ATLANTA -- Now that he's locked in to the Atlanta Braves, Marcell Ozuna couldn't resist a good-natured poke at general manager Alex Anthopoulos.

"Alex, I have a question for you," Ozuma said to Anthopoulos as the two took part in a Zoom call Saturday. "Why didn't you sign me at the end of the season?'"

Instead, the Braves waited until a couple of weeks before the start of spring training to reach a four-year, $64 million deal with a slugger who just missed out on the National League's Triple Crown during the abbreviated 2020 season.

The return of Ozuna ensures the Braves, who have won three straight NL East titles, will remain one of the top championship contenders heading into a new season.

They came up one win short of the World Series a year ago, losing to the eventual champion Los Angeles Dodgers in a seven-game NL Championship Series after squandering a 3-1 lead.

Now, having bolstered their rotation with the free-agent signings of Charlie Morton and Drew Smyly, they've ensured their potent lineup returns largely intact in 2021.

"We have a really good club," Anthopoulos said. "We have a World Series-caliber club. We need things to break right and so on, but everybody on the roster believes we're capable of winning the World Series."

The Braves knew they wanted to bring back Ozuna -- who led the NL with 18 homers and 56 RBIs and finished third in batting average at .338 -- but they were slow to make their move after quickly signing Morton and Smyly to one-year deals at the start of free agency.

Just a few days before the deal with the Braves was finalized Friday, Ozuna expected to be playing elsewhere in 2021. He had an offer from the Tampa Bay Rays, but held out for something better.

Finally, the Braves jumped into the mix.

It took only one day to reach an agreement.

"We didn't talk contract until a day or two ago," Anthopoulos said. "It was done real quick."

Ozuna, never shy about speaking his mind, jumped in to ask why the deal wasn't done earlier. It was all in good fun, but Anthopoulos said it took a while to sort out payroll considerations heading into another season that will surely be impacted of the coronavirus pandemic.

"At the beginning of the offseason, there was a lot of uncertainty from a team payroll standpoint and an industry standpoint," he said. "When guys get to free agency, it takes time."

Th Braves also had to consider whether the designated hitter would return in the NL for another season. Ozuna thrived in 2020 while serving mostly as the DH. For now, that one-year experiment is off the table after the players rejected a proposal to delay the start of the regular season.

Unless there's a change of course, Ozuna will start for the Braves in left field, where his defensive limitations will surely be in the spotlight.

Anthopoulos danced around that issue when asked if there were any concerns about Ozuna holding down a full-time defensive role.

"We feel like when Marcell is in left field, he's solid," the GM said. "He's worked hard with all our coaches so he can continue to be a great player offensively, defensively and running the bases."

While Ozuna's defense could be an issue, there is no question about his impact on the Braves' offense.

Batting behind Freddie Freeman, Ozuna was a major reason why the Atlanta first baseman captured the NL MVP award.

If Ozuna had gone elsewhere, the Braves would have been left with a huge hole to fill. Now, they return a lineup that features four players who reached double-figure homers in the 60-game season and scored just one less run than the major league-leading Dodgers.

But Ozuna's impact goes beyond his impressive numbers. He quickly became one of the most popular players in the Braves clubhouse, adding even more fire to a young, confident team with his various celebrations.

From his "mix it up" mantra to posing for a "selfie" on the basepaths after hitting a playoff homer, Ozuna's flair was apparent almost every time out.

After initially signing Ozuna to an $18 million, one-year deal, the Braves were willing to go long term to keep the 30-year-old in Atlanta.

"We needed that season to feel comfortable about giving him this type of contract," Anthopoulos said. "Where we are as a team, where he is in his career, where we are with our core, he fits really well."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

HARRISBURG, N.C. — Twenty years ago, FOX introduced a fresh, new approach to how NASCAR races were presented on television.

“We were in the entertainment business, not necessarily the racing business,” said Mike Joy, who has been FOX’s lead anchor since the network debuted its new formula with coverage of the 2001 Daytona 500. “It was a concept FOX had enjoyed great success with in the NFL with Terry Bradshaw, and that carried through with Darrell Waltrip. They wanted an entertaining, polarizing person to lead the team and they got exactly what they wanted with D.W.

“David Hill, who put FOX Sports together and assembled the NASCAR team for 2001, built that group around Darrell and the telecast would be Darrell’s telecast. Larry (McReyn­olds), myself, Chris Myers as host and the pit reporters, we were the supporting cast,” Joy continued. “That’s how it was for most of the 19 years that D.W. was part of it. He was the straw that stirred the drink. Whatever direction he wanted to go in, we’d go. Occasionally, I’d have to bring it back to the race that we were covering and to how it was developing.

“When we added Jeff (Gordon) to the booth (2016), that definitely changed the dynamic because when we started it was clear there weren’t going to be two drivers in the booth. We didn’t want conflict. We didn’t want difference of opinion,” Joy added. “Then, bringing Jeff in, that changed because Jeff had a fresh approach to the cars and he was close to some of the drivers and knew all of them first-hand from racing against them and being in the garage with them.

“So, when Jeff came in, he became the primary analyst for how the cars were working, what they were doing on the race track. Yet, Darrell still carried the ball with the entertainment factor. It was definitely different. They’d have a difference of opinion, but we never had arguments on the air or anything like that,” Joy acknowledged. “They each saw the race in a different way and we’d sit back and let the viewers decide how they wanted to go along.

“Darrell was more of a storyteller and Jeff was more of an analyst. Jeff wanted you to know the how and why of what was happening, and Darrell wanted you to how much fun it was and get into the personalities involved. That made them a good pairing because they weren’t looking at the same thing and arguing over what they were seeing.”

Waltrip retired from broadcasting in 2019 and the entertainment element of FOX’s NASCAR coverage dipped below expectations a year ago. That will soon change as Clint Bowyer transitions from the race track to the broadcast booth, and Joy’s thoughts on his newest broadcast partner can be found elsewhere in these pages.

– One of dirt-track racing’s grandest traditions — the annual Turkey Night Grand Prix midget event on Thanksgiving — has apparently been thrown to the wind.

According to a schedule update from USAC headquarters, the 80th running of this marque short-track event will take place at California’s Ventura Raceway on Saturday night, Nov. 27 — two days after Thanksgiving.

We certainly hope the new date is accompanied by a new name.

– Repeat after me: track preparation, track preparation, track preparation …

Bristol Motor Speedway and its temporary dirt track will be the center of the racing universe during the months of March and April with modifieds, late models, sprint cars, trucks and NASCAR Cup Series machines among the many divisions scheduled to battle on the clay-covered high banks.

If the dirt surface is installed properly and prepared so it offers great racing, dirt-track racing overall will receive a major boost. However, if the surface comes apart, is littered with holes or produces clouds of dust similar to those spotted during the Last Call at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in November, many will simply write off dirt racing as an experiment gone bad.

There’s a lot riding on how the surface is prepped for these events.

TIMMONSVILLE, S.C. – Chad McCumbee held off defending NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion Josh Berry to win the IceBreaker at Florence Motor Speedway on Saturday.

McCumbee started on the outside pole alongside of his teammate, Matt Cox. He ran inside of the top three for the majority of the race, but coming around to complete lap 78 he took over the lead for the second time as he passed Ryan Millington in turn four. McCumbee went on to lead the remaining laps of the 125-lap race, but he had to outrun Berry during two final restarts.

“I’m very proud of our effort,” McCumbee said. “I’m not going to be able to run a full season of late models this year, but this is one race that I had on the calendar that I wanted to do. I certainly got the season started off right.”

Cool As Ice: Chad McCumbee holds off Josh Berry for ? at Florence

? -> @SPEEDSPORT TV@AdvanceAuto | @FlorenceMSpdwy pic.twitter.com/djg4MKdtSq

— NASCAR Roots (@NASCARRoots) February 6, 2021

On lap 120 Justin Johnson spun Bob Saville in turn four and McCumbee had to dive down low to avoid the accident. McCumbee chose the outside lane on the restart and he cleared Berry once back to green. However, a lap later, the caution waved again for a multi-car accident heading into turn one.

“I was sick to see that caution with four laps to go, because I felt that my strategy had worked out really well,” McCumbee said. “Luckily, we still had enough, so that told me that we had made some gains.”

With just four laps to go, McCumbee once again chose the outside lane on the final restart of the afternoon. He cleared Berry again and went on to capture his first win at Florence Motor Speedway.

“Those guys are so strong,” McCumbee said about the field of drivers on Saturday. “Late model stock racing in general for the last year, the competition level was just out of control. The talent and the depth throughout the field. We got beat in November, and we came back with a lot of different stuff trying to get better, and we certainly are better.”

Berry finished second after starting the race fifth. Early in the race, Berry fell back and rode just within the top-10. As the laps ticked away, the JR Motorsports driver began to make his way through the field.

Berry had a hard time getting around Bobby McCarty late in the race, but the cautions in the final laps gave him an opportunity to battle McCumbee for the win; however, McCumbee was just so strong on the high lane on the restarts, that Berry wasn’t able to hang with him after the field made its way around turns one and two.

“That was tough,” Berry said. “I don’t know, we were good. We were good again and just lacked a little bit there. The top was a lot better than the last race here, and it just got really hard to pass. I don’t know. I just needed a little bit longer run there. I think to fire off, Chad fired off a little bit better than us, and he was able to get out enough and hold us off.”

McCarty finished third after battling Berry hard in the closing laps of the race. The side-by-side racing between the two drivers got physical, but McCarty was thrilled to bring his car home with a solid finish.

“It was good, clean racing,” McCarty said about battling Berry. “I enjoyed it. I would have liked it better if my car was better, but it was good, hard racing, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Matt Cox finished fourth, and Kaden Honeycutt rounded out the top-five. Completing the top-10 was Millington, Austin Somero, Jonathan Shafer, Justin Johnson and Ryan Glenski.

OCALA, Fla. – Not even Mother Nature could slow down Buddy Kofoid.

It took two days and a rain delay, but Kofoid led all 30 laps of the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series opener at Buddy Raceway Park, which was completed Saturday afternoon after starting and being delayed by rain on Friday.

The race resumed Saturday afternoon after being halted due to rain after 13 laps on Friday night.

Starting from the outside of the front row, Kofoid would go straight to the lead on Friday, followed by Daison Pursley, Thomas Meseraull, Tanner Thorson and Chris Windom. Meseraull would overtake Pursley for the second spot on lap two.

By lap six, Kofoid would open up more than a second lead before a yellow would bunch the field after six laps. Meseraull would slide high on turn two on the lap seven restart with both Pursley and Thorson able to get by for second and third.

Once again, Kofoid would open up a sizable advantage before rain would shut down the night’s activities after 13 laps.

Action would resume on Saturday afternoon with a top 10 of Kofoid, Pursley, Thorson, Windom, Meseraull, Justin Grant, Emerson Axsom, Jake Neuman, Logan Seavey and Jason McDougal.

As the cars returned to the track on Saturday, it was once again Kofoid leading the way with Thorson moving to second, just ahead of Pursley and Windom. Thorson then reeled in Kofoid, momentarily moving past him through turn two on lap 18, only to have a yellow flag wave and negate the pass.

On the restart, Kofoid was able to hold off Thorson, but Windom would pass Pursley with 11 to go, and then overtake Thorson for second, only to see Thorson return the favor with eight laps remaining.  While those two battled for second, Kofoid was able to open up a slight gap.  Thorson came right back, though, closing on Kofoid and eventually sliding him for the lead in turn two with six laps to go, but he was unable to hold it.

At that point, Kofoid pulled away slightly with five laps to go, but Thorson wasn’t done yet. He would make one final run at the lead through turns three and four on the final lap, but wasn’t quite able to pull off the pass, allowing Kofoid to take the win.

“They gave me a really good car,” said Kofoid, who wheeled the No. 67 entry for Keith Kunz Motorsports. “Those last 10 laps I felt like I needed to move around and saw them making ground on me off four. I was glad to hold them off and get that first win of the year. Hopefully, we can add a lot more starting tonight. I can’t thank Keith Kunz Motorsports (KKM), Toyota and Mobil 1 for giving me this opportunity.”

Thorson, making his first USAC start with Dave Mac Motorsports, would finish second. Defending series champion Windom took third, followed by Pursley and Axsom.

USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series, Feb. 5-6, Bubba Raceway Park, Ocala, Fla.

FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING RESULTS: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-14.037; 2. Jason McDougal, 4, Dalby-14.089; 3. Tanner Thorson, 88, Dave Mac-14.133; 4. Chris Windom, 89, CB-14.157; 5. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-14.234; 6. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-14.250; 7. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-14.259; 8. Logan Seavey, 25, Malloy-14.263; 9. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.271; 10. Daison Pursley, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.321; 11. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.400; 12. Kaylee Bryson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.446; 13. Tanner Carrick, 98K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.457; 14. Jake Neuman, 3N, Neuman-14.497; 15. Steve Buckwalter, 25B, Buckwalter-14.508; 16. Chase Elliott, 84, CB-14.534; 17. Bryant Wiedeman, 01, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.582; 18. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-14.629; 19. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-14.645; 20. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-14.696; 21. Sam Johnson, 72J, SJR-14.702; 22. Noah Gass, 20G, Gass-14.722; 23. Max McLaughlin, z8, Bundy Built-14.735; 24. Kade Morton, 8m, Morton-14.773; 25. Andrew Felker, 57A, RAB-14.811; 26. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.945; 27. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Dave Mac-15.044; 28. Emilio Hoover, 21K, Ripper-15.126; 29. Daniel Robinson, 57K, RAB-15.198; 30. Michael Magic, 4m, Magic-15.642; 31. Oliver Akard, 41, OMR-15.742; 32. Austin Barnhill, 17B, SJR-16.168; 33. Trey Gropp, 21KS, Ripper-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Sam Johnson, 2. Bryant Wiedeman, 3. Buddy Kofoid, 4. Thomas Meseraull, 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 6. Tanner Carrick, 7. Andrew Felker, 8. Daniel Robinson. 2:00.09

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Chase Randall, 3. Jake Neuman, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Jason McDougal, 6. Noah Gass, 7. Michael Magic, 8. Hayden Reinbold. 1:56.296

INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Max McLaughlin, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Cannon McIntosh, 4. Steve Buckwalter, 5. Emerson Axsom, 6. Brenham Crouch, 7. Taylor Reimer, 8. Oliver Akard. 1:58.603

INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Kade Morton, 3. Ethan Mitchell, 4. Kaylee Bryson, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Chase Elliott, 7. Austin Barnhill, 8. Emilio Hoover. 2:00.647

SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Jason McDougal, 2. Emerson Axsom, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Tanner Carrick, 5. Chase Elliott, 6. Brenham Crouch, 7. Andrew Felker, 8. Hayden Reinbold, 9. Trey Gropp, 10. Taylor Reimer, 11. Emilio Hoover, 12. Austin Barnhill, 13. Daniel Robinson, 14. Oliver Akard, 15. Kevin Thomas Jr., 16. Michael Magic, 17. Noah Gass. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, final 17 laps completed on Feb. 6, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Buddy Kofoid (2), 2. Tanner Thorson (6), 3. Chris Windom (5), 4. Daison Pursley (1), 5. Emerson Axsom (10), 6. Thomas Meseraull (4), 7. Justin Grant (3), 8. Tanner Carrick (14), 9. Jake Neuman (15), 10. Jason McDougal (9), 11. Steve Buckwalter (16), 12. Logan Seavey (11), 13. Bryant Wiedeman (18), 14. Brenham Crouch (12), 15. Kaylee Bryson (13), 16. Max McLaughlin (8), 17. Chase Elliott (17), 18. Cannon McIntosh (20), 19. Ethan Mitchell (21), 20. Sam Johnson (7), 21. Kade Morton (22), 22. Chase Randall (19).

The aftermath of Dale Earnhardt’s death in the 2001 Daytona 500 is well known and, in a lot of ways, still reverberating through NASCAR.

Twenty years have now passed since what many consider NASCAR’s darkest day and what’s often missed is the effect it’s had on Kevin Harvick.

Then 25, Harvick was summoned to fill Earnhardt’s seat. He is now entering his 21st season in the NASCAR Cup Series, now known as the 45-year-old who has placed Stewart-Haas Racing as Ford’s premier race team.

Harvick has gone through a significant rebrand since he left the shadow of Earnhardt at Richard Childress Racing in 2013. Up to his late 30s, Harvick was someone who knocked on the championship door, but never quite busted through.

Then, when he signed with Stewart-Haas in 2014, everything came together and Harvick won his first Cup Series championship at 38 years old.

He’s only gotten better since.

Twenty-seven of his 58 career Cup wins have come in his 40s. He has 21 Cup wins since 2018 and is one of two drivers to win 20 or more races in a three-year span since 2000. The other is Jimmie Johnson, who won 24 times between 2007-09.

But Johnson, who’s also 45, has retired from full-time NASCAR competition and turned his attention to a part-time NTT IndyCar Series program. Harvick, meanwhile, has just tapped into his golden years.

“It took a long time,” Harvick said when he felt he escaped Earnhardt’s shadow during Daytona 500 media availability Friday.

“I mean we’re 20 years later and it’s forever going to be compared just because of [how] everything went, but when I changed teams and went to Stewart-Haas Racing I felt like 2014 was really the year that you were able to legitimize everything,” Harvick added. “Just because you were capable of driving the car and being around people and doing the things that it took to win races and win a championship.”

It is actually remarkable what Harvick and the No. 3-turned-No. 29 crew accomplished in 2001. Harvick was supposed to move to the Cup Series in 2002 in a third RCR entry, but things ultimately never worked that way. Earnhardt’s famed black No. 3 transformed into a white No. 29 and Harvick was left having to shoulder Earnhardt’s Goodwrench image while trying to find his way as a Cup rookie.

Three weeks after Earnhardt’s death, Harvick out-dueled Jeff Gordon to win at Atlanta Motor Speedway by .006 seconds in a race for the ages. He finished the year with two wins and 16 top 10s, good enough for ninth in the Cup Series standings.

In 2003, more black worked itself back on the car, but the silver flames still gave Harvick his own look. At least, that’s what it looked like on the outside.

“For the first four or five years it was difficult just because of the fact that everything that you did was always compared to everything that Dale did,” Harvick said. “It was always, ‘it wouldn’t have been handled this way or it would have been handled this way. And this guy did that and that guy did this.’ It was just never something that was comfortable because as I said earlier I became defensive about, ‘well, I’m just not doing it that way in anything.’”

The Shell/Pennzoil era at RCR came along in 2007, as Goodwrench departed at the end of 2006. Coincidentally enough, Harvick won his first race that year, the Daytona 500, in the new-look No. 29 that traded its traditional black and silver for yellow and red.

Budweiser then came on in 2011, and Harvick enjoyed his best years at RCR in those colors. He finished third three times in the Cup Series standings and eighth once over those final four years at RCR. But, as Harvick brought to light, it was virtually impossible to fully detach his name from Earnhardt’s. After all, a miniature No. 3 decal always rode with Harvick in his 13 years at RCR.

“I didn’t want to do anything that was the same way [as Earnhardt] just because I got tired of hearing it,” Harvick said. “So as you got through the Goodwrench days and they kind of gravitated off the car … that, for me, made things more comfortable because you were living on your success and it wasn’t something that was given to you or a position that you didn’t deserve.

“It was a position that you had earned, which was always the way I felt like I wanted to go about things: You needed to earn it in order to be where you were,” Harvick added.

From his towering image to the safety innovations that followed, all the way to his souvenir ventures and his iconic style of racing, Harvick will always have deep admiration for Earnhardt.

Now Harvick is able to freely embrace his own image.

“He could move the needle when things needed to be moved from a competitor’s standpoint like really no other driver has been able to do, ever,” Harvick said. “He’s changed the game on a number of different levels throughout the sport. Just having that demeanor and the way he went about giving it everything he had, to do whatever he had to do to try to win a race or gain a position, was something the fans always latched on to.”

South American football united on Saturday to lament the death of Uruguayan footballer Santiago "Morro" Garcia, which was earlier confirmed by his club Godoy Cruz in a statement.

The Argentine and Uruguayan football associations, as well as South American Football Confederation president Alejandro Dominguez, also sent their condolences.

"We have to confirm the regrettable news about Santiago Garcia," said Godoy Cruz after the player was found dead in Mendoza. "Everyone at the club feels completely distressed."

The cause of death was not clear.

The 30-year-old Garcia was being treated for personal problems and depression, local news reports said.

The striker, who played for Uruguay at under-20 level, also featured for local clubs Nacional and River Plate as well as Brazilian side Athletico Paranaense and Kisimpasa of Turkey.

Garcia signed for Godoy Cruz in 2016 and was the club's top scorer in the 2017-18 Argentine league season.

Manchester United twice gave up the lead as Dominic Calvert-Lewin netted deep in second-half stoppage time to earn Everton a 3-3 draw at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Everton looked the more dangerous side in the opening minutes, but it was Manchester United that scored first when Edinson Cavani connected with a lovely Marcus Rashford cross at the back post to head home for the lead on 24 minutes.

- Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)

The goal was Cavani's second in as many games for Manchester United, who had won each of the five previous matches in which the Uruguay international got on the scoresheet.

Paul Pogba, whose future at Old Trafford is uncertain, pulled up with an injury shortly before half-time and was replaced by Fred.

Everton failed to close down Bruno Fernandes on the edge of the penalty area in first-half stoppage time and he made them pay, firing a spectacular shot over the head of Robin Olsen to stake Man United to a 2-0 lead at the break.

Despite being dominated in the first half, Everton started the second on a promising note when Abdoulaye Doucoure poked home from close range after David de Gea spilled a save right into his path in front of goal.

Minutes later, Everton drew level through James Rodriguez, who settled a Doucoure cutback with his first touch before smashing a low half-volley past De Gea.

The ebb and flow of the match continued -- with United regaining momentum after Everton tied it up -- and the hosts were soon back in front when Scott McTominay headed past Olsen from a set piece.

With the game nearly over, Everton won a free kick in the attacking third and Michael Keane flicked on Lucas Digne's delivery to allow Calvert-Lewin to score with the last kick of the game.

The result puts United on 45 points, two behind leaders Man City, who are ahead on goal difference and have a game in hand.

Carlo Ancelotti's Everton move ahead of Chelsea into sixth place on 37 points from 21 matches.

PITTSBURGH -- Ben Roethlisberger is expected to meet with the Pittsburgh Steelers next week to discuss both his future and his contract, sources told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

The two sides decided they needed to take time apart following the season before convening to discuss the next steps, sources said.

Steelers owner Art Rooney II made it clear in his annual state of the Steelers news conference that Roethlisberger could not return on his $41.2 million cap hit for the 2021 season, the final year of his contract.

"I think we've been upfront with Ben in letting him know that we couldn't have him back under the current contract," Rooney said last week. "I think he understands we have some work to do there. We'll have more conversations internally and we'll have more conversations with Ben, and we'll have to know what the cap number is to finalize some of those decisions."

The quarterback understands the situation and is willing to provide the badly needed cap relief, sources told Fowler on Saturday.

"I want to do everything I can and made that very clear to them from the very beginning that it was my idea to basically help the team however I can this year," Roethlisberger told The Athletic on Jan. 28.

The Steelers can save around $14 million in 2021 cap space if they convert most of his base salary and roster bonus into a signing bonus, although they would carry over that money to future years.

Although the Steelers need to determine Roethlisberger's future, they also have to hash out the future of wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who will hit free agency in March, and center Maurkice Pouncey, who is considering retirement.

The Philadelphia Eagles are expected to trade Carson Wentz in the coming days in what would be the latest blockbuster quarterback deal to rock the NFL, league sources told ESPN.

The most pertinent questions now become where, when and for what. But it could happen as early as this coming week, per league sources, even as the Eagles continue to insist to other teams that they would be happy to bring Wentz back to Philadelphia.

The Eagles are said to be looking for, in the words of one well-placed source, "a Matthew Stafford package" in return for Wentz. The Lions traded Stafford to the Rams last weekend for a third-round pick this year, two future first-round picks and quarterback Jared Goff, the player selected directly in front of Wentz as the top two picks in the 2016 NFL draft.

Among the teams that have expressed some level of interest in Wentz are the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts, sources told ESPN, although other teams also have called to gauge the market and see what a package for the Eagles' quarterback would look like.

It is all part of an NFL offseason that will feature a flurry of quarterback moves, with teams rushing to make sure they are not left behind. Once Wentz is traded, league sources believe it could help set the asking price for other deals such as one involving New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold.

But a potential Wentz trade has been in motion for more than a week now, with the Eagles engaged in a flurry of trade conversations shortly after Stafford was sent to Los Angeles.

Those talks escalated as the week went on, but the Eagles keep telling teams that they do not plan on trading Wentz unless they get what they believe to be the appropriate compensation. The talks so far suggest they will, per league sources, which then would make 2020 second-round pick Jalen Hurts the Eagles' starting quarterback for the coming season.

Although the Eagles do not feel rushed to trade Wentz, and nothing can be made official until the new league year begins March 17, Wentz does have a $10 million roster bonus due on the third day of the league year that Philadelphia would have to pay if its former first-round pick is on the roster. It is why a trade is expected to be agreed to long before then.

Wentz's departure also would leave the Eagles with a $34 million dead-cap charge, adding on to their challenging cap situation. But Philadelphia has known the cap challenges that were ahead for months and has a plan to address it, just as the Rams did with the departure and dead money on Goff.

New Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, who was hired as Doug Pederson's replacement, has not publicly committed to Wentz as a starter because he is fully aware that there has been a possibility that the quarterback will not be on the roster in 2021.

Nevertheless, team sources say Sirianni recently had a staff meeting in which many of the offensive coaches expressed the belief that they can help Wentz regain his Pro Bowl form.

The Eagles being open to moving Wentz in a trade supports owner Jeffrey Lurie's declaration that Pederson's firing was not primarily related to Wentz's decline in 2020.

There have been whispers over the years that Wentz has struggled at times with his ability to forge relationships across the locker room, but others believe that could have been a natural byproduct of him and the team not living up to the lofty expectations that followed the 2017 season.

By many public accounts, Wentz has handled himself with class throughout his time in Philadelphia and has received public support from many of the team's leaders over the years, including most recently Fletcher Cox and Jason Kelce.

Despite efforts to ask for his reaction, Wentz was unavailable for comment. The Eagles declined comment.

It is now all coming to a head, with the Eagles engaged in trade talks that multiple league sources believe will end up as the NFL's next blockbuster quarterback trade.