Football

Roquan Smith has only been a member of the Ravens for a few weeks ... but the former Bears linebacker is already making his presence felt in the community, handing out Thanksgiving food to Baltimore families ahead of Turkey Day.

The 25-year-old -- traded from Chicago to Baltimore last month -- showed up with his teammates at a local elementary/middle school to hand out food to 200 families, per WBALTV.

The outlet says Smith and other Ravens pulled their money together to purchase turkeys and side dishes for the families to enjoy on the annual holiday.

Baltimore shared videos Monday of Smith and the team packing boxes of food into cars as families came to pick up the items in time for Thursday's celebration.

Smith and his teammates did more than just hand out birds, though ... they took time to interact with community members -- and Roquan even offered to take a pic with a little kid eager to meet him.

The youngster had the warmest smile as he stood next to the linebacker ... and even said "cheese" while throwing up the peace sign as he posed for the camera.

Navy football players are going to be looking gooooooooood for their game against Army this year -- the school just revealed it'll be wearing NASA-themed uniforms for the classic rivalry ... and they're awesome!!

The helmets, jerseys, cleats and gloves will feature nods to astronauts -- as the school looks to pay homage to the 54 Naval Academy graduates who went on to become space explorers.

One side of the players' headgear will have a painting of Navy alum Bruce McCandless II, who took the first untethered spacewalk back in 1985. The other side will have NASA's logo on it with a moon in the background.

The jerseys, meanwhile, will be white and red ... with, according to the school, markings that mimic the NASA spacewalk suit.

Players' shoes will be all white, of course, to symbolize astronaut moon boots.

The team got its first look at the kits inside a meeting room on Monday -- and, not surprisingly, the guys LOVED what they saw.

"One small step for man...One giant leap for Navy Football," the team tweeted after unveiling the unis.

Zach Wilson might be side-eyeing some of his defensive teammates (and they him) after multiple players, including Sauce Gardner, liked a tweet calling out the quarterback following the team's heartbreaking loss to the Pats on Sunday.

After the soul-crushing 10-3 loss, Wilson told reporters he didn't feel like the offense owed the defense, who were spectacular (like they've been throughout the year), anything ... which raised many eyebrows.

The Jets punted 10 times ... one more time than Wilson had completions (he was 9-for-22 for 77 yards). Plainly put, Wilson and the Jets' offense was putrid against New England.

"You don't owe your defense anything @Zach Wilson," wrote Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis, who also posted a video of Wilson overthrowing a wide-open receiver.

Lewis' tweet made its way to at least a few Jets defenders ... Sauce and defensive end John Franklin-Myers were caught liking the post.

Of course, fans and media immediately pounced on idea of beef between the two units ... something the first-round draft pick and NFL star tried to quell.

"I swear I didn't mean to like this tweet. I only found out because yall started tagging me. We gon' be straight!" Gardner tweeted.

He attempted to further clarify ... writing "If I liked it purposely, I just wouldn’t of said anything,"

"I always mistakenly like tweets on here, but y’all made sure y’all caught this one. Y’all toxic on here."

Franklin-Myers, like Sauce, also seemed to feign ignorance, writing, "I ain't mean to like that tweet! We got faith in Zach for sure! Ya'll stop looking for problems, we got 7 games left to ball."

One of the best high school football players in the country had his Florida scholarship offer pulled this weekend ... after he was seen on video rapping the n-word.

Marcus Stokes posted the quick, two-second clip on his social media page last week -- appearing to show the quarterback recruit singing, "Welcome back, n***a."

Almost immediately afterward, the Nease H.S. athlete, who's white, received backlash for it ... and on Sunday, the Univ. of Florida made the decision to pull their offer from him.

Stokes had been committed to attending the school since early July.

"I was in my car listening to rap music, rapping along to the words and posted a video of it on social media," Stokes explained on his Twitter page on Sunday.

"I deeply apologize for the words in the song that I chose to say. It was hurtful and offensive to many people, and I regret that."

Stokes continued, "I fully accept the consequences for my actions, and I respect the University of Florida's decision to withdraw my scholarship offer to play football."

Stokes had a great junior season at Nease -- but struggled in his senior season this year. Still, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound dual-threat QB was rated a four-star recruit by 247Sports ... and the 14th-ranked signal-caller in the nation.

Stokes had received offers from several other schools -- including Penn State, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech -- during his H.S. career ... though it's unclear if those scholarship offers now still stand.

Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman, watching at home with an injury, missed the wild ending between his team and the Chargers on "Sunday Night Football" ... all because he broke his TV during the game!!

The Kansas City wideout -- who's on the IR with an abdominal injury -- was live tweeting during the game, and at one point said the drama was too much for him to watch, and he almost threw his remote at the TV.

Almost.

But, Hardman finally gave in to his emotions as the Chiefs and Chargers continued to exchange blows, writing, "Update I threw the remote at the TV! Now I gotta go get a new TV."

As proof, Hardman posted a pic of his TV, and judging from the damage, he appears to have gotten it good.

Hardman's squad, trailing the Chargers for most of the night, ended up winning due to some late-game magic from Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.

Mahomes, who threw three touchdowns to Kelce, connected with the superstar tight end for his final TD pass with 31 seconds left ... putting KC ahead, 30-27.

Hardman, expected to be out at least four games, has only been in the NFL for four seasons ... but the 24-year-old shouldn't have any issue replacing the TV (especially at those Black Friday prices!).

Better hurry up, though ... Chiefs play in 6 days!

University of Virginia running back Mike Hollins is out of the hospital after being seriously injured in the tragic shooting last week ... his mother announced.

Hollins was shot in the back during the horrifying incident that resulted in the death of his three teammates, D'Sean Perry, Devin Chandler, and Lavel Davis Jr. He spent time in the ICU and required two surgeries in the days following the shooting.

Hollins' mother shared the positive update on Monday ... saying Mike's improved enough to continue his recovery from the comfort of his home.

"Mike has been discharged!!!" Brenda Hollins said on Twitter. "HALLELUJAH I want to thank everyone for their prayers, text messages, and calls."

"This has truly been a test of faith and I'm grateful. GOD has shown me he is faithful!" she added. "Please continue praying for Mike as he recovers and settles into his new life."

Brenda -- who attended the three players' funeral services on Sunday -- also calls for the community to keep their loved ones in their thoughts ... saying, "Please continue to pray for the Chandler, Davis, Perry families. They need us!!! GOD is amazing!"

The ultra-rare Tom Brady-signed flag that was allegedly ruined by the Patriots Hall of Fame has been re-signed by the G.O.A.T. ... and the owner of the piece now says he feels like he's been made whole.

Daniel Vitale was initially livid over the situation earlier this year ... claiming after he temporarily donated the 1-of-1 American flag to the Pats' HOF, officials there ruined the Brady signature on it by displaying it improperly.

Vitale shared pics of the piece, showing the dark blue Brady John Hancock that the QB had put on it in the early 2000s had lost its "T" after being in the New England museum's possession.

The father of three filed a lawsuit over it all, alleging that the flag was worth potentially $1 MILLION less ... and he was asking for the Pats HOF to pay him for damages.

Vitale's lawsuit is still ongoing ... though he tells TMZ Sports he feels at least part of the situation has been remedied, after the Patriots helped get Tom to re-sign the flag last week following the Buccaneers star's return from Germany.

Vitale says the new signature is incredible -- it's "four times" the original size, he told us -- and he now believes the piece is worth significantly more than the $1 million it was initially appraised at.

Vitale will begin the process of trying to sell it now -- he's taking offers immediately -- and he tells us he's trying to do a lot of good with some of the eventual proceeds.

The longtime Pats fan has a daughter who has autism, and he's planning to donate some of the flag's sales to raise awareness for the disability. Specifically, Vitale is hoping to funnel funds to Spectrum Connection, a division of Community Partners in New Hampshire.

If Jay-Z can pull off a deal for the Commanders, Shannon Sharpe tells TMZ Sports it'd be HUGE for the NFL.

The Hall of Fame tight end broke it down for us at LAX earlier this month ... explaining having a guy like Hov in the Washington owner's box would do wonders for the league.

"It's a good look," Sharpe said. "It shows we're trying to diversify and we're trying to expand. And we're trying to do the right things."

It's unclear if Jay has formally put in an offer to Daniel Sndyer for the team -- but we do know he is interested in eventually submitting one with Jeff Bezos ... if the two haven't already.

The titans had a secret dinner in Los Angeles on Nov. 7 to discuss it all ... and it seems if Snyder is truly willing to part ways with the org., the duo wants it.

Sharpe told us he thinks it'd all be "great" -- adding that he hopes D.C. native Kevin Durant somehow finds a way to get involved too.

The Washington Commanders will pay tribute to the three UVA football players who were tragically gunned down on campus last weekend ... by putting three stickers on their helmets for their game on Sunday.

The team just announced the homage ... revealing decals with the numbers 1, 15 and 41 -- the jersey digits of D'Sean Perry, Lavel Davis and Devin Chandler -- will be placed on the back of their players' headgear while the team attempts to get a win over the Houston Texans.

"Our hearts are with @UVAFootball and the UVA community affected by the tragedy," the team said in a tweet while unveiling the uniform honor.

The Commanders added the hashtags #UVAStrong and #FootballIsFamily.

Perry, Davis and Chandler were all killed on a bus on Sunday night after they had returned from a class field trip. Two others, including Cavaliers running back Mike Hollins, were injured in the shooting as well -- though they're both expected to survive.

Former UVA football player Juan Thornhill, a safety for the Chiefs, announced earlier this week he, too, will be paying tribute to the victims on NFL Sunday this weekend ... wearing a pair of custom cleats with homages to Perry, Davis and Chandler all over them.

Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Todd Downing was arrested on Friday morning ... just hours after he helped his team beat the Packers on "Thursday Night Football," TMZ Sports has confirmed.

A police spokesperson tells us Downing was arrested by the Tennessee Highway Patrol in Williamson County, TN. on Friday morning ... and booked on charges of DUI and speeding.

Records show the 42-year-old bonded out of jail at around 6:46 AM.

Further details surrounding the arrest were not made immediately available.

Just prior to his arrest, Downing put on a great performance in Tennessee's 27-17 win over Green Bay at Lambeau Field. He dialed up several trick plays, and was partly responsible for a big night from quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who completed 22 of his 27 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns.

The Titans have yet to publicly comment on the arrest.

Yeah, the NFL probably made the right call to move the Bills vs. Browns game out of Buffalo this weekend ...

Check out insane photos of Highmark Stadium taken on Friday morning -- showing the field, seats and just about everything else at the venue covered in several FEET of snow.

In the pics, you can't even get a glimpse of green grass -- let alone the chairs where Bills supporters were supposed to sit for Sunday afternoon's contest.

According to weather reports, Orchard Park has been hit with 36 inches of snow in the past few hours ... and it's expected to get pelted with a bunch more in the near future as a massive storm continues to pound the Western New York area.

Things have gotten so bad, the Bills had to cancel their Friday practice over it all.

Meanwhile, at star quarterback Josh Allen's home near the stadium -- his doggo and girlfriend are struggling with the effects of the storm too.

Brittany Williams posted pics of her falling in the powder while trying to get the couple's pup to go to the bathroom.

As for the game on Sunday, it's been moved to Detroit -- with the NFL saying Thursday the conditions just weren't safe enough for all involved to play.

The Bills and Browns won't be playing inside of a snowglobe this weekend after all ... TMZ Sports has confirmed the NFL is moving the game to Detroit to avoid the massive storm that's set to hit Buffalo this weekend.

The contest had been lined up to be played at Highmark Stadium at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday ... and it was slated to be must-see TV, considering the area is expected to get pelted by roughly six feet of snow in the next few days.

But, league sources tell us the NFL put the axe to that idea on Thursday -- clearly believing the weather wouldn't make it possible for fans, essential personnel and maybe even players to attend the contest safely.

Detroit's Ford Field is open for use on Sunday -- as the Lions are playing against the Giants for a road game in New Jersey. It'll be the first of two games the Bills play there this month -- as they're set to play the Lions in the Motor City on Thanksgiving.

Playing in copious amounts of snow is not unprecedented for the Bills -- back in Dec. 2017, they played in a blizzard against the Colts, and won, 13-7, in overtime.

But, seems like 4-6 feet is just too much to cope with this weekend.

Chiefs defensive back Juan Thornhill will honor the lives of the three UVA football players who were tragically killed last weekend ... by wearing custom tribute cleats during K.C.'s primetime matchup on Sunday night.

Thornhill -- who attended UVA before he was drafted into the NFL in 2019 -- showed off what the spikes will look like on his social media page on Wednesday ... and they're amazing.

The shoes feature the Cavaliers' blue and orange colors ... and also have the names of the three victims -- D'Sean Perry, Lavel Davis and Devin Chandler -- etched into them.

The trio of football players' jersey numbers, surrounded by angel wings, were also painted onto one of the sides. The other side, meanwhile, has replicas of the guys' UVA jerseys.

"1.15.41 👼🧡💙," Thornhill tweeted while announcing the fashion choice. "Wearing these Sunday to celebrate you 3."

As we reported, the football players were gunned down on campus after returning from a class field trip on Sunday night. Two others, including Cavaliers running back Mike Hollins, were shot in the incident as well -- though both survived.

Former UVA running back Christopher Jones Jr. -- who actually played with Thornhill at the school in 2018 -- has been arrested and charged in connection with the killings.

Avert your eyes, Camille Kostek ... Rob Gronkowski does, indeed, get flirty with 84-year-old actress Jane Fonda in the new Tom Brady flick -- and it's kinda steamy!!!

The official trailer for "80 For Brady" dropped Thursday morning ... showing Hollywood's take on the true story of four women in their 80s who traveled to Super Bowl LI in Houston to get a glimpse of Brady on the field.

The movie looks awesome -- Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sally Field and Rita Moreno go through all kinds of hoops to ultimately get to the TB12 game -- and, at one point in the film, Fonda apparently gets pretty dang close to Gronk.

In the clip, the two seem to be in a locker room setting ... with Fonda in awe of the former Patriots tight end's size.

"So big!" she says.

"Thank you!" Gronk fires back with a charming smile on his face.

No further info about the scene was revealed -- but we're sure Kostek, Gronk's longtime girlfriend, is interested in seeing the full thing now!

Brady also makes a cameo in the trailer -- yelling out his trademark, "Let's go!" line as the four women cheer him on from the stands.

Of course, Tom will have a bigger role in the movie when it ultimately comes out -- as he's been seen teasing scenes from the flick on his social media pages for months now.

No matter if it's a futbol or a football -- David Beckham apparently knows his way around it ... impressing the hell out of Peyton Manning with his pigskin skills this week!!!

The two legendary athletes shared a field to shoot a Frito-Lays World Cup advert ... and at one point during a break from filming, the guys got in a little catch.

Manning asked if he'd have to teach DB how to hurl the rock -- but after a throw or two, it became clear to the former Indianapolis Colts quarterback that wouldn't be necessary at all.

From around 30ish yards, Beckham had little to no problem getting the ball to Peyton ... and each time, The Sheriff grew more and more amazed by what he was seeing from the ex-soccer player.

"That's good!" Manning said. "Good grip! I like the high release!"

Beckham's spiral wasn't exactly the tightest ever -- but Manning noted neither was his during his playing days ... and it still got the job done.

Peyton also said he was impressed by Beckham's receiving skills -- complimenting the 47-year-old's soft hands!

As for if Peyton dabbled into soccer while the two were outside, it doesn't seem so ... with Manning saying simply, "I can't do his sport."

The University of Virginia football team will not play its game against Coastal Carolina on Saturday ... following the tragic deaths of three of its players on Sunday night.

The school just made the decision ... revealing the game will not have a makeup date. Officials said the Cavaliers' season finale against Virginia Tech on Nov. 26 could be canceled as well, though no ruling has been made on that contest yet.

Coastal Carolina officials said they had no issues whatsoever with the decision ... with head coach Jamey Chadwell saying in a statement, "We all stand in solidarity with UVA."

The cancelation is not a surprising one ... after linebacker D'Sean Perry and receivers, Lavel Davis and Devin Chandler were shot and killed on a bus on campus after returning to the school from a class field trip.

Two other UVA students, including Cavaliers running back Mike Hollins, were also injured during the shooting as well -- and at a news conference on Tuesday, head coach Tony Elliott said he and the team were understandably having a hard time processing it all.

A former UVA running back, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., has been accused of being the gunman in the horrifying incident. He's since been arrested and hit with multiple charges -- including three counts of second-degree murder.

Jones Jr. appeared in court for a hearing on the matter on Wednesday morning. No bond was given -- and his next court date was set for December.