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
YMCA of South Alabama holds Healthy Kids Day in Spanish Fort
SPANISH FORT, Ala. (WALA) – The YMCA of South Alabama held a Healthy Kids Day at Spanish Fort Town Center Park.
Saturday’s event featured games and demonstrations, along with interactive activities featuring police and fire vehicles.
“I think just seeing so many organizations come together that serve kids, and just seeing kids have fun,” said Gwen Summer, CEO of the YMCA of South Alabama.
Marissa Rennaker, director of development for the YMCA of South Alabama, said the event exposed children to new activities.
“I think it’s been seeing all the kids laugh and try different things that they probably haven’t tried before,” Rennaker said. “There was a big group doing pickleball and yoga. We had ballet earlier, so just getting them out and exposed to things, I think it’s been great.”
The event was designed to kick off a healthy, active summer.
The YMCA of South Alabama is located at 27080 Pollard Road in Daphne.
Copyright 2026 WALA. All rights reserved.
Alabama
Former Alabama superstar signs massive extension with NFL team
Former Alabama star Will Anderson Jr. has reportedly signed a three-year, $150 million extension with the Houston Texans, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Anderson instantly solidified himself as one of the top defensive players in football throughout his rookie campaign in 2023. The star defensive end was named as the Rookie of the Year in 2023, as Anderson’s extension will officially keep him in Houston long-term, as well as make him the highest paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
Anderson recorded an impressive 12 sacks on the Texans’ defensive line in 2025, as the former Alabama star has made history following his head turning extension with Houston.
Anderson was nothing short of a superstar throughout his time at Alabama. Houston drafted the talented lineman with the third overall pick of the 2023 NFL draft, as Anderson was widely regarded as one of the top overall selections from his class.
The former Crimson Tide superstar has officially inked a massive extension with the Texans, as Anderson will undoubtedly continue playing a critical role on Houston’s defensive line over the coming seasons.
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Alabama
Alabama Baseball Strikes Out 17 Times in Noncompetitive Loss to Texas
Alabama head coach Rob Vaughn said that No. 4 Texas would be “hungry” against the No. 11Crimson Tide coming off its first series loss of the season to Texas A&M.
The Longhorns certainly were, as they pounced all over Vaughn’s team, striking out 17 Alabama batters en route to a 10-2 win.
“The story of the game was they just kind of kicked our tail in every phase tonight,” Vaughn said.
Alabama starter Tyler Fay had been elite over his past four starts, dating back to his complete-game no-hitter against Florida, allowing just six earned runs over the 26.0 innings pitched in those games. That changed instantly on Friday evening, as leadoff batter Aiden Robbins opened the game with a double and catcher Carson Tinney took him deep for a two-run blast moments later.
Texas added a third run in the first off an Ethan Mendoza RBI double, setting the tone for a dominant day. Alabama did not record a hit until the fourth inning as Longhorn ace Dylan Volantis tore through batters, striking out 12 over six innings.
Fay ended up going 5.1 innings, just the second time he did not make it through the sixth. The other, against Auburn, was only due to Vaughn wanting to keep his pitch count down in the wake of the no-hitter. He allowed season-highs of seven earned runs and 12 hits in the loss.
The Longhorns added a run each in the third and the fifth, before Alabama put the slightest amount of pressure on Texas in the top of the sixth. Bryce Fowler and Justin Lebron scored on the basepaths off an error and a wild pitch, respectively, to cut the Texas lead to three runs.
“You’ve got to find ways to score,” Vaughn said. “Those two guys just created two runs for us, and did a great job creating those runs and we crawl back in at 5-2, and it’s like, ‘Let’s go back to work…’ So thought we had that chance in those middle innings.”
The Longhorns effectively put the game to bed in the next frame, responding with three runs as Fay was relieved by Connor Lehman. Texas would add two more runs on the day, with the only silver lining coming in the fact that Alabama avoided a run-rule.
The Crimson Tide has now lost four straight SEC games after winning three consecutive series. Zane Adams takes the mound with the series on the line on Saturday, in a game that has been moved up to 12 p.m. CT due to anticipated rain in Austin.
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