INDIANAPOLIS -- Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri isn't sure he'll play again this season due to a left knee injury.

"I don't have an answer," Vinatieri said Thursday. "I don't know. We'll see how it feels tomorrow and the next day and the next day."

Vinatieri, the NFL's all-time leading scorer, showed up on the Colts' injury report Wednesday -- for the first time this season -- as a limited participant in practice because of the knee. He's awaiting the results of an MRI.

"Felt [pain] a little bit last week and through the game [against Tennessee on Sunday]" and then again Wednesday, Vinatieri said. "Just a little more sharp than what it was before."

Vinatieri said he is meeting with general manager Chris Ballard and the team's medical staff Thursday afternoon, and that should help provide clarity on whether he plays again this season or goes on injured reserve.

Despite working out 11 kickers at two different times this season, the Colts have stuck with Vinatieri even though he has made a career-low 68% of his field goal attempts. He has missed 14 kicks: eight field goals and six extra points. Two of Vinatieri's misses -- against the Chargers and Pittsburgh -- cost the Colts games. Three of his kicks have been blocked, including one that was returned 63 yards for a touchdown against Tennessee this past Sunday.

The Colts added insurance when they claimed kicker Chase McLaughlin off waivers Wednesday in case Vinatieri isn't able to play against Tampa Bay on Sunday. Vinatieri, 46, hasn't missed a game due to injury since the 2009 season, when he also had a knee injury.

"If I can go, I'll go," said Vinatieri, who didn't kick during practice Thursday.

McLaughlin has played in seven games this season, four with the Los Angeles Chargers and three with the San Francisco 49ers. He was 13-for-17 on field goals and made all 15 of his extra point attempts.

Vinatieri's current knee injury is similar to what he dealt with in training camp, when he was shut down for a period of time. It has bothered him sporadically throughout the worst season of his 24-year career.

"If you can be on the field, you do everything you can to be on the field," Vinatieri said.

If this season is Vinatieri's last, he'll finish his career with the record 2,671 points and 29 game-winning kicks. Three of Vinatieri's most memorable kicks came with the New England Patriots from 1996 to 2005. He hit a winner in blizzard-like conditions against Oakland in the 2001 playoffs and winning kicks in Super Bowls XXXVI and XXXVIII.

BEREA, Ohio -- As the 5-7 Cleveland Browns have all but tumbled out of the playoff picture, star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was vague about his future with the team beyond the 2019 season.

"No one knows what the future holds, like tomorrow," Beckham said when asked after Thursday's practice if he wants to be in Cleveland next year. "I couldn't tell you what's going to happen."

In his first season with the Browns, Beckham is having the worst statistical year of his career, excluding his injury-riddled 2017 season with the New York Giants.

Through 12 games, Beckham has only 57 catches, 805 receiving yards and just two touchdowns. He's also gone six consecutive games without topping 100 receiving yards for the first time in his career.

Beckham, who is under contract through 2023, didn't say that he wants to leave Cleveland on the heels of such a disappointing season, but he didn't exactly commit to the Browns past this year, either.

"I couldn't sit here and tell you whether I'm going to be here, want to be here, don't want to be here," Beckham said. "This is exactly where I'm at now, and I wouldn't rather be anywhere else."

Beckham referenced his close relationship with wide receiver teammate Jarvis Landry as a reason for "how special this could be." At the same time, however, he noted "everything will figure itself out" this offseason.

"I feel like I've been here before asking questions about the next team while I'm on a team already," said Beckham, whom the Browns acquired from the Giants in a blockbuster trade this past offseason. "That's something I just tune out for right now. Catch me in the offseason and see what happens."

Beckham's curious comments came after a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers dealt a devastating blow to the Browns' playoff chances.

Against the Steelers, Beckham had just three catches for 29 yards on only six targets.

"I don't think it's anything intentional," said Beckham, when asked why the Browns have struggled so frequently in getting him the ball, especially in critical moments. "I just think teams have played us a certain way. They've done some things to keep me from getting the ball. It's on everybody."

Beckham, however, did admit to being especially frustrated when he doesn't get the ball from quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Browns lose. "Along with any other position, you want to help, period," Beckham said. "You do get the ball, you don't get the ball ... ultimately what fixes everything is winning. When you don't win, that's when you can see problems ... tension. The answer is always in winning."

Browns coach Freddie Kitchens was asked Wednesday whether Beckham had expressed any frustration at his lack of targets or catches this season, especially in the red zone, where he's been targeted only seven times.

"Odell has not been a problem at all," Kitchens said. "Really, if it was not Odell, we would not be even asking these questions about that kind of outlier type stuff. Odell has been fine. He has been good. Helps everybody, helps the young guys. Baker and Odell have a good dialogue. Everything is good."

Beckham said that while he's "not having a good season," he's done well controlling his emotions, even when he's been frustrated like he was Sunday.

"It's definitely been a concerted effort from me just to keep myself in check, know that everyone is watching," Beckham said before referencing past antics with the Giants. "Know they want to see me mad or throw a helmet or punch a cooler or hug a kicking net. They want to see those things, and I've made that effort and decision and choice to not allow that."

Following the loss to Pittsburgh, the ESPN Football Power Index now gives Cleveland just a 5.2% chance of sneaking into the AFC's final wild-card spot. The Browns would also have to win out, including upsetting the AFC North Division-leading Baltimore Ravens, to have any hope at the playoffs.

Beckham said that if "it's possible that we can make the playoffs, I'm all in." But he also admitted that "there's been a lot of disappointment" and there are "areas we expected more of ourselves," as the star-studded Browns rank just 22nd in the NFL in offensive efficiency.

"What's the future hold? I don't know that," Beckham said. "I don't know the answers for that. Right now I'm just taking it a day at a time, trying to finish the season healthy, win the last four games and see what happens."

It's never too early to start thinking about the offseason quarterback carousel. All around the league, we're seeing teams whose ups and downs are being influenced by the decisions they made at quarterback. Ryan Tannehill is sparking the Titans into the AFC playoff race, while Jared Goff's precipitous decline has dropped the Rams to the outside of the postseason hunt in the NFC.

Let's run through the quarterbacks who have a big decision coming due this offseason, both starters and backups who could be on the move. Some are free agents-to-be. Others have their fifth-year option ahead. Some veterans are candidates to be released from their deals. There might be a lot of turnover, and the decisions we see could influence other choices those teams make for years to come.

One thing to keep in mind that I've discussed in the past is the idea that the quarterback middle class is a no man's land for organizations under the current collective bargaining agreement. With young quarterbacks locked into cheap contracts under the slotted draft system, teams can often find an approximation of a competent quarterback in the draft and use the money they've saved to supplement their roster elsewhere. Unless a team has a truly transcendent quarterback like a Russell Wilson, organizations that get caught out paying premium money for pretty good passers in an attempt to maintain continuity often end up regretting the deal.

I'll mention the members of the quarterback middle class as warranted. I'll also come up with a most likely outcome for each player in 2020 and throw in a logical landing spot or two if a QB has any chance of leaving town.

Let's start with a guy who is likely either returning to his current job or heading home for good:

Jump to a quarterback:
Brady | Bridgewater | Brees
Carr | Dalton | Flacco | Foles
Manning | Mariota | Newton
Prescott | Rivers | Rosen
Tannehill | Trubisky | Winston

Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

This should be a simple one. While Brees isn't quite playing up to the MVP-caliber form he showed during the first 12 weeks of the 2018 season, the 40-year-old is doing just fine. Despite missing five weeks with a thumb injury, Brees has shown little rust upon his return and ranks in the top 10 in both passer rating and Total QBR. He'll be at the helm in the Saints' most important game of the regular season on Sunday, when they'll take on the 49ers in a battle for the top seed in the NFC.

While Brees technically has two years remaining on his contract, those seasons are strictly for cap purposes. His deal automatically voids on March 18, and the Saints can't franchise-tag him to keep him around. That sort of flexibility would give Brees the ability to go wherever he wants, but I can't envision a scenario where he goes to play anywhere else. It seems likely that he would walk off into the sunset if the Saints win the Super Bowl, but if they don't, Brees is still playing well enough to justify another year of this fruitful relationship.

Most likely 2020 status: Saints starter. The Saints have an 88.7% chance of missing out on their second Super Bowl of the Brees era, which would likely bring Brees back for one more shot at glory next year.

Teddy Bridgewater, New Orleans Saints

Bridgewater's future obviously depends upon what happens with Brees. Like the starter, Bridgewater's contract will void after the 2019 season, making the Louisville product a free agent. Bridgewater went 5-0 as the starter while Brees was injured, so the Saints would almost surely turn to him as their new starter if Brees retires.

If Brees returns to the team, though, Bridgewater's future suddenly becomes cloudier. The 27-year-old was a free agent last season, but the only starting option he was presented on the free-agent market last spring was in Miami. He understandably preferred a chance to prove his worth with the Saints, and after posting a passer rating of 103.7 across his five starts, he did just that. He should have a larger market this offseason.

Given that the most likely outcome for the Saints is that they don't win the Super Bowl, my suspicion is that Bridgewater would leave if Brees returns. The Saints were lucky that more teams didn't pursue him as a starter last offseason, and as a quarterback with a serious knee injury in his past who is yet to make starter money in the NFL, this could be his best chance at that sort of contract. At the very least, Bridgewater will likely test the waters of free agency.

Most likely 2020 status: Free agent. It's difficult to find the ideal fit for Bridgewater, as teams like the Broncos, Buccaneers and Jaguars typically prefer quarterbacks with prototypical size and arm strength. He worked under Panthers offensive coordinator Norv Turner when they were both with the Vikings, and if Carolina moved on from Cam Newton, he could slide into the starting role for the Panthers. Even given his success, it's not impossible to imagine a scenario where Bridgewater sees his options and chooses to stick with the Saints as the starter-in-waiting behind Brees.

Tom Brady, New England Patriots

I wrote all about Brady's difficult last two months earlier this week. To summate, while he has slipped some from his 2017 MVP year, the problems with the Patriots' offense are more about the players around Brady than they are with the future Hall of Famer. He famously wants to play until he's 45, and at 42, he is still playing well enough to justify a starting role.

Is his future away from New England? It's tough to imagine Brady wearing another jersey, but that does seem like more of a possibility than ever before. Brady's contract voids on March 17, leaving the Patriots with $13.5 million in dead money and freeing him up to join any other team he desires. The Patriots also can't use the franchise tag on Brady, who put his mansion in the Boston suburbs on the market this summer. The house hasn't sold yet, but there's less tying him to the Patriots after this season than ever before.

Having said all that, both sides need each other. Brady surely wants to finish up his career playing for a Super Bowl contender, and unless Brees retires, none of the league's leading teams are going to be in the market for a new starting quarterback. Likewise, do you think a 67-year-old Bill Belichick wants to try to keep winning Super Bowls with a quarterback room consisting of Jarrett Stidham and Cody Kessler? The Pats would be in line to attract their pick of veteran free agents to take Brady's place, but they would almost certainly rather have Brady than anybody else here. Unless something goes horribly wrong or Brady decides to move on from football earlier than expected, I think he comes back on a two-year deal.

Most likely 2020 status: Patriots starter. The juiciest scenario, of course, is that the 49ers fan who grew up in Northern California returns home and takes over the 49ers in some sort of reverse-Montana scenario. The 49ers can move on from Jimmy Garoppolo after the year without much dead money, and if Brady were to leave Foxborough, that would be a pretty obvious opening for Garoppolo to fill. There's approximately a 0.000000001% chance of this happening, but it's fun to think about.

Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago Bears

While Trubisky's season has unquestionably been a disappointment to both the Bears and their fans, the North Carolina product was good enough in the second half on Thanksgiving Day to lead a comeback victory over David Blough and the Lions. Trubisky has posted a passer rating of 124.4 and thrown six touchdowns against one interception in two games against Detroit and its 26th-ranked pass defense by DVOA. Against the rest of the NFL? He has thrown seven touchdown passes against six picks, and both his passer rating (76.3) and Total QBR (35.3) rank last among qualifying starters.

You can make the case that it's too early to give up on the No. 2 pick in the 2017 draft. If you treat his rookie season with Dowell Loggains as a hazard write-off, Trubisky has thrown only 795 passes in a functional NFL offense under coach Matt Nagy. He was also drafted after just one season as the full-time starter at UNC, so he's still inexperienced. General manager Ryan Pace famously traded up to draft Trubisky when he could have stayed put and selected either Patrick Mahomes or Deshaun Watson; it wouldn't be a surprise if Pace still thought Trubisky had superstar upside.

I'm not sure the Bears will find many people outside the organization who think Trubisky possesses that upside. It's not clear where his floor is, either. Even last season, a reasonable chunk of his value was generated by his scrambling, which hasn't carried over to 2019. After generating 320 yards and 16 first downs as a scrambler last season, Trubisky has just 60 yards and four first downs scrambling in 2019. If he had continued to exhibit that sort of ability to pick up first downs as a runner, it would have raised his floor and given him the opportunity to really turn into an above-average quarterback with any sort of growth as a passer.

Instead, he has stopped running, and his accuracy has taken a step backward. Even if the organization thinks it's too early to move on from Trubisky, it would be criminal with this sort of defense to run things back in 2020 with Trubisky and Chase Daniel as the only quarterback options. Trubisky has just over $4.4 million in guaranteed money left on his deal in 2020, but there's unlikely to be much of a trade market for him. Chicago will have to weigh the risks of picking up Trubisky's fifth-year option for 2021, but it appears likely that the 25-year-old will be in a legitimate competition for the starting job next summer.

Most likely 2020 status: Battling for the Bears job. More on who he might compete with in a minute.

Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans

Tannehill's success with the Titans means the former Dolphins first-round pick might have a future in Tennessee. Since he took over as the full-time starter in Week 7, the only quarterback in the NFL who has a better passer rating than Tannehill's 117.3 mark is Lamar Jackson. QBR isn't quite as impressed, with Tannehill ranking 18th, but even league-average play from him represents a bargain for a Titans team paying him just $2 million plus incentives.

The concerns with Tannehill aren't about his level of play, given that he was generally competent for most of his time in Miami. Injuries were the major concern as time went on, including ACL tears that cost him a playoff run in 2016 and all of the 2017 season. Last season, a shoulder ailment caused the Texas A&M product to miss five games. He has been healthy during his six-game run as the starter, but he is also taking sacks on 12% of his dropbacks after posting an 11.3% sack rate with the Dolphins in 2018.

Ceiling was the other question with Tannehill, but this six-game stint raises questions about whether we should raise our expectations for what he can offer. He has produced 9.8 adjusted yards per attempt (AY/A) over the past six starts, by far the best mark of his career. He was at 8.5 AY/A over a six-game stretch last season that ended with the famous last-second laterals play to beat the Patriots. With the Dolphins positioned for a possible playoff run at 7-6, however, they lost their final three games by a combined 59 points, as Tannehill threw for just 401 yards across 77 attempts while averaging 3.7 AY/A.

If Tannehill collapses similarly over the remainder of the season or suffers an injury that impacts his chances of contributing in 2020, the Titans will likely move on and start fresh at quarterback this offseason. If he keeps this up, the Titans might very well sign him to a long-term deal as their starter with two years of guaranteed money, especially given that they have no obvious path to finding a new option if they pick in the middle of the first round in the 2020 draft.

The most plausible option, though, is that Tannehill falls somewhere between the level of play he exhibited with the Dolphins and what he has shown for the Titans this season. At that rate, the Titans would likely want to keep him around without making a meaningful multiyear commitment, either by slapping him with the franchise tag or by signing him to a multiyear deal with an easy out after one season. The Tannehill who was competent for the Dolphins is the exact sort of quarterback who would be a reasonable value on a rookie deal and likely overpaid on any sort of meaningful veteran extension. The guy we've seen in Tennessee, at least so far, might be worthy of the latter.

Most likely 2020 status: Franchise tag. Tennessee would be in the market for a backup behind Tannehill, given that they'll likely move on from ...

Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans

In a make-or-break year for the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 draft, Mariota collapsed. The former Oregon star continued to mix flashes of impressive play with conservative decision-making and bucketloads of sacks, as he was taken down on a staggering 13.6% of dropbacks before being benched for Tannehill. With Tannehill leading the Titans to five wins in his first six starts, Mariota is clearly on the outs.

It would likely take an injury to Tannehill and a deep playoff run from Mariota to get the Titans to bring back their former starter for another season. Given that both the coach and general manager who initially drafted Mariota are long gone in Tennessee, there's nothing tying the organization to Mariota. With his fifth-year option expiring at the end of the season, Mariota's future almost surely lies elsewhere.

Most likely 2020 status: Unrestricted free agent. The obvious landing spot for Mariota is with the Bears -- former Oregon coach Mark Helfrich is the offensive coordinator in Chicago. The Bears could decide to move on from Helfrich after a frustrating season, but if they don't, Mariota should have a great sense of what they are trying to do on offense and should be just good enough to push Trubisky without actually threatening to immediately steal his job.

Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Mariota's 2015 classmate has looked, well, like Jameis Winston this season. Winston started by throwing two pick-sixes against the 49ers, followed that with a four-game stretch with just two picks and a passer rating of 111.6, and promptly threw 15 interceptions over his next six games. He has 20 interceptions and 12 fumbles, and even given that the Bucs have run the second-most offensive plays in all of football, those numbers are unreal for a 12-game run. The only other player this season to top 22 combined fumbles and interceptions is Daniel Jones at 26.

Of course, Jones is a rookie. Winston too often looks like one. It's difficult to find signs that he is growing from week to week, let alone from season to season. He is blessed with two of the league's best wide receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, although tight end O.J. Howard has buried himself in Bruce Arians' doghouse and rented out a room to Ronald Jones.

To be fair, the degree of difficulty is higher for Winston than it is for most quarterbacks. His average third-down pass attempt comes with 8.3 yards to go, one of the league's highest marks. The expected completion percentage on his passes per NFL Next Gen Stats is a league-low 60.4%, which is a product of both his questionable decision-making and Arians' desire to throw downfield. The average Winston pass travels 9.6 yards in the air, a figure topped by only Matthew Stafford this season.

If you're the Buccaneers, you can't consider Winston's future while projecting him to improve dramatically long-term. After nearly 2,400 NFL passes, the quarterback you see on Sundays is the guy whom the Bucs should expect going forward. He is going to combine average overall quarterback play with wild swings from week to week and the third-worst era-adjusted interception rate for any quarterback since the merger. Expecting anything else, at this point, is nothing more than hope.

That archetype deserves a roster spot as a high-end backup or low-end starter, though there will be teams that shy away from Winston given the sexual assault allegations in his past. It's also the type of quarterback who shouldn't inspire any sort of long-term commitment. With Arians tabling the Winston discussion until the end of the season, there are certainly questions about whether Winston is going to have this job much longer.

At the same time, though, there just aren't many quarterbacks who seem like great fits for Arians' downfield passing attack likely to hit the market. The Bucs could wait to see whether they find that sort of quarterback in the draft, but the 67-year-old Arians didn't join Tampa to start a rebuild, and the Bucs would run the risk of ending up without a veteran starter or a quarterback of the future. Given the tepid market Winston would likely see if he did hit free agency, my guess is that the two sides come to terms on a multiyear deal to keep him around for 2020 with no guaranteed money afterward.

Most likely 2020 status: Bucs starter. If Cam Newton were to become available, the Bucs might rightfully prefer him and his pre-surgery upside in a downfield passing attack to Winston's inconsistency. Identifying possible Winston suitors is virtually impossible given that there are teams that will rule him out because of his off-field history.

Eli Manning, New York Giants

With Manning "very likely" to make an unexpected return to the starting lineup on Monday night after rookie Daniel Jones suffered a high ankle sprain, Giants fans should get one more look at their longtime starter before his contract expires this offseason. While Jones has certainly had his highs and lows, the Giants realistically had no choice in benching Manning, who had been a sitting duck on a constantly trailing team.

There was little on tape during Manning's two-game stint to start the season that suggested he had much left in the tank. If he returns and shows more life, the 38-year-old could theoretically attract some interest from Super Bowl-caliber teams looking for a backup quarterback, with the Packers or a Saints team without Teddy Bridgewater in 2020 coming to mind. The long-rumored reunion between Manning and Tom Coughlin in Jacksonville doesn't make sense given the guarantees owed Nick Foles and the presence of Gardner Minshew.

With more than $250 million in career earnings and two Super Bowl rings, though, Manning doesn't have much left to play for. Unless he wants to return to the Giants as Jones' backup, it seems likely he will round out 2019 and finish his playing days as a one-team quarterback.

Most likely 2020 status: Retired

Josh Rosen, Miami Dolphins

Rosen might be the unluckiest quarterback in the league, as he has now made 16 starts behind a pair of horrific offensive lines in Arizona and Miami, but the UCLA product has done little to suggest he deserves a long look as an NFL starter. After averaging just 4.8 AY/A during his lone season in the desert, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2018 draft averaged 4.0 AY/A and posted a passer rating of 61 in his three starts with the Dolphins this season. Just one week after being named the team's full-time starter, Rosen was benched for Ryan Fitzpatrick, who has subsequently led the Dolphins to three wins in seven tries.

I liked Miami's decision to trade for Rosen at the time, but given how quickly the team has soured on the 22-year-old, it's tough to see much of a future for him in South Florida. Assuming that the Dolphins take a quarterback in the first round of the 2020 draft -- they have three picks in Round 1 -- Rosen would likely become late-round trade bait for a team looking to grab a developmental quarterback with a manageable contract.

Most likely 2020 status: Trade bait. I keep coming back to the idea that the Patriots love to buy low on highly drafted young players who struggle early in their careers and have an even bigger need to develop quarterback prospects as Brady gets older. Rosen would likely be a third-string option behind Jarrett Stidham if the Pats struck a deal, although the Dolphins could prefer to send Rosen out of the division, just in case.

Joe Flacco, Denver Broncos

If you want to understand how destructive Flacco's six-year, $120.6 million deal was when things were said and done, consider that the Ravens had to restructure it three years in by handing him an extension, only for the Broncos to restructure it again to create more short-term cap space upon trading for the quarterback. Denver would eat $13.7 million in dead money by releasing Flacco this spring, although that would still result in just over $10 million in cap savings and a little over $20 million in cash saved.

The Broncos should have plenty of cap space, but it does seem that they'll end Flacco's tenure in the Rocky Mountains after eight starts. The former Super Bowl MVP was uninspiring during his time there, taking sacks behind an oft-frustrating offensive line at a 9% clip.

Flacco's calling card was once his arm strength, but while he still seems capable of unleashing downfield howitzers, he didn't scare teams throwing downfield in Denver. His average pass traveled just 6.3 yards in the air, which ranked 31st in the NFL. It's OK if you're taking what the defense gives you and moving the chains, but nearly 57% of his dropbacks failed to increase the Broncos' expected points, the sixth-worst rate in football.

And while Flacco made it into the eighth year of his career before missing a game via injury, the 34-year-old's body is beginning to betray him. After tearing an ACL in 2015, he went down with a hip injury last season and subsequently lost his job to Lamar Jackson. Now, Flacco is on injured reserve with a herniated disk in his neck.

Much as is the case with Manning, it's easier to see the case for Flacco retiring than it is to see him returning. He has made more than $166 million during his time in the NFL, has a Super Bowl ring and would likely be looking at a one-year deal for backup money. He can get that opportunity if he wants, but given the injuries, I wonder whether he'll decide to hang up his cleats instead.

Most likely 2020 status: Retired. Nobody gets excited about Flacco, but if he wants to keep going, teams like the Eagles and Packers could do worse than adding him as their backup.

Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals

Restored to the starting lineup in Week 13 after Ryan Finley looked overmatched, Dalton took one step toward saving his job for 2020 by beating the Jets for Cincinnati's first win of the season. The 1-11 Bengals are still prohibitive favorites to finish with the top pick in next year's draft, with ESPN's Football Power Index giving them a 64.2% chance of grabbing the No. 1 selection, but they still have a game against the Dolphins ahead.

If the Bengals have the first pick in the draft, it could be a foregone conclusion that they'll draft LSU quarterback Joe Burrow. They could retain Dalton for the final year of his deal at $17.5 million and use him as a bridge to Burrow, but this isn't the sort of franchise to pass up an opportunity at saving that sort of money. If Cincinnati doesn't finish with the first pick and ends up in a position to draft Ohio State pass-rusher Chase Young, it might run things back with Dalton in 2020 behind a much healthier offensive line.

Assuming the Bengals do end up with Burrow, Dalton would be one of the most attractive options on the market. His ability to oscillate around league average makes him appealing to teams that want some stability out of a short-term starter, and the upside he showed when he had a great offensive line and healthy weapons in 2015 will always hint that he could do more in the right place. The former TCU product should have a more robust market than people think.

Most likely 2020 status: Unrestricted free agent. I wonder if Dalton is destined to link up with wherever Jay Gruden lands if the former Bengals offensive coordinator gets a job in the NFL this upcoming season. If Jay joins his brother Jon with the Raiders, Dalton could take over for Derek Carr, though the Raiders could be destined to use the extra picks they got from the Bears to try to trade up for a quarterback in the first round of the 2020 draft. If that doesn't work out, Dalton would be a likely short-term replacement for teams like the Chargers and Panthers if they make a change at quarterback.

Nick Foles, Jacksonville Jaguars

This looks like a disaster for Jacksonville. Desperate to upgrade on Blake Bortles after a disastrous 2018, the Jags were the only team in the market with a starting job to offer to the former Super Bowl MVP. It didn't stop them from giving Foles a four-year, $88 million contract.

Now, after just 117 pass attempts in a Jaguars uniform, Foles has been benched by coach Doug Marrone for rookie sixth-rounder Gardner Minshew. Marrone was likely right in suggesting that Minshew's athleticism made him more likely to thrive behind a flailing offensive line, but that in itself should be telling. If you can't trust that your free-agent quarterback is mobile or experienced enough to work amid steady pass pressure, he's probably not worth what you're paying him.

While I think Foles will eventually get another shot at this job, the Jaguars find themselves in a thorny situation. Foles' $15.1 million base salary in 2020 is fully guaranteed. If he is on the roster five days after the start of free agency, a $5 million roster bonus in 2021 becomes guaranteed. Even if he were to never take another snap in a Jaguars uniform, Jacksonville owes him more than $20 million in additional cash over the next two seasons.

Normally, I would suggest that the Jaguars should consider eating the $15.1 million and designating Foles as a post-June 1 release next year to save the $5 million, but unless the NFL and the NFLPA come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement, there will be no post-June 1 releases allowed in the 2020 league year. The Jags would have to cut him and eat all of the dead money in 2020, which would amount to $33.9 million. Anything is possible after the Steelers ate $21.1 million in dead money for Antonio Brown this spring, but I don't think the Jags are about to top the previous dead money record by nearly 50%.

One other solution would be to get creative. When the Texans were saddled with a $16 million base salary for a quarterback, Brock Osweiler, they didn't want, they chose to trade their deposed quarterback to the Browns and send along draft capital to free up the money. The Browns essentially spent $16 million to buy Houston's second-round pick. While I don't love that price tag, Cleveland eventually used the pick it got from the Osweiler deal on Nick Chubb.

While the Jags might be able to convince a tanking team like the Dolphins to absorb Foles' contract in exchange for a second-round pick, a more likely scenario would be to restructure his contract. They could convert most of that $15.1 million salary into a roster bonus, pay the bonus at the start of 2020 and then trade Foles to a team that would use the former Eagles cult hero as a backup. If Foles were willing to reduce his unguaranteed base salary in 2021, he could end up costing his new team somewhere around $10 million over two years, which is likely right around his market value as a high-end backup. The Jags would probably need to send a midround pick to save the $10 million they would unload as part of the Foles deal, although Foles would have more trade value than Osweiler did then.

Most likely 2020 status: Trade bait. Foles has enjoyed success playing under Chip Kelly, Andy Reid and Doug Pederson. He has been a mess everywhere else. I wonder if the Jags could find a way to eat enough money and make a deal work with the Eagles. A more plausible fit would be with the Chiefs, who already had to experience life without Patrick Mahomes for a couple of weeks. Colts coach Frank Reich also had success coaching Foles under Pederson in Philadelphia, but Indy already has Jacoby Brissett and Brian Hoyer under contract for 2020.

Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders

While Carr might be confident enough about his chances of suiting up for the Raiders next year to buy a house in Las Vegas, the 28-year-old has to realize his future is up in the air. He has no guaranteed money left in his deal after this season. The Raiders would owe only $5 million in dead money on their cap if they moved on from Carr. The only quarterback to lead a Jon Gruden team in passing three consecutive seasons is Rich Gannon.

What looked like a resurgent season from Carr has also gone horribly south after the past two weeks. After starting the year 6-4, the Raiders have lost to the Chiefs and Jets by a combined score of 74-12. Carr has done nothing in those games, racking up a total of 349 yards while posting a passer rating of 62.7 and throwing more touchdowns to defenders (two) than Oakland pass-catchers (one). Two bad games don't wash away the prior 10 -- in which Carr was sixth in passer rating and 11th in Total QBR -- but they're a reminder of just how low Carr's floor can be.

Carr might be the quintessential example of the unfortunate middle class under the new CBA. Is he good enough to win football games for your team? Sure. Is he likely to be better than a quarterback off the street or one you can draft in the middle rounds? Probably. Would you rather pay Carr $19 million for 2020 or go after a quarterback in the draft and pay him a quarter of that sum in the hopes of developing someone with a higher ceiling? Carr is still most likely to be on the Raiders' roster come 2020, but he'll likely have more in the way of meaningful competition for his starting job.

Most likely 2020 status: Battling for the Raiders job. I mentioned that Oakland could trade up in the draft for a quarterback, which would leave Carr in a lame-duck role or lead to his release. Just $2.9 million of his salary becomes guaranteed in February, which is what the Raiders would then eat if they release him after the draft. With former Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie in Miami, I wonder if he would try to push Carr to the Dolphins if Miami plans on using its top pick on Ohio State defensive end Chase Young as opposed to one of the quarterbacks.

Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers

No quarterback is dealing with more uncertainty than the 2015 NFL MVP, who has decided to undergo surgery on the foot injury that compromised his 2019 campaign. Newton should be able to return from the injury well before the 2020 season begins, but by the time he suits up for his next game, it will be nearly two years since the last time we saw a healthy Newton shredding opposing defenses.

Part of what makes him so effective, of course, is his ability to pick up first downs with his 6-foot-5, 245-pound frame. After undergoing both foot and shoulder surgeries, it's unclear whether the same quarterback will be waiting on the field come 2020. With Newton entering the final year of his deal at a base salary of $18.6 million, the Panthers will be making an expensive bet on his health if they decide to keep him around.

Of course, the decision on Newton's future will also be preceded and determined by the efforts to find the Panthers a new coach. Owner David Tepper admitted that he fired Ron Rivera before the end of the season to beat other teams to the hiring jump. Part of that process, unquestionably, will involve Newton and his future. The Panthers and their new coach will likely have to make a decision about their 2020 quarterback before Newton has stepped back onto a football field at anything close to 100%.

If I'm forced to make a pick here, I could see the Panthers bringing back Newton and playing out the final year of his contract. With Kyle Allen struggling and rookie third-round pick Will Grier yet to suit up, there's no obvious quarterback of the future on the roster. The Panthers project to pick 12th and don't have any extra selections in April's draft, which would leave them just outside of the typical range where teams find franchise quarterbacks in the draft. And unlike some of the middle-class quarterbacks on this list, we know Newton's upside is literally as one of the best players in football. It's just a question of how likely he is to realize that upside after the injuries.

Most likely 2020 status: Panthers starter. Newton would have no shortage of suitors if he hit free agency, although those would most likely be one-year pacts.

Philip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers

In what might politely be considered a case of the ol' Barnwell Jinx, Rivers was humming along with another totally solid campaign when I suggested that he was the best quarterback to never win a Super Bowl. The Chargers were 4-5 coming off a comfortable win over the Packers, and Rivers was completing two-thirds of his passes and had nearly twice as many touchdown passes (12) as interceptions (seven).

Oops. Since then, the Chargers have dropped three straight games, and Rivers has completed 58% of his throws and given away eight picks while posting a passer rating of 66.3. The first two losses ended with him throwing the ball to the other team on a would-be game-winning drive; the third saw him get the Chargers down the field for a game-tying field goal, only for the Broncos to pick up a 37-yard pass interference penalty on their only play from scrimmage on the subsequent drive and hit a 53-yard field goal to win the game.

Back-to-back nightmare games against the Raiders and Chiefs have led to serious discussions about whether Rivers has lost it. I'm not sure the evidence qualifies given that he made plenty of good throws in those games and had his fair share of multigame, multi-interception streaks early in his career, but there are more reasons to be concerned about him than there were before. The other members of his famous 2004 class are either on their way out (Eli Manning) or done for the year (Ben Roethlisberger).

With Rivers an unrestricted free agent after the season, the Chargers could move on without offering their longtime starter a new contract. Tyrod Taylor is under contract for 2020 and would give them a short-term starter while they find their quarterback of the future. Fifth-rounder Easton Stick is the other quarterback on the roster, and Los Angeles doesn't like trading draft picks and likely won't pick high enough to draft its quarterback of the future in the first round. If the Chargers were going to pursue a new starter besides Taylor, it would likely be from among the quarterbacks I've mentioned here.

If Rivers doesn't play well enough to earn serious consideration to return to the Chargers, I think he'll call it a day. If he returns to form and plays solid football over the final month of the season, though, my suspicion is that he and the team would agree on a new contract, even if it's just a one-year pact. They have a championship-caliber roster if they can get their luck from 2018 back onboard, and Rivers has exhibited little desire to uproot his large family from San Diego. There's another option that comes to mind for me elsewhere, but a short-term extension makes sense for both parties.

Most likely 2020 status: Chargers starter. If Newton left Carolina, though, the Panthers could pursue Rivers as a short-term option. Former Chargers coach Norv Turner is installed as their offensive coordinator, and Rivers went to NC State.

Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

Let's end with an easy one. While the Cowboys have publicly flirted with the idea of insisting that their franchise quarterback will need to take less than market value to stay with the organization, Prescott holds most of the leverage here.

The Cowboys can use both the franchise and transition tags this offseason to keep both Prescott and wide receiver Amari Cooper, also a free agent, in the fold, but that would just push off an eventual reckoning for one more season. It's highly unlikely that the 26-year-old Prescott actually reaches the market. The only question is whether Dallas is able to sign Prescott to an extension before Patrick Mahomes does his deal with the Chiefs.

Most likely 2020 status: Cowboys starter.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James took to social media on Thursday to shrug off criticism made by Utah Jazz television announcers and defend his actions for coming onto the court in socks to cheer his teammates in the closing minutes of Wednesday night's blowout win.

James, who had already exited the game and had given his shoes to kids in the stands, came off the bench onto the corner of the court after teammate Kyle Kuzma twice blocked shot attempts in the paint by Utah's Tony Bradley with 2:35 remaining and the Lakers leading 116-96.

James' excitement amped up on the second block, with him hopping up and down on the baseline while waving a towel, moving toward the basket as the Lakers garnered the ball and headed the other way.

The Jazz announcers took offense to James' actions, saying "that's some disrespect right there."

On Thursday, James chalked up the criticism to "negativity, bad energy, hate" in an Instagram post.

"Imagine doing your job at the highest level to where you're not needed anymore, giving your shoes to a lil girl and boy who you inspire and hoped you made proud that night, then cheering on your teammates cause you love seeing them succeed more than yourself only to be criticized while doing it," James posted. "People it's the world we live in and you can't let it ever stop you from your purpose in life. Negativity, bad energy, hate, envy, etc etc will try to bring you down throughout your journey and it's up to you on how you handle it. I handle it by simply saying "Thank You" with a [smile] on my face and continue to push forward while doing it!"

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Imagine doing your job at the highest level to where you're not needed anymore, giving your shoes to a lil girl and boy who you inspire and hoped you made proud that night, then cheering on your teammates cause you love seeing them succeed more than yourself only to be criticized while doing it. People it's the world we live in and you can't let it ever stop you from your purpose in life. Negativity, bad energy, hate, envy, etc etc will try to bring you down throughout your journey and it's up to you on how you handle it. I handle it by simply saying "Thank You" with a ? on my face and continue to push forward while doing it! LIVE.LAUGH.LOVE ??❤️?

A post shared by LeBron James (@kingjames) on Dec 5, 2019 at 8:55am PST

James left the game with 7:46 remaining and the Lakers leading 105-83. He finished with 20 points in the 121-96 victory.

In the fourth quarter of a competitive Nov. 7 game against the Milwaukee Bucks, LA Clippers coach Doc Rivers was livid. He had asked for a review of an offensive foul call using the NBA's new coach's challenge. The officiating team refused to overturn its call despite what appeared to be video evidence supporting the challenge.

"I hate the rule!" Rivers said after the game. "Nobody wants to be wrong."

Less than two weeks later, a dramatic Clippers victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder was saved by a successful replay challenge that eliminated OKC free throws.

"I think the challenge is good for the league, after all," Rivers said with a smile.

In Anthony Davis' return to New Orleans last month, Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel lost a challenge on a foul call in the fourth quarter of a tight game. LeBron James approached ESPN commentators Mark Jones and Jeff Van Gundy with his own analysis, spoken loudly enough for the national TV microphones.

"When the ref makes that call, he don't never want to be wrong," James said. "They're never going to overturn it. Ever. Ever."

After Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens "won" a challenge Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden -- only for the New York Knicks to still get credited for a basket on the play -- the mild-mannered Stevens was caught on television cameras giving his frank assessment of the challenge system.

"I'm done with these f---ing challenges," Stevens said. "This is unbelievable."

Welcome to the opening weeks of the NBA's coach's challenge. ESPN asked head coaches from almost half the league's 30 teams for their input on the challenge system. The views ranged from hostile to constructive, but there wasn't an endorsement to be found.

But for all the frustration and bewilderment the new rule has created across the league, don't expect it to go the way of the NBA's synthetic basketball.

"We're very pleased with how a very difficult concept and rule has been implemented," said Monty McCutchen, the NBA's vice president of referee development and training.

"There have been some growing pains, but overall we're very happy."

Translation: Get used to it, coaches.

One reason the league office is pleased is that the challenge system -- which was tried in the G League before the competition committee approved it for the NBA this past offseason -- appears to lead to a greater number of correct calls. In other words, it's working, by the NBA's standards.

Through Nov. 30, coaches had made 174 challenges, and 75 resulted in overturned calls, according to research by ESPN Stats and Information -- a 43% success rate for challenges.

Those 75 corrections have not prevented coaches and teams from being annoyed by the way the rule has played out. On Tuesday, a fresh issue surfaced when the Houston Rockets quarreled with the refs after a James Harden dunk was incorrectly ruled a missed shot. After the game, officiating crew chief James Capers said no legal challenge by Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni was made, and therefore the call stood. Coaches have 30 seconds to challenge a call, according to Capers.

A number of coaches went on the record with ESPN regarding their opinions on the rule and its implementation.

"I'm not a big fan," Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.

"I don't like it," Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

"I'm not super crazy about it," Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse said.

"I tend not to do it, because I don't understand it," said San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who was the last of the 30 coaches to attempt a challenge, which he won. "I don't get it, so I don't try."

"My preference is to let [the referees] do their job, and I'll do mine," Sacramento Kings coach Luke Walton said.

"I don't like it," Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown said. "I don't like it."

Even Brooklyn Nets coach Kenny Atkinson -- who won his first five challenges -- isn't happy with it.

"I would check the 'no' box," Atkinson said.

Over the last few years, coaches and players have routinely expressed annoyance with the NBA's Last Two Minute Reports, which review the officiating at the end of close games. The reports include both correct and incorrect calls, but the coaches have remained frustrated because acknowledgement of the incorrect calls provided little satisfaction after the fact.

"This never-ending quest to get everything perfect, we're just chasing our tail."

Warriors coach Steve Kerr

The challenge system is a response to that concern, giving coaches, once per game, a way to have calls reviewed and overturned in real time. Yet, the coaches seem even more frustrated by the fix.

"I appreciate the NBA's willingness to try things and appreciate the fact that we don't stand still in this league," Stevens said. "I think the challenge is good in theory, but we just all have to realize that there's still a lot of judgment in those, too."

Stevens saw recently how a challenge could go wrong. In a celebrated matchup with the Clippers on Nov. 20, Celtics forward Jaylen Brown was called for a foul on a Paul George drive to the basket, infuriating the Boston bench. Stevens challenged the call. The national television audience could see that George had shoved Celtics center Daniel Theis -- committing an offensive foul -- as he began his drive. But the refs, by rule, were forced to ignore that part of the play because it occurred before the gather, which referees define as the start of a basketball move into a shot.

As with Harden's dunk, the result was not to get the whole call right, nor was that the goal. For now, the league has opted to keep the scope of the rule narrow to ensure the challenge system is implemented as consistently as possible.

"For this to be successful, referees have to have a demarcation line," McCutchen said. "What is tied to the play, and what is not tied to the play. Gathering the ball is tied to the play. ... Once we have a year's worth of data, then we can look at refining it and calibrating it."

One of the calibration points could be finding ways to reduce the amount of time spent looking at plays. The league says the challenge reviews are not taking longer than regular replay reviews (which are initiated by officials). Regardless, the challenge rule allows for two additional reviews per game, bringing the action to a halt at potentially its most exciting moments.

Several coaches mentioned they felt the games were dragging. In addition to frustration over how the rules are applied, delays are one of the first things coaches point out when asked about the new rule.

"I just think the length of time it is taking right now, it's lengthening the game," said Charlotte Hornets coach James Borrego.

"It slows the game down, that's what I think it does," New York Knicks coach David Fizdale said. "There's times you think you're right, and you're still wrong."

Said Kerr: "There's way too many stoppages in play. The challenges themselves are very confusing."

When and how to use the challenge rule have added to the many things that can keep coaches awake at night. Should it be used to prevent a star from landing in early foul trouble? Does it make sense to save it for a potential game-deciding call in the final moments? Which kinds of challenges are most valuable and likely to succeed?

With the rule comes new data to study. The price of a challenge is a timeout, requiring a new set of risk/reward calculations based on the score, the clock and the likelihood of a successful challenge.

"Those are all kinds of things that people are thinking out," said Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder, who is on the competition committee that recommended the system be tried out. "It gets pretty complicated. The game moves pretty fast."

"I've been looking around the league, and it seems like everyone has a different philosophy," Minnesota Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders said. "I think we're all learning."

Holding on to challenges until the end of the game is common, with half of challenges coming in the fourth quarter, according to the NBA -- and 15% of them coming inside the final two minutes.

Some calls are being overturned far more often than others. In five cases when defensive goaltending was called, the original call was overturned four times. In 22 challenges involving the ball going out of bounds, 15 calls were overturned, giving the ball to the team making the challenge.

Meanwhile, just 8 of 27 offensive fouls were overturned, as well as 12 of 28 personal fouls and 33 of 84 shooting fouls. In other words, it appears harder for coaches to get satisfaction on more debatable judgment calls.

Coaches, armed with more data and experience, will adapt. In big moments, they'll use every legal tool to win, including the challenge rule. But that might not change the other concern expressed by coaches: that the challenge system is not good for the game.

"I don't think it's adding to the game," Kerr said. "This never-ending quest to get everything perfect, we're just chasing our tail. The fact is the referees have an enormously difficult job. You can watch a replay and two rational people can argue. I think we're trying for the impossible."

"We want perfection as fans, and I kind of like the imperfections," Atkinson said. "Maybe I'm different in that way, but that's just my thought."

"It's just another thing to focus on that's distracting," Spoelstra said. "We're all focusing on the wrong thing, I think. This is a beautiful game."

Despite such protestations, we should not expect the coach's challenge to go away. "We get the apprehension," NBA president of league operations Byron Spruell said. "We're working through it. The engagement and feedback have been good. We haven't been surprised that we're getting such feedback, and we've welcomed it. ... It's not perfect, we know that."

Atkinson, for one, is willing to reserve final judgment, even if he's skeptical now.

"Check with me in April," Atkinson said, "and see if that changes."

The NBA will be hoping that it does.

NEW YORK -- Two 31-year-old players from the South Korean League have been posted by their clubs and made available to major league teams.

Negotiations may start Friday with left-hander Kwang-Hyun Kim of the SK Wyverns and outfielder Jae-Hwan Kim of the Doosan Bears, the commissioner said Thursday. A deal must be reached by Jan. 5 at 5 p.m.

Kwang-Hyun Kim was 17-6 with a 2.51 ERA in 30 starts and one relief appearance last season. He has a 136-77 record with a 3.27 ERA in 12 seasons with the Wyverns.

Jae-Hwan Kim hit .283 with 15 homers and 92 RBIs, down from career-bests of 44 homers and 133 RBIs in 2018. He has a .307 average with 144 homers and 507 RBIs in nine years with the Bears.

An MLB team would pay a South Korean club a fee of 20% of guaranteed money in a major league contract through $25 million, plus 17.5% above that through $50 million, plus 15% over that. A supplemental fee would equal 15% of any earned bonuses, escalators and compensation from option years that are exercised or become guaranteed.

The Welsh athlete was hardly the fastest at school but is now making her mark as one of Britain’s best endurance runners

Ten years ago Charlotte Arter finished last in the English Schools 3000m final and just managed to squeeze into the top 100 at the English Schools Cross Country Championships. Yet this weekend in Lisbon she will attempt to improve on the excellent seventh place she achieved at the European Cross Country Championships last year.

From humble beginnings, after a decade of hard training and gradual progression Arter is now one of the leading cross-country runners in not only Britain but across Europe. On the roads, meanwhile, she recently ran an impressive 31:34 at the Leeds Abbey Dash for a mark which moved her to No.4 on the UK all-time rankings before it was discovered that the course was just 23 metres short.

“It shows that things don’t happen overnight and if you work hard over a long period of time it’ll all come together,” she says. “My coach, Chris Jones, and I are still learning what works for me but we’re now getting a good understanding.

“I did a school visit recently and my main message was when it comes to the longevity of your career it’s all about working hard over a long period and you’ll get your rewards in the end.”

Arter knows she has not reached the peak of her career yet, though. She is hungry to make more international teams on the country, road and track in coming years. She has half an eye on Olympic selection. The European Championships is definitely a target. One day, she smiles through gritted teeth, she will give the marathon a crack too.

Born in 1991 in Cumbria, she grew up doing a variety of sports like netball and particularly hockey. She reached county level in hockey and running but did not train particularly hard. This explains her modest schools results. The 2009 English Schools 3000m senior girls’ race in Sheffield was won by Charlotte Purdue while Arter was more than a minute behind at the back of the field in 17th, whereas at the English Schools Cross Country Championships at Stanford Hall she was almost three minutes behind the winner, Loulou Rowlands.

Off little training, Arter did show promise, though. At the 2006 English Schools 3000m in Gateshead she was eighth in a race won by Jess Piasecki (née Coulson). She was 11th at the English Schools 3000m in 2008 (won by Purdue) and finished 19th in the English National Cross in the same year (won by fellow Cumbrian Laura Park).

Arter also won Cumbrian titles. Aged 18, however, she moved to South Wales to study at Cardiff Met University (formerly UWIC) and began to focus more on athletics than hockey.

“I never had a GB vest as a junior,” she remembers, “and I still feel I’m a late developer in athletics as I never did too much (training) when I was younger.”

Arter began to take her running more seriously and was coached by James Thie. “He took me from a 4:40 1500m to a 4:18 runner by the time I left, which I was pretty pleased with,” she says.

“I was then offered a scholarship to go to America to the University of New Mexico aged 21. Joe Franklin was the coach in Albuquerque and I did my masters out there and had a great time immersing myself in a totally different culture which was fun. There were not many classes during the week either so it was my first real taste of committing to athletics properly.”

After her spell in the United States, Arter returned to South Wales and got a job at Cardiff University. She worked as a performance sport officer, looking after the high performance programme across a variety of different jobs.

“It was a really nice job and I enjoyed it but I got to the point where I didn’t want to look back in 10 years’ time thinking I’d not given athletics my full attention,” she says.

Arter was then lucky enough to engineer a career break where she could put her job on hold and have a stint as a full-time athlete. “I’ve lived the life of a full-time athlete for a year and I’ve recently extended it for another year,” she says. “I’ve really got to grips with being a full-time athlete over the last few months and I’d like to see what I can really do in the next year.”

So far Arter has run 32:15.71 on the track for 10,000m, but her recent road mark shows her potential. Her strength is evident, meanwhile, from the 69:40 she ran in the Barcelona Half-Marathon in the spring.

As an aside, Arter also gained notoriety this year by running the fastest ever time in a parkrun by a woman with 15:50 in Cardiff – although she has run 10 seconds quicker on the track.

This winter so far, too, she started her racing campaign with victory at the Cardiff Cross Challenge and then in Burgos, Spain, she finished seventh – and first European – in a cross-country race won by Senberi Teferi of Ethiopia. At the Euro Cross trials in Liverpool she placed second to secure her place on the plane to Lisbon.

Part of Arter’s success story is her training set-up. She is good friends with Jenny Nesbitt, the Inter-Counties cross-country champion, and the two of them do most of their hard sessions together. “We get on very well and we’re similar level so we run together in the reps and it works really well,” Arter says.

It bodes well for the next few weeks. “I’ve not thought much past December,” Arter admits. “At the Euro Cross anything can happen and I’d like to finish as high up in the race as I can.”

A look at the front of the latest AW – out tomorrow!
Featuring @charlottearter & @HCDream2012 as cover stars, inside you'll find a four-page interview with the in-form Arter, coverage of the first five days of World @ParaAthletics Champs action, news, performance features & more pic.twitter.com/9ZfzrbGtut

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) November 13, 2019

Professional rugby has continually embraced modern technology - so it's no surprise that Premiership referee Craig Maxwell-Keys took a similar approach towards coming out as gay.

Maxwell-Keys, who has also taken charge of European and international games, eventually decided the time was right to reveal his sexuality to colleagues at Twickenham as well as his local club, Lichfield RFC.

"You could say it's modern day," said the 29-year-old, speaking to the BBC's LGBT Sports Podcast. "I sent a WhatsApp message at 6am before I was due to go on a family holiday to Greece.

"I then turned the phone off and didn't turn it on again for a good couple of hours. Then after a few too many wines in Greece, I read the messages back.

"It shouldn't have been a surprise, but all the messages were really positive and supportive.

"When I got a contract offer from Twickenham, I hadn't fully accepted my sexuality myself. It was another two years working in rugby that opened my eyes to the fact that everyone is really supportive.

"It's just an extension of my family and my support network, and the guys at Twickenham made it really simple for me to come out. The limiting factor was me and whether I was ready."

Maxwell-Keys drifted towards becoming a match official by chance - he broke his wrist playing for Lichfield as a youngster and, while recovering from the injury, he enrolled on a refereeing course.

Well and truly bitten by the refereeing bug, he took charge at the Staffordshire Under-12 Festival at the age of 17 and worked his way up the ladder to become a full-time referee in 2014.

Of course, Maxwell-Keys is not the only openly gay rugby referee - Nigel Owens, who came out in 2007, is one of the sport's highest-profile officials and has featured at three World Cups.

"I can't sing as well as Nigel can, I certainly can't dance as well as Nigel can and I'm definitely not as funny as Nigel is, so there are a lot of differences!" says Maxwell-Keys.

"When I did come out to our boss at Twickenham, he put me in touch with Nigel and we had a chat, which was really helpful.

"Nigel had some good words of advice and support, which I was really grateful for at the time and still am.

"They made it really clear that you could be a part of pro sport, that you can be true to who you are and still have that life in sport."

As well as joining the Premiership's 16-man pool of referees, Maxwell-Keys has also run the line at the Six Nations and took charge of his first international - Romania against the USA - last season.

Now based in Cheltenham, he aims to continue moving up the referees' pecking order - and his experiences since coming out have indicated that sexuality will be no barrier to that.

"From everyone who has taken an interest, they've said "cheers for sharing it" and on we go, and I think that's the liberating thing - rugby is more interested in how good you are," said Maxwell-Keys.

"If you're good enough, you'll get to whatever level you aspire to. That's what matters and not necessarily who you love or your gender or anything like that, it's purely at the top end about 'are you good enough'.

"It's a very competitive group of referees at Twickenham, vying for a limited pool of games. From my perspective, I'm refereeing in Europe, and the priority is to get some higher profile European Cup games.

"From there, the world is my oyster, as they say."