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Kurt Warner presses Jayden Daniels to play through elbow injury
nfl/kurt-warner-jayden-daniels-injury-elbow.html
Mon, 21 Sep 2026 23:00:14 +0000
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Credit: ESPNAs the Washington Commanders consult doctors about Jayden Daniels’s future this season, Kurt Warner is putting the decision on the quarterback.
The NFL was ravaged by injuries in Week 2, led by quarterbacks Caleb Williams (hamstring) and Jayden Daniels (non-throwing elbow). Williams already received some good news after being carted off on Sunday, with reports now saying the Chicago Bears quarterback may be able to play as early as next week. And while we don’t know what doctors are saying about Daniels’ elbow, Kurt Warner went on ESPN’s NFL Live and claimed the quarterback should just be able to put a brace on it.
“I suffered the exact same injury back in ’07, and I played the next week.”@kurt13warner believes Jayden Daniels has the chance to play through his elbow injury pic.twitter.com/P7YlY7tVpz
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) September 21, 2026
“I suffered the exact same injury back in ’07, and I played the next week,” Warner said. “Because it’s the left arm, if he wants to play through that, I believe he can. It’s not going to be one of those things that affects the throwing part of things. Does it affect his moving, does it affect his running, or some of the things they wanted to do by design? Maybe. But I do believe this is something he can come back from.”
Warner noted he received a couple of shots, wore a brace, and changed how he handed the ball off, but ultimately played through the injury. Warner, however, was a 36-year-old quarterback staring at what may have been his last opportunity to be a starter when he played through the injury. Daniels is just 25 and probably thinking about protecting his future in the league. But Warner doesn’t believe this is an injury that should factor into the Commanders’ decision to give Daniels an extension.
“Because it’s his left arm, I don’t think it’s something we worry about long-term and go ‘Oh, should we extend this guy because he’s had this type of injury and this injury twice.’ I believe it’s something he can play through,” Warner maintained.
Dan Orlovsky questioned whether Washington might consider their banged-up offensive line when deciding whether Daniels can play through the injury, but Warner pushed back, saying the quarterback should want to be out there.
“You factor it in if you’re the organization, what if you’re the player?” Warner asked. “I can brace it up and go, I don’t care about all that stuff, put me out there and play.”
Warner made similar comments last year when Daniels dislocated his non-throwing elbow in November, saying, “It is something I think you can play through if you manage the pain.”
Daniels dislocated his elbow in Week 9 last season. He missed three games before suffering the same injury in Week 14, which ultimately ended his season. Now in Week 2 of the next season, Daniels has dislocated his elbow for a third time.
Daniels has exited three of his last four games with an elbow injury. That doesn’t happen by some wild coincidence. Maybe wearing a brace will ultimately be the answer to keeping Daniels on the field. But if Daniels takes some time to return, this doesn’t appear to be a case of a quarterback who is unwilling to play through injury.
The post Kurt Warner presses Jayden Daniels to play through elbow injury appeared first on Awful Announcing.
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Dak Prescott gets emotional reflecting on late mother after record-breaking touchdown
nfl/dak-prescott-emotional-reflecting-late-mother-record-breaking-touchdown.html
Mon, 21 Sep 2026 22:30:15 +0000
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Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn ImagesAs the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, Dak Prescott has a lot of eyes on him at all times.
He also knows his mother is keeping tabs on him from afar, and he was well aware of that on Sunday.
With a little over three minutes left in Sunday’s 37-20 win over the Washington Commanders, Prescott hit CeeDee Lamb in the end zone for a game-clinching touchdown. His fourth touchdown throw of the day, it was also the 249th of his Cowboys career. With that, he became the franchise’s all-time leader in touchdown passes, moving past Tony Romo (not to mention Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach, and Danny White).
Afterward, the 11-year vet was overcome with the honor that comes with that record, given all the other great quarterbacks who have worn the star.
“I’m blessed, honored,” Prescott said. “As I told you earlier in the week, records are meant to be broken. This is my time to break this one. Pretty cool to do it against the team I threw my first touchdown against ten years ago or so. Definitely humbling, something I don’t take for granted. The great history of this organization, of the past quarterbacks before me…”
“Super, super honored. Super thankful. God’s great. Not taking it lightly. But as I told you, it’s just the beginning. I want to double it and plan to play for a while, so just getting started.”
The Cowboys signal-caller was asked if he was thinking about his mom, Peggy, who died of colon cancer at 52 years old in 2013, when he threw the record-breaking touchdown. His emotion was evident.
Bigger than football: Dak Prescott fought back tears while reflecting on his late mother after breaking the #Cowboys’ all-time passing TDs record on Sunday.
“In the moment, I just felt my mom. My mom was never short or never hesitant to tell me how proud she was of me. She was… pic.twitter.com/3MGAWnqTZS
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) September 21, 2026
“My mom was never short or never hesitant to tell me how proud she was of me. She was never, never short of that. And I could just hear that. And that’s enough. Thankful that my teammates, my coaches, and everybody believed in me and all that, but that’s enough. I heard that my whole life growing up, and I hear it now as loud as I’ve ever heard it. I’m just blessed.”
Later, Prescott was asked if he ever thought he’d end up as the leader in just about every notable category for Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks, and he once again recalled how his mother and the rest of his family motivated him to believe he could.
“Absolutely…” Prescott said. “Sometimes it’s great being naive. And I was a little naive just growing up thinking that I could do this and I could do that. But yet I think it puts such insurmountable belief in my head that I can accomplish whatever I want to accomplish. And any thought that I said or anything that I wanted to do, and I mentioned it and I said it out loud.
“I had a mom and I had brothers who poured gas on those thoughts who told me I could. As I said, you can call it arrogance, you can call it confidence, belief, whatever you need to. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have those thoughts, if I didn’t believe in myself like that.”
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Emmanuel Acho denies knowledge of NFL investigation into ‘Big Dom’ DiSandro
nfl/emmanuel-acho-denies-investigation-eagles-car-accident.html
Mon, 21 Sep 2026 22:00:49 +0000
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Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Tom R. Smedes-Special to RGJ Emmanuel Acho insists the NFL hasn’t reached out to him at all about the investigation his own story apparently kicked off.
In August, Acho was on his Speakeasy podcast with LeSean McCoy, discussing Shanahan’s car accident, in which a police report initially blamed the other driver before the 49ers coach came forward weeks later and admitted fault. Acho said the story resonated with him because something almost identical happened during his own playing career. He described rear-ending another car on his way to practice, calling his team’s head of security immediately, and being told to sit tight for a second officer, who arrived and pinned the blame on the other driver instead.
“He says, Acho, when the cop shows up, send the cop away. I’m going to send you another cop, and that other cop is going to say it wasn’t your fault; it was their fault,” Acho recalled the security official telling him. “I was like, ‘Wait, they do that?’ So I hit him; cop comes up, ‘Hey, is everything good?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, yeah, everything’s good, don’t worry about it, somebody’s gonna come here.’ That cop leaves. We send another cop. The other cop that comes to document says that she’s at fault.”
Acho said he didn’t feel bad about how it played out, especially since the other driver later claimed she and her daughter were injured once she learned Acho played professional football. According to Acho, his team’s head of security offered the woman two tickets and signed jerseys, and the injury claims disappeared.
The anecdote didn’t stay contained to the podcast for long, though.
Weeks later, Eagles reporter Derrick Gunn posted on X that the NFL was still investigating Philadelphia’s head of security, Dom DiSandro, over the remarks Acho made on Speakeasy back in early August. Gunn noted that Acho, who played for three NFL teams, never mentioned a name, even as public speculation converged on DiSandro, who has overseen Eagles security since 1999 and doubles as a senior adviser to general manager Howie Roseman.
“The NFL is still investigating Eagles head of security Dom DiSandro based on comments made by Emmanuel Acho on his Speakeasy Podcast back in early August … Acho who played for 3 NFL teams never mentioned a name . But it has been widely speculated he was referring to Big Dom “
— Gunn On One with Derrick Gunn (@GunnOnOne) September 9, 2026
On the latest episode of the Awful Announcing Podcast, host Brandon Contes asked Acho whether the league had reached out to him about the investigation.
“Of course not. Why would I? Ain’t nobody under investigation to my knowledge,” he said. “There’s so much bias showing in everybody assuming I’m talking about the Eagles. That’s the craziest part of this all. The amount of bias that is being shown in the assumption of the Eagles is wild to me. But of course not. Go watch the clip and actually understand the context of the conversation. It was the Kyle Shanahan piece. Based on what’s occurring with Kyle Shanahan, now as a storyteller, now as somebody in media, I could understand how this could happen, because this type of stuff does indeed happen. But everybody assuming I’m talking about the Eagles, I’m like, y’all telling on y’allselves. So anyway, no, I haven’t heard from the NFL, and I wouldn’t hear from the NFL, because this is 12 years ago and is a whopping nothingburger.”
If the NFL really is investigating DiSandro over Acho’s story, Acho says there’s no reason he’d know anything about it. He maintains he wasn’t talking about the Eagles at all, just using his own experience to explain why the Shanahan situation didn’t strike him as unusual the way it apparently struck everyone else. And based on how he talked about it, he isn’t expecting a call from the league anytime soon, or particularly interested in one.
The post Emmanuel Acho denies knowledge of NFL investigation into ‘Big Dom’ DiSandro appeared first on Awful Announcing.
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Fox’s Terry Bradshaw loses track of best NFL tight end debate with Rob Gronkowski
nfl/terry-bradshaw-lost-track-debate-rob-gronkowski-best-tight-end.html
Mon, 21 Sep 2026 21:30:47 +0000
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Credit: Fox NFL SundayTerry Bradshaw couldn’t believe it when Rob Gronkowski, a legendary tight end and co-host on Fox NFL Sunday, revealed his pick for the best tight end in the NFL during the pregame show in Week 2.
While previewing the Arizona Cardinals’ home opener against the Seattle Seahawks, Gronkowski took a moment to shine a light on the team’s somewhat unheralded superstar tight end, Trey McBride.
“With the Arizona Cardinals as well, Jacoby Brissett, this guy has been quietly one of the most decent quarterbacks in the NFL,” he said. “And his favorite target is Trey McBride, who, to me, is the best tight end in the NFL right now.”
Immediately, Bradshaw cut in.
“Gronk, Gronk, Gronk,” the Hall of Famer said, a dramatic look on his face.
“You can’t argue that,” Gronkowski replied.
It turns out Bradshaw could, and would.
“What about McBride? I mean —” he butted in.
Terry Bradshaw was aghast after Gronk called Arizona’s Trey McBride the best tight end in the NFL… only to come back with, “What about McBride?”
Bradshaw insisted it was all a “setup” pic.twitter.com/MZsr8UN2VW
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 21, 2026
The rest of the show’s crew jumped into action to catch Bradshaw’s latest flub.
“That’s what he just said!” said anchor Curt Menefee.
“Oh, did he just say that?” Bradshaw asked.
Perhaps Michael Strahan once again put it best as the dust cleared from the confusion.
“Brilliant mind to brilliant mind,” he said.
The show then went off the rails for a moment as the entire, over-stuffed desk dipped into unintelligible cross-talk, once again taken off course by a Bradshaw mistake.
Then the legendary former QB got another idea and interrupted Menefee to give it.
“I set you up,” he told Gronkowski.
“I set him up,” he told Menefee.
Well, that clears it up.
For years now, the 78-year-old Bradshaw has been susceptible to at least one mistake like this each week. During a highlight recap of the 1 p.m. games on Sunday, the notably self-aware Bradshaw joked when he correctly pronounced the name of Jacksonville’s Bhayshul Tuten.
There have been several reasonable off-ramps for Bradshaw to pare back his schedule or exit the show over the years, most notably when his longtime friend Jimmy Johnson retired in early 2025. However, Bradshaw has been almost stubborn in his commitment to staying on air. In a summer interview, Bradshaw said he has no plans to ever retire and that if Fox ever wanted him off the show, “that would be their call.”
Bradshaw did, however, once say that he would like to retire after Fox’s next Super Bowl, in 2029.
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Everyone’s already sick of the Jason and Kylie Kelce Sunday Ticket commercials
nfl/everyone-sick-jason-kylie-kelce-sunday-ticket-commercial.html
Mon, 21 Sep 2026 21:00:47 +0000
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Credit: Sunday TicketThe NFL season is well underway, and fans have spent several weekends glued to their TVs, watching hours of football.
It also means they’ve already seen hours of the Jason and Kylie Kelce Sunday Ticket commercials, and we’re barely out of Week 2.
You probably don’t need me to explain which commercials I mean. ESPN NFL analyst and New Heights co-host Jason Kelce and his wife, Kylie Kelce, are home preparing for another NFL Sunday. In most of the ads, they realize all too late that they are hosting a get-together and everyone wants to watch their favorite team. That seems like a problem because the Kelces apparently only have one TV (we’ll come back to that). But fear not! They also have NFL Sunday Ticket and YouTube TV, so they can use split-screen, much to the delight of their incredibly diverse friend group.
There are a few variations on the original ad, most of which begin with Kylie saying, “Everyone’s coming over, and they want different NFL games. We’re gonna be the worst hosts if we can’t pull this off.” That’s when Jason, carrying a massive sub sandwich or decorating cupcakes, calms her down before the big reveal.
We’ve certainly seen worse when it comes to commercials that run ad nauseum for weeks on end during sporting events. It’s a high bar to clear to make something worse than whatever slop Capital One trots out for March Madness each year. Who can forget when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren terrorized a nation with their “What a Pro Wants” AT&T ad? Geico’s “Scoop, There It Is” made a nation say, “Please, make it go.” And Applebee’s “Fancy” ads will haunt our dreams until we shuffle off this mortal coil.
Still, the wooden acting, faux middle-class framing, and general Kelce Media Universe exhaustion have NFL fans ready to throw their organic potato chips and mango-peach salsa in the air if they have to watch it one more time.
The Jason and Kylie Kelce Sunday Ticket commercial really hits when you see it for the 734th time
— lindsey ok (@lindseyyok) September 21, 2026
Anyone else sick of the Jason Kelce and his wife Sunday Ticket Commerical? Brutal.
— jeff soto (@SotoSocial) September 20, 2026
I don’t need Sunday Ticket and I definitely don’t need Kylie Kelce yelling twice a commercial break.
— Kevin Kaduk | Bears By 7 (@KevinKaduk) September 20, 2026
All due respect to Kylie Kelce but her line delivery in the Sunday Ticket commercial is so so bad
— Pat Alexander (@pat_alex0) September 13, 2026
Jason Kelce says they’re going to be fine hosting everyone over (with everyone rooting for different teams) because they get all the games for Sunday Ticket
However, they only have one TV, so they can only watch four games at a time max
This is blatant false advertising pic.twitter.com/rA4GWVTVJI
— JaguarGator9 (@JaguarGator9NFL) September 13, 2026
Can they quit airing that STUPID Jason Kelce Sunday Night Ticket commercial 100x a game?!?
It’s week 1 and I want to scream.
— The Markcast® (@the_markcast) September 15, 2026
The Jason Kelce Sunday ticket commercial makes no sense. They have all these games people need and they got 1 tv. How are they saying they are fine because of Sunday ticket when you only got 1 tv! How are you watching them all?!
— DUD (@THEOFFICIALDUD) September 20, 2026
ESPN New York’s Peter Rosenberg perhaps sums up what rubs people the wrong way about the commercial, calling out the ludicrous premise that the Kelces don’t have a massive house full of TVs.
Don’t get @Rosenbergradio going with the Kelce NFL Sunday Ticket commercial.
He calls it fraudulent. pic.twitter.com/u1rsZoQmlH
— Tony Baccala (@TonyBaccalaNY) September 15, 2026
“Let’s just be honest about the Kelces being rich. Now we make the commercial make sense,” he said on a recent Don, Hahn & Rosenberg. “Hey, we’re all at the Kelces’ house. What are we gonna do? Honey, don’t worry about it; we’re rich! We’re gonna play a different game in each room! The movie theater’s got one game! The living room has another! What about the backyard?! We have three TVs back there! WE’RE THE FRIGGIN KELCES!… THE WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD’S COMING OVER! WE’RE THE GODDAMN KELCES! WE CAN HAVE EVERYBODY OVER!”
Something to think about on your next 57 rewatches of the commercial this weekend.
The post Everyone’s already sick of the Jason and Kylie Kelce Sunday Ticket commercials appeared first on Awful Announcing.
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Jim Nantz had a vulgar slip of the tongue on Steelers-Pats call
nfl/jim-nantz-has-vulgar-slip-tongue-kick-punt.html
Mon, 21 Sep 2026 20:30:29 +0000
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Credit: CBSJim Nantz probably has a lot on his mind this season as he learns to work with J.J. Watt and wonders whether he’ll work with Tony Romo again. So much on his mind that it might make the words come out a little differently than intended.
That was on display Sunday afternoon when Nantz struggled to choose between the words kick and punt on the fly. Nantz and Watt had the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots on CBS Sunday afternoon. And late in the third quarter, Nantz had an unfortunate slip of the tongue.
When Jim Nantz mashes the words kick and punt pic.twitter.com/vOwf88hHut
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 21, 2026
“How big was that drop? As the k*nt, kick comes to about the 10,” Nantz was heard saying.
Credit Nantz for quickly correcting himself, but the word was already uttered for the world to hear. In Nantz’s defense, Johnston punted the ball eight times during the Steelers’ putrid offensive performance Sunday afternoon against the Patriots. And Nantz said the word “punt” cleanly on seven of those attempts. But it’s the one he bungled that the people will ultimately remember.
This has already been a trying season for Nantz, who is navigating some predictable hurdles while learning to work with a new partner after Tony Romo was put on indefinite leave by CBS in the wake of his OWI arrest. The last thing he needs now is to be worrying about every word that comes out of his mouth.
Broadcasters have long learned to proceed with caution when saying things such as “bulging disc.” And this isn’t the first time a broadcaster mashed kick and punt into a regretful term. Maybe Nantz doesn’t have to worry about every word, but he just proved the importance of committing to kick or punt before speaking.
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Doc Rivers joins ‘NBA on NBC’ for third stint as game analyst; says he’s ‘absolutely retired’ from coaching
nbc/doc-rivers-third-stint-game-analyst-absolutely-retired-coaching.html
Mon, 21 Sep 2026 19:55:33 +0000
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Credit: NBC Sports; Darren Yamashita - Imagn ImagesDoc Rivers is back in NBA media, and this time he insists he’s in it for the long haul.
NBC Sports announced Monday that it hired Rivers as a game analyst. Rivers will join his son, Austin, on the network’s broadcast roster in the second season since it reacquired NBA rights.
The longtime NBA point guard turned championship head coach was fired by the Milwaukee Bucks after the season, just two years after leaving ESPN midseason to take that job. At ESPN, Rivers was the lead game analyst and was set to call the NBA Finals. Despite reportedly telling the network that he would not return to coaching, he did so halfway through the year.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Rivers insisted he is done coaching.
“I honestly can say I’m absolutely retired,” Rivers said. “I had a long run. It ended up in the (Naismith) Hall of Fame (earlier this year), and I am so thankful that I was able to coach and played as long as I did. For the first time, I can focus on giving TV my 100% attention, which I’m really looking forward to.”
The comments are similar to those he gave on The Bill Simmons Podcast earlier this summer, though Rivers denied he would retire in a retort to Stephen A. Smith in the spring.
A more pressing question for NBC may be where Rivers will stack up on its broadcast roster. The network moved quickly to assemble its lead broadcast team last year, hiring TNT’s A-team of Reggie Miller and Jamal Crawford as analysts to join Mike Tirico on the call.
When Rivers has called games in the past, he has been the top analyst. Rivers called the 2004 NBA Finals with Al Michaels for ABC, and joined ESPN in the lead chair in 2024.
Networks typically prefer coaches as top game analysts, but Miller has years of experience calling top games dating back to his years with TNT. The two could join together in the lead booth for Sunday Night Basketball and postseason action, mirroring another trend in basketball broadcasting, the three-person lead booth. If they did, it would force Crawford down a level.
The AP story on Rivers joining NBC noted he may contribute to the network’s studio coverage as well.
Rivers’ son, Austin, was a lead analyst for Peacock On the Bench broadcasts last season. He also called some playoff games in his first year as a game analyst.
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Dan Orlovsky defends comments about how an NFL quarterback ‘should look’
nfl/dan-orlovsky-defends-quarterback-comment-herbert-hurts.html
Mon, 21 Sep 2026 19:20:42 +0000
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Credit: The Pat McAfee ShowDan Orlovsky was pressed on his quarterback favoritism, and now he’s being pressed on his “what it should look like” comment.
While joining ESPN Radio’s Unsportsmanlike last Friday morning, Evan Cohen asked Orlovsky, “Why do you love quarterbacks who haven’t done it versus those who have?” citing his affinity for Justin Herbert and Jordan Love, who have not won Super Bowls, as opposed to Jalen Hurts, who has won.
“Why do you love quarterbacks who haven’t done it versus those who have? Why do you love Herbert… why do you not love Hurts?” – Evan Cohen to Dan Orlovsky pic.twitter.com/sSVRZOh2Wx
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 18, 2026
During his rebuttal, Orlovsky noted he has grown into being a Hurts fan in recent years, and defended his continued belief in Herbert because “that’s what it should look like.”
Every reasonable person listening to Orlovsky’s explanation knew he was talking about the fact that Herbert has elite physical traits. But some people on social media attempted to make it into a racial issue by taking Orlovsky’s comments about “looks” too literally.
Monday afternoon, Orlovsky went on The Pat McAfee Show where he was asked to clarify his “what it should look like” comment that became controversial.
“I said, ‘In relation to Herbert, that’s kind of what big-time quarterback play looks like. And he’s also accomplished a lot in the league historically… when I say, ‘it looks like,’ – big, tall, fast, powerful, strong, smart, big-time accuracy arm. That’s all I said,” Orlovsky explained.
In our initial write-up of the exchange, we similarly noted Orlovsky’s “should look like” comment referred to how a quarterback plays the position. And while Orlovsky might be alone in some of his quarterback rankings, he’s not alone when it comes to fawning over Herbert. NFL analysts constantly tout Herbert as having the potential to be one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, despite never winning a playoff game.
Orlovsky noted Cohen was very apologetic after Friday’s exchange about quarterback favoritism went viral. Orlovsky aptly maintained there was nothing wrong with the question. And there wasn’t. Maybe it wasn’t the question Orlovsky expected to be asked, but it was a fair question and a reasonable answer. Cohen knew what Orlovsky meant by “what it should look like.” Most people watching knew what Orlovsky meant, but the vagueness of the comment let people turn it into something bigger.
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‘Thursday Night Football’ opener secures 18.6M for Lions-Bills
amazon/thursday-night-football-opener-ratings-lions-bills.html
Mon, 21 Sep 2026 18:40:14 +0000
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Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn ImagesOpening night in the new Highmark Stadium set a new high mark for a Thursday Night Football opener on Prime.
18.60 million viewers tuned in for the Buffalo Bills’ win over the Detroit Lions that christened the new Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, marking a five percent increase over last year’s TNF opener between the Washington Commanders and Green Bay Packers (17.76 million viewers). Viewership peaked at 21.43 million viewers during the 9:15 p.m. ET quarter-hour.
The audience is good for Prime Video’s third-largest regular-season NFL audience since it became the exclusive rightsholder for the mid-week package in 2022. Just two late-season games last season beat Thursday’s mark: Broncos-Chiefs on Christmas Day (21.06 million viewers) and Cowboys-Lions in early December (19.39 million viewers).
As has been the case throughout Prime Video’s time as an NFL broadcast partner, the streamer continues to attract a younger audience than its linear television counterparts. The median age for Prime Video’s TNF audience last Thursday was 47.7, more than six years younger than the median NFL audience on linear television (54). At the same time, the streamer increased its 55+ audience by 11 percent versus last year’s opener, indicating that they are potentially gaining ground as a greater number of older Americans take up streaming.
Thursday’s audience also represents just how far Prime Video has come in terms of audience growth since its debut in 2022. The streamer’s first exclusive TNF broadcast, a Chargers-Chiefs game in Week 2, averaged just 13.03 million viewers. Four years later, and Prime Video has increased the audience for its opening game by 43 percent and has largely replicated, if not exceeded, the audiences the package was getting on linear television.
Thursday Night Football continues this week for a game that likely won’t reach the same heights as its opener, with the Atlanta Falcons, a team in quarterback hell, taking on the Green Bay Packers, a team that hasn’t exactly impressed through two weeks.
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Longtime Bills radio voice John Murphy denied press box credential, suspects it’s tied to critical column
nfl/john-murphy-bills-press-box-credential-denied.html
Mon, 21 Sep 2026 18:00:37 +0000
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Credit: Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK vJohn Murphy called Buffalo Bills games for 34 years, and this season, he can’t even get into the press box at the team’s new stadium.
According to Buffalo News writer Alan Pergament, Murphy believes the exclusion stems from a column he wrote in August that singled out rookie head coach Joe Brady as the biggest threat to the team’s season. Two days after it ran, Murphy says WIVB-TV sports director Josh Reed told him the station couldn’t obtain credentials for him or his longtime photographer, citing a policy against issuing them to part-time contributors.
Murphy stopped short of connecting the dots definitively, but he didn’t hide his suspicions either.
“I think so, but I don’t know,” he told the paper.
The circumstances make that explanation hard to take at face value. Murphy says Bills VP of marketing Chris Jenkins had assured him in mid-July that his credential was secure for the season, even walking him through where he’d sit for a preseason game. The Brady column, published more than a month later, became his last piece on WIVB’s website. A follow-up column predicting a 10-win season never ran, and a digital producer reportedly told Murphy the site had been instructed to hold it under pressure from the team.
Murphy spent 16 years as the team’s color analyst before moving into the play-by-play chair for 19 more, earning the “Voice of the Buffalo Bills” moniker along the way, until a stroke in late 2022 abruptly ended his run in the booth. He formally retired from broadcasting in 2024, and owner Terry Pegula, in a statement, called him a Western New York institution and said he hoped Murphy would stay connected to the organization.
He still found a seat in the WGR radio booth last season, though he’s unsure whether the station or the team granted him that access.
The press box at the new Highmark Stadium is reportedly small, which may have made it hard for Murphy to find a seat even without the column. But short of an explanation, Murphy isn’t chasing one down, telling the Buffalo News he has no plans to press the Bills or the station and would rather just watch the games from home.
“They didn’t fight for me,” he said. “It wasn’t that bad. I am insulted. But I don’t care anymore. I’ll watch on TV. That’s fine. I don’t want people feeling sorry for me.”
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Troy Aikman calls ‘bullsh*t’ on notion other broadcasters don’t have conflicts of interest
espn/troy-aikman-bullshit-conflict-of-interest-dolphins.html
Mon, 21 Sep 2026 17:30:50 +0000
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Credit: Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY SportsIf it weren’t already clear how little concern Troy Aikman has about his consulting role with the Dolphins, the lead ESPN NFL analyst just spelled it out himself.
Joe Buck’s broadcast partner brushed off the NFL’s restrictions on his dual role with the Dolphins when sports media reporter Richard Deitsch pressed him on it on the latest episode of his podcast, calling the whole thing “a lot to do with nothing.” Aikman also went on to reject the premise that any broadcaster, himself included, is somehow free of conflicts in the first place.
“I guess I’ve read; I’ve not been notified by the NFL. But to me, it really, it’s a lot to do with nothing,” Aikman said.
That answer is a little more interesting than it sounds on its own, because the league has already ruled on this exact question once. The NFL confirmed in August that Aikman would face the same restrictions as Tom Brady, barred from team facilities and limited to virtual production meetings. So when Aikman says it’s a lot to do with nothing, he’s talking about an arrangement the NFL already decided was enough to require rules around it.
To be clear, Aikman’s role differs from Brady’s in that he holds no ownership stake in Miami, no equity, and no seat at the table if the team turns a profit. He’s an advisor, not a part-owner, which is the distinction he leans on when he waves off comparisons to Brady’s arrangement with the Raiders. But the NFL didn’t treat that distinction as disqualifying when it built the restrictions, and Aikman doesn’t treat it as disqualifying either when he defends himself.
“I kind of laugh at those who act as though they have no conflicts,” Aikman said. “Anyone who speaks into a mic has a conflict of interest, because you have relationships. When I’m calling the game after 25 years in this business, I have relationships on both sidelines. Everyone who speaks has relationships, and how they then slant the story on what they’re reporting is affected by the relationships in which they have.”
The thing is, Aikman has already told on himself about why this particular relationship is different.
“I think the Dolphins were wise in understanding my relationships around the league and knowing that I have information that they don’t have or can’t get,” he told Clarence Hill Jr. earlier this year. “And I think they were smart in taking advantage of that, whether it was through me or through somebody else. The Cowboys have never elected to do that, at least with me. You know, maybe they have with others.”
Aikman played an instrumental role in assembling Miami’s current front office, helping install both general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley, the exact regime he now describes as his own handiwork while simultaneously covering 31 other franchises for ESPN. Deitsch pressed him on what he’d actually do should the Dolphins ever land on the Monday Night Football schedule, and Aikman deflected by invoking relationships he’s cultivated across the league for decades without incident.
“I wouldn’t have done or suggested anything,” Aikman said. “I would have just called the game, and I would have called it the way I see it. I’ve called games that Norv Turner’s been the offensive coordinator. I’ve called games that Norv Turner’s been the head coach. I called Monday night with Sean Payton, I’ve known him a long time. I have those friendships and relationships, and it doesn’t affect how I do the job.
“Am I gonna come out and rip those guys if things don’t go well? I’d like to think I don’t go out and rip anybody, for that matter. But that for me is not unique. When you’re in this business, and you’ve been in the NFL as long as I have and associated with the NFL, you have relationships. And that’s why I said, anyone who suggests otherwise, for anyone who wants to try to tell me that they have no conflicts of interest, I call bullsh*t on that.”
He can call BS all he wants, but it’s the same reason why many have issues with Fox’s lead NFL analyst, Tom Brady, owning a minority stake in the Las Vegas Raiders. At first, the NFL agreed; the league restricted Brady’s access to team facilities and production meetings to ensure he wouldn’t gain a competitive advantage through his broadcasting job. Those restrictions were relaxed last season and have seemingly given other broadcasters, like Aikman, a green light to work directly with teams.
That doesn’t mean conflicts of interest are nonexistent everywhere else in this business, but there’s a meaningful difference between an analyst carrying friendships across the league and an analyst drawing a paycheck from a team’s front office. The former is baked into a sport this incestuous, where everyone e