Brady extended; Newton re-signs
The Patriots are completing an agreement to re-sign free-agent quarterback Cam Newton, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press. The one-year deal is worth close to $14 million, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because new signings can’t be announced until the league year begins Wednesday. The deal was first reported by The Boston Globe. Newton, now seemingly forever tied with Tom Brady, shared the day with him again. Brady agreed to a contract extension with the Buccaneers that provides the Super Bowl champions with much-needed salary cap relief and will help the seven-time NFL champion reach a goal of playing until he’s at least 45. Brady posted a picture of himself on Twitter, signing the extension Friday with the message: “In pursuit of 8 ... LFG@ Buccaneers we’re keeping the band together.” The extension confirmed by the team frees about $19 million in salary cap space. Seven starters from the Super Bowl were among two dozen Buccaneers eligible to become free agents next week.
The Ravens have reached an agreement to re-sign pending free agent Pernell McPhee, according to ESPN, steadying their outside linebacker room before a potentially turbulent week.
The deal for McPhee, 32, is expected to be short-term. He has signed one-year deals each of the past two years with the Ravens, where he started his career in 2011. He agreed to a $1 million contract in 2019 and a $1.2 million deal in 2020.
McPhee, long a vocal leader in Baltimore,
was one of five Ravens edge defenders headed to free agency next week, along with Pro Bowl outside linebacker Matthew Judon, outside linebacker Tyus Bowser and defensive ends Yannick Ngakoue and Jihad Ward.
The Ravens elected not to place the tag on Judon or Ngakoue this week and are not expected to re-sign either.
Bowser and Ward, depending on how their respective markets develop, are considered more likely to return.
McPhee started a career-high 13 games last season and appeared in 15 total, finishing with 34 tackles, three sacks and 19 quarterback pressures. Pro Football Focus rated him the Ravens’ top outside linebacker and second-best run defender. After coming back from a triceps injury that cut short an encouraging 2019 season, McPhee was also ninth on the defense in playing time, playing 43% of the Ravens’ snaps.
Over 10 seasons with the Ravens — with whom he won Super Bowl XLVII — Chicago Bears and Washington Football Team, the former fifth-round pick and Mississippi State standout has 37 sacks, six forced fumbles and an interception.
Organizers of the Maryland Cycling Classic have announced an initial slate of five teams as they move toward the Labor Day weekend debut of the one-day competition, expected to run in and around Baltimore.
The Sept. 5 inaugural race, postponed from last year because of COVID-19 pandemic, will feature riders who’ve competed in the Tour de France and other major international events. Organizers hope to make it one of the most prestigious events on the American cycling calendar.
“After the challenges of postponing last year’s first edition due to the pandemic, it’s exciting to look forward and start introducing some of the world’s top teams into the event,” race chairman John Kelly said in a statement.
The event will be part of the Union Cycliste Internationale ProSeries, which is a step below the Switzerland-based world cycling governing body’s WorldTour races, including the Tour de France and similar multiday stage races in Italy and Spain.
The initial lineup includes WorldTour teams Trek-Segafredo and BikeExchange along with American teams ProTeam Rally Cycling, Aevelo and Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling.
“At the moment, there aren’t a lot of races in the USA and as an American team it’s really important for us to be there on the start line,” Steven de Jongh, head sports director of Trek-Segafredo, said in a statement.
American riders said they’re eager to compete in a high-level event on their home turf. “I’m thrilled to take part in the first edition of what is sure to become a legendary event in the cycling world,” said Ben King, a two-time stage winner in the Tour of Spain who races for Rally Cycling, in a statement. “I love one-day races because they are all or nothing.”
Though an exact course has not been announced, organizer Terry Hasseltine, president of the nonprofit Sport and Entertainment Corporation of Maryland, has said he envisions the 110-mile race beginning and ending in Baltimore but also winding through Baltimore County. The field will feature a projected 125 riders.
Race officials said they will announce a full schedule of events, including a charity ride and an “outdoor health and wellness festival,” in the coming months.