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Player News
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Cam Brown NYG LBDolphins' Cam Brown: Inks deal in Miami
13h agoBrown agreed to a contract with the Dolphins on Wednesday, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports.
Brown appeared in 60 career games as a special-teams ace during his first four seasons with the Giants, tallying 24 tackles over that span. The 26-year-old played exclusively on special teams in 16 games during the 2023 campaign, so he'll more than likely fulfill a similar role for Miami in 2024.
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Justin Murray CLE OTJustin Murray: Hangs it up
14h agoThe Browns placed Murray on the retired/reserve list Wednesday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.
Murray played for the Raiders, Cardinals, Bills and Titans during his six-year NFL career, appearing in 41 games with 20 starts during his professional tenure. The soon-to-be 31-year-old joined Cleveland's practice squad last November and then signed a futures contract in January, but he never played in any games for the team.
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J.K. Dobbins BAL RBChargers' J.K. Dobbins: Slated to join Chargers
15h agoDobbins (Achilles) is in line to sign a one-contract with the Chargers, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
A second-round pick of the Ravens in 2020, Dobbins had two of his first four pro seasons cut short due to an ACL tear in 2021 and then a torn left Achilles in Week 1 of the 2023 campaign. In his 24 career appearances, he's averaged a robust 5.8 yards on 234 carries, gathered in 27 of 35 targets for 177 yards and scored 13 total touchdowns. Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache penned a letter to NFL teams in late March that Dobbins had received medical clearance to participate in football activities, but his new contract will be contingent on a physical. Once the move west to L.A. becomes official, Dobbins will join forces with former teammate Gus Edwards at the top of the RB depth chart, giving him some sway in fantasy working alongside QB Justin Herbert.
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Darius Slayton NYG WRGiants' Darius Slayton: Seeking new deal
18h agoSlayton (thumb) hasn't reported to the Giants' voluntary workouts while he seeks a contract extension, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports.
Slayton, who led the team with 770 receiving yards in 17 games in 2023, has attended the Giants' voluntary offseason program in the past. The 27-year-old wideout is in line to earn $6.2 million in the final year of his contract in 2024, but Slayton is evidently looking to amend those terms. At this stage, Slayton -- who is recovering from an offseason procedure on his right thumb -- is poised to retain a key role in a Giants wideout corps that currently includes Wan'Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt.
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Jaelan Phillips MIA LBDolphins' Jaelan Phillips: Getting fifth-year option picked up
23h agoGeneral manager Chris Grier said Tuesday that the Dolphins will exericse the fifth-year option on Phillips' (Achilles) rookie contract before May's deadline, Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.com reports.
A torn right Achilles' tendon limited Phillips to just eight games last season, but he's reportedly on track to be ready for Week 1 of the 2024 campaign. He's been one of the Dolphins' more impactful pass rushers over the past three seasons, and the team will be more in need of him than ever with Christian Wilkins having moved on to Las Vegas.
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De'Von Achane MIA RBDolphins' De'Von Achane: Bulks up during offseason
23h agoAchane appears to have added muscle to his frame through his workouts earlier this offseason, Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post reports.
A photo of Achane showing up for OTAs went viral, with some saying he looks much larger than he did during his rookie campaign. It's his second offseason bulking up for football without also considering track and field, though at this point it's unclear how much muscle he's added relative to his weight from the 2023 NFL Combine, where he ran a 4.32-second 40-yard dash at 188 pounds. Achane averaged 7.8 yards per carry and scored a touchdown per game last season, albeit with injuries (six missed games) and Raheem Mostert's presence (209 carries) limiting the rookie to 103 carries and 27 catches in his 11 appearances. The Dolphins still have Mostert under contract -- along with backups Jeff Wilson, Salvon Ahmed (foot) and Chris Brooks -- but they'll presumably prepare Achane with more of the backfield work in his second NFL season.
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Ben Rortvedt TB CRays' Ben Rortvedt: Sits against righty
3m agoRortvedt is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Angels, Steve Carney of StPeteNine.com reports.
Rortvedt has started in just one of the Rays' last five games. The first three of those absences came against left-handed starting pitchers, but the lefty-hitting Rortvedt will give way to the right-handed-hitting Rene Pinto on Thursday even while right-hander Griffin Canning takes the hill for the Angels.
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Will Brennan CLE RFGuardians' Will Brennan: Takes seat for series finale
7m agoBrennan is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Red Sox.
The Red Sox are opening the game with a left-hander (Brennan Bernardino), so the lefty-hitting Brennan will bow out of the starting nine in the series finale. Jose Ramirez will get a day off out of the field and serve as the Guardians' designated hitter in place of Brennan on Thursday.
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Aaron Hicks LAA RFAngels' Aaron Hicks: Taking seat Thursday
10m agoHicks is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rays, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
Hicks finds himself on the bench for the third time in four games and may be viewed as a part-time player at this time in the wake of his rough start to the season. Over 48 plate appearances with the Angels, Hicks is slashing .159/.229/.227 with a career-worst 31.2 percent strikeout rate.
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Logan O'Hoppe LAA CAngels' Logan O'Hoppe: Gets rest day
13m agoO'Hoppe is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rays, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
He'll receive a breather for the day game after drawing starts at catcher both of the past two days. Matt Thaiss will check in behind the plate and will form a battery with starting pitcher Griffin Canning.
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Jared Walsh TEX 1BRangers' Jared Walsh: Sitting against righty
16m agoWalsh is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Tigers.
The lefty-hitting Walsh will close out the series in Detroit with two consecutive absences from the lineup, though Thursday's is more noteworthy since the Tigers are bringing a right-hander (Kenta Maeda) to the hill. Walsh has been operating in a strong-side platoon role at first base all season, but he's mustered an underwhelming .638 OPS through 60 plate appearances and looks at risk of losing work to Ezequiel Duran.
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Steven Kwan CLE LFGuardians' Steven Kwan: First day off Thursday
17m agoKwan is out of the lineup for Thursday's contest in Boston.
Kwan will get his first day off of the season. David Fry will start in left field in place of Kwan, while Andres Gimenez serves as Cleveland's leadoff batter.
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Nicolas Batum PHI PF76ers' Nicolas Batum: Shines off bench Wednesday
25m agoBatum provided 20 points (7-12 FG, 6-10 3Pt), five rebounds and one block in 28 minutes during Wednesday's 105-104 Play-In Game victory over the Heat.
It was widely known that Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey were going to carry the Sixers in this matchup against the Heat, but the truth is that Philadelphia wouldn't have gotten the win hadn't it been for Batum's impressive effort off the bench. The 20-point output was a season-high mark for the veteran, and even though his role is not going to change drastically in the first-round matchup against New York, he should continue to see decent minutes on a regular basis. Perhaps surprisingly, he went scoreless in the four times he faced the Knicks during the regular season.
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Joel Embiid PHI C76ers' Joel Embiid: Leads Sixers to win Wednesday
27m agoEmbiid logged 23 points (6-17 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 9-10 FT), 15 rebounds, five assists and one steal over 38 minutes during Wednesday's 105-104 Play-In Game victory over Miami.
Embiid had a complicated matchup against Bam Adebayo, arguably one of the best defensive centers in The Association, and even though his efficiency was subpar, he still led Philadephia in scoring while coming through with a clutch performance from the charity stripe. Embiid should be in line for a productive first-round series against the Knicks, and even though he only faced them once in the regular season, he delivered a 30-point, 10-rebound, three-block performance on Jan. 5.
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Tyrese Maxey PHI PG76ers' Tyrese Maxey: Scores 19 in win over Miami
30m agoMaxey accumulated 19 points (6-16 FG, 1-6 3Pt, 6-6 FT), three rebounds and six assists across 44 minutes during Wednesday's 105-104 Play-In Game victory over the Heat.
Maxey had a rough night from three-point range, but he still salvaged his stat line by sniffing the 20-point mark and dishing out six assists. Maxey is expected to play a prominent role on offense in the first-round matchup against the Knicks, and it's worth noting he averaged 26.3 points per game in three games vs. New York during the regular season.
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Jaime Jaquez Jr. MIA SFHeat's Jaime Jaquez: Decent stat line in loss
34m agoJaquez closed Wednesday's 105-104 Play-In Game loss to the 76ers with 15 points (6-11 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 1-2 FT), five rebounds, two assists and one steal across 22 minutes.
Jaquez looked good despite coming off the bench and was one of Miami's top contributors on offense. He's widely expected to move into the starting lineup for Friday's matchup against the Bulls due to the absence of Jimmy Butler (knee), and that would translate into an uptick in his usage rate.
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Bam Adebayo MIA CHeat's Bam Adebayo: Double-double in loss Wednesday
35m agoAdebayo posted 10 points (5-9 FG, 0-2 3Pt), 12 rebounds, one assist and two blocks across 31 minutes during Wednesday's 105-104 Play-In Game loss to the 76ers.
Adebayo wasn't as involved as expected on the offensive end of the court, as he had to deal with a tough matchup against Joel Embiid, but he still found a way to finish with a double-double even if the Heat came up short of winning. Knowing the Heat will be without Jimmy Butler (knee) for Friday's game against the Bulls, Adebayo should experience an uptick in usage rate and volume while dealing with the matchup of Nikola Vucevic, who's nowhere near as good as Embiid on the defensive end of the court.
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Tyler Herro MIA PGHeat's Tyler Herro: Leads Heat in scoring in loss
41m agoHerro registered 25 points (9-27 FG, 4-14 3Pt, 3-3 FT), two rebounds and nine assists over 41 minutes during Wednesday's 105-104 Play-In Game loss to Philadelphia.
Herro might have needed 27 shots to score 25 shots, but the uptick in usage rate happened since Jimmy Butler suffered a knee injury in the first quarter, which limited him considerably, and Bam Adebayo had a rough matchup with Joel Embiid. Herro has reached the 20-point mark in four of his last six outings, and considering Butler will miss Friday's win-or-go-home matchup against the Bulls, he should be in line for another heavy usage rate vs. Chicago.
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Drew O'Connor PIT LWPenguins' Drew O'Connor: Puts up career numbers
1m agoO'Connor set new personal bests in games (79), goals (16) and assists (17) this season while averaging 15:45 of ice time.
It was a career year for O'Connor that was bolstered by the departure of Jake Guentzel. With an opening on the top line, it was O'Connor who found himself playing on Sidney Crosby's left wing. In that spot, the 25-year-old winger registered 12 of his 33 points this year. Unless the Penguins add a top-six winger in free agency, O'Connor should start 2024-25 in that role as well.
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Matt Tomkins TB GLightning's Matt Tomkins: Nabs win over Leafs
2m agoTomkins made 34 saves in Wednesday's 6-4 win over the Maple Leafs.
The 29-year-old goalie went down as the man who denied Auston Matthews his 70th goal of the season, making seven stops on the Toronto superstar in the first period alone. Tomkins supplied Tampa Bay with decent netminding down the stretch, going 2-0-1 in three April starts while giving up 10 goals on 95 shots (.895 save percentage), but he'll be firmly on the bench behind Andrei Vasilevskiy when the Lightning begin their first-round series against the Panthers on Sunday.
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Auston Matthews TOR CMaple Leafs' Auston Matthews: Can't find 70th goal
6m agoMatthews was held without a point despite a game-high 12 shots on net in Wednesday's 6-4 loss to the Lightning.
Neither team had anything to play for in the standings, but Matthews needed only one goal to become the ninth player in NHL history with 70 in a season, so his Leafs teammates fed him the puck at every opportunity. The closest he came to lighting the lamp was when he rocketed a shot off the post behind Matt Tomkins in the second period. Matthews instead had to settle for a franchise record 69 goals in 81 games, and his 107 points were a career high as well as the fourth-highest total in Toronto history, behind Doug Gilmour (127 in 1992-93 and 111 in 1993-94) and Darryl Sittler (117 in 1977-78).
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Martin Jones TOR GMaple Leafs' Martin Jones: Jolted by Bolts
11m agoJones turned aside 26 shots in Wednesday's 6-4 loss to the Lightning.
Tampa Bay jumped out to a 2-0 lead before seven minutes had elapsed in the first period and built a 5-1 lead before the second intermission, and Toronto's late rally ended up falling short. This could be Jones's last appearance for the Maple Leafs -- the 34-year-old netminder will be a free agent in the offseason, and the team is more likely to bring back Ilya Samsonov to pair with Joseph Woll. Jones went 11-8-1 during his season in blue and white with a 2.87 GAA and .902 save percentage over 22 outings, numbers that should be good enough to earn him an offer from a team in need of a veteran backup in the crease.
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Ryan Shea PIT DPenguins' Ryan Shea: Limited offensively
15m agoShea played in 31 games as a rookie this season but managed just one point to go with 24 hits, 24 blocks and 17 shots.
Shea started all nine April games during the Penguins' last-gasp push for a postseason spot, seemingly earning the trust of the coaching staff. If the team would like to keep Shea in a third-pairing ahead of next season, it will need to sign him to an extension prior to July 1 or risk him agreeing to terms elsewhere.
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Samuel Bolduc NYI DIslanders' Samuel Bolduc: Two points in return Wednesday
16m agoBolduc scored a power-play goal and added an even-strength assist in Wednesday's 5-4 win over the Penguins.
The 23-year-old blueliner hadn't been in the Islanders' lineup since Jan. 27, falling out of the blue line mix soon after Patrick Roy took over as head coach. Following a conditioning stint with AHL Bridgeport however, Bolduc rejoined the team for the regular-season finale and made an immediate impact. If Noah Dobson (upper body) isn't ready to play Saturday for Game 1 of a first-round series against Carolina, Bolduc could wind up seeing a regular shift.
