New Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marquise Brown has confirmed he requested his trade away from the Baltimore Ravens.
And the former Oklahoma pass catcher, who is to be reunited with Kyler Murray, says he told Lamar Jackson the Ravens' run-first offensive system "wasn't for me" more than a year ago.
In one of two significant receiver trades on the first day of the 2022 NFL Draft, the Cardinals parted with the 23rd overall pick in return for Brown and a third-round selection.
Having already secured perhaps the best player in the draft in ultra-versatile safety Kyle Hamilton, the Ravens used their additional first-round pick to bolster their offensive line in front of quarterback Jackson with center Tyler Linderbaum.
Jackson's Twitter activity suggested he was unhappy with the Ravens' business, frustrated by the loss of the wide receiver he has looked to more than any other in his NFL career to date (256 targets, 164 receptions, 20 touchdowns).
The former NFL MVP posted a series of messages, including sharing a post from Brown in which he said to his former QB: "Wish I coulda played with my brotha forever but ima see you at the top."
However, speaking to media on Friday, Brown revealed he was the driving force behind the trade, and his desire to move on could have come as no surprise to Jackson.
"It was just [about] my happiness," he said. "I talked to Lamar about it after my second year, then after my third year leading up to the end of the season.
"He wasn't playing, but I let him know again: I can't do it.
"It's not really on Lamar; I love Lamar. It's just the system wasn't for me, personally. I love all my team-mates, I love the guys, but it was just something I had to think about for myself.
"The Ravens and I both handled it the right way. I didn't go out and make anything public; I just kept it in-house, kept working, and it all worked out."
In the 2019 and 2020 seasons, Jackson's first two as a full-time starter, the Ravens ran on 56.0 per cent and 55.9 per cent of their plays respectively, leading the league in this regard.
Since entering the NFL in 2018, Jackson has recorded 3,673 rushing yards – by far the most among QBs and the seventh-most of all players.
Murray (1,786 rushing yards just since 2019) is third among QBs over that period, but Brown already knows he can effectively link up with the Cardinals star.
In 2018, at Oklahoma, Murray's 4,361 passing yards and 42 passing TDs led the Big 12, with Brown his top receiver with 1,318 receiving yards and 10 receiving TDs.
Murray wrote on Twitter following Brown's trade: "Let's run it back! Hollywood to the desert... Y'all welcome my boy!"
Latham and Williamson lead charge as New Zealand close gap on Sri Lanka
Tom Latham and Kane Williamson led the way as New Zealand moved to within just 50 runs of Sri Lanka on day two of the first Test in Galle.
Latham opened with 70 while Williamson notched 55 on the way to taking the Black Caps to 255-4 at stumps.
Sri Lanka resumed the first Test at 302-7, though just 15 minutes of play were possible during a rain-curtailed morning session. Nevertheless, it was long enough for New Zealand to bowl out their opponents for the loss of just three runs.
Latham led the Black Caps' revival with 70 from 111 balls, as Williamson also passed the half-century mark with his knock of 55 off 104 deliveries.
Dhananjaya de Silva looked to restore Sri Lanka's authority over proceedings when he dismissed Williamson and Rachin Ravindra in the space of two overs.
However, Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell steadied the ship, with their unbeaten stand of 59 off 105 edging New Zealand closer to their opponents' tally.
Data Debrief: Half-century stands galore for resurgent Black Caps
Partnerships were crucial for New Zealand in their chase, with four 50-plus stands during the innings.
Latham and Devon Conway's opening stand of 63 got the ball rolling, while Latham and Williamson notched 73 from just 120 balls.
The Williamson-Ravindra stand of 51 took just 84 deliveries, and it remains to be seen how long Mitchell and Blundell will last when play resumes on Friday.
Ashwin century leads India revival after difficult start against Bangladesh
Ravichandran Ashwin hit an unbeaten century as India recovered from a slow start on day one of their first Test with Bangladesh.
Ashwin made 102, while Ravindra Jadeja ended 86 not out as the hosts finished the day at 339-6 in Chennai.
It looked set to be a difficult day for India, who were 36-3 inside the opening hour with Virat Kohli (six), Rohit Sharma (six) and Shubman Gil (0) all dismissed.
Rishabh Pant hit 39 while Yashasvi Jaiswal had a knock of 56 to steady the hosts at 144-6, before Ashwin and Jadeja took centre-stage.
Together, they put on 195 from 227 balls in an unbroken seventh-wicket stand to swing the momentum firmly in India's favour, with Ashwin reaching hs ton in just 108 balls.
"On a surface like this with a bit of spice, if you're going after the ball, you might as well go after it really hard," he said.
"It's the old Chennai surface with a bit of bounce and carry, and the red soil pitch allows you to play a few shots.
"If you're willing to just get in line and can give the ball a little bit of tonk, it really helps."
Data Debrief: Ton up for Ashwin as hosts break Mahmud's resolve
It looked like Hasan Mahmud would be the star on day one, with the Bangladesh seamer taking an impressive 4-58.
But Ashwin had other ideas on his home ground, with 10 fours and two sixes on the way to notching his sixth Test century, and second in as many Tests in Chennai.
Jadeja matched him with 10 fours and two sixes of his own, and is just 14 runs off claiming his own ton when play resumes on Friday.
Club Brugge 0-3 Borussia Dortmund: Gittens nets twice as last season's finalists open with win
Jamie Gittens scored twice as Borussia Dortmund opened their Champions League campaign with a 3-0 victory away at Club Brugge.
Serhou Guirassy added a late penalty for last season's finalists, who netted three times in the final quarter of an hour at Jan Breydelstadion.
Brugge carried the greater attacking threat for most of the contest, going closest to scoring when Hugo Vetlesen rattled the crossbar, but they were made to pay for their profligacy.
Gittens entered the action as a 68th-minute substitute and broke the deadlock eight minutes later - albeit in fortuitous circumstances - with his shot taking two deflections before nestling in the top-left corner.
The 20-year-old doubled his and Dortmund's tally with four minutes remaining, cutting inside before firing past Simon Mignolet in the Brugge goal.
Guirassy added further gloss to the scoreline from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time, slotting home from 12 yards after he was fouled by Brandon Mechele.
Data Debrief: Super sub Gittens stars in historic win
Keeping Brugge at bay, Dortmund became the first team in Champions League history to play a single opponent five times without conceding a goal.
Gittens got the ball rolling at the other end. At 20 years and 41 days old, he is the second-youngest player to score two or more goals as a substitute in a Champions League game, older than only Monaco's David Trezeguet, who was just 34 days younger when he struck against K. Lierse SK in October 1997.
Guirassy completed the victory from the spot, meaning Dortmund have now converted each of their last six Champions League penalties, last failing from 12 yards against Barcelona in September 2019 through Marco Reus.
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