ALLEN PARK, Mich. — The evolution of a championship team varies, by time and by tests. The simplest pattern — get good, stay good, get great, stay great, get there, get the trophy — rarely unfolds as planned.

Coaches leave. Injuries hit. Players retire. It crests, it drops and inevitably hits an inflection point. In some ways, the Lions ...Read more

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Five days before traveling an hour north for training camp, the Chiefs provided Trey Smith a four-year contract that reset the NFL’s right guard market and makes him the highest-paid player at the position.

Five hours before training camp, the Chiefs provided George Karlaftis a four-year contract extension that hovers, oh,...Read more

PITTSBURGH — There have been many discussions about the Steelers' offseason, but very few have centered on the offensive and defensive lines.

I think that is a mistake because the best argument for the Steelers to have another winning season and perhaps make a run at the AFC North title is that they will likely win a lot of games up front on ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — It seems, in so many ways and for some very specific reasons, so long ago now. And it was a long time ago, almost 20 years, that Terrell Owens transformed the Eagles’ 2005 training camp at Lehigh University into a spectacle of strangeness unlike anything in Philadelphia’s often-weird sports history.

The contract dispute. ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The brother of late NFL star and U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman is being held in custody in connection with a vehicle driven into a Northern California post office.

The San Jose Police Department said in an email to The Los Angeles Times on Monday that 44-year-old resident Richard Tillman was booked on charges of arson after he ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A man being held in custody in connection with a vehicle driven into a Northern California post office on Sunday morning is reportedly the brother of late NFL star and U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman.

“Shortly after 3 a.m. yesterday, the San Jose Fire and Police Departments responded to reports of a vehicle on fire in the box ...Read more

DENVER — The No. 1 offensive line in the AFC doesn’t just finish each other’s sentences. Heck, no. They finish each other’s plates.

“Shoot, I’ve had the whole line over to my house,” Broncos center Luke Wattenberg told me with a grin.

“And we all kind of hang out with each other throughout the offseason. We have O-line dinners...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Talking to those who know Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty best, one might get the impression at least some of his nearly 4,700 rushing yards at Boise State came by way of skipping across water instead of a blue field.

“The Raiders aren’t only getting an elite running back, they’re getting an elite human and someone who I ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Whenever Pam Webster feels consumed by the stress — concerns over food, money or family feeling like too much — she can always count on her son, Garrett, for a laugh.

"His best line whenever I'm complaining, when we don't know how we're going to get food or the budget's tight, he'll say, 'You should have married a football ...Read more

MIAMI — The standard has been set, and now there’s a bar the Miami Dolphins defense must climb over.

Despite spending two seasons with two different defensive coordinators, and two seasons without a ton of the team’s top defenders, who were sidelined because of injuries, the Dolphins defense has managed to deliver a top-10 defense for two...Read more

LOS ANGELES — They lost a cherished teammate hours before they started training camp. But the Chargers receivers knew just what to do when they heard of Mike Williams' sudden retirement.

"At this point [we're] just treating it like the next man up," receiver Quentin Johnston said. "Him leaving was unexpected, but at the same time, we just ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs have agreed to a four-year extension with defensive end George Karlaftis, a source confirmed to The Kansas City Star.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to report the deal, stating that it includes an additional $93 million in compensation, with $62 million of that guaranteed.

NFL insider Jordan ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Nearly a third of his life ago, it’s easy to forget now, Patrick Mahomes was a mortal in the embryonic phase of what was to come.

As he entered a season of being mentored by Alex Smith, the supremely gifted and astute 21-year-old quarterback grappled with the most rudimentary elements of the job.

Despite almost ...Read more

Culture is an easy word to talk about. It’s not so easy to create, especially when you’ve flubbed it for three years as coach Mike McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier did in this Miami Dolphins era.

So, they made some change in their fourth season that you typically see in an early-stage rebuild. That’s the way to view this offseason...Read more

CHICAGO — Cornerback Jaylon Johnson was one of four Chicago Bears players placed on the non-football injury list Saturday afternoon, a surprise twist as the team readies for training camp.

Other Bears given the NFI designation were backup quarterback Case Keenum, second-year running back Ian Wheeler and receiver Jahdae Walker, an undrafted ...Read more

ATLANTA — Raheem Morris might have gotten away with it if things went as planned with Kirk Cousins.

The Falcons coach didn’t do enough to prepare Michael Penix Jr. to play as a rookie, and it showed once Penix replaced Cousins as the starter. Now, we’ll see what Penix can do now that Morris has committed to him as QB1 for an entire ...Read more

MIAMI — Mike McDaniel has produced winning seasons, and led the Miami Dolphins to the postseason in two of his three seasons he’s been the helm of South Florida’s NFL franchise.

The Dolphins have produced that 28-23 record under McDaniel, despite playing without Tua Tagovailoa for 10 of those games the past three seasons because of ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — In a recent ESPN poll of coaches, executives and scouts, Jalen Hurts was ranked as the NFL’s ninth-best quarterback. It should go without saying that this result is so ridiculous that it calls the entire poll — and the acumen of all those supposed football experts — into question. Everyone knows that Hurts isn’t the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A $50 million lawsuit that accused Shannon Sharpe of rape has been settled.

Attorney Tony Buzbee, whose firm represented a Jane Doe, who filed the civil lawsuit against the retired NFL star and sports media personality earlier this year, announced the settlement on Friday afternoon in a statement posted on Instagram.

“After ...Read more