New York Jets

You know that hot chick who says she gave Sam Darnold mono??? The NY Jets QB is setting the record straight -- saying he's never met the woman in his life, let alone swapped spit with her!!!

You've seen the pic by now ... a v attractive Jets fan made light of Darnold having the kissing disease during NY's Monday Night Football match-up with the Browns ... holding up a sign that read "I gave Darnold mono."

Of course, for obvious reasons, the claim didn't seem so far-fetched ... so everyone had fun with it.

But Darnold just *had* to play the role of party pooper on Tuesday ... addressing the viral girl's claim on the 'Michael Kay Show' on ESPN.

"I know there was a sign also at the game that some girl claims she gave it to me ... I've never seen that girl in my life. So, I'd just like to set the record straight on that."

BOOOOOOOOO. That's no fun, Sam.

FWIW -- TMZ Sports spoke with the woman (who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity) ... and she says it was all a joke, too ... so case closed.

Saquon Barkley is jumping in to save the day for a dissed Giants fan ... he just invited the little kid who was roasted by DeMarcus Lawrence to a game in November!!!

11-year-old Kamil Bautista -- a NY fan living in McAllen, Texas -- drove 9 hours with his family to watch the Cowboys play the Giants in Dallas last weekend.

But, after the game when he was searching for autographs from players outside the stadium ... Lawrence blew him off, telling him his Barkley jersey was the wrong team!!!

TMZ Sports spoke with Kamil's father, Jorge Bautista, who told us the whole situation sucked ... and said Jerry Jones should sit down with Lawrence to explain to him that wasn't right.

Well, Barkley saw the whole situation ... and guess what??? HE WANTS TO HANG OUT WITH THE KID NOW!!!

Sources close to the situation tell us Barkley reached out to the Bautistas this week and invited them to their Nov. 10 game against the Jets in New York.

We're told Barkley is flying them out and will give them a meet-and-greet experience as well as VIP treatment at MetLife Stadium.

Oh, and we're told the kid will almost certainly get some autographs from the team too!!!

NY Jets TE Chris Herndon -- who had a breakout rookie campaign last year -- will be banned 4 games this season after he pled guilty in his DUI crash case, the NFL announced.

Herndon was lucky to be alive after cops say the 22-year-old smashed into another car on a New Jersey highway on June 2, 2018 after he was speeding at more than 100 mph.

TMZ Sports obtained footage from the aftermath of the crash ... and you can see Herndon's 2018 Nissan Armada nearly rolled over wrongside up.

To make matters worse, 23-year-old Herndon bombed field sobriety tests ... and he was arrested for DUI at the scene.

Chris fought the charge in court throughout the Jets' season last year ... but eventually cut a deal with prosecutors and pled guilty in the case.

Herndon was sentenced to complete 12 hours of an intoxicated driver education program. Plus, his driver's license was revoked for 90 days. He was also hit with $639 in fines and fees.

Now, the NFL has weighed in with their punishment, hitting the guy with a 4-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the initial ban was supposed to be 2 games ... but after a woman at the scene claimed the crash caused her bodily harm, the NFL upped it to 4.

The two suspects who allegedly stole half a MILLION dollars worth of stuff from Le'Veon Bell were 2 women he left naked in bed earlier in the day ... this according to the Jets star himself.

In 911 audio obtained by TMZ Sports ... Bell tells dispatch on May 25 two women stole "clothes, shoes, money and my jewelry" in a burglary at his Hollywood, Florida home.

When dispatch asks for a description of the females ... Le'Veon says he can't say what they were wearing -- because when he left them earlier in the day, they were naked in his bed!!!

Of course, according to the police report, Bell describes the two as his "girlfriends" ... so seems the NFL superstar at least had a solid start to the day ...

"When I left, [one of the women] was in the bed," Bell said on the 911 call ... "She was in the bed, not wearing clothes when I left. So, I didn't see her. You know what I'm saying."

And the other lady ... "She was in the bed too. They didn't have clothes on."

Bell says in the 911 call the women stole his watch, his jewelry and "a couple more things of value out of my house" ... and estimated everything they took was worth around $1 MILLION.

Police eventually determined the value of the jewelry Le'Veon lost was $520,000. As we previously reported, one of the items that was taken is a diamond Black Panther pendant.

Unclear if Bell has been able to get his stuff back -- or if the suspects have been caught. The Hollywood PD tells us the investigation is still ongoing and "no update yet."

Le'Veon Bell lost more than HALF A MILLION dollars in jewelry-- including his beloved Black Panther chain -- after 2 of his female friends allegedly swiped his belongings from his Florida home last month.

According to Hollywood PD ... the NY Jets running back came home from a gym workout on May 25 and noticed some things were missing -- his 2 gold and diamond chains, a Rolex watch, the Black Panther pendent ... as well as the 2 girls who were chilling at his house.

The valuables are worth $520,000 in total.

Sources tell us Le'Veon -- who just signed a 4-year, $52.5 million deal with the Jets back in March -- made his new team aware of the theft after the incident occurred.

Rob Gronkowski will NOT be successful transitioning from the NFL to Hollywood if he doesn't take it seriously ... so says ex-NFL star Thomas Jones -- who says the move is hard as hell!!!

Of course, TJ knows first-hand what it takes to go from on-the-field stud to on-the-screen star ... he spent 12 years in the league before becoming a respected actor.

And, he tells us the only way Gronk is going to have similar success is if he truly devotes himself.

"Just commit yourself to the industry, man," Jones says of his advice to the future Hall of Fame tight end ... "You can't really halfway do this. You have to really, really buy into it."

The reason? Jones says football players have to train themselves to be "inhumane" to be a beast on the field ... but acting requires more vulnerability.

In fact, Jones says he took acting classes for 4 YEARS to get that all down ... saying, "I took the craft seriously."

The good news for Gronk? Jones says the ex-Patriot will be a natural once he decides to put all his energy into it.

Refer to Curtis Martin as Dr. Curtis Martin from now on ... 'cause the Hall of Famer just got a doctorate degree!!!

The ex-Jets superstar was just presented with a Doctor of Humane Letters honorary degree from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai in New York on Thursday ... where he took the stage and was participated in the hooding ceremony.

Martin was honored for his on-and-off field accomplishments ... receiving praise for his Curtis Martin Job Foundation, which provided financial support to single parents and people with disabilities, as well as providing medical attention to people in developing countries.

On top of that, the dude was a freakin' beast on the field ... he was a 2-time first team All Pro selection, a 5-time Pro Bowler and oh yeah, he's in the hall of fame.

This right here though has gotta take the cake.

You think New England Patriots star Julian Edelman is gonna just sit there and be quiet when some jerk NY Jets fan is running his mouth talking smack?!?!

NOPE!

Jules calmly fired back at the Jets heckler Monday night with a truth bomb -- and shut the guy down right in front of Odell Beckham and Saquon Barkley!!

So, here's the deal ... the NFL stars were all leaving a post-Met Gala party at the Standard Line Hotel in New York ... when some guy started trashing the NY Giants when he saw Saquon and Odell.

The heckler told the group, "Saquon, sorry buddy, [I'm a] Jets fan!"

That's when Edelman walked right up to the guy and explained, "I'm a Jets fan too. Every time we play 'em, we win."

Boom.

It's true, ever since Edelman joined the Pats back in 2009, his team has a 16-5 record against the Jets ... complete domination.

Anyway, Edelman and his NFL pals continued to have a great night -- while the Jets fan was forced to sit and think about how they're probably gonna suck again in 2019.

Le'Veon Bell wants to show off his love for the Jets wherever he goes ... repping his new team while performing at a nightclub over the weekend ... and TMZ Sports has the footage!!

The $52.5 million man showed some serious Gang Green loyalty during his 20-minute performance at HQ2 Nightclub at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City ... showing off his new team's logo on the big screen and even starting a massive J-E-T-S chant!!

Bell fittingly performed songs like "Lotto" and "Talk of the Town" during his set... and we're told the crowd loved it.

Le'Veon Bell is going to have a HUGE season for the New York Jets in 2019 ... and it's all 'cause he sat out last season -- so says NFL legend, Chris Johnson.

"He gave his body a rest," CJ2K tells TMZ Sports ... "Now he's coming back healthy. He rejuvenated his body and he's ready to go."

Le'Veon was known as arguably the NFL's biggest workhorse before he sat out all of last season over a contract dispute with the Steelers.

In 4 of the 5 seasons that he suited up for Pittsburgh ... he touched the ball at least 289 times -- including a staggering 406 in the 2017 season.

But, after carrying it ZERO times this past year ... Chris says he's projecting a monster year for Bell with his new team.

"I think it'll be a big season," Johnson says ... "It's a lot that goes into it, but, you know, I wish him the best and I hope he proves all the doubters wrong."

Le'Veon Bell innocently went to Twitter to ask his followers what he thought of his new song on Sunday ... and Keenan Allen did exactly that with a BRUTALLY honest response.

"I gotta keep it band bro. This ain’t it" (while adding a garbage can emoji).

DAMN!

The NY Jets star didn't take the public criticism lightly ... telling Allen to hit him up directly if that's how he really felt.

"if youu honestly felt that way, youu could’ve just txted me and said that," Bell responded, "but it seems even ppl with check marks wanna troll to seek attention for mentions now a days..."

"enjoy this buzz fuzz, it’s still all positive vibes."

Now, remember ... it's April Fools Day. So, is this all just a prank to get people all worked up?? The LA Chargers star's follow-up suggests otherwise.

"I was not trolling on my momma bro. I don’t troll. Like I said I speak facts. You shouldn’t have asked if you ain’t want the truth. All love over here bro"

So ... is Bell's song actually good or bad? We're just gonna post the video below and let you decide.

Remember Chris Johnson's EPIC 4.24 40-yard dash at the 2008 NFL Combine???

Yeah, CJ2K tells TMZ Sports he coulda ran it in UNDER 4 seconds!!!

Chris says he came into the annual pre-draft event weighing around 200 pounds ... but says if he had shed 30 or so lbs for the drills -- he would've gotten into the 3s zone on that historic day!!!

"I think [I could have run it]. If I would have went to the combine at 165 ..."

So, why didn't the former NFL superstar do it!?!

"I probably would have dropped," Chris tells us ... "Ain't nobody wanting to draft a first-round running back that weighs 165!"

Yeah, good call.

Chris ended up having a stellar career after his ridiculous 40-yard dash time regardless ... becoming one of only seven players EVER to rush for more than 2,000 yards in one season.

In fact, Johnson tells us he's still got it ... the 33-year-old says if he really trained for it, he could still run a 4.2!!!

Le'Veon Bell is going to help Jamison Crowder have a MONSTER season ... so says the wide receiver himself, who tells TMZ Sports he's going to be open A LOT 'cause of the RB.

"He's going to definitely draw a lot of attention," Crowder says ... "He helps open it up for guys like myself."

Of course, New York went crazy in free agency this month ... signing a bunch of good players to huge-money deals, including Jamison and Le'Veon.

But, Crowder seems most excited for the Bell deal ... telling us, Le'Veon is so good out of the backfield -- there's going to be A LOT of space for him to work in the secondary now.

"I'm just excited to play alongside a guy like Le'Veon Bell."

Crowder ain't kiddin' ... Le'Veon's been a BEAST in the passing game -- and did help open things up for guys like Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster when he last suited up for Pittsburgh.

Jamison's takin' note ... and is predicting not only a big season for himself -- but others in the receiving corps too!!!

By the way, Crowder -- who's been working out at his old school, Duke, this offseason -- is running a camp next month for a VERY good cause, and he told us all about why.

Le'Veon Bell just signed a $52.5 mil contract, but LB is still focused on his other career -- throwing an album release party in Miami, and TMZ Sports has the footage.

Bell hit up Rockwell Nightclub in Miami Beach Saturday to perform songs from his new rap album, "Life's a Gamble" -- and the place went crazy for him.

Among the songs he performed was "Free at Last" -- where he talks about his drama with the Pittsburg Steelers. One of the lyrics includes, "I'm gonna make them open up their safes. I'm just doin' what I gotta do to get me paid."

There's more ... many of the lyrics have to do with Bell's football career and how excited he was to leave the Steelers and sign with a new team. During the nightclub performance, Bell was wearing some big ass gold chains -- no doubt a result of getting a huge new contract in New York.

Lucky Whitehead was so wasted during his DUI arrest back in December ... he told cops, "I'm not alright to drive" -- and it's all in police footage obtained by TMZ Sports.

The ex-Dallas Cowboys receiver was pulled over on Dec. 23 in Gainesville, Virginia around 2:12 AM after he ran a red light ... and when cops got him out of the vehicle -- it was clear he was DRUNK.

Whitehead was slurring his words, babbling incoherently and absolutely bombing field sobriety tests. Oh, and he admitted to having beer and mixed drinks before getting behind the wheel.

Lucky ultimately refused a breathalyzer -- despite the cop's repeated warnings it would be an additional charge on his crimes ... but the officer says on video Lucky might have blown a 0.25 if he cooperated!!

26-year-old Whitehead was ultimately hit with FIVE charges for the incident, including DUI, refusing a breath sample, driving without a license, failure to obey a traffic signal and a seat belt violation.

By the way, Lucky tried to (very drunkenly) play the Do you know who I am? card at one point during the stop ... telling cops he's the same guy that was involved in that wild shoplifting arrest mix-up back in 2017.

And, yeah ... the cops didn't care.

Sam Darnold not only can win a Super Bowl for the Jets ... he can do it VERY soon -- so says NFL legend Darrelle Revis, who tells TMZ Sports, "I think he's the future of the Jets."

We got the future Hall of Famer out at the Super Bowl this past weekend ... and we had to get his take on his ex-team's young signal-caller.

That's when Revis told us he's so impressed by what he's seen from Darnold so far ... he thinks Sam can lead the Jets to a ring within the next couple seasons!!!

"I think he has a ton of potential. I think he's the future of the Jets ... I think he can bring a Super Bowl in the near future for the Jets."

Of course ... Darnold and NY have a long way to go to get to that mountain top -- they just went 4-12 and fired their head coach.

Oh ... and Darnold posted a 77.6 quarterback rating with a 17-15 TD-INT ratio.

But, Revis ain't concerned, saying, "It's going to take some time, but I feel like he's capable of doing it."