The Rams and Matthew Stafford have agreed to a restructured contract that keeps the quarterback in Los Angeles, the team announced Friday.

The adjusted contract came after the Rams gave Stafford's agent, Jimmy Sexton, permission to speak to other teams about his value in the quarterback market. After discussions with the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants about contract parameters, Stafford and the Rams were able to come to an agreement on a reworked contract.

With Stafford remaining with the Rams, the Giants are investigating all veteran quarterback options, including Aaron Rodgers, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter. The Raiders, meanwhile, are now to look into veteran options that include Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Sam Darnold, sources said.

ALLOW ME TO REINTRODUCE MYSELF pic.twitter.com/0uaAiGsWTa

Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) February 28, 2025

The Rams also reached a deal with one of Stafford's offensive linemen, as the team and offensive tackle Alaric Jackson reached a three-year, $57 million contract ($35M guaranteed) ahead of free agency, sources told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

Earlier in the week, Rams coach Sean McVay said on the "Fitz & Whit" podcast that the team's "first goal" was to have Stafford remain the starting quarterback but that the organization was trying to balance the short-term and long-term roster decisions that come from an adjusted contract.

"There is no dispute -- and let's not get it twisted in regards to anybody wanting him to be our quarterback," McVay said. "Now, there's layers to it. You have to be able to say, 'Hey, how do we continuously build? How do we support him? How do we make sure that he's getting what is his worth relative to those things?'"

Stafford, who signed a contract extension with the Rams in March 2022, had two seasons left on the extension with $4 million guaranteed in 2025 and no guaranteed money in 2026.

Last offseason, Stafford agreed to a reworked contract, an adjustment that took until the day the Rams reported to training camp. McVay said after the season that he hoped the team and Stafford would have clarity on the situation "sooner than later."

"I'm sure proud of the body of work and really proud of the way that he's played," McVay said during his end-of-season news conference. "The coolest thing you can say about Matthew is he shines the brightest on the biggest stages. When you look at the seven playoff games that he's played in since he's been a Ram, he certainly gives you a chance every time you step out on the field, and for that I'm sure appreciative."

After Stafford spent his first 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions, the Rams traded for him before the 2021 season. In his first season in Los Angeles, Stafford and the Rams won Super Bowl LVI.

In 16 games last season, Stafford completed 65.8% of his passes for 3,762 yards with 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Stafford is 191 yards shy of 60,000 career passing yards, a milestone nine other quarterbacks have reached.

LOS ANGELES -- Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards has been issued an automatic one-game suspension after picking up two technical fouls in Thursday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers, giving him 16 this season.

Edwards will sit out Friday's road game against the Utah Jazz, the league office announced.

Edwards had hoped that his 16th technical foul would be rescinded after the league office reviewed it.

"Whatever they're gonna do, bruh," Edwards told ESPN as he exited Crypto.com Arena briefly after the final buzzer. "I don't even know. They should [rescind the second technical]."

Edwards was ejected Thursday night after drawing his second technical foul of the night with 5:21 remaining in the third quarter.

As Edwards walked toward the tunnel, he tossed the ball into the crowd, drawing a delay-of-game warning.

Edwards and Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt were called for double technical fouls when they exchanged shoves at the end of the first quarter.

Edwards' second technical of the game occurred after he complained about a no-call when he felt he got fouled on a drive. He fell after Lakers guard Gabe Vincent's left foot clipped the back of Edwards' right leg; he griped at referee Brent Barnaky while sitting on the floor.

"[Edwards] was issued his second unsportsmanlike technical foul for directing profanity towards a game official," crew chief James Williams told a pool reporter.

Williams said Barnaky took into consideration that a second technical foul would result in an ejection before making the call against Edwards.

According to ESPN Research, Edwards is the first player to receive 16 technical fouls before March since DeMarcus Cousins in 2016-17. For every two additional technical fouls that Edwards receives during the regular season, he will be automatically suspended without pay for an additional game.

Edwards has been called for four technical fouls in four games since the All-Star break.

"He's got to be better," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. "He's had too many outbursts. I think a lot of them are deserved. They're going to miss some calls from time to time for sure, so he's got to be better. We've been talking to him about it, so it's on him."

The Philadelphia 76ers said Friday that star Joel Embiid will miss the remainder of the regular season as he and the team continue to look for a long-term solution for a troublesome left knee that has plagued his season.

Embiid had increased swelling in the knee following a loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night, and underwent a new round of imaging on Monday to determine why his knee has not responded well to the treatment protocols he has received this season. The 76ers and Embiid consulted with dozens of doctors and specialists to determine the best path forward for the 7-footer.

All season, Embiid has tried to play through pain in his knee, hoping it would improve as he got into better condition. He received numerous injections throughout the season, sources said, hoping to reduce the swelling and discomfort enough to enable him to play and be available for the 76ers.

Instead of improving as he played more, the pain and swelling have increased. And in recent weeks, that has shown in Embiid's and the team's performance. Nonetheless, there were also stretches of the season when teammates and coaches would see Embiid perform well in practices, then sit out of upcoming games, sources said. His daily status appeared fluid all season, and it led to frustration among all parties.

Embiid played just 39 games last season after tearing the meniscus in his knee. He had surgery in early February, came back in early April, was part of the 76ers' playoff run and then won a gold medal with the U.S. Olympic team over the summer. He acknowledged earlier this month that he didn't have enough time to recover after surgery.

The 76ers, who opened with championship hopes, have lost nine straight games and 11 of their past 12 contests, falling to 20-38 amid an injury-marred, disastrous season. Even when Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey all play, Philadelphia is just 7-8.

The 76ers' recent skid has been significant for the franchise in a potentially good way; Philadelphia has broken a tie with the Nets and has sole possession of the sixth-worst record in the NBA. The 76ers' first-round pick in this draft is top-six protected, otherwise it goes to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Throughout this star-crossed season, Embiid was never able to stay on the court for any sustained period of time. Embiid played in only 19 games, meaning he has missed 39 of the 76ers' 58 games so far en route to a 20-38 record.

In Saturday's loss, Embiid was slow to get up late in the third quarter when he lost the ball and hit the court. He was then benched in the fourth after he scored just 14 points in 31 minutes and missed all six of his 3-point attempts. In his final two games this season, the strain of the injury was noticeable as Embiid scored 15 or fewer points in consecutive contests for the first time since May 2021.

Embiid -- the 2022-23 NBA MVP -- was selected as an All-Star in each of his past seven seasons prior to this one. This season, the 30-year-old has had one of his worst outputs: his lowest scoring average since 2017-18 (23.8 points); his lowest rebounds per game (8.2) since his 2016-17 rookie year; and career lows in blocks per game (0.9), field goal shooting (44.8%), 3-point shooting (29.9%), effective field goal percentage (48.1%) and win shares (1.5).

The 76ers' 2024-25 regular season started with a league investigation into the player participation policy, which eventually resulted in a $100,000 fine for the organization's public comments from president Daryl Morey and coach Nick Nurse that did not properly reflect Embiid's health issues with his knee. The NBA also issued a three-game suspension to Embiid in early November for shoving a columnist in the locker room after a game in Philadelphia.

The situation around Embiid made it difficult for the Sixers to form any kind of identity, with George missing periods of time as well with groin, knee and finger injuries. George has needed treatment to navigate his injuries, with sources saying he received pain-killing injections for 4-5 consecutive games prior to the All-Star break.

AS THE MOST important offseason of his career came to an end, Darius Garland took a break, heading to New York for Fashion Week in early September. Cleveland Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman, a Brooklyn native, happened to be visiting his hometown and reached out to the guard to set up an informal meeting.

The Cavaliers' business during a busy summer -- headlined by the hiring of coach Kenny Atkinson and signing perennial All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell to a three-year, $150 million contract extension -- had been handled a couple of months earlier.

Despite much anticipation around the NBA, Altman never entertained the possibility of exploring Garland's value in the trade market. Nor did Garland ever indicate a desire to leave Cleveland, contrary to the rumors that swirled in league circles that he hoped to step out of Mitchell's shadow.

While the possibility of a Garland trade was a frequent discussion point in the weeks following the Cavaliers' second-round playoff exit, it didn't amount to much more than white noise to him.

"It crossed my mind. Like just literally crossed it for like five seconds," Garland told ESPN when asked if he ever considered leaving his lone NBA franchise. "But I really love this group, man. It's like a real brotherhood. We've been together for three years now, four years now, and I really want to win here.

"I think this group has the opportunity to do something special and bring a championship back to Cleveland. And that's what I want to do."

It's a reasonable goal for the Cavaliers, who have the NBA's best record at 48-10 entering Friday night's road game against the defending champion Boston Celtics (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). And in the wake of what Garland readily admits was a personally disappointing season -- when he dealt with the tragedy of his grandmother's death and the difficulty of returning from a broken jaw that had to be wired shut -- the guard has been a driving force in Cleveland's success, averaging 21.3 points and 6.7 assists during the best shooting season of his career, earning his second All-Star bid.

"He's looking like his old self again," said center Jarrett Allen, who is tethered to Garland in the Cavaliers' rotation.

Garland stressed his commitment to the Cavaliers when he got together with Altman a few weeks before training camp began. Altman emphasized that the franchise's belief never wavered in Garland, the original member of Cleveland's "Core Four" that also features big men Allen and Evan Mobley.

Altman was building on the message that Atkinson delivered when he visited Garland in Nashville, Tennessee, soon after accepting the job. It was a very intentional indication of Garland's importance by Atkinson, who had spent the previous three seasons as a Golden State Warriors assistant coach.

They discussed strategy, such as some of the ways the Warriors utilized Stephen Curry that Atkinson thought would benefit Garland. Despite the external discussion about whether the "Core Four" had fit issues, Atkinson made it apparent that he viewed Garland as a focal piece for years to come, along with the Cavaliers' other three foundational pieces.

"There's nothing wrong with reassurance," Rich Paul, the Klutch Sports CEO who represents Garland, told ESPN. "I thought Kenny was reading the room properly to make the effort to do so, because they have a great unit, and they have a group of guys that all like each other. On a professional team, that's not necessarily always the case."

FIVE YEARS EARLIER, Altman had selected Garland with the No. 5 pick in the 2019 draft despite having only 4 games of film to study from his freshman year at Vanderbilt, as a knee injury cut short his lone college season. It was a bet on the talent of a four-time state champion in high school who had wowed the Cavaliers' brass with his skill in a private workout.

That gamble on Garland paid off. He emerged as an All-Star as a 22-year-old in 2021-22, when he averaged 21.7 points and 8.6 assists as the young leader of a team that doubled its win total from the previous season, emboldening the front office to pull off a blockbuster trade for Mitchell in an attempt to expedite the process of building a contender in Cleveland. Garland put up similar numbers in his first campaign playing alongside Mitchell before his production dipped last season (18.0 PPG, 6.5 APG).

"He wanted to get back to an All-Star level and that was our job to help him get back there," Altman told ESPN. "It was our job to help him with the staff that was going to empower him again. But never once did Darius ever ask out, never once did Darius have an issue with Donovan, and never once did he have an issue with the organization.

"His issue was, like, how do I get back? I know I'm one of the best players in the league, one of the best guards in the league. How do I get back?"

Garland's summer started with the sour taste of a poor playoff performance in his mouth. He shot only 4-of-17 from the floor in an elimination loss to the Celtics.

Throughout the second-round series, Boston's big, physical perimeter defenders bullied Garland. His weight had dropped into the low 170s, about 20 pounds lower than normal, during the six weeks he spent sucking food through a straw while his jaw was wired shut after fracturing it in a Jan. 14 collision with Boston's Kristaps Porzingis.

"I'm getting beat up and getting pushed around out there," Garland said. "I didn't really feel like myself."

Garland's offseason priority was filling out his physique again, not finding an escape route.

"I wasn't really too focused on all the trade talks and a lot of people saying all the other stuff about me," Garland said. "Last year was just a tough year for myself, so I got away. I went out to L.A. just by myself almost damn near and just really locked in on my craft.

"It really helped me just mentally and physically to just get a clear mind, not try to worry about what all the other people are saying and Twitter fingers. Just trying to work on myself and try to get back to where I was before."

It's an approach that added to the immense respect for Garland inside the Cavaliers' locker room.

"In an era or day and age where so many kids push for different things to happen, to get a new start, he put his head down and grinded every single day this summer to come back and be prepared for what was coming forward," former Cavs forward Georges Niang, who was traded to the Atlanta Hawks at the deadline, told ESPN. "I'm happy for him because he deserves it. Because when he could have quit, he didn't. And he doubled down on his process and worked it through where a lot of kids his age could have easily been like, 'You know what? This isn't for me. I want to go somewhere else where it's easier.' And that's not the kind of kid that he is."

Mitchell could relate to how Garland felt after a disappointing playoff performance. He still winces when he recalls his second postseason in 2018-19, when he shot 32.1% from the floor while the Houston Rockets eliminated his Utah Jazz in five games. He vividly recalls being "locked up" by rugged Rockets defenders Eric Gordon, Luc Mbah a Moute and Trevor Ariza.

"I think when you're a young guy, you have to go through that season," Mitchell said. "Everybody, every person will tell you they've had that season in their career, and it changes you. It changes you for the better.

"I think everybody goes through that pivotal moment in their career. I don't want to say he failed. He just hasn't had as much success as he had really wanted in this situation. He fell short of that in his eyes, but also in everybody else's. So now you come back and respond in this way. I think it's perfect."

MANY SCOUTS, COACHES and executives with other teams suspected that a second-round exit was the ceiling for a Cleveland squad built around a pair of smallish, ball-dominant guards.

There was also rampant speculation that Garland wanted the opportunity to be the unquestioned primary ball handler, which would have required being traded after Mitchell agreed to the extension. But none of that was generated by Garland.

"Look, this is a young guy who could easily be like, 'Nah, this is my [team]. Who are you?'" Mitchell said. "And for him to be egoless and be able to take that step back, you enjoy playing with that. You want to build with that. You want to work with that on a day-to-day basis where it becomes selfless."

Mitchell's body paid a toll for carrying such a heavy offensive burden last season. A variety of injuries limited him to 55 games during the regular season, and Mitchell missed the Cavaliers' final two playoff games due to a calf strain.

Mitchell recognized that for the Cavaliers to become legitimate contenders, the 25-year-old Garland needed to return to his All-Star form. Mobley, 23, had to have a breakout campaign, which Mitchell and Garland agree has been the biggest catalyst to Cleveland's leap. Mitchell had to be willing to have the ball in his hands less often to empower his co-stars.

Mitchell leads the Cavaliers with 24.0 points per game, but that's his lowest scoring average since 2019-20, when he made the first of six straight All-Star appearances. His 31.1 minutes per game is a career low, which he hopes will help him have fresh legs for a deep playoff run.

"My numbers going down? Whatever. But that took time," Mitchell said, acknowledging that he would have struggled to accept a statistical dip earlier in his career.

Garland credits Mitchell's sacrifice for setting the cultural tone in Cleveland this season.

"I really tip my hat off to Don," Garland said. "He can be ultra-aggressive and go out there and get 30 whenever he wants to, but he really believes in us. That's why I told him when he first got here: 'Just trust us.'"

It's a trust that has been formed over the past few years and strengthened over the summer. Mitchell visited Garland in Los Angeles early in the offseason so they could work out together. Garland made a trip to Mitchell's summer base in Miami later for a couple more days of joint sessions. And they've studied film, often with Atkinson, to figure out how they could enhance each other's games instead of getting caught up in taking turns operating with the ball.

"It's one thing to be great talents, but it's another thing to be great dudes," Paul said. "When you got two ball-dominant players, they have to get a rhythm. In any relationship it takes the effort, no matter if it's personal or business. It takes the effort to stay consistently successful. Those two guys have come out, checked their egos at the door and it's really shown that, 'Hey, this thing could work now.'"

The Dominican Republic has chosen former St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Angels star Albert Pujols as its next manager for the 2026 World Baseball Classic and will make the announcement official sometime in March, sources told ESPN.

Pujols, a three-time MLB MVP, managed Leones del Escogido to the Dominican League and Caribbean Series titles this year in his managerial debut.

Nelson Cruz, the Dominican team's general manager, and a special adviser for MLB baseball operations, plans to make an official announcement before the end of March, sources said.

"We are in the middle of the process, but we will soon reveal who was chosen," Cruz told Rojas.

Pujols will take over for Rodney Linares, who is the Tampa Bay Rays' third base coach.

Pujols, who concluded an illustrious 22-season MLB career in 2022 with 703 home runs, was a member of the Dominican Republic team in the first edition of the World Baseball Classic in 2006. The Dominicans were eliminated by Cuba in the semifinal round.

The Dominican Republic won the WBC in 2013, finishing unbeaten at 8-0, under the management of Tony Peña, who again managed the team in 2017. Manny Acta was the manager in 2006, Felipe Alou in 2009 and Linares in 2023.

Before accepting the role of manager in his country's winter league, Pujols, 45, had worked in television and served as a special assistant to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and the Angels' management.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Yankees right-hander Luis Gil will have an MRI after the AL Rookie of the Year experienced shoulder tightness during a bullpen session Friday, manager Aaron Boone told reporters.

Boone also said right-hander JT Brubaker suffered three broken ribs when hit by a comebacker off the bat of Tampa Bay's Kameron Misner on Feb. 21.

Gil, 26, cut short his bullpen session early, Boone said. He was 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA in 29 starts last year, striking out 171 and walking a major league-high 77 in 151 2/3 innings.

"Feels like it's going to cost us some time," Boone told reporters.

He is projected to be part of a rotation that includes Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt.

Marcus Stroman would be likely to enter the rotation if an opening develops.

The 31-year-old Brubaker missed the last two big league seasons because of Tommy John surgery and an oblique injury. He made eight rehab appearances in the Yankees organization last year, and had a 2.70 ERA in 16 2/3 innings.

Gloucester-Hartpury know the challenge they are up against when they face West Country rivals Bristol Bears on Sunday for a place in the Premiership Women's Rugby (PWR) final.

The Bears were the last team to beat the two-time league champions, in a match that also took place on their own turf at Kingsholm in November - rebranded to Queensholm for this weekend's semi-final.

Since that 19-14 defeat Gloucester-Hartpury have not looked back, winning their past nine games to storm into the league play-offs.

"Everybody talks about what you learn from your losses and we learned a lot from our loss that day," head of women's rugby Sean Lynn told BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

"Everything seems to be going in the right steps [since]. Friday night against Harlequins was really positive. Sport's all about momentum and, hopefully, we can take that momentum from Friday into Sunday."

Gloucester-Hartpury are aiming to become the first team to win the PWR title three times consecutively.

They finished the regular season at the top of the table for a third straight campaign, with the loss to the Bears before Christmas only their sixth defeat in 54 league matches since the start of 2022-23 season.

The hunger for a third title is what has been driving the team, according to prop Maud Muir.

"We've experienced it, we know how to win, especially when our backs are against the wall, so I think having those two previous years is so important," the England international said.

"We know how to win and that's so important and that's what you need to do in knockout rugby, is win."

Maher is the most followed rugby union player in the world on social media, with more than 8m followers on Instagram and TikTok.

Since claiming Olympic bronze at the Paris Games last summer, her profile skyrocketed further after appearing on Dancing with the Stars and the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Demand was so high for tickets for the 28-year-old's first game for Bristol on 5 January - coincidentally also against Gloucester-Hartpury - that the club moved the game to Ashton Gate, where 9,240 fans set a new league attendance record.

Records have continued to fall. Harlequins and Trailfinders have also seen record attendances since Maher's arrival.

The PWR has seen a 68.5% increase in its social media followers, its YouTube subscribers have doubled and 11m accounts have been reached across its Instagram and TikTok pages.

"From a commercial point of view there's no doubt she's brought her superstar reach and power and influence with her, and she's not just brought it to Bristol or to PWR, I think she's brought it to the whole game," said Genevieve Shore, executive chair of the PWR.

"It's great to see her appearing on The One Show, or appearing on the podcasts, in the press, the rugby media want to write about her and that lifts the whole women's game and men's game."

Maher built a superstar-size online profile branded on empowering women and body positivity, and it is a message Bristol head coach Dave Ward believes she has spread to others in the team.

"I think it's brought a real good energy to the group, they're excited - she's loud and proud and I think again it just brings other people's personalities out and they can see if she's not afraid to be herself, then they don't have to be afraid to be themselves," Ward said.

"I think the more that people get to know the girls and the amazing women we've got in the programme the better it's going to be for the sport."

Maher's following has brought new fans to the league that will hopefully stay beyond the games she plays in.

"Hopefully the fans that have joined because of her [Maher] love what we do and they come back next year and we keep inspiring the next generation through our actions," Reed said.

Paul O'Connell says Ireland will not need to use the emotion of upcoming retirements as motivation when they face Six Nations title rivals France next weekend.

The highly anticipated Aviva Stadium encounter will double as a top-two showdown and Dublin farewell for Ireland greats Peter O'Mahony, Conor Murray and Cian Healy, who will retire from Test rugby at the end of the tournament.

But victory over Les Bleus on 8 March (14:15 GMT) will put Ireland in the driving seat with one game left and O'Connell says the squad can be trusted to focus on the job at hand.

"Boys don't rely on emotion massively," said the forwards coach, who played with the trio for Ireland as well as O'Mahony and Murray at Munster.

"It's the icing on the cake rather than the whole cake these days. I don't think we'll be using it for emotion or to help us win the game. It's more about marking their contribution.

"It hasn't always been easy for them. They've had to keep coming back and keep fighting for their place. Pete has been in and out in the last few years, same with Conor Murray, Cian has had to reinvent himself and figure out a way to stay part of the group."

O'Connell, who won the 2014 and 2015 Six Nations titles alongside the retiring trio, added: "As I said, how much they enjoy it adds to the whole enjoyment for all the players and coaches.

"They've had to work really hard so it's about marking their contribution rather than using it as any motivation for us.

"I just don't think we need it for this weekend, we're good when we know how important it is and how serious the occasion is, but we're good when we're nice and clear as well and calm under pressure."

Former Ireland and British and Irish Lions captain Brian O'Driscoll was also unimpressed.

"I just don't get it, I don't know why there isn't a cohesion," he told ITV Sport., external

"It is stodgy, it is kick tennis, it is quite negative and it is fine to eke out one-point victories, but when those games go against you - which they will at times - you are going to get huge negative feedback."

Scotland were ahead of England in a raft of attacking stats, such as metres made and line breaks, while France, who also lost by a point at Allianz Stadium in the previous round, butchered several try-scoring chances.

However, Genge insists England should be judged by results that leave them in touch with the top of the table with two games to play.

"It's like you're damned if you do, damned if you don't," he added.

"In the last 18 months, every time we've lost by a point we've been slandered, and on the weekend we win by a point and it's the same old story.

"Do you want to be part of a team that wins every single game by one point?

"Or would you rather be part of a team that loses every single week, 40 points to 39?

"I know what type of team I want to be."

England take on Italy next on Sunday, 9 March. They have beaten the Azzurri in all 31 of the teams' previous meetings, but the visitors were only three points better in Rome last year.

Genge says he and his team-mates are preparing for another tough encounter, despite Italy conceding 11 tries in a 73-24 defeat by France last time out.

"They beat Wales in Wales, they took a few scalps, so I don't think they're a team that people think is a guaranteed win anymore," said the Bristol prop.