Off the wire

FOOTBALL Ertz headed to Washington

The Washington Commanders are signing veteran tight end Zach Ertz, two people with knowledge of the move told The Associated Press. One person familiar with the signing said the contract for next season is worth up to $5 million. Ertz, 33, reunites with Kliff Kingsbury, Washington’s offensive coordinator who coached him with Arizona. He played parts of three seasons with the Cardinals before being released in late November. A Super Bowl champion with Philadelphia, Ertz returns to the NFC East as the first big addition for new Commanders General Manager Adam Peters. Ertz replaces Logan Thomas, who was released last week along with two offensive linemen: starting left tackle Charles Leno and center Nick Gates. Ertz has played in 159 NFL regular-season and playoff games since making his debut in 2013 after being a second-round pick of the Eagles. Over the past decade, he has caught 745 passes for 7,815 yards and 48 touchdowns.

Falcons re-sign linebacker

The Atlanta Falcons re-signed linebacker Nate Landman on Wednesday following his breakout 2023 season. Landman, who was an exclusive rights free agent, started 14 games and played in two more as a backup while ranking third on the team with 110 tackles. Landman, who signed with Atlanta as an undrafted free agent from Colorado in 2022, had 2 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and 7 tackles for loss while adding an interception.

Bills cut five players

The Buffalo Bills’ salary cap-related purge of players cut deep into the team’s core with veteran safety Jordan Poyer and center Mitch Morse being among five players the team announced it had released on Wednesday. And cornerback Tre’Davious White is also being cut, a person with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press. White, who is recuperating after tearing his right Achilles tendon in Week 4, is being designated as a post-June 1 cut, which provides the Bills additional cap savings. The three players alone combined for 27 seasons of NFL experience, with 16 of those years spent with the Bills. The moves made by the four-time defending AFC East champions were necessitated with Buffalo entering the offseason being a projected NFL-high $44 million over the 2024 season cap. Also cut were sixth-year backup cornerback Siran Neal, backup receiver Deonte Harty and running back Nyheim Hines.

TENNIS

Murray moves on

Andy Murray began what is expected to be his final appearance at the BNP Paribas Open with a smooth performance and a straightforward victory, beating David Goffin 6-3, 6-2 on Day 1 in Indian Wells, Calif., Wednesday. Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1-ranked player now at No. 61, never faced a break point while grabbing a trio of Goffin’s service games. From 3-all at the start, Murray surged ahead by winning the last three games and 10 points of the opening set on a cloudy afternoon with winds topping 10 mph. That allowed the 36-year-old from Scotland with an artificial hip to improve to 8-0 against Goffin, including taking all 17 sets they’ve played against each other. Murray, the 2009 runner-up at Indian Wells, told reporters last month that he is likely to retire before this season is over, saying:

BASKETBALL Cavs’ forward sidelined

Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Evan Mobley is expected to miss at least one week with a sprained left ankle. The Cavaliers said tests in Cleveland on Wednesday confirmed Mobley suffered the sprain in the third quarter of Cleveland’s 105-104 home win over Boston on Tuesday night. The team said Mobley will be evaluated in about one week. Coach J. B. Bickerstaff said before Wednesday night’s game against the Atlanta Hawks that Mobley’s ankle was “tender.”

HOCKEY

Capitals re-sign defenseman

Rasmus Sandin is sticking around with the Washington Capitals for a while after re-signing Wednesday on a five-year contract worth $23 million. Sandin will count $4.6 million against the salary cap through the 2028-29 NHL season as part of the new deal. Set to be a restricted free agent this summer with the potential for arbitration, Sandin has rounded out his game since joining the Capitals a year ago from Toronto in a trade deadline deal that cost them a first-round draft pick. That price has proven to be worth it, as Sandin has averaged more than 21 minutes of ice time and has 20 points in 52 games this season. The Swede, who turns 24 today, will now be part of Washington’s blue line of the future along with franchise cornerstone John Carlson and young Slovak Martin Fehervary.