Lindsey Vonn has kept fans updated throughout the beginning of the decorated American skier’s long recovery from the serious leg injury she suffered during her heartbreaking crash early in the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Her latest update revealed a scan of her surgically repaired leg, as well as a punchy one-liner.
Her perseverance through that knee injury, one of the most infamous kinds in sports, was admirable. It also made her crash on the 2,572-meter Olympia Delle Tofane course all the more painful to watch.
A four-time overall World Cup champion and 2010 Olympic downhill gold medalist, Vonn’s skiing has been a source of motivation for years.
She’s inspired plenty away from the slopes, too.
That’s continued to the be the case in her latest recovery, regardless of how difficult it’s been for her to process. She even had to say goodbye to her beloved dog Leo, who died a day after her Olympic crash.
On Friday morning, she said her last surgery went well.
“It took a little over six hours,” Vonn wrote on X. “I have been recovering from the surgery, but pain has been hard to manage. Making slow progress, but I hope I can be out of the hospital soon. Thank you all for the support.”
Less than 2 1/2 hours later, she posted the scan of her left leg.
While there were certainly some reasons for optimism surrounding the New York Giants’ 2025-26 campaign, it ended like eight of the previous nine seasons have in East Rutherford: with a losing record and without a playoff berth.
After firing Brian Daboll during the season and hiring John Harbaugh this offseason, though, one bettor is convinced next season will be much better for Big Blue.
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A bettor at DraftKings placed a $29,347 wager on the Giants to win Super Bowl LXI at 80-1 odds, which would win $2.347 million if New York won its first Super Bowl since 2012. The Giants beat the New England Patriots 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI.
New York is down to 66-1 to win the Super Bowl at BetMGM sportsbooks.
The Giants finished 4-13 last season, despite winning their final two games, which also bumped their potential first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft from No. 1 overall to No. 5. First-round pick QB Jaxson Dart showed promise, but also suffered several concussions. Top wide receiver Malik Nabers suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 4 and rookie running Cam Skattebo dislocated his right ankle in October, also ending his season.
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New York went 9-8 against the spread last season and was an underdog in 15 of the 17 games. The Giants went under their preseason win total of 5.5 — the eighth time in the last nine seasons that New York has gone under its preseason over/under.
There has been excessive snowfall in the Italian town of Livigno this week, which has made for a beautiful wintry backdrop, but it has also led to the postponement of several of this week’s skiing and snowboarding events at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The men’s freeski halfpipe final will go on as originally scheduled today at 1:30 p.m. ET, broadcast on NBC and streaming on Peacock, but if you’re tuning in today for that, you may also catch the Men’s Aerials final, which was rescheduled for today, as well.
Here’s a complete schedule of all Freestyle Skiing events at this year’s games, along with a rundown of who is competing. While every event will stream on Peacock, you can also find most on USA and NBC too. (To see specific air times, check out the official NBC Olympics broadcast schedule, and toggle your search to “TV Only.”).
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If you want to learn even more about every event at this year’s Winter Games, here’s a guide to everything you need to know about the Milan Cortina Games.
How to watch the men’s freeski halfpipe final at the 2026 Winter Olympics
For $17/month, you can upgrade to an ad-free Premium Plus subscription, which includes live access to your local NBC affiliate (not just during designated sports and events) and the ability to download select titles to watch offline.
Where to watch freestyle skiing on TV:
The men’s freeski halfpipe final will air live on NBC today at 1:30 p.m. ET. You can stream NBC on DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV and more.
How to watch the Olympics free without cable:
Who is on the Team USA freestyle ski team?
These are the athletes on Team USA’s freestyle ski team:
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2026 Olympic Freestyle Skiing Schedule:
Friday, February 20
Women’s Ski Cross: Qualifying: 4 a.m. (Peacock, USA)
Women’s Ski Cross: Finals: 5:55 a.m. (Peacock, USA)
Men’s Aerials: Finals: 7:30 a.m. ET (Peacock, USA), re-air at 12:15 p.m. (NBC)
Men’s Freeski Halfpipe: Qualifying: 1 p.m. (Peacock, USA)
The New York Giants have made the playoffs just twice since winning the Super Bowl back in 2011. In that time, the franchise has seen plenty of turnover at head coach since Tom Coughlin left after the 2015 season. After cycling through four different HCs, New York was able to land the top free agent in John Harbaugh, who was let go by the Baltimore Ravens after the regular season.
But while Harbaugh brings stability, he wasn’t able to bring in all of “his guys” from the Ravens staff, missing out on OC Todd Monken, who took the HC job in Cleveland. As a result, the Giants brought in Matt Nagy as the new OC.
Both Harmon and Tice are less than thrilled with the hiring of Nagy, who comes from the Andy Reid coaching tree. Nagy flamed out in a short stint as head coach with the Chicago Bears and then went right back to K.C., where his offenses were less-than-stellar the past few seasons.
Tice believes there’s not much of a stylistic fit between Nagy and Dart. This past season, Dart was successful mostly going downfield, on screens and using his legs. Nagy runs a true West Coast offense, which features a lot of quick-hitters, slants, bubble screens, etc. So Tice is definitely worried about this hire.
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Dart, 22, emerged as a solid fantasy football contributor as a rookie in 2025. After taking over for Russell Wilson during Week 4 versus the Chargers, Dart would start the majority of the games for New York. He threw for 2,272 yards and 15 touchdowns while rushing for 487 yards and nine scores. In a smaller sample, he’d finish the fantasy season as the QB14 in points per game (17.4).
We have a fun episode of The Dunker Spot coming your way!
Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones discuss Cade Cunningham’s awesome performance against the Knicks (42 points, 8 rebounds, 13 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks), as well as his status in the league. Is he gunning for MVP? Is he the best player in the league right now?
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From there, the guys open up the Dunker Spot mailbag. They talk through anti-tanking proposals sent in by the Dunkers, explore the Dallas Wings’ ability to compete immediately with Paige Bueckers, share their favorite-looking jumpers in the NBA and much more!
Finally, the guys preview the upcoming slate of Unrivaled games — Angel Reese is back, y’all! — with the playoffs rapidly approaching.
If you ever have NBA or WNBA questions, email us at dunkerspot@yahoo.com.
2:27 Cade Cunningham is awesome 11:21 Anti-tanking rules are coming (plus proposals from the mailbag) 26:33 Appreciating Alanna Smith’s defense 29:51 Deni Avdija’s right-hand drives 33:25 Can Paige Bueckers and the Wings contend for a title next season? 37:05 Kawhi Leonard or Chelsea Gray shot-making? 39:17 Most aesthetically pleasing jump shots in the NBA 41:46 Why players are more willing to compete in the 3PT contest vs Dunk contest 44:36 Factors impacting the “Face of the League” selection 47:54 Ayo Dosunmu’s 6th Man of the Year chances 50:22 What should Kings fans look forward to for the rest of the season? 53:12 The schematic balancing act of implementing new players + Nekias’ basketball background 58:37 Who’s the most rudderless team in the NBA? 01:00:10 Unrivaled preview
Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham pushes the ball upcourt against the Charlotte Hornets during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
LIVIGNO, Italy — As the Winter Olympics head toward the finish line, the IOC has once again walked right into a Russia problem.
Just as it appeared that the Olympic movement was getting ready to soft launch Russia’s return in the upcoming Paralympic Games — prompting the Ukrainians to say they’ll boycott the March 6 Opening Ceremony — the continuation of a war about to reach its fourth anniversary isn’t the only issue getting dropped on the IOC’s doorstep.
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It’s also the cheating.
Again.
The New York Times broke a story Friday suggesting that a whistleblower told the World Anti-Doping Agency they had first-hand knowledge that Veronika Loginova, the head of Russia’s current antidoping program, was directly involved in the state-sponsored doping scandal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. That scandal resulted in a slew of disqualifications, lifetime bans and Russian athletes being unable to compete under their own flag through the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Of course, Russian athletes have been competing in the Olympics all along — 209 of them four years ago in Beijing under the “Russian Olympic Committee” banner (as if that fooled anybody), 15 of them in Paris as “Individual Neutral Athletes” (mostly in tennis, cycling and canoeing) and 13 of them here under the same neutral flag.
Adeliia Petrosian is among the Russian athletes at the 2026 Olympics competing as an “Individual Neutral Athlete.” (Photo by Tim Clayton/Getty Images)
(Tim Clayton via Getty Images)
But there’s now widespread suspicion the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles will mark Russia’s full-fledged return, even as the war in Ukraine continues with little evidence it’s coming to an end anytime soon.
At a news conference Friday to essentially wrap up the Games, IOC president Kirsty Coventry sidestepped multiple questions on the Russia issue, saying the International Paralympic Committee was a completely separate organization and the IOC had no role in the decision to allow six Russians and four Belarusians to compete in the upcoming Paralympics under their national flags.
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“For right now, we’re focusing on the last three days of Milano Cortina,” she said.
The most interesting moment, though, was a question that caught Coventry completely off-guard. When Juliet Macur, who reported the Times piece on the supposed WADA whistleblower, asked Coventry if it was a concern for the IOC as Russia is being welcomed back into the Olympic fold, it practically stopped Coventry in her tracks.
“I’m looking at my team and maybe someone needs to be dismissed because I’m not aware of that,” Coventry said.
“I haven’t heard it,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams interjected.
“But I would be interested to find out more about it,” Coventry said. “So if you could share it directly with me because that would be very important information and knowledge. If it’s on the New York Times, I’m looking at my team to be like, ‘What happened guys?’ But nope, I’m not aware of that.”
Kirsty Coventry, president of the International Olympic Committee, speaks to media representatives before the conclusion of the Olympic Winter Games Milan Cortina 2026. (Peter Kneffel/picture alliance via Getty Images)
(picture alliance via Getty Images)
The moment was so stunning that whatever cynicism you want to project onto Coventry and the IOC’s dealings with Russia generally — which would be much deserved, by the way — this one either caught her genuinely off-guard or she’s the world’s greatest actress.
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And if there’s any legs to this story, it comes back to a point we can’t repeat often enough: When it comes to Russia, the IOC never learns.
Now, it must be noted that nothing’s been proven. Though WADA acknowledged the existence of a generic and serious whistleblower tip to the Times, that’s really all we know. The Times couldn’t independently verify the specific claims about Loginova, and it’s unclear whether WADA is really investigating the matter or even wants to.
Let’s just say WADA’s credibility with American antidoping authorities on these matters hasn’t exactly been rock-solid since 23 Chinese swimmers were cleared after testing positive for a banned heart medication at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
But given Russia’s habitual doping issues going back to the 1980s — no country has had more athletes test positive at the Olympics — would it really be a huge surprise if the country’s current antidoping chief was in fact one of the architects of a widespread, systematic coverup of positive tests in 2014?
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Though Loginova denied it to the Times — “I had no potential involvement in the antidoping laboratory’s operations, much less influence the collection of doping samples and their subsequent testing,” she reportedly wrote in an e-mail — the IOC better get to the bottom of it.
Because at some point, hopefully before 2028, the war in Ukraine will end. And if Russia makes a full-fledged return in Los Angeles, it would not only make a mockery of the IOC but also the United States if they have been allowed to just run the same playbook that has earned them their horrific reputation for cheating.
Then again, maybe none of these stakeholders really care.
WADA and the IOC have always treated Russia with a light touch, levying punishments only when the evidence is overwhelming — and even then taking the cowardly way out. (Sorry, but allowing Russia to compete under “ROC” in 2022 was a joke given how flagrant the cheating was in Sochi. Even the state security apparatus was involved in the coverup.)
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Also, as much as Coventry can say there’s a barrier between the IOC and the Paralympic committee, does anyone really believe they’d bring Russia (and Belarus) back into the fold next month without the IOC’s blessing?
Fat chance.
This smells like a trial balloon. And now, just as it’s about to be released, here comes another accusation of malfeasance, another test for the IOC to see whether it’s serious about conducting a clean Olympics in Los Angeles or play the fool for Vladimir Putin.
After all, that’s what the organization does best.
Peacock is home to all kinds of original content, from Emmy Award-winning reality series The Traitors to Poker Face and Twisted Metal. In addition to original content, the platform has an impressive library of shows from NBC and Bravo, thousands of movies, and live sports, including comprehensive 2026 Winter Olympics covrage.
While a regular Peacock subscription begins at $10.99 for a Premium Plan and goes up to $16.99 for the ad-free Premium Plus plan, you can get an ad-supported subscription for free if you’re a Walmart+ subscriber.
Walmart+ members actually get their choice between Paramount+ or Peacock included in their membership at no additional cost. A monthly subscription to Walmart+ costs $12.99, and an annual plan usually costs $98 — for free Peacock, and additional perks like five free months of Apple Music, discounts on Cinemark movie theater memberships, free shipping and delivery on Walmart purchases, discounts on gas, and much more.
Not many teams have the salary cap space or the desire to spend like the Patriots last year, but New England remade its roster through a great free-agency haul and a strong draft. They went from 4-13 to 14-3 and won an AFC championship.
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Most teams this year will take a more prudent approach to free agency, looking to fill gaps in the roster. Free agency officially begins on March 11, and here are the top 25 players slated to become unrestricted free agents.
25. Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers
Not many quarterbacks about to turn 43 would make a list like this. However, the quarterback market will be brutal and Rodgers was pretty good last season. A return to the Steelers and a reunion with Mike McCarthy seems like the most likely outcome if Rodgers keeps playing, but there aren’t enough starting quality QBs to go around this offseason.
(Yahoo Sports/Grant Thomas)
24. Packers WR Romeo Doubs
Doubs made high-profile complaints about his role in the Packers’ offense, and now he has a chance to find a team that will use him more. Doubs has never had more than 724 yards in a season, though perhaps he could do more in a less-crowded receiver group. He will be 26 years old next season and should have plenty of suitors.
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23. 49ers WR Jauan Jennings
Jennings has rarely been in a high-volume role, but he has produced when given opportunities. He has 15 touchdown receptions the past two seasons. He’s a big receiver who might not be a No. 1, but can be a productive part of an offense.
22. Steelers G Isaac Seumalo
Seumalo will turn 33 years old next season, but he’s a steady veteran and it’s hard to find offensive line help. Seumalo has started 104 games in his career and made a Pro Bowl in 2024.
21. Packers OT Rasheed Walker
Walker has been the Packers’ starting left tackle for three seasons and will be just 26 years old next season. Walker isn’t an elite player but it is very hard to find a competent starting left tackle in free agency.
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20. Patriots OLB K’Lavon Chaisson
Chaisson is a classic tale of a first-round disappointment who flourished in a better situation. Chaisson didn’t work out with the Jaguars but was very good for the Patriots this past season, picking up 7.5 sacks. He’s just 26 years old and a team will bet on his emergence continuing.
19. Buccaneers CB Jamel Dean
Dean was Pro Football Focus’ No. 5 cornerback this past season, and while he’ll turn 30 years old during next season, teams that need cornerback help will take a risk that Dean’s 2025 level can sustain for at least one more season.
18. Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill
There are plenty of concerns with Hill, who was recently cut by Miami. He’ll be 32 next season and coming off a major knee injury. He might not happily accept a reduced role and a salary to match. That’s not good for a player who has thrived on being the fastest player on the field for his career. His off-field issues are well known. But Hill has been an elite player who made the Pro Bowl in each of his first eight seasons, and he led the NFL with 1,799 receiving yards and 13 receiving touchdowns in 2023. Someone is going to gamble on getting at least one more prime season out of Hill, one of the best receivers of this era.
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17. Buccaneers WR Mike Evans
Evans could always return to the Buccaneers again. But heading into his age-33 season, Evans should still have some juice left. Injuries set him back this past season, his first in the NFL without gaining 1,000 yards. That doesn’t mean he’s at the end, as his agents told ESPN that retirement isn’t on the table for 2026. Evans is a future Hall of Famer and some team would love to add his presence to its receiver room if he doesn’t go back to Tampa Bay.
16. Falcons QB Kirk Cousins
Cousins isn’t officially a free agent but the Falcons are reportedly planning to cut him, so he’s on the list. Cousins finished last season with some good performances, which will reinvigorate the market for him. He’ll be 38 years old in August but he’ll be better than plenty of the options some QB-needy teams will be looking at.
15. Chargers OLB Khalil Mack
Mack has to decide if he wants to continue playing. He’ll be 35 years old next season and said he will ponder his future. If he does return, he still has value. He had 5.5 sacks last season and while he’s not at his old NFL Defensive Player of the Year level, he can be a versatile piece on a one-year deal.
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14. Jaguars RB Travis Etienne Jr.
Etienne has at least 1,399 yards from scrimmage in three of his four NFL seasons. He also has at least 260 carries in a season twice, showing he can be a focal point of a team’s running game.
13. Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III
Winning Super Bowl MVP raises Walker’s profile, but teams won’t see him as an elite running back. He is very good though, and has three 1,000-yard seasons in his four years in the NFL. Walker has big-play ability, but down-to-down consistency has been a question. It seems likely he’ll be back with the Seahawks, but they reportedly won’t use the franchise tag on him, giving him a clear path to the open market.
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12. Falcons TE Kyle Pitts
A very interesting case. Pitts had a historic rookie season gaining more than 1,000 yards, then three incredibly frustrating and unproductive seasons, and then was very good with 88 catches and 928 yards last season. Do you trust the draft pedigree as one of the best tight end prospects ever and those two productive seasons, or the duds that were in between them?
11. Seahawks WR Rashid Shaheed
Shaheed didn’t have a huge impact with the Seahawks as a receiver after a midseason trade, but it’s hard to acclimate to an offense during a season. On special teams he was great though. What a team is getting with Shaheed is a big-play receiver who can also flip a game with a big return. That has a lot of value.
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10. Jets RB Breece Hall
Hall is versatile, productive and just 25 years old next season. He was having a monster rookie year in 2022 before a season-ending injury. Over the past three seasons he put up 4,359 yards from scrimmage in putrid offensive conditions. Perhaps there’s some concern that Hall has never quite lived up to that rookie season, but we can also blame that on the Jets.
9. Chargers OLB Odafe Oweh
The Ravens moved on from Oweh, a former first-round pick, and the Chargers benefitted from a low-cost midseason trade. Oweh had 7.5 sacks in 12 games and put himself on the map as an attractive free agent. Oweh did have some moments with the Ravens too, including 10 sacks in 2024. He will get paid by someone looking for edge help.
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8. Eagles DE Jaelan Phillips
Phillips has an injury history, which might keep the bidding from getting out of control. He’s also an accomplished pass rusher who was once a first-round pick and will be just 27 years old next season. Phillips had just five sacks between the Dolphins and Eagles last season, and he didn’t make a huge impact for Philadelphia after a midseason trade. But his 28 career sacks and prime age will generate interest.
7. Packers QB Malik Willis
The quarterback market is incredibly thin, including a weak draft class outside of Fernando Mendoza. That will make Willis a surprisingly popular commodity, considering how many teams need a quarterback. Would you rather gamble on Willis, who is 26 years old and has looked good when he needed to play for the Packers, a Kirk Cousins or Aaron Rodgers near the end, or Daniel Jones coming off a major injury? At least Willis provides some hope to be a long-term option without many glaring concerns, other than seeing if he can produce as a full-time starter.
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6. Jaguars LB Devin Lloyd
Lloyd looked like a first-round disappointment with the Jaguars — he didn’t get his fifth-year option picked up — but then he had a breakout season with a new coaching staff. He made the Pro Bowl and had a career-best season. Now he looks like a late bloomer that needed a better scheme to thrive.
5. Colts WR Alec Pierce
Pierce picked a good time for his breakout season. The former second-round pick went from an occasional big-play threat to more production in a higher-volume role. Pierce has led the NFL in yards per catch in each of the last two seasons and he’s coming off his first 1,000-yard season. He’ll be just 26 years old next season.
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4. Colts QB Daniel Jones
Had Jones continued his strong play through the second half of the season and hit free agency healthy, he’d be No. 1 on this list and it might not be close. But that didn’t happen. Jones tore his Achilles, and that’s not an easy injury to return from, especially for a player like Jones whose mobility is a big part of his game. It seems likely he returns to the Colts anyway, but there’s plenty of questions too.
3. Cowboys WR George Pickens
Pickens could be No. 1 on this list, but the inevitability of the franchise tag tempers enthusiasm. The Cowboys will have to figure out how to make Pickens happy, because he’s unlikely to be with the tag. He’ll be just 25 years old next season with elite talent, but also off-field concerns that caused the Steelers to move on. If he ever got to free agency he’d get an enormous deal. But that’s very unlikely.
2. Ravens C Tyler Linderbaum
Linderbaum was Pro Football Focus’ No. 4 center last season, he’s 25 years old and is a former first-round pick. This is the exact type of free agent teams will and should overpay. He plays a highly valuable position and has many prime years left.
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1. Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson
Hendrickson had 17.5 sacks in 2023 and 2024. Last season that dipped to 4.5, but his unhappiness over the Bengals’ treatment of him, along with injuries that limited him to seven games, tells that story. Hendrickson is 31 years old so that will work against him on a long-term deal, but pass rushers like this aren’t often available.
UCLA head coach Mick Cronin issued a long apology Friday, days after he threw his own player out of a loss for a hard foul and got into it with a reporter.
Cronin said he directly apologized to center Steven Jamerson II, and that he thought he had committed a dirty play late in East Lansing in the final moments of UCLA’s 82-59 loss against Michigan State. Now, after seeing the tape and all of the pushback, Cronin realized that wasn’t what had happened.
“It’s the only reason I sent him to the locker room,” Cronin said, via the SoCal News Group’s Aaron Heisen. “I thought he literally made a dirty play and tried to wipe the guy out. … To me, that’s a bad play. You can’t be down 25 or getting your butt kicked, don’t try to take somebody out, hurt somebody on the other team, which is what I thought.”
Cronin threw Jamerson out of the game himself after Jamerson drilled Michigan State center Carson Cooper on a breakaway dunk late in the blowout loss Tuesday night. Jamerson was called for a foul in the moment, though Cronin wasn’t having it.
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He called Jamerson over to the bench, grabbed him by his jersey and started walking him off the floor. Jamerson left without much protest.
“I guess he upgraded that to a Flagrant 2, huh? That’s the first time I’ve [seen] a coach do that,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said. “That sounded like Mick, he’ll get that straightened out.”
Jamerson, a senior, finished with two points and two rebounds in eight minutes. He was hit with a technical foul on the play, as was Cooper for his reaction. Cooper split his free throws for the original foul, which put Michigan State up by 28 points at the time.
After the game, Cronin was still in a terrible mood. He got into it with a reporter who asked him about Michigan State’s student section, and then Cronin asked if that reporter was raising his voice at him.
Cronin apologized for his behavior in general Friday, too, and said he needs to “dial back some of my humor” after the wave of criticism he received this week.
“In this climate, you have to be careful with what you say,” he said. “Because, I’m a good fit here because I know I’m not bigger than the brand. The brand matters here, the school matters. The last thing I want to do is bring negative publicity to our school.
“Sometimes, because it’s not about me, I don’t care what people think about me, I need to do a better job knowing, ‘Well I am the coach here.’ I need to make sure I don’t do anything to embarrass our school. For that, I apologize.”
Cronin is in his sixth season at UCLA, which started the season No. 12 in the national rankings before falling out completely. Cronin holds a 155-73 record with the Bruins, whom he led to a Final Four in his second campaign with the school.
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UCLA now sits at 17-9 this season after back-to-back blowout losses last week. The Bruins will host No. 10 Illinois on Saturday.
The New England Patriots felt receiver Mack Hollins earned an incentive in his contract, even if he didn’t technically reach the number that triggered the bonus.
Hollins, 32, received a $400,000 bonus from the Patriots on Friday that would have come with him getting 50 catches this season, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. He finished with 46 receptions for 550 yards and two touchdowns, but missed the final two games of the regular season with a lacerated spleen.
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The eight-year veteran also missed New England’s wild-card and divisional playoff games, but returned for the AFC championship game and the Super Bowl. During the postseason, Hollins finished with eight catches for 129 yards and a TD. Against the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks, he led the Patriots in receiving yards.
In addition to his on-field performance, Hollins drew attention for his quirky behavior off the field. He arrived for Super Bowl 60 wearing a Hannibal Lecter-style mask on his face, along with handcuffs on his wrists and ankles.
Head coach Mike Vrabel appreciates what Hollins brings to the Patriots’ culture by being a great teammate.
“Mack brings a great spirit to work every day. He’s a great teammate,” Vrabel told Boston.com in December. “I actually showed a clip from the first game on a kickoff coverage, and Mack’s over there excited, not going in the game, but he’s into it.
“Somebody made a tackle and Mack’s the first one cheering on the sidelines, and those are the little things that mean a lot, I think, to me,” he added. “So, again, we ask him to do a lot of different things, and again, I think just the spirit that he brings to work and the teammate that he is.”
Last season with the Buffalo Bills, Hollins would also arrive to Highmark Stadium barefoot and shirtless despite the area’s snow and frigid temperatures. Before the Super Bowl, he warmed up without shoes or a shirt in Santa Clara, California.
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Hollins just finished the first year of a two-year, $8.4 million contract he signed with the Patriots. During his NFL career, he’s also played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders, Atlanta Falcons and Bills. In his eight seasons, Hollins has compiled 208 receptions for 2,619 yards and 17 TDs.
