Snap Stories

If it has seemed like Kyler Murray and Kliff Kingsbury were on different pages for most of this season, there's a reason for that.

Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Josh Weinfuss, the Arizona Cardinals head coach and franchise quarterback have grown "increasingly distant" over the course of a lost year for the team.

Among the issues that have divided the two men are Murray's desire for "wanting more freedom at the line of scrimmage, particularly with running plays," but plays designed to get the ball into the hands of Arizona's playmakers didn't come to fruition "either due to miscommunication, a play breaking down or Murray improvising, and the disjointed attack created unpredictability for some of the team's pass-catchers."

Fowler and Weinfuss also noted the clashing personalities between Kingsbury and Murray trickled down to the rest of the locker room as they stumbled to the finish line last season and has continued into 2022.

The report also noted Kingsbury and Murray have both struggled with direct communication that would have helped calm the tension that had "become obvious" to people in the Cardinals locker room.

"Before Murray's injury, Kingsbury was described as 'extremely frustrated' with the quarterback per a team source, believing that his negativity, if not toxic, was 'starting to get to people' around the building," Fowler and Weinfuss wrote.

Cardinals passing game coordinator Cam Turner has been "forced to serve as a buffer" between Murray and Kingsbury this season.

It had become obvious to anyone watching Cardinals games this season that Kingsbury and Murray weren't on the same page. They were involved in a shouting match on the sidelines during an Oct. 20 win over the New Orleans Saints.

This Kyler Murray-Kliff Kingsbury exchange 👀 pic.twitter.com/ofIQbSK1xd

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) October 21, 2022

"He's real animated over there on the sideline sometimes," Murray told reporters the day after the sideline incident. "It's … 'Calm down, we're good. We're going to make it right.' We ended up scoring, so that was good, but that's all I was saying. Just chill out."

Kingsbury said at the time the team was "working through as an offense where we want to be and what we want to do, and you have competitors that have a level of intensity like that, I think it will keep pushing us forward."

The Cardinals have completely collapsed over the past 12 months. They are 5-15 in their last 20 games, including the playoffs, after winning 10 of their first 12 games during the 2021 season.

Despite the team's rough finish last season, Arizona signed Kingsbury and general manager Steve Keim to extensions in March that run through the 2027 campaign. The Cardinals announced on Dec. 14 that Keim was taking an indefinite hiatus due to health-related reasons.

The Cardinals should have also had a celebratory moment when Murray signed a five-year extension in July, but even that was marred because of a clause that required him to do four hours of independent film study each week during the season.

Amid blowback from the clause, the Cardinals removed it from the contract.

Murray's season came to an end on Dec. 12 when he tore the ACL early in the first quarter of the Cardinals' 27-13 loss to the New England Patriots. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the 25-year-old is on track to be ready for the start of the 2023 regular season.

The Cardinals (4-10) are tied with the Los Angeles Rams for the second-worst record in the NFC with three games left to play. They have just one winning season since 2016.

Bill Belichick is a septuagenarian. When he celebrated his 70th birthday in April, he became one of only two active NFL head coaches older than 70, along with Pete Carroll. Only George Halas and Don Shula have coached more professional football games, and he owns more Super Bowl rings than any other human being dead or alive.

Which begs the question: How much longer does Bill Belichick want to coach a team that is 8-11 in its last 19 regular-season and playoff games dating back approximately one calendar year? How much patience does he have for a squad that, when it comes to boneheaded mistakes and penalties and lack of polish, has become the antithesis of the old Belichick model?

That was put on full display via the historically embarrassing way in which the Patriots lost to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 15 to fall to 7-7 and remain in a tie for last place in the AFC East. Their 2022 demise is on an increasingly obvious horizon as they prepare to face the surging defending AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals as a home underdog in Week 16.

Odds are Belichick will fail to win a playoff game for the fourth year in a row, even if the Pats manage to make it to the postseason. FiveThirtyEight gives them just a 19 percent chance of doing so.

Belichick is basically the last component left from the Patriots' extended early 21st-century dynasty. Tom Brady is in Florida, Josh McDaniels was on the opposite sideline when the feces hit the fan for New England last Sunday in Vegas, and even right-hand Belichick guru Ernie Adams retired last year.

Those spoiled by the Brady era in Foxborough are realizing that finding another Brady is near-impossible, and that even finding a consistently reliable quarterback in Round 1, let alone Round 6, is a mission. Just look at 2021 first-rounder Mac Jones, who has struggled mightily with a 71.6 passer rating the last three weeks—right when the Pats needed him most.

Belichick appears reticent to endorse Jones as his starter for the remainder of a season that sees New England face three teams in playoff positions in Weeks 16, 17 and 18.

Where Belichick and the Patriots go from here likely depends on what Belichick wants. Likely, but not definitively. You'd think he'd have earned a lifetime membership in his role, but this is business, and if owner Robert Kraft feels it's time for a fresh start, a trade involving Belichick could be on the table. Belichick would have to sign off on that because he wouldn't simply coach anywhere, and whoever acquires an expensive 70-year-old coach would want to be guaranteed a number of years with him.

You'd have to question whether that'd be a publicity ploy more than an attempt to become a Super Bowl contender. Again, the Patriots are consistently proving to be a sloppy, poorly managed team. And consider how rarely Belichick hits on high draft picks. The jury might still be out on Jones and 2022 first-rounder Cole Strange, but they and Isaiah Wynn are greatly outnumbered by a failed group containing names like N'Keal Harry, Derek Rivers and Cyrus Jones (to name just a few).

Indicators of his recent success (or lack thereof) in finding, procuring and grooming talent: Stephon Gilmore is the only Patriots position player who has been a first-team All-Pro in the last four years, and this year's roster contains just one Pro Bowler.

Maybe the Patriots are better off starting fresh, whether that means finding someone to take Belichick off their hands in exchange for draft (or real-world) capital or asking him to resign.

Regardless, it feels as though they're smashing their heads against a wall with defensive-oriented Matt Patricia outlandishly running a revamped but consistently clumsy offense. And because they haven't had much success in recent offseasons, the talent isn't there. Nobody could blame Belichick for not wanting to tolerate a full rebuild, but that might be necessary if Jones can't emerge as a franchise quarterback.

Wynn and starting corner Jonathan Jones are scheduled to hit free agency this offseason, and three of their best young players—Ja'Whaun Bentley, Mike Onwenu and Kyle Dugger—will then enter contract years. The Belichick Way is to not overpay, but that's inevitable in this era. It's hard to envision the Patriots can get a lot better by investing deeply in a good-not-great core, but neglecting to do so will result in even more short-term pain.

In said era, a great coach-quarterback combo can compensate for a lot of flaws. But Belichick appears to have lost much of his touch, and Jones has by all indications regressed as a sophomore subject of the Patricia experiment.

You get the feeling they'll all give it another year. The Patriots have never been rash, and according to Spotrac, they're on track to enter the offseason with more salary-cap space than anyone else in the AFC. Jones could still make it, and Belichick deserves plenty of leeway.

But another year with Belichick, Jones, Patricia and this core has a very good chance to do more long-term harm than good for a team that is owed nothing from the football gods.

The powers of college football are not going anywhere anytime soon.

The Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs sit on top of the class of 2023 recruiting rankings after the December National Signing Day.

Alabama and Georgia were not the biggest headline makers on Wednesday. That title belonged to the Oregon Ducks.

Oregon surged multiple positions into the top 10 of most national recruiting rankings thanks to a tremendous Signing Day.

The Ducks are the only west coast team in the top 15 of the team rankings at 247 Sports. They appear to be ready to take over the PAC-12 for good once the UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans leave for the Big Ten.

Class of 2023 Recruiting Rankings

1. Alabama

2. Georgia

3. Texas

4. Miami

5. Ohio State

6. LSU

7. Oregon

8. Oklahoma

9. Notre Dame

10. Tennessee

Oregon stole the headlines on Signing Day itself by flipping a few players.

The Ducks landed quarterback Austin Novosad, who was committed to Baylor, to replace Dante Moore, who opted last week to go to UCLA instead of the Ducks.

The Ducks landed two recruits who were originally committed to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and they landed cornerback Daylen Austin, who was initially pledged to the LSU Tigers.

Head coach Dan Lanning and his staff finished off the day with the signature of five-star defensive end Matayo Uiagalelei.

Oregon made the biggest move in the team recruiting rankings on Wednesday with a SEC-style approach to the process that Lanning brought with him from Georgia.

The Ducks still have some progress to make to catch up to Alabama and Georgia in the recruiting rankings.

Alabama is on top of the team rankings with a class that features a ton of four-and-five-star players.

The Crimson Tide is bringing in six five-star players and 20 four-star players. The biggest news from Tuscaloosa in the last week was the flip of offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor from Iowa.

Proctor is one of six players ranked in the Top 25 to sign with Alabama. Safety Caleb Downs is the highest-rated prospect in the Tide's recruiting class.

Georgia also has an abundance of top-tier recruits headed to its program. Twenty four-star players and two five-star prospectors are a part of the second-best recruiting class.

Arch Manning, the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning, is the top player in the class of 2023. He headlined the third-ranked Texas Longhorns class.

Texas, Alabama and Georgia are three of eight schools with multiple five-star players in their recruiting classes.

Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Texas and Notre Dame were also in the top 10 of the team rankings last year.

The top recruiting team in the class of 2022, the Texas A&M Aggies are currently 14th, one spot ahead of USC.

Michigan has never won a College Football Playoff game. The Wolverines lost in their CFP debut in the 2021 season, falling to Georgia in the Orange Bowl, which was a semifinal matchup.

TCU has never played in a College Football Playoff game. The Horned Frogs have mostly struggled since the four-team format was introduced ahead of the 2014 season.

One of these programs will soon be notching its first CFP win and advancing to play for the national championship. Which one will it be? That will be decided on Dec. 31.

No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 TCU are set to face off in the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on New Year's Eve. The winner will advance to face the victor of the Peach Bowl, which features a matchup between No. 1 Georgia and No. 4 Ohio State.

Here's all of the latest information on this year's Fiesta Bowl, including odds, comments and more.

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Fiesta Bowl Odds

Spread: Michigan (-8)

Over/Under: 58.5 total points

Moneyline: Michigan -305 (bet $305 to win $100); TCU +255 (bet $100 to win $255)

Via DraftKings Sportsbook

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Preview, Top Comments

Michigan has rolled through the 2022 season, winning each of its first 13 games. It won a big matchup against Ohio State to end the regular season, then took down Purdue in the Big Ten Championship Game.

Now, the Wolverines will face a challenging opponent in TCU. Although the Horned Frogs lost to Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship Game, they won each of their 12 games before that. So the Fiesta Bowl has the potential to be a competitive game.

If Michigan is going to end up on top, it likely will need to find a way to limit the production of TCU senior quarterback Max Duggan, who was a Heisman Trophy finalist and is having a stellar season.

"We'll be fired up to compete against a relentless competitor like him," Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh said, per Josh Henschke of Maize & Blue Review.

Duggan has passed for 3,321 yards, 30 touchdowns and only four interceptions in 13 games. He's also rushed for 405 yards and six scores.

The talented QB is the primary reason why TCU led the Big 12 in points (40.3) and total yards (473) this season.

"Nothing but tremendous respect for the type of competitor that he is," Harbaugh said, per Henschke. "And it's going to be a huge challenge getting ready for a quarterback like that. All I have seen is just relentless competitor, super-talented, tremendous effort."

But Michigan's defense has excelled in tough matchups already this season. The Wolverines have allowed only 277.1 total yards per game, which ranked third best among FBS teams. Their 13.4 points allowed per contest ranked fifth.

In 13 games, Michigan has allowed more than 17 points only three times.

Duggan is ready for the challenge. Not only because the Wolverines have been dominant this season, but because the school has thrived for so many years.

"You get to play a great program that has so much history, and that's what you want," Duggan said, per The Athletic's Sam Khan Jr. "You want to play the best."

Michigan has had steady leadership for quite some time. Harbaugh took over as the head coach at his alma mater ahead of the 2015 season, and it took him no time to get the program on track. The Wolverines have won 10 or more games in five of his eight seasons at the helm, including his first two and the past two.

Sonny Dykes is also having immediate success at TCU. He took over as the Horned Frogs' head coach prior to the 2022 campaign. Before that, they hadn't won more than seven games in any of the previous four seasons.

"It's been quite a journey from where we were this time last year to where we are today," Dykes said, per Khan. "You got to give our players and everybody associated with our program a ton of credit for just believing and doing things the right way."

On Dec. 31, one of these two teams will be taking another big step forward and moving on to the CFP National Championship Game, which is set for Jan. 9. And at that point, they'll be only one win away from a national title.

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Two nonprofit watchdog groups—CharityWatch and the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy—and an investigation by ESPN's Tisha Thompson found that the Washington Commanders' Charitable Foundation is "operating in a manner that calls into question whether it is upholding its charitable mission responsibly."

"There are so many red flags here, it's hard to keep score," CharityWatch executive director Laurie Styron told Thompson. "Taxpayers who subsidize the existence of public charities also have a stake in knowing that nonprofits aren't being used to forward the personal interests of the people running it."

The charity receives 75 percent of its donations from the public and the team's fans. In 2020, it allegedly raised $2.1 million in contributions and grants and gave away $697,000. In 2021, it is said to have raised $927,992 and gave away more $471,000.

The review found that the charity "lacks sufficient independent oversight"; failed to disclose that one of the companies it owes money to belongs to team owner Daniel Snyder; had a number of "unusual transactions" listed in its filings; and provided grants to organizations that don't align with its mission statement.

"The Washington Commander owners, players, donors, alumni, and staff have dedicated time and resources to helping others and we are very proud of the work that has been accomplished, while becoming even more integrated as a community partner in the Washington region," team spokesperson Jean Medina said in a statement.

John Brownlee and Stuart Nash, who are counsel for the Commanders, responded to the report in a statement:

ESPN chose to ignore the informed opinions of the Foundation's independent auditors, and additional outside legal experts who actually had access to the Foundation's records and finances, in favor of the uninformed opinions of individuals who had no such access, and who had affirmatively refused such access when it was offered to them.

Up until April, Commanders co-CEO Tanya Snyder was the sole voting board member in the foundation. Team president Jason Wright, senior vice president of corporate affairs and strategy Amina Bulman, Commanders' Charitable Foundation executive director, Valeri Biberaj and chief operating officer Greg Resh were then added as voting board members by Snyder.

Resh later left both the team and the foundation's voting board in September.

"The potential for abuse is really, really high," president and CEO of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy Aaron Dorfman told Thompson regarding the board being comprised solely of team employees.

"The better practice would be to have some people on the board who are not beholden to the Snyders or to the team," he added. "People who have the best interests of vulnerable children, because the foundation says that is what it's working toward. And that would help guarantee that the foundation is used for its intended purpose of really benefiting the community."

It is the latest controversy for the Snyders and the Commanders, who have faced numerous investigations and inquiries in the past year, including a House Committee on Oversight and Reform probe that found Snyder had fostered a "culture of fear" within the organization. It also reported instances of "sexual harassment, bullying, and other toxic conduct" over the course of several decades.

In November, the organization announced that the Snyders had hired Bank of America Securities "to consider potential transactions," the first indication that the beleaguered owner may finally consider selling the franchise.

Some officials within the Los Angeles Lakers are "very intrigued" by New York Knicks forward Cam Reddish, according to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times.

Woike reported the Knicks are looking to get a first-round draft pick for Reddish but that "the asking price is expected to eventually dip" because he isn't featuring for New York at the moment.

Reddish hasn't played since a 121-100 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 3, and the Knicks' recent turnaround makes it tough to see his role increasing anytime soon. Following that Mavericks defeat, New York went on an eight-game winning streak.

If the Lakers want Reddish, then they probably just need to play the waiting game.

The 23-year-old is eligible for restricted free agency in the summer, and you wouldn't expect the Knicks to re-sign a player who's not even in the rotation right now. Sooner or later, the front office will have to settle for whatever's on the table because getting a second-round pick is better than nothing.

For Los Angeles, Woike's report symbolizes the predicament for general manager Rob Pelinka.

Especially in the wake of Anthony Davis' foot injury, which will sideline him for at least a month, the need to upgrade the roster became more pressing. But identifying a solution that makes the Lakers meaningfully better is easier said than done.

"The Lakers certainly have options, but under the circumstances, most of them involve overpaying with no real certainty that Davis will be whole enough to make a trade matter—at least for a playoff run this season," Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus wrote.

Reddish was a top-10 pick in 2019 for a reason. He was a 33.3 percent three-point shooter in his one season at Duke and had a boatload of defensive potential thanks to his 6'8" frame. Coming out of the draft, Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman pegged him as a three-and-D starter in the NBA.

That's the kind of player Los Angeles needs, and he could be a contributor for years to come if he worked out.

Reddish is also a reclamation project, though, and that kind of midseason gamble is never ideal when a franchise is operating with the kind of short-term view the Lakers are.

The New York Yankees could look at the trade market to continue to upgrade their roster after making their big moves in free agency.

Per MLB Network's Jon Morosi, the Yankees are among the teams that have contacted the Pittsburgh Pirates to discuss a trade for Bryan Reynolds.

Morosi noted the Yankees could be at a disadvantage in trade talks for Reynolds because they don't have a lot of high-quality starting pitching in their system, and the Pirates prefer starters if they deal the 27-year-old outfielder.

With the Pirates mired in a perpetual state of rebuilding, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Dec. 3 that Reynolds requested a trade.

Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post and MLB Network, the Pirates offered Reynolds a contract extension that would have made him the highest-paid player in team history.

It's not a high bar to clear. Ke'Bryan Hayes' eight-year, $70 million extension signed in April is the richest deal the Pirates have ever given out, and it pales in comparison to how much money players have commanded in free agency this offseason

Hayes signed his extension when he was five years away from free agency. Reynolds is under team control for three more years before hitting free agency after the 2025 season.

The Pirates said in a statement that Reynolds' trade request will have "zero impact" on their decision-making process and that they "look forward to him having a great season for the Pirates."

Using MLB.com's rankings for the 2022 season, the Yankees' top seven prospects are all position players. Right-hander Will Warren is the top pitcher in the system, but he faces questions about his viability as a starter because of the quality of his secondary stuff.

The Yankees addressed two big problems in free agency. They retained reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge by signing him to a nine-year, $360 million contract, and they added Carlos Rodón to their starting rotation on a six-year, $162 million deal.

Outfield depth is still a question mark in the Bronx. Harrison Bader is a good defensive center fielder, but he only hit .250/.294/.356 in 86 games between the Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals in 2022.

Reynolds has become one of the best offensive center fielders in baseball since making his MLB debut in 2019. He ranks fifth among players at the position in FanGraphs' wins above replacement (12.5) over the past four seasons. Mike Trout, George Springer, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Starling Marte are the only players ahead of him.

In 493 career games, Reynolds owns a .281/.361/.481 slash line with 74 homers and 239 RBI.