NFL

The Jets are desperate for Kirk Cousins, and everyone knows it ... so the QB should make 'em get on their hands and knees -- so says former Jets LB Hugh Douglas.

"If I'm Kirk Cousins, I'm gonna ask them to show me how bad do you really want me," Douglas told TMZ Sports out in Atlanta.

"Gimme all the money. I want a bologna sandwich at my locker every morning -- that's how bad you want me."

FYI, Kirk's still technically on the Redskins ... but even he knows he's as good as gone after the Alex Smith trade.

Hugh explains why Gang Green's gotta pounce ... and it's got everything to do with Baker Mayfield and the NFL draft's other QBs.

Bill Belichick didn't win the Super Bowl -- but he's winning at life.

Here's Bill's long-term girlfriend, Linda Holliday, stuntin' in a fishnet 1-piece somewhere a hell of a lot warmer than New England ... and lookin' damn good.

No sign of Bill -- guessing he's behind the camera in a hoodie.

It's the second beach pic Linda's shared since the Super Bowl ... but play time's over for her Coach Belichick, 'cause she also mentioned they just got back to Boston.

Sure Bill's stoked to get back to work -- though we bet he prefers hangin' with a half-naked Linda.

By the way, Bill and Linda reportedly met back in 2007 and began dating shortly after that. Since they've been together, the Patriots have been to 5 Super Bowls and won 2 of 'em.

It's official, Johnny Manziel is back ... we at TMZ Sports have some of the first footage of Mr. Football braving the elements to complete a pass, and it was a strike.

To a TMZ camera guy.

Johnny was leaving Craig's when we decided all the talk was OVER, and asked Johnny if he'd be willing to put his arm on display right on the streets of L.A.

He did ... tossing a strike to our guy, (who's not exactly Josh Gordon) while wearing a jacket and a hoodie.

Ex-NFL star Dana Stubblefield spent nearly a month in jail in connection to his rape case -- but he was released this weekend on a $500,000 bond ... TMZ Sports has learned.

47-year-old Stubblefield was first arrested back in May 2016 for allegedly raping a mentally disabled woman. He was hit with 5 felonies. Bail was initially set at $250k. He immediately posted it and was released.

But in January 2018, prosecutors uncovered evidence they believe proves Stubblefield used a gun to commit the alleged rape. Bail was revoked and he was remanded back into custody on Jan. 19.

He spent the next several weeks locked up in Santa Clara County Jail.

But now, Stubblefield's attorney Ken Rosenfeld has produced evidence he believes proves the accuser lied about her past -- which prompted the judge to reevaluate Stubblefield's bail.

The judge ultimately reinstated bail -- this time at $500,000 -- which Stubblefield posted over the weekend. He was released from custody Sunday morning.

One of the terms of his release ... we're told Stubblefield is required to wear an electronic monitoring device.

Stubblefield has previously denied the allegations -- and has vowed to prove his innocence.

Johnny Manziel says his bipolar disorder and depression got so bad at one point, he legitimately thought the world was coming to an end.

But, Johnny tells TMZ Sports he was able to pull his life back together ... and he wants people struggling with the same issues to know there's hope.

Manziel spoke to us about his mental health struggles on the heels of his bombshell "Good Morning America" interview -- saying he "felt like the end of the world was near and that I would never make it out."

FYI, Johnny told 'GMA' he was diagnosed as bipolar in 2017 ... after years of self-medicating with booze to cope with depression.

Now, Manziel says he has a positive outlook on life as he tries to mount a pro football comeback.

"To be where I'm at today and see hope and see a light ... I feel blessed to be able to have fought through the bad times," he told us at Delilah in L.A. -- where his GF, Bre Tiesi, was hosting an event.

NFL star Joe Haden says he wants a pair of super rare (and expensive) "Back to the Future" sneakers for his epic collection, but there's 1 problem ...

The $10K he wants to throw down ain't gonna cut it!!

FYI, Haden recently shared a pic of his shoe-seum ... so when we saw him leaving Delilah in L.A., we had to ask if there was a Mona Lisa out there he needed to have.

Joe told TMZ Sports he wanted Nike's Marty McFly shoes ... and he'd be willing to drop "about 10 bands" to get 'em.

Problem is ... Haden specifically said he wanted the self-lacing 2016 joints -- which are currently going for around $30K. The 2011 first editions are closer to $10k a pop.

DON'T TRY TO CATCH A FALLING KITCHEN KNIFE ... or you could slice your tendon open like ex-Detroit Lions tight end Joe Fauria.

You remember Fauria ... he blew up a few years ago over his awesome TD dances (including the legendary 'NSYNC "Bye Bye Bye" celebration).

But he wasn't dancing yesterday -- when he tried to grab a falling knife. The good news, he grabbed it -- the bad news, the blade ripped through two of his fingers, severing a tendon in the process.

The 28-year-old ex-UCLA star went to the hospital where he got stitched up and bandaged.

Fauria issued a statement on the whole thing -- "PSA: do not attempt to catch falling kitchen knife. The 'catch everything' motto is great for football. Not so much for life."

Man, Terrell Owens couldn't catch a break Thursday night in Hollywood ...

The Hall of Fame bound (finally!) WR was leaving a huge party at Warwick nightclub when he got hit up by the dreaded rose guy.*

*You know the rose guy ... they exist outside of every major club and restaurant and try to shame you into buying a flower.

Owens told the guy he had no cash but would happily pay with a credit card. Flower guy shut that down.

Owens tried to make a deal saying he'd pay the dude back next week. Flower guy shut that down, too.

And get this, Flower Guy also talked smack -- telling Owens, "I've been looking for your beggin' ass!"

By the way, the party -- thrown by The Farmacy (a medical cannabis business) -- was poppin' with stars like Fabolous, 2 Chainz, Ty Dolla $ign and more.

A Miami Dolphins player is devastated by the mass school shooting that happened in his own backyard ... and he's calling for change.

Andre Branch gave TMZ Sports his take on the tragedy the morning after 17 high school students and teachers were gunned down in Parkland, Florida -- less than 30 miles from his home in Ft. Lauderdale -- and he essentially echoed Warriors coach Steve Kerr in calling for stricter gun laws.

"We live in a sick world," Branch said. "There's no reason that an individual, a child, should walk into a high school and be able to shoot up his peers and teachers."

FYI, Kerr went off after the shooting on Wednesday, saying -- "It doesn’t seem to matter to our government that children are being shot to death, day after day in schools ... it's disgusting."

Jaguars player Marqise Lee is in a legal battle with an L.A. cemetery that's refusing to allow the WR to dig up and move his brother's body ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Here's the deal ... Lee's brother Terreal Reid was shot and killed in 2006. He was buried in a "multiple plot" grave with 5 other bodies at Angeles Abbey Memorial Park in Compton.

Lee -- a 2nd round pick of the Jags in 2014 who caught 56 balls for 702 yards last season -- has petitioned L.A. Superior Court for the right to "disinter the remains of his brother" and move him to a single plot grave.

According to the docs, Lee says the cemetery has refused to exhume and relocate the body without a court order.

As for why Terreal was ever buried in a grave with other people ... Lee says his family only chose the grave site back in '06 'cause of the high cost of a single plot.

We spoke to Oscar Olivos, the owner of Angeles Abbey cemetery, who told us before burying a body, families sign contracts that prevent disinterment.

Warren Sapp says he's INNOCENT -- claiming the woman accusing him of drunkenly running her over at a 2015 Super Bowl party was so wasted that night, she's clearly misremembering the facts.

We broke the story ... Sapp is being sued by Paula Trickey -- who claims she was hanging at an ESPN party in Arizona on Jan. 30, 2015 when a sloshed Sapp came out of nowhere and bowled her over, causing serious injury.

Sapp was served with his summons earlier this week in L.A. when a process server posed as a fan and blindsided him by slapping him with his court summons.

Now, Sapp's rep, Brandon V. Chretien, is firing back ... telling TMZ Sports simply, "Mr. Sapp was never at the ESPN party where Ms. Trickey is claiming she had a run in with him and no one will be able to produce pictures that suggest otherwise."

"It's on record that Mr. Sapp was hosting an 'NFL Alumni Association' party where Pitbull was performing that evening of January 30th, 2015 and this was a completely separate event from the ESPN party that Ms. Trickey is alluding to."

Sapp's rep also points to the fact Trickey was arrested for DUI after the party -- "Ms. Trickey was heavily intoxicated that evening as she was arrested for DUI at 3:40 am in the morning with BAC of .119, double the legal limit."

"We are consulting with our legal team and we look forward to getting to the bottom of this issue."

Warren Sapp didn't see this coming!!!!

The NFL Hall of Famer got SERVED with a lawsuit in his battery case by a process server PRETENDING TO BE A FAN ... and executed the trick play to perfection!

As we previously reported, Sapp is being sued by a woman who claims Sapp drunkenly bowled her over at a 2015 Super Bowl party in Arizona. She claims she suffered major injuries as a result.

The woman's attorneys had been trying to serve Sapp for more than a year but couldn't quite track him down -- they felt he was "actively avoiding the process server."

So, they sent a guy to a Sapp autograph session he had been promoting, hoping Warren would show up -- and they could finally slap him with the complaint and summons to appear in court.

The plan worked to perfection ... an unsuspecting Sapp even put his arm around the guy to pose for a photo before he dropped the bomb on him.

Here's another episode of "Playing It Coy," starring Tim Tebow ... who says he really doesn't know whether he'd consider signing with the XFL.

Tebow was gentlemanly as ever when we got him at LAX on Tuesday -- but when the topic of Vince McMahon's XFL offer got brought up again, he gave us the ol' Heisman stiff-arm.

"I don't know -- that's a long way from now."

He does have a point. The XFL doesn't launch til 2020.

Timmy did give us a clear answer when our photog -- a Chicago guy -- asked about him potentially playing for the Cubs.

Rob Gronkowski and his family are raging through New England -- hitting up 3 children's hospitals in less than 24 hours ... in a mission to give away a TON of cash!!

Rob -- along with his bro Dan and father Gordie -- decided today would be the day they distributed the $75,000 they raised by raffling off tickets to the Super Bowl.

The donation spree started off at Boston Children's Hospital -- where the Gronks played games with the kids and then presented a big, ol $25,000 check!!!

Dan tells TMZ Sports the family is en route to Barbara Bush Children's Hospital in Portland, Maine -- followed by Hasbro Children's Hospital in Rhode Island.

And yes, each hospital gets a big $25k check -- and some play time with the Gronks!

Super Bowl champ Corey Clement just made a LIFETIME deal with Philly -- as in, he just got the Eagles mascot tatted on his arm!

Clement BEASTED OUT in Super Bowl 52 in Minnesota -- hauling in 4 passes for 100 yards and a key touchdown after only catching 10 passes for 123 yards in the regular season.

So, how do you commemorate the GREATEST day of your life? Tattoos, baby!!!

The 23-year-old running back got some pretty sick ink of an Eagle tearing through his right forearm -- and the letters "SBLII" tatted on his neck.

It might get a bit awkward if Clement ever ends up playing for another team -- especially if the Dallas Cowboys come calling -- but for now, bask in the awesomeness.

Kansas City Chiefs star running back Kareem Hunt was named in a police report by a 19-year-old woman who claims he shoved her during a heated hotel argument.

But Hunt's friends told police the woman is lying -- claiming SHE was the violent one who went berserk and called Kareem the N-word.

Here's what EVERYBODY agrees on -- all the parties involved kicked things off Friday on a good note, tooling around Cleveland on a party bus and hitting at least 3 bars.

Eventually they went back to the upscale hotel/apartment where 22-year-old Hunt has a residence -- the goal was to keep the party going.

What ensued ... two women were kicked out of Hunt's room and that's when the drama began.

The Accuser's Side

The accuser is a Kent State student who told police she was kicked out of the apartment because she didn't want to hook up with one of the men. The woman says she couldn't afford an Uber back to Kent State and was too drunk to drive so she sat outside the apartment upset, trying to figure out how to get home.

That's when a woman with Hunt's group came outside and told the accuser and her friend to go home. Kareem allegedly came out next and "shoved and pushed her" in an attempt to shoo her home.

The accuser claims she suffered cuts and bruises to her knee, hand and chest.

Hunt's Friends' Side

But Hunt's friends paint a different picture ... saying they refused to let the accuser and another female friend hang out when they learned the women were only 19 years old.

One of Hunt's former college teammates told police the accuser went crazy after they were told to leave -- and "began calling him and Hunt the N-word and specifically she stated, 'F*ck you n*gger. You Ain't sh*t."

The accuser allegedly punched one of Kareem's female friends in the face as she tried to deescalate the situation.