Red Raiders shutout Rebels on Senior Night

The Los Angeles Rams are releasing veteran wide receiver Ben Skowronek, NFL Network reported Thursday. Skowronek, 26, appeared in all 17 games last season but managed only eight catches for 66 yards and one score. He caught 58 passes for 575 yards and one TD in 45 games (12 starts) since the Rams drafted him in the seventh round in 2021. In addition to stars Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, the Rams' receiver room includes Tutu Atwell, Tyler Johnson, Demarcus Robinson and 2024 sixth-round pick Jordan Whittington. --Field Level Media

Lions GM: QB Jared Goff 'earned' extension, a high priority

Lions general manager Brad Holmes continues checking off priorities in Detroit, and a long-term extension for quarterback Jared Goff is rising to the top of the list. "He's earned an extension," Holmes said in a radio interview with 97.1 The Ticket. "It's important. It's a high priority for us. Both sides are working really, really hard. These things just take time." Closing in on the final season of a four-year, $134 million contract Goff signed before he was traded to Detroit in the QB swap that sent Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams, an extension has been in the works for months. Holmes hoped to simultaneously share big contract news on Goff last month when the Lions struck new deals with offensive tackle Penei Sewell and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. "In a perfect world, we would've had all three of them done. Bang, bang, bang," Holmes said. "But these things just kind of take a while. Especially with the quarterback market. But I do have faith that it's going to get done." Talks with Goff's agent, Ryan Tollner, took a back seat during the NFL draft. Holmes didn't select a quarterback among the Lions' six picks but did draft Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker in the third round in 2023. Goff turns 30 in October. A former No. 1 overall pick, Goff averaged $33.5 million annually on his existing contract while the market has exploded since massive deals last offseason raised the bar beyond $50 million per season. The top-paid quarterback in terms of average pay per season is Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals at $55 million. He has $1.01 million more in guaranteed salary than the Los Angeles Chargers gave Justin Herbert, whose AAV is $52.5 million, in the same neighborhood but just ahead of Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles) and Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens). "We've done a lot of work. Again, both sides have. We've done a lot of work, dialogue's been consistent," Holmes said of how close the sides might be to a contract. "There hasn't been just dead periods and all that stuff. We've been talking. Again, I do have faith looking at all the numbers. You gotta think about what can we do now, and what are the impacts on the future, as well. And we look at all of it, because we said all along, when (coach) Dan (Campbell) and I first got here, we're looking to build sustained success, and that's still the goal." Goff completed 67.3 percent of his passes for 4,575 yards and 30 touchdowns last season while leading Detroit to its first division title since 1993 and its first two playoff wins since the 1991 season. --Field Level Media

The New York Giants signed veteran wide receiver Allen Robinson on Thursday. Robinson, 30, caught 34 passes for 280 yards with no touchdowns in 17 games (all starts) last season for the Steelers. He was released March 8 after one season in Pittsburgh in a money-saving move. He is the latest addition to the wide receiver corps for New York, which selected Malik Nabers of LSU with the No. 6 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. The Jacksonville Jaguars drafted Robinson in the second round in 2014, and he spent four seasons there before moving on to the Chicago Bears (2017-21), Los Angeles Rams (2022) and Steelers. Robinson has 562 catches for 7,028 yards and 43 touchdowns in his career. He was a Pro Bowl selection in 2015 when he tallied 1,400 receiving yards, the first of his three 1,000-yard seasons. The Giants were 6-11 last season. Their passing game ranked 31st in the NFL. --Field Level Media

The NFL will release the full 2024 schedule on May 15 at 8 p.m. ET, according to media reports on Wednesday. Teams had been told informally that Thursday would be the release day but no reason was given for the delay in a league memo Wednesday afternoon, according to Sports Business Journal. Hans Schroeder, NFL executive vice president of media distribution, wrote in the memo that more details about the plan are expected in the coming days, Sports Business Journal reported. One explanation could be determining which games would be set for Dec. 25, which this year falls on a Wednesday. The league in late March changed its stance to allow playing Christmas Day games if the holiday was a Tuesday or Wednesday. The four teams involved would play in a doubleheader the preceding Saturday. Another possibility is the delayed release allows teams to better prepare for such a highly anticipated day with promotion on social media tied to single-game ticket sales. Or, the NFL could be stretching what is a one-night event into multiple days with game details staggered across multiple days, as the NFL draft has evolved. The teams and their fans already know the opponents on their home and road schedules but not the order, dates and times. Locked in are five international games for five teams, with most dates and all times to be determined: In Sao Paulo, Brazil, Green Bay Packers vs. Philadelphia Eagles, Sept. 6; London, Minnesota Vikings vs. TBD, Chicago Bears vs. TBD and Jacksonville Jaguars vs. TBD; Munich, Germany, Carolina Panthers vs. TBD. Super Bowl LIX is Feb. 9, 2025 at the Superdome in New Orleans. --Field Level Media

Former Florida guard Riley Kugel will not play for Kansas this season, CBS Sports reported Wednesday. Kugel committed to the Jayhawks on April 1, days after entering the transfer portal, but Kansas coach Bill Self said Monday that Kugel's future in Lawrence was "up in the air." The 6-foot-5 sophomore is now back to being recruited by high-majors, per the report. Kugel averaged 9.2 points and 3.5 rebounds and shot 39.4 percent from the field in 33 games (11 starts) this past season but lost his starting job in December. He was on the bench for both the semifinals and final of the SEC tournament. The Gators beat Texas A&M in the semis but lost to Auburn in the final. Kugel did play in Florida's 102-100 loss to Colorado in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He had 11 points, four rebounds and three steals in 21 minutes. In 2022-23, Kugel averaged 9.9 points and 2.8 rebounds and shot 45.6 percent in 32 games (17 starts). He averaged 17.3 points over the final 10 games of the season and earned SEC All-Freshman honors. --Field Level Media

The Pittsburgh Steelers are signing veteran wide receiver Scotty Miller to a one-year contract, ESPN reported Wednesday. Financial terms were not reported. Miller, 26, caught 11 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns last season with the Atlanta Falcons under erstwhile head coach Arthur Smith, now the offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh. Miller has 85 catches for 1,085 yards and six TDs in 67 career games (eight starts) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2019-22) and Falcons. He was a sixth-round pick of the Bucs in 2019. --Field Level Media

The Denver Broncos released quarterback Ben DiNucci on Wednesday, leaving three signal-callers on their roster. "All part of the journey!!" DiNucci posted on X. "Excited for what's to come." DiNucci, 27, originally signed with Denver in May 2023 but did not see any action last season and became the odd man out. In addition to the returning Jarrett Stidham, the Broncos drafted Bo Nix with the No. 12 overall pick and acquired former No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson in a trade with the New York Jets this offseason. A seventh-round pick by Dallas in 2020, DiNucci made his only NFL start that season. He completed 21 of 40 passes for 180 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions in the Cowboys' 23-9 loss at Philadelphia on Nov. 1. --Field Level Media

Sam Huard, a former five-star quarterback who began his career at Washington, announced he is transferring to Utah. Huard spent two seasons with the Huskies before transferring to FCS program Cal Poly. He passed for 2,247 yards, 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last season for the Mustangs. Utah has star Cam Rising back for a seventh collegiate season after he missed all of 2023 with a serious knee injury. Huard figures to compete for a backup spot. "Utah has an unbelievable culture and the people and the program were some things that I felt were the best for me at this point in my career," Huard told 247Sports. "To be in a great spot and to compete every day with great people around me, being in the room and learning from one of the best quarterbacks in college football while being able to have two years in a great system was a big part of it." Huard made one start in two seasons with Washington, that coming in a 40-13 loss to Washington State in the 2021 Apple Cup. He completed 17 of 31 passes for 190 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions in that contest. In 2022, Michael Penix Jr. transferred in to be Washington's starter. Huard, who threw 44 total passes for the Huskies, transferred to Cal Poly after the season. At Cal Poly, Huard passed for 483 yards in a 41-30 road loss to Sacramento State on Nov. 11. That was the second-most passing yards in a game in school history behind Seth Burford, who passed for 566 against Northern Iowa in 2000. Huard also set a school record with 37 completions in the game. Huard is the son of Damon Huard, who played at Washington and in the NFL. His uncle, Brock, also played for the Huskies and in the NFL. --Field Level Media