5:00 AM ET CINCINNATI — Nobody realized it at the start of the 2019 season, but a reckoning was coming for the Cincinnati Bengals. As they dropped 11 straight games under new coach Zac Taylor, it was painfully clear the franchise was in the depths of rebuilding. And the front office and coaching staff took

6:00 AM ET ASHBURN, Va. — When fellow actors are introduced to former NFL tight end Vernon Davis, the greeting ends with the same three words: “… the football player.” He gets peppered with questions about the NFL, then they move on. It’s understandable, considering he played more than a decade in the league and

10:04 PM ET Ashton Edmunds Former Cincinnati Bengals receiever Chad “OchoCinco” Johnson left another $1,000 tip on his $33.53 restaurant tab, this time at an IHOP in Portland, Oregon. Last month, Johnson left a $1,300 tip on a $107.17 tab at James Harden’s Houston restaurant, Thirteen Houston. In May, Johnson left another $1,000 tip on

6:00 AM ET FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots starting defensive tackle Lawrence Guy is on the other end of the telephone, and he’s discussing how he’s preparing his meals for the start of training camp July 28. Spaghetti squash. Cauliflower hash browns. Spiralized zucchini. Broccoli chips. Raw peach cobbler. A green shake with carrots,

6:00 AM ET PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers‘ offensive line was always going to have a tough learning curve in the 2021 season. Once a stalwart unit in the NFL, it was left in flux by the departures of left tackle Alejandro Villanueva, center Maurkice Pouncey and left guard Matt Feiler. The Steelers have just

4:25 PM ET The NFL has fined the Jacksonville Jaguars, the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys for organized team activities violations. The following is a breakdown of the fines, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter: The Jaguars were fined $200,000 and coach Urban Meyer $100,000 The 49ers were fined $100,000 and coach Kyle Shanahan

3:59 PM ET The NFL has fined the Washington Football Team $10 million as a result of the league’s investigation into the team’s workplace culture. The money will be “will be used to support organizations committed to character education, anti-bullying, healthy relationships and related topics,” the league said. In addition, Tanya Snyder, who was named

6:00 AM ET GREEN BAY, Wis. — Better, worse or the same? Where do the Green Bay Packers fall on that subjective scale given that they return 20 of 22 starters from last year’s 13-3 team that reached the NFC title game? Of course, that 20 includes Aaron Rodgers. Rather than picking one of those

6:00 AM ET FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore has taken his feelings about his contract status public. How that affects his future with the team, one of the hot-button questions entering the 2021 training camp, remains an open-ended question. Public pressure usually doesn’t impel coach Bill Belichick to return to the

4:11 PM ET METAIRIE, La. — It has become a running joke over the past decade that the New Orleans Saints don’t believe in the salary cap. That they kept proving it didn’t really exist every time they made Drew Brees the NFL’s highest-paid quarterback or Michael Thomas the highest-paid receiver or Jahri Evans the