Month: March 2023

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced they have officially cut ties with running back Lenoard Fournette, releasing him after the start of the new league year at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Fournette was not released with a post-June 1 designation to spread out the cap hit; the team officially opened up $3.5 million in cap space with the release of Fournette.

Fournette signed with the Bucs in 2020 and was the lead running back in Tampa Bay for three seasons while playing with the quarterback who recruited him, Tom Brady.  The 28-year-old recorded 668 yards on 189 carries in 2022, averaging just 3.5 yards per attempt. The running back also caught 73 passes for 523 yards with three touchdowns, bringing him up to 1,191 yards from scrimmage on the season. A No. 4 overall pick of the 2017 draft, Fournette has twice rushed for 1,000 yards throughout his career.

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New York Mets GM Billy Eppler announced the team will likely be without All-Star closer Edwin Díaz for the entire 2023 MLB season, after suffering a full-thickness tear of the patellar tendon in his right knee.

The injury occurred during Puerto Rico’s on-field celebration following their win over the Dominican Republic in Wednesday night’s World Baseball Classic game. The Puerto Rican players were jumping together in the infield when Díaz collapsed to the ground and quickly reached for his right leg; he did not put any weight on the leg before being taken off the field in a wheelchair.

The Mets said that Díaz underwent surgery Thursday afternoon, with Eppler telling reporters that the organization will not “update Edwin’s timeline for a while,” but noted that generally recovery from patellar tendon surgery takes eight months. Eppler added that Diaz was “in good spirits” ahead of the surgery, which will be performed by Dr. David Altchek.

Díaz, who turns 29 on March 22, signed a five-year deal worth $102 million last offseason — the largest reliever contract in history in terms of both total guarantee and average annual value. Díaz is coming off a historic season that saw him post a 1.31 ERA (297 ERA+) and a 6.56 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 62 innings. He also finished with 32 saves over the course of 61 appearances.

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The NBA announced on Wednesday they have suspended Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant without pay for eight games, in response to a video he released that showed him holding a gun inside a nightclub. The 23-year-old Morant (who has since apologized) posted the video March 4 on Instagram; he last played March 3, missing the Grizzlies’ last five games as a result of the incident. The Glendale, Colorado Police Department announced March 8 that Morant would not be charged with a crime in relation to the social media video.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a news release: “Ja’s conduct was irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous. It also has serious consequences given his enormous following and influence, particularly among young fans who look up to him. He has expressed sincere contrition and remorse for his behavior. Ja has also made it clear to me that he has learned from this incident and that he understands his obligations and responsibility to the Memphis Grizzlies and the broader NBA community extend well beyond his play on the court.”

The league, who conducted an investigation, met on Wednesday in NY with Morant, NBA executive vice president Joe Dumars and NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio and others. The league said its investigation “did not conclude that the gun at issue belonged to Morant, was brought by him into the nightclub or was displayed by him beyond a brief period,” and said its probe also did not find that Morant possessed the gun when traveling with he team or while he was inside any NBA facility, which would be a violation of league policy.

Morant will be eligible to return from his retroactive suspension when the Grizzlies host the Dallas Mavericks on Monday in Memphis.

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The Dallas Cowboys have released veteran running back Ezekiel Elliott. The Cowboys signed Elliott to a six-year, $90 million contract in 2019, and will save more than $11 million on their 2023 salary cap from his release.

Owner Jerry Jones announced in a statement Wednesday afternoon: “We have mutually agreed with Zeke that the best decision for everyone is that he will be able to experience free agency, and we can increase our flexibility and options as well. This is one of the toughest parts of operating a team .. Moments like this come, and extremely difficult decisions and choices are made, for the franchise, for me personally and for players too. We will always have a special place and love for Zeke and what he means to our Cowboys family, both as a person and a player. That will never change.”

The 27-year-old Elliott is a three-time Pro Bowl selection and former All-Pro, who entered the league as the No. 4 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. He led the NFL with 1,631 rushing yards as a rookie and with 1,434 rushing yards in 2018. Elliott totaled 8,262 rushing yards and 68 touchdowns on 1,881 carries in 103 games for the Cowboys. He also caught 305 passes for 2,336 yards and 12 scores for the NFC East franchise.

However last season, Elliott totaled a career-low 876 rushing yards and failed to eclipse 1,000 yards from scrimmage for the first time in 2022. He also scored 12 touchdowns as the team’s red zone option. Second-string running back Tony Pollard led the Cowboys with 1,378 yards from scrimmage last season, scoring 12 touchdowns in 16 games.

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