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Miami’s leading tackler is running it back for an eighth college football season.

According to CBS, linebacker Mohamed Toure will come back to the Hurricanes for the 2026 season. Toure had 84 tackles and three tackles for loss in 2025 as the Hurricanes made it to the national championship game against Indiana.

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It was Toure’s first season with the Hurricanes after he transferred from Rutgers. Toure was Rutgers’ leading tackler in 2023 when he had 93 stops and 9.5 tackles for loss along with 4.5 sacks. He missed the 2024 season after he tore his ACL.

That was Toure’s second ACL tear in his left knee. He first tore his left ACL ahead of the 2022 season and missed that year too.

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Those knee injuries, his limited appearances as a freshman and the COVID-19 pandemic are why he’s able to play an eighth season of college football. He was in the same recruiting class as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Travon Walker, the Dallas Cowboys’ George Pickens and the Houston Texans’ Derek Stingley.

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Toure appeared in two games as a freshman in 2019 — players can appear in up to four games and still redshirt — and was granted medical redshirts for the 2022 and 2024 seasons. All players in school during the 2020 season were granted an extra season of eligibility because of the pandemic.

So while Toure’s 2026 season will be the sixth season he’s played a snap in, two of those seasons officially haven’t counted. And he’s not even the longest-tenured player on Miami’s roster in recent years. Cam McCormick played his ninth and final season of college football in 2024 for the Hurricanes. The tight end officially enrolled at Oregon ahead of the 2016 season before receiving multiple medical redshirts and playing his final two seasons at Miami.

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Toure’s return is also a boost for a Miami defense that loses edge rushers Akheem Mesidor and Rueben Bain. The Hurricanes secured a commitment from Missouri edge rusher Damon Wilson earlier in the week and have also added Ohio State defensive lineman Jarquez Carter and Boston College safety Omar Thornton.

The top-seed in the AFC, the Denver Broncos, will host the No. 2 seed New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon in the AFC championship game.

The Broncos prevailed in overtime in a wild divisional-round game against Josh Allen’s Buffalo Bills, winning 33-30 but losing Bo Nix to a season-ending ankle injury in the process. The Patriots, as 3.5-point home favorites, took care of C.J. Stroud and Houston Texans by a 28-16 score and beating the Los Angeles Chargers 16-3 in the wild-card round.

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Is this where the bounceback season ends for Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel in New England? Can backup Jarrett Stidham do enough to help a vaunted Denver defense reach a Super Bowl?

Ben Fawkes gathers insight from oddsmakers for the game, and our team of NFL handicappers provides its favorite wagers on Sunday’s matchup.

Odds courtesy of BetMGM.

What oddsmakers are saying

“We opened Patriots -5.5, I would’ve had Patriots -1.5 with Nix starting. To me, this is exactly what was called for, since I feel like the difference is close to 4 points ATS from Nix to Stidham. Currently, sitting at New England -5 and a total of 42. We opened the total 40.5, pretty much all of the money on the total has been on the over. Early action on the side has been people willing to lay points with New England, but more money has come in on the Denver money line. From a futures standpoint, we are in a good shape to both.” — Thomas Gable, sportsbook director at The Borgata

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“We opened Patriots -4.5, went up -5.5, now back down to -4.5. These are two very defensive-focused teams, but you put in new QB, you also increase the chances of an interception or turnovers. Total probably would’ve been 43.5, opened 40.5, sharp action pushed it to 42.5. How much is Bo Nix worth to this line? We probably made him 4.5 to 5.5 points of value, but the market is pricing him closer to 6. I wouldn’t be surprised to see sharp money on Broncos as we get closer to game time.” — Joey Feazel, head of NFL trading at Caesars Sportsbook

Best bets

Matt Jacob: During the regular season, the Patriots faced three opponents that qualified for the playoffs: Pittsburgh, Carolina and AFC East rival Buffalo (twice).

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The Patriots split home games in consecutive weeks against the Steelers (21-14 loss in Week 3) and Panthers (42-13 win in Week 4). Then they went to Buffalo in Week 5 and scored a 23-20 upset win, only to lose the Week 15 rematch 35-31 (after squandering 24-7 halftime lead).

So in 18 weeks, New England played exactly one road game against a playoff team. To be fair, the Pats won that game — part of a perfect 8-0 road record. But look at the competition (and the results).

New England throttled two terrible teams (Tennessee and the New York Jets) by a combined score of 73-23. The victory margins in its other six road triumphs: 6 points (Miami), 6 points (New Orleans), 6 points (Cincinnati) 5 points (Tampa Bay), 4 points (Baltimore) and 3 points (Buffalo).

Now is a good time to mention that the Patriots not only faced just three playoff teams in the regular season, but the Bills (11-6) and Steelers (10-7) are the only two that finished with winning records.

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So why is New England a 5-point road favorite in the AFC Championship Game against a Broncos squad that went 14-3 in the regular season (same as the Patriots), 8-1 at home and earned the No. 1 seed and first-round bye?

I get it: Nix (ankle) is out and Stidham is in. It’s less than ideal for the home side. But Stidham has spent the past two seasons in Denver. He knows Sean Payton’s offense. And he got every single first-string rep in practice this week.

Most importantly, Stidham will be supported by a ferocious defense that ranked second in the NFL in yards allowed, third in points allowed and recorded 11 more sacks than any other team.

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On Sunday, that defense will be getting after a sophomore quarterback making his first postseason road start — a QB who was sacked 47 times in the regular season, 10 more times in two playoff games and fumbled 14 times (with six coming in the last two weeks).

Forget the points. The Broncos are winning this outright.

Bet: Broncos money line (+210)

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Jacob: If I believe that Denver will spring the upset in Sunday’s AFC championship game, it means I also believe that Stidham will meet the moment. Because you know exactly how Vrabel is going to scheme this game defensively: load the box, stop the run and dare Stidham to win the game with his arm.

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In other words, Vrabel gets to make the first chess move. And I’m confident that his counterpart — Broncos coach Sean Payton — will respond to that move by letting Stidham wing it. Honestly, Payton doesn’t have much of a choice.

For one thing, even with Bo Nix under center, the Broncos struggled to run the football all season. Beyond that, the Patriots’ defensive strength is stopping the run — which they proved in playoff wins over the Chargers (22 carries, 87 yards) and Texans (22 carries, 48 yards).

So expect Stidham to put the ball in the air often and expect him to have success — just as he did in each of his four NFL starts: 36 passes, 219 yards; 32 passes, 224 yards; 34 passes, 272 yards; 34 passes, 365 yards.

Bets: Jarrett Stidham over 31.5 pass attempts (-120); Jarrett Stidham over 192.5 passing yards (-115)

Jacob: A quick check of the box scores reveals an Achilles’ heel for Denver’s otherwise sensational defense: It struggles to contain tight ends.

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In the last eight games, the following tight ends have found space against the Broncos:

Kansas City’s Travis Kelce (nine catches in Week 11; five catches in Week 17); Washington’s Zach Ertz (10 catches in Week 13); the Raiders’ Brock Bowers (four catches in Week 14); Green Bay’s Luke Musgrave (four catches in Week 15); Jacksonville’s Brenton Strange (five catches in Week 16); and Buffalo’s Dalton Kincaid (six catches in the AFC divisional playoffs).

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During this two-month stretch, only Chargers tight end Oronde Gadsden Jr. failed to produce — he had two receptions in Week 18. Of course, Gadsden’s QB that day was Trey Lance, not Justin Herbert.

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Although Maye and tight end Hunter Henry connected just four times in two playoff games, I expect the duo to exploit this glaring weakness in the Broncos’ defense.

Bet: Hunter Henry over 3.5 receptions (-150)

Matt Russell: There’s definitely value in all things Broncos, and all things Stidham in the prop market, but let’s lower the bar for what Stidham can do. What’s the inexperienced quarterback’s best friend? The safe throw, the checkdown.

It’s been a while since Stidham played a regular season game, but in 2023, in his first start under Payton — a win over the Chargers — Stidham threw it to the running back eight times. A week later, in a losing game-script against the Raiders he checked it down to Javonte Williams nine times, and Samaje Perine four more. That’s 21 throws to tailbacks in two games.

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Luckily for Stidham, he has a viable pass-catching tailback in RJ Harvey, who caught 356 yards worth of passing during his rookie season, and 48 more last week against the Bills.

The Patriots just faced two teams that barely throw the ball to their running backs, so they should see a different type of threat on Sunday — one that could clear his receiving yardage total on one play. After a 6-0 divisional round on my player props last week, let’s stay hot with the safe option for Stidham.

Bet: RJ Harvey over 17.5 receiving yards (-115)

Michael Fiddle: Stidham takes over as the starting QB despite not throwing a regular season pass since 2023.

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For the Broncos to succeed, Payton will have to deliver a masterclass. I expect Denver to lean on the ground game with Harvey emerging as a multi-level playmaker and dual threat to run and catch short passes. I expect Payton to work the clock and try to limit turnover-prone situations — mainly downfield aggressive pass plays.

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New England’s defense excels at pressuring the opposing quarterback and forcing sacks; Stidham has struggled when pressured in his limited action. I think the best way to fade Stidham is to pivot to the player props and take him under 32.5 pass attempts. We have seen this number increase by two attempts since opening, and it has certainly hit the ceiling.

At plus money and a ceiling number, I think this line closes at 31.5 with bettors paying vig to play the under. This is my favorite bet on the card currently.

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Bet: Jarred Stidham under 32.5 pass attempts (+110)

Ed Feng: Stidham started four games across the 2022 and 2023 seasons. In each season, he benefitted from a veteran QB getting benched the last two games of the season. After my mathematical adjustments for opposing defenses, Stidham rates as NFL average over these four games. This is excellent for a career backup and good enough for some starters like Nix.

I’m not saying Stidham is as good as Nix, as this is a small sample size of data — Denver is worse off not having Nix. I like a 3.9-point adjustment from bookmaker consensus, and the data suggests that is high if anything. Overall, my best model has New England by 3 on the road in this game.

Bet: Denver +4.5

We’ve seen this movie before.

The Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams will meet for a third time this season in the NFC championship game, this time in Seattle. The prize for the winner? A trip to Super Bowl 60.

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The No. 1 seed Seahawks enjoyed their bye week and then crushed the 49ers 41-6 in the divisional round. The No. 5 seed Rams haven’t played their best football in the postseason, but got by the Panthers 34-31 in Carolina as 10-point road favorites in the wild-card round and then went on the road again to defeat the Chicago Bears 20-17 in overtime as 4.5-point road favorites. Los Angeles didn’t cover the spread in either game.

Will Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford return to a second Super Bowl as head coach and QB? How will Sam Darnold (and his oblique) show up when the lights are brightest?

Ben Fawkes gathers insight from oddsmakers for the game, and our team of NFL handicappers provides its favorite wagers on Sunday’s matchup.

Odds courtesy of BetMGM.

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What oddsmakers are saying

“A little bit more money on Seattle, number hasn’t moved from Seahawks -2.5. We have moved the Seahawks money line from -150 to -155. Total we opened 47.5, it went up to 48 briefly, then back to 47.5. I think it’ll stay in that range. The only weather issue that might come is rain there.” — Thomas Gable, sportsbook director at The Borgata

“This is the game we were all looking forward to seeing because these games have been electric. Ton of action coming in. Opened Seattle -2.5, 47.5, and the total is down a half point to 47. Respect for Seattle defensive front and how well they’re playing. We’re seeing Seattle action come in. I think the Rams all year long were considered the best team stats-wise and with this prolific offense. Defense has taken a step back the past few weeks. Right now, bettors are convinced that Seattle is going to win this game no problem.” — Joey Feazel, head of NFL trading at Caesars Sportsbook

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Best bets

Matt Jacob: Here’s one reason to take the points with the Rams in Sunday’s NFC championship game: Since the 2018 season, Los Angeles is 11-6 against the Seahawks (including a playoff victory). And five of those losses were by a total of 14 points (including two in overtime).

Other reasons to take the points: The Rams are 12-4 ATS in the last 16 head-to-head battles (6-1 ATS in Seattle); the underdog has covered the point spread in seven of the past eight clashes; and seven of those eight contests were decided by a touchdown or fewer.

That includes two matchups this year decided by a total of three points.

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So of course I’m rolling with … the Seahawks. Specifically, I’m rolling with a Seahawks defense that has allowed 19 points (and one touchdown) over the past three games.

The naysayer would point out that immediately prior to this recent stretch, Seattle gave up 37 points. To the Rams. At home. That’s fair enough. But the defense stiffened down the stretch of that game, allowing the offense and special teams to steal a 38-37 victory in overtime.

Also, prior to that Week 16 Thursday Night Football thriller, the Seahawks shut down the Colts (16 points), Falcons (nine) and Vikings (zero). Yep, Seattle has held six of its past seven opponents to 44 total points.

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There’s this, too: In the first meeting in Los Angeles, the Rams scored touchdowns on their first two offensive possessions. From there, L.A. found the end zone just once in the final three quarters, barely holding on for a 21-19 win.

The bottom line is that the Seahawks have been consistent all season and are playing their best football right now (as evidenced by their ongoing eight-game winning streak).

On the other hand, the Rams have been teetering for weeks. Not only are they just 5-3 in their last eight contests, but they barely survived two playoff games at Carolina (34-31) and Chicago (20-17 in overtime).

No offense to the Panthers and Bears, but they’re not in Seattle’s league.

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Bet: Seahawks -2.5 (-120)

Jacob: A quick review of the Seahawks’ backup running back situation: fourth-stringer Kenny McIntosh (injured reserve); third-stringer George Holani (injured reserve); second-stringer and second-leading rusher Zach Charbonet (torn ACL).

There’s a chance that Holani (hamstring) could be activated ahead of Sunday’s NFC championship game. But the second-year pro has all of 25 carries in 16 games.

Before last week’s playoff rout of the 49ers, Seattle moved running back Velus Jones Jr. from the practice squad to the active roster. Jones wound up with six carries — two more than he had in three regular-season games — but gained only 10 yards.

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[Get more Seahawks news: Seattle team feed]

Long story short, the Seahawks have depth problems in the backfield. So like it or not, No. 1 running back Kenneth Walker III is going to have to shoulder the load against the Rams. That certainly wasn’t a problem last week, when Walker torched San Francisco for 119 yards (and three touchdowns) on 19 carries.

The 19 carries matched Walker’s regular-season high against Arizona way back in Week 4.

Now in his fourth season, the former Michigan State standout has exceeded 20 rushing attempts just eight times in 56 starts. If the Seahawks had their druthers, they wouldn’t need Walker to top that number for a ninth time Sunday night. Unfortunately, given the state of their running back room, they won’t have that luxury.

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Bet: Kenneth Walker III over 20.5 rushing attempts (-105)

Jacob: Despite playing in frigid Chicago last week, McVay called 42 pass plays versus 31 rushing plays. That decision nearly cost McVay and his team — and he knows it.

In fact, after escaping with a 20-17 overtime win, McVay admitted his offensive game plan needs to be more balanced. I just don’t believe for a hot second that he’ll change his ways.

For starters, committing to the running game is not in McVay’s football DNA. More importantly, he views Stafford as his ticket back to a third Super Bowl, so he’s going to ride the 37-year-old’s right arm until it falls off.

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How else do you explain these numbers: 38, 49, 38, 40, 42 and 42.

Those are Stafford’s pass attempts in his past six games. The highwater mark of 49? It happened in Week 16 in Seattle. And the 42 attempts in each of the past two games were in rainy Carolina and ice-cold Chicago.

Do you really believe McVay is going to let off the throttle this week? When the weather is projected to be dry and mild? In a game where his team quite possibly will be trailing for a good portion of the day? With a trip to Super Bowl 60 on the line?

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No chance.

Bet: Matthew Stafford over 35.5 pass attempts (-125)

Matt Russell: Jacob and I are swimming up the same stream with Stafford, as we might be in for a repeat of Week 16’s tilt. Everybody knows that Davante Adams missed that game, but there was another one of Stafford’s weapons that wasn’t in the mix that night: Tyler Higbee was still on the injured list.

Both before and after the time he missed due to injury, Higbee is usually good for one big play in the passing game, and that was again the case last week in Chicago. One catch for 27 yards was enough to make it five games in a row with a long reception of more than 10.5 yards. Only three teams allowed more yards per reception to tight ends this season, so we’ll bet on another singular explosive connection between the long-time teammates.

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Bet: Tyler Higbee longest reception over 10.5 yards (-110)

Michael Fiddle: Late in the NFL season, the Rams were splitting backfield touches or even leaning on backup RB Blake Corum to be a lead ball carrier. Just last season, with the Kyren Williams and Blake Corum tandem in place, Williams played 81% of the snaps — that dipped to 69% this season. The reason became clear during the last two playoff games: The Rams were saving Williams’ legs a bit.

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In fact, Williams’ explosive playmaking rate increased with fewer touches. He had his longest run of the season (34 yards) coincidentally against this Seattle defense in their Nov. matchup. Williams had 21 carries last week against the Bears compared to Corum’s six, while also seeing that explosiveness remain.

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My favorite prop in this game is banking on Williams to have a carry of at least 12 yards.

Bet: Kyren Williams longest rush over 11.5 yards (+105 BetMGM)

Ed Feng: Seattle came into the season with low expectations, as the Seahawks ranked 19th in my preseason rankings and 1.2 points worse than league average. The wisdom of crowds was not high on Sam Darnold after he flunked his last two games of an otherwise great season with Minnesota. Losing DK Metcalf probably didn’t help preseason expectations.

As powerful a predictor as the wisdom of crowds can be (remember this when you fill out your March Madness bracket), it was wrong on Seattle, as Darnold (with the help of WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba) has been fantastic. With the failure of the Rams to perform against a bad Chicago defense, Seattle moved into first in my numbers based on data from the current season. This model predicts Seattle by 3, so I’m not seeing any value in the spread.

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My passing yards model is based on adjusted yards per pass attempt. As strong as Stafford and the Rams offense has been, the Seattle defense ranks third in the NFL by my numbers. Yes, Stafford blew up for 457 passing yards in his last game against Seattle, but let’s recognize this as an outlier (130 yards in their first meeting this season). The model predicts 237 passing yards for Stafford.

Bet: Matthew Stafford under 256.5 passing yards

Coco Gauff has made some deep runs at the Australian Open in the past, but she’s never won the event. This year could be different, though, as Gauff continued her push toward her first Australian Open title Sunday.

Gauff — seeded No. 3 — didn’t have an easy task, as she needed to push past Karolína Muchová to get the job done. The No. 19 women’s player did give Gauff some trouble during the match, but not enough to throw her off her game. Gauff picked up the win 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, taking down Muchová and pushing into the quarterfinal for the third straight year.

The win bodes extremely well for Gauff, who has gone on to win every event in which she’s beaten Muchová.

After some promising results at the Australian Open early in her career, Gauff has inched closer to winning the even in recent years. She was a semifinalist in 2024 and then reached the quarterfinals in 2025.

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Getting back to the semifinals this time around will prove tough, as Gauff will take on Elina Svitolina on Tuesday. The two have played each other three times in the past, with Gauff picking up two wins in those meetings.

Svitolina upset Mirra Andreeva on Sunday to move into the quarterfinal round.

Learner Tien advances for U.S. on men’s side

Learner Tien faced a tough task Sunday. With a win, Tien would advance to the Australian Open quarterfinal for the first time in his career. But that wouldn’t be easy, as he needed to defeat three-time finalist Daniil Medvedev to get there.

Tien proved up to the task, however, winning in straight sets (6-4, 6-0, 6-3) to take down the higher-ranked Medvedev. With the win, Tien became the youngest man to reach that Australian Open quarterfinal since 2015.

Tien, 20, will look to continue that momentum when he takes on No. 3-ranked Alexander Zverev on Tuesday.

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Zverev pushed past Francisco Cerundolo on Sunday. Elsewhere on the men’s side, Alex de Minaur defeated Alexander Bublik to move into the quarterfinals.

The Denver Broncos will play in the AFC championship on Sunday for the first time since 2015. But the man who got them there won’t be able to take part in the contest. Bo Nix was ruled out for the rest of the season after sustaining a broken ankle on one of the final plays during the team’s divisional round win over the Buffalo Bills.

Nix, 25, was ruled out shortly after that win, with head coach Sean Payton announcing the quarterback was injured on the second-to-last play in the team’s overtime victory. Nix was slated to have season-ending surgery a few days later, but his injury timeline wasn’t revealed until Sunday.

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After undergoing that surgery, the quarterback is expected to miss 12 weeks, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Nix reportedly will not be allowed to put any weight on his ankle for four weeks. If he recovers well, the earliest he can begin activity would be right around the 12-week mark.

Though it’s going to be a lengthy recovery, Nix is expected to be “largely recovered” in time for the team’s offseason workouts, per Schefter.

Nix has reportedly broken his ankle three times during his football career, though this break is in a different area and should not affect the quarterback long term. Nix has gotten off to a promising start in his career. He threw for 3,931 yards with 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions during his second season in the NFL. His performance, combined with the Broncos’ excellent defense, resulted in Denver earning the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

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With Nix sidelined, backup Jarrett Stidham will get the start against the New England Patriots on Sunday. Stidham will make his fifth-ever start in the contest. In 20 NFL games, the 29-year-old Stidham has eight touchdowns against eight interceptions.

The Denver Broncos’ win over the Buffalo Bills last weekend came with a significant cost. Shortly after the victory, head coach Sean Payton announced that Broncos starting quarterback Bo Nix sustained a fracture in his ankle on the second-to-last play of the game. He was ruled out for the rest of the postseason.

The injury paves the way for backup Jarrett Stidham to get the start in the AFC championship game. Given his status as a backup, and the surprising nature in which he’ll make his first playoff start, some NFL fans may be unaware of Stidham’s football journey.

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Here’s everything you need to know about Stidham, including his stats, college and journey to the Broncos.

Where did Jarrett Stidham go to college?

Stidham initially played at Baylor, where he showed promise during his freshman season. After seeing time early in his college career, Stidham eventually took over as Baylor’s starter after Seth Russell went down with an injury. Stidham finished his freshman year with 12 touchdowns against two interceptions in 10 games.

Stidham wasn’t guaranteed the starting role the next season with Russell back. As a result, Stidham decided to transfer. After spending a semester at a community college, Stidham landed at Auburn. He started for the team as both a junior and senior, and combined to throw for 5,952 yards, 36 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in his two seasons with the team. Auburn went 10-4 and 8-5 in Stidham’s two seasons as a starter.

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Jarrett Stidham NFL Draft

Following two strong years at Auburn, Stidham heard his name called in the 2019 NFL Draft. The quarterback was selected by the New England Patriots in the fourth round and was the seventh quarterback off the board.

Given Stidham’s status as a rookie and the fact that Patriots starter Tom Brady was about to enter his age-42 season, there were some who believed Stidham was drafted to be Brady’s replacement once he left the team or retired.

Jarrett Stidham NFL stats

Being Brady’s backup meant Stidham didn’t see much time as a rookie. He appeared in three games, throwing just four passes in mop-up duty. One of those passes, however, was intercepted and returned for a touchdown.

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Brady left the Patriots after the season, but Stidham was not named the team’s starter. Instead, the Patriots signed Cam Newton, who started 15 games. Stidham spent portions of the 2020 NFL season as the team’s third-string quarterback, behind veteran Brian Hoyer. While Stidham eventually worked his way up the depth chart and appeared in five games, he did not register a start in 2020.

The Patriots selected Mac Jones in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Stidham missed time with an injury and did not appear in a game once he returned to action.

That offseason, Stidham was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders, reuniting with former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who was hired as the Raiders’ head coach that offseason. Stidham served as Derek Carr’s backup, but was named the starter late in the season. He made his first two NFL starts, throwing four touchdowns against three interceptions in two losses.

Stidham left the Raiders in the offseason to join the Broncos on a two-year, $10 million deal. He served as a backup throughout most of the 2023 NFL season, though he started two games down the stretch after Russell Wilson was benched. Stidham threw two touchdowns and one interception in those games, going 1-1 to close out the season.

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The Broncos selected Bo Nix in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, pushing Stidham back into a reserve role. Since 2024, Stidham has appeared in just four games, though has not thrown a single pass.

Over his six-year NFL career, Stidham has appeared in 20 games, including four starts. He’s completed 60.6 percent of his passes while throwing for 1,422 yards. Stidham has eight touchdowns against eight interceptions in the NFL.

His four NFL starts are the fewest of any player to start in the AFC championship game.

Stidham’s AFC championship start will mark his first of the season. It’s the first time since 1972 that a quarterback’s first start of the year came in the AFC championship game.

Only six quarterbacks since 1950 have made their first start of the season in the playoffs. Only one of those players, former head coach Frank Reich, came away from his start with a win.

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Jarrett Stidham career earnings

Stidham has made roughly $25 million since being drafted in 2019. His rookie deal with the Patriots totaled roughly $3 million over four seasons. Once he hit free agency in 2023, Stidham earned a two-year, $10 million deal from the Broncos.

That contract ran out last offseason, but the team brought Stidham back on another two-year deal. This one was worth $12 million. Stidham made just under $2 million in 2025 and is set to make close to $6 million in 2026.

Broncos QB depth chart

With Stidham set to take over, Sam Ehlinger is expected to serve as the team’s backup quarterback behind Stidham. Ehlinger was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He spent three years with the team before joining the Broncos on a one-year deal in 2025.

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Over his career, Ehlinger has appeared in eight NFL games — including three starts. He has three touchdowns against three interceptions in those appearances.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold wasn’t able to “let it rip” during practices, but will play against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. Darnold will reportedly get the start despite dealing with an oblique injury, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Darnold’s availability for the contest was never really in question after he was listed as limited in practice all week and was not given an injury designation before the game. But his level of participation in practices suggests the issue may be more serious than it appears.

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Darnold reportedly split time with backup Drew Lock in practice during the week. The Seahawks were careful with the starter, not allowing Darnold to throw it deep in practices. The quarterback is reportedly saving those types of throws for Sunday’s game, per Schefter.

Darnold attempted only short and medium throws at practice and did not, as one source described, “let it rip.” He is saving that level of throwing effort for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams.

[Get more Seahawks news: Seattle team feed]

The 28-year-old Darnold initially sustained the injury ahead of the team’s divisional round game against the San Francisco 49ers. Despite the injury, Darnold was able to play against the 49ers, where he helped lead the team to a dominant 41-6 win.

Darnold wasn’t asked to do much in the victory. With the Seahawks jumping out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter, Darnold threw the ball only 17 times throughout the contest. After the Seahawks essentially clinched the game, Lock came on in relief of Darnold. Lock, however, did not throw a pass during the contest.

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While it’s unclear how Darnold will respond if pushed into more action against the Rams on Sunday, the quarterback plans to take a pain-killing injection prior to the game, per Schefter. He did the same thing before the team’s divisional round game and it helped.

After a breakout season with the Minnesota Vikings last year, Darnold signed with the Seahawks in free agency and mostly repeated his strong numbers. Through 17 games, Darnold threw for 4,048 yards, 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

Given his success with the Buffalo Bills, it might come as a surprise that Sean McDermott hasn’t been mentioned for any of the vacant head-coaching jobs around the league. That might be by design, as McDermott is reportedly “likely” to take a year off of coaching, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

While McDermott’s plans are unclear, the people he’s talked to have reportedly told McDermott it was “beneficial” and “worth it” to take a year off following a long coaching stint with a team, per Rapoport.

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McDermott’s track record should have made him one of the more desirable head coaches on the market. In nine seasons with the Bills, McDermott led the team to a 98-50 record, making the playoffs in eight of those seasons. He reached the AFC championship game twice, where he fell to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs both times.

But McDermott’s firing came at an awkward time in the coaching cycle. Both John Harbaugh and Kevin Stefanski were already off the market, going to the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons, respectively. The same day McDermott was fired, the Miami Dolphins filled their opening with Jeff Hafley. Twenty-four hours later, the Tennessee Titans agreed to a deal with Robert Saleh. McDermott didn’t have a shot at any of those jobs.

While the Baltimore Ravens’ job was still open — and among the more desirable landing spots for McDermott — it didn’t stay that way for long. Three days after McDermott was fired, the team named Jesse Minter as its next head coach.

As of Sunday, only four jobs remain open. The Bills remain the most desirable landing spot, though McDermott isn’t going back there. The three other options are the Las Vegas Raiders, Cleveland Browns and the Arizona Cardinals. All three teams look to be in desperate need of a rebuild, and it’s unclear whether McDermott wants to take that on. He’s been successful enough over his career that he could wait a season and see if a more desirable landing spot opens up. McDermott would likely be among the biggest names on the market if he takes a year off and interviews for jobs again next offseason.

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Given the state of the teams still looking for a new head coach, that might be McDermott’s best play at this point. By sitting out a year, McDermott should have his pick of the head-coaching jobs next offseason. And he could wind up with a team in a much better position to win games compared to the options on the table right now.

Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga suffered a bone bruise in his left knee during Thursday’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks and is sidelined without a timetable to return.

The Warriors announced his diagnosis on Sunday. “A re-evaluation date will be determined in the coming days,” the Warriors announced.

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The injury arrives at a critical juncture for the Warriors in terms of their relationship with Kuminga. Kuminga was believed to be on the trade block ahead of the NBA’s Feb. 5 trade deadline, but he’d recently returned to the rotation due to an injury to Jimmy Butler.

Kuminga left Thursday’s game with the injury. He was then listed as out for Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves that got postponed until Sunday with what the team initially listed as knee soreness.

An MRI on Friday confirmed that Kuminga sustained a bone bruise due to a hyperextension in his knee. The Warriors did not announce the injury until Sunday.

What will Warriors do with Kuminga?

Kuminga recently rejoined head coach Steve Kerr’s rotation due to the season-ending ACL tear to Butler. He’d previously issued a trade demand after Kerr opted not to play him in several games this season. The injury to Butler opened up a chance for Kuminga to re-establish himself in Golden State’s rotation. His future with the franchise remains unclear ahead of the upcoming trade deadline.

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Kuminga played well in his brief return to the lineup. He tallied 20 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in 21 minutes in a loss to the Raptors on Tuesday. He had 10 points in nine minutes against the Mavericks before leaving the game with his injury.

The Warriors, meanwhile, are at a crossroads with Butler’s injury projected to knock them out of any realistic chance of competing in the Western Conference.