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Former MLB pitcher Tommy John, who passed away on Sunday, made one of the most significant impacts in the history of baseball. Fifty-two years ago, John underwent a surgery that proved to be revolutionary. He underwent a groundbreaking procedure performed by Dr. Frank Jobe to repair his UCL, and the successful reconstructive procedure became famously known as Tommy John Surgery. More than half a century later, the procedure continues to leave a lasting mark, saving countless careers. What was once considered a career-ending injury for pitchers is now a routine procedure that allows athletes to make full recoveries. As we remember Tommy John, here are five of the most impactful Tommy John surgery recoveries in baseball history. One of the biggest success stories from Tommy John surgery is two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom. Shortly after the New York Mets drafted him in the ninth round of the 2010 MLB Draft, deGrom underwent the procedure in October 2010. He went on to make history as the first pitcher to win back-to-back Cy Young Awards after undergoing Tommy John surgery, doing so with the Mets in the 2018 and 2019 seasons. He’s continued to pitch at an elite level into his late 30s as well, getting named an All-Star for the fifth time in his career in 2025. After undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2020, Justin Verlander returned with a vengeance in 2022. He not only anchored the Houston Astros to their second World Series title, but he also claimed his third career Cy Young Award. Winning the award placed Verlander in elite company. After undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2020, he joined a rare group of pitchers to capture a Cy Young Award following the procedure.  Verlander went 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA and 185 strikeouts as a 39-year-old coming off Tommy John surgery in 2022. Recently acquired Los Angeles Dodgers ace Tarik Skubal also underwent Tommy John surgery, but that was back in 2016 while pitching in college for Seattle University. Since fully recovering, Skubal has put together one of the most dominant stretches of pitching in recent baseball history. Pitching for the Detroit Tigers for the majority of his career, he captured consecutive Cy Young awards in 2024 and 2025. He became just the third pitcher in history to win the award multiple times after undergoing Tommy John surgery. One of the biggest “what-ifs” in baseball history is former Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg. After one of the most memorable debuts ever, where he struck out 14 batters, he suffered a major setback, needing Tommy John surgery after just 12 starts. But he was still able to pitch at an elite level when he returned from the surgery in 2011. He led the National League in strikeouts in 2014 and was named an All-Star three times (2012, 2016, 2017). The highlight of Strasburg’s career came in 2019, though. He finished fifth in Cy Young voting that year before leading the Nationals to a World Series title. Strasburg posted a 1.46 ERA alongside a perfect 5-0 record during that stretch. Long before Gagné set the record for 84 consecutive saves, he was a minor league starter whose career was derailed by Tommy John surgery in 1997. His comeback and move to the bullpen became one of the greatest post-surgery success stories in baseball history. Gagné made history in 2003 as the first reliever to win a Cy Young Award after having Tommy John surgery. He delivered one of the most dominant closing seasons ever, going 55-for-55 in save opportunities with a 1.20 ERA and 137 strikeouts in just 82 ⅓ innings in 2023.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Markham, Ontario — A new street court tested the perseverance and patience of INDYCAR drivers Sunday. Marcus Ericsson, a driver who hasn’t won in nearly four years and nearly found himself out of a ride after this season but earned a contract extension last month thanks to his perseverance and patience, emerged victorious. Ericsson captured his first victory since March 2023 as he snapped a 63-race winless streak by claiming the inaugural win on the perilous streets of Markham, where the Ontario Grand Prix was relocated from Toronto’s Exhibition Place. Here are my takeaways: 1. Streak Snapped Ericsson indicated he felt that a win was coming with the performance this year, a 180 from last year when he finished 20th in the standings. A former Formula 1 driver and an Indianapolis 500 winner when at Ganassi, the Andretti Global driver entered Markham sitting ninth in the 2026 standings. “The thing in racing, you have to believe in yourself, right?” Ericsson said in his winners news conference. “I went eight years without a win when I went from F2, went in F1, then came to INDYCAR. It’s easy to give up and do something else. “I always feel like mental strength and that ability to push myself, even when things doesn’t go your way, it’s been one of my biggest strengths as a driver.” The 35-year-old driver led 21 of 90 laps, including the last five, after he easily passed a fuel-saving Romain Grosjean for the lead. It was likely a popular win considering Ericsson’s path the lat few years. “I don’t think there was any scenario last year where I would have won a race because I just wasn’t fast and I wasn’t happy with the way the car felt,” Ericsson said. “It was no one’s fault. Things didn’t work out. We were in a bad spiral. It comes from working hard, putting the work in. There’s nothing coming for free. You can’t after a season like last year sit around and think hopefully next year will be better.” 2. Streak Continued Romain Grosjean, who drives for Dale Coyne Racing, has no wins in 78 career INDYCAR starts since making the move from F1. His last victory in a single-seater car came in 2011 in a G2 Series race. “I cried a little, I’m not going to lie,” Grosjean said in his postrace news conference. “But control what you can control. … I did everything I could.” 3. Power Nearly Ruins Teammate’s Day Will Power finished third but nearly ruined Ericsson’s chance to win when the two had contact when Ericsson passed him in the hairpin. Power said he wasn’t trying to keep Ericsson from passing him. “I said [to my team], ‘OK, I’ll let him go on the backstraight so I can stay close to Palou,’” Power said in his postrace news conference about the contact. “He didn’t get the message, or it wasn’t quick enough for him. Miscommunication. I didn’t even look in my mirror. I just turned. Obviously at that point, I was upset because we lost such a gap.” Ericsson, who had pitted several laps later than Grosjean for his final stop and was several seconds behind at the time, said the contact was unfortunate and he and his teammate are good. “I was really eager to get by and sort of hunt down the leaders because I really felt like I had the pace to win,” Ericsson said. 4. New Track, Mixed Reviews It might not be much of a surprise, but those who had great finishes loved the track while those who wrecked did not. The biggest issue was the lack of any curved barriers, which meant that the walls all came to a point. A misjudgment could result in hitting a wall and end one’s day. Pole-sitter Louis Foster saw his race end after 42 laps and Kyle Kirkwood’s ended in similar fashion 11 laps later. “They didn’t come here with radius walls,” Kirkwood told me and other reporters. “That’s been the new normal for INDYCAR is radius walls at all the apex. “As you’re wrapping around the corner, you can’t see the points and they surprise you a bit. But it’s not like it was any different than the rest of the weekend. It just can catch you off guard.” 4 ½. Up Next: Freedom 250 The streets of Washington D.C. await INDYCAR drivers in what will be a spectacle in the nation’s capital on a 1.7-mile course. It will be one of the longest street-course races in decades at 250 miles with the start-finish line across from the U.S. Capitol.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

LATROBE, Pa. — Aaron Rodgers learned last season that he can’t outrun the clock. He’s slower in his 40s than he used to be. His arm strength isn’t there as consistently as it once was, either. It’s his mind, though, that really keeps him going at age 42, in his 22nd — and, as he vowed, his last — NFL season. It’s why his new (and old) coach, Mike McCarthy, is convinced they can make one more run at Super Bowl glory together. And it’s the quirky Rodgers’ best chance to out-maneuver the passage of time. “His mind’s incredibly sharp,” McCarthy, the Steelers coach, told me before practice on Sunday at St. Vincent College. “But I’ll be honest with you, his ball play in this camp has been top-notch. Obviously, I’ve coached a lot of football with him, but his ability to place the football … I’m not saying he lost any velocity on the ball, but if he has, it’s definitely made up for with his anticipation. “So he’s getting the ball where it needs to be, on time. He’s having a hell of a camp.” McCarthy would know. This may be his first season coaching his hometown Steelers, but he spent 13 wildly successful seasons as Rodgers’ head coach in Green Bay. They went to the playoffs eight times, won a Super Bowl together, and he helped Rodgers develop into one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play the game. The late-career reunion between the 62-year-old coach and his former protégé has been “super cool,” McCarthy told me. But it’s a lot more than just a trip down memory lane. He still sees Rodgers as a quarterback who can help him win. “It’s super cool, just to be able to be part of his final chapter. It’s awesome,” McCarthy told me. “But I think he definitely fits the culture here. So yes, I think it’s a great story. “But I think we just want to win. Let’s go win and do the things that we need to do to win. And he’s such a competitor. I love the time, once we cross the white lines, when we get to just go out there and compete. And he is one of the greatest to ever play the game.” Notice, he didn’t say “was” — a purposeful choice of words. Rodgers, by his own standards, was just OK last season, completing 65.7% of his passes for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions. His age was showing, even as he dragged the Steelers to 10 wins and the AFC North title. He looked like a good quarterback overall, but not one capable of doing any of the magical things he used to do. But his mind, his processing skills and ability to see what others can’t in a defense, give him and the Steelers an enormous advantage. And that’s where the magic really happens, McCarthy said. “His mind is off the charts,” McCarthy told me. “His anticipation and ability to throw people open, his instincts … and he also matches it with his release, the way he’s able to get the ball out of his hands so quickly and throw through the open window where (defenders) are running through. That’s the way you have to play and win in this league, because people are always covered. It’s the job of the quarterback to throw them open.” Even in practice, it’s clear that Rodgers still does that better than anyone. He has the patience to let a play develop, the wisdom to see what is about to happen, and the skills to put the ball in the only place it can go. And after almost every rep on Sunday, he was talking to his coaches, receivers and linemen, explaining to them exactly what he saw. Whether it all translates into wins, a playoff berth, or even one last run at a Super Bowl, probably depends on Rodgers’ 42-year-old body, and whether he can keep it from breaking down. But don’t bet against that, even at his age, since he’s played near-full seasons in seven of the past eight years. And if he can do it one more time, then maybe — just maybe — his mind is what will matter most, and he and McCarthy have enough left for one more magical run. The Steelers’ defense was middling last season (17th in scoring), but they did have a surprisingly potent pass rush. It was “surprising” because they got 48 sacks (sixth in the NFL) despite a down year from T.J. Watt, their longtime star. He had only seven sacks — just his third season not reaching double-digits (and his worst total in a full season). It’s safe to say Pittsburgh expected more when it signed him to a three-year, $123 million extension last July. So he really needs to show that his two-year statistical decline isn’t irreversible even though he’ll be 32 in October. Last season, his sack total was still the third-highest on the team. Imagine how potent the pass rush could be if Watt — who had 19 sacks in 2023 and 11.5 in 2024 — gets anywhere near his old form. The Steelers need that from the eight-time Pro Bowler. They know their quarterback will need as much support as he can get. Backing him with an aggressive, disruptive defense, preferably led by Watt, might be the best thing they could do to help Rodgers out. “I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t think I could win a Super Bowl. Once you lift that trophy up, there’s nothing else in this business.” — Steelers coach Mike McCarthy told me Everything Is Riding On Aaron Rodgers’ 42-Year-Old Arm There’s a lot to like about this team that McCarthy inherited from Mike Tomlin. It’s the core of a team that won 10 games last season, after all. And they should get a boost from McCarthy. Nothing against Tomlin. He had a phenomenal record in Pittsburgh over the past 19 years. But it’s possible that what he was preaching probably got a little stale. To get that new-coach boost, McCarthy will need T.J. Watt to bounce back, so the defense can be a little bit more like it’s used to being in the Steel City. And the addition of Dowdle, who McCarthy developed into an RB1 in Dallas, could give Pittsburgh the running game it was missing last year. But winning all comes down to the same thing it came down to last year. The Steelers have an old quarterback, who’s not quite what he used to be. And they need a lot from Rodgers at age 42. He’s still good and smart and capable of some big plays. But he’s not the one-man show that he was a decade ago, or the error-free maestro he was five years ago when he won back-to-back MVPs. He’s no longer even a top 10 quarterback in the NFL. Last year, he was good enough to lead this team to the playoffs. But this year, the division could be much tougher if Lamar Jackson stays healthy in Baltimore and Joe Burrow is around for a whole season in Cincinnati. Getting to 10 wins again could be quite the challenge for Pittsburgh. Eight seems like a more realistic goal. And finishing better than third in the division could be pretty tough, too. First of all, Cleveland rocks. I don’t care what people say about it, it’s always been an underrated city. OK, not always, but it certainly has become one. And I’m sure Berea, Ohio — home of the Browns — rocks, too. If only it had a football team to match. I’m sure new Browns coach Todd Monken thinks there’s something positive about the team he’s assembling on the shores of Lake Erie, and I’ll travel three hours through the hills of Western Pennsylvania and the Ohio valley to find out — apparently through a horrendous rain storm that is about to hit. (By the time I get there, by the way, I’ll have driven almost 1,400 miles on this trip. I think I’ve passed 1,400 Sheetz gas stations along the way, too. Not nearly as many Flying J’s, though, so it’s probably good that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam sold all those.) Anyway, back to Haslam’s Browns: Myles Garrett is gone. There’s still no viable quarterback in place. It’s hard to have faith in either Shedeur Sanders or what’s left of Deshaun Watson. But people have underestimated and overlooked Cleveland the city, so maybe we’re all doing it to the Browns, too? I doubt it. But I’m certainly on the lookout for positives. I’m just not expecting to see many at practice on Monday afternoon.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

After running backs were viewed as a dispensable for years, Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson and Jonathan Taylor all proved that the position could still be viewed as valuable last week. All three star running backs each signed extensions that will net them over $20 million per year. Gibbs signed the largest extension of the group, agreeing to a three-year, $67.5 million pact with the Detroit Lions that made him the highest-paid running back in NFL history. That agreement came days after Robinson set the mark for the highest-paid running back in NFL history, inking a three-year, $66.75 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons. Jonathan Taylor, meanwhile, signed a two-year, $44 million extension with the Indianapolis Colts to make him the third highest-paid player in the history of the position. Those contracts also came just a few months after the Arizona Cardinals used the third overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to select Jeremiah Love. That selection marked the first time a running back was taken in the top five of the NFL Draft in eight years. So, with all of these major running back investments being made, are we seeing the position go through a renaissance? We asked people around the league what they thought about the extensions, and what could be next at running back. Eric D. Williams: Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs appeared to strike a breakthrough for running backs this past week when they each signed extensions over $22 million per year just three years after being taken early in the first round of the 2023 draft. Saquon Barkley had been the only running back making over $20 million annually, with an average annual salary of $20.6 million. While the rise in running back salaries could be seen as a good sign, it also points to Robinson and Gibbs’ role as overall playmakers who are also effective pass catchers, and it pales in comparison to the top receiver salaries in the league, according to a source I spoke with who negotiates player contracts. “In spite of the Robinson and Gibbs deals, front offices still view the running back position as a value opportunity from a cap and contract management standpoint,” the league source told me. “Not a slight to Zay Flowers or any other $30 million wide receivers not named J’Marr Chase or Justin Jefferson, but Robinson and Gibbs are $30 million [and maybe $40 million] per year players, if we were solely valuing them on their impact on the game. “When considering Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s $42.15 APY (average per year) at the top of the WR market against Gibbs’ $22.5 million at the top of the running back market, Smith-Njigba makes 87% more than Gibbs. Yet Smith-Njigba is not 87% more impactful than Gibbs, so we still have a long way to go before one can say the RB market is increasingly being valued more.” Since joining the league in 2023, Robinson is tops in scrimmage yards at 5,648 while Gibbs is third in scrimmage yards at 5,029. Smith-Njigba is 20th in scrimmage yards over that same period with 3,613, but signed a four-year, $168.6 million extension in March that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in league history at the time. While NFL general managers theoretically can piece together a running back room that, in the aggregate, can get close to matching the production of players like Robinson and Gibbs, it’s fair to question whether that approach can bring elite production to the position. “The notion is that because you can find serviceable running backs on Day 3 of the draft and in college free agency that it’s an easily replaceable position,” the contract negotiator told me. “There’s truth to that, but in my opinion, the same can be said at wide receiver, yet there’s an 87% delta between the top of the running back market and the top of the WR market.” Ralph Vacchiano: The flurry of recent lucrative contract extensions for running backs was somewhat unexpected, given how NFL teams had begun to undervalue the position in recent years. But it may not be a full-market correction, because a lot of NFL teams still view it as a big risk to invest in any but the best NFL running backs for more than a couple of years. “It really is player-dependent, and maybe a bit team-dependent, too,” an NFL executive told me. “It’s not a great use of money for a team that isn’t ready to win. If it’s what puts you over the top, then sure, a running back could make a big difference. But if you’re building a team, other positions have way more value.” And even for those teams ready to win, their willingness to invest has its limits. None of the recent extensions were for more than four years, and they were all structured in a way that the teams can get out of them after a couple of years without being stuck with a large cap down the road. “None of these deals are really long-term or cap-killing, which is the key,” the executive told me. “It’s still a dangerous position. You can’t lock up too much in a spot where players can break down or wear down fast.” And because of the high attrition rate, there is no trickle-down effect. The top running backs may be getting richer, but they’re not carrying lesser backs along for the financial ride. “At the top, sure, teams see the value of Bijan and Saquon and Taylor. Maybe there are 10 to 15 guys that can draw those contracts,” an NFL agent told me. “But overall, I still think teams are wary about paying at that position. They see too many players get hurt, or have only two-to-three good seasons before going off a cliff. They’d rather put money in positions that last longer. “That’s why even those big deals are short. They want to make sure that two or three years down the road they can get out of them without a big bill.” Henry McKenna: Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs are unanimously considered the NFL’s RB1 and RB2. That’s why the two players got — more or less — the same contract. And that’s why those contracts were unlike anything we’d seen before at the position. “I think it’s a little cyclical,” one AFC executive told me this week. For the longest time, the thought process around the NFL was that running backs don’t matter — not from a financial standpoint. But Saquon Barkley upended that rule for general managers. And since the Eagles won the Super Bowl with Barkley, we’ve seen the running back market strengthen, whether it’s through deals for Gibbs and Robinson — or through Ashton Jeanty and Jeremiyah Love going in the top six picks in their respective drafts, which made them top-10 earners at their positions (at the time of their selection). “The running back market is very interesting,” an NFC executive told me. “It was one of the few markets that didn’t grow with the cap. Bijan and Gibbs are two unicorns, but it’s going to affect the entire running back market significantly. I’m sure James Cook is not happy. As teams continue to borrow from the future, these top contracts are outpacing the cap pretty significantly. Something interesting to watch as we move forward through this agreement.” Cook and the Buffalo Bills agreed to a four-year, $46 million contract last August. There are two major differences in what they got guaranteed. First, it’s about what the teams guaranteed at signing. Cook got $28.8 million guaranteed and Gibbs got $51.4 million guaranteed. The second difference is what they’ll get paid in salary starting in 2029. That’s the year when Gibbs is set to earn $22.3 million and Cook is set to earn $10.4 million. (Their salaries to that point are comparable.) So did Cook get ripped off? Or is he simply a different player than Gibbs and Robinson? Cook’s rushing production was better than both running backs in 2025, but he isn’t quite as much of a contributor in the passing game. And then there’s the matter of Cook’s offensive line, widely considered the NFL’s best last season. It’s fair to wonder whether Gibbs or Robinson might have put up 2,000 rushing yards behind that line in 2026. “I mean those guys who got deals done this week are special players that are more than running backs,” an AFC executive texted me. “They are weapons. So I’m ok with using space on that but not on a more traditional 2-down runner.” If you can make plays in the passing game, you’re worth big money. If not, it might be a harder sell.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

LOS ANGELES — As a wide-eyed 23-year-old who took Major League Baseball by storm last summer, Jacob Misiorowski seemed in awe of his circumstances. In his big-league debut against the Cardinals last June, the Missouri native watched Nolan Arenado step to the plate against him and almost couldn’t believe it, though Misiorowski did not let his new reality overwhelm him. He threw five scoreless innings in his first MLB start and was named an All-Star just five appearances into his big-league career, to the excitement of some and the indignation of others. The wonderstruck rookie looked spellbound watching Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman sign his All-Star jersey in Atlanta. One year later, now the frontrunner for the National League Cy Young Award, no one can question Misiorowski’s place among the league’s elite as he continues what has been one of the most overpowering seasons from a starting pitcher in baseball history. And yet, as he returns to Dodger Stadium to face Ohtani, Freeman and the Dodgers for the first time since pitching against the back-to-back champs in last year’s NLCS, the Milwaukee ace’s wide-eyed innocence remains. This all still feels a bit like a dream to Misiorowski. “I don’t think it will ever get to a point where it’s just normal,” Misiorowski told me ahead of his start Saturday. “We’re at Dodger Stadium. This is sweet. As a little kid, I remember walking in when there wasn’t even a game and going up to the team store and seeing the stadium. It’s so cool to be down here.” Misiorowski, however, never let his feelings of wonder and astonishment overtake him. In his last start before the All-Star Game last July, he shook off a leadoff home run from Ohtani on an 0-2 curveball that caught too much of the plate to outduel Clayton Kershaw while striking out 12 Dodgers batters in a 3-1 Brewers win. He followed that performance up with a scoreless inning of relief at the All-Star Game. But growing pains loomed, as they do with every young pitcher. The Brewers monitored Misiorowski’s usage down the stretch, and his performances became inconsistent. Long at-bats and free passes led to high pitch counts and early removals. He had an ERA over 5.00 in the second half, and he was used as a bulk reliever in the postseason. And he starred in the role. Misiorowski finished his first postseason with a 1.50 ERA in 12 playoff innings. In his final outing of the 2025 playoffs, MIsiorowski gave up just two runs (one earned) while striking out nine batters over five innings in Game 3 of the NLCS at Dodger Stadium. In his final appearance against Ohtani, he sent the MVP back to the dugout swinging. “To be able to do that on a huge stage against the World Series champions has got to build confidence for him,” Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold told me. “To be able to say, ‘Hey, I was able to survive at the highest level against the best competition,’ it’s got to be a huge boost for him moving forward.” Though Misiorowski ultimately suffered the loss in that game as the Brewers’ overmatched offense put up just one run in defeat, his individual performance did indeed have lasting effects. “That was the real turning point last year,” Misiorowski told me. “I went through the struggles at the end of the year, and really was trying to battle through it. Then, postseason rolled around, had the success and kind of brought it into this year, still on that momentum.” As Misiorowski returns to Los Angeles this weekend to face the Dodgers for the first time since last year’s playoffs, he does so with a different pedigree. He is no longer just a hard thrower with promise. “It’s a fair take that he’s probably the best pitcher in baseball,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “He’s going to get his strikeouts. He’s incredibly talented. I think you just got to kind of fight, get the pitch count up. I don’t know if there’s much of a lesson to be learned [from facing him last year]. I really don’t, because how he threw that night is going to be different.” Misiorowski’s maturity this season is both physical and mental. He told me that he put on nearly 30 pounds from the end of last season to the start of this year, focusing primarily on adding more lower-body strength to prepare for the long haul of an MLB season. He has cut his walk rate nearly in half from last season and believes he is better now at reading swings and understanding why his catchers will call for certain pitches in certain spots. In addition to adding another tick of velocity to what was already one of the hardest fastballs in the game, Misiorowski also now has a separate cutter to combat lefties and a slider for righties. “He’s trying to be the best pitcher in the league,” Brewers catcher William Contreras told me. “He’s more mature. He’s thinking more like a pitcher and not just wanting to throw hard.” The result? Misiorowski leads all qualified starters in ERA, strikeouts, WHIP and opponents’ batting average, among a litany of categories, as he gets set to pitch at Dodger Stadium on Saturday for the first time since last year’s NLCS. Misiorowski believes the familiarity with the mound and the backdrop will be beneficial, even if the pressure, stakes and atmosphere won’t be quite the same as his last appearance at the venue. And when he sees Ohtani again, don’t expect another hanging curve. Get ready for gas. “He knows what I’m going to do,” said Misiorowski, who’s averaging 100.6 mph on his four-seamer. “I’m going to throw a heater. Good luck. Here it is.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

The Chicago Bears haven’t had an MVP winner in nearly 50 years, but maybe 2026 will be the season that they’ll have someone crowned as the year’s top player. On a recent edition of “The Herd,” FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd gave five bold predictions for the upcoming season, including who he thinks will win MVP. He also made bold projections on a pair of playoff teams from last season finishing outside the postseason picture, along with a star quarterback finally breaking through in the playoffs. Here are Cowherd’s five bold predictions for the 2026 NFL season. Cowherd first addressed the Philadelphia Eagles and Jalen Hurts, who will lead the offense without a big target from years prior. Despite concerns about the offense adapting without wide receiver A.J. Brown as the focal point, Cowherd believes Hurts will not only succeed, but surpass his previous level with Brown by spreading the ball around. “If you go back to last season, when he didn’t target A.J. Brown, he completed 71% of his throws, 18 touchdowns, and three picks,” Cowherd said. “Over the last two years, when he targeted A.J. Brown, when A.J. Brown had eight or more targets, the Eagles were 9-6. When he wasn’t a focus of the game plan, and he had fewer than seven or fewer targets last two years, 13-0. “This is Dez Bryant to Dak [Prescott]. Jalen Hurts will flourish despite losing a great number one receiver.” In the AFC West, Cowherd projected a postseason run for Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, citing improved offensive line play as the primary factor. “The last two years in the playoffs, he went in with the 30th offensive line and the 21st,” Cowherd said. “This appears to be the first offensive line. Remember, he has been hit, sacked, and rushed more than any quarterback in the sport since he entered the league in 2020.” Cowherd added that frontline health and coaching continuity will unlock Herbert’s postseason potential. “They have three new features, both tackles back. This will be his best offensive line, in my opinion, his best offensive coordinator. At least two playoff wins, and I right now this morning think they could be a co-favorite to get to the AFC Championship.” In the NFC North, Cowherd predicted a shift in standings, projecting the Green Bay Packers to finish in fourth place in a competitive division. “First of all, Ben Johnson is in Year 2 [as the Chicago Bears’ head coach]. Kyler Murray, I think, is going to be a hit [for the Minnesota Vikings], and Detroit to me easily has the best entire roster [in the division],” Cowherd said. “This is not the same NFC North the Packers dominated. All four teams had winning records last year.” Cowherd highlighted Green Bay’s defensive struggles down the stretch last season once edge rusher Micah Parsons got hurt. “The Packers, without Micah last year, went 0-5 and allowed 29 points a game. He’s not going to be playing, we presume, until October. Packers may be the best fourth-place team in the NFL by a long shot. They finish last.” Cowherd also projected that the Denver Broncos will miss the postseason after appearing in the AFC Championship last year. After a season heavily reliant on winning tight contests, Cowherd expects regression for Sean Payton’s team as rival AFC contenders improve. “NFL-best 11-2 in one-score games. I mean that’s not going to happen again,” Cowherd said. “They also trailed in 15 games. Bo Nix is coming off two surgeries on his right ankle.” Cowherd explained that rival roster upgrades across the AFC, coupled with new offensive coordinator Davis Webb, will make a repeat postseason berth difficult. “They have a new play caller, and remember the Ravens, the Bengals, the Chiefs, the Chargers are all going to be better in the AFC,” Cowherd said. “I think that we all know that if [Joe] Burrow’s upright, Cincinnati’s going to be a better team. I mean, Herbert’s got his best offensive line and his best offensive coordinator. “You can’t go 11-2 in one-score games and not regress. I think Denver’s good. I think they have a special coach and special players. I think they’re going to narrowly miss the playoffs.” Finally, Cowherd backed Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams to win the Most Valuable Player award, comparing his outlook in a second-year system to previous breakout seasons under head coach Ben Johnson. “First of all, he’s got the seventh-best odds currently,” Cowherd said. “Second year in Ben Johnson’s offense. Go look at Jared Goff’s second year in Ben Johnson’s offense, and he’s not nearly the athlete. Jared Goff popped in year two. He literally has the lowest interception percentage in league history — [he’s thrown] 13 in 34 career starts, and this is the beginning of it. He’ll probably throw fewer as a veteran quarterback, second in the NFL in big plays.” Cowherd added that Chicago’s offensive talent gives Williams an ideal supporting cast. “He also has tremendous offensive weapons,” Cowherd said. “A lot of people thought they should draft an edge. They went and got another good tight end. They’ve got three receivers I like. They’ve got two running backs. I worry a little bit about left tackle, but Caleb also has the ability, as you’re watching, he doesn’t just make plays; he makes spectacular plays. “It’ll be easy to root for a guy who’s not a stat patter, who’s in a great division. He’s winning close games. He’s winning them with dramatic plays late. That’s the kind of story the media likes.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas) — It’s hard to beat the odds here. The Raiders are 7-27 over the last two years, the second-worst such mark in the NFL. In their six seasons in Las Vegas, they’ve had a winning record once, and as a franchise, they have not won a single playoff game in the 22-year lifetime of their rookie quarterback, Fernando Mendoza. They are trying to climb out of the bottom of a division with a Denver Broncos team that was the AFC’s top seed last year, a Kansas City Chiefs team that’s been to five Super Bowls in seven years and won three of them, and a Los Angeles Chargers team that might be better than both of those this season. Their hometown oddsmakers give them 18-to-1 odds to win the AFC West. It’s the exact same odds as rolling an 11 with two dice, and yet it seems even harder with the 11 the Raiders have been rolling with on any given play. But Thursday, in just a relief appearance in a preseason game, Mendoza gave Raiders fans a bit of hope, a sign that better days are coming. And once you’ve won a Heisman Trophy and a national championship at Indiana, what exactly constitutes a long shot? “He shows up every day, works his ass off,” Raiders Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby told me about Mendoza in the locker room at Allegiant Stadium. “He’s doing a great job. He’s been a great addition to the locker room, and I’m super excited for him. He’s done it exactly the right way. He’s putting his head down and working, building relationships, just soaking up knowledge and getting better.” Thursday’s preseason debut was Mendoza’s first chance to soak things up more actively. Training camp practices can go a long way, but this was his first chance to truly feel the speed of the NFL, to appreciate how much harder it is than the college football world he dominated in a 16-0 breakout season last year. On one play, Mendoza scrambled to his right, tried to avoid a sack and ran upfield before he went out of bounds, instead taking a hit and sailing the ball onto the sidelines. It was a lesson that some of the things he could get away with in college, he can’t in the NFL, at least right now. “There was one play where I scrambled to the right, and usually sometimes I’ll be able to get the edge, maybe scramble for 2 or 3 yards, and it’s like ‘Wow, it got there a little faster than I thought,'” Mendoza said at the podium. “I’m really trying to get around them, try to throw the ball away, make the smart play to best serve my teammates. So I would say definitely faster, and they hit harder. So surprise, but no surprise.” Unlike most No. 1 overall picks, Mendoza hasn’t been handed the Raiders’ starting job. First-year Las Vegas coach Klint Kubiak said after Thursday’s loss that the job is still veteran Kirk Cousins’ to lose, potentially making Mendoza wait until he’s more prepared. That’s not the norm. The last six quarterbacks to go No. 1 overall were all Week 1 starters, and the last that wasn’t was Baker Mayfield with the Cleveland Browns in 2018. So, Mendoza watched from the sidelines Thursday as Cousins marched the Raiders down the field, with the veteran completing an efficient 5 of 6 passes for 50 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Michael Mayer. Mendoza came in without all the starters in front of him, and his first drive was scuttled by a holding penalty. His second drive, though, was what Raiders fans wanted to see, starting with a 19-yard dart between two defenders and ending with a 6-yard touchdown pass on third-and-goal to receiver Jack Bech. The touchdown pass was the highlight of a strong night for Mendoza. He completed 10 of 16 passes for 97 yards and led the Raiders into scoring territory in the final of the four possessions he played, which ended in a missed kick. All those No. 1 picks that started in Week 1, none of them threw a touchdown pass in their preseason debut. Cam Ward, Caleb Williams, Bryce Young, Trevor Lawrence and Kyler Murray all combined for zero in their first taste of the NFL. In just a summer of practices and a few weeks of training camp, Mendoza has impressed the most decorated of his new teammates. “He’s the same guy that we see in practice that went out there and competed on the game field,” center Tyler Linderbaum told me after his own Raiders debut. “He’s a kid that works really hard, wants to get better, wants the best for the team, and that’s all you can ask for.” Rookie quarterbacks don’t exactly have a residency of success with the Raiders. This is the franchise of Todd Marinovich and JaMarcus Russell, of great prospects that never found NFL success. Derek Carr went 3-13 in his first year, and no Raiders rookie quarterback has ever managed a winning record as a starter. That might be asking a lot of Mendoza, as Las Vegas has managed four and three wins in the last two seasons, putting it on its sixth head coach in six seasons, including interims. But Kubiak has a chance to change that, balancing the win-now aspect of playing Cousins with the long-term development of taking lumps with Mendoza and the greatness that could await. “He led a good scoring drive, as far as getting in and out of the huddle and commanding the group and getting play calls down,” Kubiak said, measured in his praise. “I saw the same guy we’ve seen in practice. I see an ascending player, and we’ve just got to keep getting better.” The Raiders need more than Mendoza to turn things around. Linderbaum’s arrival will help their run game, which will lean on second-year pro Ashton Jeanty and could get a spark from rookie Mike Washington Jr., who broke loose for a 53-yard run Thursday. The defense is still very much a work in progress — the Cardinals scored touchdowns on their first three drives against the Raiders, completing their first 15 passes and converting their first six third downs. And if being the No. 1 pick isn’t pressure enough in today’s NFL, Mendoza takes the field under the watchful eye of Raiders minority owner Tom Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl winner tasked with helping to bring a championship mentality back to the silver and black. There were moments Thursday that showed why Mendoza was the No. 1 pick — careful, accurate throws, with a nice pump fake here, a well-executed play-action handoff there and the confidence to stay in the pocket and be patient in an entirely new experience. His personality has not changed — a genuinely positive, squeaky-clean wholesomeness that won over his teammates at Indiana. Can Mendoza find the same success in the NFL? Thursday offered nothing to suggest that can’t happen for him, just a question of how quickly. “Today was an invigorating experience,” Mendoza said. “There’s not many moments where you feel fully alive, and on the field you feel fully alive, especially in the NFL atmosphere. So I want to give thanks to that. It was great to get out there, get my feet wet. That first drive, it felt a little sped up because so much anticipation and excitement. However, I feel like my teammates around me protected me very well, and they helped me. They helped slow me down, and I think it was a good experience.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Markham, Ontario — Jared Odrick is about 50 pounds lighter than when he was playing in the NFL at around 300-315 pounds. But the 38-year-old still stands at 6-foot-5. And for a man that tall who weighs about 250 pounds, getting into a race car can be tough. In fact, when he was in Las Vegas several years ago and attended a racing experience, he could only fit into a GT3 Porsche. But it was that trip that helped fuel his love of fast cars. He later bought a 901.1 Porsche Cup so that he could compete in SCAA amateur racing about four years ago. Odrick has progressed to a successful racer in TransAm and will make his second career NASCAR Canada Series start on Saturday on the streets of Markham, where INDYCAR is the headliner this weekend. “We had to move the footbox back a few inches,” Odrick said during a virtual news conference earlier this week. “The seat was good. The height was good. But just the length for the legs had to be adjusted. … Sliding through the window is kind of difficult. “I have a former football injury where I tore my labrum in my right shoulder, so I have some scar tissue there. But I also have a little bit of extra flexibility that I might not be able to have unless I had that happen that allowed me to get into the car.” Having played seven years in the NFL where he totaled 170 tackles (135 solo) for the Miami Dolphins and the Jacksonville Jaguars, the 2010 first-round pick from Penn State finished 22nd in his series debut last week at Trois-Rivieres. He was running well until getting collected in a wreck. “The competition was high, but we were so happy to see how competitive we were in a racing situation and how good the car was late in the race,” Odrick said. Odrick would love to race Cup one day but he isn’t focused on it. Currently driving for BC Race Cars in NASCAR’s stock car series in Canada, he just wants to keep competing no matter the series, whether it’s in NASCAR’s international series or in any national series. He does feel he could compete on any level if given the time to properly train and prepare with a team. He has competed against some of the top NASCAR prospects on road courses. “Everybody says they want to get to Cup, especially with the young drivers I’m driving against in TransAm,” Odrick said. “Sometimes when you’re competing against 15-, 16-year-old kids — whether it’s the Tristan McKees, Thomas Annunziatas and Brent Crews and stuff like that — sometimes you look and feel silly that your goals and aspirations are the same as a 16-year-old kid who hasn’t got a chance or is trying to actively prove themselves as a man. “Then you sit there. ‘Did I not do that with the NFL?’” With a home in Toronto near the clinic and a doctor who has treated him throughout his athletic career, Odrick said he wants to show he can switch to another sport. “I don’t miss playing the game,” Odrick said about football. “It’s a young man’s game, and I think if I missed it at 38 years old, I’d be doing something wrong. … Racing definitely has given my life new meaning, new purpose. “And it feels like a lot of the discipline that I missed as a young 20-something professional football player, I’m definitely thinking about a lot.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

In Driver’s Eye with James Hinchcliffe, the six-time INDYCAR winner will bring you inside the mind of a racer while breaking down the nuts and bolts of the sport for fans. As INDYCAR continues its mad dash to the season’s checkered flag, the next two stops on the calendar represent a unique challenge: brand-new street circuits. Now, this concept isn’t new for the teams and drivers in the series. It’s not even new this year, after we went to Arlington, Texas, for the first time back in March. But having this many in a season — and two back-to-back in Markham, Ontario, and Washington, D.C. — is certainly outside the norm. So naturally, you might want to know: How does a driver prepare for a brand-new, temporary street circuit? The answer is the Driver In The Loop simulator, or the DIL. The DIL is a frequently used and massively helpful tool for drivers and engineers alike in preparation for any race. But it has extra importance when coming to a new, temporary track. Why do I keep emphasizing the “temporary” part? Because if you’re going to a track that is new for you, but not brand new, there are other things you can look at to prepare. Drivers will look at on-board videos from other motorsports series that have raced there. Engineers can look at data sets from a completely different race car, then use offsets they know — based on how that type of car performs against an INDYCAR at a track that they have both been on — to try and determine rough performance parameters. But when it’s a brand-new track, the DIL simulations are the best — really, the only — tool you’ve got. Chip Ganassi Racing and Alex Palou recently posted a video online of him doing some sim laps around the upcoming D.C. venue that gives you a sense of what this is like for the driver. Behind the wheel, it provides drivers with a general literal and figurative feel for what to expect when they won’t be on the track until race weekend. For a new track, the online model used in the sim is built from laser scanning the roads the track will be run on and building out corner radii based on CAD files used to assemble the track. Think architectural drawings that show where each line, curb and wall is. Part of that scan should give you a rough idea of the level of grip in each corner and also highlight things like bumps in the road. These can all vary greatly on a street track from the sim to real life, so they have to be taken with a grain of salt. The sim is most useful for drivers getting an idea of where a new track turns left or right, for car placement in corner sequences and for the general rhythm of a track. Things like braking points and minimum speeds and gear selection should be close, but not perfect. So again, you have to understand that this is a high-level introduction to the circuit. If you take what you feel in the sim as fact, it can bite you! I remember one year ahead of going to a new track, my teammate and I did a sim day to prepare. We got comfortable and confident. But when we showed up to the real track, the grip level was so different that we had to relearn every braking point and throttle point! The whole morning of the test day was a waste because we were undoing bad habits we had built in the sim. That level of judgment comes with experience, and INDYCAR drivers this year have already experienced this process in 2026 with the streets of Arlington. So they know a bit about what to expect from the sim’s accuracy. THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE FAST: MARKHAM Before INDYCAR tackles D.C., we have the streets of Markham on Sunday. Will Power posted a similar video from the DIL showcasing what the series has in store for it in the Great White North. And I have to say, it looks mighty impressive — even if you set aside perhaps a little bias on my part with the course practically in my childhood backyard. There is one major standout feature of the new Markham track: The entire 2.19-mile circuit was repaved ahead of the race. While commonplace in F1, I can’t remember a time when INDYCAR arrived at a street track with the entire surface newly repaved. This has two significant impacts on a street track. First, it means the grip will be largely consistent across the whole track. One of the staples of street racing is having to navigate multiple different surfaces — asphalt, concrete, patches, new repairs, old and weathered sections — which inevitably have different levels of grip. The car might perform in a particular way in one corner and a completely different way in another, owing to the different surface type or age. It’s a challenging but fun trait of street courses. Another formidable, yet often less fun, element of racing on city streets is bumps. Any transition from one surface to another can create a bump. Normal wear and tear from 362 days of civilian traffic can create bumps. Harsh weather — or the response to it, like salted wintery roads — certainly contributes to that as well. With a fresh repave, you’d expect far fewer bumps than the old surface, which will affect how teams set up the cars. You’ll be able to run the car stiffer and lower to the ground. But to throw a bit of a wrench in everyone’s plans, the track layout for the sim model was scanned before the repave, so what drivers felt for grip level and bumpiness will be completely wrong! The second notable and advantageous impact of the complete repave on a debut course is more options on track layout. Since you are repaving everything, there are areas you can now drive an INDYCAR that maybe you couldn’t previously. So we now have a unique and challenging layout that isn’t just a sequence of simple 90- or 180-degree corners that you see on some street circuits. Add in a bit of elevation, which is not always a trademark of street racing, and you’ve got a recipe for a highly entertaining inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham. And while this weekend will be the first INDYCAR race in Markham, it is certainly not the first in the greater Toronto area. For 40 years, the race was held in the heart of downtown Toronto, along the water beside the city’s landmark Exhibition Place. It was a venue that hosted some incredible races where many in the current generation of Canadian INDYCAR fans — myself included! — first fell in love with the sport. 1 FOR THE ROAD I want to sign this week’s column honoring the four decades of great races, lives lost, and fans captured down at Exhibition Place. The circuit had a phenomenal run, but this was the perfect time to pass the baton to Markham. I cannot wait to start the next chapter of INDYCAR history in Canada, where the next generation of Canadian INDYCAR fans will no doubt begin their love affair with the sport. MORE DRIVER’S EYE:​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

The NFL preseason is officially underway, and Thursday night brought plenty of exciting unofficial debuts. No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza made his debut for the Las Vegas Raiders alongside Arizona Cardinals rookie running back Jeremiyah Love. Meanwhile, the duo of second-year Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward and rookie wide receiver Carnell Tate also got in on the action. In non-game action, two-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes will sit out the Kansas City Chiefs’ preseason opener and could be on the verge of missing preseason action for the first time in his career. Here’s what you need to know from Thursday around the NFL. The Fernando Mendoza era has officially begun for the Las Vegas Raiders. Making his debut on Thursday night against the Arizona Cardinals, he made his impact known bright and early in Klint Kubiak’s newly revamped offense. Mendoza entered the game on the second drive after veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins was pulled after leading the Raiders to an opening scoring drive. The No. 1 overall pick out of Indiana didn’t have to wait long to make his impact felt. Mendoza led a scoring drive on just his second possession, connecting with second-year wide receiver Jack Bech over the middle on a 6-yard touchdown slant. Mendoza finished the game completing 10-of-16 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown. While the team remains adamant about redshirting him this season, continuing at this level could spark a real quarterback competition as the year goes on. Arizona Cardinals rookie running back Jeremiyah Love made his preseason NFL debut Thursday night against the Las Vegas Raiders after sitting out the Hall of Fame Game last week. Love rushed 11 times for 58 yards, splitting work in the backfield with Tyler Allgier in the first half. The No. 3 overall pick in the draft made some standout plays while contributing to three Cardinals scoring drives. Love made a pair of Raiders defenders miss on the way to a 9-yard gain to convert on third down. The rookie running back wasn’t done there, as he hurdled over another Raiders’ defender on a draw later in the half. Love finished with 14 touches for 73 total yards. The Drew Allar era in Pittsburgh kicked off late in the third quarter on Thursday night against the Green Bay Packers. Coming in as the third quarterback of the night, Allar put together a strong Steelers debut. Allar led three scoring drives in the second half, completing 10 of 13 passes for 154 yards and two passing touchdowns. His highlight of the night came on his very first throw, which was a 74-yard slant completion to second-year wide receiver Kaden Wetjen. Allar also scored a rushing touchdown in the Steelers’ 28–9 win over the Packers on Thursday night and put together a complete performance. Mason Rudolph and Will Howard both took snaps before Allar, but all three are in a battle for the backup job behind Aaron Rodgers. If Allar keeps playing like this for the rest of the preseason, it would certainly help his case for being Pittsburgh’s QB2. And maybe the Steelers already have their heir apparent to Rodgers if Allar keeps flashing like he did on Thursday? Cam Ward saw plenty of action Thursday night with the Tennessee Titans as the new-look offense under offensive coordinator Brian Daboll was on full display. Ward orchestrated a 95-yard opening drive, capped by a 5-yard touchdown run from Tony Pollard. Ward had a roller-coaster start to the preseason, overcoming a few early misses to spread the ball around throughout the night. While he couldn’t connect with No. 4 overall pick Carnell Tate on three targets, Wan’Dale Robinson stepped up with two catches for 19 yards. He played the majority of the first half before being pulled for backup third-year quarterback Will Levis. Ward capped off his night by completing 5-of-12 passes for 57 yards, finishing with a 56.6 QBR. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is not expected to suit up for Saturday’s preseason opener against the Los Angeles Rams, per The Kansas City Star. Instead, Justin Fields, Garrett Nussmeier, and Chris Oladokun are expected to split reps under center. Mahomes sitting out the entire preseason remains a real possibility as he continues recovering from last season’s torn ACL and LCL in his left knee. However, he’s participated in the majority of training camp so far and has a chance at suiting up for Week 1 against the Denver Broncos. Outside of 2020, when the preseason was canceled due to COVID-19, this could mark the first preseason Mahomes misses entirely. If so, all eyes shift to his health and whether he’ll be cleared in time for the team’s season opener. Prior to his Week 15 injury, Mahomes recorded 3,587 passing yards, 22 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions with a 62.7% completion rate. He also added 422 yards and five scores on the ground. After working out for multiple teams in recent weeks, cornerback Terrion Arnold is reportedly expected to sign with the Seattle Seahawks. Arnold was a 2024 first-round pick out of Alabama and was released by the Detroit Lions in June following his arrest on felony kidnapping and armed robbery charges. The NFL has yet to decide whether to place him on the Commissioner’s Exempt List. Arnold reportedly visited with the Houston Texans, New Orleans Saints, and New York Giants before signing with the Seahawks. He will now join a cornerback room alongside Devon Witherspoon and Josh Jobe. With eight felony charges hanging over him following his June arrest, it remains uncertain whether Arnold will ever play another snap in the NFL.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports