Football

Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans and the rest of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are taking zero chances ahead of Hurricane Milton ... electing to make their road trip to New Orleans days earlier than expected.

The 3-2 Bucs are scheduled to play a road matchup against their division-rival Saints on Sunday ... and were initially slated to fly out on Saturday.

However, Hurricane Milton has changed those plans ... as the Category 4 storm is heading straight for the Sunshine State.

New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers was reportedly arrested in Massachusetts early Saturday morning ... facing charges including assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, strangulation and drug possession.

According to local reports, Braintree Police were dispatched to a home on the morning of October 5 ... after receiving a call regarding a disturbance.

EMS treated an alleged victim at the scene ... and after an investigation, Peppers was arrested.

Travis Kelce is now on the backside of 30 having celebrated his 35th birthday Saturday, and Taylor Swift was MIA, but fear not Swifties ... this will all course correct Monday night.

Travis hit up his Kelce Car Jam spectacle in Kansas City, and he broke the news to the staff Taylor was not showing up.

As you know, there's this crazy buzz that when Taylor is not at every Travis game or event, there's trouble in paradise, but not the case. Travis said Taylor will be cheering him on Monday night when the Chiefs take on the Saints in K.C.

Vanderbilt Univ. scored a stunning win over Alabama on Saturday -- one of the biggest ever for the team -- and they celebrated with one of the craziest celebrations ever ... ripping the goalpost out of the ground and dragging it miles away for its new home in a famous river!!!

The Commodores crushed the Crimson Tide by a score of 40-35, and Nashville fans went nuts ... rushing the field at FirstBank Stadium and somehow dislodging the goalpost from the ground.

But that wasn't the end ... fans lugged the gigantic object more than 3 miles to its new home -- in the Cumberland River.

Despite suffering yet another scary head injury, Tua Tagovailoa is still going to try to return to the NFL -- so says his close family friend, Manti Te'o.

The former New Orleans Saints linebacker made the revelation to us out in Los Angeles this week -- some 21 days after Tagovailoa sustained his third diagnosed concussion in a "Thursday Night Football" matchup with the Bills.

Te'o says while he's tried to give the 26-year-old signal-caller his space as he recovers from the brain trauma ... he did recently speak with the Dolphins star's father -- and from everything he's hearing, Tua is "going to try to get back."

Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets are stumbling out the gates in 2024 ... but ex-NFL QB Mark Sanchez says the last thing they need to do is make a change on the sidelines -- telling TMZ Sports they need to ride it out with Robert Saleh.

We caught up with the Fox Sports commentator at LAX amid Gang Green's 2-2 start ... and asked what he felt about folks saying NY's head coach should be on the hot seat following a 10-9 loss to the Denver Broncos.

"This past game was just an ugly game, they would had to win ugly," Sanchez said. "And they lost by a point, or whatever it was. In a rainy game like that, you need one ball to bounce your way; you need to make a field goal, something."

Travis Kelce's "Grotesquerie" character was a stripper back in the day, but he's now getting opportunities to bring Ed Lachlan's past back to the present ... with several male revues telling TMZ Sports they would love "Big Peter and His Banana Splitter" to make a special appearance!!

The Kansas City Chiefs superstar made his debut on the Ryan Murphy show this past week ... and in one scene, his role was revealed as a former dancer at a male strip club in Juneau, Alaska, where he was "jiggling it for horny mamas coming off of cruise ships."

Unfortunately, there weren't any flashback scenes.

Atlanta is really rubbing off on Kirk Cousins -- the Falcons quarterback celebrated his huge "Thursday Night Football" win by chowing down at Waffle House ... but not before doing an interview in the parking lot!!

The 13-year vet joined "The Dan Patrick Show" on Friday to talk all about the Falcons' 36-30 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in overtime ... but before they broke down the game, the broadcasting legend inquired about his backdrop for the virtual convo.

Cousins explained he wanted to take advantage of his day off from work, so he asked his 7-year-old, Cooper, what they should do.

Pro Bowl defensive end today ... UFC heavyweight champ down the road?!?

Maxx Crosby sure seems to think that's possible ... telling TMZ Sports he could see himself stepping into Dana White's Octagon at some point in the future.

Crosby, of course, is fully dedicated to his NFL career at the moment ... but he says he trains to be a beast on Sundays with daily boxing exercises -- and it's clear, it all could lead to a professional tilt later on.

Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield are doing their part to make sure individuals affected by Hurricane Helene can get the assistance they need -- the two NFL stars donated $50k each to a relief fund.

The Falcons and Buccaneers quarterbacks made the combined $100k contribution to Team Rubicon -- a veteran-led humanitarian organization -- to help people who dealt with the impacts of Helene after its landfall back on September 26.

"We stand with those who have been affected," Mayfield said. "Honoring the lives lost and the families that are still in distress. Together, we can make a difference."

Some moms of celebrities are stepping out from their famous kids' shadows and snagging A-list love of their own -- landing the cover of a national magazine!

Glamour Mag’s special "Women of the Year" issue is shining a spotlight on the powerhouse mothers of Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Selena Gomez, and the Kelce brothers ... teaming up for a stunning photoshoot.

Tina Knowles, Donna Kelce, Maggie Baird, and Mandy Teefey are in their element for the shoot, striking poses and flashing smiles like the queens they are -- after all, they’re the proud mamas of some of the biggest stars in entertainment.

Turns out, there's not many NFL players who are hate hate hating on Taylor Swift's newfound presence in the league ... as a recent poll of pros revealed she has their support.

The Athletic asked over 100 NFLers earlier this season about Swift-mania -- which kicked off in September 2023 after she sparked a romance with Chiefs star Travis Kelce -- and for the most part, the guys said she's been great for business.

The outlet -- which granted the jocks anonymity so they could speak their minds freely -- reported a whopping 74 out of 102 players "viewed the singer’s interest in the game (and the coverage that stemmed from it) as a positive."

Travis Kelce's not losing his mind over his stat line like the rest of the world ... saying despite having the best outing of his season on Sunday, the only number he gives a damn about is the one in the win column.

The All-Pro tight end addressed his seven-catch, 89-yard performance in a win over the Los Angeles Chargers on the latest episode of his "New Heights" podcast with brother, Jason, on Wednesday ... which was surprisingly the strongest performance of the 2024 campaign for the usually dominant force.

Travis admitted the narrative of his struggles on the field leading up to the Week 4 contest were true ... but only in one area.

Buffalo Bills defensive end Von Miller was just suspended for four games ... after the NFL says he violated the league's Personal Conduct Policy.

Miller -- who won't be paid for the next month while on suspension -- will be eligible for reinstatement on October 28 ... following the team's matchup against the Seattle Seahawks.

While it's unclear exactly what led to the suspension of the 35-year-old future Hall of Famer, the punishment comes almost a year after authorities issued an arrest warrant for Miller for allegedly assaulting a pregnant woman -- later identified as his GF.

Former NFL star Eddie Lacy was thrown behind bars in Arizona on Monday night ... after cops claimed he was driving while wasted.

According to the Scottsdale Police Department, the ex-Green Bay Packers tailback was pulled over at around 10:40 PM -- after officers said they saw him committing several traffic violations.

He apparently elicited signs of being intoxicated during the stop ... as an SPD spokesperson tells TMZ Sports Lacy was ultimately arrested and booked on four separate DUI charges, including "Extreme DUI -- BAC .20 or more."

Antonio Brown has found himself in the crosshairs of the masses once again ... this time, people are dragging the former NFL superstar over a misogynistic social media post he made about Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift.

The ex-Steelers wideout pressed send on the message on X on Sunday afternoon ... as Kelce and the Chiefs were competing against the Chargers in Los Angeles.

In his eight-word note, Brown appeared to imply Kelce would play better if he dumped Swift for a Black woman -- while using some offensive language in the process.