NFL

Troubled NFL player Aldon Smith says he's clean and thankful to have made it to 30 ... reflecting on his troubled past in a post on his birthday.

Smith -- who has been in and out of the league and struggled with drug and legal problems -- provided a rare update for his fans on Wednesday ... saying, "I’m thankful to have made it another year."

He added ... "Grateful to be Happy, Loved, Sober and Supported. #godisgood"

It's a big deal for Aldon if he's sober -- he's had several DUI arrests and has been suspended multiple times by the league.

Aldon checked himself into alcohol rehab in March 2018 -- after his former fiancee told us she feared for his life -- but was arrested for DUI this past June.

Antonio Brown is NOT done with the NFL -- despite what he said on social media ... this according to his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, who says he's been in talks with multiple teams.

"I have had discussions with a few teams that are very interested in him and want to know about his future and what's going on with the NFL," Rosenhaus said on Warren Sapp's '99 Problems' podcast.

"Hopefully, when that is all resolved, Antonio will be able to continue his Hall of Fame career."

Rosenhaus did not mention any of the interested teams by name.

Of course, Brown swore off the NFL on Sunday morning ... just days after he was cut by the New England Patriots.

"Will not be playing in the @NFL anymore these owners can cancel deals do whatever they want at anytime we will see if the @NFLPA hold them accountable sad they can just void guarantees anytime going on 40m 2 months will see if they pay up!"

NFL sensation Gardner Minshew II is admitting his master plan to break his hand with a hammer in college was a "pretty dumb" idea ... and says he's grateful he didn't succeed.

Uhh... YA THINK!?!?

Of course, the Jacksonville Jaguars QB revealed the INSANE story of smashing his hand with a hammer on Barstool Sports' "Pardon My Take" last week ... saying he was trying to get a medical red shirt so he could play another year of ball during his first year at East Carolina University.

Minshew has clearly given some thought about his failed attempt at shattering his paw ... saying in hindsight, it probably wasn't the best way to go about things.

"It didn't work, I guess, fortunately. I mean... looking back, it was pretty dumb," Minshew told reporters on Wednesday. "Believe it or not, breaking your hand is pretty dumb."

"I always tell people [when they ask], 'what would you do to play more ball?' ... damn near anything."

Baker Mayfield is teeing off on Rex Ryan for calling him "overrated as hell" ... saying Rex's opinion doesn't matter -- and he's out of the NFL for a reason!!

The coach-turned-analyst took a shot at the Cleveland Browns QB on ESPN's "Get Up!" on Tuesday following the team's loss to the Rams ... saying Mayfield's not as good as people think.

"I bought into the dang hype," Ryan said. "What's he doing right? Here's a guy right now that's a one-read guy and then he's gonna improvise."

Ryan also bashed Baker for being slow and inaccurate down the field.

Mayfield was asked whether Rex's comments added "fuel to the fire" on Wednesday... and that's when he ripped into the coach for not having a football gig.

"It's whatever," Mayfield said. "In the wise words of Freddie Kitchens -- 'if you don't wear Orange and Brown, you don't matter.' Rex Ryan doesn't have any colors right now for a reason, so it's okay."

BOOM.

Baker has a history of going after media members who are critical of him -- just ask Colin Cowherd.

It'll be interesting to see how these comments shake out though -- considering Rex had a consistent career as a coach in the NFL from 1999 to 2016 ... and has a Super Bowl ring from his stint as a defensive line coach with the Baltimore Ravens.

As a head coach, Rex also took the NY Jets to the AFC title game in his first 2 seasons with the team. His career record as an NFL head coach is 65-68 with 4 playoff wins.

Baker has led his Browns to 8 wins in 16 games since being selected as the #1 overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft.

Think Bills fans will continue their tradition of throwing sex toys at Tom Brady and the Patriots??

New betting odds will reward you if you're right ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned you can actually make money off this ridiculous thing!!!

A rep for BetOnline.ag says Bills fans are actually favored to NOT throw a fake phallus this weekend when the Pats come to New Era Field ... putting the odds at -130.

If you want to throw down cash saying a rubber dong will come flying in when the Bills take on New England on Sunday ... the odds are -110.

Of course, Buffalo fans have been inexplicably throwing sex toys onto the field every time the Pats have come to town since 2016 ... but the act hasn't come without a cost.

Bills officials have imposed LIFETIME BANS for people who are caught throwing the sex toys ... which is why this bet is so damn intriguing.

Kickoff between the two teams is set for 10 AM PT ... keep your slips handy!!!

Kyle Long ain't shying away from the fact that thousands of people just saw his junk ... in fact, the Bears offensive lineman is actually joking about the whole ordeal!!!

After Chicago beat up the Washington Redskins on Monday night, Long's penis was accidentally exposed while teammate Tarik Cohen live streamed from the locker room on Instagram. Oops!!!

Cohen took down the vid just minutes after realizing he accidentally exposed Long's man junk, but the damage had already been done -- Long was trending on social media.

But, Kyle is taking the whole incident in stride ... he appeared on Barstool Sports' "Pardon My Take" -- and he and the 'PMT' guys slyly and hilariously joked about it.

Some of the highlights from Long ...

"The D was out in numbers."

"You would think with my large stature there'd be more, like, jumbo packages."

"I had heard about a cold front coming in, and I guess I just wasn't prepared for it, man. Because it hit me hard right at the end of the game."

Ex-Philadelphia Eagles star Hollis Thomas says his firing from his gig on a Philly sports radio station may have been racially motivated ... and a lawsuit is at least crossing his mind.

The 45-year-old former defensive tackle (who spent 10 seasons with the Eagles) made regular appearances on 94.1WIP -- until recently. Many wondered what happened -- and on Tuesday he went on Josh Innes' podcast to explain.

Long story short ... Hollis says he caught flack from WIP for appearing on Green Legion Radio, which WIP considers to be a competitor.

Thomas also says the station was upset because he didn't make a scheduled promotional appearance for the station ... but Hollis says the station didn't give him the details about the appearance until he was already booked to do something else.

Thomas says he was a part-time employee and felt he was allowed to take side gigs for extra money.

"Don't act like you all-in on Hollis Thomas. Because if you're not all-in with me, I'm not all-in with you."

Thomas also suggested a racial component to his firing.

"I could sue for discrimination because I am the only black guy up there .. and it looks real bad when you single out the one black guy who's just trying to make a little bit of cheese."

Innes, who is white, told Thomas not to sue because it would be a bad look for him. Thomas didn't completely dismiss the idea.

Antonio Gates is going to bat for his ex-teammate ... telling TMZ Sports the Chargers need to pay Melvin Gordon ASAP -- and they need to give him Ezekiel Elliott money when they do!!!

MG has been sitting out this season in hopes of getting a fat new deal ... and the Bolts have struggled without him -- going just 1-2 in their first 3 games.

Gates says the solution is just to pay Gordon, telling us when we got him out at Avra in Bev Hills this week, "Melvin Gordon is the answer. They need to get Melvin Gordon back."

As for how much Dean Spanos should pay the star RB ... Gates says the deal belongs in the same stratosphere as the 6-year, $90 MILLION contract that Zeke just got from the Cowboys.

"He means a lot to the Chargers and to our organization," Gates says. "You can sense that as the season gets going, the absence of him is starting to have more effect."

Gates -- the Chargers' all-time receptions leader -- says it's obvious to him the team is really missing Gordon when it gets down in the red zone, saying, "He's big time."

But, don't worry Chargers fans ... Gates says he believes the deal will all get worked out soon, telling us, "I think he's going to get paid."

Ex-NFL lineman Kendrick Norton -- who lost most of his left arm in a July 4 car crash -- now believes the accident was meant to be ... because he's in a position to help so many other people.

It hasn't even been 3 full months since the crash that ended his NFL career and changed his life forever ... but Norton is in great spirits and launching his non-profit organization, Kendrick Norton's Angels Initiative.

The 22-year-old former Miami Dolphins player says the organization is aimed at helping young amputees and their families in various ways ... from upgrading prosthetics, helping to make homes handicap accessible, spearheading blood drives and more.

What Norton is doing is nothing short of amazing -- and he strongly believes this is his purpose in life.

"The more I get out there and the more I help, the more I feel like this was supposed to happen. This was my calling."

Norton later told us he feels like this is all part of God's plan for him.

As we previously reported, Norton (a 7th-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft) was battling for a roster spot with the Dolphins when he crashed his truck on July 4 with his girlfriend, Kira, in the vehicle.

The two have since launched a YouTube page chronicling life as an amputee. It's pretty inspiring stuff.

Mark Rypien's wife was on the ground gasping for air and choking after the former Super Bowl MVP struck her ... and it's all on new police video obtained by TMZ Sports.

Rypien and his wife got into an argument in their car on a busy street in Spokane, Washington on June 30 when Rypien says things got physical.

The 56-year-old -- who won two championships with the Redskins in the late '80s and early '90s -- claims his wife, Danielle Rypien, struck him in the head with a cell phone and poured water on him while he was driving. He also claims she covered his eyes while they were on the road and, when he got scared, he hit her.

In video previously obtained by TMZ Sports, you can see Danielle spill out of the car onto the ground and collapse onto a grassy area of a nearby bank parking lot.

New police video shows what happened next ... cops interrogated Rypien and his wife over the incident, and the former QB admitted to striking her.

"She was covering my face up when I was driving and I was scared and I just said, 'Get away from me!'" Rypien said.

Cops say they also noticed the driver's seat was wet -- seemingly corroborating his story that Danielle had poured water on him.

When the cops asked why she was coughing and choking ... Rypien added, "She just had the wind knocked out of her when I kind of threw her hand off me."

"She was covering my face up and I was scared we were going to get into a wreck."

Cops questioned both Rypien and his wife for the next few minutes over the incident ... but Danielle appeared to refuse to tell officers what really went down -- saying she was worried about what would happen to Mark if he went to jail.

"He raises money for cancer and it will hurt his reputation," she told police.

She also told cops Rypien is "sick" -- suffering from head trauma sustained during his days in the NFL.

Eventually, cops decided to arrest the ex-QB ... telling Rypien that, since he admitted to hitting Danielle, "I do not have any choice but to place you under arrest for domestic violence."

The video also shows cops acknowledging Rypien as a "pretty high-profile person" -- and discussing how to handle the situation appropriately.

Rypien was eventually charged with misdemeanor domestic violence ... and after fighting the case in court throughout the summer, he eventually got the charge dismissed on Aug. 30.

According to court docs, Rypien was able to get the charge dropped because he "acknowledged the event and is pursuing counseling."

For his part, Rypien released a statement after the court's ruling, saying, "In light of the dismissal of the misdemeanor assault charge against me, I want to express my appreciation to the citizen callers who reported this incident and to the officers involved for their efforts to protect Danielle on the day of this incident."

"I also appreciate the professionalism of the officers, jail staff, court personnel and the prosecutor's office in having treated me with respect and civility through a very difficult process."

Unemployed NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown isn't spending his Tuesday getting ready for a game -- he just walked into a Miami office to sit for a deposition in a lawsuit where he's accused of trashing a luxury apartment.

As we previously reported, AB is being sued by the owners of The Mansions at Acqualina in the Miami area, where he was accused of wrecking his $35k-per-month unit and not paying for the damages.

Brown allegedly leased the place from Feb. 2018 to July 2018.

In the lawsuit, the condo owners claim they found broken or defaced furnishings -- including a leather couch, silk-covered sofas and appliances. They also claim AB damaged the walls and flooring so badly, they needed to repaint the place.

Brown has previously denied the allegations and vowed to fight the case. In fact, Brown filed a counterclaim against the condo claiming his unit was burglarized in April 2018 due to lack of security at the complex. Brown filed multiple police reports claiming the burglars entered his place without permission and stole $80k in cash and a 9mm firearm while he was out of town.

AB arrived for his deposition on Tuesday morning with his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, by his side -- along with his attorney, Darren Heitner.

The former New England Patriots star was dressed in a black tracksuit and was smiling and using his phone to record the media throng waiting for him as he arrived.

In other words, he didn't seem worried at all.

If The Mansions sounds familiar, it's the same place where Brown was accused of going on a furniture-throwing tirade back in 2018 ... and almost smashing a 22-month-old child.

Brown was sued by the family of the kid who says Brown was launching furniture off his balcony and only missed hitting the child and his grandfather by "a mere foot or two."

Brown struck a settlement with the family -- agreeing to put money in the kid's college fund and also donate to a charity.

There was ZERO chance Odell Beckham was going to get Michael Crabtree'd on Sunday night ... 'cause the star WR straight-up refused to wear his chain against Aqib Talib!!

If you somehow missed it ... Talib and Crabtree had an EPIC beef a couple years ago -- with Talib snatching Crab's gold chain on TWO separate occasions in 2016 and 2017.

Obviously, Odell saw all the drama ... and wanted NO part of it when the Browns took on the Rams -- because he told Talib on the field Sunday, "I had to not wear my chain tonight!"

Don't worry, Talib didn't take it as an insult ... he actually laughed about it and said to Beckham, "Stop that sh**, O!"

But, while Odell's chain might have survived the night ... his game didn't exactly -- Talib shut down the receiver, allowing only six catches for 56 yards.

Tough trade-off.

By the way, Talib and Crabtree eventually squashed their beef at a Texas Go-Kart track last March ... with the guys having a long heart-to-heart outside the place.

We're told the two bro-hugged after chatting and the drama is now dead.

Think Nelson Agholor has bitterness toward a Philadelphia hero who clowned him after saving babies from a fire???

HELL NO ... the Eagles wide receiver is straight-up impressed -- and wants the dude to get VIP treatment at a Philly game soon!!!

Here's the deal if ya missed it ... Hakim Laws heroically helped kids flee from a burning building over the weekend, and afterward, he shaded the hell out of Agholor.

"I see a guy hanging out the window screaming that his kids were in there,” Laws told CBS 3 in Philly.

"My man just started throwing babies out ... and we was catching them, unlike Agholor and all his mishaps."

Of course, Nelson's had the dropsies for the Eagles in the past two weeks ... he blew the chance at a game-winning TD pass vs. the Falcons in Week 2 and had a few more mistakes in a loss to the Lions on Sunday.

But, Agholor took Laws' shade in stride ... and asked Twitter to help him find the guy, saying, "Thank you for being a hero in the community, would like to invite you and your family to the next home game."

AWESOME!!!

The Washington Redskins could definitely use some help in the WR department ... but Joe Theismann is warning his former team -- STAY AWAY FROM ANTONIO BROWN!!!

"I don't care who you need. I don't care what you need ... the answer would not come up 'Antonio Brown,'" Theismann told TMZ Sports.

"You can give me multiple choice on anyone you want, the one that would not come up would be 'Antonio Brown.'"

For his part, AB has said that he's done with the NFL ... and has re-enrolled in online classes at Central Michigan to kill the time.

Theismann says Brown does "unbelievable" things on the field ... but it's just not worth the baggage that comes with it.

"I wouldn't want to be on a team with him," Theismann tells us. "A lot of questions that I would be asked during the course of the week would be about him. It becomes a distraction to be perfectly honest with you."

"There's so much that's going on around his life that it just makes it really tough to say 'I just want to go to work every day and worry about myself.'"

We also ask Theismann about Washington's chances at making the playoffs ... and he is extremely optimistic.

Hey ... someone's gotta be.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling ain't just a beast on the gridiron ... the Green Bay Packers stud WR is a killer on the sticks too -- telling TMZ Sports he could be a pro gamer!!!

The 24-year-old has become Aaron Rodgers' second-favorite target this season ... and after he scored a 40-yard TD on Sunday, he busted out a famous Fortnite dance in the end zone.

So, when we spoke with him on Monday ... we had to ask, what was the inspiration for that???

That's when Valdes-Scantling told us he's a huge gamer ... and he's so good -- he thinks he could be up there on stages with Ninja and FaZe Censor!!!

"I definitely think I'm good enough to play professionally," Marquez says.

Of course, Valdes-Scantling has a pretty good career going for himself in Green Bay ... and tells us there's ZERO chance of him leaving football for pro gaming.

The 1-2 NY Giants can make the playoffs THIS YEAR with rookie Daniel Jones at quarterback ... so says G-Men legend Tiki Barber.

That's shocking ... the NYG were arguably the 2nd worst team (s/o Fins) over the first 2 weeks of the season -- going 0-2 -- and getting outscored 63-31.

But, that's before the 22-year-old, 6th overall pick, Daniel Jones, made his 1st career start and LIT UP the Bucs in Tampa Bay.

Jones' was 23-for-36 with 336 yards and 2 TD passes ... he also had 2 rushing TDs. The Giants won 32-31.

So, with DJ at the helm, we asked Tiki if it was impossible to think the Giants could make the playoffs ... and listen up Giants fans.

"No, it's not impossible."

Barber says with all the players getting hurt -- especially star QBs (see Drew Brees) -- NY could find itself in a position to make the postseason.

"There may be an opportunity. Injuries play such a big part of it. You just gotta keep plugging forward if you're a Giants fan, you're this Giants team, and be ready if the opportunity should come."

Still, let's be real ... if the Giants squeaked into the playoffs, they're not winning any Super Bowls this season.

But, in the future ... hell yeah. DJ's good enough to win some rings.

"Down the line, could I see Daniel Jones as a Super Bowl-caliber QB??? Absolutely. He's got all the intangible. He's got all the skill sets. His arm is big. He's got touch. He's smart. He makes really good decisions," Barber says.

"I like him, and I think Giants fans are ecstatic right now to go to Giants games and watch this young kid develop."