Is Seattle Seahawks star Ernest Jones not even a top 20 linebacker in the NFL?Jones was recognized as being one of the four best players at the linebacker position last season after receiving a second-team All-Pro nod for his work on the year. Jones recorded the second-most interceptions in the league in 2025 with five and helped Seattle win the Super Bowl at the end of the season.Pro Football Focus shockingly ranked Jones No. 24 overall in their rankings of the top 32 linebackers in the NFL ahead of the 2026 season.Jones is regularly considered one of the games best linebackers by fans, but his metrics havent been on par as of late, PFFs Bradley Locker said. Although Jones earned a stellar 78.8 overall PFF grade in 2023 with the Rams, his other four career seasons have all finished below a 64.0 Since 2024, Jones 46.2 PFF coverage grade places 30thout of 37 qualifying linebackers.Jones may have areas to improve in his game, even as an All-Pro honoree. However, ranking behind 23 other players at the position, virtually classifying him as a mid-level starter, may be a far cry based off of what we saw from him as a champion and high-level player at the position in 2025.This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks LB Ernest Jones ranked far too low in PFF's position rankings

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The FBI is teaming with the NCAA to start a program to combat sexual exploitation of college athletes whose private images are increasingly found and targeted online in an era when they use their name, image and likeness to enhance their own marketability.The FBI, which unveiled the collaboration Monday, said bad actors typically target athletes through phishing, and also by password and PIN targeting and by portraying themselves as social media customer service representatives with urgent requests to reset passwords.Athletes have large social media followings, expended further by NIL activities that not only increases the exposure for targeting, it increases the leverage vendors believe they hold to exposure them," said Shohini Sinha, assistant director of the FBI Victim Services Division. "There is a pressure to protect the clean image of their school, team and themselves.The FBI said hackers can steal images, then post or sell them, which can lead to sextortion, in which athletes can be harassed, stalked or even have the content that's stolen from them posted on their own social media pages.Neither the NCAA nor the FBI had specific numbers of athletes who were victimized by sextortion plots. Their partnership will go toward educating athletes.If we can play even a small role in preventing these crimes or getting justice or appropriate support for the people impacted by them, we will do everything we can to help," NCAA Vice President of Enforcement Jon Duncan said.___AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

The image of an NFL head coach angrily throwing down a red challenge flag might be in jeopardy though probably not.A new change to the NFL rulebook will allow head coaches to designate a member of the sideline staff to throw down challenges on the teams behalf. In the past, only the head coach was given the red challenge flag; now, they will be able to select someone else ahead of the game to throw the flag for them.Rule 15, Section 1, Article 1 in the leagues rulebook now reads: The Head Coach or head coachs pregame challenge designee can initiate a challenge by throwing a red flag onto the field of play before the next legal snap or kick.Play Yahoo's new College Fantasy Football game: Create or join a league now!A league official confirmed the rule change to ESPN on Monday. All other rules around the challenge will still apply.Though most NFL rule changes are announced during the NFLs annual meeting in late March, this one was not. The league is allowed to make some adjustments to the rulebook that dont need to be voted on by owners.Having coaches pick a proxy for throwing a challenge flag could help stem some of the emotion involved in making that call. Regardless, its unclear if any coaches will take advantage of the new rule.Other rules approved by the league ahead of this season include allowing teams to declare an onside kick at any point in the game, moving the dead ball spot for a touchback after a kickoff from the 50-yard line, and changing alignment requirements for receiving a kickoff.League personnel are now also able to step in and speak to on-field officials about potential disqualification, even if they werent called.

Add another wide receiver to the Houston Texans' roster ahead of Thursday's preseason game. According to the latest transaction list, the Texans have signed veteran wide receiver Juwann Winfree to the 90-man roster. In a corresponding move, Houston has placed linebacker Sione Takitaki on the reserve/injured list.Winfree comes with a bit more NFL experience than most players looking to make the active roster. He was a sixth-round pick in the 2019 draft and has appeared in 23 regular-season games for three teams most recently with the Indianapolis Colts in 2024.Winfree was also a member of the Texans' squad last preseason before being waived. He spent the 2025 season on the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.A former third-round pick out of BYU, Takitaki totaled 292 career tackles, two interceptions, four sacks and a forced fumble.The Texans open the preseason on Thursday against the Los Angeles Chargers. This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans add another WR ahead of first preseason game, place LB on IR

Ronald Araujo (C) fell out of favour with Barcelona coach Hans-Dieter Flick (L) last season (ANDER GILLENEA)Uruguay centre-back Ronald Araujo has joined Liverpool on a season-long loan from Barcelona, the Spanish champions announced on Monday.Barca did not specify the details of the deal, but according to the Spanish press, Liverpool will cover the player's wages and will have an option to buy set at 55 million euros ($63.5 million)."FC Barcelona and Liverpool FC have agreed the loan of Ronald Araujo until June 30, 2027. Good luck, Ronald!" Barcelona wrote in a statement.Araujo is under contract until 2031 after renewing with the Catalan club in 2025.The 27-year-old slipped down the pecking order under Hansi Flick with young Spaniard Pau Cubarsi becoming the main pillar of the Barca defence.Last season, Araujo played just 35 matches across all competitions, stepping away for a few weeks with mental exhaustion.The Uruguayan returned in January but found other defenders such as Eric Garca and Gerard Martn also ahead of him.Araujo, who was part of the Uruguay squad at the World Cup although he did not feature, joins a Liverpool side which needs a new centre-back to partner Virgil van Dijk.Ibrahima Konate has left for Real Madrid while Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni are both injured."I'm excited to be here at this massive club with lots of history," said Araujo."I'm excited to meet my team-mates, excited to get started playing, and I'm very motivated and really up for getting going."It was the ideal move for me at this stage in my career. I think it was a move that was necessary for me to take."Liverpool, now under the guidance of Spaniard Andoni Iraola, have also signed young French defender Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes.gr/dam/bsp/ea

Newcastle could turn to Teun Koopmeiners after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg snubEddie Howe is at St James Park. Newcastle United could turn their attention back to long-term target Teun Koopmeiners after suffering a major transfer setback in their pursuit of Olympique de Marseille midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, according to Tutto Juve.The Magpies were close to agreeing a fee of around 15m with Marseille for Hojbjerg. However, the 31-year-old Danish international rejected Newcastles offer, turning down a return to the Premier League as he considers other options.Hojbjergs decision leaves Newcastle head coach Matthias Jaissle with a dilemma as the transfer window enters its final stages. Newcastle are under pressure to rebuild their midfield following high-profile departures earlier this summer, most notably Bruno Guimaraes 75m move to Arsenal and Sandro Tonalis transfer to Tottenham Hotspur.While Newcastle have brought in promising youngsters Sean Steur and Aladji Bamba, there remains an urgent need for top-level midfield pedigree.With Hojbjerg no longer an option, the Newcastle hierarchy are considering reigniting their pursuit of Juventus and Netherlands midfielder Teun Koopmeiners. The 28-year-old has long been admired by Newcastle scouts, who tracked him closely during his standout spell at Atalanta.Koopmeiners is seen as an ideal tactical fit to anchor Jaissles preferred 4-2-3-1 system. Known for his passing range and set-piece quality, the Dutchman can operate as a deep-lying playmaker or a box-to-box presence. His ability to dictate tempo from deep would immediately elevate Newcastles midfield.Prying Koopmeiners away from Turin will not come cheap, but Newcastle retain significant financial power following recent player sales. Juventus could be tempted to negotiate if a suitable offer arrives, allowing them to reinvest elsewhere in their squad.With Newcastles Premier League opener against Liverpool at St James Park fast approaching, the clubs leadership know they cannot afford to start the campaign short in midfield. Turning to Koopmeiners would be a strong response to their recent transfer setback.

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