Football

The ongoing courtship between the Dallas Cowboys and free-agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. appears to have reached its end, as the Cowboys are reportedly bringing in a veteran pass-catcher.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Jane Slater reported that Dallas reached an agreement with receiver T.Y. Hilton on Monday. The 33-year-old had played 10 years with the Indianapolis Colts and was a four-time Pro Bowl selection.

The addition of Hilton gives the Cowboys the extra offensive weapon they need as the playoffs approach. But where does that leave Beckham?

Here are the top remaining landing spots for the 30-year-old now that Dallas is likely no longer in the running.

Buffalo Bills

Beckham undoubtedly wants to join a contender to win another championship as he did with the Los Angeles Rams last season in Super Bowl LVI. He should look no further than the top team in the AFC.

The Buffalo Bills remained in the No. 1 spot after Sunday's gritty win over the New York Jets. At 10-3, Buffalo is one of the favorites to compete for a Super Bowl title this year, but the team could still use another target for star quarterback Josh Allen.

The Bills have one of the best receivers in the league in Stefon Diggs, who leads the team with 94 receptions, 1,239 yards and 10 touchdowns. However, no other player on the team has 40 catches. Allen's over-reliance on Diggs can come back to haunt Buffalo if teams focus their defense on him.

Adding Beckham to the mix would help take some attention off Diggs. For what it's worth, last month Beckham named the Bills as one of four teams he'd be interested in joining after he completed his recovery from a torn ACL.

San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are the hottest team in the NFL, earning their sixth straight victory on Sunday with a blowout over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, star receiver Deebo Samuel went down with an ankle injury during the game, putting his status in question for the next few weeks.

Beckham could be the perfect option to fill in for Samuel if he misses extended time. If both are able to be on the field together, it would add a different dimension to an already dynamic 49ers offense.

San Francisco lost veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for at least the remainder of the regular season because of a broken foot. Rookie signal-caller Brock Purdy proved he can steer the ship in the interim with a three-touchdown performance (two passing, one rushing) against the Bucs.

The 49ers could look to add Beckham as another reliable target for the seventh-round pick as they charge toward the postseason.

Kansas City Chiefs

After losing star wide receiver Tyreek Hill this offseason, the Kansas City Chiefs have had to adjust on offense. However, perennial MVP candidate Patrick Mahomes still has the Chiefs on the cusp of a seventh straight AFC West title.

While Mahomes has been able to make up for Kansas City's deficiencies throughout the regular season, cracks have begun to show. In Sunday's win over the Denver Broncos, he threw three touchdown passes but also had a season-high three interceptions.

The Chiefs had been hoping free-agent additions JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling would be able to make up for the absence of Hill. They've combined to reach the end zone just four times through 13 games. All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce remains the top target in Kansas City's passing attack.

Beckham would provide Mahomes with another option in the explosive Chiefs offense. He could also open things up for Smith-Schuster and Valdes-Scantling. The three-time Pro Bowler would likely have a ton of fun playing in Andy Reid's scheme.

New York Giants

It's never too late to come home. In Beckham's case, a reunion with the team he started his NFL career with would come at a perfect time.

At 7-5-1, the New York Giants are clinging to the seventh seed in the NFC and could surely use a boost as the regular season winds down. New York is 0-3-1 in its last four games and has dealt with injuries to multiple receivers throughout the year.

Darius Slayton leads the Giants with 608 receiving yards, while Richie James leads the team's wide receivers with 38 receptions and three touchdowns. Quarterback Daniel Jones ranks near the bottom of the league with 194.9 passing yards per game. Clearly, New York's air attack could use an injection of energy.

Beckham has appeared to be open to rejoining the Giants, and he had a "good dinner" with head coach Brian Daboll earlier this month. A return to New York would give him the opportunity to be a key contributor to the team's push for the playoffs.

Former Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton has agreed to a deal with the Dallas Cowboys.

According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Hilton's deal has a max value of $1.5 million:

Head coach Mike McCarthy said Monday, per Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports, that Hilton has a chance to play in Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Cowboys have been heavily linked with another free-agent wideout, Odell Beckham Jr. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Sunday that Dallas and other teams in the hunt "are currently in a holding pattern while Beckham is at home considering his options."

It's also unclear when the three-time Pro Bowler will be ready to play as he continues to recover from the torn ACL he suffered last season.

The Cowboys might consider Hilton an insurance policy in case Beckham signs with another team or can't play this year.

The 32-year-old said after the 2021 season he was going to take his time making a decision on his future in the NFL and consult longtime teammate Jack Doyle, per the team's website:

"That's something, take some time, talk to Jack and just go through it. If I want to play one more year, I could play one more year. If not, then I won't. So just talk to him, see what he's feeling, and once he makes his decision I'll know what I want to do kind of based on him, whether it's here, whether it's somewhere else. I'll make my decision some time in the offseason."

Hilton had spent his entire 10-year career with the Colts, which selected him in the third round of the 2012 draft. So it's quite surprising that he opted to sign elsewhere.

While his best seasons are behind him, he's still an effective contributor. In 10 games during the 2021 campaign, he caught 23 passes for 331 yards and three touchdowns. His receiving yards ranked fourth on the team behind those of Michael Pittman Jr., Zach Pascal and Jonathan Taylor.

The FIU product recorded more than 1,000 receiving yards in four straight seasons from 2013 to '16. He also had more than 1,000 yards during the 2018 season and was a Pro Bowler from 2014 to '17.

Hilton's best season came in 2016, when he caught 91 passes for 1,448 yards and six touchdowns in 16 games.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Tom Brady changes the team's offensive game plan presented by the coaches before each matchup, according to Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle:

The night before each game, Brady runs a separate meeting with the Bucs' skill players during which he goes over the game plan, makes tweaks to assignments and formations and provides a revised blueprint — one which first-year head coach Todd Bowles, offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and the rest of the staff are left to discover in real time once the game begins.

The adjustments haven't done much to spark offense that ranks 28th in the NFL in scoring at just 17.2 points per game. There's been a clear lean toward Brady, as the unit leads the league in passing attempts and ranks dead last in rushing attempts.

It's contributed to a 6-7 record, including a 35-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday with rookie quarterback Brock Purdy making his first start.

The 45-year-old Brady's resume is certainly enough to justify him having a role in game-planning. He has won seven Super Bowl titles, three MVP awards and is considered by many to be the greatest of all time in the sport.

Yet it's hard not to wonder if his overruling of the coaching staff is problematic, especially with Tampa Bay continuing to struggle just two years after winning the Super Bowl.

Todd Bowles is in his first year as the team's head coach after replacing Bruce Arians in the offseason, coming in with a defensive background. Byron Leftwich, 42, is in his fourth year as the Bucs' offensive coordinator.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota will likely be placed on injured reserve with a knee injury, head coach Arthur Smith told reporters Monday.

The Falcons were already set to replace Mariota with rookie Desmond Ridder.

Mariota signed a two-year, $18.75 million deal with the Falcons during the offseason following a two-year stint with the Las Vegas Raiders.

In 13 games this season, he has completed 61.3 passes for 2,219 yards and 15 touchdowns against nine interceptions. He has also rushed for 438 yards and four scores.

The 2015 second overall pick said he signed with Atlanta because Smith told him he had an opportunity to start right away following the team's decision to trade Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts.

"It really came down to the opportunity," Mariota told reporters. "He said there's a chance for you to play, a chance for you to start right away. Really for me at this point in time in my career, that's what I was looking for."

Mariota appeared in 11 games with the Raiders but didn't make any starts, completing 18 of 30 passes for 230 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also rushed for 175 yards and two scores.

Before joining the Raiders, the 29-year-old spent the first five seasons of his career with the Tennessee Titans. He was inconsistent during his time with the Titans and was labeled a draft bust.

That said, Mariota has dealt with injuries throughout his career. He missed four games during the 2015 season with a sprained MCL and one game in 2016 after breaking his fibula.

Mariota then missed one game in 2017 with a hamstring strain and two games in 2018 with a neck stinger and elbow sprain. He started six games in 2019 before being replaced by Ryan Tannehill.

He suffered a quad strain last year with the Raiders and was placed on injured reserve and missed five games.

Ridder was a third-round pick by the Falcons in the 2022 NFL draft. He spent his college career at Cincinnati, winning AAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2020 and 2021.

After another huge game against a division rival, Philadelphia Eagles star Jalen Hurts is now the betting favorite to win the NFL's Most Valuable Player award.

DraftKings lists Hurts at minus-115 to win the award ($115 bet to win $100), putting him ahead of Patrick Mahomes.

• Jalen Hurts (-115)
• Patrick Mahomes (+150)
• Joe Burrow (+750)
• Tua Tagovailoa (+2000)
• Josh Allen (+2000)

Peter King of NBC Sports has a similar list on his MVP watch:

1. Jalen Hurts
2. Patrick Mahomes
3. Joe Burrow
4. Josh Allen
5. Justin Jefferson

Hurts threw two touchdown passes and rushed for another during the Eagles' 48-22 win over the New York Giants on Sunday, helping the team improve to 12-1 on the season. Philadelphia now has the No. 1 scoring offense in the NFL, while Hurts personally has 22 passing touchdowns, 10 rushing touchdowns and just three interceptions.

With his numbers on the best team in football, it's hard to justify anyone else for MVP at this stage.

Mahomes still has a chance to overtake him late in the season after helping the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos to get to 10-3 on the year. The quarterback leads the NFL with 4,160 passing yards and 33 touchdowns despite losing top receiver Tyreek Hill in the offseason.

On the other hand, Mahomes threw three interceptions on Sunday and has 11 picks on the year. He also struggled to generate much offense in last week's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

The are four weeks left in the regular season for Mahomes or someone like Joe Burrow to take over as the MVP favorite, but Hurts is the clear top option through Week 14.