Top remaining NFL free agents: Amari Cooper, Keenan Allen lead best players available

Top remaining NFL free agents: Amari Cooper, Keenan Allen lead best players available

We're officially in July, which means we are getting closer to football season. All32 NFL teamsbegin training camp this month. NFLpersonnel departments across the league are examining their rosters astraining camp approachesin just a few weeks. Every year, around this period, there are late roster additions.The recent blockbuster tradebetween theMiami DolphinsandPittsburgh Steelersis a prime example. USA TODAY Sports hasranked the top free agentssince the beginning of the offseason. Most of the top free agents have already found homes, but there are several impact players still unsigned. Veteran wide receivers Amari Cooper and Keenan Allen are still free agents. At the same time, safety Justin Simmons and edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney remain on the open market. Who are the top free agents still available as of July 1? USA TODAY Sports explores the 10 best free agents available. JALEN RAMSEY TRADE:Dolphins deal star CB to Steelers in blockbuster move Surprisingly, Cooper is unsigned as the calendar turns to July. Cooper is still a smooth route runner and a reliable possession receiver who can create separation. A total of 75% of his targets came on short and intermediate routes in 2024. Allen has been one of the NFL's best slot receivers over the past decade. He isn't far removed from breaking theChargers'single-season receptions record in 2023. However, there were signs of slippage in his lone season in Chicago. The Bears essentially replaced Allen when they selectedLuther Burden IIIin the second round of this year's draft. Simmons is another player who wasonce regarded as one of the best at his position. The four-time second-team All-Pro has compiled at least 60 tackles and two interceptions in each of the past eight seasons. Blackmon is coming off back-to-back seasons with at least three interceptions and 85 tackles. His 73.5 coverage grade ranked 15th amongst qualifying safeties, per Pro Football Focus. Samuel allowed under a 63% completion percentage when targeted in his first three seasons. However, a shoulder injury limited the cornerback to only four games in 2024. Samuel can line up on the outside but has the frame of a slot corner. NFL TOP 100 LIST:Tracking players for 2025 White produced 137 tackles in 17 starts in Arizona last year. He's tallied four straight seasons of at least 90 tackles. Arizona was comfortable moving on from White. They signed linebackerAkeem Davis-Gaitherand draftedCody Simonin the fourth round. The Lions released Smith this offseason, but he toldUSA TODAY Sports in June that he wants to re-sign in the Motor City. Will the veteran return to Detroit? Smith registered nine sacks between the two teams he played with last season. The edge rusher has produced at least 61 pressures in each of the past three seasons. Davis had four straight seasons of at least 500 receiving yards before it was snapped in what was a disappointing year with the Jaguars. Gilmore will turn 35 years old in September. The 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year isn't the standout corner he once was, but he's still a very capable defender. He had 56 tackles, nine pass deflections and one interception in 15 starts last year. Clowney had a resurgent season in Baltimore, tallying 9.5 sacks in 2023. He didn't live up to expectations in Carolina, though; his 5.5 sacks equaled a team high. The veteran is most productive when he's not the primary edge rusher. Follow USA TODAY Sports' Tyler Dragon on X@TheTylerDragon. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Amari Cooper, Keenan Allen lead best remaining NFL free agents

byMario Satorik

in

July 01, 2025

Top remaining NFL free agents: Amari Cooper, Keenan Allen lead best players available

Top remaining NFL free agents: Amari Cooper, Keenan Allen lead best players available We're officially in July, which means we are getti...

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Soccer ban sparks fears of widening trans exclusion in the UK

Soccer ban sparks fears of widening trans exclusion in the UK

LONDON (AP) — It was not herbest goal or most important soccer match, but when the ball hit the back of the net in Natalie Washington's debut on a women's team in 2017, she felt a sense of belonging that had been missing. It was long in coming: Washington had struggled to fit in on a men's team and eventually stopped playing when she decided to transition to being a woman and go through gender-affirming surgery. When she joined a women's team, she quickly felt accepted. Now, after theUnited Kingdom's highest courtin April said that for anti-discrimination purposes the terms "woman" and "man" refer to biological sex, Washington's opportunity to play the sport she loves in the league she wants is in doubt. The head of theU.K's Equality and Human Rights Commissionfollowed the ruling a day later by saying the court had provided clarity and that transgender women would be excluded from women-only spaces such as toilets, single-sex hospital wards and sports teams. The Football Association, the regulatory body for soccer in the U.K., followed up by banning transgender players from women's teams in England and Scotland, a ban that took effect at the start of June. "It feels like things are being taken away from trans people on an almost daily basis," Washington said. "It's another blow, another kick at a time when people are already hurting." Long a divisive issue Beyond Britain, inclusion of trans players in sports has long been a divisive issue, with arguments primarily focused on whether it's fair to have athletes born as boys compete against girls and women. In the U.S., it has been particularly politicized, with most Republican-controlled statesbanning transgender athletes in girls' sportsand PresidentDonald Trumpsigning an executive order toprohibit participation of transgender athletesfrom girls' and women's sports. The U.K. court said trans people were still protected from discrimination under British law, such as in employment, housing and education, but the ruling means access to certain single-sex facilities could be curtailed. Trans rights groups condemned the decision, which is likely to have a profound effect for thousands. Out of some 66 million people in England, Scotland and Wales, about 116,000 identified as trans in the latest census count. The feminist groups who led the legal challenge cheered the ruling and others, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, welcomed the clarity it brought. "Everyone knows what sex is and you can't change it," said Susan Smith, co-director of For Women Scotland, which brought the case. A difficult decision Washington, who leads the group Football v Transphobia, was one of 28 transgender women registered with the Football Association to play amateur soccer. In order to play the women's game, they had to have testosterone levels reduced to the range of biologically born females. After the ruling, the organization changed its rules, saying that although it had aimed to make soccer accessible to as many people as possible, it was always prepared to alter its policy if there were changes in the law or science. "We understand that this will be difficult for people who simply want to play the game they love in the gender by which they identify," the FA said, adding that it would contact transgender women currently playing to explain the changes and how they can remain involved. Some clubs have responded by finding ways around the ban. Goal Diggers FC, a women and nonbinary inclusive soccer club based in London, has withdrawn from all FA-affiliated leagues. On June 1, the day the ban took effect, Goal Diggers hosted an inclusive women's tournament in London, drawing more than 100 players in a show of solidarity. "I'll always have a place here and I'll always be a trans woman," said Billie Sky, a 28-year-old trans player for Goal Diggers. "No one can take that away from me." Other voices, other sports Groups that have campaigned to keep trans athletes from girls' and women's teams, citing a matter of safety and fairness, welcomed the move by the FA. "The FA had ample evidence of the harms to women and girls caused by its nonsensical policy of letting men who identify as women play in women's teams," said Fiona McAnena of Sex Matters. Groups that oversee cricket and netball, an offshoot of basketball that is played mainly by women, also limited women's competition to those who were assigned at birth as females. The England and Wales Cricket Board said transgender women and girls could continue playing in open and mixed cricket. England Netball said it would allow anyone to play in a new mixed category beginning in September. How the ruling came about The legal case involved a 2018 Scottish law requiring at least half of the seats on public boards to be held by women. Trans women with certificates recognizing their gender were to be included in meeting the quota. The court said that using the certificates to identify someone's gender clashes with the definitions of man and woman. Under the ruling, a transgender person could not claim they had been discriminated against if barred from a single-sex space. Alexander Maine, a senior lecturer at The City Law School specializing in gender, sexuality and law, said the ruling clouds the value of a document sanctioned by the U.K. Gender Recognition Act that allows them to later update their birth certificate reflecting their acquired gender. "There may be a challenge at the European Court of Human Rights brought by trans individuals who say that there is a problem where they may be two sexes at once," Maine said. Someone could hold "a gender recognition certificate stating that they are their acquired gender, whereas under the U.K. Equality Act, they are still recognized in their birth gender," he said. Washington and many others say they worry the ruling may lead to more hatred aimed at trans people. "For the first time in a long time, I felt scared about how people are going to react to me in public," Washington said. "I don't feel anymore that I can guarantee I have support to turn to from authorities." ___ Brian Melley in London contributed to this report.

byMario Satorik

in

July 01, 2025

Soccer ban sparks fears of widening trans exclusion in the UK

Soccer ban sparks fears of widening trans exclusion in the UK LONDON (AP) — It was not herbest goal or most important soccer match, but when...

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Former congressman Colin Allred launches 2026 campaign for US Senate

Former congressman Colin Allred launches 2026 campaign for US Senate

Former Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, will again run to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate, his campaign announced on July 1. Allred is the first notable Democratic candidate in a Senate race that is likely to garner national attention and funding. The former NFL linebackerpreviously ran for Senatein 2024 against Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who won by 8.5 percentage points. If Allred wins the primary in March, he would be up against the winner of a bruising GOP primary battle between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Texas has long been a Republican stronghold, but Democrats have viewed the state as within reach as its Democratic voter base has grownover the last few election cycles. "The people that we elected to help – politicians like John Cornyn and Ken Paxton – are too corrupt to care about us and too weak to fight for us," Allred said ina video announcinghis campaign. "I know Washington is broken. The system is rigged. But it doesn't have to be this way." Allred is likely to benefit from the messy politics of the state's upcoming GOP primary race. Paxton is leading Cornynin early polls. Democrats are optimisticthey could mount a strong campaign against Paxton, who is trailedby scandals, if he is the nominee. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Colin Allred launches 2026 campaign for US Senate

byMario Satorik

in

July 01, 2025

Former congressman Colin Allred launches 2026 campaign for US Senate

Former congressman Colin Allred launches 2026 campaign for US Senate Former Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, will again run to represent Texas in...

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Canadian teen jailed in Poland as Russia spy may be freed early, court says

Canadian teen jailed in Poland as Russia spy may be freed early, court says

WARSAW (Reuters) -A Canadian teenager sentenced in Poland last year to 20 months in prison for spying for Russia could be released early under certain conditions, a Polish court said on Tuesday. A statement by the court did not give details of the possible conditional release. Europe is in a heightened state of alert over what security agencies across the continent call Russia's "hybrid war" of sabotage and espionage - accusations which the Kremlin has repeatedly denied. Laken Pavan, who turned 18 a few weeks after his arrest, pleaded guilty to charges of helping Russian intelligence and was sentenced in December 2024. He is due to leave prison in January 2026. On April 16, 2024 Pavan flew from Vancouver to Moscow via Istanbul and joined a volunteer group in the Russian-occupied eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, according to Polish court documents seen by Reuters. The organisation's social media account said it was set up in 2014 to recruit mercenaries to fight for Russia in Donetsk and the neighbouring Ukrainian region of Luhansk and to organise humanitarian projects for civilians. Pavan told Polish investigators that in late April 2024 he was arrested in Donetsk and questioned by men who said they were from Russia's Federal Security Service, according to the court documents. After several days of detention, Pavan said, he was instructed to return to Europe, lose his passport to conceal his trip to Russia and begin working for the FSB, the documents showed. He told Polish prosecutors he flew to Copenhagen, but later decided to move to Warsaw as life in Denmark was too expensive. A couple of days after checking into a Warsaw budget hotel, Pavan said, he asked a receptionist to call police. When they arrived, he confessed to working with the FSB and planning to pass information about Poland's military to his Russian handler, the court documents showed. (Reporting by Anna Koper; editing by Mark Heinrich)

byMario Satorik

in

July 01, 2025

Canadian teen jailed in Poland as Russia spy may be freed early, court says

Canadian teen jailed in Poland as Russia spy may be freed early, court says WARSAW (Reuters) -A Canadian teenager sentenced in Poland last y...

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Photo highlights from T-Rex World Championship Races

Photo highlights from T-Rex World Championship Races

AUBURN, Wash. (AP) — Spectators cheered as participants ran down the track cloaked in inflatable Tyrannosaurus rex costumes during the T-Rex World Championship Races at Emerald Downs in Auburn, Washington. The Sunday event started in 2017 as a pest control company's team-building activity. The actual dinosaur roamed the planet between 65 million and 67 million years ago. A study published four years ago in the journal Science estimated about2.5 billion of the dinosaursroamed Earth over the course of a couple million years. Hollywood movies such asthe "Jurassic Park" franchisehave added to the public fascination with the carnivorous creature. ___ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

byMario Satorik

in

July 01, 2025

Photo highlights from T-Rex World Championship Races

Photo highlights from T-Rex World Championship Races AUBURN, Wash. (AP) — Spectators cheered as participants ran down the track cloaked in i...

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PHOTO COLLECTION: Best of Wimbledon Tennis First Round

PHOTO COLLECTION: Best of Wimbledon Tennis First Round

This is a photo collection curated by AP photo editors.

byMario Satorik

in

July 01, 2025

PHOTO COLLECTION: Best of Wimbledon Tennis First Round

PHOTO COLLECTION: Best of Wimbledon Tennis First Round This is a photo collection curated by AP photo editors.

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The suspension of Thailand's prime minister over a leaked phone call stirs familiar turmoil

The suspension of Thailand's prime minister over a leaked phone call stirs familiar turmoil

BANGKOK (AP) — The Constitutional Court's suspension ofThai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatrahas raised questions about whether her family's political comeback last year would end with another downfall. Paetongtarnwas the third prime ministerin her family, after her father, Thaksin Shinawatra, a telecom billionaire who has been one of Thailand's top political operators, and her aunt, Yingluck Shinawatra, who was the country's first female prime minister. Thaksin was ousted by a military coup in 2006 and Yingluck by a court ruling in 2014. Thaksin remained beloved after his ouster among voters who saw in him and his allies a government that looked after their interests. While campaigning in 2022, Paetongtarn acknowledged her family ties but insisted she was not her father's proxy. "It's not the shadow of my dad. I am my dad's daughter, always and forever, but I have my own decisions," she said. She also said she hoped her government would be able to "build opportunity and quality of life" and "make the country go forward." Paetongtarn was suspended Tuesday by the court pending an ethics investigation a leaked phone call with senior Cambodian leader Hun Sen that was perceived as damaging to Thailand's interests and image. Eroding trust capped by a diplomatic blunder Her critics have said Paetongtarn's government has achieved little.Marriage equalitybecame law but was initiated under her predecessor.Controls on cannabiswere retightened after public backlash over decriminalization, but the move and its enforcement were called rushed and confusing. Her critics also cited unsatisfactory outcomes in other Pheu Thai party policies, like unequal minimum wage increases, constant changes in acash handout programand the stalled andcontroversial legalization of casinos. They also noted the lack of progress in tariffs talks with the United States. But analysts see the leaked call followingborder tensions with Cambodiato be the most disastrous event by far. The outrage has centeredon Paetongtarn's commentsabout an outspoken Thai army commander and the perception that she was trying to appease Hun Sen. Paetongtarn apologized but also denied that she had damaged the country. She ignored calls for her to resign or dissolve Parliament to take responsibility, which critics saw as an attempt by the Pheu Thai party to cling to power. Napon Jatusripitak, a political science researcher at Singapore's ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, said her response seemed "totally disconnected from political reality" and that the scandal has exposed "her leadership failures and fuels accusations that she prioritizes family interests over national welfare." Adoration for the Shinawatra cools Her father, Thaksin, is believed to be the key decision maker behind Pheu Thai, now led by Paetongtarn. Time and again, Thaksin-backed parties have prevailed in national elections but could not stay in office after legal rulings and destabilizing street protests engineered by Thaksin's die-hard foes. But in 2023, Thaksin alienated many of his old supporters with what looked like aself-serving dealwith his former conservative opponents. It allowed hisreturn from exileand his party to form the new government, while sidelining the progressiveMove Forward Party, which finished first in a national election but was seen by the conservative establishment as a greater threat. Now with the current crisis, things could drastically change for the Shinawatra family. "In light of the recent controversy, the Shinawatra spell has been broken. The only viable Shinawatra scion is now tainted," Napon said. "It would be an understatement to say that the Shinawatra name no longer guarantees electoral success." And not everything has been squared away with her family's enemies. Yingluck remains in exile, andlegal problems— arguably politically inspired — could send her to prison if she returns to Thailand. Thaksin also still facessome legal challenges. Thailand's royalist establishment has long been disturbed that Thaksin's populist policies appeared to threaten their status and that of the monarchy at the heart of Thai identity. Paetongtarn now alsofaces protestsby familiar faces from the same conservative, pro-royalist group that opposed her father. "History seems to be repeating itself in a way. Thailand seems trapped in a depressingly familiar cycle where Shinawatra-led governments come to power, only to face mounting pressure from traditional power centers, street protests, and extraparliamentary interventions that ultimately force them from office," Napon said. Paetongtarn, 38, is the youngest of Thaksin's three children. She was an executive in a hotel business run by her family before making her public entry into politics in 2021 when the Pheu Thai party named her to lead an advisory committee. She has two children with her husband, Pitaka Suksawat, who was a commercial pilot before he began working in one of the Shinawatras' real estate ventures.

byMario Satorik

in

July 01, 2025

The suspension of Thailand's prime minister over a leaked phone call stirs familiar turmoil

The suspension of Thailand's prime minister over a leaked phone call stirs familiar turmoil BANGKOK (AP) — The Constitutional Court'...

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