Denver Broncos

The NFL was quick to punish Kareem Jackson for his hit on Musgrave ... suspending him four games for "violations of unnecessary roughness rules" against the Packers.

In a letter to Jackson, the NFL's VP of football operations Jon Runyan explained the decision ... saying, "On the play in question, you delivered a forceful blow to the head/neck area of a defenseless receiver, when you had the time and space to avoid such contact."

"You could have made contact with your opponent within the rules, yet you chose not to."

Runyan also pointed out it wasn't Jackson's first offense ... as he was hit with several personal fouls for violating player safety-related rules.

Jackson can appeal ... but as it stands right now, he is slated to miss the Broncos' matchup against Kansas City, Buffalo, Minnesota and Cleveland.

Broncos defensive back Kareem Jackson received a racist message following his ejection from the Packers game Sunday ... and he was so angry with the comment, he called out the sender publicly.

The DM was sent to Jackson's Instagram account just after he was booted from Denver's 19-17 win over Green Bay for illegally hitting Luke Musgrave in the head and neck area.

The message, apparently sent from a man named Philipp, read, "Stop behaving like a f***ing n** 🤡"

Minutes later, the 35-year-old safety -- who was actually ejected from the Broncos vs. Commanders game earlier this season as well -- reposted the message ... and was clearly fuming over its content.

"I wanna make sure you get the attention you're looking for," Jackson said. "I want your friends and family to know what type of racist person you really are over a game."

"I'll repost all this week so it doesn't go unnoticed. Don't worry, IG tough guy."

Jackson later revealed he got another inappropriate message on the app ... one he was also furious about.

"Another IG tough guy," Jackson wrote after reposting the DM to his 120,000 followers. "This what we deal wit because we are athletes on a regular. Disgruntled fans that hide behind social media knowing it wouldn't end well in person. Enjoy this fame Daniel."

This is the second time a high-profile player has called out fans for their messages on Instagram this season ... earlier this year, Vikings star Alexander Mattison said he got over 60 hate notes from fans, with some including the N-word.

Jerry Jeudy is now taking the high road in his beef with Steve Smith ... saying Thursday he has "no hate toward" the former All-Pro while adding that if he had acted differently, he thinks none of their drama would have ever gone public.

You'll recall, Smith unloaded on Jeudy prior to the Denver Broncos vs. Kansas City Chiefs "Thursday Night Football" game last week ... going off after he said the Denver star wouldn't accept his apology for some words he had previously said about the wideout on his podcast.

Smith, while live on-air for the NFL Network, called Jeudy "just a guy" ... adding that he believed Jeudy was "a tier three" player.

The harsh comments quickly went viral -- but when Jeudy was asked to go in-depth about them in front of his locker this week, he didn't throw any barbs back.

Instead, he explained that he didn't initially accept Smith's apology because he didn't realize one was coming.

"One thing I do agree on, I feel like I should have just listened to what he had to say," the 24-year-old former Alabama star said. "But at the same time, I'm going back to my roots, and once someone talks bad about you behind your back, you can't talk to -- don't expect to come to them in person and think everything's going to be OK at the end of the day."

"But, like I said, if I would've known he would've came and apologized and stuff like that, it would have been a whole different story or reaction and he wouldn't have said what he said."

It's been a rough year for Jeudy outside of the Smith drama -- he started the season injured ... and has tallied only 20 receptions since he's returned to the field.

Russell Wilson may not be winning on the football field, but off it is a different story ... the NFL star and his wife Ciara donated $1 million total to a bunch of organizations around Denver!

Russell and Ciara revealed the amazing contribution on Tuesday ... saying they gave ten different nonprofits in Denver $100k each.

The 9x Pro Bowler and Ciara -- who is pregnant with their third child -- hand over massive checks to "deserving organizations"  ... in partnership with their Why Not You Foundation and Common Spirit Health.

"We are forever grateful for the opportunity to impact our youth!" Wilson said.

"Today, we celebrated 10 deserving organizations which will each receive $100,000 to support their remarkable work in health equity, education, food security, social justice, and support for children and youth."

Of course, the gesture comes days after the Broncos lost a close Thursday Night Football game to the Chiefs, bringing their record to 1-5 record, putting them in last place in the AFC West.

Fans had high expectations when they landed the Super Bowl champ in a trade back in March 2022 ... giving him a 4-year, $245 million extension.

But, the 34-year-old quarterback hasn't been good ... he's 5-16 as the starter, and was sacked 55 times last season, the most in his NFL career. This year hasn't been much better.

However, Broncos' new head coach Sean Payton says the blame shouldn't be entirely on Russ.

"We got to be able to throw it better to win in this league, and that wasn’t directed at one player," Payton said after the TNF loss, "It was directed at all of us on offense."

Despite the struggles in Broncos Country, Wilson hasn't let the on-field struggles slow down his philanthropy.

Steve Smith Sr. went all the way in on Jerry Jeudy before Thursday Night Football ... calling the Broncos wide receiver average in front of millions of people!

Smith, a retired, 5x Pro Bowler, revealed he was involved in a pregame incident with 24-year-old Jeudy ... as the receivers came face-to-face, and it didn't exactly go smoothly.

“The word that I’ve used to describe him in the past was a J.A.G. -- Just A Guy. When I saw him, he’s playing well. I wanted to say to him face-to-face, ‘Hey, I know I said some things in the past I probably shouldn’t have and 'I’m sorry.’ That’s what I wanted to say to him. His response was, Ninja, I don’t mess with you. And, it was a curse word. So I was like, ‘All right.’ And, then he repeated it,” Smith told the NFL Network audience.

That's when the gloves came off.

"I'm sorry I said you were a JAG, 'Just A Guy' who is an average wide receiver [the Broncos] used a first-round pick on that isn't doing anything. I hope today you actually show up in a way that you haven't shown up in the last couple years since they drafted you."

Steve continued ... "So if you ever got a problem with Agent 89, I'm sorry for saying that you are an average wide receiver that they will eventually move on from. When teams call me to ask if they should trade for you, I will say 'No, don't trade for Jerry Jeudy because he is mentally unable to handle constructive criticism who watch specifically if you can be a wide receiver. He's a tier three."

Remember, this was all before the game even started.

If you're tuning into the Chiefs game tonight for Taylor Swift, you might come away a bit disappointed ... 'cause Al Michaels says he's planning to keep the coverage of the pop star to a minimum.

The man who will be broadcasting the Kansas City vs. Denver game at Arrowhead Stadium revealed the plans during a chat with Sports Illustrated's Jimmy Traina earlier Thursday morning.

He said while he and his Amazon Prime Video team clearly want to show that Swift is in attendance watching Travis Kelce and his Kansas City squad play for the third time in the last four weeks ... he vowed to not "make a sideshow the show."

"What we’re gonna do tonight, everything in moderation," the 78-year-old play-by-play man said. "The vast majority of the audience are tuning in to watch a football game. There are people, I don’t know how many, it could be a sizable number, but it’s certainly not a majority, that if you trained the camera on her all night long, they’d be satisfied with that."

"This is not what we’re going to do."

Michaels' words will likely be music to a large portion of NFL fans' ears ... as there was a ton of backlash from football supporters following NBC's coverage of Swift's attendance at the Chiefs vs. Jets game last month.

In fact, it actually led to Kelce himself bashing the NFL for "overdoing it" all.

Michaels, though, did at least leave the door somewhat open for lengthy camera time for Swift ... saying, "If Kelce scores six touchdowns, who the hell knows what we’re going to do."

Taylor Swift is gearing up to go back into cheerleader mode for Travis Kelce, with plans to attend Thursday night's game in K.C. ... though Kelce's status for the matchup still remains questionable.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ Taylor plans to travel to Missouri to watch Travis and the Kansas City Chiefs take on Russell Wilson and The Denver Broncos.

If she makes it, the game will mark Taylor's third appearance at one of Travis' games in the last 4 weeks ... the team has gone undefeated ever since Taylor first popped up at a game next to Travis' mom, Donna, back on September 24.

As we reported, Taylor hit the Chiefs vs. Jets game the following week, but was MIA when Travis and crew took on the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis last Sunday.

One major factor in Taylor's appearance Thursday though ... Travis is battling through an ankle injury, and the team announced Wednesday his status was "questionable" to play.

If she does make it as planned, the timing is interesting. The Chiefs will have a couple days off -- because they won't play the usual Sunday game -- so it's possible she spends additional time with him at home.

To say she's having a busy week would be an understatement ... shutting down The Grove in Los Angeles Wednesday for the premiere of her "Eras Tour" movie and making a surprise appearance.

Taylor Swift se está preparando para volver a alentar a Travis Kelce desde las tribunas, pues sabemos que planea asistir al partido del jueves por la noche en Kansas City. Aunque el estado de Kelce para el juego sigue siendo cuestionable.

Fuentes con conocimiento directo le dicen a TMZ que Taylor planea viajar a Missouri para ver a Travis y los Kansas City Chiefs enfrentarse a Russell Wilson y los Denver Broncos.

Si lo hace, sería la tercera aparición de Taylor en un partido de Travis en las últimas cuatro semanas. El equipo ha permanecido invicto desde que Taylor apareció por primera vez en un juego junto a la mamá de Travis, Donna, el 24 de septiembre.

Como informamos, Taylor fue al partido de los Chiefs contra los Jets la semana siguiente al primer encuentro, pero estuvo desaparecida cuando Travis y su equipo se enfrentaron a los Minnesota Vikings en Minneapolis el domingo pasado.

Un factor importante en la posible aparición de Taylor este jueves es que Travis está luchando con una lesión de tobillo y el mismo equipo anunció el miércoles que su estado para jugar aún era "cuestionable".

Si Taylor aparece como estaba previsto, el momento es interesante. Los Chiefs tendrán un par de días de descanso, por lo que no jugarán el partido habitual del domingo, lo que le permitiría a ella pasar más tiempo con él en casa.

No está de más decir que Taylor está teniendo una semana muy ocupada. El miércoles cerró el famoso The Grove en Los Ángeles para el estreno de su película "Eras Tour", en la que además hizo una aparición sorpresa.

If Taylor Swift makes a return trip to Arrowhead Stadium this week, she might not be able to watch Travis Kelce play ... 'cause the Chiefs just revealed the pop star's new flame is questionable for the big game.

Kansas City is playing on Thursday night instead of the usual Sunday in a prime time contest against the Denver Broncos ... but with Kelce still nursing an ankle injury that he suffered last weekend, he might have to sit it out.

The Chiefs listed him as a limited participant in practice on both Tuesday and Wednesday -- suggesting there's still a chance he could play -- but taking the game off would allow him nearly two full weeks to rest up before the Chiefs take on the Chargers next on Oct. 22.

The star tight end has already missed one game this season due to injury -- sitting out the season-opener against the Lions with a knee issue -- but he's played in every other game since ... including two that Swift saw in person.

Of course, it was unclear if Swift had any intentions of heading to K.C. for the "Thursday Night Football" showdown ... but with Kelce's status up in the air, it seems watching the game from home might just have to be the play.

The New York Jets whooped the Broncos on Sunday and then danced all over their grave afterward ... taking every postgame opportunity to troll Sean Payton.

Gang Green was clearly livid with Denver's head coach after he made several comments about them this offseason ... and once the final whistle sounded on the 31-21 victory, the team let him have it.

The Jets' X account posted a photoshopped image of a stunned Kevin James -- who famously played Payton in the movie "Home Team" -- with the caption "when you lose to the 'offseason champs.'"

The dig, of course, is a shot at Payton ... who accused New York of "trying to win the offseason" earlier this summer.

NY's run at the 59-year-old play-caller didn't stop there, though ... 'cause they made sure to praise the hell out of Nathaniel Hackett -- the Jets' offensive coordinator who Payton said was part of "one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL" when he was the head man in Denver last season -- at every turn.

Several players and coaches lined up to shake his hand after the win, and he was even given the game ball too. Aaron Rodgers also made sure to tweet about him as well, writing, "W. #hackett #."

Sauce Gardner, meanwhile, rubbed even more salt in the wound by jabbing at Russell Wilson's "Broncos County, Let's Ride" slogan ... writing on X, "Jets Country.......LETS RIDE."

Shannon Sharpe is a Hall of Famer, Super Bowl champion, and on TV every day, but the NFL legend is learning a lesson in Hollywood hierarchy ... 'cause his convo with cameras outside an L.A. hotspot got derailed by Selena Gomez.

The former Broncos tight end was choppin' it up with photogs after his dinner Monday night at Giorgio Baldi ... when out of nowhere, the singer and actress showed up behind him to make her way to her car.

The camera guy quickly shifted his focus to Selena ... asking Shannon to hold his thought on Team USA's performance at the FIBA World Cup so he could get his shot of the former Disney star.

After securing his footage of Selena, the photog made his way back to Shannon and apologized for the interruption .... but the ESPN host took it like a champ, saying, "Nah, bro. You good."

The two finished their chat about sports ... with Shannon praising Deion Sanders' successful season with the Colorado Buffaloes and how he handled the death threats surrounding Colorado State player Henry Blackburn.

The clip is the perfect example of the levels of Hollywood fame -- Shannon's massive in the sports world, but Selena is undoubtedly the bigger fish overall. No one's immune to it ... except for maybe Beyoncé, Taylor Swift or Barack Obama.

Shannon Sharpe está en televisión todos los días, es parte del Salón de la Fama, es campeón del Super Bowl, pero a pesar de eso, la leyenda de la NFL está aprendiendo una lección de jerarquía en Hollywood ... pues su conversación con las cámaras fuera de un hotspot en Los Ángeles se descarriló por culpa de Selena Gómez.

El ex jugador de los Broncos estaba conversando con los fotógrafos el lunes por la noche, después de su cena en Giorgio Baldi, cuando de la nada, la cantante y actriz apareció detrás de él para dirigirse a su carro.

El chico de la cámara rápidamente cambió su enfoque hacia Selena, pidiéndole a Shannon que esperara un momento para comentar el rendimiento del equipo de EE.UU. en la Copa Mundial de la FIBA. Todo, para poder obtener una foto de la ex estrella de Disney.

Después de asegurar sus imágenes de Selena, el fotógrafo regresó donde Shannon y se disculpó por la interrupción, pero el anfitrión de ESPN se tomó todo el asunto como un campeón y le dijo: "No, hermano. Está todo bien".

Los dos terminaron su conversación de deportes, con Shannon elogiando la exitosa temporada de Deion Sanders en los Colorado Buffaloes y cómo manejó las amenazas de muerte que rodean al jugador de Colorado State, Henry Blackburn.

El clip es un ejemplo perfecto de cómo funcionan los niveles de fama en Hollywood. Shannon es súper popular en el mundo del deporte, pero Selena está a otro nivel. Nadie es inmune a ella... excepto quizás por Beyoncé, Taylor Swift o Barack Obama.

Shannon Sharpe tells TMZ Sports he's absolutely fired up for Deion Sanders and his Buffaloes, saying he hasn't seen something more popular in Colorado since weed was legalized there!!!

We got the NFL legend out at LAX just days after Coach Prime's squad shocked TCU ... and he told us he's pumped to see what's going down in the state he called home for more than a decade during his playing days.

"I haven't heard people talk about Colorado so much since weed was legalized," the 55-year-old said.

"I'm excited for him, I'm excited for the program," Sharpe continued. "Obviously, everybody knows I spent 12 years in Colorado so I'm excited for Time and what he's bringing to the table."

Sharpe and Deion have a long history together ... they battled on NFL fields for years -- and in retirement, they've become super close. In fact, this past offseason, the two sat down together for a podcast ... where they exchanged plenty of jokes and laughs.

All that being said, though, Sharpe still isn't sure the Buffs are quite ready to be considered a national championship contender just yet.

"I think they're a couple of years away from that," he said, "but I'm excited for what they're doing right now."

It's not often you see fans cheering on the same team get in a nasty brawl -- but that's exactly what happened in San Francisco -- with haymakers flying ... and even a knockout!!!

Unclear what led to the massive melee Saturday night at Levis Stadium as the 49ers hosted the Denver Broncos in a preseason matchup, but it got messy fast. You can see lots of pushing, shouting and confusion before blows are exchanged.

At one point, a guy in a Jerry Rice jersey starts absolutely unleashing some fists on a dude in a white t-shirt, connecting several times with his face.

One of the blows appears to knock the dude out, sending him into a chair. After things calm down, the same guy -- wobbly on his feet -- gets up with blood on his mouth and shirt.

Event staff leads the battered dude up and out of the section, while he struggles to take on the stairs.

The Wilson family is getting bigger -- Russell and Ciara just announced they have another baby on the way ... courtesy of a sexy silhouette video of the singer showing off her bump!!

The Denver Broncos quarterback and R&B star broke the news on Tuesday with footage Russ took during their anniversary trip in Japan a few weeks ago ... showing Ciara several months along in her pregnancy.

In the clip, Ciara danced to her new single with Chris Brown, "How We Roll" ... and used lyrics from the song to bring the message home.

"You look at me like that again, we make another kid ... You my heart I’m your rib" 🥰😘❤️" Ciara says in the tune.

This will be the third kid for the lovely couple ... and Ciara's fourth. She also has a son, Future Zahir, with rapper Future.

Wilson definitely spoke this bundle of joy into existence --  remember, the 34-year-old begged his wife of seven years for another kid when Ciara was hosting "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" last year.

"We definitely can, but we've got a little time before we get there," Ciara said on the show. "But, I'm down to do it again with you!"

Shaquil Barrett is honoring his 2-year-old daughter in a special way after she drowned earlier this year ... starting a foundation in her name to educate parents on water safety.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker made the announcement during a training camp press conference Monday ... saying the organization will help families avoid accidents like the one involving his daughter, Arrayah, who drowned in a pool on April 30.

"We're gonna just help out as much as possible, like swim lessons for other families, install AI cameras for other families," Barrett said to reporters.

In fact, the 30-year-old said he actually installed devices in his own home now ... as well as more gates.

"We had gates up, but we just left it open that night, but we got more gates up," Barrett said.

"We got all precautions in the way to prevent it from happening and that's why Arrayah Hope Inc. is gonna be beneficial for a lot of families."

The 2-time Super Bowl champ added the passing of his daughter still breaks his heart, but the start of training camp is helping him get through it.

"It don't get any easier," Barrett said. "It's just me being busy keeps my mind off it a little bit ... it's just tough. It's just always gonna be tough."

"This would've been her first [camp] that she would've been able to come to and actually remember."

Prior to Bucs camp, Barrett and his wife, Jordanna, also honored Arrayah by getting tribute tattoos from Tattoo Red ... with Shaq getting the photo from her 2nd birthday inked on his forearm.

Time apparently doesn't heal all wounds for Future ... 'cause the rapper just seemingly dissed the hell outta Russell Wilson in his latest song.

The Atlanta M.C. dropped the controversial bar in his "Turn Yo Clic Up" collab with Quavo on Friday ... rapping in his verse, "I got it out the field, f*** Russell."

Future hasn't shied away from his thoughts on his ex-fiancée and mother of his child, Ciara, moving on with the NFL quarterback ... going in on the now-married couple multiple times in interviews.

Remember, Future Hendrix bashed Ciara for having Russell around Future Jr. early in their relationship ... telling "The Breakfast Club" in 2015, "You don't bring a man around your son."

"You've known this man for a few months and you're bringing him around your kid? Who does that?"

He later went in on Russell in 2019 ... saying he's not a real man in their relationship.

"He not telling her, 'Chill out with that on the internet. Don't even talk to him. I'm your husband. You better not even bring Future's name up!" he said on Apple Music.

"If that was me, she couldn't even bring his name up. She know that. She couldn't even bring her exes names up."

Russell and Ciara have been married since 2016 ... and they have two kids of their own.

Wilson has since become a father figure for Future Jr. as well ... even spending a lot of time working on their football skills together.

Russell doesn't seem bothered by Future's constant gripes -- this past Father's Day, he said, "Future, Sienna & Win ... I Love You Forever! Glad we get to raise them together Momma! @ciara."