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Local prospects in the NFL draft: Illinois safeties Quan Martin and Sydney Brown among 7 selections on Day 2

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:24 GMT

The Tribune is tracking where players from Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame and Illinois high schools are selected in the 2023 NFL draft.Day 2Sam LaPorta, TE, Iowa/Highland, Ill.Round 2 (No. 34) to Detroit LionsA John Mackey Award finalist and first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2022, LaPorta was the second tight end to come off the board. He will join a long line of former Hawkeyes tight ends to play in the NFL, including Dallas Clark, George Kittle, T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant.“I feel like I’m right up there,” LaPorta told reporters.The native of downstate Highland, near St. Louis, had 153 career receptions for 1,786 yards to rank first and second, respectively, among Iowa tight ends.Michael Mayer, TE, Notre DameRound 2 (No. 35) to Las Vegas RaidersMayer was widely expected to be picked in the first round, and when he remained on the board, the Raiders traded up three spots to grab the first-team All-American and John Mackey Award finalist.Mayer, who totaled 1...

Day 2 of NFL draft: Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles hits the defense with pair of DTs and CB Tyrique Stevenson

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:24 GMT

An exhausted Ryan Poles planned to go home from Halas Hall on Friday night and put his phone on “do not disturb” so he could get some rest before a busy Day 3 of the NFL draft.But the Chicago Bears general manager imagines it might be hard to relax after he helped his defense take a step forward with three additions from the second and third rounds.“I’ll go sit down at home and be wired,” Poles said. “And I’ll have to watch TV and eventually fall asleep.”One night after addressing the offense by taking Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright, Poles focused on filling key holes on the defense, selecting Florida defensive tackle Gervon Dexter at No. 53, Miami cornerback Tyrique Stevenson at No. 56 and South Carolina defensive tackle Zacch Pickens at No. 64.Poles traded up with the Jacksonville Jaguars to get Stevenson, giving them the No. 136 pick to move up five spots.On Thursday night, Poles left open the possibility that he would tr...

Chicago Bears in the 2023 NFL draft: 3 prospects — including DT Gervon Dexter — are added to the defense on Day 2

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:24 GMT

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles is off and running with his draft weekend to-do list, looking to improve a last-place roster and accelerate the team’s return toward playoff contention.In a demanding and busy offseason, Poles has expressed eagerness to do his heaviest lifting through the draft. That process began in Thursday night’s first round and will continue through Saturday evening.Bears remaining picks in 2023 NFL draftRound 4: Nos. 103 and 133Round 5: No. 148Round 7: Nos. 218 and 258As Poles and the Bears navigate the weekend, we will offer you a comprehensive look at each of the players the team selects.Catch up on our draft coverageBears trade down again and select Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright with the No. 10 pick in the NFL draftColumn: Drafting Darnell Wright the latest item on the checklist so the Bears can better evaluate Justin FieldsDay 2 of NFL draft: Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles hits the defense with pair of DTs and CB Tyrique Stevens...

Column: After passing on Jalen Carter, the Chicago Bears doubled down on DTs Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens. Now they must develop.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:24 GMT

There is nothing Ryan Poles could have said about Jalen Carter on Thursday night that would have been more telling than his actions — passing on the Georgia defensive tackle in the first round.The Chicago Bears GM declined to talk about Carter, whom the Philadelphia Eagles selected at No. 9 with the pick Poles traded to them. Poles also didn’t say he had a plan to start rebuilding the interior of the defensive line the next night.That is what the Bears began Friday, choosing Florida’s Gervon Dexter in Round 2 at No. 53 and South Carolina’s Zacch Pickens to begin Round 3 at No. 64. In between, the Bears traded up five spots to No. 56 to add Miami cornerback Tyrique Stevenson.Carter might go on to a career full of accolades in Philadelphia. Some scouts considered him the best player on tape in the draft. You can make a case the defending NFC champions and Eagles general manager Howie Roseman are shrewd operators, but the locker room has a culture on an entirely...

4 things we heard from new Chicago Bears OT Darnell Wright, including his role as a ‘tone-setter’ at Tennessee

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:24 GMT

New Chicago Bears offensive tackle Darnell Wright was in the middle of a three-hour stretch of interviews with local sports radio personalities, TV broadcasters and sports writers Friday at Halas Hall when he was asked about the expectations he faces in his new home.After months of buildup around the draft in Chicago, the Bears selected Wright at No. 10 on Thursday night, and he arrived in Lake Forest as the likely starter at right tackle going into his rookie season. As the Bears try to build up their offense around quarterback Justin Fields, general manager Ryan Poles and his staff believe Wright can be a tone-setter on the line.Wright, who started 42 games over four seasons at Tennessee, didn’t back away from those hopes.“I embrace expectations upon myself,” Wright said. “I have expectations upon myself bigger than just football. I have expectations to take care of my family. I don’t know what my role for the team is, but whatever that role is I̵...

Bill Belichick ‘absolutely’ feels good about Patriots QB Mac Jones

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:24 GMT

Ever since Mac Jones returned from a high ankle sprain last October, Bill Belichick has declined to name him the Patriots’ quarterback of the future.Lately, between his end-of-season press conference in January and annual interview at the owners meetings in March, Belichick has refused to even declare Jones his starting quarterback.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | 2023 NFL Draft | Who are the top players for Day 3? New England Patriots | NFL Draft 2023: Patriots select Georgia Tech DL Keion White in 2nd round New England Patriots | Patriots OC Bill O’Brien doesn’t shoot down notion of having quarterback competition New England Patriots | 2023 NFL Draft: 8 potential Patriots picks on Day 2 New England Patriots | Why Patriots believed they could trade back and still draft Christian Gonzalez On Friday night, Belichick didn’t change his tune, but the Patriots’ head coach d...

California man guilty of killing 3 after doorbell prank

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:24 GMT

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California man accused of killing three teenage boys by intentionally ramming their car after they played a doorbell-ringing prank on him was found guilty Friday of murder. Anurag Chandra was convicted in a Riverside County courtroom of three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder. “The murder of these young men was a horrendous and senseless tragedy for our community. I thank the jury for their verdict. This is an important step toward justice,” county District Attorney Mike Hestrin said in a statement.Chandra’s attorney, David Wohl, did not immediately return a request for comment Friday.The victims, who were all 16 years old, were among six teens inside a Toyota Prius on Jan. 19, 2020 when Chandra intentionally rammed their vehicle off the road and fled, prosecutors said. The Prius’ driver lost control and the sedan slammed into a tree in Temescal Valley, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southeast of downtown Los...

Counselor and inmate stabbed at private prison in Indiana

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:24 GMT

NEW CASTLE, Ind. (AP) — A female mental health counselor and a male inmate have been stabbed by another inmate during an attack at a private prison in eastern Indiana, authorities said.The counselor was conducting a group session around 9:40 a.m. Friday with eight male inmates at the New Castle Correctional Facility when one of the inmates began stabbing her neck and throat area with a pointed metal object, state police said.As other inmates tried to stop the attack, one was stabbed in the chest.The wounds suffered by the counselor and the inmate were not considered life threatening, state police said.The cause of the attack was not immediately known. New Castle is about 48 miles (77 kilometers) east of Indianapolis.The Associated Press

Russian official: Ukrainian drones hit Crimea oil depot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:24 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A massive fire erupted at an oil depot in Crimea after it was hit by two of Ukraine’s drones, a Russia-appointed official there reported Saturday, the latest in a series of attacks on the annexed peninsula as Russia braces for an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive. Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol, a port city in Crimea, posted videos and photos of the blaze on his Telegram channel. Razvozhayev said the fire at the city’s harbor was assigned the highest ranking in terms of how complicated it will be to extinguish. However, he reported that the open blaze had been contained. Razvozhayev said the oil depot was attacked by “two enemy drones,” and four oil tanks burned down. A third drone was shot down from the sky over Crimea, and one more was deactivated through radio-electronic means, according to Crimea’s Moscow-appointed governor, Sergei Aksyonov. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move that mo...

Threatened Quebec caribou herd expecting up to 12 calves this year

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:24 GMT

MONTRÉAL, France — A caribou herd in Charlevoix, Que., could be heading toward a baby boom this year, providing a rare bit of good news for the province’s decimated population.Caroline Hins, a biologist with the province’s Wildlife Department, confirmed all 12 of the herd’s breeding-age females are believed to be pregnant, after tests that showed high progesterone levels.“It’s very good news,” she said in an interview Friday.She said that if all the pregnancies are carried to term and the calves survive — and there’s no guarantee of that — the herd northeast of Quebec City will have doubled in size in a year and a half.The Quebec government captured the herd, then numbered at 16, and placed it in an enclosure in February 2022 as part of a controversial plan to prevent isolated herds from dying out. Five healthy calves were born last year, out of eight presumed pregnancies.The government has argued that enclosing caribou represents their best...