Alabama
Alabama prep star comes up as Crimson Tide lineman goes down for Browns
For the first three-and-a-half seasons of his NFL career, Jedrick Wills Jr. served as the Cleveland Browns’ left offensive tackle. But over the NFL team’s past 21 games, Wills has played in five.
After the Browns placed Wills on injured reserve on Saturday, it appears unlikely that he’ll play again in the 2024 season, and it could be that the former first-round draft pick from Alabama has played his last game for Cleveland.
As the Browns placed Wills and defensive tackle Maurice Hurst II on injured reserve on Saturday, Cleveland filled their spots on the active roster by signing practice-squad wide receivers Kadarius Toney and Michael Woods II. Toney was a standout at Blount High School in Prichard.
Wills missed the final nine games of the 2023 season after he sustained a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee in a 27-0 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Nov. 5, 2023. Wills wasn’t ready to start the 2024 season on time either. He missed three of the first four games.
Wills played every offensive snap in three straight games before he didn’t dress for Cleveland’s 29-24 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 27. Wills said he aggravated his knee injury in a 21-14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 20, even though he played all 84 offensive snaps.
Wills said he was dealing with cartilage damage and a bone bruise in addition to the swelling. He had fluid drained from the knee and did not practice in the week before the Baltimore game and said he made a “business decision” not to play against the Ravens.
Wills played two offensive snaps in Cleveland’s past five games and has not practiced since Nov. 20.
Wills will be a free agent in March unless he is re-signed by the Browns before then.
An All-State quarterback at Blount and a first-round draft choice from Florida, Toney has played in two games for the Browns as a practice-squad elevation since joining the team on Sept. 10 for his fourth NFL season. He has two rushing attempts for minus-4 yards while playing 12 snaps for Cleveland this season.
In 34 NFL regular-season games, Toney has 82 receptions for 760 yards and three touchdowns, 23 rushing attempts for 117 yards and one touchdown and 17 punt returns for a 7.0-yard average.
In the Kansas City Chiefs’ 38-35 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12, 2023, Toney had the longest punt return in Super Bowl history with a 65-yarder to the Philadelphia 5-yard line to set up a touchdown in the fourth quarter less than three minutes after he had caught a TD pass. Toney’s 5-yard touchdown reception with 12:04 remaining allowed Kansas City to take a 28-27 lead, and the advantage expanded to eight points thanks to his punt return.
The Browns play the Pittsburgh Steelers at noon CST Sunday at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.
FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
Alabama
Alabama’s SEC opponents revealed for 2026-27 season
The SEC opponents for Alabama women’s basketball during the 2026-27 campaign has been officially revealed.
The Tide will face some of the top teams in all of women’s college basketball throughout SEC play this upcoming season. Alabama will face Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Missouri, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and Texas A&M at home, with Ole Miss being the Tide’s only SEC opponent that they will face twice this year, both home and away. Alabama will be on the road for matchups against Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas as well.
The dates, start times, and television network for each will be revealed at a later date.
Alabama held a 7-9 record throughout SEC play last season. The Tide were widely regarded as one of the top teams in the nation despite struggling at times during conference play, and Alabama was able to make a run during the SEC Tournament with a shocking upset to the Tennessee Lady Vols in Nashville.
Alabama went 24-11 last season as a whole, but the Tide will undoubtedly need to play better during SEC play this year nonetheless.
Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.
Alabama
Two Alabama bridges rank among longest in U.S. Have you crossed them?
Enjoy two nights of free dance at Stars on the Riverfront
Alabama Dance Theatre will present Stars on the Riverfront on June 20 and 21, at 7:30 p.m. each night at Riverwalk Amphitheater in Montgomery.
In Alabama’s coastal landscape, two Alabama bridges quietly stand among the longest in the United States.
A new World Atlas ranking of the 11 longest bridges in the United States is a reminder that not all crossings are so forgettable. These are the spans that stretch the idea of a “quick drive” into something else entirely.
As World Atlas notes, the country’s roughly 617,000 bridges are mostly routine. The ones on this list “swallow the horizon,” turning open water into a roadway that can take ten or fifteen minutes to cross.
Louisiana dominates the ranking, but Alabama also makes its presence known with two entries: the Jubilee Parkway and the General W.K. Wilson Jr. Bridge.
Jubilee Parkway: Alabama’s 7.5-mile bridge ranks No. 7 among longest in US
Ranked at No. 7 on World Atlas’ list, the Jubilee Parkway carries Interstate 10 across Mobile Bay as a pair of parallel viaduct bridges stretching 7.5 miles between Mobile and Spanish Fort/Daphne. Opened in 1978, the four-lane crossing is often called the “Bayway.”
The World Atlas says the bridge takes its name from Mobile Bay’s “jubilee” phenomenon, when marine life is pushed into shallow water, making it unusually easy to catch.
General W.K. Wilson Jr. Bridge: 6.08-mile span ranks No. 10 in U.S.
The General W.K. Wilson Jr. Bridge ranks No. 10 on the World Atlas list, stretching 6.08 miles across the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta northeast of Mobile as part of Interstate 65.
World Atlas says the bridge is better known locally as the “Dolly Parton Bridge,” a nickname inspired by the paired arch design that, locals say, resembles a distinctive silhouette when viewed from certain angles.
Completed in 1980, it features twin parallel weathering-steel arches and concrete viaducts carrying four lanes over the wide, marshy delta.
Longest bridges in the U.S. Full World Atlas ranking
World Atlas ranks these as the longest bridges in the U.S.:
- Lake Pontchartrain Causeway: 23.83 miles
- Manchac Swamp Bridge: 22.8 miles
- Louisiana Airborne Memorial Bridge: 18.2 miles
- Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel: 17.6 miles
- Bonnet Carré Spillway Bridge: 11 miles
- Louisiana Highway 1 Bridge: 8.26 miles
- Jubilee Parkway: 7.5 miles
- San Mateo-Hayward Bridge: 7 miles
- Seven Mile Bridge: 6.79 miles
- General W.K. Wilson Jr. Bridge: 6.08 miles
- Norfolk Southern Lake Pontchartrain Bridge: 5.8 miles
Jennifer Lindahl is a Breaking and Trending Reporter in Alabama for USA TODAY’s Deep South Connect Team. Connect with her on X @jenn_lindahl and email at jlindahl@usatodayco.com.
Alabama
Late nights, Father’s day deals and fireworks at Alabama Adventure
The iconic wooden roller coaster at Alabama Adventure & Splash Adventure is officially back in action, along with some seasonal deals. This Father’s Day, dads can get into the park for free to ride the restored coaster, Rampage.
It’s not the only attraction returning; this Halloween, Alabama Adventure is bringing back not one but two haunted houses for the first time since the late 2000s.
If you can’t wait until then, the Bessemer park will be open late on Saturdays and end with a pop of color. Adventure Summer Nights will have the park open until 9:30 p.m. once a week with a fireworks show to round off the night.
And as an apology to their loyal visitors, people who bought a daily ticket before June 10 are welcome to come back and try their new and improved attractions for free. If you’re a season pass holder, don’t feel left out—pass holder discounts are doubled for the month of July.
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