Adam Schefter swipes at Mike Florio over Carnell Tate controversy

Who knew that a few hundredths of a second could be the source of so much controversy in NFL circles?

Over the weekend, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter sent out a report that some might find innocuous and others might find bizarre. Schefter posted a tidbit on social media saying that many NFL teams timed first-round wide receiver prospect Carnell Tate to run the 40-yard dash between 4.45 and 4.47 seconds, faster than the official laser-measured time of 4.52 seconds.

Ohio State WR Carnell Tate, a potential top 10 pick, was timed by several NFL executives and GMs on Saturday with a 40 time in the range of 4.45-4.47 seconds.

Although the combine registers official times, teams always conduct their own timing, and those measurements with some…

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 1, 2026

Predictably, Schefter was inundated with criticisms that he was reporting this because Tate’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, wanted to combat some of the negative headlines that would come from Tate running above a 4.5. After all, Schefter had never issued a similar report about a player’s 40-yard dash time in the past. Either Tate’s official measurement was exceptionally off, or these discrepancies happen all the time but simply go unreported.

Whatever the case, Schefter’s report caught the attention of NBC Sports’ Mike Florio, who questioned whether Schefter “canvass[ed] multiple teams for their numbers” or “simply copy and paste[d] a text from Rosenhaus.”

On Wednesday, Schefter responded to Florio with several screenshots suggesting he did, in fact, reach out to multiple teams to confirm their measurements of Tate’s 40-yard dash time. “Just to prove you’re wrong, again,” Schefter captioned the post.

Just to prove you’re wrong, again. pic.twitter.com/6xmfFhotqy

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 4, 2026

Of course, these screenshots cannot be verified. But the criticism clearly struck a nerve with Schefter, at least, enough that he felt it necessary to refute Florio’s skepticism.

It’s not as if Florio’s critique was out of line, however. The same day Schefter posted the report about Tate’s 40-yard dash time, the ESPN NFL insider broke a major story that two of Rosenhaus’s clients, Aaron Jones and Javon Hargrave, would be released by the Minnesota Vikings.

Sources: Vikings have informed running back Aaron Jones and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave that, barring a trade, they will be released at the start of the league year this month.

Jones’ release will save the Vikings $7.75 million against the cap, Hargrave’s $10.9 million. pic.twitter.com/s5DdCTOWTX

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 1, 2026

As Florio writes, “Sometimes, [insiders] got to hold their noses and press ‘post’ in order to stay at the front of the line for the never-ending flow of tidbits about transactions. It’s an occupational hazard, part of the price to pay in order to get paid.”

This is far from the first time Schefter has been accused of carrying water for a source. Just last year, Schefter reported that Mark Sanchez had been stabbed during a robbery just an hour after TMZ first reported he was hospitalized. That, of course, was wildly untrue. Sanchez was the aggressor in the incident that resulted in his stabbing, but Schefter left his false report up for 24 hours anyway.

In 2022, Schefter similarly downplayed Deshaun Watson’s domestic violence allegations. And last December, he bizarrely defended former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore, saying people were “out to get him” amid his arrest.

Suffice it to say, Adam Schefter is not exactly beating the charges of sometimes using his platform to advance narratives that his sources want, rather than reporting news with objectivity.