Sports
Week 9 NFL roundtable: Anthony Richardson, Lions-Packers, coaches on hot seat
Maybe the NFL knew what it was doing when it flexed Indianapolis Colts-Minnesota Vikings into prime time.
Quarterback Anthony Richardson’s benching has been a major talking point around the league this week. Another act of Joe Flacco’s career begins against the Vikings, who were once the hottest team in the league before losing their last two. Minnesota reinforced its offensive line by trading for Jacksonville Jaguars OT Cam Robinson.
Speaking of trades, the NFL trade deadline looms Tuesday. So, there is plenty more our NFL writers Jeff Howe, Mike Sando and Zak Keefer will discuss in this roundtable previewing Sunday’s Week 9 slate.
We’ll see more of the wide receivers who have already been traded to new squads — the Buffalo Bills’ Amari Cooper and Kansas City Chiefs’ DeAndre Hopkins among them. New Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Diontae Johnson should make his debut against the Denver Broncos.
Elsewhere, we can’t seem to go a week without a big NFC North game. Also, is it time to gauge which head coaches are on the hot seat?
Read more below.
Another week, another big NFC North game. This time, it’s Lions–Packers. Green Bay has won four straight. Detroit has won five straight. What or who makes the biggest difference in this one?
Howe: The Lions are the best team in the league right now, but I think the Packers are in the neighborhood and capable of beating anyone if Jordan Love is healthy. I’ll focus on the Packers run defense, though. It’s been a top-10 unit so far, and the overall defense has been solid for the most part. The Lions are so successful on offense because they’ve been able to run it whenever they want and have kept Jared Goff on schedule. From what I’ve heard, teams want to see if Goff can play at this level if he’s forced into more of a standard drop-back game — essentially, if the Lions aren’t able to dominate on the ground and allow Ben Johnson to tap into his most creative plays. If Goff can handle such a test, the Lions will be more dangerous than anyone probably realizes. If not, it opens the door in the NFC for some of the teams at the Lions’ heels.
Keefer: I’m with Jeff — I think the Lions are the best team in football right now, even though the Chiefs are the squad with the spotless record. Love’s availability after leaving last week’s win with a groin injury remains paramount, and I wonder if he plays, how much that might limit some of his playmaking ability. But the key here, to me, is what Josh Jacobs can give the Packers offense. They’ve been leaning on him heavily. Jacobs has more carries in the first eight weeks of the season (145) of any Packers running back in the last 25 years other than Ahman Green (in 2003 and 2004). With Love likely less than 100 percent, Jacobs breaking one or two open might be the Pack’s best shot.
GO DEEPER
Lions-Packers preview: Can Green Bay slow Jared Goff and the red-hot Detroit offense?
Sando: Love’s being less than 100 percent is the key variable and swings this game toward Detroit for me. My fear from a Green Bay standpoint is that we might see the worst of Love without the best, and that he simply won’t be efficient enough to keep pace with Detroit.
The Saints (at Panthers), Jaguars (at Eagles) and Cowboys (at Falcons) are each on the road Sunday and in dire need of a win. Which head coach’s seat is hottest among the three?
Howe: All three are in serious jeopardy regardless. I guess it depends on how you quantify hotness. As with anything involving the Cowboys, every situation is always the most extreme there, and the attention on Mike McCarthy’s job with Bill Belichick potentially waiting in the shadows is an unmatched situation this season. On the other hand, Doug Pederson has been under fire the longest because of the Jaguars’ bad start, and it seems like it’ll take a monstrous turnaround for him to get another chance in 2025.
Keefer: The Saints’ collapse this season after a blistering start has been staggering. It’s hard to see Mickey Loomis and ownership backing Dennis Allen again, especially after the two disappointing seasons that preceded this year. I think Mike McCarthy’s future in Dallas at this point is a fait accompli. The Cowboys have been far too uneven, and the roster isn’t nearly as deep as it was in the past, for this team to become a serious contender later in the season. Missing the playoffs would seal the end of McCarthy’s five-year run, and possibly open the door for Belichick to join the circus.
Would Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy be fired if his team misses the playoffs in 2024? (Kelley L Cox / Imagn Images)
Sando: I expect all three places to change in the offseason. Short term, I think Dallas and New Orleans are least likely to change in-season. Those franchises take longer-range views.
We’ll get a chance to see more of Amari Cooper (Bills vs. Dolphins on Sunday) and DeAndre Hopkins (Chiefs vs. Bucs on Monday). Diontae Johnson’s Ravens debut could come this week against the Broncos. Which of these three wide receiver trades are you most confident in moving forward?
Howe: I want to say Cooper because he’s already been through a midseason trade, and that experience should pay off when it comes to learning a new playbook. But with that said, I can’t overthink it. Hopkins has had the best career of the three, and he’s joining the best offensive situation. Plus, Hopkins may only need to catch three or four passes per game to be effective.
Keefer: Jeff’s right. Something tells me Hopkins is going to make a critical catch late in a playoff win for Kansas City in the next few months. He’s one of the best of his generation at not needing to be even remotely open and still finding a way to catch the ball. But I loved what the Bills did in adding Cooper to their young receiving unit; this team is going to need every bit of firepower against Baltimore or Kansas City in the playoffs. He’ll help Keon Coleman continue to develop as well.
Sando: Hopkins, with Cooper close behind him, and then Johnson. Hopkins seems like a good match for Mahones in the scramble drill. I think he can complement Travis Kelce in those situations and expect that to show in critical moments.
Considering a choppy NFC West race this year, should the Rams (at Seahawks) hang on to Cooper Kupp?
Howe: The only reason to trade Kupp, short of receiving a significant return, would be if the Rams believed Matthew Stafford was set to retire this offseason — or Kupp for that matter. I certainly understand other points such as an aging receiver who’s dealt with more injuries of late, but the Rams are still in play in the NFC. Executives and coaches around the league still view Sean McVay in the highest regard, so they’ve got a chance to hang with anyone if they can get into the playoffs. Are they a realistic Super Bowl threat? Probably not. But why remove Kupp from the equation if they think he’s still got some years left?
Keefer: This division is wide open at the moment, with the Rams just a half-game back. And if they beat the Seahawks on Sunday, there’s no way I’m trading Cooper Kupp. McVay will get the offense right with Kupp healthy again — and if that offensive line holds up. First-year coordinator Chris Shula has the defense playing much better than in the first month of the season. With Seattle and San Francisco both looking vulnerable and Arizona as unpredictable as it’s been, it wouldn’t stun me if the Rams made a late-season run with Kupp as a centerpiece.
Sando: I’d support the Rams getting value for Kupp because of his durability concerns and because of his contract. Those are also the reasons I’m not expecting teams to be lining up to acquire him. I’d think he stays with the Rams.
The Los Angeles Rams have shot down Cooper Kupp (10) trade rumors with Tuesday’s deadline approaching. (Gary A. Vasquez / Imagn Images)
Colts–Vikings is the focus Sunday night. Is Anthony Richardson’s benching justified?
Howe: There’s no arguing Richardson’s performance has dropped off this season, but that’s a small piece of a much larger puzzle. Richardson isn’t going to improve from the bench. He needs experience. If he doesn’t play another snap this season, he’ll enter 2025 with 23 NFL and college starts over a five-season span. It’s like the Trey Lance conversation all over again. If you don’t give a raw, young QB a chance to gain the experience he so desperately needs, you’ll likely never get the return on investment.
GO DEEPER
‘It’s so shortsighted’: NFL execs debate Colts benching Anthony Richardson
Keefer: That very question is still raging here in Indianapolis. I think it was. The Colts made it clear they aren’t giving up on Richardson, so what this is is a reset: This team wants him to earn back the starting job. His prodigious athletic talents were enough to get him where he is — the fourth pick in the draft after just 13 college starts and a dismal completion percentage at Florida — but they’re not enough for him to keep this job. He needs to catch up in every other area: preparation, leadership, performance. I wrote earlier this season that Richardson needed to become more than a highlight. So far, he hasn’t. And this benching, humbling as it might seem at this moment, will reveal if Richardson truly is the Colts’ QB moving forward.
Sando: Yeah, it’s clear Richardson is not ready to play and he’s not progressing. The tap-out showed a complete lack of understanding for his role on the team. Here is where my mind went: Think how many other ways this lack of understanding has surely manifested itself behind the scenes. The decision to bench him tells me the situation was untenable for the coaching staff.
(Top photo of Anthony Richardson: Cooper Neill / Getty Images)
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The highly anticipated 30th WNBA season tipped off Friday with three games, including the expansion Toronto Tempo’s first-ever contest.
The action continued Saturday with a full slate, including Caitlin Clark’s return after an injury-riddled sophomore season.
Clark and the Indiana Fever hosted the Dallas Wings on Saturday afternoon in a matchup featuring the four most recent No. 1 overall picks. The Wings outlasted the Fever 107-104, but the game was defined by Azzi Fudd’s — the most recent top pick — underwhelming debut.
Dallas Wings guards Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers react during the first half of the Fever’s season opener at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on May 9, 2026. (Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Fudd played 18 minutes off the bench, scoring three points — the lowest ever by a No. 1 overall pick in a WNBA debut.
Wings coach Jose Fernandez addressed Fudd’s performance after the game, encouraging the rookie to, “Keep doing what she’s doing, it’s her first year in the league. We got five really talented backcourt players.”
EX-WNBA STAR CRITICAL OF SKY ROOKIE HAILEY VAN LITH, BELIEVES POPULARITY PLAYED ROLE IN DRAFT SELECTION
In addition to Fudd, Dallas’ backcourt features last year’s top draft pick Paige Bueckers, last season’s No. 12 overall pick Aziaha James, four-time All-Star Arike Ogunbowale and starting guard Odyssey Sims.
Until Saturday, Kelsey Plum held the record for the lowest-scoring debut by a No. 1 pick. Selected first overall by the then-San Antonio Stars in 2017, she scored just four points in her debut. The Stars relocated to Las Vegas in 2018 and was subsequently rebranded as the Aces.
Dallas Wings guard Azzi Fudd warms up before the game against the Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, on May 9, 2026. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Despite the slow start to her first season in the league, Plum ended the year with All-Rookie team honors. In the years since, she’s been named to four All-Star teams and won two championships with the Aces.
The Wings’ decision to take Fudd with the No. 1 overall pick drew controversy, raising questions about whether Bueckers’ personal relationship with her influenced the selection. Late last month, Bueckers said last month it did not.
Azzi Fudd poses with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected first overall by the Dallas Wings during the 2026 WNBA Draft at The Shed in New York City on April 13, 2026. (Angelina Katsanis/Getty Images)
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“Azzi Fudd was the No. 1 draft pick because she earned it, and it had nothing to do with me and everything to do with who she is as a human being, who she is as a basketball player,” Bueckers said, according to ESPN.
Neither Bueckers nor Fudd has publicly updated their relationship status since the April draft.
“Quite frankly, I believe me and Azzi’s personal relationship is nobody’s business but our own,” Bueckers also said in April. “And what we choose to share is completely up to us.”
Next up, the Wings play their home opener on Tuesday when they host the Atlanta Dream.
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The Lakers are one playoff defeat from their season being over and from the conversation turning to LeBron James’ future.
They are in a hole no team has climbed out of in the history of the NBA, the Lakers’ 131-108 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 putting L.A. down 3-0 in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.
James and his teammates gave a gallant effort Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena, but the defending champion proved to be more than the Lakers could handle.
James finished his night with 19 points on seven-for-19 shooting, eight assists and six rebounds. Rui Hachimura had 21 points and Austin Reaves finished with 17 points and nine assists.
Even so, the Lakers have now lost all three games by double digits.
And the Lakers are fully aware that no NBA team has successfully come back from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs, with those teams holding a 161-0 record. Only four teams have forced a Game 7 after trailing 3-0, all of which ultimately lost the series, including the Boston Celtics in 2023.
Lakers forward LeBron James shows frustration as Thunder center Chet Holmgren slam dunks during Game 3 on Saturday night.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Game 4 is Monday night, when the Lakers will try to stave off elimination and a night that will determine how the conversations go with James if they lose.
James has been frequently asked this season about retirement, but he has not given any indication of what the future holds for him.
He’s 41 years old and playing in an NBA-record 23rd season.
James is in the final year of his contract that pays him $52 million, making him a free agent this offseason. He can retire, join another team or perhaps return to the Lakers next season.
That will be the conversation if the Lakers can’t win Game 4.
They will see the same Thunder team that had seven players score in double figures, led by Ajay Mitchell’s 24 points and 10 assists and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 23 points and nine assists.
The Lakers went down 13 in the third quarter and had to play catchup the rest of the way. They never did, going down by 112-94 with 6 minutes and 12 seconds left, forcing Lakers coach JJ Redick to call a timeout.
The deficit just kept growing, topping out at 27 points in the fourth.
They were outscored 33-20 in the third quarter. The Lakers didn’t take care of the basketball in the third, turning it over six times, and they didn’t play good defense, allowing the Thunder to shoot 59.1% from the field and 55.6 percent from three-point range,
The Lakers did not give an inch to the Thunder in the first half, even when they fell behind by 10 points.
They just kept grinding until they led 59-57 at halftime.
Hachimura had 16 points in the first half, continuing his hot three-point shooting by making all four of his threes. Luke Kennard came off the bench to give the Lakers 13 points, shooting five for six from the field and three for four from three-point range.
The Lakers kept the pressure defense on Gilgeous-Alexander. Though he had 14 points in the first half, he shot only four for 14 from the field and one for five from three-point range.
The Lakers shot 55% from three-point range in the first half, which went a long way in helping them.
The Lakers lost the first two games by identical margins of 18 points and each loss was magnified because Gilgeous-Alexander was kept under wraps for the most part by L.A.’s defense.
When Gilgeous-Alexander picked up his fourth foul with 10:34 left in the third quarter of Game 2 and went to the bench, the Thunder turned a five-point lead into a 13-point advantage at the end of the quarter.
So, when he wasn’t on the court, the Lakers failed to take advantage.
“Well, you know, again, I’ll repeat what I said after the game: we’ve got to be better in the non-Shai minutes,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.
Role players like Mitchell and Jared McCain hurt the Lakers in the second game. Chet Holmgren also was hard to deal with.
“Mitchell and McCain have hurt us in those non-Shai minutes, and then Chet [Holmgren] has hurt us the whole game,” Redick said. “I think you’ve got to be willing to live with something. Shai playing one-on-one, thus far in the series, we haven’t been willing to live with, so you’re going to be in rotation. That can lead to smalls on bigs at the hole, and the offensive rebounding from Chet has really hurt us.”
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In 2025, Alex Palou kicked off the Month of May with a Sonsio Grand Prix win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Based on the odds, it’s likely that Palou will find himself in Winner’s Circle again this Saturday when INDYCAR goes back to IMS on May 9 (4:30 p.m. ET, FOX).
Considering Palou has already captured the checkered flag three times this season, are there any other drivers whose odds are worth a wager?
Here are the latest lines at DraftKings Sportsbook as of May 9.
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.
Sonsio Grand Prix 2026
Àlex Palou: 5/18 (bet $10 to win $12.78 total)
Kyle Kirkwood: 5/1 (bet $10 to win $60 total)
Pato O’Ward: 12/1 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
David Malukas: 14/1 (bet $10 to win $150 total)
Josef Newgarden: 16/1 (bet $10 to win $170 total)
Scott McLaughlin: 20/1 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
Christian Lundgaard: 30/1 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Scott Dixon: 40/1 (bet $10 to win $410 total)
Will Power: 60/1 (bet $10 to win $610 total)
Felix Rosenqvist: 80/1 (bet $10 to win $810 total)
Alexander Rossi: 100/1 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Marcus Ericsson: 100/1 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Marcus Armstrong: 100/1 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Christian Rasmussen: 150/1 (bet $10 to win $1,510 total)
Graham Rahal: 150/1 (bet $10 to win $1,510 total)
Louis Foster: 300/1 (bet $10 to win $3,010 total)
Dennis Hauger: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Romain Grosjean: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Santino Ferrucci: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Rinus Veekay: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Kyffin Simpson: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Caio Collet: 1000/1 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Sting Ray Robb: 1000/1 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Nolan Siegel: 1000/1 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Mick Schumacher: 1000/1 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Here’s what to know about the oddsboard:
Heavy Favorite: It doesn’t look like Alex Palou’s dominance will be slowing down anytime soon. As noted above, he’s already won three of the five races since the INDYCAR season started in March. With 186 laps led, Palou sits first in the standings and has the shortest odds to win the title again. Last season, he started from the pole and led 29 laps before winning the race.
Long Shot to Watch: While his odds of 150/1 to win at IMS are much longer than Palou’s, Graham Rahal is one to watch. At this race in 2025, he started second and led 49 laps before finishing sixth. He finished second at this course in 2015, 2020 and 2023. He’s currently 10th in the INDYCAR standings, with one top five and three top 10s.
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