Trouble with Bills’ signees

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills stand to open the season minus two new free-agent defensive line additions upon learning Larry Ogunjobi and Michael Hoecht both face six-game suspensions for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drugs policy.

General manager Brandon Beane said Friday that the team was aware of Hoecht’s positive test before agreeing to sign the hybrid defensive lineman/linebacker to a three-year contract on Monday.

As for Ogunjobi, Beane said the player revealed he had just received notice of testing positive upon arriving at the team’s facility to sign a one-year contract the two sides agreed to on Tuesday.

Two ex-Steelers find new teams

Interior offensive lineman Kendrick Green found a home with the Buffalo Bills on Friday.

Green has four seasons of NFL experience after being selected by the Steelers in the third round of the 2021 draft out of Illinois. After starting 15 games at center as a rookie for Pittsburgh, he didn’t play a down the following season in struggling to make the switch to guard.

The 26-year-old Green was traded to Houston in August 2023, and spent the past two seasons with four starts in 21 games for the Texans.

Also on Friday, another former Steeler, receiver Van Jefferson, signed with the Tennessee Titans. Jefferson, who is from the Nashville area, previously played for the Rams and the Falcons along with Pittsburgh.

He has played in 78 games in his career with 47 starts.

‘Ted Lasso’ coming back

Jason Sudeikis’ mustache is making a comeback.

“Ted Lasso,” the dramedy about a fiercely optimistic American soccer coach in London, is set to return for a fourth season, Apple TV+ announced Friday.

The streamer did not say when the new episodes would become available or where they are in the production process. In a statement, Sudeikis, the show’s star and an executive producer, hinted the new episodes would be about taking chances.

“In season four, the folks at AFC Richmond learn to LEAP BEFORE THEY LOOK, discovering that wherever they land, it’s exactly where they’re meant to be.”

Ted Lasso the character was first introduced by Sudeikis in 2013 to promote NBC Sports’ coverage of the England Premier League. In a short film, Lasso was the coach of London’s Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. It was quickly clear that he knew little — if anything — about soccer.

The idea came up to write a show around the character but it didn’t come to fruition until Bill Lawrence (“Scrubs,” “Cougar Town”) helped get it picked up by Apple TV+. “Ted Lasso” debuted in August 2020, in the middle of the pandemic lockdown.

“Ted Lasso” has won seven Primetime Emmy Awards, including outstanding comedy series for its first two seasons.

Fanatics to work with USC star

The Fanatics and Fanatics Collectibles sports merchandise platforms announced a multi-year deal with USC women’s basketball star JuJu Watkins.

Fanatics said Watkins is the first women’s college athlete to sign a deal with the company. Fans will be able to purchase Watkins-themed memorabilia through Fanatics, such as autographed photos and basketballs. For trading cards, the agreement will involve autographs and game-worn memorabilia.

The partnership will mark the first time she is featured in a USC uniform in a standard trading-card offering. Her first standard card will be in 2025 Bowman University Chrome Basketball.

The Associated Press