Football

Richard Sherman is still gunning to play football in 2021 ... and he's imploring any GM interested in signing him to judge him off his game tape -- not his wild July arrest.

"I've got a decade worth of resume that should stand more firmly than a momentarily lapse in judgment," Sherman said. "I've got a decade worth of character and tape to be judged off of."

Sherman, speaking in-depth about the crazy incident at his in-laws' home for the first time since the arrest, made the statements to NFL reporter Doug Farrar ... and explained he's ready to go if any NFL team wants to sign him.

Sherman also said he understands the July 14 tirade -- one in which he nearly beat down his wife's parents' door in a fit of rage -- wasn't exactly the best look for him.

Still, the 33-year-old corner said he thinks none of it should deter any NFL squads from putting him on their rosters.

"If you're judging me off a momentarily lapse then I think it's going to be -- then I'm probably not the player for you either way," said Sherman, who then vowed to burn any team who passes on him.

Sherman has only been linked to one squad since the incident ... with Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians confirming they've checked in on the 5-time Pro Bowler recently.

As for any potential discipline from the NFL that might come down on Sherman due to the arrest -- the cornerback said he has not heard any news on that front.

Deion Sanders is hitting the operating table ... undergoing surgery to fix a foot that's been completely jacked up for YEARS.

The Hall of Famer and current Jackson State football head coach's doctor explained the reason for the procedure just before Sanders went under the knife Wednesday ... and the injury sounds horrific.

Sanders' doc said Deion's "second toe is dislocated" ... and it's been that way since perhaps Sanders' football-playing days.

"You've been dealing with this for a long time," the doctor said, "and it's just gotten worse."

Sanders' doc then described what the surgery will entail -- and it, too, sounds terrifying!

"She's going to shorten that second toe a little bit by cutting through the bone," the doctor said, "kind of reattaching it, lengthening one of the tendons and then straightening out your first toe to give you more room for that second toe."

Sanders didn't seem concerned at all, though ... and was all smiles right before the anesthesia kicked in.

While Sanders is expected to be on a scooter for the next six weeks while the foot heals -- he's expected to make a full recovery.

Get well soon, Prime!

New York Giants star offensive lineman Nick Gates will need another surgery to try to repair his broken leg ... and there's now a fear the operations could end his career.

Gates horrifically snapped his left leg while pass protecting during a play in the Giants' loss to the Washington Football Team last week ... and, despite early optimism of a full recovery, head coach Joe Judge says his rehab has hit a snag.

Judge told reporters Thursday Gates is still in a hospital in D.C. ... and will need more work to fix the wound completely.

"We’re confident he’ll be able to come back," Judge said, "but, yes, it could be career-ending."

Gates had seemed to be making good progress after the initial procedures ... 'cause just a few days ago, he was walking with the help of a walker.

Now, though, his football career appears to be very much in jeopardy.

If it is the end, Gates had a hell of a run in the NFL ... the 25-year-old started 21 games in a little over two seasons with New York and had just been named a team captain.

"You can still be rich ... and still have roaches."

Jason Pierre-Paul just revealed his Florida mansion is currently being overrun by dead bugs -- and it's gross as hell!

The Tampa Bay Bucs star showed off the lifeless cockroaches while walking around his pad Thursday ... zooming in on the bugs and providing some pretty hilarious commentary at the same time.

"I don't know where they coming from," JPP said, "'cause there ain't nothing to eat!"

The former NY Giants star hilariously gave some of the dead, creepy-crawlers in the house names ... saying, "He looked like he tried to get out. That's Jodeci."

"Look at him. That's Cici Allah. We'll call this one right here John Doe. Look like he tried to escape quick!"

As for JPP's plan to get them to stop overrunning his place ... the 32-year-old said he already has pest control, and has no idea why the problem is still going down.

Pierre-Paul might not play in the Bucs' game this weekend while nursing a shoulder injury ... so here's to hoping the added free time will help him get it all figured out soon.

Celeb jeweler Ben Baller says he'll fix Aaron Jones' necklace issues ASAP -- offering to make the Packers star an indestructible piece that'll safely harbor his father's ashes forever.

The 48-year-old said he'd build Jones something similar to a device he already has on his keychain -- explaining the NFL player would never have to worry about losing his priceless contents ever again once he's done with the job.

"Look, Aaron, holler at me bro," Ben said. "Send me a DM. Send me a text. I'll make you one of these joints."

"Screw it on, boom. It's not coming off. You can secure your pops' ashes in there, man."

If you missed it, Jones headed into Monday's Packers vs. Lions game wearing a locket that had his father's ashes in it ... but he lost it at some point during the big win.

Fortunately, Green Bay trainer Bryan "Flea" Engel was able to find it after a frantic search ... though it's now unclear how Jones is going to proceed with the jewelry going forward.

Ben told us if Jones wanted, his contraption could be iced or it could be kept simple with yellow gold or platinum. Baller added he'd secure it all with one of his sturdy chains.

Patrick Mahomes was clearly less than pleased to see his little brother pouring water on smack-talking Ravens fans ... telling reporters Wednesday, "Obviously it's something we don't necessarily want to do."

Jackson Mahomes was caught on camera dousing Baltimore supporters with a bottle of water following the Chiefs' loss at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday.

The video -- which shows fans jabbing at Jackson after the game before he tossed the liquid all over them -- quickly went viral ... and Patrick said in his weekly meeting with media members that he wasn't thrilled with it all.

The Chiefs star, though, did seem to at least understand the impulsive act ... saying, "There was things said to him and [my fiancée] Brittany that you don't see kind of on the clip."

Still, Patrick is hoping Jackson learns from the situation and deals with it in a different manner going forward.

"He's been good at not trying to respond to that stuff," Patrick said. "He takes a lot and he's usually pretty good at it."

"He'll learn from it and just try to stay away from those people best he can."

Robert Griffin III is open to going back to where it all began -- the current free agent says he'd LOVE to make a big comeback with the Washington Football Team ... but he's not gonna beg.

Of course, RG3 was the #2 overall pick to Washington back in 2012 after a Heisman-winning season with the Baylor Bears ... but things didn't necessarily go according to plan, as the QB faced several injuries throughout his time with the team.

With the injury bug biting the WFT as well in 2021, RG3 -- who hasn't played since 2020 -- was asked if he'd pick up the phone if coach Ron Rivera came calling ... and he sounds more than willing to listen to what he's gotta say.

"Yeah, I mean it could [work out], to be honest," Griffin said to "The Adam Schefter Podcast" on Tuesday. "But, for me to go back to Washington ... that would have to be something that coach Ron Rivera and the team would be open to."

"You never say never, is what I would say," he added. "Would I be open to it? Yeah ... I would love to go back and be able to have that come full circle. But, am I begging for that or pleading for that? Nah ... But, if your guy goes down, make the call."

It just so happens WFT QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is out several weeks with a hip injury ... and Griffin says he's still got that competitive fire in him.

If you thought your bar tab was bad this weekend ... there's no way it topped Bruce Barnum's -- 'cause the Portland St. head coach revealed this week he dropped $14,000 to pay for fans' beers on Saturday!!

The coach -- who promised supporters he'd pick up ALL of their suds if they showed up to PSU's game against Western Oregon -- showed off the receipt Tuesday ... and it's pretty staggering.

Barnum ended up paying $14,448 for 786 Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPAs and 1,260 Coors Lights -- a fairly shocking number, considering only about 3,000 fans showed up!

Of course, we're pretty sure Barnum was happy to foot the bill ... 'cause, after all, his team did beat the Wolves 21-7 in a laugher.

Unclear if Barnum is planning similar things for PSU's upcoming games -- but, hey, can't mess with something that's working, right?

Tom Brady is so upset with all the ticky-tack fouls in the NFL these days ... he's officially dubbing the league as "softer" now.

The quarterback explained his stance on his 'Let's Go!' podcast with Jim Gray this week ... saying the way penalties are being called has changed the game completely, particularly for quarterbacks.

Brady says he believes guys like Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes and other mobile signal-callers are thriving simply for the fact that defenders are more timid to hit now due to flag-happy refs.

"I think they're calling more penalties on defensive players for hitting, you know, for violent contact," Brady said. "There's a lot of plays and hits that are happening on quarterbacks now, that are flags for defensive players, that probably weren't that way 10 or 15 years ago."

"So I'd say the game is a little softer than it used to be."

Of course, this ain't the first time Tom has expressed some unhappiness with the league's direction this season ... just a few weeks ago he slammed the NFL for allowing defensive players to wear single-digit jersey numbers.

He also put himself firmly in the camp that criticized NFL officials this week for all of the excessive taunting penalties that were called on Sunday.

Aaron Rodgers is letting his trolls HAVE IT today after he returned to MVP form against the Lions ... slamming his critics and calling their vitriol last week "absolute horses***."

"It's chicken s***," the Packers star said on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Tuesday afternoon. "It's so ridiculous that people get a platform to do this and it's the same type of people."

Rodgers was lambasted by media members and even one of his former teammates, Jermichael Finley, after he was awful in Green Bay's opening game against the Saints.

Finley said Rodgers looked like he had lost his "hunger" to play ... and added to TMZ Sports that he believed the Packers should seriously consider benching the guy for backup Jordan Love.

While Rodgers didn't mention Jermichael by name in his rant Tuesday ... he made it clear after balling out on "Monday Night Football" that he heard ALL of the negative rhetoric thrown his way after the Week 1 loss -- and he didn't like it one bit.

"I was just surprised after Week 1 that there was such a story out there," Rodgers said. "What's crazy to me is to let one storyline, by a person who has no contact with me, who I have zero relationship, to that become some sort of narrative that's out there that now I somehow don't care about ball because of my Zen attitude in the offseason, that's the bulls*** I was talking about last night."

Rodgers did say he anticipates more ups and downs throughout the season ... but he's clearly hopeful the criticism is kept to a minimum as Green Bay goes through it all.

The Superdome caught on fire Tuesday morning ... with thick smoke and flames billowing out of the famed New Orleans arena's roof.

It's unclear what caused the issues at the Saints' stadium ... authorities so far have only told us "the fire is not burning anymore."

We're working to get further details.

As we previously reported, the Saints have relocated out of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Ida -- moving their Week 1 game against the Packers from the Superdome to Jacksonville.

The team -- which beat Green Bay in the opener but lost to the Panthers in Carolina on Sunday -- is not currently scheduled to play in the N.O. stadium until Oct. 3 against the New York Giants.

No decision yet has been made regarding the location of that game.

The Packers' big win over the Lions didn't come without a heavy price tag for Aaron Jones, who says he lost a pendant containing his dad's ashes on the field in the victory.

The Green Bay star -- who scored FOUR touchdowns in the Pack's 35-17 drubbing of Detroit -- told reporters after the game he believes he lost the necklace at some point during one of his endzone runs.

Jones, though, was far from torn up over losing his dad's ashes ... in fact, he seemed to be at peace with it -- saying if he was going to lose it, he's sure glad it was in a touchdown scamper at Lambeau Field.

"If there was any place to lose it, that's where my dad would have wanted me to lose it," the 26-year-old running back said. "I know he's smiling."

Jones got the pendant -- a small black locket in the shape of a football -- sometime in the past few months ... following the tragic death of his dad, Alvin Jones Sr., who passed away in April at 57 years old from COVID-19 complications.

Aaron and Alvin were VERY close ... and in an emotional press conference back in May, Aaron revealed he was dedicating the rest of his football career to his pops.

Aaron said Green Bay's grounds crew was helping him look for the jewelry after the game had ended ... though as of Tuesday morning, it still hadn't been found.

Aaron, though, reiterated to reporters he's sure his father would've been grinning ear-to-ear following his huge game regardless.

"Just go home and tell him, 'I did it, Dad,'" Jones said of what he would've told his father after the game if he were still alive. "Went out there and played at a high level and gave it my all."

It ain't Ja'Marr Chase, Trevor Lawrence or Kyle Pitts ... no, the best rookie in the NFL at this point is Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons -- so says Michael Irvin.

The Playmaker made the claim to TMZ Sports out in NYC on Monday -- just one day after Parsons terrorized the Chargers in Dallas' 20-17 win.

"Baddest boy out there, Micah Parsons!" Irvin said. "Bad boy. God Almighty, that man a bad boy!"

"Right now he is [the NFL's best rookie]!"

Of course, it ain't exactly a hot take ... Parsons -- the #12 pick in April's NFL draft -- has nine total tackles, 1 sack and 1 pass breakup in the first two games of the season so far.

He's also played both defensive end AND linebacker ... leading some experts to call the ex-Penn State star the Cowboys' best defensive player.

Francis Perron -- a defensive lineman at the University of Ottawa -- passed away shortly after their season opener on Saturday, the school announced.

He was only 25 years old.

University of Ottawa president Jacques Fremont broke the sad news on Sunday ... saying the Canadian football player died after their first game of the season.

"Over the weekend, Francis Perron, one of our Mechanical Engineering students and a defensive lineman in his fifth season with Gee-Gees football, died shortly after a game between uOttawa and the University of Toronto."

"A bright, passionate, and caring person, Francis poured himself into his craft as a player and his academic pursuit of becoming an engineer."

"In the classroom, he was as big of a star as on the field, becoming a multiple-time U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian while studying Mechanical Engineering."

Perron joined the Gee-Gees in 2017 and played in Saturday's game. They lost 11 to 10.

The cause of death has not been revealed at this time.

Fremont says Perron's death will have a big impact on the Gee-Gees team and community ... and they plan to hold a memorial service in the coming weeks.

"On behalf of the University of Ottawa, I offer my condolences to his family, friends and loved ones. The thoughts of all members of our community are with you."

Patrick Mahomes' brother, famous TikTokker Jackson Mahomes, was so tired of being heckled by Ravens fans Sunday ... he straight-up doused the men with water.

The scene went down just minutes after Patrick's Chiefs lost a heartbreaker in Baltimore, 36-35 ... when Ravens fans appeared to be talking smack to Jackson.

In footage of the incident, you can hear people telling the younger Mahomes, "I'm so sorry for you! I'm so sorry for you!"

Another fan added, "Go home, Jackson!"

Eventually, Jackson grew so annoyed with the ribbing ... he pulled out a water bottle, unscrewed the cap, and threw the contents all over the Ravens supporters.

Jackson then headed up the stairs to get inside one of the suites at M&T Bank Stadium.

The Baltimore fans didn't appear to be too shaken up by the water-tossing ... they celebrated with glee after Jackson left his seat.

A wild melee broke out at a tailgate party just before the Browns' game Sunday ... with several Cleveland fans rockin' each other in the face with violent punches.

The insanity was all captured on video just before the Browns took on the Texans at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland.

You can see in the footage of the calamity ... the brawl initially began when two fans squared up to fight in the middle of the parking lot.

The scrap was fairly unspectacular -- the dudes connected on only a few punches -- but then when other fans got involved to try to break it all up ... complete chaos ensued.

Video shows about half a dozen people began throwing haymakers at each other ... and eventually, the fracas grew so large, the combatants crashed into a nearby table.

The fight didn't stop there, though ... 'cause they kept scrapping while on the ground, throwing more wild punches.

Eventually, everyone got off each other and dispersed.

It's unclear if any arrests were made over the incident -- we've reached out to police, but so far, no word back yet.