Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift announce their engagement; NFL roster cut fallout; Saints make their QB choice

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🏈 Good morning to all but especially to ...

TRAVIS KELCE AND TAYLOR SWIFT

It's a love story, baby, and she just said "yes." Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift announced their engagement Tuesday, sending Swifties -- and, to a lesser extent, Chiefs fans -- into a tizzy.

You may be tired of hearing about this superstar couple, and if you are, that's fine! But for the millions upon millions of people who do care, Shanna McCarriston laid out a timeline of their relationship, which goes all the way back to Kelce making friendship bracelets and trying (unsuccessfully) to meet Swift at her July 2023 concert in Kansas City.

(Listen, even as someone who does not listen to much Taylor Swift nor care all that much about her personal life, I must admit that's pretty cute.)

We also have ...

• Their top moments together, including Swift's appearance on Kelce's podcast (which he co-hosts with his brother Jason Kelce)
• Travis Kelce's five favorite Swift songs
• Reactions to the news

NFL fans and Swifties alike are both interested in what this could mean for Kelce's playing future, too. Cody Benjamin says ...

• Benjamin: "The couple's big announcement came just hours after ESPN published a deep dive on Kelce's upcoming 2025 season with the Chiefs, in which coaches, teammates and executives alike openly dreamed of giving the future Hall of Famer a 'Hollywood-like ending' this year. ... The fact Kelce's just entering this chapter now, alongside one of the world's most publicized celebrity performers, and at the exact same time he's hinted his playing career is approaching an end, suggests his 13th NFL season will be his last."

😃 Honorable mentions

• Pitcher Cam Schlittler has been a stabilizing force for the Yankees.
• The Mets called up top pitching prospect Jonah Tong, who will debut Friday.
• Can Cal Raleigh break Aaron Judge's home run record?
• The Bengals got exactly what they wanted with Trey Hendrickson's new contract.
• The Chargers elevated Najee Harris (eye) to the active roster.
• Dillon Gabriel -- not Shedeur Sanders -- earned the Browns' QB2 job behind Joe Flacco.
• The Dolphins signed DB Rasul Douglas.
• Tennessee extended Josh Heupel.
• Here's the 2026 MLB schedule, including the earliest Opening Day ever.
• Even with Ashton Jeanty gone, Boise State has high expectations.
• Here's the USMNT roster for a pair of September friendlies.
• Here's the best pick from every NBA Draft of the 21st century.
• Here are the projected starting lineups for our men's basketball Top 25 And 1 teams.

🏈 And not such a good morning for ...

THE NFL PLAYERS WHO DIDN'T MAKE 53-MAN ROSTERS

More than 1,000 NFL players lost their jobs over the past few days as team whittled their rosters down to 53 players ahead of Tuesday afternoon's deadline. We kept track of every single cut (and highlighted some of the more notable ones), including ...

• The Giants cut popular quarterback Tommy DeVito.
• The Packers cut former top-10 pick Isaiah Simmons.
• Isaiah Foskey is out in New Orleans.
• The Steelers released Robert Woods.
• The Titans cut Xavier Restrepo, who was Cameron Ward's favorite target at Miami.

Of course, the current squads are only initial rosters. There will be practice squad signings and waiver claims and potential reunions in the days to come, and there's plenty of talent out there, including at quarterback.

It wasn't all bad news. Here are some unlikely preseason darlings who made rosters. Jeff Kerr has winners and losers from roster cuts around the league as well.

😕 Not so honorable mentions

• Caitlin Clark (groin) remains out.
• Can the WNBA and WNBPA figure it out?
• The Falcons placed Kaleb McGary (leg) on season-ending IR.
• Tyjae Spears (high ankle sprain) landed on the IR. He'll miss at least four games.
• Same for Jason Sanders (hip) and Maxwell Hairston (knee).
• Cardinals first-rounder Walter Nolen (calf) landed on the physically unable to perform list.
• Jimmie Ward was placed on the Commissioner Exempt List after multiple arrests.
• Zah Frazier (personal) will miss the entire season.
• Willson Contreras was suspended six games.
• Max Strus (foot) is out three to four months.
• Alabama and West Virginia canceled their home-and-home series for 2026 and 2027.
• Carlos Alcaraz's new haircut was the result of a mistake by his brother.
• Jay Cutler got four days in jail and lost his license as part of a DUI plea deal.
• Former USF coach Jim Leavitt was arrested on battery and grand theft charges.

🏈 Saints name Spencer Rattler starter over Tyler Shough

The Saints named Spencer Rattler their starting quarterback for Week 1 against the Cardinals. Rattler beat out rookie Tyler Shough for the job after a lengthy battle. New Orleans also released Jake Haener, who had been in the running.

• Rattler, a 2024 sixth-round pick, started six games last year. He went 0-6, threw just four touchdowns (compared to five interceptions) and completed just 57% of his passes.
• Among the 40 players who took at least 200 dropbacks last year, only one (Deshaun Watson) had a lower expected points added per dropback than Rattler.
• He's not the worst Week 1 starter we've seen -- Jeff actually found 18 worse this century -- but it's not super inspiring, either. The Saints have a projected win total of 5.5, according to FanDuel.
• Still, it's a crucial call by Kellen Moore in his first year in New Orleans and just months removed from drafting Shough 40th overall, Brad Crawford writes.

🏈 College football's top 25 boom-or-bust players

We are now under 36 hours from the start of Week 1 of the college football season, and one of the best parts of this year is the unknown. We can do all of the polls, the scouting and the projecting ... and we'll still get things wrong.

Florida State was a preseason top-10 team last year, and then the Seminoles went on to finish 2-10. On the other hand, if you had projected before the season that Arizona State or Indiana would be College Football Playoff teams, you probably would have gotten laughed at.

Fitting with that theme of uncertainty, Brad Crawford named the 25 most important boom-or-bust players of this season, and No. 1 is ...

1. "Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama -- Kalen DeBoer needs Simpson to hit. If not, it's five-star freshman Keelon Russell or fellow unproven option Austin Mack getting the keys to a hot rod that would be running out of gas at a critical junction during his early tenure. One source close to Alabama's program said it's like 'Deal or No Deal' with Simpson: 'You don't know what you have in the envelope. It could be $1 million or $10.'"
   

There are plenty of quarterbacks on this list, but Brad did a great job incorporating positions all over the field. A crucial piece to LSU's defensive rebuild, one of Arch Manning's offensive linemen and a stud defensive lineman for reigning-champion Ohio State, among others, also make the list.

Another great unknown this season is Colorado. The Buffaloes lost Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders and plenty of others -- heck, they even lost their mascot -- but they did take one step toward certainty Tuesday, naming Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter their starting quarterback. He won the job over ballyhooed freshman Julian Lewis.

Finally, Tom Fornelli released his first top-12 power ratings of the year.

🏌 Who will Keegan Bradley name to USA Ryder Cup team?

The PGA Tour season has concluded, but arguably the most fun event of the year still awaits: the Ryder Cup. Today, Team USA captain Keegan Bradley unveils his six captain picks to go along with the following six automatic qualifiers ...

• Scottie Scheffler
• J.J. Spaun
• Xander Schauffele
• Bryson DeChambeau
• Russell Henley
• Harris English

The big question is whether Bradley names himself as one of the captain's selections. There hasn't been a playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963 -- and our Bryan DeArdo has a great story on that -- but Patrick McDonald says Bradley's resume shows he belongs. I agree.

Patrick and Robby Kalland made their picks for the remaining six spots, and they agreed on five, including Bradley. As for that sixth spot, Patrick likes Ben Griffin while Robby goes with ...

• Kalland: "Sam Burns over Griffin makes sense for fit reasons -- though there are arguments for Griffin over Collin Morikawa, the latter of whom seems completely lost right now, which is terrifying going into Bethpage Black. Burns is such an obvious pairing with Scheffler -- not only given they're good friends but because Burns can get red-hot on the greens."

📺 What we're watching Wednesday

🎾 US Open, 11 a.m. on ESPN+
⚾ Nationals at Yankees or Rays at Guardians, 1:05 p.m. on MLB Network
⚾ Padres at Mariners, 4:10 p.m. on MLB Network
🏀 Aces at Dream, 7:30 p.m. on NBA TV
⚾ Pirates at Cardinals, 7:45 p.m. on FS1