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Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff Writer
The speculation started in June, when New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers was fined by coach Robert Saleh for missing a mandatory minicamp. Since then, his relationship with Saleh has been under a microscope.
On Tuesday, Rodgers refuted the perception that he and Saleh aren’t getting along.
“Rob and I have a great relationship; we have since Day 1 when I got here,” Rodgers said during his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “We have text-message conversations, threads that we’re in, conversations about a number of different topics outside of football. We have a good friendship.”
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The spotlight has focused on them over the last two weeks. First, there was the infamous non-hug during the Sept. 19 game against the
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DJ Bien-Aime, ESPN
HOUSTON — Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud said Wednesday he wasn’t trying to “little bro” Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams during their postgame handshake Sunday night, an interaction that drew attention on social media.
Stroud was mic’d up during the Texans’ 19-13 win over the Bears on “Sunday Night Football.” After the game, Stroud embraced Williams and provided advice to the No. 1 pick.
He told the rookie “Good job out there,” and to “stop taking those hits,” after Williams was sacked seven times and took 11 quarterback hits while finishing 23-of-37 passing for 174 yards with two interceptions.
Williams began to walk away, but Stroud pulled Williams back into the conversation and said, “Come here. Learn from those mistakes. And everything that you got, bro, is in you already, bro. You’re going to be a hell of a player in this league.”
Stroud, speaking to reporters Wednesday, made it clear he was trying to help Williams during their interaction and wasn’t trying to belittle him.
“I was not trying to little bro him or anything. He knows that, too. I have a ton of respect for him,” Stroud said. “I had so many guys coming to me after games last year and that meant the world to me that those guys even thought about giving me advice.
“So, I just try to give back to what the game is giving me. So, I wish him the best man. I want him to do amazing in this league. I think he will.”
Social media users focused on Williams’ body language, noting he appeared dismissive of Stroud’s advice.
Williams had little to say about their interaction during his postgame news conference, saying, “We shook hands at the end of the game. That was about it.”
Stroud didn’t view Williams’ response negatively and “wants him to do extremely well.”
“I don’t think he was trying to be any type of way [toward me], he was just upset that they lost,” Stroud said. “I totally understand. So I have a ton of respect for that guy, man.”
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Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff Writer
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The dramatic roller-coaster ride that has been the high-stakes contract negotiations between the San Francisco 49ers and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk ended where it all began when this started more than six months ago — with the Niners and Aiyuk sticking together for the long haul.
Aiyuk and the Niners on Thursday agreed to terms on a four-year, $120 million contract extension that will keep him in San Francisco through the 2028 season, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
It’s the same deal that has been on the table from the 49ers since Aug. 12, league sources told Schefter.
The extension includes $76 million guaranteed, with $47 million to be paid to Aiyuk before April 1, 2025, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Aiyuk joins Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill as the fifth-highest-paid receivers in the NFL with an average annual value of $30 million per season.
| Player | AAV |
|---|---|
| Nick Bosa | $34M |
| Brandon Aiyuk | $30M |
| Deebo Samuel | $23.85M |
| Trent Williams | $23.01M |
| Javon Hargrave | $21M |
| Fred Warner | $19.045M |
| Christian McCaffrey | $19M |
| George Kittle | $15M |
The deal comes on the heels of perhaps the most contentious move yet in these negotiations as the Niners publicly declared Aiyuk healthy on Wednesday with coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch saying they expected him to participate in practice.
Aiyuk did not practice Wednesday or Thursday, opening himself up to the possibility of team discipline. Thursday’s agreement, however, ensures Aiyuk can spend the next 10 days preparing for the Sept. 9 opener against the Editor’s Picks
2 Related The result was a long-awaited deal that ensures the Niners’ top wideout isn’t going anywhere as San Francisco pursues the franchise’s sixth Lombardi Trophy that has narrowly evaded it in four of the past five seasons. Now the Niners not only have their best receiver for another run at the Super Bowl, but they can keep him with quarterback
To reach this point, of course, it took plenty of time and patience on both sides. Soon after the 49ers lost Super Bowl LVIII in February, Aiyuk said he would stay in San Francisco “if it was the right move.” Asked what that would look like, Aiyuk said simply, “being a champion.” From there, things appeared to get more contentious after Lynch insisted at the league meetings in March that the team wanted to pay Aiyuk. After those comments, Aiyuk posted a series of emojis to his Instagram story that translated to “money talks, bulls— walks.” April’s NFL draft brought another important benchmark in the negotiations. At the time, Lynch and Shanahan made it clear that they would listen to calls on their receiver just as they would any other player but still had no desire to move on from Aiyuk. “I’ve communicated on many occasions: our wish is that he’s here and part of the Niners for the rest of his career,” Lynch said in April. “We’re working through that. … I can say we’re having good talks, and I’m just going to leave it at that.” Because of that, a trade involving Aiyuk was always going to require a substantial return coming to San Francisco. During draft weekend, no deals were ever close, and Lynch and Shanahan again emphasized the desire to re-sign Aiyuk, even after spending their first-round pick (No. 31 overall) on Pearsall. The Niners selecting Pearsall offered some insight into the state of the relationship between the team and Aiyuk, who played briefly with Pearsall at Arizona State. Moments after the pick, Aiyuk texted Lynch and Shanahan, “Fire pick, I can’t lie.” Aiyuk stayed away from the team’s offseason program and he also did not show up for the full-squad minicamp in early June, incurring more than $101,000 in fines as the negotiations reached a temporary stalemate. In the meantime, other receivers around the league reeled in big contracts: Those deals simultaneously provided an outline for a potential Aiyuk deal and drove his price higher, which contributed to his eventual trade request. Just before the Niners opened training camp on July 23, Aiyuk officially requested a trade. Even after that, Lynch insisted that Aiyuk was likely to stick around at least through this season, with sources telling ESPN that other teams had reached out about trading for Aiyuk only to be told that the Niners had no interest in dealing him. “We fully intend on Brandon being a Niner moving forward,” Lynch said July 23. “We’re always open to listen to things but like I said, we expect Brandon to be an integral part of our team like he has been and excited about that.” Aiyuk then reported to training camp with his teammates, though he did not participate in any practices. He did, however, take part in meetings and watched practices from the sideline. Despite a wild week, an Aiyuk trade to the Steelers or any other team never materialized, and the sides restarted the discussions that finally yielded an extension. Before Thursday’s deal, Aiyuk was slated to play the 2024 season under the fifth-year option that came standard with the rookie contract he signed in 2020, which would have paid him $14.124 million. This is the fifth year in a row that the 49ers have re-signed one of their stars either just before training camp or during: tight end
Year
Player
Tm
YPT
2023
Brandon Aiyuk
SF
12.9
2011
Victor Cruz
NYG
12.1
2023
Nico Collins
HOU
12.0
2021
Deebo Samuel
SF
11.8
>>YPT: Yards per target; min. 100 targets
— ESPN Stats & Information
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Eric Woodyard, ESPN
ALLEN PARK, Mich. — Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said that Jahmyr Gibbs will be “fine” going forward after the Pro Bowl running back left Monday’s practice with a hamstring injury.
“I think we’re gonna be fine here,” Campbell told 97.1 The Ticket on Wednesday morning. “So, I think we’ll be good.”
Campbell said his phone was ringing off the hook following Monday’s session, with people sharing their concerns after the news broke of Gibbs being evaluated for a leg injury.
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Lions rookie CB Terrion Arnold was also evaluated for an upper body injury while second-round CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr. suffered an ankle injury on the same day.
Detroit was set for an intense team scrimmage Wednesday, but with the recent injuries, Campbell decided to dial back and remove the pads ahead of Saturday’s preseason game versus the Kansas City Chiefs.
Gibbs, 22, is a dynamic piece of the Lions’ offense. As a rookie in 2023, the former Alabama star rushed for 945 yards and 10 touchdowns to go along with 316 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown.
Campbell also said second-year QB Hendon Hooker (concussion) could play against the Chiefs. In the preseason opener against the New York Giants, his night ended early as he left the field at the start of the fourth quarter and didn’t return.
“I think there’s a good chance. I can’t say absolutely yes, but it’s trending the right way,” Campbell told 97.1 The Ticket.
It was Hooker’s first game action since college after recovering from a torn ACL. In the third quarter, Hooker went 5-for-9 with 36 passing yards and a team-high 34 rushing yards — including a 16-yard gain in which he lowered his shoulder to get the first down near the end of the quarter.
Hooker returned to practice Wednesday where he drew confidence from the solid game-time reps against New York. He described the concussion experience as being frustrating because of all the time he previously missed due to injury, but it wasn’t his first time having one so it wasn’t too much for him to handle. His mother, Wendy, and the Lions coaching staff have encouraged him to slide more in the future to avoid contact.
“My mom is a huge fan of sliding, so I’ll always get it from her, but now the coaches are on me as well,” Hooker said following practice. “‘We’ve got to slide.’ That’s her thing. She’s been saying it for years. I’m learning.”
Detroit will host the Los Angeles Rams in the season opener on Sept. 8.
