CHICAGO — Ben Johnson wanted Caleb Williams to get away from football.

That was the Chicago Bears coach’s message to the second-year quarterback in the frigid January days after the loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round of the playoffs.

“He’s done a phenomenal job in terms of staying focused all year long,” Johnson ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — It has been a whirlwind year for presumed No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza, who is expected to become a member of the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday.

All of the iconic moments he has created have meant a lot of travel for his family, particularly his mother who is stricken with multiple sclerosis.

That’s a big part of why he has ...Read more

The Dallas Cowboys have agreed to a four-year contract with kicker Brandon Aubrey worth $28 million, making him the highest-paid kicker in NFL history and locking him in through 2030, a team source confirmed to the Star-Telegram on Monday.

The deal eclipses Houston Texas’ kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn’s deal worth $6.5 million per season. ESPN ...Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Left tackle Trent Williams is staying put on a 49ers offense loaded with old-timers and short-timers for its urgent Super Bowl push.

A two-year, $50 million deal was announced Monday by Williams’ representatives at Elite Loyalty Sports and later confirmed by 49ers general manager John Lynch.

“I know he’s going to ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Former USC and Georgia receiver Zachariah Branch was arrested early Sunday in Athens, Ga., for not moving far enough on a public sidewalk when a police officer asked him to do so.

Branch, widely projected to go in the second round of the NFL draft later this week, faces misdemeanor charges of obstructing public sidewalks, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Rams All-Pro receiver Puka Nacua was present on Monday when the Rams began voluntary offseason workouts at their Woodland Hills training facility.

Nacua, who entered a rehabilitation facility in March, was not among players scheduled to speak with reporters at the outset of the Rams' program, which includes three phases and ends...Read more

The Patriots are “tracking” to acquire Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown in a post-June 1 trade, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Monday morning.

This doesn’t come as a huge surprise, since Brown has been linked to the Patriots as far back as last year when Mike Vrabel was hired as head coach. Vrabel was the Titans’ head coach when Brown ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Hey, have you heard the NFL draft is in Pittsburgh?

I mean more than a few million times. This week.

The official NFL draft countdown clock, which feels like it’s been standing dutifully near the confluence about as long as Fort Pitt, has begun to flash single digits. So yeah, it appears this is happening.

Don’t be ...Read more

Editor’s note: The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Eddie Brown is breaking down prospects, position by position, leading up to the NFL draft (April 23-25). Here are his top 10 linebackers, plus players he believes will be drafted or signed as a priority free agent:

1. Sonny Styles (Sr., Ohio State, 6-foot-5, 244 pounds)

Styles delivered one of ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For the first time in more than a decade, the Kansas City Chiefs will enter the NFL draft not merely after failing to make the playoffs, but coming off their first losing season of the Andy Reid era.

Perhaps the 6-11 clunker was inevitable in some ways after five Super Bowl appearances in six seasons — and three straight ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t drafted a dynamic offensive player in four years and have had to use trades or free agency to add difference-makers.

When they previously made attempts to find them in the NFL draft, they later determined those players, Chase Claypool and George Pickens, to be more troublesome than impactful. ...Read more

SEATTLE — The more salacious and maybe more convenient reason for why the Legion of Boom-era Seahawks never got back to another Super Bowl after losing to the Patriots in 2015 was the fallout surrounding the way that game ended.

If that infamous interception in the end zone doesn’t happen, the narrative has often gone, then the Seahawks ...Read more

Miami Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan wasn’t just answering a question this past week in saying, “That’s the beautiful part about our culture, the competition that’s going to be at the forefront of everything we do.”

He was also articulating part of this new regime’s philosophy in that answer. Just like when saying if ...Read more

Editor’s note: The Union-Tribune’s Eddie Brown is breaking down prospects, position by position, leading up to the NFL draft (April 23-25). Here are his top 10 safeties, plus players he believes will be drafted or signed as a priority free agent:

1. Caleb Downs (Jr., Ohio State, 6-foot-0, 206 pounds)

Downs was the top-ranked safety in the ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Giants have traded star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals, sources confirm.

As one NFL source said Friday when told the Bengals were a potential destination, “they could win the Super Bowl if they got him“

ESPN’s Adam Schefter and @RapSheet report that the Giants are receiving the 10th overall ...Read more

Editor’s note: The Union-Tribune’s Eddie Brown is breaking down prospects, position by position, leading up to the NFL draft (April 23-25). Here are his top 10 cornerbacks, plus players he believes will be drafted or signed as a priority free agent:

1. Mansoor Delane (Sr., LSU, 6-foot, 182 pounds)

The former three-star recruit teased his ...Read more

BALTIMORE — One of the first conversations Zay Flowers had with new Ravens coach Jesse Minter was about how hard they’d be practicing.

Having spent four years on John Harbaugh’s staff, Minter had an idea about how the old guard managed each week. Flowers sounded exhausted just talking about it.

The 25-year-old star recently sat down with...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Doug Whaley can be honest. The Steelers weren’t in love with Troy Polamalu.

At least not yet.

When Polamalu was a senior at USC in 2003, they scouted his film and saw, as Whaley said, a “hell of a football player.” They saw an undersized 5-foot-10 safety who ran like a banshee and attacked the ball with ferocity. He was ...Read more