BILLS MAKE TWO BIG TRADES; ONE SENDS WATKINS TO RAMS
MIAMI» The Buffalo Bills’ offseason overhaul continued Friday when wide receiver Sammy Watkins and cornerback Ronald Darby became the latest players to be sent packing.
The Bills said goodbye to those starters in separate blockbuster trades to continue reshaping the roster of new coach Sean McDermott.
Watkins was traded to the Los Angeles Rams, while Darby was sent to the Philadelphia Eagles. Buffalo addressed both positions by acquiring wide receiver Jordan Matthews from Philadelphia and cornerback E.J. Gaines from the Rams.
The Bills also continued looking to the future by further stockpiling 2018 draft selections. They acquired a second-round pick from L.A. and a third-rounder from the Eagles, while also sending a sixth-round pick to the Rams. Buffalo now has two picks in each of the first three rounds next year after acquiring the Kansas City Chiefs’ first-round selection in April.
• Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill will have surgery to repair the torn ACL in his left knee and will miss the entire season.
Tannehill will be placed on injured reserve, an NFL source said.
Tannehill missed the final four games of last season with two sprained ligaments in his knee and reinjured it a week into training camp on Aug. 3. The Dolphins consulted with specialists before deciding surgery was the best option.
• Dolphins rookie linebacker Raekwon McMillan will miss the season with a torn ACL in his right knee.
• Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton threw passes to receivers during an individual period early in practice. Newton, however, continued to be held out of team drills.
• Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco will soon return to practice, but he won’t play in a game before Baltimore opens the regular season Sept. 10 at Cincinnati while he recovers from a back injury.
• The Packers submitted videos to the NFL of hits by Eagles players that knocked out Green Bay’s Malachi Dupre and Damarious Randall on separate plays.
L.A. moving toward 2028 Games.
Los Angeles took another step toward bringing the 2028 Olympics to the city, despite questions about future costs.
The City Council voted 12-0 to endorse documents at the heart of L.A.’s plan to stage the Summer Olympics for the third time since 1932. The contract outlines L.A.’s financial responsibility in hosting the Games, including covering shortfalls if the $5.3 billion plan runs into the red. Also, a budget for the proposed 2028 Games hasn’t been completed.
Morocco wants to host World Cup.
North America has a late challenge from North Africa in the contest to host soccer’s 2026 World Cup.
Morocco also will bid for the tournament, its announcement coming Friday — FIFA’s deadline day.
Morocco’s last-minute move will take on the joint bid between the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Buffs add English to hoops staff.
BOULDER» The Colorado men’s basketball program added Kim English as an assistant coach. English replaced Jean Prioleau, who became the head coach at San Jose State.
English spent his past two seasons on the men’s basketball staff at Tulsa under Frank Haith, whom he played for as a senior at Missouri.
MICH.» Brad Keselowski BROOKLYN, won the pole for this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race, putting himself in good position to try for an elusive victory at Michigan International Speedway. Keselowski is winless in 16 career Cup races in his home state of Michigan. He does have eight top-10 finishes there.
Erik Jones qualified eighth — and his Furniture Row Racing teammate, Martin Truex Jr., qualified 13th.