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Free-agent running back Chris Carson, 26, agrees to return to Seattle Seahawks; RB was drafted by the team in 2017; Entering his fifth year, Carson has racked up over 4,000 scrimmage yards and 28 touchdowns for Seahawks

Free agent running back Chris Carson has agreed a two-year deal to stay with the Seattle Seahawks that could be worth up to $14.6m, according to multiple media reports.

The Seahawks added a third void year to the deal to help with managing the salary cap, ESPN and NFL.com reported.

After being selected with the 249th pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, just four picks from being ‘Mr Irrelevant’, Carson has emerged as a key contributor in the Seahawks’ backfield since early in the 2018 season.

In his 2017 rookie campaign, competing with Thomas Rawls and Eddie Lacy, Carson earned a significant role immediately, starting three games and putting up 267 yards from scrimmage.

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However, a broken ankle suffered in Week Four sent him to injured reserve for the rest of the year.

From the beginning of the 2018 season until the end of 2020, Carson has been Seattle’s starter, barring injury. He surpassed 1,000 rushing yards in 2018 and 2019, and last season he finished with nine touchdowns (five rushing, four receiving) in 12 games.

In fact, he had nine TDs in each of the last three seasons for 27 total in that span.

Carson was expected to sign elsewhere while 2018 first-round pick Rashaad Penny took over starting duties, but the veteran has held off 25-year-old Penny through his first three seasons, and Penny has missed plenty of time through injury so far in his career. He was involved in just three games in 2020.

Head coach Pete Carroll said in January of his offense heading into 2021: “We have to run the ball better. Not even run the ball better, run it more.”

Carson, 26, will be a big part of that as the team look to bounce back to the top-five rushing attack they had in 2018 and 2019 before falling to 12th last year.

Allen Robinson had been looming as one of the top free-agent wide receivers. He and the Bears now have until July 15 to agree a new long-term deal

The Chicago Bears placed the franchise tag on star receiver Allen Robinson on Tuesday, setting up a potentially messy situation with their most consistent playmaker on offense.

The sides have until July 15 to reach a multi-year deal otherwise Robinson will play next season for approximately $16.4m, assuming he signs the tag.

Robinson agreed to a three-year, $42m contract when he joined Chicago in 2018 after playing his first four seasons in Jacksonville.

He is coming off one of his best seasons yet having posted a career-high 102 catches for 1,250 yards, a haul second only to the 1,400 he had with the Jaguars in his 2015 Pro Bowl season.

Robinson has 3,151 yards and 17 touchdowns since joining the Bears and 5,999 yards for 39 touchdowns in his career, despite lacking the company of an elite quarterback.

“Hey, we love Allen Robinson,” general manager Ryan Pace said recently. “He’s a great player for us. We know that. And not just the player but the teammate, the professional that he is. Again, the franchise tag is an option for us.

“It doesn’t mean we’re necessarily going to use that. But we want to keep our good players, and Allen is a good player for us.”

Robinson has made it clear he is no fan of the franchise tag, which limits players’ ability to sign elsewhere.

Teams who use it must tender a one-year contract for a figure based on the average of the five highest salaries at the position or for 120 percent of the player’s prior years salary, whichever is higher.

Those teams also have the right to match any offer a franchise player receives. And if they decline, they get two first-round draft picks in return.

Robinson previously hinted he wasn’t a fan of the franchise tag (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

“That’s a tough situation man, because, for myself, I believe I’m deserving of a long-term deal,” he said recently on Cris Collinsworth’s podcast.

“Not only as a player, but as a person who is involved in the culture. You know, I’m a person who you know, I feel like I’ve helped build Chicago’s culture. I feel like wherever, whether that’s Chicago or somewhere else, wherever my next stop may be, I think I will be a contributing factor to that culture. Again, for myself, that’s a significant value.”

The Bears made the playoffs despite going 8-8 in the regular season for the second year in a row, then got knocked out in a convincing wild-card loss at New Orleans. Besides re-signing Robinson, they also need a starting quarterback.

Mitchell Trubisky is a free agent after the Bears decided not to exercise their fifth-year option for 2021 prior to last season. The former No 2 overall draft pick got benched in favour of Super Bowl 52 MVP Nick Foles – acquired from Jacksonville a year ago to push him – during a Week Three comeback win at Atlanta.

Trubisky returned to the lineup in late November and played better down the stretch. Foles, who struggled, is the only quarterback the Bears have under contract for next season.

Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski combine for two TDs to surpass Joe Montana and Jerry Rice for the most scores by a duo in playoff history (14) and Super Bowl history (five); Patrick Mahomes suffers first loss of more than 14 points in his 54 career starts in the NFL

Tom Brady secured a seventh Super Bowl ring, extending his record, as his Tampa Bay Buccaneers blew out the defending-champion Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 in Super Bowl LV on home soil at Raymond James Stadium.

Brady and Rob Gronkowski rolled back the years as the former New England Patriots pair connected for two first-half touchdowns, seeing them surpass Joe Montana and Jerry Rice for the most scores by a duo in playoff history (14) and Super Bowl history (five).

Brady capped a near-perfect half of football with a third scoring strike to Antonio Brown to see the Bucs up 21-6, while Leonard Fournette became the fourth Tampa Bay player not on their roster 12 months ago to find the endzone when he broke free for a 27-yard TD in the third quarter.

Brady, who completed 21 of 29 throws for 201 and three touchdowns, was named Super Bowl MVP for a record-breaking fifth time in his storied career.

Kansas City came back from a 21-10 fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the San Francisco 49ers in last year’s Super Bowl but, this time, trailing 31-9 heading into the final period, there was to be no stirring fightback – despite the best, improvised efforts from a banged-up Patrick Mahomes.

Mahomes was tormented throughout by a relentless Bucs pass rush which feasted on a makeshift Chiefs offensive line due to injury, while Tampa’s young defensive backs held up their end of the bargain.

Mahomes completed only 53 per cent of his passes – 26 of 49 for 270 yards – throwing two interceptions in the second half as he got increasingly desperate. The loss is Mahomes’ first by two scores in his 54 career starts in the NFL.

There were bad omens from the very start for Kansas City as they won the toss – ultimately extending the losing streak of those to do so to seven-straight Super Bowls. They were sluggish to start on offense, but so were the Bucs, with the two teams trading in punts on the first three series’, until a Harrison Butker field goal had the Chiefs up by three.

Brady, used to starting Super Bowls slowly, having scored a combined three first-quarter points across his nine previous appearances, finally found the endzone and his old friend Gronk with an eight-yard toss.

Tampa Bay benefitted from a couple of short punts from Tommy Townsend that helped the team add to their advantage. They were first stopped at the goal line when going for it on fourth-and-one but then, with the Chiefs backed up, Brady found Gronk again for a 17-yard score after starting their next drive in KC territory.

The Chiefs managed to add a further field goal to their score with one minute left in the first half, but that was too much time for a suddenly red-hot Tampa team to drive down the field for another touchdown, although they were helped by an increasingly ill-disciplined Kansas City team that were regularly being called for penalties.

The second-half was nothing more than a procession for the Buccaneers, as the Kansas City fightback never materialised, nor the Brady-Mahomes shootout we’d all hoped for.

Mahomes, clearly still troubled by the turf toe injury that had bothered him in the Divisional Round win over the Cleveland Browns – and taking increasingly heavy hits from the defense – tried manfully to improvise some special plays, including one gravity-defying heave early in the four quarter where he was practically mid-air, horizontal to the ground.

Sadly, the throw fell incomplete and Kansas City’s quest to become the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls since Brady’s New England Patriots in 2003-04 disappeared with it.

Tom Brady also paid tribute to New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prepare to take on the defending Super Bowl champions.

Tom Brady admits he will know when the time is right to hang up his cleats as he prepares to make his 10th career Super Bowl appearance at the age of 43 this Sunday.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback refrained from putting a specific timestamp on record, but did suggest he would consider playing beyond the age of 45 should he continue to maintain the performance levels that have put him in contention to clinch a remarkable seventh ring.

“I would definitely consider that,” Brady told the media on Monday. “It’s a physical sport and the perspective I have on that is that you never know when that moment is, just because it’s a contact sport and there’s a lot of training that goes into it and again it has to be 100 per cent commitment from myself to keep doing it.

“When to walk away. I think I’ll know when it’s time so I don’t know when that time will come but I think I’ll know. And I’ll understand that I gave everything I could to get to this game.

“You put a lot into it. I don’t think I can ever go at this game half-assed, I’ve got to put everything into it, if I don’t feel like I can do that anymore and don’t feel like I can commit to the team in the way team needs me then I probably think that’s time to walk away.”

4:17

Take a look at how the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made it to Super Bowl LV, where they will face the Kansas City Chiefs

The six-time champion referred to football as both his career and part of his daily life, detailing familiar sacrifices he has made in order to stay at the top in regards to abiding to a strict diet and giving up beloved time with his family.

Brady finished the 2020 season 401 of 610 passing for 4,633 yards, 40 touchdowns (his most since 2007) and 12 interceptions. He was asked as to whether he thought others could replicate the longevity of his success.

“Anything is possible. Not many people have played at my age,” Brady added. “I’m hoping that I can give some of that wisdom to some of the younger players who want to do the same type of thing. We’re always supposed to be better as we grow and evolve. It wasn’t about 40 touchdowns it was about, ‘Did I do the best I could do?’ That’s where my motivation comes from.

“It’s part of my daily life. It’s pretty well documented the approach I’ve taken over a period of time. How I work out, how I recover is very important to me.”

5:31

Take a look at how the Kansas City Chiefs made it to Super Bowl LV, where they will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Brady on Belichick

Brady waltzed over to test the waters of the NFC last offseason as he signed with the Bucs on a two-year deal worth $50m in guaranteed money following his departure from the New England Patriots after 20 years of dominance.

The 2020 campaign awaited as an eagerly-anticipated insight into the age-old debate over whether Brady could win without Bill Belichick and vice versa.

There was no juicy boasting from Brady on opening night, but instead an expression of his admiration for the iconic Patriots head coach.

4:15

Ahead of Super Bowl LV in Tampa, take a look at some of the this season’s best moments from the Kansas City Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Mike Evans

“I have a great relationship with him,” Brady continued. “I’m just incredibly grateful for what he’s meant in my life as a coach. He was everything you could ask for as a player. I loved my time (in New England). I had two incredible decades there.

“My football journey took me to a different place. I certainly could never have accomplished the thing in my career without his support and his teachings. Incredible coach and mentor for me. I’ve had a lot of those in my career, but obviously, he’s at the top of the list.”

Brady: Mahomes has elevated since 2018

On Sunday Brady meets a quarterback on course to put himself among the greats in Patrick Mahomes, who is vying to surpass Brady as the youngest quarterback to win two Super Bowls in NFL history.

The Chiefs star will become the first quarterback ever to start two Super Bowls at the age of 25 of younger, and can also overtake Brady as the youngest quarterback ever to win two Super Bowl MVPs.

Having sat behind Alex Smith in his rookie year, Mahomes made his mark as starter in 2018 as he earned league MVP after throwing for 5,097 yards and a league-high 50 touchdowns to 12 interceptions before the Chiefs were beaten by Brady and the Patriots in a thrilling AFC Championship game. He returned the following year to inspire Kansas City to victory over the San Francisco 49ers at Super Bowl LIV and is now back in Florida looking to make it two straight.

4:15

Ahead of Super Bowl LV in Tampa, take a look at some of the this season’s best moments from the Kansas City Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Mike Evans

“I think he’s only elevated from that point on (in 2018), that year he was MVP of the league and last year he came back and got off to a great start, dealt with some injuries last year, I know he separated his knee cap, but fought through that,” said Brady.

“Didn’t have the same statistical year as 2018 but goes on to win Super Bowl MVP. That’s an amazing accomplishment to win MVP in 2018, win Super Bowl in 2019 and then this year to have the kind of season he had, which is probably more similar to the year he had in 2018, I just think he’s going to keep improving.

“I don’t know him that well, I know quite a few people that do know him and they say great things about Pat and the times I’ve been around him I’ve enjoyed the time. He’s got a great maturity about him, he’s got great charisma.

“I think he’s got the ability to focus when the moments are the biggest and to deliver for his team. That’s the mark of any great athlete, coming through the clutch and I think he’s off to a great start in his career doing that.”

Join us on Sky Sports NFL and Main Event from 10pm on Sunday, February 7 for 90 minutes of Super Bowl LV build-up with Kirk Cousins, Dallas Clark and Cliff Avril joining Neil Reynolds and company; Sky One will broadcast the game from 11pm.

Watch Super Bowl LV between Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs live on Sky Sports NFL (407) on Sunday, February 7; coverage begins at 10pm, kick-off, 11.30pm

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will wear white jerseys for their upcoming ‘home’ game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV on Sunday, February 7.

The Bucs’ choice of jersey alters from the norm, as Tampa Bay traditionally wear red for games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

They have chosen to wear the same white jerseys they wore in defeating the New Orleans Saints on the road in the Divisional Round and the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field during their playoff run. Tom Brady is also 4-1 in Super Bowls when wearing white, compared to 2-2 in coloured jerseys.

The Chiefs will wear their red jerseys for a second-straight Super Bowl, having worn the same last year in defeating the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 in Super Bowl LIV.

4:54

Former Super Bowl-winning running Jay Ajayi described Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes as ‘the new GOAT’ after his team made it to back-to-back Super Bowls

Kansas City are one of only three teams, however, to have won the Super Bowl wearing a coloured jersey in the last 16 attempts, with teams in white coming out victorious on 13 occasions.

The other two exceptions were the Green Bay Packers (green) over the Pittsburgh Steelers (white) in 2010 and the Philadelphia Eagles (green) over the New England Patriots (white) in 2017.

The Buccaneers are designated as the home team against Kansas City for Super Bowl LV, the first team in NFL history to play a Super Bowl in their home stadium.

Watch Super Bowl LV on Sky Sports NFL

Super Bowl LV live on Sky Sports NFL

Follow all the action from Super Bowl LV with Sky Sports!

The game is available on Sky Sports NFL (407), Sky Sports Main Event (401) and also via Sky One (106). You can also watch on the move via Sky Go – online, on iPhone, iPad or selected Android smartphones – or via NOW TV, with the Sky Sports Day Pass.

Neil Reynolds will be leading the coverage, in the studio from London this year, along with Sky Sports‘ resident coach Jeff Reinebold and Super Bowl XX champ with the Chicago Bears, Shaun Gayle, and they’ll be joined remotely by Minnesota Vikings quarterback, and two-time Pro Bowler, Kirk Cousins throughout the game.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins joins Sky Sports’ Super Bowl LV coverage

Also standing by as part of the coverage, live from Raymond James Stadium itself, will be a pair of Super Bowl winners in Dallas Clark and Cliff Avril.

Clark was part of the Indianapolis Colts’ championship squad in the 2006 season, with the tight end catching four passes for 36 yards in their Super Bowl XLI win over the Chicago Bears. Avril was a member of the Seattle Seahawks ‘Legion of Boom’ defense in 2013 as they blew out the Denver Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII.

For 90 minutes of Super Bowl LIV build-up from Raymond James Stadium with Kirk Cousins, Dallas Clark and Cliff Avril, join us on Sky Sports NFL, Main Event and Sky One from 10pm on Sunday, February 7.