TALKING POINTS
Struggling Rams waive veteran RB Henderson, LB Hollins
LOS ANGELES — The struggling Los Angeles Rams waived veteran running back Darrell Henderson and linebacker Justin Hollins on Tuesday, abruptly cutting ties with two regular starters.
Los Angeles (3-7) has lost four straight games for the first time in coach Sean McVay’s tenure, and the moves indicate younger players will get a chance to play more down the stretch for the defending Super Bowl champions.
Henderson has rushed for 1,742 yards and 13 touchdowns over four seasons with the Rams, who chose him in the third round in 2019. Henderson started 28 games, including seven this season, and played extensively in the Los Angeles backfield whenever he was injury-free during his career.
But the Rams have the NFL’s 31st-ranked rushing offense this season, moving out of last place after producing a season-high 148 yards on the ground last weekend while losing at New Orleans. Henderson got only two carries against the Saints while the Rams relied on Cam Akers and rookie Kyren Williams behind an offensive line that has had 10 different starting combinations in 10 games.
McVay claimed Henderson had a minor knee injury, citing it as the reason he barely played. But Henderson is in the final year of his rookie contract before free agency, and the Rams are moving on before the final seven games of what’s looking like a lost season for Los Angeles.
Henderson has 283 yards rushing and three touchdowns this season. He is averaging 4.0 yards per carry, significantly more than Akers — who was sent home for three weeks and nearly traded at the deadline after a dispute with the coaching staff. Williams only returned to the Rams’ lineup on Nov. 13 after missing eight weeks with an ankle injury.
The Rams claimed Hollins off waivers in September 2020, and he became a regular member of their rotation as an edge rusher. Hollins had six sacks in 34 games with the Rams, including five starts this season while playing in all 10 games.
But Hollins has only one sack this season, and the Rams’ ineffectiveness in the pass rush has been one of the weakest points for their solid defense.
Chargers add Dicker to active roster, place Hopkins on IR
COSTA MESA — The Los Angeles Chargers signed kicker Cameron Dicker to the active roster on Tuesday and placed Dustin Hopkins on injured reserve.
Dicker had been elevated from the practice squad to play the past three games for the Chargers. He had to be signed to the roster since the maximum elevations
to the game day roster is three. Dicker has made all seven field goal attempts and six extra points.
In his Chargers debut at Atlanta on Nov. 6, Dicker made a game-winning, 37-yard field goal goal as time expired and was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
Dicker is one of the three rookies since the 1970 merger to have a pair of game-winning kicks with less than 2 minutes remaining for multiple teams. In his NFL debut for Philadelphia, he was good from 23 yards in a win at Arizona on Oct. 9 and was honored as the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
Despite using three kickers this season — Hopkins, Taylor Bertolet and Dicker — the Chargers have made 18 straight field goals.
DOHA, Qatar — Brazil great Pele congratulated United States forward Timothy Weah for scoring his debut goal in the World Cup in the Americans’ 1-1 draw with Wales.
Weah got his goal in the 36th minute of Monday’s game to become the first player to score against Wales in a World Cup since Pele, who was 17 years old when he did it in 1958. That was the last time Wales played at the World Cup before this year in Qatar.
Weah posted a photo of him celebrating the goal on Instagram and Pele congratulated him in the comments section.
“Congratulations. It was a beautiful goal. Keep dreaming, dreams come true,” Pele wrote.
Weah responded to “Papa Pele” by thanking him for the “inspiring message.”
“It is such a blessing and an honor to receive such an inspiring message from The King himself,” Weah wrote. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for the world and us young black men. Grandes Abracos.”
The 22-year-old Weah is the son of George Weah, the current president of Liberia and the 1995 world player of the year. Weah has scored four goals in 26 appearances for the United States.
Kupp among 32 players nominated for sporstmanship award
NEW YORK — Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp is among the 32 players nominated for the eighth annual Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award.
Kupp, who had surgery for a high ankle sprain last week, caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford with 1:25 remaining to give the Los Angeles Rams a 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals last February.
Philadelphia Eagles three-time Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson, who missed a few games last year while dealing with mental health issues, also is among the nominees.
The award recognizes players around the league who “exemplify outstanding sportsmanship on the field.” It was created in 2014 to honor Art Rooney Sr., the late founder and owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and a Pro Football Hall of Famer.
A panel of former players including Warrick Dunn, Larry Fitzgerald, Pro Football Hall of Famer Curtis Martin and Leonard Wheeler will select eight finalists, four from each conference. The eight finalists will be listed on the Pro Bowl ballot under the NFL Sportsmanship Award category when players vote in December.
The winner will be announced at NFL Honors on Feb. 9.
“These Rooney Sportsmanship Award nominees exemplify the fiercest competition combined with the excellence of sportsmanship,” said Troy Vincent, NFL executive vice president of football operations. “It reflects the very values of respect, resilience, and fairness that inspire both teammates and opponents to be the best in the world.”
Each team nominated its own player. The list in addition to Kupp and Johnson:
Budda Baker, Cardinals; Maxx Crosby, Raiders; Grady Jarrett, Falcons; Austin Ekeler, Chargers; Calais Campbell, Ravens; Von Miller, Bills; Alec Ingold, Dolphins; Johnny Hekker, Panthers; Dalvin Cook, Vikings; DeAndre Houston-Carson, Bears; David Andrews, Patriots; B.J. Hill, Bengals; Ryan Ramczyk, Saints; Nick Chubb, Browns; Daniel Jones, Giants; Dak Prescott, Cowboys; Duane Brown, Jets; Pat Surtain II, Broncos; Kalif Raymond, Lions; Alex Highsmith, Steelers; Aaron Jones, Packers; Kyle Juszczyk, 49ers; Jerry Hughes, Texans; Will Dissly, Seahawks; DeForest Buckner, Colts; Lavonte David, Buccaneers; Christian Kirk, Jaguars; Derrick Henry, Titans; Nick Bolton, Chiefs; Terry McLaurin, Commanders.
Verlander, Pujols voted Comeback Players of the Year
NEW YORK — Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander and St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols won baseball’s Comeback Player of the Year awards Tuesday night.
Verlander, the American League recipient, returned from Tommy John surgery to lead Houston to its second World Series championship. He had the lowest ERA in the majors and was a unanimous winner of his third Cy Young Award — becoming the first player to earn the prize after not pitching in the previous season.
Pujols, honored in the National League, came back to St. Louis for his farewell season and posted his biggest numbers in years at age 42. The three-time MVP compiled an .895 OPS for the NL Central champions and became the fourth major leaguer to reach 700 career home runs.
The winners were chosen in voting by the 30 team beat reporters at MLB.com.
Verlander went 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA and 185 strikeouts in 28 starts and made his ninth All-Star team. He won Game 5 in Philadelphia for the first World Series win of his illustrious career, then became a free agent this month.
The 39-year-old right-hander made only one start in 2020 because of his elbow injury and missed the entire 2021 season while recovering from surgery.
Pujols batted .270 with 24 homers and 68 RBIs in 109 games for the Cardinals after getting released by the Los Angeles Angels in May 2021 and finishing last year with the Dodgers.
His OPS was his highest since his last season with the Cardinals in 2011 (.906) before joining the Angels, and his home runs were his most since hitting 31 in 2016 for the Angels.
The 11-time All-Star hit 18 home runs in the second half and retired after the Cardinals were eliminated from the playoffs by Philadelphia in the wild-card round.
He finished his career fourth in major league annals in home runs (703), second in RBIs (2,218) and total bases (6,211), and ninth in hits (3,384).
Vehicle driven on Browns’ field; police investigating
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns are working to repair damage to their field inside FirstEnergy Stadium ahead of Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay after it was vandalized Monday night.
The team said it has provided information to Cleveland police, who are investigating.
At some point overnight, someone broke into the stadium and drove a vehicle onto the grass playing surface, causing “some superficial damage,” according to the team. Aerial TV footage showed looping tire tracks spanning half the field.
The Browns said the stadium’s grounds maintenance crew is repairing the surface.
“We take pride in the strong reviews and reputation of our stadium’s playing surface,” the Browns said in a statement. “We have been in touch with the NFL on the matter and are confident after repair our field will be ready for Sunday’s game vs. the Tampa Buccaneers.”
The Browns, who have lost six of seven games, have played at the lakefront stadium since their return as an expansion team in 1999.
Last week, the Browns’ game at Buffalo was moved to Detroit because of a blizzard that dumped more than 6 feet of snow on the Bills’ home field in Orchard Park, New York.
Cardinals fire assistant Sean Kugler after Mexico incident
TEMPE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals have fired offensive line coach and run game coordinator Sean Kugler.
The Cardinals haven’t confirmed Kugler’s dismissal but the coach was no longer listed on the team’s website on Tuesday. Coach Kliff Kingsbury told The Arizona Republic that Kugler was fired for an incident that happened on Sunday night in Mexico City, one day before the team’s 3810 loss to the San Francisco 49ers at Estadio Azteca.
Kingsbury said Kugler was sent home on Monday morning before the game. The coach didn’t elaborate on what caused the dismissal.
The 56-year-old Kugler had been on Kingsbury’s staff since 2019 and was the head coach at UTEP from 2013 to 2017. He was popular among the players and Kingsbury routinely praised his work.
The Cardinals are 4-7 this season and injuries on the offensive line have been one of the team’s many issues. Four of the five starters missed Monday night’s game because of various ailments.