Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
A.J. Brown held his first practice with the Patriots, Drake London signed a massive extension with the Falcons, and Micah Parsons confirmed he won't rush his return in Green Bay. The Knicks took Game 1 of the Finals behind Jalen Brunson's 30 points,
Your go-to source for daily sports updates! Tune in every day for quick, punchy rundowns on the latest in sports. From game highlights to breaking news, we've got you covered in just a few minutes. Perfect for the fan on the go!
Welcome to The Sports Hangover Daily, I'm Michael Benatar. Today on the show: A.J. Brown's first practice in New England, Micah Parsons says he's not rushing back in Green Bay, and Drake London just became one of the highest-paid receivers in football. Plus, the Knicks took Game one of the Finals. Let's get into it.
So A.J. Brown practiced with the Patriots on Tuesday, and Mike Vrabel gave his first real comments about the deal. The Patriots sent a twenty twenty-eight first-round pick and a twenty twenty-seven fifth to Philly. That's a real price. And Vrabel's basically saying — yeah, we paid it, and we'd do it again. Because when you're trying to build something in New England, you need a guy who changes the math for your quarterback. Brown does that.
The part that's been eating at me though — Drake London just got a four-year, one hundred forty-one million dollar extension from Atlanta. A hundred million guaranteed. That makes him the third-highest-paid receiver in the league behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Ja'Marr Chase. And look — London's been good. Three hundred nine catches, almost four thousand yards, twenty-two touchdowns in sixty-two career games. Solid production. But the receiver market is just gone. Every team with a young wideout who's shown anything is staring at thirty-five million a year as the floor. Brown's deal in Philly was already rich, and he forced his way out anyway. London gets the bag before he even hits his prime. The Falcons still have Bijan Robinson's extension coming, and Kyle Pitts is on the franchise tag. That's a LOT of money committed to skill positions. If Kirk Cousins doesn't figure it out — or if Michael Penix doesn't develop fast — Atlanta's paying top dollar for weapons with nobody to throw them the ball. I like Drake London. I think he's a legit number one receiver. But a hundred million guaranteed before you've made a Pro Bowl? That's the kind of deal that looks great on day one and haunting by year three.
Micah Parsons talked to reporters in Green Bay on Wednesday and confirmed he had a meniscus procedure on top of the ACL surgery. He's four months away from being cleared. The Packers are in full agreement — no rushing this. He'll almost certainly start the season on the PUP list, which means at least the first four games. Parsons said the goal is to complete the season healthy, no relapse, and push through the playoffs toward a championship. That's the right mindset. Green Bay's defense is going to have to survive without him early. They knew that when they traded for him. But losing a guy who had twelve and a half sacks and twenty-seven QB hits last year for a month-plus? That's a real gap to fill.
Pittsburgh had a busy minicamp. They locked up Nick Herbig — four years, a hundred million, forty-two million guaranteed. Then Darnell Washington got four years, forty-two million after initially refusing to talk to media. Funny how that works. You don't want to talk, the check clears, suddenly you're feeling chatty. The Steelers now have Herbig, T.J. Watt, and Alex Highsmith as one of the most expensive edge groups in football. Herbig at twenty-five million a year, Watt at forty-one, Highsmith at seventeen. That's serious investment on the edge. Joey Porter Jr. and Keeanu Benton are probably next.
Brandon Aiyuk news — there's an arrest warrant out for him in Santa Clara County. Misdemeanor charge for exhibition of speed. He posted a YouTube video in December doing over a hundred miles per hour past Levi's Stadium. Hit a hundred and four. And his response? He posted another video on Instagram of himself driving on a racetrack. The guy hasn't played since twenty twenty-four after tearing his ACL and MCL. The Niners voided his guaranteed money saying he wouldn't rehab at the facility. And now he's collecting speeding warrants from his own YouTube channel. I don't even know what to say about that. Just a strange situation all around.
Knicks took Game one of the NBA Finals, one oh five to ninety-five over San Antonio. Brunson dropped thirty. He scored thirteen in the fourth quarter alone — San Antonio scored nineteen as a team in that period. The Knicks trailed by fourteen in the second half and just erased it. Wemby had twenty-six and twelve but shot six of twenty-one. After the game he said — "I was bad tonight. It's not more complicated than that." Twelve straight playoff wins for New York now. Only the third team to do that in a single season.
Here's my Hangover Take. The Steelers are quietly stacking the most top-heavy defensive payroll in the league and nobody's talking about it. Pittsburgh's edge group alone is eating eighty-three million a year across three guys. They just paid a tight end who caught thirty-one balls. They're about to pay Porter and Benton. At some point, the Steelers are going to have to choose between keeping this defensive core together and building an offense that can score in January. Russell Wilson is fine. The weapons are fine. But "fine" doesn't win playoff games when you're spending this much on defense. Pittsburgh is going to be a nine-win team that's incredible to watch on one side of the ball and unwatchable on the other. They're building the twenty twenty-six version of the Bears — elite defense, no juice on offense. And that's a team that goes one and done in January every single year.
That's your hangover. Go hydrate. I'll see you tomorrow.