns in 13 games (10 starts) for the Houston Texans in 2022.

He has 129 catches and 1,882 yards receiving to go with 17 TDs in 72 career games (56 starts) with the Texans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2017-21), who selected him No. 19 overall in the 2017 draft.

Willis, 27, was a third-round pick by Cincinnati in 2017 and has 92 tackles and 10.5 sacks in 69 games (two starts) for the Bengals (2017-18), New York Jets (2019-20) and San Francisco 49ers (2020-22).

Johnson, 27, was picked in the sixth round by Buffalo in 2019. He registered 58 tackles and two interceptions in 60 games (four starts) over four seasons with the Bills.

–Field Level Media

Mar 1, 2023; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Carolina Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Panthers, GM Scott Fitterer have ‘conviction’ on top prospects

The Carolina Panthers are sold on the players expected to be selected at the top of the 2023 NFL Draft, general manager Scott Fitterer told reporters Monday. Still, he gave no indiction as to whom the team will select next month with the No. 1 overall pick, acquired in a trade with the Chicago Bears.

Fitterer apparently liked what he saw of the players at the recent NFL Scouting Combine — the Panthers presumably will draft a quarterback — enough to give the Bears a pair of first-round picks, two-second rounders and wide receiver D.J. Moore to move up from the No. 9 slot.

“At the combine, I said, ‘If you’re gonna go up, you better have conviction.’ And we have conviction on players at that top, that we feel good about,” Fitterer said.

He said no decision has been made as to whether the Panthers will take former Alabama QB Bryce Young, ex-Ohio State QB C.J. Shroud or someone else.

“Yeah, we’re still going through the process right now,” he said. “Obviously, we have our ideas. You’re not gonna make a move like that without having that pretty much cemented. But now, we’re going through the process of talking to the players and really getting to know them.”

The Panthers will be at the pro days for all four of the top QBs in the coming weeks — Stroud, Young, Will Levis and Anthony Richardson.

The Panthers signed 12-year veteran Andy Dalton to serve as a mentor to a young quarterback.

“Obviously, I’ve played a ton of ball; there’s a lot that can come from that,” Dalton told the team’s website. “I started as a rookie; a lot will come from that. There’s a lot I’ve done in my career, a ton of experience I can bring to help that room.”

Dalton, 35, was 6-8 as a starter last season for the New Orleans Saints.

–Field Level Media

Dec 8, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Mack Hollins (10) runs the ball against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Falcons signing WR Mack Hollins to 1-year deal

The Atlanta Falcons are signing wide receiver Mack Hollins to a one-year, $2.5 million deal, NFL Network reported.

The contract includes a signing bonus of $910,000 for the 29-year-old free agent, according to Sunday’s report.

Hollins enjoyed a breakout season with Las Vegas in 2022, setting career highs in catches (57) and yards (690) in 17 games.

A fourth-round pick by Philadelphia in 2017, he has 113 receptions for 1,440 yards and 10 touchdowns in 82 games (24 starts) with the Eagles (2017, 2019), Miami Dolphins (2019-21) and Raiders.

–Field Level Media

Dec 4, 2022; Santa Clara, California, USA; Miami Dolphins wide receiver Trent Sherfield (14) runs for a touchdown on the opening drive against the San Francisco 49ers during the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Bills add WR Trent Sherfield on 1-year deal

The Buffalo Bills added another weapon for quarterback Josh Allen, signing free-agent wide receiver Trent Sherfield to a one-year deal on Monday.

Sherfield, 27, played with AFC East rival Miami in 2022, catching 30 passes for a career-high 417 yards and two touchdowns in 17 games (four starts).

Sherfield began his career with the Arizona Cardinals and played with the San Francisco 49ers in 2021.

In five seasons, Sherfield has appeared in 78 games (nine starts) and has 67 receptions for 844 yards and four TDs.

–Field Level Media