Cutting costs was a theme for the Jacksonville Jaguars Thursday, and Pro Bowl tight end Evan Engram became a cap casualty, according to multiple reports.
Earlier in the day, Christian Kirk, the veteran wide receiver who was going to be released anyway, was traded to the Houston Texans in exchange for a 2026 seventh-round pick, according to The Athletic.
Kirk carried the team’s heftiest cap hit at $24.1 million, and the team is scheduled to save just over $10 million by getting him off the books, according to Over The Cap.
Engram was the second-biggest cap hit for Jacksonville for the 2025 season at $19.49 million, per Over the Cap. By releasing him, the Jags are absorbing $13.5 million in dead cap money and saving just under $6 million.
Jacksonville’s new GM, James Gladstone, who was hired Feb. 21, is showcasing his immediate plan to create cap space for free agent moves, while keeping his 2025 NFL Draft class in mind.
The move for Kirk makes sense considering the Jags still have wide receivers Brian Thomas Jr., Gabe Davis and Parker Washington. Kirk, a seven-year veteran, also has an injury history.
However, Engram had a breakout season in 2023, his second Pro Bowl year, with 114 catches for 963 yards and four touchdowns.
But Engram also dealt with injuries in 2024, tearing a labrum that required mid-December surgery. He also sat out Weeks 2-5 with a hamstring injury, limiting him to nine games.
Engram finished the year with 47 receptions for 365 yards and one touchdown.
The 30-year-old was a first-round pick by the New York Giants in 2017 out of Ole Miss, and he had an up-and-down career in five seasons before signing with the Jaguars.
Now a free agent, Engram will be searching for a tight end-needy squad — the Los Angeles Chargers, Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos could be looking in that department — while the Jaguars will head into next season with Brenton Strange, Shawn Bowman and Patrick Murtagh on the depth chart.
Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are all reportedly interested in Lamine Camara. Transfer Talk has the latest news, gossip and rumors.
Nike debuted its first Super Bowl commercial in 27 years last month, and while a star-studded female lineup of athletes was involved, the ad received criticism for the company’s stance on supporting transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu, JuJu Watkins, Sha’Carri Richardson, Jordan Chiles and other stars from various sports were in the one-minute ad that had different language with the same theme.
The slogans included "You can’t flex, so flex," "You can’t fill a stadium, so fill that stadium," "You can’t be emotional, so be emotional" and "You can’t win, so win."
XX-XY Athletics, the athletic brand whose goal is to support female athletes by defending safety and fairness in women’s sports and keeping biological males out of women’s and girls sports, released a video of several athletes reacting to Nike’s ad.
Powerlifter April Hutchinson, who was suspended from the Canadian Powerlifting Union for two years for speaking out against a trans athlete entering competitions in women’s categories, took exception to the part of Nike’s ad about flexing.
"I’ve never been told that I can’t flex or can’t do this or that," Hutchinson said.
University of Nevada women’s volleyball captain Sia Liilii, who, among many teammates, fought against her school’s decision to play against trans athlete Blaire Fleming and the San Jose State Spartans last season, felt Nike was missing the mark.
"That Nike ad kinda represented old feminism. I don’t think anyone is telling women in sports they can’t champion their sport," Liilii explained.
"Fake feminism," "pretending to care about women" and "Nike is ignoring the real problem" were lines used by other athletes in the video.
The "real problem" is the main point of what XX-XY Athletics was getting across in its video response to Nike.
"Women can flex, be confident, be emotional, fill stadiums. And win. But what can’t they do? Speak. On one subject in particular: protecting women’s sports," an XX-XY Athletics press release said.
"’Just Do It’ – that’s your slogan, isn’t it Nike? Just do it. Stand up for women. It’s the easiest thing in the world to do," sports civil rights advocate Riley Gaines said, ending the video.
When the Nike ad came out, Jennifer Sey, a former U.S. gymnast and founder/CEO of XX-XY Athletics, quickly called out Nike on X.
"You’re so full of it. The only thing female athletes are told they can’t do is stand up for the integrity of their sports, for keeping men out of women’s sports. Literally, that’s the only thing," Sey wrote in response to the commercial on X.
Michele Tafoya, the veteran sports broadcaster and journalist, also took exception to it.
"Nike is too late to this party. And they’re stuck in stereotypical language from about 25 years ago," Tafoya wrote, later adding, "What a waste of ad dollars."
President Donald Trump fulfilled his campaign promise of protecting women’s sports, signing the "No Men in Women’s Sports" executive order Feb. 5. While some states complied and the NCAA revised its own trans athlete policy, states like Minnesota have rejected changes to their policies.
The Cincinnati Bengals arguably missed the playoffs last season because of their defense, but it does not seem like the front office sees any urgency to fix it.
Reports say the team has given Trey Hendrickson, who led the NFL in sacks last season, permission to seek a trade.
The 30-year-old recorded a career-high 17½ sacks during the 2024 season, but the Bengals have made it clear that, despite their defensive woes, they want to keep receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, both of whom figure to be expensive.
Director of player personnel Duke Tobin said at the NFL Scouting Combine that Chase, who recorded a receiving triple crown last season, "is going to end up being the No. 1 paid non-quarterback in the league."
Higgins, meanwhile, was given the Bengals' franchise tag, and the two sides are working toward a long-term deal.
Joe Burrow was in the MVP conversation, leading the NFL with 4,918 yards passing and 43 touchdowns. He finished fourth in the MVP vote, and 2,619 of those passing yards were distributed to Chase and Higgins. It could have been more had Higgins not missed five games.
The Hendrickson news comes after Sam Hubbard retired earlier this week at the age of 29.
Hendrickson turned 30 in December, has been with Cincinnati since 2021 and has been an absolute steal for them. He spent his first four seasons with the New Orleans Saints but failed to put up numbers until his final season there, recording a career-high at the time of 13½ sacks after just 6½ in his first three NFL seasons.
Since the Bengals acquired him, he's posted at least 14 sacks in three of his four seasons. He's also made the Pro Bowl each season as a Bengal.
Hendrickson has a cap hit of nearly $19 million, and the Bengals would save about $16 million with a trade or release, which figures to go toward their receivers.
Hendrickson will become a free agent after the 2025 season.
Knicks owner James Dolan wants clearer accounting of the NBA's finances, according to a letter that was received by the league office and the rest of the Board of Governors and obtained by ESPN.
U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., repeated the unsubstantiated argument that the Defending Women and Girls in Sports Act would have "unleashed" sexual predators on girls in the U.S.
Jeffries first made this argument the day the House voted on the bill Jan. 14, joining other prominent Democratic representatives, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. The argument prompted harsh backlash among some registered Democratic voters and was not repeated leading up to the Senate's vote of the bill Monday.
But Jeffries raised the argument again when asked about California Gov. Gavin Newsom's recent comments about transgender athletes in girls sports being "unfair."
"I haven't seen [Newsom's] comments. What Democrats opposed was unleashing sexual predators on girls throughout the United States of America," Jeffries told reporters Thursday.
When Jeffries and other House Democrats pushed the argument in January, it was not rooted in any language within the bill. Republicans insisted no genital inspection would ever be necessary and that proof of birth gender could simply be determined with a birth certificate.
The bill ended up passing in the House by a vote of 218-206. Two Democratic representatives, Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, both of Texas, voted in favor of it despite Jeffries and others labeling the bill "The House Republican Child Predator Empowerment Act."
When the bill reached the Senate earlier this week, not a single Democrat voted in favor of it, and with 45 votes against it, were able to filibuster the bill despite 51 Republicans voting for it.
Multiple Democratic senators spoke about why they did not vote for the bill, Fox News Digital previously reported, offering a variety of reasons. However, almost none of them reiterated the argument that the bill would empower sexual predators to give genital examinations to young girls.
Those who expressed similar concerns were Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev,, and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"This blanket legislation would allow anyone to subject girls to invasive physical exams just because of the way they look. That is incredible government overreach and is putting young women at increased risk for abuse and harassment – something I’ve spent my career fighting against," Cortez Masto said in a statement.
Durbin added, "It’s that personal, it’s that important, and [because of Republicans], we’re going to vote to give someone unspecified the right to physically inspect a girl or a young woman if the other opposing team accuses them of being transgender. My goodness."
Shortly after the vote in the House in January, some Democratic voters left the party in response to the child predator argument by Jeffries.
Prominent Rutgers law professor Gary Francione and some of his Democratic peers in the field of education and law were among those who left the party..
"That just made me very upset because it screamed out lack of integrity, lack of honesty," Francione told Fox News Digital. "This is the way you fight battles? By trying to insult other people who oppose you and disagree with you and insinuate that they're child molesters or pedophiles? It seems to me you've lost the game. … I don't know how they're ever going to come back from this.
"I can say confidently of the people I know who are Democrats who I've spoken to, the vast majority of them are very unhappy about all of this stuff and feel that the party has lost its way. I know a couple who said they are going to [leave the party]."
President Donald Trump signed an executive order to ban trans athletes from women's and girls sports and vowed to withdraw federal funding from any state that doesn't comply. California, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Maine are already under investigation for not complying with it.
Trump reaffirmed his intent to punish states that continue to allow trans athletes to compete with girls during Tuesday night's address to a joint session of Congress.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted Trump "won't back down" as he goes after these states.
"The president has made a commitment to ensure that states are being held accountable if they continue to allow men in women's sports, which he believes is an egregious violation of taxpayer dollars. And, so, that fight continues, and the president won't back down," Leavitt said.
"This is a commonsense policy. Eighty percent of the American people, including more than 60% of Democrats, do not want men in women's sports."
California Gov. Gavin Newsom came under fire Thursday over comments he made about transgender inclusion in women’s and girls sports on the debut episode of his podcast.
Newsom was asked by guest Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative who founded Turning Point USA, about the issue on the "This is Gavin Newsom" podcast.
"The young man who's about to win the state championship in the long jump in female sports, that shouldn't happen," Kirk said. "You, as the governor, should step out and say no. Would you do something like that? Would you say no men in female sports?"
"I think it’s an issue of fairness. I completely agree with you on that. It is an issue of fairness — it’s deeply unfair," Newsom told Kirk. "I am not wrestling with the fairness issue. I totally agree with you."
Kirk further pressed Newsom on whether he would condemn the recent victory of a transgender track athlete with a more than 40-foot jump at Jurupa Valley High School in Southern California. Newsom didn't directly address the win but said "it's a fairness issue."
"So, that's easy to call out the unfairness of that," he said. "There's also a humility and a grace. … These poor people are more likely to commit suicide, have anxiety and depression. And the way that people talk down to vulnerable communities is an issue that I have a hard time with as well.
"So, both things I can hold in my hand. How can we address this issue with the kind of decency that I think, you know, is inherent in you but not always expressed on the issue?"
Newsom, who agreed the issue was something the Democratic Party gets "crushed on," faced criticism from conservatives and liberals for his comments.
While Newsom said he agreed with Kirk on there being a "fairness" issue when it came to trans inclusion in women’s sports, California has resisted President Donald Trump’s "No Men in Women’s Sports" executive order that bars biological males from girls and women’s sports.
The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) said last month it would continue to allow transgender athletes to compete in women’s and girls sports, citing state law.
"The CIF provides students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete in education-based experiences in compliance with California law [Education Code section 221.5. (f)] which permits students to participate in school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, consistent with the student’s gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the student’s records," a CIF statement said at the time.
Fox News Digital reacted out to the CIF for its reaction to Newsom’s latest comments.
Riley Gaines, the former NCAA athlete who hosts OutKick’s "Gaines for Girls" podcast and has championed fairness in women’s sports, was among the conservatives who spoke out.
Prominent LGBTQ advocates also took swipes at Newsom.
"Gavin Newsom knows that the trans youth in sports issue is a ridiculous, rightwing propaganda effort. He knows this is powered by anti-trans hatred, not reason," Charlotte Clymer wrote on X. "And yet, he still chose to endorse attacks on trans youth to bolster his national profile for a 2028 presidential run.
"He chose to treat trans youth as disposable bargaining chips in his effort to pander to anti-trans conservatives. He has decided that trans youth, one of the most vulnerable groups in the country, are fair game. And he did so in an interview with Charlie Kirk, who has spent his career dehumanizing trans people for sport. It is difficult to overstate how thoroughly cynical, self-serving, and cruel this is."
California Assemblymember Chris Ward and Sen. Caroline Menjivar also released a joint statement. They are the chair and vice chair of the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus.
"Sometimes Gavin Newsom goes for the Profile in Courage, sometimes not. We woke up profoundly sickened and frustrated by these remarks," they said, via KCRA-TV. "All students deserve the academic and health benefits of sports activity, and until Donald Trump began obsessing about it, playing on a team consistent with one’s gender has not been a problem since the standard was passed in 2013."
Earlier this week, Senate Democrats blocked the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act from breaking a filibuster. The bill received 51 votes but needed 60 to clear a procedural hurdle.
Fox News' Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.
Tyler Naquin, who played in the outfield during his eight major league seasons, has signed a minor league deal with the Guardians to try his hand at pitching.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have reportedly made a trade with the Houston Texans, sending veteran wide receiver Christian Kirk to their AFC South rival.
Houston gets a 2026 seventh-round pick, which originally belonged to the Los Angeles Rams, in exchange for Kirk, according to The Athletic.
The trade comes one day after news broke that the Jaguars planned to release Kirk, who missed the final nine games of the 2024 season due to a broken collarbone.
That move would have saved Jacksonville $10.7 million against their salary cap, according to Spotrac. The trade does the same thing while adding a draft pick.
Kirk was going to have the team’s highest cap hit this season at $24.4 million while being paid a $15.5 million salary, according to Spotrac. But new general manager James Gladstone, who joined the new Jags regime Feb. 21 to be paired with head coach Liam Coen, is clearly showing he’s not afraid to make moves already, even with a divisional rival.
Kirk quickly developed a rapport with quarterback Trevor Lawrence after being signed to a four-year, $72 million deal in 2022, registering career highs in catches (84), yards (1,108) and touchdowns (eight) in that campaign.
However, an abdominal injury cost him five games in 2023, and his collarbone fracture limited him to eight games in the third year of his deal.
The emergence of rookie Brian Thomas Jr. as a clear top receiver to build the pass game around, as well as Parker Washington playing well out of the slot in Kirk’s absence, leaves the Jaguars in a good place despite a veteran of seven years moving to a different team.
For the Texans, Kirk’s addition makes sense considering Tank Dell, their speedy, young receiver, is likely to miss the entire 2025 season after tearing an ACL, MCL and LCL and dislocating his kneecap in a game against the Kansas City Chiefs in December.
Kirk could miss time due to his own recovery from his collarbone injury, but he isn’t expected to be out the entire 2025 campaign.
The Texans could still add to their pass game because Stefon Diggs, who built great chemistry with quarterback C.J. Stroud before an injury ended his season, is a free agent on the market this offseason.
Through seven seasons, four with the Arizona Cardinals, who took him 47th overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, Kirk has 236 receptions for 2,902 yards and 17 receiving touchdowns in 56 career games.
