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Matthew Stafford reportedly received an epidural in August to relieve discomfort caused by an aggravated disc. The Los Angeles Rams quarterback spent time in an Ammortal chamber, a spaceship on wheels that’s worth $160,000 and aims to restore and rejuvenate with non-invasive, therapeutic technologies. He missed weeks of training camp.

No one dared to question Stafford’s toughness. That’s been off the table for a while now. But he’s 37 years old, and this summer it felt like he was one hit away from his degenerative back issue ending a career deserving of Pro Football Hall of Fame consideration.

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It turns out the biggest blow Stafford took during his NFL MVP-worthy season might have been Sunday night’s 31-27 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC championship.

Much has been made of the Rams’ decisions late in the game, including going for it on fourth-and-4 from the Seattle 6-yard line down four points. Stafford, who threw for 374 yards and three touchdowns Sunday, told a crowd of media at his locker that missing out on a Super Bowl return came down to more than just one mistake.

[Get more Rams news: Los Angeles team feed]

That’s a familiar tale for a quarterback who has thrown for the sixth-most yards and seventh-most touchdowns all time, yet only surpassed a career .500 regular-season record this season. A quarterback who once led the Detroit Lions to their first playoff appearance in 12 years, only to then watch his defense give up 626 yards in a wild-card loss to Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints.

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Stafford just played arguably the best postseason game of his career during the best season of his career and still lost.

That’s a hit that could be hard to come back from. Stafford said Monday on the “Let’s Go” podcast he’ll take his time deciding his future.

“There will be a lot that goes into it,” he said. “It’s a physical, mental and emotional decision. A personal and a family decision as well. So, we’ll figure all that kind of stuff out with some time.

“I know I had a ton of fun playing football this season and so much fun playing for the Rams. So, when I’m ready to figure that out, I’ll be ready to figure that out. That moment isn’t right now.”

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Rams head coach Sean McVay was asked Sunday night if he expects Stafford to be back next season.

“Yeah,” McVay said without hesitation. “I mean, if he still wants to play. The hell kind of question is that?”

If he still wants to play. That’s the question. After this season, there’s little question he can.

‘This guy played at a level that’s just different’

Stafford had to adjust his game this season, and so did McVay.

The quarterback couldn’t afford to take a bounty of punishing hits, the kind he had so often stomached to deliver heat-seeking missiles downfield. In part thanks to one of the league’s best offensive lines, his 3.71% sack percentage was the second-lowest of his career. But also his 26 throwaways were tied for his third-most in a season, according to Pro Football Focus, and he kept his scramble numbers down.

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The coach needed to diversify his genius offense and managed to do so midseason, incorporating a heavy dose of 12 and 13 personnel, splicing in two- and three-tight end packages that infused more physicality in the Rams’ run game and made their aerial attack more unpredictable.

What resulted was a unit that finished the regular season first in total yards per game (394.6), points per game (30.5), points per drive (2.8) and passing yards per game (268.1), as well as seventh in rushing yards per game (126.6), seventh in red-zone touchdown percentage (63.2%) and, per Next Gen Stats, top five in both EPA per pass and EPA per rush.

Despite Stafford’s lost preseason time, it wasn’t long before he gelled with Davante Adams and picked up where he left off with Puka Nacua. Despite the gray in his beard, he still made sidearm throws like a shortstop, pulling the rip cord from every arm slot imaginable. Despite the years of tape on him, he still fooled defenses with his famous no-look passes, deception made possible by so much trust and so much on timing that it never ceases to amaze.

He was a maestro against the blitz, orchestrating the offense against extra rushers to the tune of a league-high 32 touchdowns and only one interception, per NGS.

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Stafford wasn’t perfect. Early in the regular season in Philadelphia, he missed throws he usually makes in his sleep, inviting the Eagles to stage a second-half comeback. Down the stretch, his three-pick outing in a head-scratching loss to the Atlanta Falcons stuck out like a sore thumb. And versus the Chicago Bears in the divisional round of the playoffs, he wasn’t unflappable under duress caused by secondary-themed pressure packages.

But he mostly delivered, especially in the clutch, earning All-Pro honors for the first time in his career and slinging a personal-best 46 touchdowns before overcoming a banged-up index finger on his throwing hand and piloting game-winning drives against the Carolina Panthers and the Bears in the postseason.

“He’s still playing at a pretty damn good clip,” McVay said of Stafford postgame on Sunday. “He’s the MVP of the league. And if he’s not — I mean, I’ve got respect for everybody else, but this guy played a level that’s just different.”

Adams’ vocal cords were reluctant to cooperate as tears welled in the aftermath of his fifth NFC title game defeat. But he had no regrets about joining the Rams this past offseason. The former Green Bay Packers star receiver called it a “dream” to play with Stafford.

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“This is one of the best quarterbacks to ever play this game and one of the coolest teammates that I’ve ever had,” said the three-time All-Pro, who’s notably close with four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers.

Where do Rams go now, after ‘special’ season that nevertheless fell short?

After the Rams’ heartbreaking defeat to their divisional rival on Sunday, McVay admitted he was short on words, a rare sight for an encyclopedic coach usually buzzing with energy.

To answer a question about what he told his team in the wake of that loss, he embarked on a 55-second answer. He used the word “special” three times.

“I love this team,” McVay said, sentiment discernible in his voice. “And I wasn’t ready to stop working with them. I thought we had two more weeks together. But I am really grateful for each of those individuals and the collective. It’s as special of a group, top to bottom, as I’ve ever been around. That’s coaches and players included.”

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He continued: “This game has brought me some of the most special relationships that I’ll cherish. That’s what this team has done. This was a special year. I think it’s hard to fathom that it’s over. It’ll take some time. But nothing but gratitude, that’s what I want them to know.”

Following the lone losing season of the McVay era in L.A. — a 5-12 campaign in 2022 that saw Stafford sidelined because of spinal cord contusion and concussion symptoms, which preceded a roster reset — the Rams have leveled up three years in a row.

They reached the wild-card round in the 2023 season, the divisional round in the 2024 season and the NFC championship in the 2025 season. So maybe they’re one step away.

Except in a world of coachspeak, McVay cut right through it to get to the truth on Sunday.

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“You start all over,” McVay said.

Those words are sobering yet powerful. They beg the question, though:

Where do the Rams go from here?

Surely, they’ll go back to the drawing board on special teams, which have been a weak link at various points of McVay’s tenure. This season, that phase of the game was L.A.’s Achilles’ heel. In Week 16, days after Rashid Shaheed’s game-changing punt return touchdown that fueled an improbable Seahawks victory, McVay fired special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn, making his first in-season coaching change in his nine seasons at the helm in an attempt to address the issue.

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It still came back to bite them.

Of the Rams’ six total losses this season, four featured special teams gaffes, including Sunday’s critical fumble by returner Xavier Smith. Los Angeles overhauled its kicking operation before Week 10 too, pivoting from Joshua Karty to Harrison Mevis and changing longsnappers.

Special teams are not the only problem L.A. has on its hands. The Rams are due for an upgrade at outside corner. It’s a soft spot on a defense that otherwise was solid this season, allowing the 10th-fewest points per game (20.4) and, per NGS, finishing tied for ninth in EPA per play allowed (-0.11).

The team hit home runs in free agency with a pair of under-the-radar signings this past offseason, bringing in run-stopping nose tackle Poona Ford and linebacker Nate Landman, who helped stabilize the second level. The Rams’ defensive line is young and growing. At safety, Quentin Lake has continued his ascent.

There’s a lot to like about what the Rams have built. In the NFL, however, roster construction only goes so far, and so does coaching. Success is hard to carry over year-to-year.

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That said, if Stafford keeps playing anywhere close to the way he did this season, the Rams will remain in the Super Bowl conversation.

If Stafford keeps playing. That’s the real qualifier after Sunday’s hit, a metaphorical one that had him and the Rams staring up at what could have been.

SAN DIEGO — Brooks Koepka didn’t have much of a plan when he first decided he wanted to leave LIV Golf and get out of his contract with the Saudi Arabian-based league late last fall.

It had nothing to do with the state of the golf world or anything else that’s come up during the tumultuous civil war of sorts within the sport in recent years. Koepka, after a difficult several months dealing with some issues within his family, knew he was done. He just wanted out.

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“I did not know [what would happen],” Koepka said Tuesday from Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego.

“I knew I wanted to come out and see how things would fall. I did not know that I was going to be coming back this quickly. … I’m happy that it was this quick, but I was prepared for whatever they were going to ask or they were going to tell me.”

Now, just a few weeks after his split from LIV became official, Koepka is making his first PGA Tour stop this week at the Farmers Insurance Open. It marks his first Tour event outside majors in nearly four years.

There are a number of golf-related reasons he could have cited for wanting to make the jump back from LIV Golf. But Koepka’s logic was simple. It all tied back to his family, something he, clearly emotional and a bit nervous, brought up repeatedly on Tuesday.

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Though Koepka didn’t go into details, his wife, Jena Sims, shared in October that she had suffered a miscarriage. Pretty quickly, Koepka said, “circumstances kind of changed” in his family last fall.

“I’ve grown up a lot over the last few years, and especially the last few months,” he said. “Just being able to be close to them is super important to me.”

Sims and Koepka’s 2-year-old son, Crew, will be out at Torrey Pines this week. And, with the bulk of the Tour’s schedule taking place in the United States, they’ll be able to be around more often than they have been in recent years. LIV’s schedule this season, by comparison, will make stops in Saudi Arabia, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa and Mexico City before it even makes it to the United States in May.

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Looking back on his time with LIV Golf, being closer with them is what he’s missed the most.

“I think the ability to have my family out all the time. I think that was one thing because they didn’t travel too much over the last few years,” he said. “But like, they’re going to be out this week, so I am super excited to be able to have them out.”

Once he was released from the final year of his LIV Golf deal in December, Koepka picked up the phone and immediately called Tiger Woods. With no plan in place for what was next, he felt that was a good place to start.

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“I felt like Tiger was somebody that I’ve relied on in the past for questions and answers and how to deal with things,” Koepka said. “And I felt like that was maybe the most comfortable call for me.”

That pretty quickly set a plan in motion. Koepka eventually met with new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp, a man he had no relationship with previously, and the Tour’s new “Returning Member’s Program” was born.

Koepka accepted the conditions of that deal earlier this month, which allowed him to officially make his return. The deal included significant financial penalties — the Tour estimates he could miss out on up to $85 million in potential earnings — a required $5 million charitable donation and limits on where he can play this season. Koepka will have to earn his way into the Tour’s elevated events, for example.

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Though he’s a nine-time Tour winner with five major titles to his name and a former top-ranked golfer in the world, the now 35-year-old Koepka is essentially starting from scratch. Because LIV events don’t count toward world ranking points, Koepka has fallen to 255th in the world. That, he said, is “the fun part” of all of this.

“I guess it’s a fresh start for me, which is cool. It’s just another chapter, I guess, in my book,” he said. “I feel like my game’s in pretty good shape and I want to see where it’s at.”

Koepka was nervous when he showed up to the course on Monday. It was chaotic and felt like a “whirlwind,” with players, caddies and other Tour staff coming up to him constantly to chat. He said the initial reception was largely positive, too.

While the tough part is now out of the way — Koepka admitted that his media stop on Tuesday was one of the things he was most anxious about — the nerves won’t go away completely until he actually tees off for the first time on Thursday.

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Once that’s been accomplished, Koepka can start to actually move forward. A win, or even a solid week at Torrey Pines, would be nice. But the finish itself isn’t the priority.

Koepka really wants to just get his second Tour debut out of the way and get back to doing what he does best.

“Would just like to get this week over and just feel like I can start playing golf again,” Koepka said. “I’m super excited.”

Coming out of the AFC championship game Sunday, there are questions about the health of New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye as Super Bowl LX approaches.

When asked about Maye’s status by reporters, head coach Mike Vrabel did his best Matrix impression the way he dodged questions about Maye suffering a right shoulder injury during the title game.

“No, I wouldn’t say that anybody hurt anything… Everybody, including Drake, is not 100%.”

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Speculation has been circulating that Maye might have injured his right shoulder during a scrambling play in the third quarter of Sunday’s game. Vrabel didn’t make anything of it publicly, although Maye did mention bumps and bruises after the game.

[Get more Patriots news: New England team feed]

While it doesn’t sound like anything major, this will be something to keep an eye on as we get closer to the game. Maye has been durable, starting in all 17 games for the Patriots this season along with three playoff games to get to Super Bowl LX.

New England will be looking to cap off a resurrection campaign by winning the franchise’s seventh Vince Lombardi trophy. That would make the Patriots the leader among all NFL teams, breaking the current tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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The Patriots finished 4-13 in each of the previous two seasons. In Vrabel’s first year leading the team he spent eight of his 14 NFL seasons with, the Patriots are back in the Super Bowl. New England flipped the script this year, winning 14 games and claiming the No. 2 seed in the AFC, then traveled to Denver in the title game and beat the top-seeded Broncos.

If Maye and Co. can beat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX, they’ll have pulled off one of the most improbable turnarounds the NFL has ever seen.

Seattle and New England will do battle in Super Bowl LX on Sunday, Feb. 8, kicking off at 6:30 p.m. ET, from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

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José Ramírez has been a member of the Cleveland Guardians organization since 2011 and is on track to one day be immortalized in Cooperstown with the greats of baseball. However, over the weekend, the seven-time All-Star signed an extension to stay in Cleveland until 2032, further cementing his legacy as one of the greatest to ever play for the franchise.

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On this episode of Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman talk about the deal that will keep Ramírez with the Guardians into his age-39 season. The six-time Silver Slugger’s extension, while surprising, isn’t shocking considering his love for Cleveland. But when his contract is up, will he be considered the best player in Guardians history?

Later, Jordan and Jake break down the Texas Rangers–Washington Nationals trade that sent a package of prospects to the nation’s capital for 26-year-old MacKenzie Gore. With the Rangers hoping that Gore pans out to the uber-prospect he once was, how important will his continued development be for the Rangers to win this deal? The guys then talk about MLB Network’s 2026 Top 100 Players and what changes they would make to the list.

1:20 – The Opener: J-Ram stays in Cleveland

27:49 – Around the League: Rangers trade for Gore

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42:57 – Harrison Bader to the Giants

49:50 – Nuclear Overreaction: Top 100 list

58:11 – Top 10 players debate

🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube

Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at yahoosports.tv

Davis Webb reportedly completed a second interview with the Las Vegas Raiders for their head-coaching vacancy on Monday.

The 31-year-old Denver Broncos’ offensive pass game coordinator and quarterbacks coach is a serious prospect to take the reins in Vegas.

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His current boss, Broncos head coach Sean Payton, was asked Tuesday in his end-of-season news conference what it’d be like to face Webb twice a year as an opposing head coach in the AFC West.

“Well, it would be a pain in the ass for him,” Payton said in jest, drawing some laughs from the assembled media.

Payton has never been afraid to let tongue-in-cheek comments fly. In today’s world of social media, they’re often pulled and then aggregated without context.

Just before Payton’s humorous description of that hypothetical, he spoke at length about what it’s been like to see not only Webb but also other assistants on staff be pursued by other teams this winter.

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“Every year, you go through it,” said Payton, who is 18 seasons into his NFL head-coaching career and two days removed from his Broncos falling short in the AFC championship to the New England Patriots.

Payton mentioned that defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has also attracted interest as a head-coaching candidate, and he alluded to the fact that defensive pass game coordinator and assistant head coach Jim Leonhard has been targeted as a potential defensive coordinator this coaching cycle.

“It’s part of the deal. You’re supportive,” Payton said.

Payton, who previously served on the NFL’s competition committee, explained that the hardest part is that these interviews take place during the season. For the Broncos, the season continued up until late January.

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“I think our guys have done a good job handling that, but it’s still difficult,” he said. “Because preparing for one of those interviews requires time, like quite a bit of time and then preparing for an opponent in the playoffs requires every waking minute.

“And so I don’t know that I have the solution, but I think it’s a challenge that we’ve battled as a league. But certainly supportive of those guys.”

Payton noted that he gave now-Buffalo Bills head coach Joe Brady his first NFL job. That was back in 2017, when Brady joined the New Orleans Saints as an offensive assistant.

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“So proud of him,” Payton said. “Just spoke to him two days ago. You want to see guys that come in and work that are part of your staff. You want to see them have success, not the other way around.”

Payton added: “We’ll figure out when and if we lose a coach what the plan’s going to be.”

As for Webb, the former Texas Tech and Cal standout and NFL backup quarterback has overseen Denver’s QB room since 2023. He was part of Payton’s inaugural Broncos staff.

Most notably, he’s assisted the development of Bo Nix, whom the Broncos selected No. 12 overall in the 2024 draft. Nix has thrown a combined 54 touchdowns in two seasons, and he’s already engineered 11 total game-winning drives, including eight this season.

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If Webb doesn’t land the Raiders’ head-coaching job, he still could get an offensive coordinator gig elsewhere. He’s in demand at the moment.

Payton knows that, but he’s also confident in his system.

It’s an action-packed episode of ‘The Dunker Spot’!

Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones break down whether what we’re seeing across the NBA is a ‘Trend’ or a ‘Trap’?

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From there, the guys dive into the big questions that the Magic and the Bucks have to answer ahead of the trade deadline. Is it time for Milwaukee to move on from Giannis? The Rising Stars rosters are out! Who deserved the nod and who got snubbed?

To wrap things up, they take a look at the action from Unrivaled, corner threes, no calls, dunks and more!

If you ever have NBA or WNBA questions, email us at dunkerspot@yahoo.com.

(0:00) Welcome
(01:30) Trend or Trap?
(2:22) Trend or Trap: Cade Cunningham vs. traps
(28:54) Teams with the biggest question marks
(54:41) NBA Rising Stars announced
(1:00:54) Unrivaled takeaways

🖥️ Watch this full episode on the Yahoo Sports NBA YouTube channel

Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at yahoosports.tv

ATLANTA — Head coach introductions in the NFL follow a predictable formula. The new guy proclaims how excited he is to be here with [insert team name], how he’s always admired [team owner], how he’s looking forward to getting to work. The team declares how [new coach] is the guy they wanted all along. Everybody smiles and poses with a helmet … and everybody hopes they’re not doing the same dance two or three years from now.

The Atlanta Falcons officially introduced new head coach Kevin Stefanski on a frigid Tuesday morning at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in a news conference long on confidence and short on specifics. Newly crowned president of football Matt Ryan began the proceedings with some discussion about what the Falcons’ identity should be going forward.

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“The main thing was we wanted a detailed, tough, physical football team,” Ryan said. “On offense, we want an offense that has the ability to run the football, that is going to be explosive with the pass game off of the run. On defense, we’re going to stop the run. We’re going to be physical against the run. In the pass game, we’re going to affect the quarterback physically and we’re going to affect him mentally as well with disguise, with the way that we play coverage. And then on special teams, we’re looking for a unit that is incredibly detailed, that plays with great effort and strength.”

[Get more Falcons news: Atlanta team feed]

From there, Ryan indicated Stefanski, a two-time NFL Coach of the Year, was a natural fit. “He wants smart, tough, highly competitive players and coaches that are open to being held accountable and holding each other accountable,” Ryan said. “He’s an excellent communicator. He’s clear, he’s concise, and he’s direct. I think that style of communication lends to connection, which is so huge amongst players and coaches.”

Stefanski will have his work cut out for him. Outside of the New York Jets, no team has a longer playoff drought than the Falcons, who last reached the postseason in the 2017 season. Since then, Atlanta has posted five seven-win seasons, two eight-win ones and a dreadful four-win year. It hasn’t been great.

And even when the Falcons win, they lose. Atlanta finished this season tied atop the NFC South with eight wins, but due to early-season struggles and inexplicable losses, the Falcons had been eliminated from the playoff hunt weeks before. The new regime, then, will be tasked not just with rebuilding the team on the field, but rebuilding belief in the stands, rallying a fan base rooting for a team whose only consistent feature is inconsistency.

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“I’m here because I believe in this group. I believe in this roster,” Stefanski said. “We’re not going to spend a lot of time talking about what we’re going to do. We’re just going to keep our head down and work.”

Over the course of the 45-minute introductory news conference, Stefanski hit on several key topics, including a potential quarterback battle in Atlanta. Michael Penix Jr., who began the season as Atlanta’s starter, suffered a torn ACL in Week 11 and was lost for the season, replaced by expensive backup Kirk Cousins. Stefanski offered perspective without specifics on the future of both.

“What’s most important right now for Michael is to get healthy. He knows that, and we’ll get to football here shortly, but he’s attacking his rehab,” Stefanski said. “He’s had some really, really, really good moments here in the pros. I see a young player that will continue to develop and continue to get better.”

As for Cousins, whom Stefanski coached as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator in Minnesota, the analysis remained high-level and general. “When it comes to Kirk,” Stefanski said, “obviously I have a previous relationship with Kirk, but I don’t know if it’s the time yet to talk about all positions.”

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One roster spot that requires no nuance is running back. Bijan Robinson stands as one of the best players in the league, and Stefanski summed up his feelings on Robinson succinctly.

“He’s good,” Stefanski said, to laughter. “He’s a special person, I’d start there. … He’s team-oriented, he’s an intelligent player, and there’s no shortage to what he can do with a football in his hands. And that’s our job as coaches, to find ways to get that ball in his hands.”

Stefanski also addressed the brief X controversy involving Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, who tweeted earlier this month that he was “shipped off like a piece of garbage” from Cleveland under Stefanski.

“Baker’s somebody that I have a ton of respect for as a player and a person,” Stefanski said. “Obviously, Buccaneers, Falcons have a great rivalry. It’s something that I’m excited about. But I would not get into the specifics of those type of things other than to say I have a ton of respect for Baker as a player, as a person.”

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Adding to the pressure on Stefanski is the fact that three separate teams — the New England Patriots, Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars — swapped out their head coaches prior to last season and instantly leaped from low-single to double-digit wins and playoff berths. Patience for slow rebuilds, particularly when a team has finished outside the playoffs as many times as Atlanta has, is now nonexistent.

“The expectation is to always win. There’s no doubt about that,” Ryan said. “But part of what we’ve talked about is, ‘How do you get there?’ My expectation is that we come to work with the right mindset every day. We focus on the things that we need to do in order to get the results that we want. Very process-driven. I was as a player, and I will be in this new role as well.”

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“It’s very, very easy to sit up here and talk about it,” Stefanski said. “We will be about that work. We will put in the work, and it’s going to be hard work. We’ll put in the work to being a smart football team, to playing a smart brand of football. We will earn that toughness.”

The Falcons begin offseason workouts April 7, but the expectations for Stefanski to right the ship have already begun.

An emotional Mike McCarthy was introduced as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers on Tuesday while flanked at a news conference by team owner Art Rooney II and general manager Omar Khan.

He was almost immediately asked about the most pressing subject facing the franchise now that it’s found its next head coach. Does he want Aaron Rodgers back to play quarterback?

“Definitely,” McCarthy said. “I don’t see why you wouldn’t. I think just like anything, knowing Aaron long enough. … When guys are up at that stage of their career, they need to step away and decompress. I think that’s very important.”

McCarthy and Rodgers, of course, have history. The two spent 13 seasons together with the Green Bay Packers, a span that included a Super Bowl championship and two of Rodgers’ four NFL MVP awards.

Rodgers, 42, is far from that MVP prime and is currently contemplating whether to retire or return for another NFL season, presumably to reunite with McCarthy in Pittsburgh. McCarthy said Tuesday that he’s spoken with Rodgers and that he studied Rodgers’ single season with the Steelers in 2025. He likes what he saw.

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“I was able to sit back and watch the games, I watched most of the Pittsburgh games on TV,” McCarthy said. “I thought he was a great asset for the team.”

McCarthy did not put a deadline on Rodgers to make a decision. Whomever plays quarterback for the Steelers will work closely with McCarthy, who confirmed that he’ll be calling plays on offense.

Does McCarthy see a long-term QB answer in Will Howard?

Whether or not Rodgers returns, he’s obviously not the quarterback of the future in Pittsburgh. For that, McCarthy sounds like he believes that the Steelers might already have that guy on their roster.

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He’s “excited” about Will Howard, the former Ohio State quarterback whom the Steelers selected in the sixth round of the 2025 draft. Howard served as Pittsburgh’s third-string quarterback last season behind Rodgers and Mason Rudolph.

“I’m really excited about Will Howard,” McCarthy said. “He’s someone, I thought he really came on there at Ohio State. I’m anxious to work with him. It’d be great to have Aaron back, but Will and Mason — I’m really excited to get started with those guys.”

Howard’s yet to take an NFL snap, but McCarthy clearly likes what he’s seen of him.

McCarthy fights back tears over coaching his hometown team

A Pittsburgh native, McCarthy joins the Steelers for his third NFL head coaching job. He was emotional from the start about the opportunity to coach his hometown team. He was fighting back tears before making his opening statement.

“This city, this franchise, this fan base — it means the world to me,” McCarthy said. “Because Pittsburgh’s my world. It’s just awesome to be back here.”

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McCarthy dove deeper into his ties with the city and the team in a statement released by the Steelers earlier Tuesday.

“Often times, coaches and players put on new team colors, and it takes a minute to feel comfortable in them,” McCarthy said. “But, if you are blessed beyond measure, one day you put on the colors you’ve worn since you were brought home from Mercy Hospital.”

It’s not clear if that passion was a factor for the Steelers in their decision to hire McCarthy. But it certainly didn’t hurt.

Rooney was asked on Tuesday about the call to hire McCarthy, who, at 62 years old, is a break from the franchise’s tradition of hiring young coaches with long futures ahead of them. McCarthy is just the fourth Steelers coach since 1969. Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin all coached in Pittsburgh for at least 15 seasons.

“We came into this wanting to hire the best coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers, so we did not say we’re trying to hire a young defensive coordinator or an offensive guy,” Rooney said. … “I won’t say that it was an easy decision, but I would say, at the end of the day, it was an obvious decision for us that Mike was the right guy for the job.“

Nate Tice & Matt Harmon dive deep on the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams before revealing their biggest questions of the NFL offseason. The duo start with the news that the Buffalo Bills hired OC Joe Brady to be their next head coach, as they determine whether Brady is the right guy to get Buffalo over the hump. They also touch on the Tennessee Titans hiring OC Brian Daboll. Can Daboll resist using Cam Ward as a battering ram?

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Next, Nate & Matt deep dive on the latest duo of playoff losers, the Broncos & Rams, as they determine what went wrong for them in the playoffs and what they need to do to get back to the same spot (or further) next season.

Later, the duo reveal their biggest questions of the NFL offseason. Are teams going to lean into heavier personnel groupings next season? How do the quarterback seats get filled? Will the trend of a juggernaut-less NFL continue in 2026? How will an intriguing 2026 free agency class play out? Nate & Matt take a stab at answering the league’s biggest conundrums.

(3:50) – Bills hire HC Joe Brady

(22:10) – Titans hire OC Brian Daboll

(32:50) – Playoff postmortems: Rams

(49:15) – Playoff postmortems: Broncos

(59:40) – Biggest offseason questions

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San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama refused to keep quiet after Veterans Affairs nurse Alex Pretti was shot and killed Saturday by federal agents in Minnesota. Wembanyama spoke out on Pretti’s killing Tuesday, ignoring the team’s PR guidance to be “politically correct” about the issue.

Wembanyama issued a strong statement on what’s been going on in Minnesota, saying he’s “horrified” every day he wakes up and sees the news on television.

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His full statement read:

“You know, PR has tried, but I’m not going to sit here and give some politically correct [answer]. Every day, I wake up and see the news and I’m horrified. I think that it’s crazy that some people make it sound like it’s acceptable, like the murder of civilians is acceptable.

“I read the news and sometimes I’m asking very deep questions about my own life. I’m conscious also that saying everything that’s on my mind would have a cost that’s too great for me right now. So, I would rather not get into too many details.”

Wembanyama was then asked about the fear of speaking openly in the face of injustice. Wembanyama added, “It’s terrible. I know I’m a foreigner. I live in this country. I am concerned.”

When asked whether his status as a foreigner played a role in his hesitancy to speak more on the issue, Wembanyama admitted that was the case.

The 22-year-old Wembanyama was born and grew up in France. He spent his early basketball career in the Pro A and EuroLeague before the Spurs made him the No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 NBA Draft. Since then, Wembanyama has spent each NBA season living in the United States.

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Wembanyama is not the only prominent NBA name to speak out on the issue. Over the weekend, Karl-Anthony Towns, Steve Kerr, Chris Finch and Charles Barkley all issued strong words on ICE’s presence in Minnesota. Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton also commented on Pretti’s killing, calling it “murder.”

Wembanyama’s teammates De’Aaron Fox and Julian Champagnie, as well as coach Mitch Johnson, also issued comments on the situation when asked Sunday.

The NBPA was among the groups to put out a joint statement as well, saying it would “stand in solidarity with the people in Minnesota.” One of the members of the NBPA’s executive committee, Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, issued his own statement Tuesday, calling for “accountability” and “improvement in the tactics, the profiling, or whatever is going on.”

Athletes outside of the NBA have also been vocal on the situation. WNBA and Unrivaled star Breanna Stewart held up a sign before Sunday’s game calling for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be abolished. Denver Broncos offensive lineman Quinn Meinerz followed Stewart’s example, and Minnesota Twins players Bailey Ober and Simeon Woods Richardson sent out images of support for protesters in the state.