Charlton signs deal with Chiefs
The Chiefs have agreed to a contract with defensive end Taco Charlton, adding a former first-round pick who flamed out with the Cowboys and the Dolphins but whose athleticism is a perfect match for coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s defense.
The 25-year-old Charlton was the 28th overall selection in the 2017 draft. He made seven starts for the Cowboys before sustaining a shoulder injury, and he was waived just two weeks into last season. The Dolphins signed Charlton and he made five starts and appeared in 10 games, but he was a healthy scratch the last four games of the regular season.
The Dolphins waived him Thursday and the Chiefs were able to sign him when he cleared waivers Friday.
Charlton will compete for playing time within a rotation that includes starting defensive ends Frank Clark and Alex Okafor, backups Tanoh Kpassagnon and Breeland Speaks, and fifthround draft pick Mike Danna.
■ The Bears declined the fifth-year option on QB Mitch Trubisky’s rookie contract, a league source confirmed to the Chicago Tribune. GM Ryan Pace had avoided questions about the team’s plans on that issue since December. But now the Bears will go forward with Trubisky officially heading into the final year of his deal as he prepares to compete with Nick Foles for the starting job.
Auto racing: Scott McLaughlin was supposed to leave Australia for Indianapolis this month to make his IndyCar debut on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. With sports on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, the two-time V8 SuperCars champion saw his IndyCar plans postponed. McLaughlin instead settled for a virtual victory on the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway — his second win of IndyCar’s iRacing six-race series — after a wild finish in which most of the leaders crashed as they rushed toward the checkered flag.
Baseball: Major League Baseball owners will discuss a length for the amateur draft next week and are likely to start the selections on the original date of June 10, a person familiar with the deliberations told AP. Teams and the players’ association agreed March 26 to a deal that allowed MLB to cut the draft from 40 rounds to as few as five this year and 20 next year, part of a plan to deal with the new coronavirus pandemic that delayed the start of the season and slashed revenue. As part of the agreement, the sides agreed to leave the assigned slot values of signing bonuses at the same level in 2020 and 2021 as they were last year.
Colleges: F/C Jalen Hill is staying at UCLA for his redshirt junior season. A team spokesman says Hill has withdrawn his name from the NBA draft. Hill averaged 9 points and a team-leading 6.9 rebounds . ... Kansas and Missouri are resuming their bitter Border War in football after the former Big 12 rivals agreed to a four-game series beginning in September 2025.
Horse racing: Secretariat won a virtual Kentucky Derby against 12 fellow Triple Crown winners, 47 years after the chestnut colt won the real race at Churchill Downs. The 1 1⁄4-mile race featuring computer-generated imagery was held Saturday, the same day the 146th Derby had been scheduled until it was postponed until Sept. 5 by the coronavirus pandemic. Secretariat was the 7-2 favorite, although there was no wagering. Instead, fans selecting the winning horse online were entered to win a VIP experience at the Derby this fall. Churchill Downs pledged to match $1 million in fan donations to COVID-19 relief . ... Charlatan romped to victory by six lengths in the first division of the Arkansas Derby and Nadal won the second division, giving Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert a sweep Saturday.
Soccer: Brighton became the first English Premier League club to publicly oppose plans to try to restart the season in neutral stadiums during the coronavirus pandemic. As the COVID-19 death toll surpassed 28,000 in Britain, Brighton chief executive Paul Barber accepted that resuming sporting events would require compromises but said that the league’s integrity would be damaged if teams couldn’t play at home. West Ham vice chair Karren Brady said “no one wants” neutral stadiums but was not as direct in her opposition to the league’s “Project Restart” plan, given the need for authorities to approve venues.