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Trey Hendrickson’s latest comments suggest he could be headed to contract holdout

The latest comments from Cincinnati Bengals pass rusher Trey Hendrickson indicate an extended contract holdout could be in the works.
Hendrickson is in the final year of his current contract with Cincinnati, under which he is set to make $15.8 million. Speaking on The Pat McAfee Show in April, Hendrickson outlined his desire for an extension with the Bengals, dating back to last season, and how management told him that if his production remained at a high level, a deal would be done.
“To have a year that I have remaining on my contract … we can get into that real quick,” said Hendrickson. “Last year and the year before I’ve been talking about long-term contract, guaranteed money, things like that. It was discussed with me in a meeting, which I’m very fortunate to have had with my agent, that we would get something done this year. So that being said, last year, ‘Go out and play, play at the level you have, we’ll get it done’ — that was communicated with me.
“So basically, this year, it’s going to get worked on. They also reiterated that at the combine. So that just kind of clears the air on that. Moving forward, the happiness of my camp … [the Bengals] are more than welcome to call me. I’ve had my cell phone, same cell phone number since high school, open line of communication is always open with me and my agents. So if they have anything they’d like to discuss, we’ve been nothing but willing to listen.”
Hendrickson led the league with 17.5 sacks last season.
However, in new comments made to ESPN, the Bengals pass rusher has indicated growing frustration with management.
“No communication has taken place between my camp and the organization post draft,” said Hendrickson in the new statement. “The offers prior to the draft did not reflect the vision we shared and were promised last offseason if I continued to play at a high level. Coaches are aware of these past conversations.
“Rather than using collaboration to get us to a point to bring me home to the team, THEY are no longer communicating. I have been eagerly awaiting a resolution of this situation, but that’s hard to do when there is no discussion and an evident lack of interest in reaching mutual goals.”
The Bengals drafted EDGE defender Shemar Stewart out of Texas A&M with the 17th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Cincinnati inked wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to new deals this offseason, but has taken a different approach with Hendrickson. The team allowed the pass rusher to seek a trade earlier this offseason, partly to gauge how the league valued him in hopes of spurring contract talks. But given that no deal was struck — and these latest comments from Hendrickson — we could be speeding towards an impasse.
And a holdout shortly. […]

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Gabriel Bortoleto cannot wait to drive an F1 car on his ‘favorite’ track this week in Imola

Shortly after his retirement from the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, Sauber rookie driver Gabriel Bortoleto had his eyes set on the next race on the calendar.
With good reason.
This week, the grid heads to Imola for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, as the series kicks off the European portion of the calendar. During the 2024 F2 season, Bortoleto qualified in pole position at Imola, and finished second in the F2 Feature race.
Speaking on that Sunday in Miami, Bortoleto outlined why he is looking ahead to this week, starting with the fact that it is his favorite circuit.
“Why is [Imola] my favorite? Because I love racing the track,” said Bortoleto to the media, including SB Nation, in Miami.
“I’ve done great results in my career there, you know, I [qualified on pole] there I think twice, and then I’ve always been on the podium in all the series I’ve done.”
Bortoleto elaborated on his fondness for Imola in Sauber’s preview of this week’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
“Imola is a track I have raced on before in other categories, but stepping up to Formula One is a whole different thing,” said Bortoleto. “It is definitely one of my favorite tracks: it has a great flow, and the challenge is something I enjoy. It is a place that demands your full attention – every corner counts.
As for what the rookie driver is hoping for, Bortoleto is aiming for a “decent result” for Sauber this week.
“This weekend, I am focused on building on our learnings, staying sharp, and finding those extra tenths. I am ready to push hard and get a decent result for the team.”
SB Nation will have full coverage of the F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix this week, so come back early and often! […]

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Final theatrical trailer released for ‘F1’ movie starring Brad Pitt

Producers have released the final theatrical trailer for the upcoming F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which will be released worldwide at the end of June.
The movie stars Pitt as aging driver Sonny Hayes, dubbed the “greatest that never was,” who is recruited by a former teammate to drive for a failing Formula 1 team alongside rookie Joshua Pearce, portrayed by Damson Idris. Hayes’ former teammate Ruben Cervantes, who now owns the fledgling fictional F1 team APXGP, is played by Javier Bardem. The film also stars Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, and Kim Bodnia.
The movie is directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Pitt, Jeremy Kleiner, Dede Gardner, Chad Oman, and Lewis Hamilton.
The release of the final theatrical trailer comes in the wake of the Miami Grand Prix, when the film was given the full activation treatment at Hard Rock Stadium, complete with a garage area, a mock podium, and the APXGP car on full display for fans:

Note: Readers on Apple News will need to click the above link to view the photograph.
The full artist lineup for the soundtrack for the F1 movie was released as well in Miami, featuring Ed Sheeran, ROSÉ, Burna Boy, and Tate McRae.
You can see the final theatrical trailer here:

F1 hits cinemas on June 25 internationally, and on June 27 in North America. […]

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F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix: Full coverage from SB Nation

After a week where the grid was silent, Formula 1 returns to action with the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
The grid’s return to Imola marks the start of the European portion of the calendar, and another triple-header for the sport. Following the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix the circuit will head to Monte Carlo for the Monaco Grand Prix, one of the biggest dates on the motorsport calendar. The triple-header finishes with the Spanish Grand Prix at the end of the month.
With his win in the Miami Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri increased his lead in the Drivers’ Championship race over Lando Norris to 16 points, solidifying the McLaren driver as the favorite in that title fight. Thanks to what Piastri and Norris have done to date, McLaren holds a commanding 105-point lead over Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship race.
But we are a long way until titles are decided.
SB Nation will have full coverage of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix all week long, so check back early and often! […]

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NFL Schedule Release 2025: Cowboys and Eagles will kickoff the season on NBC

Welcome to NFL Schedule Release Week.
Over the next few days the league will roll out its 2025 schedule, culminating in the full schedule release on Wednesday, May 14. Ahead of that day, however, some of the league’s broadcast partners are unveiling “select” games on their slate for the season ahead.
Among them is NBC, the network that airs “Sunday Night Football.” To begin NFL Schedule Release Week, the network and the league announced that the defending Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles will host the Dallas Cowboys to open the season:

The league had several fascinating options for this game, including the Detroit Lions and the Washington Commanders, the team Philadelphia defeated in the NFC Championship Game last season. The Chicago Bears were also an intriguing choice, given the hiring of Ben Johnson and the expectations around that team heading into 2025.
We might have even seen a Pope in attendance.
However, the league opted for one of the NFC East’s storied rivalries to kick off the season. […]

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5 key F1 storylines for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

After a week off, Formula 1 roars back into action with this week’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
This race kicks off the European portion of the schedule, as well as another F1 triple-header that will bring the circuit from Italy, to Monaco, and finally to Barcelona.
The last time the grid was in action Oscar Piastri secured his fourth Grand Prix win of the season, extending his lead in the F1 Drivers’ Championship race over Lando Norris to 16 points. Piastri and Norris have powered McLaren to a commanding 105-point lead over Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship.
However, there is a long way to go before titles are decided.
Here are the major storylines heading into the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
A red-hot Oscar Piastri emerges
In the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, hometown favorite Oscar Piastri found himself in the grass in the late stages of the race, ending any chance he had at becoming the first Australian driver to win their home Grand Prix.
But while his chance at winning ended, Piastri did not give up on the race itself, and one of the enduring images of that week was the McLaren driver finding a way to back onto the track before getting started again.
That moment may be the video of the season if Piastri’s current form holds.
Piastri’s win in Miami gave him four Grand Prix wins on the season, and three victories in a row, which extended his lead over teammate Lando Norris in the Drivers’ Championship race to 16 points. Max Verstappen sits third in the Drivers’ Championship standings, 32 points off the pace, while George Russell checks in fourth, 37 points behind Piastri.
Can the Australian driver keep the momentum going in Imola, or will his rivals find an answer for his current form?
Will we see big upgrades from teams this week?
Could we see several teams bring upgrade packages to Imola, in an attempt to extract additional performance from their challengers?
Imola has often been the site of performance upgrades from teams, given its location and spot on the schedule. With the grid shifting to the European portion of the calendar, kicking off that portion of the schedule with an upgrade package has been an approach used by teams in previous seasons.
This year might not be any different, with rumors swirling of upgrades coming at Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Red Bull.
What might make this year different, however, is what comes next year. With 2026 bringing a completely new set of technical regulations, teams that are likely out of title contention may take one last bite at the upgrade apple, before turning their full time and attention to the next set of regulations. Coming into the 2026 season, the chatter around the sport held that teams at the back of the grid might try and get a leg up on the competition by adjusting their focus to next season, rather than developing their 2025 challengers during the year.
That was also a major talking point in the paddock during the Miami Grand Prix, with several teams talking about focusing on 2026 in the coming weeks.
Teams at the front of the grid may still keep one eye on 2025. For example, McLaren will hope to keep ahead of the competition, while Red Bull might keep bringing upgrades to keep Max Verstappen viable in the Drivers’ Championship race.
But this may be the beginning of the end of in-season upgrades for many teams.
Familiar stomping rounds for the young drivers
Speaking with the rookie drivers ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, one theme emerged.
They could not wait to get to Imola.
For most of the first-year drivers, the opening part of the schedule brought them to some unfamiliar circuits, such as Suzuka, Shanghai, and Miami. However, this week sees drivers such as Gabriel Bortoleto, Oliver Bearman, Kimi Antonelli, Isack Hadjar, and yes, Franco Colapinto, return to circuits where they raced in F2 a season ago. In fact, during last year’s F2 race at Imola, Colapinto won the F2 Sprint race while Hadjar won the F2 Feature race.
Then the next two races — the Monaco Grand Prix and the Spanish Grand Prix — come on familiar circuits as well.
We might see a step forward from these rookies in the coming weeks.
What is happening at Alpine?
As mentioned above, Franco Colapinto makes his long-anticipated return to the grid this week, stepping in for Jack Doohan at Alpine.
But Colapinto’s return is not the only development at the Enstone-based team to unfold over the past week.
In the frenzied paddock atmosphere following the Miami Grand Prix, a message was sent from Alpine to the journalists on the ground. Due to a change in travel plans, Team Principal Oliver Oakes would not be holding his usual post-race media scrum in Alpine’s hospitality space. This came moments after Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore was spotted hurrying from the garages to the paddock inside Hard Rock Stadium.
This touched off speculation about the impending switch to Colapinto, speculation that reached a fever pitch the next morning when The Race was first to report that a decision to replace Doohan was made after the Miami Grand Prix, and an official announcement would be coming.
An announcement did follow on Tuesday, but not the one that was expected. Instead, it was news that Oakes was resigning from the team with “immediate effect.”
Many believed that it was a result of tension between Oakes and Briatore over the driver switch, which was indeed confirmed on Wednesday. Briatore and Oakes released a pair of statements on social media, stating that the resignation was not due to a disagreement between the two but rather because of personal reasons.
Then came the latest bit of shocking news: Word that Oakes’ brother William Oakes was arrested back on May 1 in England, while “ in possession of a large amount of cash.” He was charged with “transferring criminal property.”
William Oakes is a director at Hitech Grand Prix, the junior racing team founded by Oliver.
Now the team has to get back to racing, with Colapinto tapped for a five-race stint to prove he deserves a shot on the grid on a full-time basis. Will he put his best foot forward this week, as controversy swirls around the team’s former boss? Will Colapinto struggle as Doohan did before him, opening the door for a return to the grid for the Australian rookie? Or will a third driver get a shot at that seat this season, with Paul Aron waiting in the wings as well?
The future of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
One of the biggest storylines entering this week might be the race itself.
Or more accurately, its future.
This is the final season of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, under its current contract with F1. While race officials are hopeful that a contract extension will be secured, F1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali — who is from the region — cast doubt on keeping the race on the calendar.
“In the coming months, we will face this choice [about keeping Imola]. From a human point of view, it will not be easy, but I have to exercise an international role that puts me in front of so many requests around the world from emerging countries that can allow F1 to grow,” Domenicali said to Radio Rai Gr Parlamento.
“It is an evaluation that I will soon have to make as a definitive choice. “Italy has always represented and will represent in the future an important part of Formula 1.
“It will be increasingly difficult to have two races in the same country because interest in Formula 1 is growing and it is a situation that we will have to face in the coming months. It is difficult for it to continue for a long time.”
F1 recently extended the contract of the Italian Grand Prix, held at Monza, through the 2031 season.
While Imola returned to the calendar during COVID, its time might be running out as F1 looks to expand its global footprint. There have been reports that a one-year extension could be reached, given that the 2023 race at Imola was canceled due to flooding in the region, but the future of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is one of the big stories to watch this week. […]

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The LEGO F1 drivers’ parade at the Miami Grand Prix was 15 minutes of pure joy

The 2025 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix introduced fans of the sport — and the drivers themselves — to something they never knew they needed.
A drivers’ parade with all ten teams rolling around the circuit in full-sized LEGO F1 cars.
Now F1 has released a 15-minute video featuring footage from the onboard cameras located on each of the cars, taking fans inside just how much the 20 drivers loved this parade format. The full video, which you can watch on the F1 YouTube channel, contains some hilarious moments from last Sunday in Miami.
But the main takeaways? First, the drivers absolutely loved every second of the parade.
And second? When you take 20 race car drivers and drop them into LEGO race cars, they will turn into kids again and absolutely race them around the track.
Here are some of the best moments.
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc trying to use their momentum to win the race:

Alpine, Mercedes, and Ferrari going three-wide into the hairpin:

Nico Hülkenberg falling at the end of the race:

Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson pinning Fernando Alonso between them:

Kimi Antonelli taking a “business call” during the parade:

Hopefully this is not the last time we see a drivers’ parade like this. […]

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Derek Carr retiring from NFL due to shoulder injury

Ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft, news broke that New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr was dealing with a shoulder injury that put his status for the upcoming season in jeopardy.
Now, after trying both an injection and physical rehabilitation, Carr has decided to retire, according to multiple reports.
Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network was first with the news, outlining that after Carr tried both a round of rehab as well as an injection, doctors informed him he would not be 100% until “another procedure:”

#Saints QB Derek Carr, dealing with a shoulder injury that requires surgery that would knock him out for the 2025 season, is retiring, per The Insiders.While Carr tried an injection and rehab, it wouldn’t allow him to be 100% until another procedure. Both sides move on. pic.twitter.com/sHbCq9nqVw— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 10, 2025

As noted by Rapoport in a subsequent post on social media, both Carr and the Saints gain financially from this decision. While retirement means Carr foregoes the $30 million guaranteed he is due this year, the Saints will not seek reimbursement of Carr’s $10 million roster bonus and signing bonus.
In a statement shared by the team, the Saints opened up on the injury Carr was dealing with. According to the Saints Carr experienced pain in his right shoulder when he started throwing again in March, and tests “determined objectively that Derek sustained a labral tear and also had significant degenerative changes to his rotator cuff.”
While surgery was an “option,” doctors told Carr that “there was no guarantee Derek would return to the level of strength, function and performance of play to which he was accustomed.”
The post on social media also included a statement from the quarterback himself.
“Upon reflection of prayer, and in discussion with [my wife] Heather, I’ve decided to retire from the National Football League,” said Carr. “For more than 11 years, we have been incredibly blessed, and we are forever grateful and humbled by this experience. It’s difficult to find the right words to express our thanks to all the teammates, coaches, management, ownership, team officials and especially the fans who made this journey so special. Your unwavering support has meant the world to us.”
The word that Carr’s status for the 2025 season was in jeopardy sparked further speculation that the Saints would draft a quarterback with the No. 9 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. However, New Orleans went in a different direction, adding offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. in that spot instead.
Rather than adding a quarterback in the first round, New Orleans waited until the second round, drafting quarterback Tyler Shough out of Louisville at No. 40.

Now Shough is in line to compete for the starting job in New Orleans. […]

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James Vowles vows ‘it simply won’t happen again’ in F1 Miami Grand Prix debrief

The 2025 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix was a triumph for Williams. Both Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz Jr. finished in the points in the Grand Prix, with Albon coming across the line in P5 and Sainz finishing in ninth. Speaking with the media on Saturday after qualifying Sainz was elated at being just “three-tenths” off pole position, and Albon’s finish ahead of both Ferraris on pure pace certainly turned heads.
But it was not a completely smooth operation in the race, particularly from Sainz’s point of view. The Spanish driver was frustrated following the Miami Grand Prix, believing Albon overtook him after being instructed not to race. “Yeah that’s not … That’s not how I go racing, guys,” Sainz said on the radio after the checkered flag. “I don’t care. I’ve lost a lot of confidence here on everything.”
Both Albon and Sainz then addressed the overtake after the race when speaking with the media.
“[I]f I’m told in the radio that I’m not going to be attacked, and we’re going to push together, to be overtaken it’s always, as a driver you feel stupid because you feel powerless,” said Sainz to the media, including SB Nation, after the Miami Grand Prix. “Because you’re playing the good guy, the same way that I played the good guy in Jeddah, and you get overtaken and you look completely stupid. But you know it’s the way it goes, we’ll talk about it, and I’m sure we’ll come out of it better as a team, and we will move on.”
For his part, Albon believed that a delay in the communication between the team and the two cars may have contributed to the situation, but he believed that at the moment he overtook Sainz, he was free to race.
“It was most probably in the exact moment of that message that was run over to him, so I think if we stayed up together a little bit longer then I would have been told that. But for that time, we were still free to race. So I think it was just a bit delayed between the two cars,” said Albon.
Now Team Principal James Vowles is giving his “verdict” on the situation.
In the latest “The Vowles Verdict,” a post-race series produced by the team, Vowles outlined what happened in Miami, with a concession that the situation was “the part that frustrated me the most from the race weekend.”
According to Vowles, Albon was on the verge of overtaking Sainz, but was also dealing with an overheating FW47. The communication to the drivers that they were to maintain a distance came as Albon was completing his overtake.
“A message was communicated to both race engineers, effectively that Alex had a reliability problem and we needed to get some air into the radiators,” began Vowles. “That was communicated to both with the decision of just making a little gap between the cars for the time being to make sure we do that.
“However, that message wasn’t clear in its construct. It wasn’t even clear on whether overtaking was possible or not. The primary function is getting the car cool to move forward.
“To Carlos the message was communicated: ‘Alex won’t attack you’ and to Alex that same message was communicated that he isn’t to overtake Carlos, but only [when] his DRS was open and he was effectively alongside Carlos completing the overtake.
“So this isn’t Alex going against team orders, this is on us as a team as an organisation to significantly tighten up how we communicate to the engineers and how quickly we communicate to the drivers.”
The Williams boss vowed that the situation would not happen again.
“What I can assure everyone is it simply won’t happen again.”
Vowles also indicated that he understood exactly where Sainz was coming from, with his frustration after the checkered flag.
“I’d be disappointed if we didn’t have drivers being frustrated by what happens out on track. They’re giving their heart and soul to it, so in the case of Carlos he was there fighting for a fifth place on merit.
“In the circumstance where something catches you off-guard and you’re not sure whether it was the driver or anything else going on, it can frustrate you. But his passion is exactly why I want him in this team and in the car.
“We spent quite a bit of time post-race and again on Monday talking through it – the incident actually was just a few minutes, but more importantly [discussing] how we as a team move forward from that and do a better job altogether in the future.”
Even with the incident, Williams banked 12 points during the Miami Grand Prix, increasing their lead over sixth-place Haas in the Constructors’ Championship to 17 points. […]

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Why 31 NFL teams might be frustrated with the Houston Texans

On Thursday, Jayden Higgins made NFL history.
But the history the incoming rookie wide receiver made might just have 31 NFL teams furious with the club that drafted him.
Higgins put pen to paper on his rookie contract with the Houston Texans, signing a fully guaranteed four-year contract worth $11,700,824. That contract made history as Higgins became the first second-round pick in NFL history to receive a fully guaranteed contract.
The Texans drafted Higgins at No. 34, early in the second round. Following the pick, General Manager Nick Caserio raved about Higgins, highlighting how he went from an “under-recruited” player coming out of high school to becoming an “NFL player:”

However, that contract might have the other 31 teams a little frustrated with the Texans, as it likely opens the door to fully guaranteed contracts for second-round picks going forward. For example, Kyle Crabbs, who does tremendous work covering both the NFL Draft and the Miami Dolphins, pointed out after the Higgins contract that while the Dolphins were close to signing their own second-round pick, those talks “probably got more complicated at the last minute” after the Higgins contract was announced:

Only Dolphins draft pick unsigned is Jonah Savaiinaea, whose negotiations probably got more complicated at the last minute when the Texans gave Jayden Higgins (34th overall) the first fully guaranteed 2nd-round contract in NFL history yesterday. https://t.co/an94idDYqT— Kyle Crabbs (@KyleCrabbs) May 9, 2025

As our own Jared Mueller joked this morning around the SB Nation watercooler, if your team’s second-round picks do not sign contracts, feel free to blame the Texans. […]