NFL

We all know Father Time is undefeated, but Joe Montana clearly doesn't believe that applies to Tom Brady … 'cause he thinks the G.O.A.T. can play football until he's 60!

Montana -- who was Brady's childhood idol -- recently spoke with USA Today, where he said he wouldn't be shocked if the seven-time Super Bowl champ played well beyond even 50 years old.

The reason?? Joe Cool says it's simple -- 44-year-old Tom rarely ever gets touched by defenses.

"He's hardly ever getting hit," Montana said. "So, he could play until maybe 60, I don't know."

"The way it is with the rules, he just doesn't take those big hits anymore," Montana added. "Yeah, he gets hit on occasion, but it's never one of those, '300 pounds compressing you into the ground.' They stopped that from being legal. They just don't do that anymore."

Brady has said recently he could probably play 'til the age of 50, but he's always maintained the goal -- for now -- is to just get to 45.

A lucky fan (or unlucky, if you're not down with talons gripping your head) just got an exclusive Seattle Seahawks experience -- when the team's mascot, an actual hawk, landed right on his dome during Thursday night's game.

The feathery moment happened when the Seahawks faced off against the Los Angeles Rams Thursday Night in Seattle.

At the end of the first quarter, Seahawks' mascot, Taima the Hawk -- who leads the team out of the tunnel -- decided to explore a bit instead of flying back to her handler.

And, ended up in the stands on top of someone's head!

It was all caught on the TV broadcast ... you see Taima landing on top of a Seahawks' fan, flapping her wings, trying to get a grip on the guys head (ouch).

The onlookers seem to be lovin' it (it's not their head a big hawk's standing on). Somehow, the fan stayed calm and collected the entire time ... and Taima eventually flew back to her handler.

This isn't the first time Taima has surprised a fan -- in 2014, she landed on another man's head right before her team took on the New York Giants.

Russell Wilson's middle finger might never look the same after the Seahawks' game Thursday ... 'cause he appeared to badly dislocate it after hitting it on a defender's hand.

Wilson was unloading a deep ball in the third quarter of Seattle's loss to the Rams ... when on his follow through, his hand collided with L.A. star Aaron Donald's.

In video of the throw, you can see the force of the impact caused the quarterback's finger to bend awkwardly -- and when he looked down at the digit, it was clearly out of place.

The tip of the finger had bent at nearly a 90-degree angle ... and Wilson immediately called for trainers to help.

The 32-year-old tried to stay in the game ... but he was later pulled in favor of backup Geno Smith -- and head coach Pete Carroll said after the game Wilson could need surgery.

"There is a lot of work to be done in assessing all of that," said Carroll, who called the injury a "badly sprained finger."

"Russell is one of the great healers of all time, and he'll do whatever he can to get back as soon as absolutely possible."

Wilson has not missed a single start in his 10 seasons in the NFL ... getting under center in all 149 of his career games.

The Seahawks have some time 'til they play again -- their next contest is slated for Oct. 17 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

LSU head coach Ed Orgeron made an eye-opening comment toward a prank caller on his radio show this week ... when he seemingly threatened to make the guy disappear -- and people are pissed.

Here's how it went down ... Coach O was taking calls from listeners on his weekly show on Wednesday, when one person asked the 60-year-old to wish his sister a happy birthday.

When Orgeron asked for more details about the fake birthday girl, the caller described her as "a little blonde-headed girl" ... and then dropped the line, "Try not to have sex with her," before getting cut off. That got O worked up.

While the hosts tried to brush it off and move on to the next topic, Orgeron wanted to address the heckler.

"You know, down the bayou, we got a nice little fishing hole for people like that," O said.

The phrase is a popular term in Louisiana (ask a local) ... and once Orgeron's comment started to spread around social media, it didn't take long for people to sound off on Twitter.

Some users are going as far as to say Orgeron should be fired for the comment.

"Coach O should be terminated immediately for cause because if this call," one user said. "He is the highest paid State employee and just threatened to kill a man. He is not mature enough for this job. I am formally calling for his termination"

"Should've called a timeout Coach ...," another user added.

The NFL's fighting problem clearly ain't going away ... 'cause TMZ Sports has obtained more video of fans scrapping in the stands -- and, once again, it's violent.

The latest melee went down Monday night during the Chargers vs. Raiders game at SoFi Stadium ... when a Bolts supporter grew upset with a Silver-And-Black-clad fan in his row.

In the footage, you can see the two men aggressively got in each other's faces ... before the L.A. fan threw a wild haymaker that just missed tagging the guy in the Raiders jersey.

Immediately after the punch whiffed ... all hell broke loose, 'cause multiple other Raiders fans jumped in to take shots at the man in the Chargers jersey.

Video shows the Chargers fan ate multiple punches ... before the recording stopped.

One witness tells us people in the area were adamantly calling for security during the fight -- but the guards were already busy dealing with another incident several rows away.

Eventually, we're told stadium personnel and law enforcement arrived on the scene to break it all up.

The incident is just the latest in a long line of fan violence at NFL games this season ... with Rams and Bears fans going at it a couple weeks ago and Cowboys and Chargers fans getting into last month as well.

No word yet if the NFL or its teams are making any extra attempts to tamp down the craziness ... but it's clear, something needs to be done.

The New England Patriots lost to Tom Brady ... and now, they've lost one of their best players too.

Just days after a crushing defeat to their ex-QB and the Buccaneers ... the Pats have cut Stephon Gilmore -- arguably the best player on their team.

Gilmore -- who hasn't been eligible to play the first few weeks of this season due to a quad injury -- had been squabbling with Pats brass over his contract ... and when it became clear a deal wouldn't get done, New England simply released him Wednesday.

Gilmore confirmed the news on his social media, penning an emotional farewell statement.

"It is with mixed emotions that I announce my goodbye to this great fan base," Gilmore said. "We enjoyed so much success together and you have been an incredible inspiration for my individual achievements."

Gilmore also thanked Robert Kraft and added, "Most of all I want to thank my teammates who lined up next to me every Sunday with one goal in mind. Those moments on and off the field will never be forgotten."

Gilmore joined the Pats in 2017 after a 5-year career in Buffalo and was an immediate impact player -- helping the team win one Super Bowl and earning Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2019.

The 31-year-old is expected to be coveted now that he's a free agent ... and rumors are already swirling that he could re-join Brady, his former New England teammate, in Tampa Bay.

More drama involving Terrelle Pryor and his ex-GF, Shalaya Briston ... TMZ Sports has learned the former NFL star was arrested Wednesday after he allegedly slapped her and threw pumpkins at her car.

According to police documents, Pryor got into an argument with Briston -- the woman accused of stabbing the wide receiver back in 2019 -- in Pennsylvania at around 1 AM following a night out drinking.

In the docs, cops say Pryor had been out with Briston, but returned home while Briston continued on to another bar.

While home, according to cops, Pryor got upset with Briston and blew up her phone ... calling her over 50 times and sending her more than 30 unanswered text messages.

Cops say Briston eventually returned to Pryor's residence, but stayed outside "out of fear of Pryor."

In the docs, police say Pryor came outside and confronted Briston, shoving her and then slapping her in the face with an open hand.

Cops say as Briston tried to flee ... Pryor threw a deck chair at her. Officers add that when she got into her Mercedes, Pryor then threw pumpkins at her car, causing damage to the windshield.

Police say Briston had "inflammation, redness and bruising under her left eye" ... and Pryor was ultimately arrested.

Officers noted in the docs that Pryor denied hitting the woman ... but did admit to throwing the pumpkins.

Court records show the 32-year-old has been charged with simple assault, harassment and criminal mischief. The records show his bail has been set at $100K.

Of course, this is far from the first wild incident involving Pryor and Briston ... you'll recall, in Nov. 2019, Briston was arrested after she was accused of nearly stabbing Pryor to death following a night out partying.

Both Pryor and Briston were hit with charges over the incident ... but both cut plea deals in 2020 and were sentenced to probation.

Pryor has since recovered from the stab wounds and had been trying to make a comeback in the NFL.

Urban Meyer is still doing damage control -- the Jacksonville Jaguars coach addressed his controversial bar appearance in a full team meeting on Wednesday, where he reportedly showed "remorse and responsibility."

Meyer is on the hottest of seats after video surfaced of the coach cozying up with a young woman -- not his wife -- at an Ohio bar last weekend ... with Jaguars owner Shad Khan calling his actions straight-up "inexcusable."

The 0-4 coach reportedly brought up the whole crap storm in front of the entire team again just minutes ago ... where he said he only cares about two things -- his family and his players -- and he let both down.

"I embarrassed them both," coach said, according to NFL reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala.

No word on how the players and staff reacted to Urban's mea culpa, but reports claimed players didn't take his previous apologies too seriously earlier this week ... cracking up and laughing once Meyer left the locker room.

There are rumblings the distraction may not be worth it to a winless team looking to get its bearings ... but as of right now, Meyer's still the guy in Jacksonville.

Coach is set to meet with local reporters on Wednesday ... and we expect them to throw down the gauntlet.

Victoria's Secret model Josephine Skriver doesn't need a Raiders win -- or clothes -- to have a good time ... 'cause the Las Vegas super fan is getting over her team's loss by posting some jaw-dropping pics!!

Of course, Skriver has been a diehard Raiders fan for years ... and has always showed serious love for her squad by posting plenty of hot shots decked in Silver and Black.

Monday night's game against the Chargers was no different ... with the 28-year-old Danish model posting a number of topless pics to help fans forget about the 28-14 loss.

"Win, lose or tie .. @raiders till I die ☠️🖤🏈," Josephine said on Instagram shortly afterwards.

Derek Carr and the Raiders weren't able to come back from a 21-0 deficit as Justin Herbert, Austin Ekeler and the Bolts ran away with the home win (let's be honest, do you really care about that right now, though?)

It's a bummer for the Black Hole fanbase -- it's the first loss of Las Vegas' season -- but hey, at least Skriver's keeping spirits high.

Jon Gruden clearly ain't pleased with L.A.'s new $5.5 BILLION stadium ... bashing the state-of-the-art facility for its not-so weather-proof design and complicated visitors locker rooms after losing on Monday Night Football.

The Chargers vs. Raiders matchup was off to a delayed start due to a rare lightning storm in the City of Angels before kickoff ... with action paused 35 minutes before teams were able to take the field.

Gruden had a hard time wrapping his head around the delay -- considering SoFi Stadium is technically an indoor-outdoor building -- and says the whole fiasco had an impact on the game.

"I've never had an indoor stadium with a lightning delay," Gruden told reporters after the game.

"I’m not an engineer, I have no idea. I have never heard that. I thought it was a joke. But, it affected both teams."

Gruden wouldn't go as far as to say the delay led to the Raiders losing 28-14 to Justin Herbert and Co., adding, "It didn’t have anything to do with it."

But, Chucky's complaints didn't stop there -- Gruden also took issue with the set-up for the visiting team's locker room ... calling it "the most bizarre thing I've ever seen."

"I mean you can’t see anybody," he added. "It’s like a maze. So whoever contorted this visiting locker room, I’d like to meet this guy, see what his idea was."

FYI -- HKS, Inc. has worked on some of the most iconic stadiums in the NFL ... including the Dallas Cowboys' AT&T Stadium and Minnesota Vikings' U.S. Bank Stadium.

To compare, this is what the Chargers' locker room looks like.

Rob Gronkowski ain't down in the dumps at all after busting up his ribs ... in fact, his "spirits are high" and he WILL be back this season better than ever -- so says his best pal Mojo Muhtadi.

The former WWE star and co-host of the "TMZ Sports" TV show on FS1 (airs nightly) said Monday he's been in talks with Gronk constantly since the Bucs TE was injured against the Rams on Sept. 26 -- and he raved over how the Bucs star is handling everything.

"His spirits are high," Rawley said. "If anything, he's probably a little bit more bored this week not being able to turn up and go full tilt."

"But, man, I'll tell you what, I don't care if he would have punctured both lungs, broke every rib in his body -- you can only keep that man down for only so long."

Rawley -- just like Tampa Bay themselves -- isn't sure when the 32-year-old will make his return to the field ... but he did make it clear, the injury is no threat whatsoever to ending Rob's career.

"It's going to take a lot more than that to stop Robbie G!" Mojo said.

That's got to be great news for Tom Brady ... 'cause in the first game without Gronk on Sunday against the Pats -- the star QB threw for just 269 yards and no TDs on 43 pass attempts.

"I'd say this is probably the sixth, or the ninth-most severe injury I've seen from Rob," Rawley said with a smile. "So, yeah, we're good. Don't worry about it."

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Cole Beasley has a bone to pick with Bills Mafia ... calling out the diehard fan base for jeering at him during Sunday's home game for not getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

"Only place I get boo'd is at our home stadium," Beasley tweeted Monday. "Then some of the same people want me to take pictures and sign autographs. I thought bills fans were the best in the world? Where'd they go?"

FYI -- Highmark Stadium currently requires fans to have at least one shot of the COVID-19 vax in order to attend games.

The 32-year-old wideout has not gotten vaccinated against COVID-19 ... and seems to believe that he is being booed by the vaxxed fans at home as a result.

"If the vaccine works then why do vaxxed people need to be protected from unvaxxed? #letemin," Beasley added.

CB has been openly passionate about his decision to not get vaccinated, saying "I may die of COVID, but I'd rather die actually living."

A beat reporter for the Bills played devil's advocate and asked Beasley if the fans were actually chanting "Beaseeeeeeee?" ... to which Cole replied, "Some are. Then I got some right behind the bench yelling at me to get vaccinated and talking s***."

Bills fans have certainly had a lot to cheer about recently ... winning 3 straight games after dropping their Week 1 opener to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It doesn’t seem like this drama is going anywhere anytime soon ... that is, unless Beasley decides to get vaccinated.

But, the chances of that happening appear to be VERY slim.

Adam Thielen paid homage to the late Norm MacDonald in a big way Sunday ... by rockin' a pair of amazing "Turd Ferguson" tribute cleats during the Vikings vs. Browns game.

The NFL star got the custom spikes made by celeb shoe artist Mache -- and they're awesome, with one featuring an image of MacDonald from his famous "Celebrity Jeopardy!" skits on "Saturday Night Live."

The yellow and white shoes also had the quote, "Yeah that's right. It's a funny name" written next to a script "Turd Ferguson."

On the other shoe, Mache painted on, "Norm MacDonald 1959-2021."

Thielen is clearly a big fan of MacDonald's work ... but Mache tells TMZ Sports the NFL star is also hoping the cleats help encourage people to get tested for cancer.

Mache says Thielen is trying to help people catch the disease early, so they have a better chance of getting treatment and recovering.

Of course, Thielen and Mache made a similar gesture last season ... when they honored Alex Trebek with some tribute cleats following the former "Jeopardy!" host's death from pancreatic cancer.

Tom Brady and Robert Kraft clearly have no bad blood ... 'cause the Bucs quarterback and Patriots owner just shared a moment in the bowels of Gillette Stadium, hugging it out before the team's battle on Sunday Night Football.

TB12 will play his old team -- in New England -- for the first time since bolting for Tampa Bay before the start of last season.

Many football fans wondered what the interaction between Brady and Kraft and Bill Belichick would be like... would there be hard feelings or a warm reaction?

A few hours before kickoff, Tom and Robert met up in a back hallway, spoke briefly, and embraced each other before going their separate ways.

Of course, the Bucs won the Super Bowl last season -- Brady's 7th -- while his old squad struggled without him, going 7-9 with Cam Newton at the helm.

During the week leading up to tonight's game, Belichick -- who reportedly had tension with Brady during his last years in NE -- was extremely complimentary of the G.O.A.T.

Despite the reported beef, Brady seems happy to be back, posting about returning to Foxborough on social media earlier Sunday, saying ... "Good to be back"

Kraft previously said the Pats plan to honor Brady before what's become the most anticipated game of the 2021 NFL season.

Brady -- a 6th round draft pick of NE in 2000 -- played 20 seasons with the Patriots ... winning 3 NFL MVPs and 6 Super Bowls with Belichick and Kraft.

If Eazy-E gets a shout-out during the Super Bowl Halftime Show in L.A. it will be a touching and monumental tribute ... so says the late rapper's daughter.

Ebie tells TMZ ... she's ecstatic about the entertainment lineup for Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, less than 15 miles from Compton, where Eazy-E grew up and formed N.W.A. with Halftime Show headliner, Dr. Dre.

Ebie, who feels her father would probably have been part of the Halftime Show lineup if he were alive, says Eazy-E would be proud because he would see an extension of himself on that stage in Compton icons Dre and Kendrick Lamar.

For that reason, she'd love for there to be some kind of acknowledgment of her father during the performance. She says Eazy-E, once the leader of N.W.A., broke barriers and revolutionized gangsta rap ... paving the way for so many other rappers.

Kendrick certainly agrees with that sentiment -- he once penned a tribute to Eazy-E in 2015 saying, "I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Eazy."

Dre and Eazy, of course, had a falling out that culminated with Dre leaving the group and going solo. They later mended the childhood friendship to the point of reuniting N.W.A. but, sadly, Eazy-E died soon after in 1995 due to complications from HIV/AIDS.

Ebie knows the Halftime Show is not long .... especially trying to fit 5 huge stars in a roughly 20-minute slot. That being said, she hopes a simple shout-out -- even a "RIP Eazy-E" -- would mean the world to her.

Travis Kelce says there IS concern in the Chiefs' locker room over their poor, 1-2 start ... but he tells TMZ Sports he believes that's actually a good thing.

The star tight end revealed K.C. is upset after falling to both the Ravens and the Chargers in back to back games ... saying, "You have to be concerned, right?"

Kelce, though, added, "That's how you find what's wrong, you fix what's wrong."

The 31-year-old said there's nothing too complicated about their issues ... describing them to us as simply small mistakes here and there.

"You know, we've turned the ball over a lot, we missed tackles and it is what it is," Kelce said. "We have to be better all-around on the football field."

Kelce says for him personally, he knows he has to be a better blocker and better route runner even when plays aren't designed for him.

The good news? The Chiefs still have Patrick Mahomes -- and they won't be playing the Ravens and Chargers every week.