FOOTBALL
The New York Jets have agreed to terms with former Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams on a one-year contract, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.
The 29-year-old Williams visited the Jets’ facility Tuesday and reportedly had meetings with other teams scheduled — but New York didn’t let him leave its building without a deal.
NFL Network first reported the agreement between Williams and the Jets and said it’s worth up to $15 million.
Williams gives quarterback Aaron Rodgers another playmaker as a complement to No. 1 wide receiver Garrett Wilson in what should be a much-improved offense this season. Along with Rodgers expecting to be fully healthy after tearing his left Achilles tendon four plays into his debut for New York, the Jets rebuilt their offensive line by signing left tackle Tyron Smith and left guard John Simpson and acquiring Morgan Moses from Baltimore in a trade last week.
Williams is coming off a torn ACL suffered in the Chargers’ third game last season. He had a strong start before the injury, catching 19 passes for 249 yards and a touchdown. Williams was released by Los Angeles last week, a move that freed up $20 million in salary cap space.
• Cornelius Lucas is returning to the Washington Commanders, one of a handful of carryovers coming back as the team remakes the offensive line and the roster as a whole.
The Commanders re-signed Lucas to a contract for next season that’s worth up to $4 million, according to a person familiar with the deal.
Lucas, who turns 33 before training camp opens in July, is expected to compete for the vacant left tackle position after the release of former starter Charles Leno earlier this month. Lucas started 31 games and appeared in 62 as the swing tackle for Washington since signing with the team in 2020, after previously playing for Detroit, the Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans and Chicago.
• Denzel Perryman is back with the Los Angeles Chargers for a second stint with a one-year contract, the team announced.
Perryman was a second-round selection by the Chargers in 2015 and was with the team for six seasons. He played for the Houston Texans last season and the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021 and ’22.
• Jerry Jeudy, the speedy wide receiver acquired last week in a trade with Denver, signed a three-year contract extension with Cleveland. Jeudy’s new deal — he was entering his final year under contract — runs through the 2027 season.
The extension is worth up to $58 million and includes $41 million guaranteed.
• The Buffalo Bills added pass-rushing depth by signing free agent defensive end Casey Toohill to a one-year contract.
The 27-year-old Toohill joins Buffalo after spending the past three-plus seasons with Washington, where last season he had a career-best five sacks in 16 games, including eight starts.
• The Minnesota Vikings agreed to terms on a contract with free-agent cornerback Shaquill Griffin, adding some needed experience to an unproven position group.
The eighth-year veteran joins his fifth NFL team, after starting last season with Houston and then moving to Carolina after he was released.
BASKETBALL
NBA: Cavaliers All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell could miss at least another week after breaking his nose in Cleveland’s loss at Houston last weekend.
Mitchell, who has also been dealing with a bruised left knee, got hurt in Saturday’s game against the Rockets when teammate Tristan Thompson accidentally bashed him while going after a loose ball.
The Cavs said Mitchell underwent a procedure at the Cleveland Clinic to realign his nose. He’ll be reevaluated “in approximately one week.”
• Lakers big man Christian Wood had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in the latest injury setback for Los Angeles’ depth players.
The Lakers provided no time frame for Wood’s recovery from the procedure, which was performed at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. But the injury seems highly likely to sideline Wood, who has been out since Feb. 14, for at least the rest of the regular season.
The Lakers are also playing without veterans Jarred Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent and Cam Reddish, eroding the depth of what once looked like a solid supporting cast around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
G LEAGUE: Maine Celtics guard DJ Steward was named the NBA G League Player of the Week for games played March 11-17.
Steward averaged 27.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.3 steals in four games, helping the Celtics to a 3-1 record during the stretch.
Steward had 34 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists in an overtime win against Delaware on March 13, and has scored 20 or more points in eight consecutive games.
HOCKEY
OBITS: Former Belarusian hockey player Konstantin Koltsov, who was coaching in the KHL, has died in Florida, police said. He was 42.
Miami-Dade Police detective Argemis Colome confirmed Koltsov’s death in a statement sent to The Associated Press. Police said the death was an apparent suicide and no foul play was suspected.
Koltsov served as an assistant coach for Salavat Yulaev Ufa the past two seasons. He also was an assistant on staff for the Belarusian men’s national team.
Koltsov played in 144 NHL games for the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2003-06 after being selected in the first round of the 1999 draft, putting up 12 goals and 26 assists.
• Former NHL enforcer Chris Simon has died. He was 52.
Simon died Monday night in his hometown of Wawa, Ontario, a spokesperson for the NHL Players’ Association, who has been in touch with the late forward’s agent, said. Paul Theofanous, who represented Simon, did not respond to a message seeking further details and Ontario Provincial Police declined to answer questions about Simon’s death. A cause of death was not immediately available.
Simon played 857 regular-season and playoff games over 15 NHL seasons from 1993-2008. Over his career, he fought more than 100 times and racked up 1,824 penalty minutes to rank 67th in league history.
ECHL: The Maine Mariners made several roster moves, signing forward Christian Sarlo, acquiring forward Sebastian Vidmar from the Savannah Ghost Pirates and sending two other players to AHL Providence.
Sarlo recently finished his collegiate career at Penn State, where he scored 19 goals and added 29 assists in 122 games with the Nittany Lions.
Vidmar, who has eight goals and 15 assists in 23 games for Savannah this season, was traded in exchange for future considerations.
The Providence Bruins recalled forward Jimmy Lambert and defenseman Ryan Mast.
MAINE CELTICS
Maine Celtics guard DJ Steward was named the NBA G League Player of the Week for games played March 11-17.
Steward averaged 27.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.3 steals in four games, helping the Celtics to a 3-1 record during the stretch.
Steward had 34 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists in an overtime win against Delaware on March 13, and has scored 20 or more points in eight consecutive games.
OLYMPICS
PARIS: Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be allowed to take part in the traditional parade at the Opening Ceremony at the Paris Olympics, the IOC said.
The Opening Ceremony on July 26 will see thousands of athletes travel on boats down the River Seine for several miles toward the Eiffel Tower, instead of the normal parade of teams inside a stadium.
The International Olympic Committee said athletes from Russia and Belarus who are approved to compete at the Olympics as neutrals will have a chance only “to experience the event” — likely watching from near the river.
Russia and Belarus are barred from team sports at the Olympics because of the war in Ukraine and the IOC has laid out a two-step vetting procedure for individual athletes from those countries to be granted neutral status. Those athletes must first be approved by the governing body of their individual sport and then by an an IOC-appointed review panel.
• USA Basketball’s men’s team is assured of seeing Serbia and South Sudan in the group stage, and the U.S. women are guaranteed of a gold-medal-game rematch against Japan in France this summer.
FIBA, the sport’s global organizing body, held the draw for the Paris Games in Mies, Switzerland, slotting the fields for the 12-team basketball tournaments. The women’s field is complete; the men’s field still has four spots that will go to winners of qualifying tournaments in early July before the Olympics open in late July.
The U.S. men will be coached by Steve Kerr and are seeking a fifth consecutive gold medal, the U.S. women will be coached by Cheryl Reeve and are seeking an eighth consecutive Olympic title. Both are ranked No. 1 in the world, and both programs have been — by far — the dominant force in Olympic basketball since its inception.
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