While college players take center stage at the NFL scouting combine, teams are busy preparing their next moves along with evaluating potential draft picks.
Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza is the consensus choice for the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 1 overall and it’s uncertain whether another quarterback will be selected in the first round.
But there was plenty of speculation about QBs changing teams during a jam-packed week in Indianapolis.
Kirk Cousins already was informed by the Atlanta Falcons that he’ll be released when the new league year opens on March 11. The Miami Dolphins may part with Tua Tagovailoa and could have to absorb a $99.2 million cap hit in dead money that could be spread across two seasons with a post-June 1 release.
Kyler Murray could be looking for a new team after seven seasons in Arizona. The Cardinals owe him $36.8 million in fully guaranteed salary this year. Another $19.5 million would be guaranteed in 2027 if he’s on the roster on the third day of the league year.
Three-time Pro Bowl wideout A.J. Brown is a candidate for a trade, even though the Philadelphia Eagles won a Super Bowl with him and would prefer to keep him.
The Raiders are willing to listen to offers for five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby, though general manager John Spytek said they want him back.
Mike Evans, a six-time Pro Bowl wideout with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, plans to test free agency and there’s a possibility he may get an offer he can’t refuse.
Mendoza, who led Indiana to its first national championship, didn’t work out at the combine. He spoke to reporters and made the interview rounds.
The next quarterback selected after Mendoza may have to wait a while. Alabama’s Ty Simpson had an impressive day at the combine. He’s a one-year starter who needs more experience but his potential makes him a potential first-round pick.
LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier and Miami’s Carson Beck raised their stock at the combine. Arkansas’ Taylen Green showed off his athleticism and ran a 4.36 40-yard dash.
Clemson’s Cade Klubnik and Penn State’s Drew Allar had strong throwing performances.
It’s a deep group with several first-round candidates. This is a premium position for NFL teams, who place high value on guys who can pressure quarterbacks. The past two Super Bowls saw dominant defensive performances, only increasing the need for elite talent along the front four.
Texas Tech’s David Bailey, Ohio State’s Arvell Reese and Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. should be top-10 picks. Auburn’s Keldric Faulk, Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell and Miami’s Akheem Mesidor are among the guys who can be picked in the first round.
There’s a lot of depth at a position where teams are always looking for playmakers.
Ohio State’s Carnell Tate leads the pack and should go in the top 10. USC’s Makai Lemon, Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson, Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr., Washington’s Denzel Boston and Texas A&M’s KC Concepcion are among the first-round talent.
Notre Dame’s Malachi Fields, Tennessee, Chris Brazzell II and Georgia’s Zachariah Branch will draw plenty of attention. This receiver class is so deep there could be undrafted players who make an impact.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza (11) runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
FILE - Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) walks off the field after an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Danny Karnik, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices are leaping Monday with worries that the Iran war will clog the global flow of crude and make inflation even worse. U.S. stocks, meanwhile, are swinging between sharp losses and a tiny gain.
Crude prices jumped more than 5%, which will likely mean higher prices soon at gasoline pumps. That would hurt not only U.S. households, whose spending makes up the bulk of the U.S. economy, but also businesses with big fuel bills.
The S&P 500 fell as much as 1.2% at the start of trading, and cruise lines and airlines led the way lower. But the index quickly erased most of the loss, in part because past military conflicts have not led to sustained drops for markets, and it fell 0.1% in afternoon trading.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 64 points, or 0.1%, as of 1:39 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% higher.
Prices for natural gas remained higher, meanwhile, which could raise heating bills for the remainder of the winter, after a major supplier of liquefied natural gas to Europe said it would stop production because of the war. Gold climbed 1.2% as investors looked for safer things to own and as U.S. officials tried to persuade the world that this war will not last forever.
“This is not Iraq,” U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday. “This is not endless.”
Typically, Treasury yields also fall when investors are feeling nervous. But yields instead climbed, in part because higher oil prices will put upward pressure on inflation, which is already worse than nearly everyone would like. That could tie the Federal Reserve’s hands and keep it from cutting interest rates.
Lower interest rates can boost the economy and job market, while also worsening inflation. Higher rates can do the opposite.
Past military conflicts in the Middle East have not caused long-term drops for markets. For this war to knock down U.S. stocks in a significant and sustained way, the price of oil would perhaps need to jump above $100 per barrel, according to strategists at Morgan Stanley led by Michael Wilson.
Oil prices are still well below there. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 5.7% to $70.85. Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 6.2% to $77.42 per barrel.
That helped the U.S. stock market pare some of its steep, opening loss. Morgan Stanley says the S&P 500 has climbed an average of 2%, 6% and 8% in the one, six and 12 months following “geopolitical risk events” historically. That's going back to the Korean War, which began in 1950, and the 1956 Suez crisis.
At the moment, though, fear is still running through markets.
Stocks of airlines were some of Monday’s sharpest losers. Not only do higher oil prices threaten their already big fuel bills, the fighting in the Middle East also closed airports and left travelers stranded.
United Airlines fell 2.9%, and American Airlines lost 3.9%.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings fell even more, 9.1%. It needs customers to have plenty of cash to spend after paying for their gasoline bills and other essentials.
The cruise operator also reported weaker revenue for its latest quarter than analysts expected, though its profit was better. Its forecast for profit this upcoming fiscal year was lower than analysts expected.
Hotels, discount retailers and other companies that benefit when customers have more cash in their pocket from lower fuel bills also lagged the market. MGM Resorts fell 3.1%, and Dollar Tree lost 4.1%.
Stocks in the housing industry also struggled as higher Treasury yields could translate into more expensive mortgage rates. Paint company Sherwin-Williams fell 2.1%, and homebuilder D.R. Horton lost 4.1%.
Helping to limit Wall Street's losses were oil companies, which benefited from the rising prices for crude. Exxon Mobil climbed 1.2%, and Occidental Petroleum rose 1.6%.
Companies that make equipment for the military also strengthened. Lockheed Martin climbed 2.8%, and RTX rallied 4%.
Palantir Technologies, whose software helps global defense agencies, jumped 6.5% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500.
Big Tech stocks also helped to support the market. Nvidia rose 2.9% and was the strongest single force pushing upward on the S&P 500.
In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across much of Europe and Asia. Germany’s DAX lost 2.6%, France’s CAC 40 fell 2.2% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 2.1% for some of the world’s larger losses.
Stocks in Shanghai were an outlier and rose 0.5%.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.05% from 3.97% late Friday. A report showing growth for U.S. manufacturing was better than economists expected last month also helped to lift yields.
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
James Denaro, center, and others work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Trader John Bishop works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Iraqi Shiite carry a mock coffin of Iranian supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by a U.S. airstrike in Tehran, during a symbolic funeral, in Najaf, Iraq, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)
People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, March 1, 2026, in Tokyo.(Yohei Fukai/Kyodo News via AP)
A pedestrian walks outside the New York Stock Exchange during a snow storm, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
FILE - Fishermen work in front of oil tankers south of the Strait of Hormuz Jan. 19, 2012, offshore the town of Ras Al Khaimah in United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)
Snow falls outside the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
