NFL

A current flag football star quarterback believes he's a better fit to lead Team USA in the 2028 Olympics than Patrick Mahomes ... and he tells TMZ Sports the only way he'll think otherwise is if the three-time Super Bowl champion proves it to him on the field.

The confident signal-caller's name is Darrell "Housh" Doucette ... a 35-year-old righty who helped lead the U.S. national flag football team to gold at the 2022 World Games.

If his name sounds familiar ... it's because earlier this week, he made national headlines -- when he claimed it was "disrespectful" that a lot of NFL stars are currently believing they can displace some flag footballers and go for gold on their own at the Los Angeles Games in four years.

Brian Flores heard Tua Tagovailoa's harsh criticism this week ... and while he said he doesn't believe his former quarterback's characterization of him is accurate, he's vowing to adapt nonetheless.

Just one day after the Miami Dolphins star called Flores a "terrible person" who spewed nothing but negativity his way during their time together in South Florida ... Brian stood in front of a gaggle of journalists to address the matter.

The Vikings defensive coordinator -- who was with the 'Fins from 2019-2021 -- seemed both hurt and surprised by the critique ... but he said he will use it all as a learning experience moving forward.

Simone Biles might not be at Chicago Bears games this season a la Taylor Swift to support her man, Jonathan Owens -- but no, it's not because of the Packers coat incident!

The 7x Olympic gold medalist explained why you may not see her on the sidelines, or luxury suite in a TikTok video ... explaining her upcoming schedule is packed, despite just returning from the 2024 Paris Games.

"I don't know how many games I'll be able to make," the 27-year-old said, "because in a few weeks we go on tour."

Tyreek Hill might get his wish ... 'cause the NFL said it is "actively" figuring out a way to get its players to compete in flag football at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller was asked the burning question surrounding the new event in a conference call on Monday -- could Team USA orchestrate a team of All-Pros and Super Bowl winners to absolutely dominate en route to a gold medal??

As of right now, it's definitely not a "no."

Tua Tagovailoa is getting candid about his experiences with Brian Flores ... labeling the former Dolphins head coach a "terrible person" and claiming he endured endless insults under his leadership.

Tagovailoa didn't hold back about his feelings in a recent interview ... when he was asked about the difference between his current coach, Mike McDaniel, and Flores, who had the same gig from 2019 until 2022.

"To put in simplest terms, if you woke up every morning and I told you you suck at what you did, that you don't belong doing what you do, that you shouldn't be here, that this guy should be here, that you haven't earned this right ... and then you have somebody else come in and tell you, 'Dude, you are the best fit for this,'" the 26-year old said on the Dan Le Betard Show with Stugotz.

Simone Biles ate up the competition at the 2024 Olympics ... and, one restaurant knows it -- giving her a custom championship that's not exactly safe for work.

The 11-time Olympic medalist went out to dinner with her husband Jonathan Owens in Chicago after the Chicago Bears preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals ... and, the restaurant they dined at -- Maple & Ash -- surprised the Olympian.

Scrawled across the front -- over her eating options -- in big letters read "Olympic F***ing Champion" ... something SB loved by the way, 'cause she posted multiple pics and vids about it.

Tyreek Hill's mother allegedly slapped a woman and later broke her necklace during an altercation last month ... and now the woman has filed a police report over it.

According to police documents obtained by TMZ Sports, the incident happened on or around July 1 in Southwest Ranches, Fla. ... after the NFL star's mom, Anesha Sanchez, got into a dispute with her friend, Maleney.

Cops say Maleney told officers that during their argument, Sanchez offered to give Maleney a ride home in order to stop the disagreement. But, Maleney claims Anesha snapped during the lift back to her pad ... and allegedly slapped Maleney across the face with the back of her hand.

Simone Biles may be a beloved Olympic champ, but NFL fans say she's not above the sport's rivalries ... roasting the Olympian for wearing a Packers jacket to a Bears game.

Here's the deal ... Biles' husband Jonathan Owens made the switch from the Green Bay Packers to the Chicago Bears this offseason -- two teams locked in one of the oldest rivalries in the sport.

It seems at some point last year -- the one season JO played for GB -- Simone bought a custom black and white jacket featuring action shots of Owens on the Packers ... with the iconic "G" logo on her shoulders.

Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes look in midseason form already ... 'cause the two just connected on a crazy behind the back pass.

The play happened just moments ago during the Lions vs Chiefs preseason game ... on third down with three yards to go, Mahomes scrambled to his right -- before flicking the ball toward his main receiving threat.

TK's able to get the first down and more ... ending up just inside the Lions' 25-year-line -- a nice little chunk of yardage from one of the weirdest plays we'll probably see this preseason.

Former NFL player Bobby McCray is waving the white flag on his marriage ... because he just filed for divorce from Khadijah Haqq, who is one of Khloe Kardashian's BFFs.

Bobby beelined it to court Friday and filed to officially end his marriage ... according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ.

In the docs, Bobby lists the date of separation as July, 7 2023 ... and he's going with the boilerplate irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split.

Manti Te'o appears to be slowly but surely getting over the girlfriend hoax story that rocked his life ... 'cause he just poked fun at the situation during one of his first appearances at his new NFL Network job -- and it was hilarious!!

Te'o -- who officially joined the NFL Network this week -- made the funny while appearing on Friday's edition of "Good Morning Football."

One of the segments on the show required him to answer some trivia questions about his alma mater -- the University of Notre Dame -- and when he began to struggle to come up with correct responses, he dropped a zinger about not Googling himself that had the whole room laughing.

There was a big break in the Matthew Perry death case, North West is twinning with her dog, and Tom Brady is showing off his arm ... all this on today's TMZ Hot Takes.

First up on "TMZ Live," Harvey and Charles break down all the arrests and criminal charges in connection with the death of the beloved "Friends" star.

12:27 PM PT -- We knew it was coming ... and RG3 responded to the news in traditional fashion -- channeling the movie, "Friday," to get his point across.

Robert Griffin III is unemployed -- the former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback has reportedly been scrapped from his gig with ESPN ... despite a few years remaining on his contract.

The news broke via The Athletic on Thursday ... with no reason being given for the move.

Tom Brady, unretiring AGAIN?!

That's what TB12 joked while soakin' up the sun on a yacht off the coast of Italy, firing footballs from the boat ... and proving he's still got the arm to play in the NFL!

The soon-to-be Hall of Famer dropped the 9-minute debut episode of his new vlog, "Last Week with Tom Brady," which is produced by Shadow Lion, where he did everything from watching Simone Biles in person at the Paris Olympics with his daughter Vivian, to hangin' on a beautiful yacht in the Mediterranean with Michael Rubin and others.

At one point in the ep, Rubin, founder of Fanatics, was on a jet ski ... a perfect opportunity for Brady to throw a few passes to his buddy out on the water.

Blake Lively's got beef, Travis Kelce has a new 'do and Chris Jones is making a $1.5 million offer for a chicken wing convict ... all this on today's TMZ Hot Takes.

First up on "TMZ Live," Harvey and Charles explain why Blake felt uncomfortable around Justin Baldoni on the set of "It Ends With Us."

Jonathan Owens' Chicago Bears teammates didn't have an issue with him missing part of training camp to watch his wife, Simone Biles, dominate at the Olympics ... 'cause he received a warm welcome upon his return to practice -- complete with a passionate "USA" chant!!

The 29-year-old safety's reunion with his squad was captured on HBO's 'Hard Knocks' cameras during Tuesday's episode ... and while some folks questioned his excused absence to be present for the GOAT's historic performances, the team was clearly in his corner.

During a meeting, Owens addressed the crowd as a Biles-themed PowerPoint presentation ran across the big screen ... and he explained just how important the trip was for him.