Football

Antonio Brown is in New Orleans working out for Saints officials … and the superstar wide receiver could be signed by the 1st place team.

ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported the news … Brown flew into town to meet with coaches and front office staff on Friday, hoping to land a job with his 3rd NFL squad this season.

Brown's had a disastrous season … the Raiders signed him to a 3-year, $50 million contract, but released AB before he ever caught a ball after a ton of drama relating to his helmet and feet. He also had public spats with head coach Jon Gruden and GM Mike Mayock.

After he was released by Oakland, the New England signed the superstar WR … but cut him 11 days later after AB allegedly sent menacing text messages to a woman who previously accused him of sexual misconduct.

During Brown's short stint with the Pats, he was also hit with a lawsuit from a woman who claimed AB forcibly raped her in 2018.

The Pats cut bait with Brown in September … and he hasn't been part of an NFL squad since.

That could all change very soon … 'cause the Saints appears to have real interest in the superstar receiver.

Mario Williams is off the hook after he was arrested for blowing up in a garage in a tense standoff with his baby mama ... TMZ Sports has learned prosecutors just dropped the case against the ex-NFL star.

The former Houston Texans' No. 1 overall pick got into a heated argument with the mother of his child in the garage of her Texas-area home on Aug. 20 ... and the 34-year-old was hauled off to jail shortly after.

In video of the altercation, obtained by TMZ Sports, you can see a clearly frustrated Williams going off on the woman ... accusing her of using their child's iPad to gain access to his iCloud.

Williams was eventually charged with misdemeanor trespassing for the incident ... but officials decided to dismiss the case this week.

TMZ Sports has learned Williams was asked to complete an online course about decision making ... and after he wrapped that up, the charge was dropped.

Seems both parties were on board with the move ... because according to court docs, neither Williams nor his baby mama, Torie Porter, wanted to move forward with the case.

Rams star Robert Woods is being terrorized by an angry ex-GF and her posse ... so claims the NFL player who just got a restraining order against her.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, Woods claims his ex, Ca'Ron Fowlkes, showed up to his property earlier this month around 1 AM with her crew and tried coaxing him outside so they could jump him.

Woods claims he woke up to the gate's call box ringing non-stop. He says when he checked security footage, he noticed Fowlkes and her crew ... who were crouching and covering their faces to avoid getting picked up on security cameras.

Woods says he answered and Fowlkes responded, "Come outside, bitch" ... insinuating she wanted to fight him. Woods called cops and Fowlkes left ... but cops later found her near his residence. Cops issued an emergency protective order, but it expired last week.

Woods claims this isn't the first time she's harassed him ... he says she previously showed up to his property, pulled into his driveway and, again, continually rang the call box. Woods claims Fowlkes once also called his cell phone and went on an expletive-laced rant.

The former USC football star also claims Fowlkes is harassing his wife ... through e-mail and social media. A judge has now signed off on Woods' request for a temporary restraining order ... and Fowlkes must now stay at least 100 yards away from him, his wife and workplace.

Aaron Rodgers and Danica Patrick have, as they say, taken their relationship to a new level, because they are now living together in a Malibu estate after plunking down $28 million -- all cash!

The beneficiaries of the $28 mil are Robbie Williams and his wife, Ayda Field. They bought the property in July 2019 for $20.25 mil, so nice profit.

As for the house ... it's pretty amazing. It's 4,636 square feet, with 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms along with a 2-bedroom guesthouse, and of course ... the obligatory swimming pool.

Our real estate sources say Aaron and Danica are no strangers to the house. They rented it over the summer and became the owners in November. The sale was very much on the down-low.

The estate is held in a trust, and it's impossible to know who's behind that trust. We do know, however, Aaron and Danica have been living in it together.

The house has quite the pedigree. It was previously owned by Netflix Content Chief Ted Sarandos and leased by Janet Jackson.

The Navy football needs to fly from Annapolis to Memphis for Tuesday's upcoming Liberty Bowl ... and guess what, Robert Kraft just happens to have a spare plane!!

The New England Patriots owner offered up the team jet to the #23 ranked Navy Midshipmen football team ... so they could travel in STYLE to play Kansas State on Dec. 31.

The players seemed STOKED by the fancy ride -- and who wouldn't be??? Wonder who gets to sit in Tom Brady's chair?!?!

"Thank you @Patriots and Team 125 for sending us to the @AZOLibertyBowl the right way," Navy said in a statement to Kraft's team.

Navy (9-2) is already a 2.5-point favorite over Kansas State (8-4) ... but flying over in a superjet like this will probably make them even more confident, right? Swag level off the charts!!!

As for the Patriots, they're not using the jet this week -- they're gearing up to play the Dolphins at home in New England on Sunday ... so no travel for them.

JOE BURROW FOR THE WIN ... in a basketball shoot-out?!

Yeah, it happened -- against Oklahoma -- and it was awesome.

Turns out, the LSU and Oklahoma football teams had a friendly Xmas Day basketball shooting contest Wednesday night ahead of the big Peach Bowl game.

Both sides picked a 5-man crew to hit shots from all over the court. The Sooners were up big going into the last round ... but the Heisman Trophy-winning QB stepped in and went 10 for 12, sealing the victory for the Tigers!

By the way, Burrow was a pretty solid high school basketball player back in Ohio before he turned his full-time focus to football.

According to Max Preps, Burrow averaged 19.3 points per game his senior year at Athens High ... with 6.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists. Not bad, right!?

Anyway, he was better at football ... and now he's expected to go Top 3 in the NFL Draft. What an athlete, huh?

Ohio State's dominant run over Michigan ain't lasting long ... so says Charles Woodson, who tells TMZ Sports the Wolverines are closing the gap soon!!

"We'll make it up," the Michigan legend says. "We'll be fine."

Of course, it's a bold statement from the NFL Hall of Famer ... 'cause Michigan is now 0-8 against the Buckeyes in the last 8 years -- and has just one win overall against its rival since 2004.

But, C-Wood is confident that reign is ending soon ... and tells us he's pretty sure Jim Harbaugh will be sticking around as head coach to see it.

As for if he'd take over if Harbaugh fails ... Woodson told us there's absolutely no way that happens.

West Point says it does NOT believe 3 cadets were trying to promote white supremacy by flashing the "OK" hand gesture at the Army vs. Navy football game ... saying it was all a "misplaced joke."

Military officials launched an investigation after the cadets were spotted using the hand gesture multiple times during the ESPN broadcast of the Dec. 14 game.

As we previously reported, the Anti-Defamation League and other watchdog groups have said the hand symbol has been co-opted by white supremacy organizations ... which is why people were shocked to see the cadets flash the sign so proudly on-air.

But now, West Point has released the findings of their investigation -- and they insist the cadets were not trying to promote a racist agenda.

Steelers safety Kameron Kelly was arrested Friday ... after he allegedly made "terroristic threats" during an altercation at a Pittsburgh-area bar.

According to court documents obtained by KDKA, cops were called to Mario’s South Side Saloon after 23-year-old Kelly refused to leave the pub.

Police say Kelly was combative, and after they instructed him to leave the bar area ... he refused -- and still tried to make his way back in.

Cops also say Kelly had threatened a male bar staffer ... saying he would "knock out" the man.

Kelly was eventually arrested ... and according to court docs, he was hit with two misdemeanor charges of terroristic threats and one misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest.

The 6'2", 205-pound DB was slated for a preliminary arraignment hearing in an Allegheny County courtroom Friday.

Kelly has played in 14 games for the Steelers this season ... logging an interception and 21 tackles.

Julian Edelman says the New England Patriots are NOT cheaters ... calling the new Spygate II allegations "pretty much a joke."

"We haven't even thought about it, honestly," Edelman says. "We have been thinking about other things. It's funny, but it is what it is."

The Pats are being accused of cheating after one of their staffers was caught filming the Cincinnati Bengals' sideline just days before their matchup last weekend.

The video is pretty damning ... the staffer is clearly focused on the Bengals' bench and substitution packages -- and when he was caught by Cincy officials, he sure sounded guilty.

But, Edelman went on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show" this week and said he believes his team when it says the video package was all for a special show -- NOT to cheat.

"Do you think -- I don't know, it's ridiculous," Edelman says. "My focus is on the Buffalo Bills."

Edelman's comments come just a few days after Tom Brady downplayed the whole situation too ... with the G.O.A.T. saying the video situation is nothing more than a mere distraction.

"I don't think any player gave it one second of thought," TB12 said.

For the videographer's part, he said in a statement, "I had no intention to provide footage to football operations, I did not provide any footage, and I was never asked to do so."

Joe Burrow says he's absolutely floored by the nearly $500,000 worth of donations to his hometown food bank ... but tells TMZ Sports he's already thinking of other ways to help.

23-year-old Burrow delivered a powerful speech after winning the Heisman Trophy on Saturday ... bringing national attention to some very serious issues.

“Coming from Southeast Ohio it’s a very impoverished area and the poverty rate is almost two times the national average," Burrow said.

"There’s so many people there that don’t have a lot and I’m up here for all those kids in Athens and Athens County that go home to not a lot of food on the table, hungry after school. You guys can be up here too."

America was so inspired by Joe's words ... thousands of people donated more than $458k to the Athens County Food Pantry.

Fresh off winning the most desired award in college football, Burrow joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs nightly on FS1) ... where he says he was shocked his words kick-started a half-million-dollar campaign.

"It's been crazy. I didn't expect that at all," Burrow said. "I was just speaking from the heart and just trying to bring attention to an area that kinda gets lost in the mud."

Maybe Chad Ochocinco's NFL career ain't over after all ...

The former superstar wide receiver showed he's still got at least some NFL talent left in his 41-year-old body ... hitting a 60-yard field goal -- without a cleat on his plant foot!!

Unclear where the insane boot went down at ... but you can see in the video, Chad went absolutely NUTS after flushing the ball over the crossbar with room to spare.

"Let's f**king go!!" Chad screamed.

As for why the kick happened ... Ochocinco was booting field goals as part of a Bleacher Report game show -- where one fan bet Chad could make a 60-yarder in three tries.

The other two attempts weren't so hot ... but it's clear the ex-Bengals superstar could probably kick better than some guys in the NFL today (looking at you, Brett Maher).

Of course, Chad certainly knows that ... 'cause on the show, he straight-up said on cam, "Make sure NFL teams get that video!"

Dallas Cowboys stud Antwaun Woods says getting busted with a ton of weed actually HELPED him dominate against the Rams ... saying the arrest "absolutely" motivated him.

Woods was a BEAST on the defensive line in the Cowboys' 44-21 rout over L.A. on Sunday ... and on Wednesday, Woods claimed getting arrested earlier this month contributed to that.

"I just wanted to get all the negativity out of the way and just put something positive on my life," Woods told reporters.

As we previously reported, Woods was pulled over in Frisco, Texas on Dec. 3 after cops say he was doing 77 MPH in a 60 zone.

During the stop, cops say they smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from Woods' car ... and when they searched it, they found a lot of weed.

According to the police report, Woods had 2 glass mason jars and a small gold cylinder container full of weed, along with several pieces of drug paraphernalia.

In video of the arrest obtained by TMZ Sports, you can see the cop straight-up tell the 26-year-old, "Listen, you've got too much marijuana, okay?"

The stop happened just two days before the Cowboys' loss to the Bears, but Woods didn't play in the game because of a previous knee injury.

But, in his first game back against Jared Goff and Todd Gurley over the weekend, he logged 5 tackles -- a HUGE figure for a nose tackle -- and was grateful to still have the opportunity to play after the arrest.

Michael Thomas may be the best receiver in the game ... but he might very well be the best teammate in the NFL as well ... 'cause the superstar gifted his entire team new Jordan 11s!!

The New Orleans Saints WR revealed the dope holiday gifts for his squad on Wednesday ... and rightfully, his guys lost their minds!!

Thomas -- who has been on an absolute tear this season -- hooked his team up with the new Jordan 11 Breds that recently came out ... and it's safe to say he made the right choice.

Saints players like Tre'Quan Smith, Shy Tuttle and Wil Lutz documented the whole thing on Instagram ... and they were so excited that they were getting short on breath!!

The kicks ain't cheap ... they're currently going for around $300 a pop. But, that's okay ... Thomas signed a 5-year/$100 million extension this past offseason.

Here's the World's Strongest Man overhead squatting the World's Best Tight End ... and yeah, it's GLORIOUS!!!

Rob Gronkowski and superstar strongman Martins Licis hit up Jay Glazer's Unbreakable Performance gym in L.A. on Wednesday ... and they bro'd down over some weights.

Unclear why the two got in a lift sesh ... but we're all sure as hell glad they did -- 'cause at some point, Licis decided to ditch the barbells and use 6'6", 268-pound Gronk as gym equipment!!

Licis -- a 29-year-old who's considered the future of strongman sports -- picked the Patriots legend up, put him over his head and squatted the guy like it was nothing!!

Of course, it kinda is nothing for the guy ... Licis famously lifted over 1,000 POUNDS of atlas stones in his World's Strongest Man win over the summer!!

Gronk's girlfriend, Camille Kostek, was impressed nonetheless, saying of the workout, "All the muscles in my entire body are equivalent to his one bicep . I have to step it up."

As for Licis, he clearly thought Gronk was a worthy gymmate ... writing on his social media, "Overhead squatting the lord of mischief, @gronk, is no easy feat of strength."

"This guy’s a unit."

By the way, if you want the key to looking like Gronk and Licis ... they seemed to reveal one of their gym secrets -- WORK SMALL MUSCLES FIRST!!

Does this look like a guy 4 days away from the biggest Cowboys' game of the season?!?

Ezekiel Elliott was sitting courtside at the Dallas Mavericks-Boston Celtics game in Texas on Wednesday ... showing ZERO concerns about his team's massive NFC East showdown with the Eagles this Sunday.

The superstar running back was seen smiling, chattin' it up with players and even doing his signature "Feed Me" dance on the jumbotron.

Yeah, didn't seem to be nervous for Philly at all!!!

Of course, perhaps on the inside he's feelin' differently ... 'cause this IS a huge game for the Cowboys this weekend.

If Zeke's squad loses, their season is essentially over. If they win, they get a home playoff game next month.

For his part, it ain't like Zeke isn't focused ... the guy was at Cowboys' practice earlier Wednesday and said his body feels GREAT ahead of the big game.

As for if he found any pregame inspiration on the hardwood? Doesn't seem he got it from Dallas, 'cause the hometown team lost 109-103.