NFL

The judge in the Kellen Winslow rape case just denied the ex-NFL star's request to be released from jail and put on house arrest because he's afraid Kellen could escape with some 'Mission Impossible' trickery.

Yes, we're serious.

Winslow's lawyer told the court that Kellen's house is equipped with a surveillance system -- and they'd be happy to give prosecutors full access to monitor the ex-NFL player at all times.

But, the judge shot that down -- in part because he saw Tom Cruise in a 'Mission Impossible' movie fool the Russians by tricking the cameras ... and he's worried Kellen could pull off the same move.

"So, what about all these movies I watch like Mission Impossible and stuff like that where they create this endless loop?" the judge said in open court.

"So the guy, like the Russians watching something ... he sees everything is fine and meanwhile, Tom Cruise and all his folks are going around the scene and doing all this stuff."

Yes, the judge is worried Kellen Winslow will use spy tricks.

Kellen's lawyer assured the judge, "Tom Cruise isn't on our team yet."

Ultimately, bail was denied. Kellen remains in jail until his next court hearing.

Texans superstar DeAndre Hopkins says there isn't much chance NFL players and Donald Trump will ever have serious talks over their issues ... 'cause D-Hop says POTUS is too "closed-minded" to listen.

We got DeAndre -- who was one of many in the NFL last season that knelt during the national anthem -- out at LAX and he explained to us why the league's spat with Trump might never end.

"I think Trump is more closed-minded and he thinks the reason that we're kneeling is because of the flag," Hopkins says. "When that's like not at all the reason we're kneeling."

Hopkins and other NFLers have said repeatedly their actions are in protest to social injustices in America -- not the flag or the military ... but that's something Trump just can't seem to understand.

"I kneeled last year and one of my best friends is a Purple Heart veteran and my uncle is a Purple Heart veteran and they understand that it's not about the flag."

"But, when a general person like that makes it look like, 'Alright, they're doing this because of the flag.' Then of course his followers are going to think the same. But, that's not the case at all, you know?"

DeAndre says he's sure NFL players will ignore the new rule the league just put in place -- seemingly in part because of Trump's issues with it all -- and will take knees during the anthem once again this season.

Jameis Winston is apologizing to the Uber driver who claims the Tampa Bay Bucs quarterback sexually assaulted her during a 2016 ride ... and now says he's "eliminated alcohol from my life."

Winston opened up about the incident Thursday -- right after the NFL formally suspended him for 3 games for the incident.

The Uber driver had previously claimed she picked Winston up from a bar area in Scottsdale, AZ and took him to a drive-thru restaurant ... where he forcibly grabbed her vagina.

"First and foremost, I would like to say I’m sorry to the Uber driver for the position I put you in," Winston said in a statement.

"It is uncharacteristic of me and I genuinely apologize."

Important to note -- Winston never denies the allegations in his statement but we've learned he's privately telling friends he did NOT grope the woman.

The NFL doesn't believe him -- and said in a statement of their own that an investigation showed Winston "[touched] the driver in an inappropriate and sexual manner without her consent."

Winston's statement continues ... "In the past 2 1/2 years my life has been filled with experiences, opportunities and events that have helped me grow, mature and learn, including the fact that I have eliminated alcohol from my life."

It's interesting, considering Winston's past -- he was accused of raping a woman while a student at Florida State. That case was ultimately dropped because the investigation was a mess.

Winston's statement regarding the Uber driver continues as follows ...

"I know I have to hold myself to a higher standard on and off the field and that I have a responsibility to my family, community, and teammates to live above the platform with which God has blessed me. I apologize to my teammates, the Buccaneers organization and fans for letting them down and for not being able to be out there for the first three games of the season."

"Although I am disappointed in the NFL’s decision, I understand the NFL’s process, and I embrace this as an opportunity to take advantage of the resources available to help me achieve the goals that I have for myself."

Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson has been hit with a $2.75 MILLION fine by the NFL for workplace misconduct -- misconduct which included sexual harassment and racist language.

The NFL says an investigation into Richardson substantiated the claims made by Panthers employees who claimed Richardson sexually harassed female staffers and used the n-word.

The NFL says the investigation -- led by former U.S. attorney Mary Jo White -- also showed the improper conduct in the organization was limited to Richardson.

In other words, they don't believe it's a staff-wide problem.

As for his punishment, the NFL says Richardson's massive fine will mostly go to organizations that support domestic violence and sexual assault victims ... as well as places that fight racial discrimination.

Richie Incognito tells TMZ Sports he's feeling good and doing well after a turbulent offseason ... and now he's seriously considering an NFL comeback.

Over the past few months, the NFL lineman was involved in a bizarre gym altercation and also dealt with threats from his former Miami Dolphins teammate, Jonathan Martin.

Richie says he's been trying to relax and meditate, and feels he's in a much better place in his life. He also tells TMZ Sports he's praying for Martin, who he still considers to be a friend.

"I wish nothing but well for him."

Richie says he's also working to put a spotlight on mental health to help people who need it.

As for his football career, Incognito "unretired" back in April and tells us he's "excited about the opportunity to come back."

There will be no pranks allowed on New York Jets savior Sam Darnold ... his teammate Buster Skrine says.

As for why ... Skrine seems conflicted on that part ... telling TMZ Sports -- on one side, the former USC QB is too good of a dude ... but, on the other, the NFL REALLY frowns upon doing that.

Still ... the Jets corner says there will be SOME sort of initiation for the No. 3 pick ... and it might involve a little bit of singing for the team in training camp.

The brother of NY Giants star Janoris Jenkins has been charged with aggravated manslaughter in the death of a man found in the basement of JJ's New Jersey home ... officials say.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... William Jenkins was taken into custody early Tuesday morning on an unrelated parole warrant violation.

But now, officials clearly believe that, before they arrested Jenkins, he killed Roosevelt Rene ... the man discovered at Janoris' home.

Rene's body was not found until roughly 9 hours after William was arrested. But, once they started investigating ... they believe they found enough evidence to connect William to the killing.

The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office says the investigation is ongoing and notes that the charges are "merely accusations. Defendant presumed innocent."

Law enforcement officials tell TMZ Sports ... the older brother of NY Giants star Janoris Jenkins is a "person of interest" in the case of the dead body discovered at JJ's New Jersey home.

We spoke with Ontario County NY District Attorney James Ritts ... who tells us, "William Jenkins is a person of interest in relation to dead body case at his brother’s house."

"Bergen County wants to talk to him."

Here's the twist ... according to jail records obtained by TMZ Sports, 34-year-old William Jenkins was arrested in upstate NY on June 26 at 1:46 AM ET ... about 9 hours BEFORE the body was discovered at JJ's home.

It appears William was arrested for an unrelated parole warrant issue -- but now, investigators in the dead body case believe he might know something about the death of Roosevelt Rene.

Ritts tells TMZ Sports ... there will be an extradition process to bring William from Ontario to Bergen County, NJ -- which is about 300 miles away.

Important to note, William Jenkins is NOT a suspect -- officials just want to know what he knows.

They've talked about having kids ... and now it seems Johnny Manziel and his wife are getting to work!

Bre Tiesi touched down in Toronto on Tuesday to visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback ... with a very visible First Response ovulation kit (which comes with a pregnancy test) tucked in on the side of one of her bags.

Obviously, we have no idea what the test results were -- but, we know babies have been on Bre's brain for a while ... she told us last year she couldn't wait to have kids with Johnny.

As for Manziel, he's not starting for his Canadian Football League team yet -- but, he's already getting praised by his coach who thinks Johnny has a real shot of getting back to the NFL.

"He should be playing in the National Football League," June Jones told ESPN ... "and I believe he will when he gets through with us."

Christmas came WAY early for Saquon Barkley's parents -- the NY Giants rookie just dropped more than $400,000 on a brand new crib in Pennsylvania for Mom and Dad!!!

"Something I promised my parents, ever since I was a young kid," the former Penn State running back posted on social media.

The house is pretty nice ... it's got 3,355 square feet, 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.

It's right in the area where Barkley grew up -- and about 90 miles from his new office, MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

The pad was last listed at $424,500 -- unclear what the final price was.

5:21 PM PT -- Officials have identified the victim as 25-year-old Roosevelt Rene -- a friend of Janoris.

Rene was a music producer who had been living at the home.

1:52 PM PT --The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office tells TMZ Sports ... the dead body is a man, but he's NOT the owner of the house.

Officials will not release the identity until next of kin have been notified.

"The investigation is ongoing, and additional information will be provided when it is available and appropriate for release."

A dead body was found at the New Jersey home of NY Giants star Janoris Jenkins on Tuesday and now the Major Crimes Unit is investigating ... TMZ Sports has learned.

First off, we're told Janoris was out of the state when the body was discovered early Tuesday morning -- but sources connected to the NFL player tell us his camp is aware of the situation.

We don't know if cops have identified a suspect or even have a working theory on how the person died.

Sources tell us the body was discovered in the basement by a worker at the house. Law enforcement officers in Bergen County raced to the scene. We're told the coroner showed up a short time later.

The identity of the victim is unclear -- we know investigators are actively working the case.

One source connected to Jenkins says the NFL player has been in Florida and was not at the home when cops arrived.

We've reached out to JJ's reps for comment -- but, so far, no word back.

Tom Brady can cross sixth member of the Backstreet Boys off his post-football plans ... 'cause AJ McLean says the Pats QB's singing is way too garbage for that.

We brought you the story last week ... TB12 had a date night with Gisele out at U2's concert in Boston when he screeched out the words to "Vertigo" and "Pride (In The Name of Love)."

When we showed AJ the clips ... his reaction was the same as mostly everyone else's ... "Not everybody is supposed to be a singer."

McLean did give props to Brady for sharing his, um, voice with the world ... saying it took "cajones" for Brady to do that.

Antonio Brown and Cam Newton worked out with each other in Miami this week ... and as the Panthers star QB put it -- there was "so much swag and juice" on the videos of it all ... "your phone probably leakin' right now!!"

Before you get ahead of yourself ... Cam's in the middle of a monster 5-year deal with Carolina, and A.B.'s in a huge 4-year contract of his own with the Steelers ... so this ain't a preview of anything.

But still ... it's one of the top QBs in the NFL with the best wideout in the game ... and it's awesome to see.

If you're unfamiliar ... A.B.'s been in Florida this offseason, grinding away with a crazy trainer -- and he's had fellow NFLers tag along sometimes. This week was Cam's turn.

They banged out abs with weights ... then hit the football field, where Newton dropped some heavy long balls to the Pittsburgh wideout.

Sadly ... unless A.B. posts more clips these next few weeks -- you won't see this on a football field again, 'cause there's no way in hell their teams are trading them away.

Lawrence Taylor says he's not ready to condemn Jameis Winston for the Uber incident that led to his suspension ... but tells TMZ Sports the QB should've NEVER put himself in that spot.

Winston has been suspended by the NFL for three games after the NFL did an investigation into allegations that he groped an Uber driver back in 2016.

LT had his fair share of off-the-field turmoil during his playing days ... so, when we talked with him out in Georgia he stopped short at condemning Winston, but still had words for the youngster.

"Especially with the problems he's had you'd think he'd make better judgements than that."

FYI -- Winston's problems include a sexual assault allegation, and two shoplifting incidents before this latest situation.

Still ... LT has his own opinions about the accuser's motives, saying, you can't rule out someone that might be looking for quick fame and a quick buck.

Forget the Tom Brady-playing-until-45 debate ... Melvin Gordon says there's a GRIP of NFL QBs who can play to that age -- including his teammate, Philip Rivers!!

The Chargers superstar told us it's really not that hard for dudes like Brady, Rivers, Drew Brees, Matt Ryan and Russell Wilson to play forever ... 'cause they're studs who don't ever get hit like running backs do.

"I feel like those guys ... they quit when they want to, man," Gordon told TMZ Sports.

"As long as their arm's working, and they feel like they can throw and they can be in there, there's going to be someone that want them."

For the record ... the oldest QB to ever start a game was the Falcons' Steve DeBerg at 44 years and 279 days old.

Tomi Lahren says civility is dead -- on the Left -- because she'd never treat someone the way Sarah Huckabee Sanders got treated at a Virginia restaurant ... not even Colin Kaepernick.

We got the FOX News contributor at LAX Saturday, and she slams the recent trend of conservatives being booted from restaurants due to their political allegiances. Tomi backs up her take with a hypothetical scenario of being seated next to the unsigned NFL QB and how she'd handle it.

She says, "Even though everyone knows I vehemently disagree with everything he says he stands for" ... she claims she'd walk up to Kaep, shake his hand, and the 2 would have a good convo.

Tomi says it's all about respect, and the "weak" left has none of it ... a stance she echoed earlier on Twitter.