Category: Sports Fox

The vast majority of NFL teams won’t begin padded practices until Monday, but that isn’t stopping us from noticing things around the league in the opening week of training camp. As we get settled in at training camps around the country, there are a handful of items that have stood out to us in the first week of practices. How have the New England Patriots handled their unusual offseason? Which injured players look to be in good shape? Who has impressed among the rookies? Here are our seven takeaways from the first week of training camp: 1. Mike Vrabel And The Patriots Are Operating Business As Usual Henry McKenna: The Seattle Seahawks might have won the Super Bowl, but it felt like the New England Patriots dominated the offseason storylines — for better and for worse. It’s already a big story if a New England-based team doesn’t win a championship. The region is accustomed to winning the big game — in every major sports league. But New England has steeped itself in drama. There may have been no bigger offseason NFL storyline than Vrabel’s scandal. The Patriots also acquired A.J. Brown from the Eagles, a transaction that took months for both sides to complete. That became a top three offseason storyline in the NFL. So there was a lot to discuss in New England. Inwardly, Vrabel addressed the scandal with his players. Outwardly, the Patriots are operating business as usual. Certainly, the coach hasn’t changed the way he operates. He welcomed Brown to the team by making an example of the star wide receiver when he made a mistake on the first day of training camp. “First team meeting, he ripped me for not bringing in a catch,” Brown said last week. “Early on, as a rookie, I didn’t really like that too much. Now I know it comes from a great place. He expects me to make that play, and so do I.” When it comes to offseason storylines — whether it’s right or wrong — Brown could play a big part in making Vrabel’s scandal go away. If the Patriots win games and start the season strong, that’ll be the focus. If they lose … well, the focus might fall on the scandal again. *** 2. Giants Encouraged By Malik Nabers’ Early Performance Ralph Vacchiano: The Giants are still very cautiously refusing to say whether receiver Malik Nabers will be ready for Week 1. But his performance in the first two days of training camp (with a scheduled off day on Day 3) sure was a very encouraging sign. Just nine months removed from surgery to repair a torn ACL that ruined most of his second NFL season, New York’s No. 1 receiver not only practiced fully early in camp, he also earned rave reviews. “He definitely has a presence about him,” quarterback Jaxson Dart said. “There’s an aura that he has on the field that is exhilarating. It makes me happy. Everybody’s happy to see him out on the field. And I think for him, he’s had a lot of positives.” New coach John Harbaugh was a bit more cautious, but added, “He looked good. It was encouraging.” The Giants plan is to see how Nabers responds to the early workload and gauge how much, and how quickly, they can increase it. One team source told me they are hopeful he’ll be ready for the start of the regular season, but aren’t afraid to delay his return a few weeks if it helps him get to full strength. Nabers’ importance can’t be overstated, though. Dart has never played a full regular-season game with Nabers, who suffered his knee injury in Week 4 last year, when Dart made his first start. Dart had an impressive rookie season anyway, but Nabers would be the best and most talented receiver he’s played with, by far. *** 3. Rodgers-Metcalf Connection Clicking Early Vacchiano: There’s been obvious chemistry between quarterback Aaron Rodgers and wide receiver DK Metcalf early in training camp, as there should be. But that’s a big change from last season when the Steelers never seemed to get enough out of that connection. Metcalf had just 59 catches for 850 yards and six touchdowns in 15 games last season — far from the elite numbers Pittsburgh expected after trading a second-round pick to get him and signing him to a five-year, $150 million deal. Metcalf had just two 100-yard games and nine games with fewer than 50 yards — including a disappointing two-catch, 42-yard performance in the Steelers’ first-round playoff loss. “[Last season] we were kind of like trying to get used to the dynamic of everything,” Metcalf said. “He was in a new place. I was in a new place. I think right now our communication is far beyond where it was last year when we first got to camp. We’re just leaps ahead of the communication aspect. And I think it’s only going to continue to grow.” It helped, Metcalf said, that Rodgers — his training camp roommate — was more present in the offseason. He attended several OTA practices and took his receivers on a “bonding” trip out West. It also helped that the Steelers acquired wide receiver Michael Pittman in the offseason to give Metcalf another receiver that can take some of the pressure off. Now it’s up to new coach Mike McCarthy to use all that and find a way to make the connection really work. “He’s a matchup problem,” McCarthy said. “You’d better get some help (covering) him. We want to move him around a little more. But I was impressed with their timing together in the spring. We just want to continue to grow off of that because DK can change a game.” 4. Can Bucs’ WR Corps Be Better Without Mike Evans? Greg Auman: The biggest transaction of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offseason was the surprising departure of Mike Evans to the San Francisco 49ers after 12 seasons in Tampa. And somehow, a week into their first training camp without the future Hall of Famer, it’s possible the Bucs’ depth can make up for such a significant loss. Chris Godwin, 30, has spent his whole career in Evans’ shadow, and now fully recovered from a 2024 ankle injury, has a chance to show what he can do leading the room. The real excitement is in the next four receivers — all age 24 or younger — who will each take on part of the challenge of replacing Evans. That starts with Emeka Egbuka, 23, last year’s first-round pick who had five touchdowns in his first five NFL games, then hit a wall with only one score the rest of the way. He could be the next in a pipeline of former Ohio State receivers dominating the NFL. Jalen McMillan, 24, missed most of last year recovering from a neck injury, but looks like he did at the end of his rookie season, when he led the NFL with seven touchdown catches in the final five weeks of 2024. Tez Johnson, 24, caught five touchdowns last year as a sixth-round rookie, stepping up amid multiple injuries, and there’s excitement surrounding rookie Ted Hurst, 22, a third-round pick from Georgia State whose 6-foot-4 frame could help give the Bucs a red-zone lob threat that Evans was for so long. New Bucs offensive coordinator Zac Robinson – their fifth offensive coordinator in five seasons – is close friends with former offensive coordinator Liam Coen, and the hope is that Tampa Bay’s offense and passing game can get back to its peak as a top-five unit under Coen in 2024. Evans was limited by injuries to eight games and three touchdown catches in his final year in Tampa, so the Bucs already had a taste of life without him, and the hope is that five receivers, collectively, can help offset one major offseason loss. *** 5. Carnell Tate Not The Only Young Titans WR To Keep An Eye On Ben Arthur: Second-year wide receiver Elic Ayomanor has been the biggest standout at Titans training camp through the first week, making several plays. The 2025 fourth-round pick made a beautiful leaping grab by the sideline over cornerback Joshua Williams in team drills on Saturday, drawing plenty of cheers from the fans in attendance. Earlier in the day, he had a similarly impressive catch in a 7-on-7 period. Just two days prior, Ayomanor made what’s arguably been the biggest highlight of training camp so far — with starting cornerback Cor’Dale Flott draped over him, the former Stanford standout jumped and snagged a Cam Ward pass over Flott’s head. No. 4 overall pick Carnell Tate is expected to be Tennessee’s WR1 at some point, and free-agent acquisition Wan’Dale Robinson will be a primary target for Ward, too. But Ayomanor should be a significant factor in the offense as well. Ayomanor led Titans receivers last season with 515 receiving yards. The second-year pro focused on his posture this offseason and trained some with Robinson, work that hasn’t gone unnoticed by his teammates. “To me, Elic is a star,” veteran Calvin Ridley said. Overall, the Titans boast one of their most talented wide receiver rooms in years, a group that can further Ward’s development as a franchise quarterback. In addition to young talents like Tate and Ayomanor, they have a 1,000-yard receiver from each of the last two seasons (Robinson in ‘25, Ridley in ‘24). Second-year pro Chim Dike, an All-Pro returner, ranked third on the Titans with 423 receiving yards as a rookie. “This is one of the deepest rooms I’ve been in,” Ridley said of Tennessee’s wide receivers. “If we do what we gotta do, get on the same page with our quarterback, we can push [this season].” *** 6. Cade Klubnik May Have A Shot To Cut Geno Smith’s Jets Reunion Short Vacchiano: Geno Smith’s second Jets tenure got off to a rocky start during an offseason that featured several run-ins with police, including a domestic incident that became a viral video. And then he was a bit shaky during the first two light practices of training camp, though he got better as the early days went along. Make no mistake: Smith is entrenched as the Jets’ starter for as long as he can keep them somewhat relevant this season. But it’s still worth keeping one eye over his shoulder, because the most interesting quarterback in camp is rookie Cade Klubnik, their fourth-round pick. Jets general manager Darren Mougey said he’s “excited” to see what the rookie can do, and a team source said they’ve been “thrilled” with what they’ve seen so far. He looked mostly sharp in his first two days, though those were really light practices. If that continues, he’s got a “real good chance” to emerge as Smith’s primary backup. It’s also not crazy to suggest they might give him a shot as a starter later in the season, especially if the season goes awry again. The Jets are a near-lock to draft a quarterback in the first round of the 2027 draft, and not much can change that plan. But late in the season, especially if they’re not miraculously in playoff contention, they still might want to see what they’ve got in Klubnik, just in case. *** 7. Jeremiyah Love Getting Comfortable In Cardinals’ Scheme Eric D. Williams: Because of positional value and Arizona clearly not considered to be a player away from contending as a rebuilding roster, NFL observers criticized the Cardinals for taking Love at No. 3 overall. But in training camp practices, the Notre Dame product has looked as good as advertised, showing explosive playmaking ability as a runner and pass catcher out of the backfield. However, the Cardinals have a crowded running back room, including free agent pickup Tyler Allgeier and veteran incumbent James Conner. That means Love will have a shared workload as he learns the offense and transitions to a more complex NFL game. Allgeier was listed as the starter in Arizona’s unofficial depth chart released for this week’s Hall of Fame game, while Love was No. 2 on the depth chart. “There’s a lot of guys in there,” Cardinals new offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett told me. “Any time you’ve got a great room like that, they’re going to be able to root for each other. We want to use them all, give them all the ball and watch them all grow together.” Hackett said to expect diversity in the running game, including outside zone and a downhill running attack.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

INDYCAR HEADQUARTERS (Indianapolis) — Anyone who has watched INDYCAR’s rollout of its 2028 car probably already knows what the buzzwords (or buzz slogan) is for its new machine. Track Records. To say that INDYCAR is focused — maybe even a little obsessed — with setting track records with its new car (the IR-28 is what it is called) would be accurate. The Indianapolis 500 qualifying record was set in 1996 by Arie Luyendyk, whose 237.498 mph qualifying lap and 236.986 mph four-lap run have lasted for 30 years. To INDYCAR officials, that’s been long enough. And they hope to start breaking track records in 2028, and not only at Indianapolis. “One of the first things [among our goals] was to break track records,” INDYCAR SVP Mike Sibla, who oversees the car’s development, told me and other reporters last Friday. “We felt that was something that we were ready to do. “We felt the technology was there where we could do this safely, responsibly, and it’s a good way to really continue the momentum that the sport’s under right now.” The car, of course, can only do so much when it comes to posting fast speeds. The tires and the weather at the track certainly influence how fast a car can go at any particular time. But what about the 2028 INDYCAR is designed to make it go faster than the current version? Well, it starts with safety. The car, designed by Dallara, has to be safe enough for INDYCAR officials to land on an engine configuration capable of approaching 240 miles an hour on the speedways. The safety elements of the aeroscreen, as well as other safety devices to keep the car from lifting, have been incorporated into the design of the car. That means that the air should flow over the car more seamlessly. INDYCAR and Dallara have worked on the aerodynamics of the car to allow for less dirty air that would impact cars further behind if they are running single file. That has included the shape and endplates of some of the wings. In the simulator, INDYCAR and Dallar put in the data to be able to simulate multiple cars. “Although two cars haven’t been on track at the same time, the best science that we can use to determine if the car is going to be a good race car and a raceable car, everything we’ve seen so far is pointing to that we’ve made some gains there,” said INDYCAR VP Mike O’Gara, who leads the group working on the new car. The tub has been tested to handle crashes at high speeds. The cockpit is bigger to allow for more padding to protect the driver. And then there’s the engine, as INDYCAR goes from a 2.2-liter V-6 engine to a 2.4-liter V-6. The hybrid unit, made by Helix, which was not involved in the current INDYCAR hybrid, won’t produce any additional horsepower. But it has 14 times the amount of power storage, meaning the amount of boost the car gets from the hybrid is going to increase dramatically. With the engine regulations finally settled on by INDYCAR, Honda and Chevrolet just a few weeks ago, the target for the engine is 760 horsepower, which is 60-100 more than the current engine. It is expected as they continue to develop the engines that they could reach closer to 800 horsepower. The hybrid and push-to-pass systems can add up to 120 horsepower. The hybrid is about 20 pounds lighter and the gearbox is 25 pounds lighter. Those are the most dramatic changes that bring the car back to approximately 1,700 pounds. That weight is about what it was originally with the current chassis. “You’re taking weight out, you’re increasing the horsepower, and I think the biggest thing for us, a lot of people will say, ‘OK, safety, that’s great, but is it that exciting?’” Sibla said. “We wanted to make this car safe so that we could break records. And that’s what we’ve done here.” And it could be lighter. After the initial validation tests at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course last weekend and upcoming tests on the IMS oval, a shorter oval and a street course in the next couple of months, INDYCAR will analyze the spec parts and pieces to see if it can take out even more weight from the car. For instance, the aeroscreen was reduced by a few pounds in its latest iteration. “We learn from these initial tests, you know what can be optimized, what can be changed, and that’s where you get that weight out,” Sibla said. How will the teams tune the car to make it go faster? They used to design and manufacture (or outsource) their own dampers, which are suspension pieces that impact how the car handles. They will no longer be doing that, as the suspension pieces and dampers in this car will be provided by one company (Custom Axis). But the options when it comes to those pieces, which ones the teams use and how they are installed are well into the thousands. The wheels will also be different, with a stronger wheel that handles more loads. And the car is designed to potentially evolve with speeds. “Some of the magnesium wheels we have are at the very peak of their stress levels at some of the tracks we run at right now,” O’Gara said. “So, the wheels are more robust, the suspension is going to be more robust. “There are also things like we currently aren’t going to run brake-by-wire, which is a thing a lot of hybrid race cars run currently. The car is future-proof for it. There’s a spot under the sidepod for a brake-by-wire system. And as the car evolves, as the engines make more power, as the hybrids make more power, then we can introduce some of those other systems.” The current testing is being done with an old 2.4-liter engine developed by Ilmor from when INDYCAR was going to change engine packages about four or five years ago. So in these initial tests, they won’t know if the car is truly faster. Chevrolet and Honda should get cars early next year. “This engine … is an older version so you can’t really read too much into that,” Alexander Rossi said in a video news release following his test Saturday on the IMS road course. “But all in all, it’s been incredibly smooth and it’s a joy to drive.” What About Power Steering? Maybe one of those most debated issues is whether the cars should have power steering. Many forms of racing have it, but INDYCAR does not. It certainly challenges the drivers and gives it a little bit of gladiator effect. But it has also been cited as a reason few women attempt to go the INDYCAR route. Jamie Chadwick won the 2024 Indy NXT race at Road America and tested an INDYCAR. She cited the physical challenge as one of the reasons that making a move to INDYCAR would have been difficult for her to compete on road courses. O’Gara said the new car is set up to add more of a “power assist” element that sports cars use but there is no guarantee it will be in the car. “It’s not a full hydraulic system like Formula 1 cars run,” O’Gara said. “It’s an electric assist system similar to what’s been run in sports cars throughout the world. So the system exists. “The car doesn’t currently have it. We have some basic testing we’re to do without the power assist, and then later in the testing phase, we plan on introducing it. … We need to test it at a few different places to see one, if it’s needed, and two, where it’s needed. Is it a road-course only thing? Do we require it everywhere or only certain track types? So that’s going to come with track testing as we run.” IN THE NEWS — Joe Gibbs Racing withdrew a pivotal allegation against Spire Motorsports and Chirs Gabehart as part of its suit: “A Spire employee has informed a JGR employee that Gabehart is in charge of and/or significantly participating in Spire’s competition strategy and decisions.” Gabehart is prohibited from doing similar work at Spire as he did as JGR competition director, so that would have violated that order. JGR, in a court filing, said after Spire asked for evidence that “it does not possess non-privileged information sufficient to support the allegations.” — Front Row Motorsports announced Chandler Smith won’t return to its truck team next season. His future landing spot has not been announced, but it’s expected to be in an O’Reilly car at Richard Childress Racing. — Tommy Baldwin, on the podcast “Door Bumper Clear” that he co-hosts, said he has parted ways with Rick Ware Racing. Baldwin was the competition director there. Social Spotlight They Said It “We’ve all been waiting for this for a long time. Drivers, fans, teams, sponsors and all of you have been looking forward to it, and now it’s finally here. It’s like Christmas morning.”— Alexander Rossi after testing the IR-28​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

The fun of NFL training camp is the bustling enthusiasm of the coaches, the players and the media. But it also makes it difficult to cut away the fiction from fact. It’s hope season and hype season. It’s also the season for catastrophe and doom. A perfect example? A.J. Brown dropped a pass in his first practice as a New England Patriot. Brown and quarterback Drake Maye then proceeded to struggle for a few days and on Boston sports radio and social media, it was like The Citgo Sign was falling. Things turned around as soon as the pads came on. Brown and Maye have been beating up New England’s defense, even with superstar corner Christian Gonzalez in coverage. So you get it. Things were horrible until they were incredible. There was nothing in between. (And I’ll have more on Brown, Maye and the Patriots.) That’s happening in all 32 NFL training camps. So let’s do what we always do here with the Sound Smart column. I’m here to spin it forward, dive deeper, think outside the box and read between the lines. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye recognized the pressure coming off the right side. It was cornerback Marcus Jones, one of the fastest players on the field. The play came in a red-zone drill — 11 on 11 — in full pads last week on the practice fields at Gillette Stadium. Whether or not Maye knew the blitz was coming before the snap, the QB knew exactly what to do with the ball when it hit his hands. He looked to his right to find A.J. Brown, who’d created just enough separation on a slant route. Maye fired the ball at the star receiver, acquired in June in a trade that included a first-round pick. Brown managed a catch-and-run that put the Patriots inside the 5-yard line. I couldn’t help but wonder: What might that play have looked like without Brown? It doesn’t take that much imagination. It was a series of corner blitzes that devastated the Patriots in the Super Bowl, when they fell behind against the Seattle Seahawks. Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon finished with six blitzes, four pressures and one sack. One of the best cover corners in the league, Witherspoon made an effective — albeit shocking — pass-rusher. Maye never seemed to have an answer, not even deep into the game. But in camp, Maye did. And that’s especially important because … well, guess who the Patriots will see in Week 1. To open the NFL season. On a Wednesday. Yeah, it’s the Seahawks. It’s also in Seattle, probably the least hospitable stadium in the league. The last time they saw each other, the Seahawks owned the Patriots. But New England has upgraded its roster sizably since then. Receiver Romeo Doubs is an upgrade at WR2. Defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones and guard Alijah Vera-Tucker aren’t flashy players, but they will be excellent starters at their respective positions. Brown is the biggest upgrade. There’s no way around it. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels can build a system that gives Maye answers, but somebody has to make a play. Brown is showing the Patriots they can trust him to do just that. “I want to say I’m 90 percent [comfortable in the offense],” Brown said last week at Pats camp. Brown struggled to connect with Maye in the early practices at camp. But that just goes to show how difficult it is to make a real evaluation after just a few sessions. Because Maye and Brown were firing when the pads went on. I asked Brown if he had to change the way he played his position, depending upon his quarterback. “You have to. You have to do what your quarterback likes,” Brown said. “As far as my game, my game will be my game. But as far as what he likes and what he needs, that’s the thing that I got to get on the same page with him and continue to work on.” It’s surely no coincidence that, just 24 hours after delivering this quote, Brown caught a fade for a touchdown against Christian Gonzalez, the No. 1-rated cornerback in Madden 27. Brown gives the Patriots answers, especially against a defense as good as Seattle’s. New England is currently a 3.5-point underdog for the season-opener. I’d say that underestimates the Patriots. This seemed — at least to me — to be a good year to pick the San Francisco 49ers to go to the Super Bowl. Their defense improved significantly over the offseason. Their offense got healthy and added veteran receiver Mike Evans. It just felt like this could be the year when they could make their own luck (or overcome their inevitable bad luck) and make a deep run. But San Francisco seems to have nothing but bad headlines. Most recently, there was the news about receiver Ricky Pearsall, whose PCL injury had not healed correctly and will need season-ending surgery after just a few practices. It seems like the 49ers have been preparing for this possibility — drafting receiver De’Zhaun Stribling in Round 2 and, immediately after the news broke about Pearsall, signing veteran receiver Deebo Samuel. But of course, Stribling is dealing with a hamstring injury. Then there was coach Kyle Shanahan’s car accident. He crashed head-on into another car after taking his attention off the road by dropping his phone. He suffered three broken ribs, a broken left hand, a concussion and a head wound that required 40 stitches, per ESPN. Shanahan is participating on a limited basis at the training camp. Finally, there’s receiver Brandon Aiyuk, whose behavior — so far as we can see from social media — is troubling. He has refused to report to the 49ers’ facility since he suffered an injury, and his outbursts on social media have rendered him totally untradeable. This has gone on long enough that Aiyuk is no longer much of a distraction. But even on the back burner, it’s still there — particularly as the team sorts through the drama at the receiver position. This isn’t to say that the 49ers can’t overcome this tumultuous patch. We’re still over a month from a regular-season game. But in the competitive NFC West, a slow start feels like a bad start. By all accounts, the Cowboys’ offense is humming in training camp. Best of all, there’s no ho-humming. At this time last year, we were waiting for the tension to resolve between superstar Micah Parsons and team owner Jerry Jones. And it didn’t with Jones trading Parsons in a massive blockbuster after the All-Pro edge rusher posted regularly on social media to provide updates around the failed contract talks with the Cowboys. It felt like history might repeat itself, with All-Pro receiver George Pickens set to play on the franchise tag. Pickens could’ve fought for a new long-term deal and caused unrest in many of the same ways as Parsons. And Pickens would be justified in doing so. Instead, the receiver has been torching the Cowboys’ defense alongside Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb. And Pickens is remaining patient and confident that his agent and the Cowboys will get a deal done. The offense could be even better than it was last year. So if the defense is better — and it should be, given the additions of safeties Jalen Thompson and Caleb Downs and edges Rashan Gary and Malachi Lawrence — then the Cowboys could win their division. But Prescott has bigger plans. He’s thinking about the Super Bowl. He invited discussion by wearing a Super Bowl XXX shirt (when the Cowboys last won it all) to the team hotel to start camp. When he faced a question about it, Prescott spoke freely. “The tone’s been set,” he said. “I knew you [reporters] would like it. Didn’t know how many of the teammates would see it. It’s just the manifesting thing. We want stuff in life a lot of times, but then when people start talking about it, you kind of hesitate. Should I say that if they’re going to hold me to it? Well, absolutely. Playing in this organization, being in it 10 years, going into Year 11, I’m not going to shy away from it. “When you don’t have it, it sucks. When you don’t get to play for it, when you’re watching other teams play in the playoffs, there’s nothing worse than that. I said I’d be the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys when I was 6 years old, and said I’d be in the NFL, and I got here. A lot of things in my life, I said I’d do and I did it. And so why shy away from that now? Why shy away from asking people to hold me to the same standard that I believe that I can accomplish and this team can accomplish? “I don’t know if the T-shirt was [saying], ‘This is it.’ … It was an energy thing.” The Chiefs will almost definitely start cornerback Mansoor Delane at CB1 after trading up to draft him in Round 1. But that move — pushing draft pieces into one big acquisition — might normally mean that a draft class is less likely to produce a handful of instant-impact players. Yet early in camp, the Chiefs are giving youngsters every opportunity to prove themselves. Edge R Mason Thomas appears to have a direct path to a starting spot, getting plenty of work with the first team. It’s something of a surprise that a second-rounder has earned the trust of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo so quickly. But there’s an even bigger surprise: rookie receiver Cyrus Allen. The Chiefs took Allen on Day 3 of the draft. And he has been sensational, according to reporters on the scene — and the social-media video clips that have leaked out of camp. “The quarterbacks trust him,” Andy Reid told reporters. Most importantly, Patrick Mahomes trusts Allen. Kansas City doesn’t exactly have proven entities at receiver, even with Xavier Worthy having his first-round status and even with Rashee Rice producing when he’s on the field. (Because Rice can’t seem to stay on the field between his injuries and his suspension.) It’s early. But Allen is making a surprising push to get a real workload and target share. And then there are other names popping into the starting lineup, per The Athletic’s Jesse Newell. The Chiefs are experimenting with tackle Kahlil Benson and receiver Andrew Armstrong, among others. It’s likely that the Chiefs are thinking about the long haul of the season. That probably means the rookie work is to 1) rest veterans and 2) give young players exposure in the event of an injury. But given the way GM Brett Veach has a tendency to find draft gems beyond the first round, it’s likely that we’ll see the Chiefs get major contributions from rookies, perhaps even relatively unknown ones. For all you fantasy football owners out there, Allen might just be one of those guys to monitor — and draft. When it comes to the 2025 quarterback draft class, Jayden Daniels has turned into the forgotten man. There’s all this hype about Drake Maye, who is fresh off a Super Bowl appearance. There’s all this hype about Bears QB Caleb Williams, appearing on the Madden cover after nearly taking down the Rams in overtime. There’s hype for Bo Nix, whose ankle injury left us wondering “what if” as the Broncos might’ve been capable of winning the AFC Championship if they’d only had their QB. Even J.J. McCarthy is holding up against Kyler Murray in a QB competition in Minnesota. And McCarthy — as rough as he was last year — is stirring national conversation. Daniels — who missed 10 games in 2025 due to a dislocated left elbow, a knee sprain and a hamstring strain — isn’t really making headlines. Expectations are low for him — and his Commanders. I’m not here to say that Washington is going to shock people this year, but I do wonder what Daniels can do for this offense under new OC David Blough. Daniels doesn’t have a proven weapon on offense other than two-time Pro Bowl receiver Terry McLaurin. How much can Daniels do? The good news is that Washington’s defense looks totally rebuilt — and with legitimate starters. So I’d at least hope the Commanders can be pesky, in part because of their rebuilt defense — but also because their young QB will have reinserted himself into the discussion as one of the league’ elite signal callers, like he did at the end of the 2024 season (and playoffs).​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Mauricio Pochettino is running it back with the U.S. men’s national team. The 54-year-old Argentine will return as the USA’s manager, signing a new deal that will see him in charge through the 2030 World Cup, U.S. Soccer announced on Monday. Pochettino, who took over in the fall of 2024, will aim for his second World Cup with the Stars and Stripes after leading the tournament co-hosts to a round of 16 appearance this summer. Speaking to a small group of national reporters from his home in Barcelona just before the news became official, Pochettino said that the USSF’s desire to retain him even before the tournament began was a factor in the decision to return for four more years. “They really believed in us before the start of the World Cup,” he said. “That is important, that they saw the value in us, and then because I really believe that this is an exciting situation and moment for soccer in the USA.” The U.S. won its group with victories over Paraguay and Australia. A last-second defeat to Türkiye didn’t deter things for the team as it rebounded with a round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. But a resounding 4-1 loss to Belgium with a spot for the quarterfinals on the line soured what had been a memorable run. Now Pochettino will take aim at tournaments such as the 2027 Concacaf Gold Cup and possibly the 2028 Copa América, which could once again see the U.S. as hosts. That would then lead to the 2030 World Cup, which will be mainly hosted by three countries – Portugal, Spain and Morocco. Unlike in 2026, when the U.S. hosted the World Cup, the team will have to qualify for the next one. Bringing in new players will be key. “We have the experience and the knowledge about all the players that were working with us,” Pochettino said. “I think it’s so exciting to see not only the players that we already worked with, but also for the players that we’ll give the possibility to perform and to be part of the next process.” Prior to joining the USA, Pochettino had numerous high-profile managerial positions in Europe. He led Tottenham Hotspur to the 2019 Champions League final, losing to Liverpool, before managing Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea. As a player, he represented his native Argentina at the 2002 World Cup and played for clubs such as PSG and Spanish side Espanyol – another team he’d later coach.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers had only one player in mind to upgrade a roster with no glaring needs. “It was [Tarik] Skubal or nothing,” said manager Dave Roberts. The Dodgers never even kicked the tires on acquiring any other starting pitchers, according to president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. Their discussions with the Tigers started picking up Friday. A day later, the back-and-forths became more aggressive. The groundwork for a trade materialized quickly. Just before first pitch Saturday night at 6:11 p.m. against the visiting Boston Red Sox, Roberts had already heard the deal for Skubal was “pretty much done.” To the astonishment of no one — including the contenders who missed out — but to the chagrin of many, the reigning back-to-back World Series champs landed the reigning back-to-back American League Cy Young Award winner. “It just seems like there’s always blowback with us,” Roberts said. “People are passionate. We feel good about it. There’s nothing that we did that no one else couldn’t have done.” As the news broke, one of the only teams with a package of top prospects capable of rivaling the Dodgers’ best was 30 miles away in Anaheim. Putting Skubal alongside Cy Young favorite Jacob Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison could have given the Brewers, who have the best record in baseball, one of the most overpowering October starting trios imaginable. Instead, Skubal’s fortifying what was already the most talented roster in the game. “I think the initial reaction from people is wanting to be mad or upset, but [I] just wasn’t, really,” Brewers outfielder Sal Frelick told me Sunday morning. “I think everyone in here really believes in this room. It’s not like we’re here saying, ‘We don’t need anybody, we’re good,’ but it’s not like we’re also saying, ‘We need this guy,’ or ‘We need so much help.’” Still, Frelick acknowledged some disappointment. This was the first time since Frelick debuted in 2023 that he could recall hearing his team involved in blockbuster discussions at the deadline. “So, I think that’s maybe the only area where the disappointment can come from,” Frelick explained, “just because you know there was an offer made, we were trying to get him, and we didn’t.” Friedman officially found out he got Skubal during Saturday’s loss to the Red Sox. The Dodgers sent two top-100 prospects in outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-handed pitcher River Ryan to the Tigers as well as 2023 third-round pick Brady Smith, but they managed to get the deal done without losing any of their big-league players or either of their top two outfield prospects, Josue De Paula or Mike Sirota, in the deal. Asked whether he was shocked the Tigers agreed to the offer, Friedman exhaled and paused for a moment before answering. “Ummm, no,” he said. “I mean, I felt like we were being really aggressive and that we put some really talented players on the table, so I felt like that gave us a really good chance. How good, I didn’t obviously have a sense for what other teams were doing. But, no.” Friedman claimed that keeping Skubal from joining another contender wasn’t the impetus for the move. “We’re doing what we can to put ourselves in the best position to have the strongest 26-man roster in October that we feel like gives us the best chance to win 11 games,” he said. Skubal, obviously, increases those chances. On July 31, FanGraphs gave the Dodgers 25.7% odds to win the World Series. After the trade, those odds jumped another 5%. The Dodgers were swept at home by the Red Sox this weekend, but the addition of Skubal, who met his new teammates in the dugout during Sunday afternoon’s defeat, lessened the sting. “I don’t think I’ve felt this good after getting swept,” Roberts said, “so that’s a silver lining, I guess.” Now, the Brewers and the rest of MLB have less than 24 hours to pivot to other options while the Dodgers, who had no clear needs to begin with, consider other ways to restock their pipeline of talent. When healthy, the options in the Dodgers’ rotation include multiple two-time Cy Young Award winners in Skubal and Blake Snell, the reigning World Series MVP in Yoshinobu Yamamoto, four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani, 2024 All-Star Tyler Glasnow, 2026 All-Star Justin Wrobleski, Roki Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan and veteran Eric Lauer — far more arms than they’ll need the rest of this season or in October. On Tuesday, Glasnow is going out on assignment while Snell is expected to make his final rehab start before returning to the rotation. The Dodgers maintain confidence that Ohtani will be back pitching by season’s end, and he is expected to start playing catch again this coming week in Chicago. They have already informed Lauer he’ll be moving into a bullpen bulk role. Now that Kiké Hernández is healthy, they also have more right-handed bats off the bench than they need, potentially making outfielder Alex Call expendable. So, one option for them is to sell some of their excess — either at the big-league or minor-league level — to continue bolstering a farm system that remains among the best in the sport, even after losing Hope and Ryan. They still have three of baseball’s best outfield prospects in Josue De Paula and Mike Sirota at Double-A and Eduardo Quintero at High-A. De Paula, who has homered four times in his last three games and has 20 on the year, will need to be added to the 40-man roster this winter to be protected from the Rule 5 draft. “We’re still having a number of different conversations on a number of different fronts,” Friedman said. “For us, we’re always trying to balance keeping one eye on the present and one eye on the future.” Adding further to the big-league roster, however, is “less likely” to happen, according to Friedman. “I think coming into this deadline, our mindset was we’re going to be really aggressive for one player,” he repeated. The news that the Dodgers landed Skubal began trickling to their players shortly after their game Saturday night. Roberts chatted with his new ace on the phone after the Tigers finished their game in Sacramento. Closer Edwin Díaz found out via social media. Soon after, he started getting calls on the way home from friends and family, including his brother. “Dodgers always do something to get better,” Díaz told me. “So, as a player, I think I was expecting that.” That doesn’t mean the Dodgers players take their front office’s aggressiveness for granted. “It’s a statement from this organization to the rest of the league and the world that they’re not just satisfied with what happened the last couple years,” said Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas. “And we had a little conversation with Doc (Roberts) the other day, the position player group, and he’s really into winning this year. “Obviously he cares about winning the last two, and it’s really important for him and for us, but he said he don’t really care about what happened the last two years. He wants to win this year. So, it’s kind of like a pressed button for us to kind of continue to go and not let the rest of the league catch up to our standards.” As for whether the big bad Dodgers are breaking the game? “Passionately disagree,” Friedman said.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Most of the NFL’s 32 teams haven’t completed a full week of training camp practices yet, but there’s still been plenty of news and updates from around the league. The Cleveland Browns’ quarterback competition has dominated some of the social media chatter through the opening days of training camp. Who has the upper hand there? Elsewhere, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made more headlines over the weekend, and the Denver Broncos might be in the mix to add some depth at quarterback as Bo Nix shared an encouraging update about his ankle. Here’s what to know from what happened around the NFL this weekend: In Cleveland, the competition for the starting quarterback spot is officially underway. Browns general manager Andrew Berry noted that Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders still have a “long way to go” in their depth chart battle. “Both those guys, and really that entire room, deserve a lot of credit for putting together a really good offseason program, really working hard with the new staff, learning the offense,” Berry told NFL Network. “The reality of it is, we’re only three days into training camp. So we’ve got a long way to go before any decisions are made.” Berry emphasized that head coach Todd Monken and his staff will ultimately decide who takes the field in Week 1, evaluating a room that also includes Dillon Gabriel and Taylen Green. The decision will be performance-based, taking into account the full body of work over the coming weeks. Sanders is coming off a rookie campaign where he started seven games, leading Cleveland to three wins while completing 56.6 percent of his passes for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Watson hasn’t played since 2024 following injuries and inconsistent play across his three seasons in Cleveland. Highlighting early camp adjustments, Watson was intercepted in the end zone by safety Donovan McMillon during Saturday’s practice session. Sanders has completed 13 of 22 passes with four touchdowns and an interception during team drills, while Watson has completed 12 of 19 passes with three touchdowns and three interceptions, according to ESPN Cleveland. The quarterback battle could stretch well into the preseason, which opens Aug. 15 against the Chicago Bears. Cleveland hopes to have its starter locked in before opening the regular season on Sept. 13 at Jacksonville. The Denver Broncos enter the season with unfinished business. Coming off an AFC Championship loss that saw quarterback Bo Nix sidelined by a broken right ankle in the divisional round, the team faces high expectations as they look for another deep playoff run. Expectations in Denver are at an all-time high following the offseason addition of Pro Bowl wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. To make matters better, Nix says he feels “great” as he returns from his season-ending ankle injury, according to DNVR Sports. “Nothing is holding me back,” Nix told reporters after the weekend. Even after adding Waddle and getting Nix back, the Broncos may not be finished retooling their roster for the season. Head coach Sean Payton said the team will explore signing free agent quarterback and Swiss Army knife Taysom Hill, according to NFL Network. Hill played for Payton when the latter was the head coach of the New Orleans Saints for five seasons. Hill announced last week that his time in New Orleans was over. After Nix, Jarrett Stidham and Sam Ehlinger are the other quarterbacks on the Broncos’ roster. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is open to adjusting the iconic glare at AT&T Stadium. After FIFA required the stadium to close its curtains during the World Cup to block the sun during matches played in the afternoon, Jones admitted he is giving thought to tinting the windows facing west. “Thinking about it and doing something about it are two different things… But I’ll think about it,” Jones told reporters. “The sun changes, and the angle of that sun changes from September through year-round. But as we look at it, I like some of the effects of the tinting. And so we’re giving that a thought.” While the stadium’s East-West setup has historically forced teams to navigate direct sunlight during afternoon kickoffs, it hasn’t always been an advantage to the Cowboys, who have also had to deal with the blinding sun. In fact, there was a memorable moment when Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb said he couldn’t catch a ball thrown at him due to the sun getting in his eyesight in 2024. Travis Hunter’s return to the field this season will be one of the biggest storylines among the league’s young players as he tries to once again play both sides of the ball for the Jaguars. As Hunter works his way back from an injury that cut his rookie season short, he gave Jaguars fans a reason to be excited over the weekend. The Jaguars released a video showing Hunter making a tightly contested catch on a pass from quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Shortly after, he delivered another standout play on defense, intercepting backup Nick Mullens. While Hunter stars at Jaguars camp, he’s looking to bounce back from an underwhelming rookie campaign. He played in just seven games before he suffered a knee injury in practice that cut his season short. Hunter didn’t produce much when he was healthy, either. He had 28 receptions for 298 yards and a touchdown to go with 15 total tackles and zero interceptions. He played 324 snaps at receiver and 162 snaps at cornerback. The Jaguars’ plan to use Hunter on both sides of the ball has not changed, especially after the Jaguars shored up the core of their secondary by re-signing Montaric “Buster” Brown in March. “How do we balance his reps here, knowing that we’re trying to ease him in, but he also at some point needs to get double the amount that a normal player gets,” Jaguars coach Liam Coen recently told reporters. “So what does that ramp-up look like? We have it all kind of mapped out … on every single practice schedule, his reps are highlighted in here — where he’s in, what plays he’s in, where he’s at on the field. We’ve been extremely intentional about it.” Hunter was limited during offseason workouts because of his surgery in November. But he used that time to build up some 10 pounds of muscle in his upper body and managed to get even faster. He was actually clocked running at 22.6 mph at the team’s facility last week. “I was a small guy coming in. Everybody was like, ’Gain weight, gain weight,’” Hunter told reporters. “I was scared at first. I’m like ‘Dang, I’ve never played at this weight. I’m going to feel heavy, not going to be able to do what I do.’ Training and being able to put those months in — not just on the grass but in the weight room — just putting in extra work, it made me feel lighter on my feet when I finally touched the grass.” Rams head coach Sean McVay only intensified the chatter that Aaron Donald will unretire and re-join the team for the 2026 season. McVay told reporters that Donald is “trending upwards” following the Rams’ practice on Friday. However, McVay also indicated that Donald’s return likely won’t happen until later in August, at the earliest. “That’ll be something that, I think, once we get back to Woodland Hills, we’ll have a better idea of what that timeline looks like. There won’t be any decision and anything in terms of Aaron’s situation while we’re here. That’s kind of already been set out when we’ve talked for the past couple weeks,” McVay said. Los Angeles is practicing at Marymount University through Aug. 6, and it’s scheduled to return to its practice facility in San Fernando Valley after that. Our Eric D. Williams reported in late July that Donald was leaning toward returning after multiple months of speculation.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

There’s the evil empire, and then there are the Dodgers – the merciless mega-team that just made baseball’s nightmare scenario official. On Saturday night, with a day and a half to spare before Monday’s deadline, Los Angeles traded for reigning back-to-back American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers. Take that in. The best pitcher on the planet is now on the best team in baseball. In the days and hours leading up to the blockbuster trade, it started to feel less like a shock and more of an inevitability that Skubal would land in Hollywood. The surprising part was how little it took to acquire two months of Skubal, who is set to become a free agent after this season. Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris settled for a meager return that included outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-handers River Ryan and Brady Smith. That package, which has since sparked fury and countless opinions within the industry about the smaller value that Los Angeles gave up, netted Detroit two top-100 prospects without gutting the top of the Dodgers’ farm system. So, what’s the fallout? Let’s dive into what’s next for the Dodgers, and how the trade impacts the starting-pitching market and the rest of the National League now that the deadline’s biggest domino has fallen. What’s Next For The Dodgers? The defending back-to-back champions just got scarier, and they didn’t even have to touch their major league roster to do it. Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman leaned on his organizational depth to add the best pitcher in baseball to a rotation that already owned the third-best ERA (3.79) in the NL, and he did it thanks to a strong farm system that rival front offices have envied for years. The Dodgers didn’t need Skubal, but that hardly mattered. If you can go and get the arm that can win you a third consecutive championship, you do it. Now, Skubal slots in as the unquestioned Game 1 starter in October. Following an early-season elbow procedure, he’s back to his usual Cy-Young self, posting a 2.79 ERA with 116 strikeouts in 16 starts and 96 ⅔ innings this season, including a 2.03 ERA in July alone. Skubal joins a ridiculously talented staff that includes reigning World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, All-Star Justin Wrobleski, and right-handers Emmet Sheehan and Roki Sasaki. The Dodgers are still confident Shohei Ohtani (left knee soreness) will pitch again this season, while Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow continue working their way back from the injured list. If everyone is healthy for the postseason, Wrobleski, Sheehan, and Sasaki will shift to the bullpen. It’s a mind-numbingly dominant pitching staff that should mentally suppress opposing hitters before they even step into the box. There’s also another layer to this that shouldn’t be overlooked. Part of Friedman’s motivation to land Skubal was presumably to keep the southpaw away from the Brewers and Rays, two smaller-market clubs with the only other top farm systems that could compete with the Dodgers’ offer and pose a more serious threat in the playoffs. His trade for Skubal could also be viewed as an admission that he was starting to get nervous about the competition. Now, Friedman has increased the gap between Los Angeles and everyone else. Skubal gets to experience life on the West Coast and use it as a trial run for a possible long-term future with the Dodgers. In the offseason, he’ll have the opportunity to sign there as a free agent. There’s the evil empire, and then there are the Dodgers. What’s Next For The Starting-Pitching Market? Skubal was always going to set the market, and now that the biggest name is off the board, the rest of the deadline has a clear runway to accelerate. Rival executives had been holding their breath on Skubal for weeks, in part because landing spots for the market’s other arms — Kevin Gausman, Clay Holmes, Casey Mize, George Kirby, Sandy Alcántara, Reid Detmers, Jose Soriano and more — were always going to hinge on which contenders whiffed on Skubal first. The group of starting pitchers who are available and could be on the move is unusually deep this summer, and now it’s about to get picked apart in a hurry. The next domino was Mets right-hander Freddy Peralta, who was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in the early afternoon on Sunday. Miami has held firm on Alcántara for most of the summer, but with Monday’s 6 p.m. ET deadline bearing down, that stance will be tested by every team that missed on Skubal and still needs an upgrade. Toronto’s Gausman, a veteran rental on a last-place club, is squarely in the mix for teams like the Phillies, Cubs, Braves, Brewers and Rays. Now, though, you have to wonder if the price for all these pitchers has changed after what Skubal went for. Almost everyone in the industry is shocked the Dodgers didn’t have to give up one or more of their top three prospects for their new ace. Peralta netted the Mets three Rays prospects, ranked Nos. 15, 26 and 27 in Tampa Bay’s system, according to MLB Pipeline. Peralta has struggled this season with a 4.99 ERA and 1.48 WHIP in 22 starts, but his track record indicates he’s capable of better results. Still, with the deadline’s headliner gone, expect the next 24 hours to bring a flurry of moves as several contenders — all of whom now know they’re chasing a fortified defending champion — scramble to find their next-best option before the board clears out. What’s Next For The Rest Of The National League? If you’re the Braves, Phillies, Cubs or Brewers, Saturday night just moved the goalposts regarding what winning in October will require. The Dodgers were already the team to beat. Now they’ve added the pitcher with the third-highest strikeout rate in baseball to a roster that already looked primed for a three-peat. Every other NL contender just got a very public reminder of how far behind they’re playing. Milwaukee, sitting on one of the best farm systems in the sport, was viewed as one of the few threats with enough ammunition to actually pry Skubal away. Instead, the Brewers watched the Dodgers get him without touching a single big leaguer. That had to sting. That had to be a gut check for a Milwaukee front office that had been patiently building for this kind of moment. Atlanta and Philadelphia, both connected to Skubal in recent weeks, now have to decide whether to go hard for Gausman or another rotation arm just to keep pace. Or they can stand pat because they’ll run into the buzz saw that is the Dodgers, anyway. How deflating is that? There’s a psychological cost to all of this that shouldn’t be understated. Every contender in the NL now has to build its deadline plan around the assumption that if it meets the Dodgers in October, it’s facing peak Ohtani (whenever his knee cooperates), Yamamoto and now Skubal in a playoff series. Especially with MLB’s Collective Bargaining Agreement expiring and a lockout looming, it might push rivals to get aggressive before the deadline. Either that, or contenders can face the uncomfortable truth and accept that 2026 was always going to run through Los Angeles anyway.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

LOS ANGELES — Shortly before first pitch Saturday night at Double-A Tulsa, Dodgers outfield prospects Zyhir Hope and Kendall George were scratched from the lineup. Nearly 1,500 miles away, eyes began to dart toward the home dugout at Dodger Stadium, where pitcher Emmet Sheehan stood on the top step. Surely, the Dodgers had to be working on a deal for Tarik Skubal, the prize of the deadline. And, surely, if the Dodgers managed to put together a package strong enough to land the back-to-back Cy Young Award winner, Sheehan, All-Star Justin Wrobleski or one of the Dodgers’ talented regulars had to be the headliner. … Only, there were no hugs goodbye in Los Angeles. Sheehan remained glued to the top step of the dugout throughout Saturday night’s loss to the Red Sox, which turned out to be the Dodgers’ most joyous series defeat of the season. Minutes after the loss, Sheehan still hadn’t heard anything indicating he was gone. Right before the Dodgers’ clubhouse closed, the news broke. Skubal, the back-to-back Cy Young Award winner, would be joining the back-to-back champs. And it wouldn’t cost the Dodgers any of their big-league talent. Hope (but not George) was part of the eventual package of prospects the Dodgers sent to Detroit, along with right-handed pitchers River Ryan and Brady Smith. Here are four takeaways from the Dodgers’ trade for Skubal: 1. … That’s all it took? “That’s all?” one Dodgers player asked after hearing the return for Skubal. He was incredulous, not because he didn’t believe in the prospects going back to Detroit; it’s just … this is Skubal we’re talking about. The guy who had 228 strikeouts two years ago. The guy who had 241 strikeouts last year. The guy who just set a record in salary arbitration. The guy who came back from an elbow procedure in a little over a month, then continued his dominant ways. And the Dodgers got him without needing to send Sheehan or All-Star Justin Wrobleski. Without needing to send top outfield prospects Josue De Paula, Mike Sirota or Eduardo Quintero. Without needing Skubal at all. Where were the other top contenders? The Brewers were swept by the Dodgers in last year’s NLCS and had maybe the only group of prospects that could have challenged the Dodgers’ best offer. The Braves and Cubs both needed an ace far more than the Dodgers. The Rays have a clear path toward winning the American League and a load of prospects who could have enticed the Tigers. None of them could offer more than Hope, Ryan and Smith? It’s a decision those clubs may come to regret, as the favorites to win a third straight World Series title just saw their chances get even better. 2. This Could Be The Best Rotation Ever The Dodgers have the most talented lineup in the game, a group that has amassed the highest OPS in the sport even with many of their top contributors yet to perform to their capabilities. And now, Skubal leads one of the most ridiculous collections of pitching talent ever assembled. That group includes the reigning World Series MVP, Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Dodgers also have another two-time Cy Young Award winner, Blake Snell, nearing his return from injury. They have a former All-Star in Tyler Glasnow about to begin a rehab assignment. They have another current All-Star in the rotation in Justin Wrobleski, plus more talented depth arms in Sheehan and Roki Sasaki. And, of course, they have a four-time MVP in Shohei Ohtani, who isn’t pitching now due to a sore knee but is expected back on the mound before season’s end. For all of these reasons, the Dodgers’ front office claimed it had “no acute need” this deadline. It felt good about the talent in place and the way it meshed together. This was the least desperate president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said that he felt at the deadline. And yet…these are the Dodgers. They shared similar sentiments this winter, too, before turning around and signing the best player (Kyle Tucker) and closer (Edwin Díaz) on the market. “That said,” Friedman told me earlier this week, giving himself an out, “it’s in our nature to explore anything and everything.” They are always lurking, both in free agency and at the deadline. They got Tucker and Dîaz using their financial capital. They got Skubal with their prospect capital. And now, assuming they get healthy, they can bump all of their depth arms into the bullpen in October. Good luck stopping them. 3. What’s Next For The Tigers? Hope and Ryan may soon be big-league ready, but the former is at Double-A, and the latter is on the injured list for the second time this year with a hamstring injury after missing all of last season due to Tommy John recovery. This was a move for 2027 and beyond. So what does that mean for 2026? The Tigers are only 2.5 games out of a wild-card spot, but they also have more rentals who could bring back a meaningful return in Casey Mize and Gleyber Torres. Will Detroit deal them, too? Or see what happens with a rotation that still includes talented arms in Mize, Framber Valdez, Troy Melton, Keider Montero and, soon, Jackson Jobe? It’ll be interesting to see who stays and who goes over the next two days in Detroit. 4. Dodger Disdain Grows Surely, MLB will use this deal as another example of the sport’s imbalance as labor discussions continue and a lockout looms. Yes, the payroll disparity is an issue. And, yes, the Dodgers’ financials give them an obvious advantage. But that’s not what this is about, despite the public outcry to come. It was the Dodgers’ savvy and forethought that set this up. They got Ryan in exchange for Matt Beaty, their 2015 12th-round pick who hasn’t played in the big leagues since 2023. They got Hope for Michael Busch, their first-round pick in 2019, a big-league regular they helped develop. In addition to spending, this is what they do. They trade Gavin Lux for Mike Sirota before the 2025 season and Dustin May for James Tibbs III and Zach Ehrhard at last year’s deadline, acquiring pieces who now make up one of the deepest groups of outfield prospects ever assembled — a group that should make the loss of Hope minimal. The remainder of Skubal’s pro-rated salary should have made him attainable to any contender that wanted him. But there won’t be a Brewers rotation featuring Skubal, Jacob Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison, or a Skubal-Chris Sale duo in Atlanta, or a Skubal-Drew Rasmussen-Shane McClanahan trio in Tampa Bay. And those teams, despite the cries for change that are sure to get even louder, have only themselves — and their restraint — to blame. Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on X at @RowanKavner.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

The Chicago White Sox are buying in their World Series contention window ahead of Monday’s MLB trade deadline. The White Sox, with an AL Central-leading record of 58-52, are acquiring starting right-handed pitcher Luis Castillo in a trade with the Seattle Mariners for reliever Seranthony Dominguez, outfielder Nolan Jones and catching prospect Boston Smith, according to a report from ESPN on Saturday. Castillo has posted a 5.06 ERA in 99 ⅔ innings this season. The struggling Mariners, who are four games below .500 and trail the Houston Astros by three games in the AL West, elected to part ways with one of their longest-tenured players ahead of Monday’s trade deadline. Castillo, 33, is under contract through the 2027 season with a vesting option for 2028. He is 3-9 with 86 strikeouts and a 5.06 ERA across 99 2/3 innings. The Mariners have a surplus of starting pitching options. At one point in the 2026 season, manager Dan Wilson paired Castillo and right-hander Bryce Miller in a “piggyback” to ensure Seattle’s six starting pitchers were all able to regularly appear in games. Without Castillo, the Mariners still have Miller, former first-round pick Emerson Hancock, George Kirby and former All-Stars Logan Gilbert and Bryan Woo. Domínguez, 31, is 4-3 with a 4.10 ERA in 42 games this season. Jones, 28, did not appear in a game for Chicago, instead splitting his time between Triple-A Charlotte and Triple-A Columbus, the top affiliate for the Cleveland Guardians. Smith, 23, is hitting .291 with 22 home runs and 58 RBIs across stints at three minor league levels. The Washington Nationals selected Smith in the sixth round of the 2025 MLB draft, and traded him to Chicago in March for utility man Curtis Mead.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Carlos Correa’s recovery from surgery to repair a torn ankle tendon is progressing quicker than expected and on Saturday the Houston Astros’ star infielder didn’t rule out a return this season. Correa was expected to miss the entire season after undergoing on his left ankle on May 11. But he is already doing everything except hitting, sparking hope that he could be back on the field sooner than expected. “We’ll see,” he said when asked if he could play again this year. “I wouldn’t be doing all this work if I didn’t think there was a chance.” After Correa was injured while taking swings in the batting cage, a timeline of six to eight months was given for his recovery. Manager Joe Espada said Saturday that Correa is ahead of schedule but knows that he still has a long way to go before he can return to the lineup. “I’m just happy that he’s out here moving around and he actually looks really good,” Espada said. The 31-year-old Correa said he’s running at 80-90% and that he has a doctor’s appointment scheduled for Tuesday where he hopes to be cleared for hitting. “I’m in a really good spot, a really good spot,” he said. “I don’t feel it. I’ve been progressing to running and sprinting and everything feels great.” Houston has won nine of 10 games to vault into first place in the AL West and that has given Correa some extra juice as he eyes a return. “The way we’ve been playing lately definitely motivates me even more to go out there, put in the work to try to make it back,” he said. Correa isn’t surprised that he’s doing so well because of the plan he put together as soon as he was injured. “I got on this protocol and I started looking for all the information I could into how to speed up the process and the things that I needed to eat and how I needed to sleep, the type of treatment I needed” he said. “And we’ve been doing a great job with that, so we’re in a good spot.” Correa, who is back with the Astros after last summer’s blockbuster trade from the Twins, played third base for Houston last season with Jeremy Pena at shortstop. Before his injury this season he returned to shortstop while Peña was out with a hamstring injury. Correa has salaries of $31.5 million this season, $30.5 million in 2027 and $30 million in 2028. As part of the trade, the Twins will pay the Astros $10 million each Dec. 15 from this year through 2028. Correa was hitting .279 with three home runs and 16 RBIs this season. The No. 1 pick in the 2012 amateur draft, Correa spent his first seven seasons with the Astros before signing with the Twins where he spent 3 1/2 seasons before last summer’s trade. Reporting by The Associated Press.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports