OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Baltimore Ravens received some encouraging news regarding one of their top defensive players.

An MRI on Monday revealed safety Kyle Hamilton has a sprained MCL and is considered week-to-week, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. It initially appeared that Hamilton significantly injured his left knee when a Los Angeles Rams defender collided into him late in the first quarter of Sunday’s 37-31 overtime win.

At his Monday media session, Ravens coach John Harbaugh declined to comment on the specifics of the injury but acknowledged that Hamilton’s injury could be short term.

“Kyle looks like he will be day-to-day,” Harbaugh said. “So, we’ll see as we go through the week. He’ll have a chance to play in this game.”

In other injury news, wide receiver-returner Devin Duvernay could have a more extended absence and miss more than a week due to his back injury, Harbaugh said.

Asked whether Tylan Wallace, who scored the winning 76-yard punt return for a touchdown in overtime Sunday, would continue to be Baltimore’s returner, Harbaugh not surprisingly said with a smile, “I think he’s earned it.”

A first-round pick a year ago, Hamilton has become one of the most versatile playmakers on the NFL’s second-ranked defense. He has recorded 69 tackles, three sacks and two interceptions this season. Before he was hurt Sunday, Hamilton set a Ravens single-season record with his ninth tackle for loss, surpassing Ed Reed’s mark from 2003.

The Ravens (10-3), who currently hold the No. 1 seed in the AFC, play at the AFC South-leading Jacksonville Jaguars (8-5) on Sunday night.

Four days after getting shut out in a 3-0 defeat to the Minnesota Vikings, the Raiders scored a trio of first-quarter touchdowns to take a 21-0 lead over the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night. The Raiders had only scored 21 points in a game once before Thursday.

Las Vegas’ first score was a 1-yard TD plunge by Zamir White, his first career score as he was starting in place of injured All-Pro Josh Jacobs. It came on the Raiders’ initial offensive possession. The Raiders had gone 15 straight drives without a point, dating to the final three possessions against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12. It was their longest such drought since 2019, when they had 18 straight scoreless drives.

A pair of takeaways by the Raiders defense set up the next two scores — defensive end Malcolm Koonce with a strip-sack of Chargers quarterback Easton Stick which rookie defensive end Tyree Wilson recovered and safety Marcus Epps popping running back Joshua Kelly to force a fumble, with Raiders defensive tackle Jerry Tillery jumping on the ball.

The first fumble recovery set up an eye-opening touchdown, as rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell found speedy rookie receiver Tre Tucker, who blew by Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. for a 30-yard touchdown catch.

Tucker had to survive the replay official as he appeared to bobble to ball before going out of bounds. After a lengthy review, the initial call of TD stood.

The second recovery set up the Raiders’ third first-quarter TD, with O’Connell finding Jakobi Meyers for a quick 22-yard score.

The Raiders’ 21 points were their most in a first quarter since 2010, when they led 24-0 after one quarter against the Broncos en route to a 59-14 victory. It is also the first time they’ve scored three touchdowns on their first three possessions since 2015 against the New York Jets.

RENTON, Wash. — In need of some positive news after four straight losses, the Seattle Seahawks got some Thursday with coach Pete Carroll saying quarterback Geno Smith “feels really good” as he tries to return this week from his groin injury.

Drew Lock started last Sunday in the Seahawks’ loss to the San Francisco 49ers with Smith sidelined. Carroll continues to describe Smith as day-to-day. With a Monday night game against the Philadelphia Eagles up next, Smith got an extra day to rest and treat his injured groin before the work week began in earnest. He was a limited participant in Thursday’s practice.

“He had a good lift this morning, so we’ll see how each day goes, but one day at a time and we’ll figure that out,” Carroll said. “I know it’s a big concern to everybody, but he feels really good. He threw the heck out of the ball in the morning session, so we’ll see what happens today with the [real] hope that he’s ready to go. And if not, Drew’s going to be there. We’ll mix reps to make sure that everybody’s prepared, but that’s a good sign for us and for Geno’s sake. He wants to play in the worst way.”

Smith injured his groin in practice last Thursday. He worked out pregame Sunday in an attempt to play, but Carroll said it was clear he couldn’t move as well as he needed to. Smith moved around fine Thursday morning, per Carroll, albeit in a lower-tempo walk-through.

“He did everything,” Carroll said. “He moved around just fine. It was a walk-through, so we’ll go to practice this afternoon and see how that goes and just take one session at a time. But he feels really good. He’s ready to go.”

Smith was already dealing with a triceps contusion from the Seahawks’ Nov. 19 loss to the Los Angeles Rams when he injured his groin. Before practice last Thursday, he said his arm was getting better but that it still was “not close” to 100%. Carroll said that to his knowledge, that injury is no longer an issue.

Carroll said cornerback Devon Witherspoon, who left the 49ers game in the first quarter with a hip pointer, wouldn’t practice Thursday. Running backs Ken Walker III (oblique) and Zach Charbonnet (knee) both made it out of that game “quite well,” per Carroll. Walker had missed most of the previous three games and was listed as questionable going into the 49ers game, as was Charbonnet. Both weren’t listed on the injury report, indicating full participation in Thursday’s practice.

“They looked great today getting started for the week,” Carroll said. “Both guys feel really good. There’s no issues with what they were dealing with the week before.”

Cornerback Artie Burns appears to be OK after leaving the 49ers game with a knee injury, Carroll said. He was a full participant in Thursday’s practice.

Flacco to a one-year deal Thursday, ending his tenure on the practice squad.

Flacco’s deal includes $4.05 million in incentives based on winning, a source familiar with the deal told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Flacco is set to make $75,000 for each of the remaining four regular-season games he wins this season, per the source. If Cleveland makes the postseason, Flacco would also make $250,000 for a wild-card win, $500,000 for a divisional round win, $1 million for an AFC Championship Game win and $2 million for a Super Bowl win, the source said.

The Browns (8-5) currently are all alone as the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoff picture.

Flacco has started the past two games for the Browns. He became just the fifth quarterback in NFL history to throw five touchdown passes in his first two games with a new team, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

On Sunday, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Flacco would remain the team’s starting quarterback for the rest of the season.

Flacco is the fourth quarterback to start for Cleveland this year, joining Deshaun Watson, PJ Walker and rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The Browns signed Flacco in late November following the season-ending shoulder injury to Watson.

Flacco’s deal expires after this season, when he will be a free agent again. Flacco said Thursday he wants to continue playing after this season but is focused on Sunday’s upcoming game against the Chicago Bears.

Flacco, 38, didn’t have an offer to play this season until the Browns called him. Because of that, the former Super Bowl MVP with the Baltimore Ravens said this week it’s “unbelievable” to be playing again.

“I’m just trying to stay in the moment,” he said, “and be as grateful as possible and keep getting better.”

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A former Jacksonville Jaguars financial employee faces a maximum of 30 years in prison and up to a $500,000 fine after he pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to stealing more than $22 million from the NFL franchise over a four-year period.

Amit Patel, wearing a dark suit, burgundy tie and brown shoes, pleaded guilty to felony charges of wire fraud and illegal monetary transaction in United States District Court. He will be sentenced by a District Court judge at a later date.

Patel, 31, did not respond to a request for comment. Patel’s attorney, Alex King, declined to comment and said to contact him via email.

Patel was released on a $10,000 signature bond and was ordered to surrender his passport, undergo a mental health evaluation, avoid using alcohol or drugs unless prescribed, submit to drug testing, and not have any contact with any Jaguars employees unless his attorney was present.

The United States Attorney’s office had claimed in a court filing that Patel — who held various titles during his tenure with the Jaguars, including most recently manager, financial planning and analysis — used his position as the sole overseer of the franchise’s virtual credit card program to fund lavish personal purchases and cover up his theft.

According to the court filing, Patel is accused of stealing $22,221,454.40 and using some of that money for purchases that included a condominium in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, a Tesla Model 3 sedan, cryptocurrency, chartering private jets, luxury hotel stays, a country club membership and luxury wristwatches.

Patel said during the hearing he has a “gambling disorder” and is seeing a therapist weekly for treatment. He also said he underwent treatment for alcohol and substance abuse from March to June this year.

The filing alleges Patel became the sole administrator in October 2019 of the VCC program, which is a payment method that functions like a traditional credit card account but without a physical credit card. Certain employees were allowed to use the VCC program for business-related purchases and expenses. Patel is accused of duplicating legitimate expenses in an electronic ledger, inflating amounts of legitimate transactions, entering fictitious transactions and then using the money for personal purchases.

The Jaguars fired Patel in February and have been cooperating with the U.S. Attorney’s office and the FBI in their investigation into Patel’s theft. The team said in a statement last week Patel had no access to confidential football strategy, personnel or other football information and that the team hired law and accounting firms to conduct “a comprehensive independent review, which concluded that no other team employees were involved in or aware of his criminal activity.”

King, has claimed in a statement that Patel suffers from a “serious gambling addiction” and that “approximately 99% of the misappropriated funds” were related to gambling losses, almost all of which occurred on FanDuel and DraftKings.

King also said Patel has been receiving treatment for his gambling addiction and founded Round Robin Recovery LLC to help others with a gambling addiction.

Online records of Patel’s account with Rotogrinders, a popular daily fantasy sports and bettor site that tracks individual players’ results, as well as multiple sources familiar with his play show that Patel was a high-volume, high-stakes fantasy sports player known for racking up big losses.

Multiple sources familiar with Patel’s account told ESPN that Patel, using the username ParlayPicker, put nearly $500,000 into fantasy tournaments on the NFL, Major League Baseball, the PGA Tour and the UFC since 2017. DFS players familiar with the ParlayPicker account told ESPN they believed Patel’s biggest losses came from high-stakes, three-man contests against elite competition and had buy-ins upward of $24,000.

The NFL’s gambling policy prohibits club and league employees from gambling on any sport and from participating in daily fantasy sports

ALLEN PARK, Mich. — After losing two of their past three games, the Detroit Lions could receive a boost in the secondary as defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson has been medically cleared, according to coach Dan Campbell.

The 21-day practice window could start as soon as next week for Gardner-Johnson, who hasn’t suited up since Week 2 after he suffered a torn pectoral during the 37-31 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks and was placed on the injured reserve list.

Campbell called it “great news” as Gardner-Johnson also hinted at his return with a social media post Wednesday referencing “The Simpsons” sitcom.

“He’s one of the X-Men, he’s got these mutant genes because he has healed extremely quickly, and he’s gotten his strength back. It is secure,” Campbell said. “So, yeah, he’s going to be ready to go here pretty soon.”

Detroit certainly needs help on defense after allowing 25 or more points in five straight games, which is the longest active streak in NFL, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

In Gardner-Johnson’s two appearances this season, he started in both games while registering 13 total tackles with two passes defended. He signed with the Lions in the offseason after a Super Bowl run with the Philadelphia Eagles and was the NFL’s co-leader in interceptions with six in 2022.

“[Lions general manager Brad Holmes] and I need to talk about it, but it’s good news, and certainly the plan will be, let’s get him going ASAP to get him practicing, get his legs back under him, get him in shape … football shape,” Campbell said. “But that’s great news. That’s a credit to him, too, now. He’s been working.”

EAGAN, Minn. — The Minnesota Vikings will be without two key offensive starters Saturday against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Running back Alexander Mattison and right tackle Brian O’Neill were both ruled out Thursday because of ankle injuries they suffered last weekend in the Vikings’ 3-0 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. Neither practiced this week.

Mattison has started all 13 of the Vikings’ games this season and leads the team with 660 rushing yards. Coach Kevin O’Connell indicated that second-year running back Ty Chandler will take over the team’s lead back role, with kick returner Kene Nwangwu and fullback C.J. Ham also available for carries.

O’Neill, meanwhile, had also not missed a start this season after recovering from offseason Achilles surgery. He’ll be replaced in the lineup by veteran David Quessenberry.

The injuries to O’Neill and Mattison will add an extra layer of difficulty for quarterback Nick Mullens, who will be the Vikings’ fourth starter at the position in a seven-game stretch. Mullens will have receiver Justin Jefferson to throw to, however. Jefferson is expected to play his usual number of reps Saturday despite being listed as questionable on the team’s injury report because of a chest injury he suffered against the Raiders.

“He did probably more than I originally expected,” O’Connell said of Jefferson, “and responded really well to all the work. So we feel really good about where Justin’s at.”

Mullens takes over for Joshua Dobbs, who played the majority of the Vikings’ past five games. O’Connell, however, said that Dobbs will be the Vikings’ emergency No. 3 quarterback Saturday, with rookie Jaren Hall backing up Mullens as the No. 2. Hall hasn’t played since suffering a concussion Nov. 5 in his only start of the season.

“I just think that Jaren is fully healthy now” O’Connell said. “I think he’s really gotten back on the grass and really worked through his continued development. [We] wanted him to go about the week this week simulating as if he was playing, just using it as a real tool for his development and growth, and he’s done a nice job.”