NFL

Kadarius Toney is going ghost after his abysmal Thursday Night Football outing ... 'cause the Kansas City Chiefs receiver just deactivated his X account.

There's no sugar-coating it -- Toney had a bad game in the Chiefs' loss to the Detroit Lions in the opening game of the 2023 season ... missing three targets and deflecting a pass that was intercepted for a pick-six, which ended up being the game-changing play of the matchup.

Toney finished the game with one catch for one yard and one rush for a loss.

Fans were quick to share critical posts throughout the game ... mentioning Toney's account as they expressed their frustrations with his performance.

They can complain all they want, but Toney's tuning out the haters ... 'cause a visit to his "0fficialC2N" profile now reads "This account doesn't exist."

While Chiefs Kingdom and trolls are spewing hate, the guy's still getting support from his team ... as Patrick Mahomes said despite the drops, he has faith in Toney.

"Obviously he would've wanted to catch a few of those in the game, but I've trusted he's going to be that guy that I go to in those crucial moments, and he's going to make the catch and win us some games like he did last year," Mahomes told reporters after the 20-21 loss.

Jared Goff was gettin' all types of Ws on Thursday night ... 'cause after upsetting the Chiefs in the NFL's kickoff game, he got a celebratory kiss from his swimsuit model fiancée!

The PDA happened after the quarterback and his Detroit Lions shocked the defending Super Bowl champions, 21-20, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

Goff's partner, Christen Harper -- who just got engaged to the signal-caller back in June -- shared footage of the postgame smooch on her Instagram page ... showing her getting some lip-on-lip action with the QB after the game from the stands.

"Biiiiig fan of 16," Harper captioned the clip.

Of course, Goff deserved every bit of the love from Harper ... he threw for 253 yards and a touchdown in the victory, taking care of the ball throughout all four quarters of the close game.

Seems the quarterback should be getting used to the PDA from Harper going forward ... because the Lions appear to be the real deal, playing well in all three phases of the game.

New York stars Sterling Shepard and Julius Randle strutted down the runway during fashion week on Wednesday ... but they weren't the only highlight of the show -- their kids put their modeling skills on display, too!!

The Giants receiver and his two baby girls -- who he shares with ex-wife and model Chanel Iman -- took the stage at IRON23 in the Flatiron District for the 13th Annual Rookie USA Fashion Show ... and it's safe to say they had a blast.

You can see Shepard, his 5-year-old and 3-year-old do their thing in black and red Jordan gear ... and the receiver said his kiddos knew exactly what to do because they've been watching mommy's previous work.

"The girls love it," Shepard said. "Their mom was modeling since she was a young woman."

"They love doin' it. They watch videos of her all the time so they just love coming and I just love bringing them. It's been good!"

Shepard also talked Giants -- he's ready to get back on the field after going down with an ACL injury last season ... and said he can't wait for their first game against the Cowboys Sunday night.

"I got a lot of team goals," Shepard said. "I'm just looking forward to taking it week by week and trying to make a good run with the guys."

He wasn't the only NY star athlete to walk the stage ... Knicks hooper Julius Randle showed out with his wife, Kendra, and their two kids. They modeled down the runway in Nike sweatsuit outfits.

FYI, the event -- which was hosted by Kidfluencer Haileigh Vasquez -- will benefit Moms for Moms NYC on behalf of Randle ... and it provides postpartum and newborn essentials for single mothers living in poverty.

The NFL is officially back ... and Kansas City Chiefs heiress Gracie Hunt threw on a sexy team outfit to celebrate the momentous occasion!!!

The daughter of Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt put on some K.C. bikini bottoms and a crop-top jersey to show her support for her team as Patrick Mahomes and the guys get set to take on the Detroit Lions at Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday night.

Along with two photos of the 'fit, the 24-year-old model wrote in a caption ... "Today’s the day!🙌🏼"

"It’s felt like a drought without football.🌵," she added. "Who’s ready for the regular season?!🙋🏼‍♀️🏈"

Of course, showing some skin along with support for her squad is nothing new for Gracie ... just a few months ago, she posted a couple of steamy photos of herself rockin' a K.C. bikini in the snow to gear up for the Chiefs' playoff game against the Jaguars.

NFL tight end Jimmy Graham can enter the 2023 season breathing a sigh of relief -- TMZ Sports has learned the New Orleans Saints star will NOT face criminal charges following his training camp arrest.

We're told the Orange County District Attorney's Office decided not to move forward with the case due to insufficient evidence ... meaning Graham will not have any potential legal trouble hanging over his head stemming from the Aug. 18 incident leading up to Week 1.

We broke the story -- 36-year-old Graham was arrested near a Newport Beach resort after cops say they observed him walking in traffic. When they tried to take him into custody, he resisted.

We obtained video of Graham prior to the arrest ... showing staffers chasing him as he ran through the resort grounds.

According to the arrest report, officers believed he was under the influence of a stimulant ... but the team said Graham may have experienced a medical episode, as he was taken to a nearby hospital later that night.

Graham was booked on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance and resisting, delaying and obstructing a police officer -- both misdemeanors -- but as of now, he's in the clear.

Graham -- who is making his return to the field after sitting out the 2022 season -- has since rejoined the team and made the 53-man roster.

Former NFL receiver Mike Williams -- the Offensive Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2010 -- has died following a recent accident at a construction site.

According to a GoFundMe page set up by Williams' family, the ex-Tampa Bay Buccaneers wideout suffered a "massive head injury" a few days ago when a steel beam fell on him ... causing "complete paralysis in his right arm as well as his lower body from the waist down."

Sadly, Williams' family says his condition worsened in the ensuing days ... and Spectrum News 1's Jon Scott reported Monday he passed away.

He was just 36 years old.

News of his death Monday evening rocked the football world ... with his former teammate, Gerald McCoy, tweeting he was devastated to learn of the passing.

"Dang man hurts my heart seeing the news of my former teammate and Buccaneers 2010 draft class brother Mike Williams," McCoy said. "Always great energy, brought joy and laughter to the locker room and a heck of a player!! Prayers and blessings to his family!! 🙏🏾😔"

The Bucs picked Williams with a selection in the fourth round of the '10 NFL Draft ... and he went on to have an outstanding rookie season, finishing only behind Sam Bradford for OROY honors.

He would go on to play for three more seasons in Tampa, before he was traded to the Bills in 2014. He was never able to replicate the production he had as a rookie, however, and he bounced from the league after just one year in Buffalo.

The former Syracuse standout finished his career with 3,089 receiving yards and 26 receiving touchdowns in 63 total games.

RIP.

Tom Brady has a new venture post-NFL life -- but it's one that has absolutely nothing to do with football, or even sports ... as he's partnering up with a massive American airline. 🤔

Indeed, Delta announced a multi-year agreement Wednesday that they've struck with TB12 -- making him a new long-term strategic adviser for their company ... which will see him give their employees, their customers and their stakeholders a piece of his mind on a number of topics -- including general greatness, something that's right up his alley.

Here's how the CEO pitches this ... "Delta’s people are driven by their commitment to world-class performance, excellence and a desire to achieve best-in-class results. Bringing a leader like Tom onto the Delta team furthers our mission to connect the world while accelerating our drive to continuously improve for our colleagues, customers and communities."

Specifically, Delta says Brady will assist them in developing/advising on strategic training and "teamwork tools" for their more than 90,000 workers. He's also going to be the new face of Delta, it seems, when it comes to marketing for current and prospective ticket buyers.

And finally ... Delta says TB's going to get involved in their shared "communities," but are kinda vague on what exactly that means. In any case, they've landed a major whale here.

As for Tom himself, he's quoted as saying ... "I am grateful to be joining the Delta family, a company I have loved and respected for years," Brady said. "Growing up with a mother as a flight attendant, I have always admired the people that make seamless air transportation possible. Throughout my career, my teammates and I flew Delta countless times, spending hours traveling for some of the most important games of our lives, even celebrating Super Bowl wins on the plane."

He adds, "Those championship teams were built off of great leadership and a commitment to excellence, and Delta certainly shares those qualities. Now, alongside Ed and the Delta team, I look forward to playing my part to continue the company’s success."

No word on what the money looks like here, but ya gotta imagine Brady's making a fortune off of this ... as he seems committed for the long haul, and his services don't come cheap these days. Remember -- he signed a 10-year, $375 million contract with FOX Sports already. Plus, he's got tons of other sponsorships under his belt -- Hertz and so many more.

The son of ex-NFL star Hugh Douglas was tragically killed in a car crash on Monday ... the younger Douglas' college announced this week.

He was just 20 years old.

According to police documents, obtained by The Philadelphia Inquirer, the accident occurred at around 5 PM in the Atlanta area. Police say Douglas' son, Hugh, and his Morehouse College roommate, Christion Files Jr., had been driving at a high rate of speed when their car careened off the road, hit two utility poles and flipped over.

Both men were pronounced deceased at the scene.

In its announcement of the tragedy, Morehouse College said the loss of the two "is deeply felt by all of us in the Morehouse family."

"Hugh Douglas was an exceptional student who displayed immense dedication and promise in pursuing a business administration degree with a concentration in finance," the school said, adding, "Christion Files Jr. was a remarkable young man who made his mark academically and in extracurricular activities."

The elder Douglas -- who made three Pro Bowls with the Philadelphia Eagles in the early 2000s -- has been posting tributes to his son throughout the past few days on X ... writing in one of them on Wednesday, "Your father is the only man that is truly happy you are better than them. You made me so proud."

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni expressed his condolences to the Douglas family on Tuesday -- saying in a press conference that he had always been told Douglas' son was "an unbelievable kid."

Aaron Rodgers has been seeing things before he ever dabbled in psychedelics -- the New York Jets quarterback went in depth about the time he believes he saw a UFO on "Hard Knocks" this week ... saying he felt like he was in a movie!!

The four-time MVP opened up on the 2005 experience on the season finale of the Max series Tuesday night ... when he was staying with his old college teammate, Steve Levy, in New Jersey prior to the NFL Draft and heard an alarm going off outside.

Naturally, the guys left the house to investigate ... and Rodgers couldn't believe his eyes.

"Up in the clouds, we heard this sound and we saw this tremendously large object moving through the sky," Rodgers said. "And it was like a scene out of 'Independence Day,' when the ships are coming into the atmosphere and they're creating this kind of like explosion-type fire in the sky."

"And we just saw this incredibly large object and froze, as anybody would because what the hell was going on? And eventually it went out of sight and nobody said a word."

Shortly after, the signal-caller says he heard the sound of fighter jets zooming above them ... as if aircrafts were chasing whatever they just saw.

"Again, we just stood there in just disbelief for another few minutes," Rodgers added. "Nobody said a word. Then we all looked at each other like, 'Did we just see what we think we just saw? What was that?'"

Rodgers -- who did his research on the subject after a lack of media coverage on the incident -- seemingly believes it was, in fact, a UFO ... because he heard an alarm go off at a nearby nuclear power plant, which tracks all the information he's gathered.

"And if you know anything about UFOs, there are a lot of sightings around nuclear energy, around volcanoes, around power plants," the Super Bowl winner said.

Carl Nassib -- the first openly gay player to ever log time in a regular season NFL game -- is retiring.

The 30-year-old pass rusher announced the news in a lengthy post on his Instagram page Wednesday morning ... revealing he's hanging up his cleats in order to focus on his business endeavors.

"This is a bittersweet moment for me," he said in his announcement. "Football has given me more than I ever could have imagined. I can truly hang up my helmet for the last time knowing I gave it everything I had."

Nassib entered the NFL back in 2016 ... when the Cleveland Browns took him in the third round. He piled up 5.5 sacks in two seasons, before he signed on with the Buccaneers in 2018.

Two seasons later, he joined the Raiders ... and after one year with the team, he came out as gay. In his first game following the historic announcement, he made a play that helped Las Vegas log a victory.

Nassib went on to play for the Bucs one more time last season ... before ending his career Wednesday.

"It was always my dream to play in the NFL, even as a walk-on," Nassib said, "and I really feel like the luckiest guy on the planet."

Deion Sanders' Colorado Buffaloes walked the walk on Saturday in a huge win over TCU ... and on Tuesday, they were rewarded for their performance -- earning a place in this week's Top 25 rankings.

The Associated Press just revealed the Buffs slid into No. 22 on the list ... after they scored a massive, 45-42 win over the Horned Frogs in Texas despite being 21-point underdogs.

Sanders' squad -- which was just 1-11 last season -- looked impressive ... especially PrimeTime's quarterback son, Shedeur, who threw for 510 yards and four touchdowns in the victory.

Coach Prime knew it was a big win after the final whistle had blown ... 'cause he gloated throughout his postgame press conference, even asking one of his biggest detractors repeatedly, "Do you believe?!"

Sanders and his team will have another opportunity to prove they're the real deal this weekend ... when they face off with Nebraska on Saturday in Boulder.

Chandler Jones' days in Las Vegas might be numbered -- the star defensive end just bashed the Raiders in a bizarre rant ... saying he no longer wants to play for them after not being allowed in the team facility.

Jones' verified Instagram profile posted a number of stories on Tuesday ... calling out head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler.

"They won't let me in the building tho, tryna provoke a n****," Jones' story said ... adding he wants the team's current defensive coordinator to take over on the sidelines.

"F*** it, I don't wanna play for the Raiders if that's my HC or GM ... I want Patrick Graham Ivy League n****."

Jones' account also shared what appeared to be a text to McDaniels ... saying he had to go to a local gym to work out "for no apparent reason."

"This is wild to me Josh and you know it you need to do what's right."

There's more ... but it's hard to make heads or tails of what exactly is going on. The team has not addressed the situation.

The timing of it all isn't ideal ... especially with the first week of the NFL season just days away.

Jones joined the Raiders last season on a three-year, $51 million contract ... after spending his first 10 seasons with the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals.

Both of Tom Brady's boys are now following in his footsteps ... the NFL legend just revealed his youngest son is beginning his football career this year -- albeit at a position that's a whole lot different than Dad's.

Brady said on his "Let's Go!" podcast Monday that Ben -- the 13-year-old who he shares with Gisele Bündchen -- told him recently that he's stepping onto the gridiron in 2023.

However, Tom said the kid won't be under center like he was.

"I was like, 'What do you want to play?'" Brady said. "And he's like, 'Tight end. I want to be like Gronk.'"

Brady, though, didn't seem disappointed one bit with the decision ... saying he actually texted Rob Gronkowski immediately after Ben broke the news to him.

"I'm like, 'Yo, my boy wants to be like you,'" Brady said. "And he loved it. He's like, 'That's so great.'"

Brady added on the pod that he's now preparing Ben for games ... explaining he spent a large portion of his Sunday night throwing the pigskin around with the teenager to get him accustomed to catching balls.

"He's going to be a little beast," Brady said.

Of course, Ben is now the second of Brady's offspring who will strap on the shoulder pads and helmet ... his eldest boy, Jack, has already been shining on high school fields as a quarterback.

It doesn't matter what number Ezekiel Elliott is rocking on the field, 'cause he won't have to choose between digits off it -- the New England Patriots star just copped a diamond chain that reps both his old AND new look ... and we're told it's worth a whopping $260k!!

TMZ Sports has learned, Zeke wanted a new piece in honor of his new No. 15 with the Pats ... so he hit up celeb diamond setter Gabriel French for the job.

But, Elliott -- who inked a one-year, $3 million deal with the Pats this offseason -- isn't leaving his Cowboys career in the past ... 'cause the pendant's reverse side displays "21," the number he wore during his time in Dallas.

We're told the pendant was made with 70 carats of VVS emerald and brilliant cut diamonds ... and the Cuban chain consists of 70 carats of emerald and round cut diamonds.

Gabriel has worked with a ton of big names in the NFL over the years ... including Odell Beckham, Jr., Jalen Hurts, Amari Cooper and Aaron Donald.

Antonio Brown's tenure as the owner of the National Arena League's Albany Empire was apparently much worse than previously imagined ... with two former players claiming the former NFL superstar threatened to pull a gun on them in a heated exchange.

Dwayne Hollis and Darius Prince detailed the confrontation in an interview with ESPN ... saying the whole incident was sparked by a social media tribute to former teammate Mo Ruffins, who died last year.

The post was quickly deleted from the Empire's account without explanation ... so when Hollis and Prince ran into AB at a local cigar lounge, they wanted answers.

The players allege Brown -- who was still fresh off buying his part of the team at the time -- got pissed over their approach, and told his assistant, Ryan Larkin, to go out to his car to get his weapon.

"AB looked at Ryan and was like, 'Hey, man, you still got the AR in the car? Go get it,'" Prince told the outlet. "Then I was like, I'm not going to allow this dude to walk out of here after you just threatened us."

Prince says cooler heads eventually prevailed and they were able to have a conversation ... but made it clear the threat rubbed him the wrong way.

It's no secret -- AB essentially ran the Empire into the ground in a matter of months, with former players and staffers accusing him of being a nightmare to work with ... eventually leading to the team getting booted from the league.

Ex-NFL star Ricky Williams says the league is moving in the right direction by loosening its stance on cannabis in recent years ... but tells TMZ Sports he's hoping Roger Goodell's organization goes one step further by allowing teams to treat players with marijuana after games.

Ricky -- who was suspended five times and missed a chunk of his career for violating the league's substance abuse policy -- believes society is going through a big transformation when it comes to accepting the benefits of cannabis and psychedelics ... and he's hoping the NFL follows suit.

FYI -- the NFL changed its marijuana policy in 2021 ... electing to only test players once a year and handing down less punishment if someone is popped for the drug.

Ricky is thrilled with the league's changed stance on cannabis but feels it would have great benefits for players if they were encouraged to use marijuana instead of pills during recovery.

"I think the next step, though, is at the end of a game, if we're on the plane ride home, the trainer is walking down the aisle and has two capsule cases -- one of Ambien, and the other one of Vicodin," Williams said. "And he's walking down the aisle and saying, 'Do you need any of this, do you need any of this?'"

"And the truth is, for football players, we do need something because it hurts, and you're all revved up and it's hard to calm down go to sleep. And I'd love to see cannabis as being one of those things that the trainer is walking down the aisle and offering to those players."

Ricky -- who legally changed his name to Errick Miron recently -- has been an advocate for the cause for decades ... and is outspoken on the positive effects cannabis had on his mental health throughout his career.

Now, Ricky's own lifestyle brand, "Highsman," is going strong ... and he said the whole experience has been nothing but positive.