Giants’ Austin is out for season with a torn ACL
Football
Losing Calvin Austin to a season-ending knee injury means the New York Giants will be without a receiver who was expected to have a big role on offense.
They expect internal options to be able to fill that void.
The 27-year-old has a torn ACL in his right knee and is expected to miss the season, a person with knowledge of the injury told The Associated Press on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the team had not revealed the extent of the injury.
Austin was having a strong camp and preseason with two catches for 24 yards in exhibition play last week at Miami and many more in practice from Jaxson Dart as one of the starting quarterback’s most popular options.
“Definitely impactful to our team because he was playing so well,” coach John Harbaugh said. “He was doing a great job across the board, offense and special teams. He had definitely carved out a role for us on our team.”
Darnell Mooney, also signed as a free agent in March, took Austin’s spot with the first-team offense. Depending how many wideouts the Giants keep on their 53-man roster, Austin’s absence could clear a path for Odell Beckham Jr. and punt returner Braxton Berrios to each make it.
49ers
Commissioner Roger Goodell said the NFL is looking into whether San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York will be punished for violating the league’s personal conduct policy after he was caught in a prostitution sting in Ohio.
“It’s being reviewed under the personal conduct policy,” Goodell said Wednesday at the owners’ meetings in Atlanta. “We’ll do that and when there’s something to be reported we’ll talk.”
York was arrested in a mobile home park by the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force after police said he was attempting to pay $160 for sex with a woman he believed to be a prostitute.
York was booked into jail and was released after posting a $5,000 bond. He was sentenced to one day in jail for both offenses to be served concurrently and was credited with one day served when he pleaded no contest.
Falcons
Atlanta Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said Wednesday quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who joined team drills for the first time on Monday, will not play in the team’s final preseason game at Miami on Friday night.
The decision could have strong implications on Penix being available for the start of the regular season. The much-anticipated competition between Tua Tagovailoa and Penix for the starting job was put on hold through much of training camp as Penix continued his recovery from his 2025 season-ending injury to his left knee. Penix was limited to seven-on-seven and individual drills before his first 11-on-11 work this week.
Though Penix will not have played in any of the team’s three preseason games, Stefanski insisted he was encouraged by the quarterback’s progress.
Stefanski said Tagovailoa will start at Miami, followed by Cooper Rush and undrafted rookie Jack Strand.
Broncos
Denver and Kansas City’s marquee “Monday Night Football” opener on Sept. 14 will feature two quarterbacks coming off devastating injuries and long layoffs.
Broncos coach Sean Payton suggested Wednesday that Bo Nix will sit out Denver’s preseason finale Friday night against the Minnesota Vikings. His comments followed by a few hours word out of the Chiefs’ camp that Patrick Mahomes won’t play in K.C.’s preseason finale against the Seattle Seahawks on Friday night.
Mahomes is making his comeback after tearing ligaments in his knee in December and hasn’t played in the preseason.
Nix is coming off two surgeries on his right ankle, which he broke in Denver’s 33-30 overtime win against the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs last January.
Unlike Mahomes, Nix played in the preseason, completing 6 of 9 passes for 76 yards and a touchdown against Green Bay last week.