6:00 AM ET SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Before San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan could pull off one of free agency’s biggest deals, they had to get the blessing of chief executive officer Jed York. Since Shanahan and Lynch arrived in 2017, the Niners have never been afraid to spend,

11:25 AM ET Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter is declining visits with any teams selecting outside the top 10 in this month’s NFL draft, agent Drew Rosenhaus told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Carter is scheduled to visit the Chicago Bears, who will pick ninth, on Monday. It will be his second visit after previously visiting the

6:00 AM ET PHILADELPHIA — Speaking at the league meetings in Arizona last week, Eagles CEO Jeffrey Lurie included Jalen Hurts on a select list of quarterbacks he views as borderline unstoppable in the NFL. Lurie explained his team always allocates more dollars to the offensive side of the ball because even the best defenses

6:00 AM ET KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Between participating in both the Hula Bowl and East-West Shrine Game following his final season at Rutgers, preparing for the NFL draft and then heading to Kansas City for offseason workouts with the Chiefs, Isiah Pacheco wasn’t able to take any kind of extended break before his rookie

6:00 AM ET HENDERSON, Nev. — And in the category of most understated yet painfully obvious statement of the recent NFL owners meetings, we present Exhibit A: “I’d like to see some defensive progress [slight pause] for sure.” Exhibit B? “We didn’t quite get the Darren Waller [production] that could have really helped, helped us

9:27 AM ET OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay was, as he put it, almost a different bird this offseason. On his “Big Play Slay” podcast, Slay revealed that he nearly joined the Baltimore Ravens before re-signing with the Philadelphia Eagles. “I was almost — this close — a Baltimore Raven. This

9:30 PM ET ESPN staff We are getting down to the nitty gritty of the XFL regular season in Week 7 with just three weeks left until the playoffs begin. The Seattle Sea Dragons (5-2) won their fifth straight game, looking poised Friday night against a Arlington Renegades (3-4) team that is still hoping to

6:00 AM ET FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL: 1. Impact additions: With last week’s annual NFL league meeting in the rear view, we can set the table for the upcoming year and provide a “state of the team” snapshot based on changes over the previous two

6:00 AM ET PHOENIX — A look at what’s happening around the New York Jets: 1. Publicity shy: The Jets were must-see TV in the summer of 2010 when they were featured on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series. Owner Woody Johnson called it “an unbelievable thing,” recalling how he saw people rush out of restaurants to

6:00 AM ET PHOENIX — When Odell Beckham Jr. made a surprise appearance at the Arizona Biltmore resort during this week’s NFL annual meeting, a symbolic — albeit unintentional — scene played out. Beckham and his entourage walked in one direction, while Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst went the other way. As much