Tag: futures

Saints sign all but three practice squad players to reserve/future deals

The Saints signed all but three practice squad players to reserve/future deals, bringing them back for 2024:

This may look unusual, but it isn’t uncommon. The New Orleans Saints signed reserve/future deals with all but three players from their 2023 practice squad — essentially inviting those 13 players who are returning to their 2024 training camp. Everyone who was on the practice squad except for offensive lineman Colby Gossett, wide receiver Marquez Callaway, and rookie receiver Shaquan Davis are inked to return in 2024.

But this doesn’t shut the door on anyone. Teams often issue reserve/future contracts (which are just minimum-salary deals that guarantee players a spot on the 90-man offseason roster) in batches, and they’ll likely circle back to Davis and Co. after handling other business. They’re able to work out other players who didn’t sign reserve/future deals around the league after their practice squad contracts expired.

Davis specifically endeared himself to Saints fans during the 2023 preseason by catching 7 passes for 101 yards, largely from the slot. The former undrafted rookie from South Carolina State has rare size at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds, but a midseason injury sidelined him. Hopefully he can return for 2024 and compete for more snaps.

Here’s a quick look back at the 13 players who did sign reserve/future contracts with New Orleans:

What are the Saints’ odds to win Super Bowl LVIII next year?

What are the New Orleans Saints’ odds to win Super Bowl LVIII next year? Oddsmakers have them on top of the NFC South for 2023:

The 2022 NFL season came to a close on Sunday night when the Kansas City Chiefs came back to beat the Philadelphia Eagles in a 38-35 thriller, winning Super Bowl LVII as their second championship for the superstar duo of Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid.

But how favorably are the New Orleans Saints viewed with a 7-10 debut for the Dennis Allen behind them? The answer may surprise you. According to BetMGM, the Saints are tied with the Dolphins and Rams at +3000 odds of winning it all next season. That’s tied for 13th-best around the league, behind a host of playoff teams and others hopeful to reach the postseason. If you placed a $100 wager on the Saints with those odds, it would return a $3,000 profit if they went all the way.

The Lions, Packers, Jaguars, and Jets are locked in a four-way tie just ahead of this cluster with +2500 odds of winning Super Bowl LVIII. It shouldn’t shock anyone that the Chiefs are favorites to repeat (+600) with the Bengals, Bills, and Eagles not far behind. Each of those teams fought hard in the playoffs and made a strong case to contend for the Lombardi Trophy, and they’ll be back in the mix next year.

However, the Saints are getting a leg up on their competition around the NFC South. They’re favored to win Super Bowl LVIII ahead of the Panthers (+5000), Falcons and Buccaneers (both +8000), which is good to see. The Saints have a strong roster and a mostly-intact coaching staff, so if they can find a quarterback and enjoy better health than they struggled with last year, they could push those pretenders aside in the division. It remains to be seen whether the Saints will accomplish either of those goals, but that’s the first step towards winning another Super Bowl. Before they can worry about locking up the championship, they’ve got to end their two-year playoffs drought.

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Super Bowl 2023: Staff picks, best bets and the most fun props for Chiefs-Eagles

This is what you came for!

What more can we say about Super Bowl LVII?

The Chiefs and Eagles were undoubtedly two of the most dominant teams in the NFL all season. They deserve to play on this stage.

Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts are two of the most exciting quarterbacks around. Their respective supporting casts matchup exceptionally well. And the connections between the two teams run deep.

All that’s left to do is make your pick and cash the ticket.

The staff at For The Win just happens to have very different ideas on which bets you should place.

Here are our definitive picks.

2023 WM Phoenix Open: Best bets, fantasy one and done picks, and more

Get in on golf’s biggest party!

As far as non-major events go, there is nothing in golf that compares to the WM Phoenix Open.

And that might even be giving a little too much credit to the majors.

Between the party atmosphere, the warm weather, the stadium course design and the electric field, the Phoenix Open is what happens when the PGA Tour gets tired of hearing about how “boring” its events are.

While the host course, TPC Scottsdale, isn’t slated to open a sportsbook until next year’s event, there’s tons of action to be had once again in this year’s field.

Defending champion Scottie Scheffler (+1200) is looking to become the first player to repeat since Hideki Matsuyama in 2016-2017 while a scorching Jon Rahm (+750) enters as the favorite.

It’s Super Bowl week in Phoenix and the party begins in Scottsdale.

Let’s get to the bets.

Kyrie Irving’s trade request is incredible news for Cleveland Cavaliers bettors

Everything is coming up Cleveland in the Eastern Conference

It’s been a little while since Kyrie Irving was in the news for basketball reasons and oh boy did he fix that in a big way on Friday.

Less than a week before the NBA trade deadline, Irving threw himself onto the market by demanding out of Brooklyn. The most recent plot twist comes as Irving tried, and seemingly failed, to negotiate an extension with the Nets and pretty much brings an end to New York City’s latest attempt to secure a title via Super Team.

While that’s good news for pretty much every team in the Eastern Conference, there’s one group in particular who should be celebrating a bit harder right now: Cleveland Cavaliers bettors.

As of January 31, the Cavs were the biggest liability to win the East at BetMGM and their odds to do so are only getting better after Irving’s request.

That the Cavs were a popular pick to win the East after trading for Donovan Mitchell isn’t surprising. But the Nets potentially losing one of their more dominant stars at this point in the year changes the equation quite a bit.

Not only does it weaken a supposed powerhouse team in the East, it might just help Cleveland secure homecourt advantage in the postseason.

Entering Friday the Cavs were a half-game back of the Nets for the No. 4 seed in the East. The latest turmoil in Brooklyn is the perfect opportunity for Cleveland to overtake the Nets in the standings.

The Cavs already have the easiest schedule remaining in the NBA, per Tankathon, while Brooklyn has the sixth-toughest slate left. A downgrade from Irving in the lineup will certainly make things harder.

Now Cleveland just has to find a way past the Celtics, Sixers and Bucks to cash those tickets.

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Vikings sign 6 players to futures contracts

Futures contracts keep the player in the building to compete for a spot on the roster next year

When the season is over, teams take some time to sign their practice squad players to what is called a futures contract. That is essentially keeping them under contract for the offseason so they can help them develop and go through the offseason program and training camp.

Most players from a team’s practice squad will end up signing one of these at the end of the season, but some choose to wait it out and see what other opportunities exist elsewhere.

On Monday, the Minnesota Vikings inked six players to futures contracts with five of them coming from the practice squad and the other coming from injured reserve.

Heisman Odds Week 12: Hendon Hooker’s injury creates chaos for the field ahead of Rivalry Week

Caleb Williams, Blake Corum and C.J. Stroud can win themselves a Heisman in Week 12.

Each week this college football season, BetFTW will take a look at the 2022 Heisman Trophy race and break down the contenders. Check back each Monday as the best college football players in the country jockey for position with both oddsmakers and bettors. Preseason odds can be found here and Week 11 here. 

There’s no way to have the Heisman conversation this week without talking about Hendon Hooker. Tennessee’s electric quarterback wasn’t the betting favorite to win the award, but by virtually every metric and eye test he should’ve been. After helping the Volunteers (mostly) dice up a ruthless SEC schedule, Hooker showed he possessed every tool needed to succeed at the college level and beyond.

Now his year is over, disrupted by a torn ACL in the waning moments of a Tennessee loss at South Carolina that not only ended the Vols’ playoff dreams but Hooker’s college career, as well. The quarterback will rehab with an eye towards the NFL draft and getting his professional tenure started.

There is absolutely an argument to be made that Hooker has done enough already to win the Heisman. His season ends with 3,135 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and two interceptions for a 175.5 QB rating. He also ran for 430 yards and five scores on 104 carries. But he only played in 11 games. While every other contender is gearing up for a resume-solidifying week against their school’s respective rival, Hooker’s campaign has come to a close.

It’s entirely possible this year’s Heisman is awarded to the star played on whichever team wins the Michigan-Ohio State game. If the Wolverines win with Blake Corum scoring multiple touchdowns, he’ll be worthy of a spot in New York. If the Buckeyes dominate with C.J. Stroud doing the bulk of the heavy-lifting, it’s hard to imagine he won’t have locked up the award.

That leaves bettors with an interesting predicament. Bet on the Heisman-winner outright or attempt to parlay a Michigan/Ohio State win with either Stroud or Corum scoring multiple times. It’ll be worth watching the odds all week to see which line is better.

Here’s where the Heisman race stands heading into Week 12.

Seahawks’ Kenneth Walker replaces injured Breece Hall as Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite

One running back replaces another as the betting favorite to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III is favored to win the NFL Offensive Rookie if the Year award with +300 odds at Tipico Sportsbook.

He supplants New York Jets running back Breece Hall, who had the best odds before suffering a season-ending ACL tear and meniscus injury in New York’s Week 7 win over the Denver Broncos.

Hall was just beginning to separate himself from other rookies after posting 197 yards of total offense and a touchdown in Week 5 and rushing for another 116 and a touchdown in Week 6. On Sunday, he rushed for 72 yards and a touchdown on just four carries before suffering the injury.

Walker also came on in Week 5 after Seattle’s starter Rashaad Penny suffered a season-ending injury. He rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown and has only increased his production each game since. On Sunday, he ran for 168 yards and two touchdowns in a win over the Chargers.

Walker’s odds are followed by Texans RB Dameon Pierce at +350, Saints WR Chris Olave at +600, Commanders RB Brian Robinson Jr. at +1000 and Patriots QB Bailey Zappe and Falcons WR Drake London at +1200 apiece.

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World Series 2022: Astros favored to beat Phillies, and Yordan Alvarez has best MVP odds

Houston is favored to come out on top over Philadelphia.

The Houston Astros enter the World Series as favorites over the Philadelphia Phillies, not really a surprise to anyone tracking baseball since the start of the season.

The Astros, two years removed from a World Series appearance and entering their fourth appearance in the last six years, have been among betting favorites to win the World Series all year. Entering May, their odds were tied for fourth shortest at +1000 while the Phillies were tied for 12th at +2000.

Philadelphia has plenty of momentum on its side, though, after sweeping the Cardinals in the Wild Card round and losing just a single game in each of its series against the Braves and Padres.

Odds for the Astros to win in five, six or seven games can all be had at +400 at BetMGM. Though they haven’t lost a game all postseason, a sweep gets +750 odds. The most likely Phillies outcomes are wins in six or seven games at +600 odds each. A Phillies sweep gets +1400 odds.

As for MVP, the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez is favored to win at +600 odds, followed by Bryce Harper at +700, then Justin Verlander, Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman all at +1000. Jose Altuve and Kyle Schwarber each have +1300 odds, and Aaron Nola is at +1500.

The Phillies are getting -155 odds to cover 1.5 points Friday in Game 1, but the Astros are favored to win at -165. The over/under line is set at 6.5 runs.

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NBA awards odds entering the 2022-23 season: Luka Doncic is favored to take home the MVP

Top 10 odds for every award entering the NBA season.

Bookmark this link. It’ll make for a fun exercise at the end of the NBA season to go back and see how wrong (or right?!) bookmakers were about awards in 2022-23.

This is a peek at top 10 odds for MVP, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, Most Improved Player and Coach of the Year.

We all think we have a handle on where things are headed, but how many people are willing to put their money on it? These odds from BetMGM show just how much money your opinions are worth.

(Odds are from before the season-opening games Tuesday.)

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