Today's Strands Sports Edition is live for Friday, November 13, 2026 (Puzzle #24). Stuck on today's Strands Sports Edition? We've got progressive hints, from gentle nudges to full solutions, so you can solve at your own pace.
How Strands Sports Edition Works (New Players Start Here)
Strands Sports Edition is the free daily sports word search from The Athletic and NYT Games. It hides sports-themed words inside a 6x8 letter grid. Your mission: find every word connected to the day's theme. Letters link in any direction (horizontal, vertical, diagonal) and words can twist and turn. Every letter gets used exactly once.
The spangram is the key word or phrase that captures the theme and stretches across the entire board, touching two opposite sides.
Need a boost? Every three non-theme words you find (four letters or longer) earn a hint that highlights the letters of a theme word. A new puzzle arrives every day at midnight local time.
Theme Decoder
Today's Theme Prompt: "NFL movers"
What It Really Means
Look for NFL players' surnames, with American football knowledge helping you turn familiar names into search targets.
Think About...
- Quarterbacks who direct the offense.
- Receivers who turn passes into gains.
- Defensive backs patrolling the secondary.
Spangram Clues
Orientation: Left to right across the board
Letter Count: 6 letters
Starting Zone: Row 1, letter 1
Progressive Spangram Hints
Hint 1 (Gentle): Think about why a player might need a different team's uniform.
Hint 2 (Warmer): The clubs arrange an exchange involving a player, with another player or draft picks coming back.
Hint 3 (Almost There): First letter is T, last letter is D
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TRADED
Word-by-Word Hints
Solve as many as you can before peeking. Each word includes escalating clues.
Word 1
Vague: A football defender who patrols deep in the secondary.
Closer: Think of Justin, the safety who played for the Denver Broncos.
Letter Clue: Starts with S, 7 letters total
Answer
SIMMONS
Word 2
Vague: A quarterback known for his NFL passing career.
Closer: Kirk is the first name of this former Minnesota Vikings quarterback.
Letter Clue: Starts with C, 7 letters total
Answer
COUSINS
Word 3
Vague: A wide receiver whose work takes him beyond the line of scrimmage.
Closer: Gabe is the first name of this receiver who played for the Buffalo Bills.
Letter Clue: Starts with D, 5 letters total
Answer
DAVIS
Word 4
Vague: A receiver who works the space between defenders.
Closer: Think of Josh, the Indianapolis Colts receiver who played college football at North Carolina.
Letter Clue: Starts with D, 5 letters total
Answer
DOWNS
Word 5
Vague: A veteran pass catcher known for precise route running.
Closer: Keenan is the first name of this longtime Chargers receiver.
Letter Clue: Starts with A, 5 letters total
Answer
ALLEN
Word 6
Vague: A quarterback with experience leading several NFL offenses.
Closer: Jacoby is the first name of this quarterback who has played for the Patriots and Colts.
Letter Clue: Starts with B, 8 letters total
Answer
BRISSETT
Word 7
Vague: A safety whose job includes reading the quarterback's intentions.
Closer: Think of Jessie, the safety who played for Cincinnati before joining Atlanta.
Letter Clue: Starts with B, 5 letters total
Answer
BATES
Full Answers
Spangram: TRADED
Theme Words:
- SIMMONS
- COUSINS
- DAVIS
- DOWNS
- ALLEN
- BRISSETT
- BATES
Puzzle Debrief
Difficulty Rating: Tough, with surname recognition doing much of the work.
Trickiest Word: BRISSETT is my pick for the toughest entry because its doubled S and doubled T demand careful spelling.
Our Take: The NFL prompt makes surname recognition the main challenge, while TRADED gives the theme a sharper direction. Entries such as DOWNS and COUSINS add a nice wrinkle because they also read as ordinary words, so keeping the player-name lens in focus helps.