NFL

How can a player be a distraction when the only person he's yelling at ... is himself?!?!?!

That's what Roddy White wants to know in the case of Odell Beckham and the NY Giants.

The NFL superstar explained why he thinks pointing the finger at Odell is a waste of time and energy ... and instead of criticizing the best player on the team, the G-Men need to draw up better battle plans!!

Kyle Rudolph's stellar season just got even better -- his wife just gave birth to twins!!!

Jordan Rudolph delivered Andersyn and Finley late Tueday night -- and the Minnesota Vikings tight end is pumped!!

In fact, he was right there by her side for the whole delivery -- which is awesome considering it's the middle of the NFL season ... and Kyle's job has serious travel demands.

But everything worked out -- Rudolph says the kids are "happy and healthy."

"Thank you to everyone including family, friends, teammates, coaches and Vikings fans for all your support and well wishes!"

The Dallas PD has solved the mysterious Aqib Talib shooting -- determining the NFL star shot himself during an incident back in June ... this according to a local news report.

As we previously reported, Talib was shot in the leg on June 5th -- and told police he was hit while standing in a park.

However, Talib was at V Live strip club earlier in the evening where a gunfight broke out -- and there were reports he shot himself during that incident.

Now, WFAA TV's Rebecca Lopez is citing sources who say "Dallas PD has completed the Aqib Talib case. They've determined the Broncos cornerback was not shot by someone but shot himself."

If it's determined he lied to police, Talib could be charged with a crime.

We reached out to the Dallas PD for comment -- and public information officer Tramese Andrews told us, "I have not been made aware of any new information regarding that incident and cannot confirm any information regarding your request."

Kellen Winslow Jr. says he's getting real interest from multiple NFL teams -- despite the fact he hasn't played since 2013 -- but says he's laser-focused on getting a shot with the Packers.

The 33-year-old former Pro Bowl tight end tells TMZ Sports he's been training his ass off -- and is 100% positive he still has the ability to dominate in the NFL.

In fact, Winslow worked out for Green Bay back in August -- and says playing with Aaron Rodgers would be his dream job.

There's been a lot of tight end movement in the league over the past few days -- question is ... will Winslow get the call?

"It's all about the GMs pulling the trigger on me."

A Cowboys legend is weighing in on the QB controversy in Dallas -- with Jay Novacek telling TMZ Sports ... KEEP DAK PRESCOTT UNDER CENTER ... even when Tony Romo returns.

Jay -- a 5-time Pro Bowler, 3-time Super Bowl champ with the Cowboys -- says he's a big Romo fan and wants to see him play again ... but essentially says the team has a great thing going with Dak!

"When Tony's ready to play, I'd sure enough start Dak ... and just always have that little backup situation going there," Jay said.

"If things aren't going quite right, then you put Tony in."

Ex-NFL quarterback Todd Marinovich has been charged with multiple criminal charges stemming from a bizarre naked drug arrest ... and faces up to 3 years in jail if convicted ... TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported, the 47-year-old former USC star was arrested on August 19th in Irvine, CA after cops say they found him naked in a random person's backyard ... after ditching a bag of drugs.

Cops say they later found the bag which contained meth, marijuana, syringes, a pipe ... and Todd's wallet with his I.D.

Now, the Orange County D.A. says the office is moving forward with 5 misdemeanor charges against Marinovich including meth possession, weed possession, public nudity and 2 trespassing charges.

If convicted on all counts, officials say he faces a maximum of 3 years in jail.

NY Giants legend Amani Toomer is getting brutally honest with Odell Beckham -- telling the superstar straight-up ... "You're not gonna get any sympathy. Nobody feels sorry for you."

For the record, Toomer tells TMZ Sports he thinks Odell is EXTREMELY talented and one of the best players in the NFL -- but he needs to hear the truth about how his actions are being perceived.

Of course, Beckham went off to the media after the Giants lost to the Vikings Monday night -- complaining about how he's become unfairly targeted by the refs after getting hit for unsportsmanlike conduct in the 2nd half.

"Nobody cares how you feel," Toomer says ... "Just play your game."

There's a lot more -- it's good stuff.

Cam Newton raged WAYYY too hard in the Bev Hills mansion he rented after the Super Bowl -- throwing crazy parties and causing nearly $100k in damage ... this according to a new lawsuit.

Julian Edelman's baby mama only rolls with the best ... Exhibit A -- the insanely hot guests who attended her baby shower over the weekend.

Ella Rose was surrounded by about 30 smoking hot friends -- seriously, the group shots look like a modeling agency's Christmas party. Makes sense 'cause most of 'em are models, like Abigail Ratchford who hosted in her Bev Hills pad.

We're told the shindig cost about $10k, and some of that was even spent on food, including ham and cheese croissants and mini beef wellingtons.

How's this for fate ...

When Paxton Lynch was called off the Broncos bench to make his unexpected NFL debut this weekend, 100 of his closest friends and family members just happened to be in the stands.

Here's the deal ... the Broncos were playing in Tampa Bay -- about 90 minutes from where the Denver rookie went to high school.

100 of the QB's closest friends and family decided to buy tickets to the game to support their boy -- knowing he's the 2nd string QB behind Trevor Siemian ... who's been on fire lately.

Fast forward to the 2nd quarter -- Siemian goes down, Paxton goes in and balls out -- 14 of 24 for 170 yards and a TD ... and his cheering section LOVED IT!!!

"We weren't even expecting him to play," Paxton's mother, Stacie, tells us ... "We just went to show support, and were lucky enough to see him get some action."

"He was excited everyone was able to come!"

We also spoke with Lynch's high school coach, Allen Johnson, who says he wasn't surprised by Paxton's performance -- he'd been preparing like crazy for that moment.

"I talked to him after the game yesterday briefly," Johnson said ... "He said he’s going to be there for the team and not be the reason why they don’t make it back to the Super Bowl."

Verne Troyer lived out a lifelong dream as a die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers fan ... meeting all the players after watching them whoop-up on the Kansas City Chiefs at Heinz Field.

Verne's loved the Steelers since the '70s but never got to a game, so superstar wide receiver Antonio Brown made it happen. We're told Verne watched football with AB all day at his house, then scored pregame sideline passes.

He headed to Brown's suite to watch the Sunday night matchup -- a dominating 43-14 Steelers victory -- and hung out with the team afterward. Check out the pics ... he even met Bob Costas (guess who's taller).

Antonio says Verne brought him good luck -- he scored 2 TDs -- so there's a good chance he'll be back later this season. Keep your Terrible Towel handy, Verne!

Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nigel Bradham spent part of his bye week in jail -- after he was arrested for trying to bring a LOADED GUN through a Miami airport ... TMZ Sports has learned.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ Sports, the 27-year-old had put his backpack through the X-ray machine at Miami International when TSA workers noticed a loaded firearm.

Bradham told workers he forgot the gun was in the bag -- and showed officials his concealed weapons permit.

Officials say "it was clear that there was no criminal intent on his part" -- but say they could not just cite and release Bradham since he's still out on bond stemming from a July assault case.

Bradham was taken into custody and booked for a 2nd degree misdemeanor concealed weapons charge. He was released from custody later that day on a $500 bond.

Ex-NY Jets cornerback Dee Milliner -- who was cut from the team last month -- was involved in an early morning bar brawl in Alabama over the weekend ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Millbrook PD chief P.K. Johnson tells TMZ Sports ... Milliner was at Dooley's Pub when a fight broke out early Saturday morning. Cops were called to the bar for a "large scale disturbance" at 3:56 AM.

According to Johnson, the bar staff had asked a patron to leave -- but the person refused -- and got violent while being escorted out.

Johnson would NOT verify if that patron was Milliner.

However, we're told Milliner was at the bar at the time and allegedly involved in the brawl in some capacity.

We're told 2 people were hospitalized with minor injuries. Other people suffered light wounds. No arrests were made. Most people left the scene when cops arrived.

At this point, no one seems to be pressing charges.

Relax Pats fans ... YOUR SAVIOR HAS RETURNED!!!

While the Patriots went down in flames to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Tom Brady threw on the pads for a private workout at a high school in Brookline, MA.

Check out the deep ball Brady fires in our video ... it's pretty.

He also worked on his footwork -- as seen in video obtained by Tim Whelan of MetroWestDaily in MA.

Of course, Brady was suspended for the first 4 games of the season for that whole DeflateGate thing .. but he's set to make his comeback next week in Cleveland (sorry Browns fans).

Looks like Brady's recharged after that trip to Italy last week ... and if you've seen the pics, it's obvious why.

Shawne Merriman could be the the next NFL star to get in the cage -- telling TMZ Sports he's actually had talks with Bellator about a real MMA fight ... and he's dead serious.

The former NFL star has been training with MMA fighters for almost a decade -- and says he'd be down to do it, if the conditions were right.

In fact, Shawne says he's jokingly talked to Bellator president Scott Coker about it -- but says, "there's always some seriousness behind every joke."

We asked Coker about the possibility of S.M. steppin' into the cage. He told us, "Shawne is a great friend to Bellator with some serious martial arts skills. I have no doubt that he could find success in this sport and when he's ready for his first fight, we'll be here to promote it."

And the Academy Award goes to ... someone other than Clay Matthews.

But hey, at least when it comes to reenacting scenes from classic movies ... the Packers star gets an A for effort.