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James Cook gets his money from the Bills; John Mateer’s denial of gambling on sports explained

 

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Plus, we present the biggest challenges for every NFL team

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This is an article version of the CBS Sports HQ AM Newsletter, the ultimate guide to every day in sports. You can sign up to get it in your inbox every weekday morning here.

🏈 Good morning to all but especially to …

JAMES COOK AND THE BUFFALO BILLS

There are lots of contract stalemates, with Micah Parsons, Trey Hendrickson, Terry McLaurin and Cameron Heyward most notably, seemingly stuck. James Cook has scratched his name off that list. The Bills‘ Pro Bowl running back ended his hold-in, returning to practice Tuesday before getting his contract extension on Wednesday.

  • It’s been a rollercoaster offseason for Cook, 25, and the Bills, with him skipping OTAs and participating off and on at training camp.
  • Cook was entering the final year of his rookie deal. He had not practiced in Buffalo’s last four practices as he sought an extension that would pay him $15 million per year.
  • Cook is coming off a breakout 18-touchdown 2024, but he’s also very much a part-time back. I explored why Cook’s potential extension is an interesting case back in May.

“I would say that things have changed,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “And yes, we have had conversations with James. Good conversations that I’ve mentioned before. The information that we’re getting is that he is moving towards practicing.”

Cook is back now, and Bills fans can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that one of their main weapons for Josh Allen will be back and ready for them to try and finally get over the hump and reach the Super Bowl. 

😃 Honorable mentions

🏈 And not such a good morning for …

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JOHN MATEER AND THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA

Silly Venmo captions are a tale as old as the money-transferring app itself. But when it comes to one of the most hot-button topics in sports, maybe John Mateer should have just played it on the straight and narrow. The Oklahoma quarterback denied gambling on sports after Venmo captions suggesting otherwise emerged.

  • Back in November 2022, when he was redshirting at Washington State, Mateer sent two separate payments to a friend, titled “sports gambling,” and “sports gambling (UCLA vs USC).” The Trojans and Bruins had indeed just played.
  • As a collegiate athlete, Mateer was — and still is — prohibited from gambling on sports.
  • “The allegations that I once participated in sports gambling are false,” Mateer said in a statement. “My previous Venmo descriptions did not accurately portray the transactions in question but were instead inside jokes between me and my friends. I have never bet on sports. I understand the seriousness of the matter, but recognize that, taken out of context, those Venmo descriptions suggest otherwise. I can assure my teammates, coaches, and officials at the NCAA that I have not engaged in any sports gambling.” 

Oklahoma is looking into the situation but released a statement saying it doesn’t expect the NCAA to investigate, and a source told CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello that Mateer has never been flagged for gambling by U.S. Integrity. Here’s a full explanation of the situation.

Mateer is a crucial part of a crucial season for the Sooners. The gem of 247Sports’ 12th-ranked transfer class, Mateer threw for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns and ran for 826 yards and 15 touchdowns last year for the Cougars.

With Brent Venables firmly on the hot seat after a 6-6 campaign — and facing arguably the toughest schedule in the nation — he hardly needs a distraction like this. He and Mateer are certainly hoping this proves a minor bump in the road, one that fades quickly.

😔 Not so honorable mentions

🏈 Biggest challenges for every NFL team, plus grading first-round rookies

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NFL teams are learning more and more about themselves each and every day. What are our strengths? Weaknesses? Where do we need reinforcements? Which youngsters can contribute? It’s day after day of evaluation and re-evaluation.

We’re evaluating, too. Specifically, Jared Dubin is analyzing biggest challenges for every NFL team (NFC here, AFC here). Jared always does stellar work, and these are no exception. Here are three that intrigue me most:

  • “Steelers: Aaron Rodgers — Rodgers is, at this point, a major question mark for whichever team he’s on. Not just in terms of the quality of his play, but also his willingness to actually work inside the structure of an NFL offense.”
  • “Packers: Wide receiver (again) — Green Bay drafted Matthew Golden to hopefully clear things up here, but there are still plenty of question marks when it comes to this room. Will Jayden Reed ever be allowed to play in two-receiver sets? Can Dontayvion Wicks actually catch the ball when he gets open? If and when Christian Watson gets back on the field, can he be more than an occasional deep-shot artist? Will Romeo Doubs be unhappy again now that there’s yet another mouth to feed?”
  • “Cardinals: The Cardinals were wildly uncreative with their usage of Marvin Harrison Jr. last year and it turned the aerial attack into ‘Marvin please win 50-50 balls’ or ‘Trey McBride, go do stuff.'” 

Joint practices are arguably the best way for teams to evaluate their rosters, and we have several today. J.J. McCarthy‘s performance against the Browns is among Tyler Sullivan’s top joint practice storylines.

The games still matter, too. Chris Trapasso delivered preseason Week 1 grades for the first-round rookies.

🏈 College football must-see matchups

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Now that the AP Top 25 poll has arrived, can the college football season just get here already?! There’s a ranked-vs.-ranked Week 0 matchup between No. 22 Iowa State and No. 17 Kansas State followed by an absolutely loaded Week 1 headlined by No. 1 Texas at No. 3 Ohio State, No. 9 LSU at No. 4 Clemson and No. 6 Notre Dame at No. 10 Miami.

But don’t sleep on a pair of Sept. 27 games that feature in Brad Crawford’s top 15 must-see games.

  • Crawford: “No. 8 Alabama at No. Georgia — Kirby Smart is 1-6 against Alabama during his time at Georgia … Last year’s matchup was a shootout in Tuscaloosa, and now Georgia gets an opportunity to return the favor in Athens for only the second time in the last 10 meetings. … No. 7 Oregon at No. 2 Penn State — This one sets up to be an all-timer for the Penn State faithful with a ‘Whiteout’ night game planned.”

Over 106,000 rabid Nittany Lions fans greeting the reigning Big Ten champs? Sign me up.

Those are just a few of the many wild rides that will have the polls in flux all season long. With six different teams receiving at least one preseason first-place vote — most since 2016 — chaos is ahead, Shehan Jeyarajah writes.

📺 What we’re watching Wednesday

⚾ The Little League World Series starts today. Here’s where to watch.
⚾ Pirates at Brewers, 2:10 p.m. on MLB Network
⚾ Diamondbacks at Rangers, 2:35 p.m. on MLB Network
⚽ UEFA Super Cup: PSG vs. Tottenham, 3 p.m. on CBS Sports Network/Paramount+
⚾ Twins at Yankees, 7:05 p.m. on Prime Video
⚾ Braves at Mets, 7:10 p.m. on FS1
🏀 Liberty at Aces, 9:30 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ Dodgers at Angels, 9:38 p.m. on MLB Network
⚾ Rangers at Athletics, 10:05 p.m. on MLB Network

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