Former Arizona Cardinals RB Keaontay Ingram is being elevated to the Kansas City Chiefs’ active roster, per the team.
The move comes after starting running back Isiah Pacheco went to injured reserve with a broken fibula. His timeline for return is expected to be around six weeks.
Kansas City also signed Kareem Hunt to their practice squad.
Ingram was initially a sixth-round pick by the Cardinals in the 2022 NFL Draft. His rookie season featured 12 appearances and one touchdown on 27 rushing attempts with four receptions.
In 2023, Ingram played just eight games before being released in November.
Two days later, he signed with the Chiefs and has been with the organization since on their practice squad. Ingram won the Super Bowl with Kansas City last season and signed a future/reserve contract this past offseason to remain with the Chiefs.
Other than Ingram, names such as Carson Steele and Samaje Perine are in the backfield for Kansas City to use.
Currently, the Chiefs are just one of nine NFL teams to have started the season 2-0.
Arizona, on the other hand, emerged to a 1-1 with a victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2 behind James Conner and the rest of their rushing attack, going for over 200 yards on the day.
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NFL
Steelers LB Patrick Queen wants to ‘shut down’ former teammate, NFL rushing leader
The Pittsburgh Steelers (2-0) host the Los Angeles Chargers (2-0) in one of the more anticipated Week 3 matchups, but for linebacker Patrick Queen, it’s more than just a battle of undefeated teams. Before joining the Steelers this offseason, Queen spent the first four years of his NFL career with the Baltimore Ravens. This week, he gets to come face to face with some of his former teammates, but there’s no one he is more excited to bring down than running back J.K. Dobbins, who is currently the NFL’s rushing leader. “I love J.K. Still one of my best friends, still talk to him to this day. He’s just a great guy, a great player,” Queen said. “I’m happy to see him getting back to himself, but as far as me, I want to shut that down. He’s the leading rusher right now, so just being able to go out there and shut him down would give me bragging rights and help this team win.” Dobbins has played in just nine games over the past three seasons due to injuries. He tore his ACL ahead of the 2021 season, which forced him to miss the entire year. In 2022, Dobbins played in only eight games due to a separate knee issue, and then last season he tore his Achilles in Week 1. However, Queen has never doubted Dobbin’s talent. “He’s got everything. He’s got vision. He’s got the speed. He’s got the burst. He’s just all around a good back,” Queen added.
“He can do every single thing on the field, and I think people might have underestimated him this year, knowing that he had the injuries.” Dobbins has proven just that while rushing for a league-leading 266 yards through the first two weeks of the season. While Dobbins has been taking advantage of his second chance in the NFL, Queen notes that he is a benefactor of offensive coordinator Greg Roman’s system. “I faced it for three years in practice,” Queen continued. “It’s smash-mouth football, January-type football. He’s going to see if he can test you, test your will. That’s what we got to go out there and try to stop.” Stopping the Chargers’ run game is the Steelers’ No. 1 priority, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be challenges in the pass game, either.
Quarterback Justin Herbert has been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL since being drafted in 2020 when he was named the Offensive Rookie of the Year. Queen knows Herbert brings challenges of his own. “He can make every single throw on the field. He’ll take chances and get the ball into places that most quarterbacks can’t,” Queen concluded. “He’s one of the top five quarterbacks in this league.” It’s safe to say Pittsburgh’s defense will have its hands full on Sunday, but with the chance to get bragging rights and stay undefeated, fans may just see the best version of Queen in Week 3.
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College Football
How Air Force could break college football realignment again
The college football world is still adjusting in the aftermath of the Pac-12’s dismantling in 2023. Now with the once-thought defunct conference attempting a rebirth by poaching four Mountain West schools in 2026, another mad scramble by conferences to snag new members could unfold. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Monday that the Air Force Academy, currently a member of the Mountain West, is being targeted by the American Athletic Conference (AAC) to join its ranks. If that move were to come to fruition, then the Mountain West would be under the eight-team minimum for NCAA conferences to be FBS eligible.
The Pac-12, currently consisting of two members — Washington State and Oregon State — is in a two-year grace period after it lost 10 members to the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC this season. The additions of Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State would still leave it two members short of the minimum, meaning more moves are coming. The AAC’s interest in a third service academy — Army and Navy are both current members — would indicate it’s bracing for further departures. Memphis and Tulane have been frequently mentioned as additional possibilities to join the Pac-12 and round out its ranks.
The biggest victim if that chaotic chain reaction were to be retriggered: the Mountain West. It’s ironic because the Mountain West essentially threw the Pac-12 a lifeline after it was cannibalized by the other Power Conferences, signing a football scheduling agreement to keep the two remaining members involved as it attempted to recover. Now that the deal is set to expire after only one season, the Pac-12 will suck the life force out of its ally to sustain its survival in this new college football landscape. It’s unclear how far along talks are for Air Force to potentially join the AAC, but fans should brace themselves for the continued aftershocks of last year’s seismic conference realignment.
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NBA
NBA Rumors: Los Angeles Lakers Targeting Cleveland Cavaliers Point Guard
The Los Angeles Lakers plan to acquire one more key player before the start of the upcoming NBA season in October.
They’ve now set eyes upon Darius Garland, a young star from the Cleveland Cavaliers, who was implied to be a possible trade target for the Lakers. So far, the Lakers have yet to acquire a talented baller in the offseason. Despite making promises to obtain promising NBA players crucial in aiding the team’s veterans and supporting cast, it has only notably acquired two league draftees: James’ son Bronny and Dalton Knecht. Eric Pincus, an insider from the NBA Bleacher Report, had mentioned that the Cavaliers’ Garland could be the Lakers’ closest chance to acquiring a star player. The former Vanderbilt Commodores’ role could be a significant addition to the team’s point guards, notably D’Angelo Russell. In a recent report at Bleacher, Pincus raised the possibility of the Lakers acquiring Garland and how the team could achieve it: “
The Lakers may avoid the three-star concept, especially given the restrictive new rules and the team’s high payroll, which has bottlenecked its flexibility this summer,” Pincus wrote. “Still, if Darius Garland became available out of Cleveland, the Lakers would probably offer both of their firsts to the Cavaliers for the young guard. Salary matching would be complex, probably requiring more than one team,” Pincus added. Garland played for the Cavaliers for five seasons. Last season, he averaged 18.0 points on 44.6% shooting. His team ended up in fourth place and overcame the first round of the playoffs for the first time since James’ departure from the team in 2018. Despite lingering rumors about his possible trade to the Lakers, the 2022 NBA All-Star persisted that he would stay and play more games for his current team. He denied that he sought to switch teams. “Those are just rumors. I don’t want to be traded,” Garland said. Los Angeles Lakers had officially signed with Christian Koloko The Los Angeles Lakers recently signed former Toronto Raptors rookie Christian Koloko on a two-way contract. In exchange, the team waived Blake Hinson to give Koloko his two-way slot. As of the latest transaction, the Los Angeles Lakers have two other players on a two-way contract: Colin Castleton and Armel Traore. Koloko, a 7’1 giant from Cameroon, was unfortunately out of the NBA throughout the past season due to blood clot issues. In January, the Raptors waived him, and he was without a team until he was medically cleared and free to play. Koloko’s arrival with the Lakers could give the team a center advantage, as he plays often in the upcoming season.
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NFL
Steelers Had An Unlikely Teammate Prepare Darnell Washington For His First Ever…
The Pittsburgh Steelers had plenty of struggles throughout their Week 2 matchup against the Denver Broncos, but they still had some highlights after their 13-6 win.
There were some firsts for some young players, including Cory Trice Jr.’s first career interception, as well as touchdown reception number one for Darnell Washington. Washington is seen as a blocking tight end with great red zone potential due to his size, but it took until his 19th regular season game to finally haul one in for the score. Washington was asked about that touchdown. He gave credit to many people, but his first choice stood out more than the others. “We repped that play throughout the whole week. Shoutout Joey Porter (Jr.), he got me right during practice and things like that.
Shoutout [Justin] Fields for throwing it and coach for calling the play.” Usually, high-end starting cornerbacks like Joey Porter Jr. don’t line up on tight ends, especially backup tight ends. However, he apparently was locked onto Washington throughout the practice week whenever the Steelers’ offense ran that particular play and/or formation. They always say that iron sharpens iron, and what better way to learn how to catch a particular pass on a particular play, than to have a physical cornerback like Porter all over you all week long? Why Would The Steelers Match Porter Up With Washington? For starters, Washington seemed to be the first option on that specific play. On the game film, Justin Fields immediately looks left, where the big tight end was, and got the ball out of his hands quickly. The whole play was seemingly designed to get Washington in a mismatch against a much smaller defensive back so he can just overpower him, and it worked to perfection. Even though Porter is much taller than P.J. Locke (the safety covering Washington on the play), he does not weight as much. Locke weighs in at 202 pounds, which is heavier than Porter by nine pounds, despite being four inches shorter. Washington was going to have to be in a physical battle to get to his spot either way, and after facing Porter all week long, he didn’t have a problem getting through the Broncos’ safety. Washington was also lined up as a wide receiver on the outside. Porter is a pure outside corner himself, so he would play his best ball in that exact scenario.
The play wouldn’t have the same effect if a linebacker followed him outside. He needed to go up against a big, physical defensive back to get the full game-like scenario of getting to his spot and out-reaching him with all kinds of pressure on him. Even with all that preparation, Washington didn’t have any sort of resistance on the play. Locke barely got his hands on him before Washington spun around and caught the pass while reaching away from him. As he also mentioned, it was good job from Fields to throw the ball to him quickly, and he even placed it in a spot where the safety had no chance of breaking the pass up. If he keeps getting chances like that, he could have a breakout season in the passing game. Fields made a quick, confident decision, and the big tight end made a great adjustment to turn and receive it away from Locke. All around, it was a perfectly executed play.