Lady Raiders edge Tullahoma in Sunday afternoon battle

The NFL draft is when talent and opportunity combine to immediately change the short- and long-term opportunities presented to prospects. That was at the forefront of this year's first round, when Caleb Williams was selected No. 1 overall by Chicago. The former Southern California star is expected to walk in the door as the Bears' starting quarterback. Seven picks later, the biggest shock of the first round took place when the Atlanta Falcons selected their own quarterback in Washington's Michael Penix Jr. That was despite having recently given Kirk Cousins a four-year, $180 million deal that includes $100 million guaranteed. That was also despite Penix's lengthy injury history and that he's already an "older" rookie as he enters the league at 23 years old. Oddsmakers quickly shortened Williams' odds of winning Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. That includes at DraftKings, where he went from +250 pre-draft to +200 on Monday. By contrast, Penix's OROY odds plummeted from +1800 to +6000 as he's expected to spend at least the 2024 season mentoring behind Cousins. Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. remained the second favorite behind Williams, but saw his odds lengthen slightly from +550 to +600 after going fourth overall to Arizona as many analysts projected. LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels was another player to see his odds impacted, shortening to +650 after going No. 2 overall to Washington. He separated from his former teammate, wide receiver Malik Nabers, after both entered the draft at +800. Meanwhile, Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy saw his odds skyrocket from +3500 to +1600 after Kansas City traded up in the first round to grab the speedster at No. 28. Many view his pairing with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and coach Andy Reid as an ideal fit in the mold of Tyreek Hill. OFFENSIVE ROY ODDS (Pre-Draft, Post-Draft)* Caleb Williams, QB, Southern Cal (+250, +200) Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State (+550, +600) Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU (+800, +650) J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan (+1600, +800) Malik Nabers, WR, LSU (+800, +1200) Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina (+1100, +1600) Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas (+3500, +1600) Bo Nix, QB, Oregon (+3500, +1600) Rome Odunze, WR, Washington (+1100, +2200) Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU (+2500, +2500) Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia (+2200, +3500) Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas (+3500, +3500) Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington (+1800, +6000) *DraftKings Alabama pass rusher Dallas Turner was the third defensive player off the board at No. 17 to Minnesota, but he leads the Defensive Rookie of the Year odds at +400. That's ahead of UCLA edge rusher Laiatu Latu (+700), who went two picks ahead of Turner to Indianapolis. The other top names on the defensive side are cornerback Quinyon Mitchell (Philadelphia, +1000) and pass rushers Jared Verse (Los Angeles Rams, +1100) and Chop Robinson (Miami, +1300). --Field Level Media

Five-star recruit Jayden Quaintance, a consensus top-15 recruit in the Class of 2024, has committed to Arizona State, ESPN reported Monday. The big man decommitted from Kentucky earlier this month after John Calipari left to coach Arkansas. Quaintance is rated the No. 8 overall recruit in the Class of 2024 by the 247Sports composite rankings. Extremely young for his grade, Quaintance is only 16 and cannot enter the NBA draft until 2026 at the earliest. He reclassified from the 2025 cycle to 2024 and is spending his last year of high school basketball at Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, N.C. The physically imposing Quaintance, 6-feet-10 with a power element in his game, played for Team USA's 16-and-under squad and is the son of former Kent State player Hamin Quaintance. --Field Level Media

The Buffalo Bills are picking up the fifth-year option on defensive end Greg Rousseau, Fox Sports reported Monday. NFL teams have until Thursday to exercise the 2025 options on their 2021 first-round draft picks. Rousseau, the 30th overall selection in 2021, will earn a fully guaranteed salary of $13.387 million in 2025. Rousseau, 24, registered five sacks, 18 quarterback hits and 42 tackles while starting 16 games last season. His career totals include 17 sacks, 42 QB hits, 129 tackles and three forced fumbles in 46 games (all starts). --Field Level Media

Ezekiel Elliott agreed to rejoin the Dallas Cowboys on Monday. Elliott played for Dallas from 2016-22 after the team selected him No. 4 overall in the 2016 NFL Draft. He spent last season with the New England Patriots after being released by Dallas. ESPN reported the one-year deal can be worth up to $3 million with incentives. Owner Jerry Jones said before the third day of the NFL draft that the Cowboys were "keenly interested" in Elliott. Team officials met with Elliott and his agent last week, and Jones said that Elliott's days as a starter are not behind him. "I know this, I saw as recent as the end of the year, I saw Zeke play," Jones said. "And I will tell you he's good enough to be a starter." The Cowboys needed help in the backfield after letting running back Tony Pollard leave in free agency. Dallas' current running back room consists of Rico Dowdle, Royce Freeman, Deuce Vaughn, Malik Davis and Snoop Conner. If Elliott returns as the starter, the question will be how much tread is left on his tires. Elliott turns 29 on July 22, one week before training camp is scheduled to begin. He joined New England as a No. 2 running back last summer but found his way to the field more often when Rhamondre Stevenson was sidelined with a high-ankle sprain. Elliott finished with a team-best 642 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 51 catches for 313 yards and two scores in 17 games (five starts) last season. Elliott led the NFL in rushing in 2016 and 2018 and posted four 1,000-yard seasons with Dallas. He ranks third in Cowboys history in rushing yards (8,262) and rushing touchdowns (68) behind Hall of Fame members Emmitt Smith and Tony Dorsett. --Field Level Media

Cowboys bring back RB Ezekiel Elliott

Patriots sign DT Christian Barmore to $92M extension

The New England Patriots reached agreement with defensive tackle Christian Barmore on a four-year extension with a maximum value of $92 million. Agent Nicole Lynn confirmed the figures Monday with ESPN, which also reported that the deal includes $41.8 million guaranteed for the 2021 second-round pick. Barmore, 24, was entering the final year of his rookie contract in 2024 and was scheduled to earn a base salary of $1.82 million. The extension runs through the 2028 season. Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said at the NFL league meetings in March that contract talks were active and likely to lead to a new deal following Barmore's breakout season in 2023. "Three years ago, Christian and I sat in the greenroom at the NFL Draft on night 1 and his names was not called," Lynn posted Monday on X. "He would eventually slide to round 2, and that became one of the hardest nights of my career. Fast forward and now he is one of the highest paid DTs. God is always faithful!" The 6-foot-5, 315-pound Barmore paced the Patriots with a career-high 8.5 sacks in 17 games (six starts) last season, also setting career highs in tackles (64), quarterback hits (16) and pass breakups (six). Barmore has recorded 12.5 sacks, 32 QB hits and 133 tackles in 44 career games (11 starts). --Field Level Media

Former Wake Forest power forward Andrew Carr announced his commitment to Kentucky on Sunday night. The 6-foot-10 senior has one year of eligibility remaining and chose the Wildcats over Villanova and Texas Tech. This will be the third stop for Carr, who played two seasons at Delaware and two with the Demon Deacons. He averaged a career-high 13.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 35 starts for Wake Forest last season. Carr has career marks of 11.0 points on 51.7 percent shooting with 5.7 rebounds in 117 games (112 starts). New Kentucky coach Mark Pope also landed weekend commitments from guards Lamont Butler (San Diego State) and Otega Oweh (Oklahoma). --Field Level Media

The Denver Broncos acquired defensive end John Franklin-Myers from the New York Jets in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick, both teams confirmed Monday. Franklin-Myers, 27, recorded 3.5 sacks, 14 quarterback hits, 33 tackles and three passes defensed in 17 starts with the Jets last season. "It is something we have been working on the past couple of weeks," Broncos general manager George Paton said. "He is a player that we have always respected. He is durable. For three straight years he has not missed a game, and four straight years of 54-plus pressures. He can play all down the line of scrimmage. The one thing that sticks out on tape is the relentless motor this guy plays with. We are excited to get him. ... He is going to help our defensive line." A fourth-round pick by the Los Angeles Rams in 2018, Franklin-Myers has recorded 19.5 sacks, 61 QB hits, 135 tackles, three fumble recoveries and one interception in 81 games (52 starts) with L.A. (2018) and New York (2020-23). --Field Level Media

Boomer Esiason and Phil Simms are out at CBS Sports as analysts on the network's Sunday pregame show "The NFL Today." Both former NFL quarterbacks announced Monday that they were leaving the network; The Athletic reported that Matt Ryan is in. J.J. Watt will remain and could have an expanded role this season. The moves come in the aftermath of the announced retirement of CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus, with David Berson replacing him as boss of CBS Sports. "More their decision than maybe mine," Esiason said of CBS Sports. "I had been there for 22 years. The guy who hired me back in 2001 was a guy by the name of Sean McManus, who was the CBS Sports Chairman ... I never in my wildest dreams (thought) it would have lasted 22 years." Simms was there for 26 years, first as the in-booth No. 1 analyst alongside Jim Nantz before shifting to the studio in 2017 when the network inked Tony Romo. "Great 26 yrs run with CBS SPORTS. Even though that part of my career is over I look forward to what is next," Simms posted to X. --Field Level Media