Sports
NFL Insider Links Kirk Cousins, Aaron Rodgers to Cleveland Browns This Offseason
East Rutherford, NJ December 3, 2023 — Aaron Rodgers of the Jets on the sidelines, late in the second half. The Atlanta Falcons topped the NY Jets 13-8 at MetLife Stadium on December 3, 2023 in East Rutherford, NJ. credits: Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK On Friday afternoon, the Cleveland Browns restructured Deshaun Watson’s contract, signaling that he will be back with some competition in 2025.
It’s increasingly likely that the Browns will have a top-five draft pick, but restructuring Watson gives Cleveland the ability to stay competitive while eating his dead cap hit throughout the next few years.
The Denver Broncos just did this, moving on from Russell Wilson and staying competitive in the AFC because Sean Payton believed in Bo Nix, and it has worked out due to his rookie salary.
But the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft probably does not have a player like Nix. Instead, the Browns could look to acquire Kirk Cousins or Aaron Rodgers, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Both Cousins and Rodgers would likely be an upgrade from Watson, who suffered another season-ending injury when he tore his Achilles in October. Last offseason, it took him all the way up until Week 1 to be a full participant in training camp coming off of his shoulder surgery. Based on that history, it’s unlikely that he could beat out anybody in a camp battle.
The Atlanta Falcons benched Cousins last week. Despite inking a massive four-year deal with the Falcons in free agency, it seemed like Cousins wasn’t long for Atlanta once they drafted Michael Penix Jr. in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Before being benched, Cousins looked completely washed after coming off of a torn Achilles of his own. The Browns could add him on a similar one-year deal that the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Russell Wilson to.
The Aaron Rodgers saga in New York has been well documented and reported on. He’s the third player mentioned in this story who has recently ruptured his Achilles. However, prior to Week 17’s matchup against the Buffalo Bills, he still looked the part of a competent quarterback.
The Jets will be hiring a new head coach and general manager after jettisoning Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas from the organization in the midst of this dreadful four-win season. The new regime’s first order of business will be sorting out Rodgers, who still wants to play in the NFL in 2025.
It remains to be determined if the Jets will want Rodgers back. However, rumors on Sunday circulated that wide receiver Garrett Wilson could demand a trade out of New York if they bring back Rodgers. That could influence things.
The Browns need to unturn every stone to bring in competition for Watson, who should never see the field again despite his massive contract. Whether it be via trade, free agency or the draft, the quarterback room in Cleveland will look much different in 2025.
Sports
Caps D Rasmus Sandin recovering from ACL surgery
Apr 5, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Washington Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin (38) warms up before the first period against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images Washington Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin is recovering from surgery to repair his torn right ACL.
The 26-year-old Swede sustained the knee injury in a 6-3 win at Pittsburgh on April 11.
The typical timeline for a recovery from ACL surgery is an estimated six to nine months.
Sandin finished the season with 29 points (five goals, 24 assists) and a plus-4 rating in 73 games. He was third on the team with 127 blocks.
A first-round pick by Toronto in 2018, Sandin has 145 points (25 goals, 120 assists) through 382 career games with the Maple Leafs and Capitals.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ryder Cup organizers defend nearly doubled ticket prices for '27
Oct 1, 2023; Rome, ITA; Team Europe captain Luke Donald poses with the Ryder Cup after Team Europe beat Team USA during the final day of the 44th Ryder Cup golf competition at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images Ryder Cup organizers are defending nearly doubling ticket prices for the 2027 event in Limerick, Ireland, from the last time Europe hosted the event in 2023.
Daily tickets to Adare Manor Golf Club, which will go on sale to Irish residents Friday before opening for the rest of the world in a ballot June 3, will be the most expensive in European Ryder Cup history at 499 euros ($584.45 USD). That’s a steep increase from the 260 euros ($304.54) that a daily ticket cost for the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome.
“We acknowledge it’s an increase from Rome,” Richard Atkinson, the European Tour Group’s chief Ryder Cup officer, told BBC.
“That was four years ago and a lot has happened in the world since then. We are lower than Bethpage. We’ve tried to make this as accessible as possible to a wide demographic of people. Our practice day tickets will be from 89 euros and juniors from 20 euros.
“Our prices are proportionate to a global sporting event. This event has grown in stature and profile, it’s one of the biggest sporting events in the world. We’re confident in our pricing but we’ve made it accessible to everyone.”
Daily tickets for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black Golf Course in Farmingdale, N.Y., cost $750 USD (640.34 euros).
This will be the first Ryder Cup in Ireland since the K Club in Kildare hosted the 2006 event. It also has a chance to be a historic one as Luke Donald seeks to become the first captain to lead his team to three straight Ryder Cup titles after Europe became the first visiting side to win since 2012 with its 15-13 victory in the U.S. last year.
Regarding the price hike, Atkinson discussed a number of ways in which officials are attempting to make the 2027 event the most fan-friendly Ryder Cup Europe has ever hosted.
“We have significant focus on the fan experience on site and from the moment the people arrive at 6:30 in the morning, they’ll be entertained not only by 24 of the best golfers in the world but also outside of the ropes, we’ll have an extensive entertainment program to keep the fans engaged,” he said. “We’ll have over 20,000 grandstand seats at Adare, that’s a record for any European Ryder Cup, we’ll have big screens on every hole.”
Higher prices don’t seem to be affecting the interest level. Atkinson told BBC that even before tickets go on sale, demand has been quite high as they expect about 250,000 fans in attendance over the course of the week.
“We’ve already had over a half a million people register their interest for tickets, so that tells you how significant the demand is,” Atkinson said.
“This is likely to be one of the largest we’ve ever delivered and one of the largest events to come to the island of Ireland so we couldn’t be more excited.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
HEROIC, Spirit and SAR reach PGL Wallachia playoffs
Dota 2 competitors at the 2025 Esports World Cup. HEROIC, South America Rejects and Team Spirit secured the final three playoff spots Wednesday at the $1 million PGL Wallachia Season 8 event in Bucharest, Romania.
Sixteen teams began the Dota 2 tournament with the top eight advancing from the Swiss-system group stage. The double-elimination playoffs begin Thursday with all matches best-of-three until Sunday’s best-of-five grand final, where the winner will take home $300,000.
Wednesday’s do-or-die Round 5 matches pitted teams with 2-2 records. HEROIC swept GamerLegion, SAR knocked out MOUZ 2-1, and Spirit swept Xtreme Gaming.
HEROIC won in 42 minutes on red and 44 minutes on green. SAR sandwiched a 45-minute win on green and a 58-minute victory on red around MOUZ’s 53-minute win on red. Spirit followed up a marathon 72-minute triumph on red with a 40-minute win on green.
Thursday’s upper-bracket quarterfinal matches:
–PARIVISION vs. South America Rejects
–Aurora Gaming vs. HEROIC
–Team Liquid vs. Team Falcons
–BetBoom Team vs. Team Spirit
PGL Wallachia Season 8 prize pool:
1. $300,000 — TBD
2. $175,000 — TBD
3. $120,000 — TBD
4. $80,000 — TBD
5-6. $60,000 — TBD
7-8. $40,000 — TBD
9-11. $20,000 — GamerLegion, Xtreme Gaming, MOUZ
12-14. $15,000 — Vici Gaming, Virtus.pro, Natus Vincere
15-16. $10,000 — Team Yandex, Tundra Esports
–Field Level Media
Caps D Rasmus Sandin recovering from ACL surgery
Ryder Cup organizers defend nearly doubled ticket prices for '27
