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NFL

Hill: Focus is on football not abuse allegations

  • Marcel Louis-JacquesSep 12, 2025, 04:09 PM ET

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      Marcel Louis-Jacques joined ESPN in 2019 as a beat reporter covering the Buffalo Bills, before switching to the Miami Dolphins in 2021. The former Carolina Panthers beat writer for the Charlotte Observer won the APSE award for breaking news and the South Carolina Press Association award for enterprise writing in 2018.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Speaking publicly Friday afternoon for the first time since his ex-wife alleged domestic abuse during their marriage, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill declined to comment on his divorce case.

However, Hill said he’s focused more on his job than on any outside distractions, including his divorce hearings and trade rumors surrounding him.

“My focus right now is just playing ball, and spending time with my kids and just doing what I’m best at: providing for my family,” the wide receiver said. “So all the noise, I feel like if you allow that kind of stuff to get in the way of what you’re trying to do, it can only cloud what you’re really trying to get accomplished.”

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Hill’s estranged wife, Keeta Vaccaro, alleged eight separate incidents of domestic violence in filings related to the couple’s divorce case, according to documents obtained by TMZ. Hill vehemently denied the claims in a statement released by his lawyer Monday.

NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy and Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel confirmed the NFL is investigating the matter, which McCarthy said is “standard policy” in situations like this. Hill said he has not spoken to the league as of Friday afternoon.

Hill and the Dolphins caught leaguewide attention following their 33-8 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1, in which he led the team with four catches for 40 yards. Team captains called for a players-only meeting Tuesday, Miami’s off day, in order to hold each other accountable and remain on the same page as the Dolphins prepare to host the New England Patriots in Week 2.

While he was not voted a captain this season, Hill said he fully supported the meeting and believes it will help the team in the long run.

“The standard is the standard each and every day,” he said. “Holding guys accountable … I think the biggest thing is accountability. You know what I’m saying? Guys got to be able to receive it in a certain way and not feel attacked. So I feel like if we approach it that way, we’re going to be fine. Man, we got a real good shot at winning this week. I feel like the guys attacked the practice field the right way and we got better. So I think it was a beautiful thing.”

Hill insisted he is happy in Miami amid trade rumors, although he accepts that “whatever happens, happens” in the NFL.

“I don’t really pay attention to any of that,” he said. “I feel like to me, noise is good — adversity is opportunity. I look at it like that.”

NFL

Kraft's 57-yard reception sets up Green Bay TD

  • John Keim

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    ESPN Staff Writer
      John Keim covers the Washington Commanders for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2013 after a stint with the Washington Post. He started covering the team in 1994 for the Journal Newspapers and later for the Washington Examiner. He has authored/co-authored four books. You can also listen to him on ‘The John Keim Report’, which airs on ESPN Richmond radio.

  • Rob Demovsky

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    ESPN Staff Writer
      Rob Demovsky is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Green Bay Packers. He has covered the Packers since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2013. Demovsky is a two-time Wisconsin Sportswriter of the Year as selected by the NSSA.

Sep 11, 2025, 08:12 PM ET

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Washington Commanders and the Green Bay Packers are facing off on Thursday Night Football at Lambeau Field.

Both teams won their Week 1 matchups against the New York Giants and Detroit Lions, respectively, and are looking more Thursday.

Our two team reporters — John Keim for the Commanders and Rob Demovsky for the Packers — are at Lambeau, and they’re keeping you updated on all the biggest plays and highlights.

Here are the highlights from the game.

Commanders-Packers highlights

NFL

49ers' Purdy unlikely to play, could miss weeks

  • Nick WagonerSep 10, 2025, 04:33 PM ET

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      Nick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In over a decade with the company, Nick has led ESPN’s coverage of the Niners’ 2019 and 2023 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick’s protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam’s subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team’s relocation and stadium saga.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — As the San Francisco 49ers began preparation Wednesday for their Week 2 meeting with the New Orleans Saints, they did so with the expectation that quarterback Brock Purdy won’t be available to play.

Purdy is dealing with toe and left shoulder injuries that happened in the second quarter of Sunday’s win against the Seattle Seahawks. Coach Kyle Shanahan has indicated that the toe is the bigger concern and said Wednesday that it’s unlikely Purdy will play against the Saints.

“I think it’s a long shot,” Shanahan said.

Asked whether Purdy might miss multiple games as he recovers from the ailments, Shanahan didn’t rule it out.

“It’s possible,” Shanahan said.

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Purdy’s addition to the injury report came as a bit of a surprise Monday after he finished the game against Seattle by leading the winning touchdown drive and wasn’t mentioned by Shanahan in the postgame injury report. Purdy was 26-of-35 for 277 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Shanahan said Purdy injured the toe while scrambling for 7 yards with about two minutes left in the first half. On the play, Purdy took off to his left and was tackled as he fell toward the sideline by Seahawks safety Julian Love.

Purdy didn’t show any signs of being seriously hurt, though Shanahan said he was aware of what the quarterback was dealing with during the game.

On Wednesday, Purdy was listed as a nonparticipant in practice, leaving Mac Jones to handle the starting quarterback duties. Jones signed as a free agent from the Jacksonville Jaguars in March and is coming off a solid training camp in which he impressed teammates with his consistent production.

“I like Mac a lot,” defensive end Nick Bosa said. “Getting to know him this camp, and I think he’s really popped on tape throughout camp. If Mac does start, I think it’s a little more advantageous for him being earlier in the year since he’s gotten some real reps recently, and he’s not 10 weeks into the season taking only scout team [snaps], getting pinballed around by the D-line and scout team. I think that’s a bright side.”

According to Shanahan, the 49ers would also like to bring in another quarterback to provide depth behind Jones if Purdy can’t play. The Niners have Adrian Martinez on the practice squad and tried out veteran signal-caller Mike White on Wednesday.

The hurdle for San Francisco is the number of injuries it’s dealing with elsewhere that make any roster moves more difficult to pull off.

“We’d like to [add another quarterback],” Shanahan said. “We just don’t know if we can.”

Beyond Purdy, the Niners have plenty of other moving parts this week. Running back Christian McCaffrey (calf/veteran rest day), left tackle Trent Williams (knee/vet day), Bosa (vet day), defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos (knee) and receiver Jauan Jennings (shoulder) also did not participate in Wednesday’s practice.

Jennings’ situation might be the most tenuous of those players after he departed Sunday’s game with the shoulder issue and did not return. Testing and imaging on Jennings’ injured shoulder didn’t reveal any significant damage, though, and Shanahan said there is still hope he’ll be able to play against the Saints.

“He’s got a chance to play and hopefully he will,” Shanahan said.

NFL

Massive uptick in NFL kickoff returns in Week 1

  • Kevin SeifertSep 9, 2025, 11:32 AM ET

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      Kevin Seifert is a staff writer who covers the Minnesota Vikings and the NFL at ESPN. Kevin has covered the NFL for over 20 years, joining ESPN in 2008. He was previously a beat reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Washington Times. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia.

A modest change to the NFL’s kickoff rules made a massive impact on Week 1, producing the highest single-week return rate in 15 years.

In the league’s first slate of regular-season games since the touchback was moved to the 35-yard line, teams returned 118 of 156 kickoffs for a 75.6% return rate. The last time the NFL had a higher return rate for a single week was Week 17 of the 2010 season.

Last weekend’s games were particularly rare compared to other recent opening weeks. The last time the NFL had a return rate higher than 50% in Week 1 also was 2010 (78.1%).

The NFL overhauled its kickoff prior to the 2024 season after more than a decade of declining return rates, caused largely by rule changes that incentivized teams to pursue touchbacks and lower the number of concussions and other injuries. In 2023, only 21.8% of kickoffs were returned — the fewest since at least 2000 and likely in the modern history of the game. Not a single kickoff was returned in Super Bowl LVIII at the end of that season.

After analyzing a new alignment that first appeared in the XFL during its 2020 season, the NFL’s special teams coaches recommended a new approach for 2024.

Instead of reducing the number of returns, they suggested an alignment that minimized the number of high-speed collisions. The kickoff now begins with most players already standing downfield, rather than running at full speed to get there. They can begin to cover the kick as soon as the ball touches the ground or a member of the return team.

The original 2024 proposal called for touchbacks to be spotted at the 35-yard line, which league rule-makers believed would be a powerful incentive for coaches to kick a returnable ball. But it was changed to the 30-yard line as a compromise in order to generate enough support from owners to approve the rule.

The full-season return rate in 2024 improved to 32.8% but fell well short of the league’s goal. The average drive after a kickoff return started at the 28.8-yard line, and so most coaches preferred the certainty of a touchback in exchange for an additional 1.2 yards.

This spring, however, owners approved a revival of the 35-yard touchback proposal in March. Coaches acknowledged they would be less likely to exchange that certainty for an additional 5 yards of field position, and in Week 1 they followed through.

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