Rams bringing back wide receiver Robinson
The Rams will be keeping one of Matthew Stafford's favorite targets around for next season, agreeing to terms on a one-year deal with receiver Demarcus Robinson, a source confirmed.
NFL Network, which first broke the news, reported that Robinson's deal is worth $5 million.
Robinson signed with the Rams as a free agent for the veteran minimum last season, and through the first part of the season contributed largely on special teams. But a four-catch, 55-yard performance against Cleveland put the 6-foot-1 receiver back in the mix for playing time.
After Tutu Atwell suffered a concussion in Week 14, Robinson took a hold of the Rams' third receiver job. He caught touchdowns in four consecutive games and finished the year with 26 receptions for 371 yards as he developed a strong rapport with Stafford, who praised Robinson for winning his routes.
“He's getting open when he's got man coverage. He's in the right spot in the zones, doing a nice job after the catch,” Stafford said in December. “When I'm putting the ball in his area, he's doing a really nice job of making the catch and he's done a really nice job.”
The return for Robinson solidifies the Rams' receiving corps, which will continue to be headlined by Cooper Kupp and rookie sensation Puka Nacua, with Robinson and Atwell providing depth.
Prior to joining the Rams, Robinson spent six seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and one with the Baltimore Ravens in 2022
The Rams' Demarcus Robinson had 26 receptions for 371 yards and four touchdowns last season.
when he caught a career-high 48 passes for 458 yards. In eight NFL seasons, he has 219 receptions for 2,508 yards and 20 touchdowns.
— Adam Grosbard
• The NFL's salary cap for 2024 will be $255.4 million, up a record $30.6 million from last year.
The cap number has gone from $198.2 million in 2020 to $182.5 million in 2021 following the COVID-19 pandemic. It increased to $208.2 million in 2022 and $224.8 million last year.
Teams are heading into next week's NFL combine and preparing for the free agency period to open March 13 with an opportunity to spend more freely.
The increased cap total could impact how teams use the franchise tag. The 15-day window to apply the tag to impending free agents began on Feb. 20.
• As Antonio Pierce prepares for his first season as the Las Vegas Raiders' full-time coach, he is count
ing on two experienced former head coaches to help guide him.
Ex-Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis is the assistant head coach and former Miami Dolphins coach Joe Philbin is the senior offensive assistant.
Lewis led the Bengals to seven playoff berths, going 131-122-3 from 2003-18. He was a key advisor when Pierce became the Raiders interim coach midway through last season.
Philbin went 24-28 as the Dolphins coach from 2012-15 and was 2-2 as the Green Bay Packers interim coach in 2018. He was an offensive analyst at Ohio State last season, but most of his NFL career was under Mike McCarthy as the offensive line coach in Green Bay and with the Dallas Cowboys. Philbin also was the Packers offensive coordinator from 2007-11.
• The Detroit Lions have resigned Michael Badgley to a oneyear contract, bringing back the kicker who closed the regular season with the team and played in all three playoff games. Badgley also kicked for the Lions in 2022.
He made all four of his fieldgoal attempts in four games during the regular season and tied a playoff team record with a 54yard field goal against the Rams.
Badgley has made 98 of 119 field goals with the Chargers, Indianapolis, Tennessee, Chicago and the Lions since he made his NFL debut in 2018 with the Chargers.
Four share lead after two rounds at Mexico Open
Alvaro Ortiz got off to a strong start and did just enough right at the end for a second-round 7-under 64, giving him a share of the lead in the Mexico Open in Vallarta
as he goes for yet another victory in his home country.
Ortiz won twice on the Mexican Golf Tour at the end of last year. He is the younger brother of Carlos Ortiz, a PGA Tour winner who signed with LIV Golf.
Ortiz, who opened with a 67, was at 11-under 131 at Vallarta Vidanta, tied with Jake Knapp, Matt Wallace of England and Sami Valimaki of Finland. Knapp had a 64 of his own, Wallace shot 65 and Valimaki had a 67.
Ortiz, who grew up in Guadalajara, has been trying to find his way since leaving Arkansas. He already has played in the Masters as the 2019 Latin America Amateur champion, and he qualified for the U.S. Open in 2021 at Torrey Pines.
He is back on the Korn Ferry Tour this year after splitting time last year on the Asian Tour, Mexican Golf Tour and Tour Americas.
Ortiz started on the back nine Friday and went out in 31, making birdie on all three of the par 5s, adding a pair of birdies in the 10-foot range. He made all pars on the front nine except for an eagle on the par-5 sixth.
First-round leader Erik van Rooyen picked up a pair of late birdies on the scoring holes and salvaged a 69, leaving the South African one shot behind.
Former Women's PGA Championship winner Sei Young Kim moved from second place into a three-way tie for the lead after two rounds of the LPGA Thailand tournament in Chonburi.
After sailing through the first 11 holes with four birdies and an eagle, Kim had two bogeys on Nos. 13 and 17 to finish with a 4-under 68.
Kim, who won the 2020 Women's PGA title by five strokes at Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania, had a two-round total of 10-under 134 on the Siam Country Club Old Course.
She's tied with Madelene Sagstrom and Patty Tavatanakit, who each shot 67 on Friday. They had a one-stroke lead over three players.
Top-ranked Swiatek out in Dubai semifinals
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek was stunned by qualifier Anna Kalinskaya 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals of the Dubai Championships.
Swiatek was up 4-2 when Kalinskaya broke straight back. Swiatek's consistency began to desert her and Kalinskaya rattled off four straight games to take the first set. Swiatek saved two match points to break for 5-3 in the second and had another chance to break for 5-5 but hit wide.
Kalinskaya gave Swiatek her first straight-sets loss in almost a year.
The first qualifier to reach the Dubai final has defeated three top-10 players in a row, starting with No. 9 Jelena Ostapenko, then No. 3 Coco Gauff for her first topfive win, then Swiatek in their first meeting.
The 40th-ranked Kalinskaya will play 26th-ranked Jasmine Paolini of Italy in today's final. It's the first WTA final for Kalinskaya and Paolini's shot at a second title, easily her biggest.
Paolini held off Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 7-6 (6) in their semifinal.