Red Raiders shutout Rebels on Senior Night

Saints first-round pick Taliese Fuaga signed a fully guaranteed four-year contract on Thursday worth $17.3 million with a team option for a fifth season. Fuaga was the 14th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and is expected to start immediately with the offensive line in flux in front of starting quarterback Derek Carr. The team shared a video of Carr embracing Fuaga as they arrived at the team facility. The contract matches the maximum draft slot afforded the Saints with the 14th pick. Fuaga started 25 games at right tackle for Oregon State and could be tried at left tackle. Trevor Penning, a first-round pick in 2022 who was injured in his first training camp, was benched last season and replaced by Andrus Peat. But Peat left in free agency to sign with the Raiders. Ryan Ramczyk is the returning starter at right tackle but he's coming back from offseason knee surgery. A consensus first-team All-American and first-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2023, Fuaga was the third offensive tackle drafted during a run on offensive players that lasted until the Colts selected UCLA defensive end Laiatu Latu 15th. Notre Dame's Joe Alt (Chargers, No. 5 overall), Alabama's JC Latham (Titans, No. 7) and Penn State's Olu Fashanu (Jets, No. 11) have not yet signed their rookie deals. --Field Level Media

Pro Football Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson, a lockdown cornerback who spent his entire 16-year career with the San Francisco 49ers, died on Wednesday evening, his family announced. He was 86. The Hall of Fame made the announcement Thursday for Johnson's family, which said he had been in declining health for some time and had remained in the San Francisco area. Enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1994, Johnson played from 1961-76. He competed in 213 games -- at the time a franchise record later broken by Jerry Rice. Johnson's 47 interceptions also were a team mark later broken by Ronnie Lott. "Jimmy Johnson was extraordinarily athletically talented," Pro Football Hall of Fame President Jim Porter said in a statement. "The 49ers enjoyed the luxury of using him on offense and defense early in his career to fill team needs. Once he settled in at left cornerback, he flourished. The notion that a ‘lockdown' cornerback could cut the field in half for the opposition was true with Jimmy. "Only rarely would other teams' quarterbacks even look his direction, and more often than not regretted the decision if they challenged him." Johnson was selected to the Pro Bowl for four straight seasons (1969-72) as well as in 1974. He was first-team All-Pro in 1970-72. The Pro Football Hall of Fame selected him for the All-Decade Team of the 1970s. "I don't look at someone and think that he can't beat me," Johnson said. "If you play long enough, you're going to get beat. The question and the key to your effectiveness is how often." He also played halfback and flanker in 1962 and 1963, catching 40 passes for 690 yards and four touchdowns. San Francisco selected him as one of its three first-round draft choices (sixth overall in 1961). He was a football star at UCLA at wingback and defensive back as well as a track standout in hurdles and long jump. His brother, Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete Rafer Johnson, was his presenter at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony on July 30, 1994. "Jimmy is a quiet man, but he played with determination and commitment," Rafer Johnson said. "Most of all, Jim was and is a gentle man and a true gentleman." Jimmy Johnson won the Pro Football Writers' George Halas Award for courageous play in 1971 after playing half of that season with a broken wrist. He twice received the Len Eshmont Award, chosen by 49ers players and given to a teammate for inspirational play. "Jimmy Johnson has not only been a great football player, he has been one of the game's finest citizens throughout his career," Joe Thomas, the team's vice president and general manager at that time said when the 49ers retired Johnson's No. 37 jersey in 1977. "There is no one in the NFL who does not have the highest respect for him, both as a player and as a man." --Field Level Media

Former Vanderbilt and Mississippi State quarterback Mike Wright is transferring to Northwestern for his final season of eligibility. Wright told ESPN on Thursday that he chose the Wildcats to play for head coach David Braun and new offensive coordinator Zach Lujan. "Those two guys were the main factors," said Wright, who made three starts last season at Mississippi State and 11 starts in his time at Vanderbilt (2020-22). Wright has completed 55.5 percent of his passes for 2,520 yards with 24 touchdowns and 14 interceptions across 38 career games. He has also rushed for 1,229 yards and 10 TDs. The starting quarterback gig is open at Northwestern with last season's QB1 Ben Bryant out of eligibility and former backup Brendan Sullivan transferring to Iowa. Wright's competition to lead the Northwestern offense in 2024 includes sixth-year veteran Ryan Hilinski and redshirt sophomore Jack Lausch. --Field Level Media

The Los Angeles Rams are releasing veteran wide receiver Ben Skowronek, NFL Network reported Thursday. Skowronek, 26, appeared in all 17 games last season but managed only eight catches for 66 yards and one score. He caught 58 passes for 575 yards and one TD in 45 games (12 starts) since the Rams drafted him in the seventh round in 2021. In addition to stars Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, the Rams' receiver room includes Tutu Atwell, Tyler Johnson, Demarcus Robinson and 2024 sixth-round pick Jordan Whittington. --Field Level Media

Lions general manager Brad Holmes continues checking off priorities in Detroit, and a long-term extension for quarterback Jared Goff is rising to the top of the list. "He's earned an extension," Holmes said in a radio interview with 97.1 The Ticket. "It's important. It's a high priority for us. Both sides are working really, really hard. These things just take time." Closing in on the final season of a four-year, $134 million contract Goff signed before he was traded to Detroit in the QB swap that sent Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams, an extension has been in the works for months. Holmes hoped to simultaneously share big contract news on Goff last month when the Lions struck new deals with offensive tackle Penei Sewell and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. "In a perfect world, we would've had all three of them done. Bang, bang, bang," Holmes said. "But these things just kind of take a while. Especially with the quarterback market. But I do have faith that it's going to get done." Talks with Goff's agent, Ryan Tollner, took a back seat during the NFL draft. Holmes didn't select a quarterback among the Lions' six picks but did draft Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker in the third round in 2023. Goff turns 30 in October. A former No. 1 overall pick, Goff averaged $33.5 million annually on his existing contract while the market has exploded since massive deals last offseason raised the bar beyond $50 million per season. The top-paid quarterback in terms of average pay per season is Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals at $55 million. He has $1.01 million more in guaranteed salary than the Los Angeles Chargers gave Justin Herbert, whose AAV is $52.5 million, in the same neighborhood but just ahead of Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles) and Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens). "We've done a lot of work. Again, both sides have. We've done a lot of work, dialogue's been consistent," Holmes said of how close the sides might be to a contract. "There hasn't been just dead periods and all that stuff. We've been talking. Again, I do have faith looking at all the numbers. You gotta think about what can we do now, and what are the impacts on the future, as well. And we look at all of it, because we said all along, when (coach) Dan (Campbell) and I first got here, we're looking to build sustained success, and that's still the goal." Goff completed 67.3 percent of his passes for 4,575 yards and 30 touchdowns last season while leading Detroit to its first division title since 1993 and its first two playoff wins since the 1991 season. --Field Level Media

Lions GM: QB Jared Goff 'earned' extension, a high priority

The New York Giants signed veteran wide receiver Allen Robinson on Thursday. Robinson, 30, caught 34 passes for 280 yards with no touchdowns in 17 games (all starts) last season for the Steelers. He was released March 8 after one season in Pittsburgh in a money-saving move. He is the latest addition to the wide receiver corps for New York, which selected Malik Nabers of LSU with the No. 6 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. The Jacksonville Jaguars drafted Robinson in the second round in 2014, and he spent four seasons there before moving on to the Chicago Bears (2017-21), Los Angeles Rams (2022) and Steelers. Robinson has 562 catches for 7,028 yards and 43 touchdowns in his career. He was a Pro Bowl selection in 2015 when he tallied 1,400 receiving yards, the first of his three 1,000-yard seasons. The Giants were 6-11 last season. Their passing game ranked 31st in the NFL. --Field Level Media

The NFL will release the full 2024 schedule on May 15 at 8 p.m. ET, according to media reports on Wednesday. Teams had been told informally that Thursday would be the release day but no reason was given for the delay in a league memo Wednesday afternoon, according to Sports Business Journal. Hans Schroeder, NFL executive vice president of media distribution, wrote in the memo that more details about the plan are expected in the coming days, Sports Business Journal reported. One explanation could be determining which games would be set for Dec. 25, which this year falls on a Wednesday. The league in late March changed its stance to allow playing Christmas Day games if the holiday was a Tuesday or Wednesday. The four teams involved would play in a doubleheader the preceding Saturday. Another possibility is the delayed release allows teams to better prepare for such a highly anticipated day with promotion on social media tied to single-game ticket sales. Or, the NFL could be stretching what is a one-night event into multiple days with game details staggered across multiple days, as the NFL draft has evolved. The teams and their fans already know the opponents on their home and road schedules but not the order, dates and times. Locked in are five international games for five teams, with most dates and all times to be determined: In Sao Paulo, Brazil, Green Bay Packers vs. Philadelphia Eagles, Sept. 6; London, Minnesota Vikings vs. TBD, Chicago Bears vs. TBD and Jacksonville Jaguars vs. TBD; Munich, Germany, Carolina Panthers vs. TBD. Super Bowl LIX is Feb. 9, 2025 at the Superdome in New Orleans. --Field Level Media

Former Florida guard Riley Kugel will not play for Kansas this season, CBS Sports reported Wednesday. Kugel committed to the Jayhawks on April 1, days after entering the transfer portal, but Kansas coach Bill Self said Monday that Kugel's future in Lawrence was "up in the air." The 6-foot-5 sophomore is now back to being recruited by high-majors, per the report. Kugel averaged 9.2 points and 3.5 rebounds and shot 39.4 percent from the field in 33 games (11 starts) this past season but lost his starting job in December. He was on the bench for both the semifinals and final of the SEC tournament. The Gators beat Texas A&M in the semis but lost to Auburn in the final. Kugel did play in Florida's 102-100 loss to Colorado in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He had 11 points, four rebounds and three steals in 21 minutes. In 2022-23, Kugel averaged 9.9 points and 2.8 rebounds and shot 45.6 percent in 32 games (17 starts). He averaged 17.3 points over the final 10 games of the season and earned SEC All-Freshman honors. --Field Level Media

The Pittsburgh Steelers are signing veteran wide receiver Scotty Miller to a one-year contract, ESPN reported Wednesday. Financial terms were not reported. Miller, 26, caught 11 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns last season with the Atlanta Falcons under erstwhile head coach Arthur Smith, now the offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh. Miller has 85 catches for 1,085 yards and six TDs in 67 career games (eight starts) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2019-22) and Falcons. He was a sixth-round pick of the Bucs in 2019. --Field Level Media