Joshua Baez had a day for the ages in the Cardinals’ Saturday showdown against the Cubs. 

In his MLB debut, Baez launched three home runs in his first three at-bats, the first player to ever do so. And one bettor came along for the ride — or at least most of it — to turn a $10 bill into a nice little four-figure win. 

It was nowhere near the biggest haul of the past week, but it was arguably the most interesting.

More on that winning ticket, along with a seven-figure soccer payday and two six-figure UFC bangers, as we recap the week that was in sports betting.

This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.

Home Run Derby

On Saturday in Chicago, there were modest expectations of Baez hitting just one home run. At multiple sportsbooks, the rookie outfielder was in the +500 range to go yard against the Cubs.

Baez took care of that in short order with a 449-foot, two-run bomb in the first inning, putting St. Louis up 3-0.

Still, oddsmakers didn’t think that was the precursor to a historic day. After the first homer, Fanatics Sportsbook posted a live in-game market on Baez hitting three or more homers.

The odds were a hefty +15000 (150/1). And one customer with a $10 bill burning a hole in his pocket decided to get on board.

Then Baez went deep and belted a solo shot in the fourth inning, giving the Cards a 4-3 lead. The youngster followed with another two-run blast in the sixth inning, as St. Louis took a 6-3 lead on the way to an 8-4 victory.

So that modest 10 bucks turned into $1,510, in about 90 minutes. That’s the kind of ROI we can all appreciate.

Soccer Show-Stopper

With the English Premier League’s 2026-27 season starting at the end of this week, the annual Community Shield contest provided a high-profile matchup to get people in the mood: Arsenal vs. Manchester City.

The match pits the previous season’s Premier League champions against the previous winner of the FA Cup, England’s massive national tournament. Arsenal took the EPL title last season, while Manchester City won the FA Cup.

At Polymarket, a whale of a customer put $1,873,916.76 on three or more goals scored in Sunday’s match. It was essentially a coin flip, priced at 54%, which equates to odds of -117.

The trader got no help from Man City, but Arsenal delivered all that was necessary in a 3-0 victory. So the customer profited $1,592,448.24 (total payout $3,466,365).

Similarly, the Super Cup was held on Wednesday, with reigning Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain facing Europa League winner Aston Villa.

A Polymarket customer put $319,501.82 on PSG to win the match, which it did 2-1. At a price of 58% (-138), the trader cleared $234,900.18 profit (total payout $554,402).

Big Money On Makhachev

Saturday night’s UFC 330 card in Philadelphia also drew big action on prediction markets. Specifically on welterweight champion Islam Makhachev in the main event vs. Ian Machado Garry.

There were two massive plays on the heavy favorite at Polymarket:

The match went all five rounds, but Makhachev earned a unanimous decision to retain his title. And both customers cashed in.

The bigger trade netted $86,801.41, while the smaller trade profited $62,275.01.

On the flip side, at Kalshi, a trader put $43,100 on Garry to pull the upset. That’s a five-figure loser.

The Anti-Scottie Bet

Only one golfer can win a PGA Tour event. So it’s not necessarily a bad idea to go against World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler winning on any given weekend.

Just not this past weekend.

At Prophet X, a customer put $108,000 on Scheffler to not win the FedEx St. Jude Championship. No was a heavy favorite at -540, in part due to the fact that Scheffler hasn’t won since January.

Scheffler then went out and shot four rounds in the 60s, including a sizzling 9-under 61 in Friday’s second round. He finished with a 66 Sunday for a 17-under 263 total, eight shots clear of second-place Si Woo Kim.

That’s six figures lit on fire. Which is a reminder that these high-roller/high-net-worth bettors and traders can afford to absorb such losses.

You and me, not so much. 

So keep your wagers and your expectations reasonable, especially as football season approaches. Never bet more than you can afford to lose.

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Tommy John, who won 288 games during a 26-year big league career and became the first pitcher to successfully return following groundbreaking elbow surgery that later was named after him, has died. He was 83.

He died at his home in Bradenton, Florida, on Saturday night, agent Mike Maguire said Sunday. He had been in hospice care.

On Aug. 8, the New York Yankees released a social media post in which John wrote that he wanted to say goodbye to everyone, including friends and fans who followed him throughout his career, saying, “I will never forget you.”

The Yankees called John “a bedrock of our rotation during his time in pinstripes and a longtime favorite of Yankees fans.”

John was a four-time All-Star with a record of 288-231 and a 3.34 ERA during a career that stretched from 1963 to 1989. He pitched for Cleveland, the Chicago White Sox, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Yankees, the California Angels and the Oakland Athletics.

“Tommy was an exceptional pitcher throughout his career in Major League Baseball, and his courageous role in becoming the first to have surgery that would go on to bear his name can’t be overstated,” Stan Kasten, Dodgers president and CEO, said in a statement. “His impact both on and off the field has been felt by ballplayers of all ages and will be for generations to come.”

The left-hander was 31 years old when he tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow in 1974, a death knell for pitchers’ careers to that point.

John allowed Dr. Frank Jobe, the Dodgers’ team physician, to replace the ligament with a tendon from his right forearm. Jobe gave the surgery 100-to-1 odds of being successful.

John Was A Great Pitcher, But His Elbow Surgery Made Him A Baseball Legend

The procedure had been done on others before, although it was usually performed on wrists and hands. John was the first pitcher to have it done on his elbow.

More than 2,600 big leaguers and thousands more amateurs have since had UCL reconstructions, better known as Tommy John surgery. It’s been a godsend for many of baseball’s greatest stars, including two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani, three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander and even Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper.

“If you put it in dollars and cents, I think there’s no question that Tommy John is the most valuable reconstructive procedure there is,” Dodgers team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache told The Associated Press in 2024.

Born Thomas Edward John Jr. on May 22, 1943, in Terre Haute, Indiana, he was a top baseball and basketball player at the city’s Gerstmeyer High. He graduated in 1961 as valedictorian but did not give the commencement speech because of a stutter. Despite being recruited by the University of Kentucky to play basketball, John chose baseball and signed with Cleveland.

“The day I left for my first job as a pitcher, my father looked at me & said, ‘Good luck, Tommy. Just remember one thing: whether you make it big in the big leagues or you don’t, you’ll always just be Tommy John from Terre Haute, Indiana.’ I’ve never forgotten those words,” John wrote in his Aug. 8 post.

John recorded 2,245 strikeouts but never led either league in wins or strikeouts. He had the second-most wins of any pitcher since 1900 not to be elected to the Hall of Fame. From 1995 through 2009, John was on the Hall of Fame ballot, but he never received more than 31.7% of the votes, falling well short of the 75% required for election.

“Tommy was a wonderful person who competed to the utmost and did what no player had ever done to save his career, in conjunction with the esteemed Dr. Frank Jobe,” former Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti posted on X. “The HOF is missing Tommy John.”

John Won More Games After His Eponymous Surgery

Known for his longevity, John was the opening day starter for both the 1966 Chicago White Sox and the 1989 New York Yankees. He won 124 games before his UCL repair and 164 after. His final appearance came days after his 46th birthday.

“While his incredible longevity and post-surgery achievements changed the fortunes and trajectory of countless athletes around the world, it also overshadowed his excellence as a pitcher,” the Yankees said in a statement. “We pause to remember the totality of his legacy — his competitiveness and skill, his penchant for conversation, his kind and gracious nature, and his stature as an athletic and medical pioneer.”

John made his major league debut on Sept. 6, 1963, pitching one inning in relief for Cleveland.

He was traded to the White Sox in 1965 and worked his way into the starting rotation. The following year, he tied for the American League lead with five shutouts and in 1967, his six shutouts led the AL.

In 1971, he was traded to the Dodgers.

In 1974, John had a 13-3 record and led the National League in victories going into the All-Star break. He was pitching against the Montreal Expos when he permanently damaged the UCL in his left arm. After a month, the injury had not improved.

During the four-hour surgery on Sept. 25, 1974, Jobe made holes in the humerus and ulna bones of John’s left arm and used anchors to insert the tendon in a figure-eight pattern.

At first, John’s left hand was shriveled and he lacked feeling in several of his fingers because of damage to the ulnar nerve. Jobe performed a second procedure to reroute the nerve that was necessary to John’s full recovery.

John’s arm was in a cast for four months. He had recovered the full range of motion in his left arm by spring training of 1975 and spent that season resting, healing and rebuilding strength in his arm. John worked with fellow Dodgers pitcher Mike Marshall, who had a doctorate in kinesiology, on learning a different grip.

That September he made five appearances during an offseason instructional league, working his way up to seven innings by his final game.

John resumed pitching for the Dodgers in 1976 as the fourth starter in their rotation. He allowed three runs in five innings and took the loss in his first start against Atlanta, the first time any pitcher had started a game following UCL reconstructive surgery.

John donated the original cast from his surgery to the Smithsonian Institution in June 2022. His teammates on the 1974 Dodgers signed it, as well as Jobe and the team’s Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully.

The procedure has become so widely known that in 2019, Merriam-Webster added the term to its dictionary.

John made 31 starts for the Dodgers in 1976, posting a 10-10 record, a 3.09 ERA, 91 strikeouts, 61 walks and 207 hits allowed in 207 innings.

In 1977, he won 20 games for the first time in his career, finishing with a 20-7 record. He finished second behind Philadelphia’s Steve Carlton in voting for the NL Cy Young Award.

John And His Family Had Mixed Feelings About The Legacy Of His Operation

Over 50 years later, Tommy John surgery is as much a part of baseball as peanuts and hot dogs. Advanced training methods are helping pitchers of all ages throw harder than ever. They take comfort knowing a torn UCL won’t necessarily end their careers.

“I am sick my name is attached to a surgery happening in kids more than pros,” John tweeted in July 2018.

John’s oldest son, Tommy III, became a chiropractor who wrote a book suggesting ways to prevent young athletes from having to undergo major sports-related surgery similar to what his father endured.

After his pitching career ended, John worked as a broadcaster for the Minnesota Twins and Yankees in the 1990s. He managed the Bridgeport (Connecticut) Bluefish from 2007-09.

John was hospitalized in December 2020 because of COVID-19 and later had Guillain-Barré syndrome, in which a person’s immune system attacks their nerves. John told the New York Post in May 2022 that he was paralyzed in his lower extremities for several months.

John and his wife Sally Simmons had four children: Tamara, Tommy III, Travis and Taylor, who died of a prescription drug overdose at 28 in 2010. The couple divorced in 2013.

Besides his children, he is survived by his second wife, Cheryl, and son-in-law Patrick Mannelly, a retired NFL long snapper who played 16 years for the Chicago Bears.

Reporting by the Associated Press.

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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.”

Mike McCarthy won 12 games in three consecutive seasons with the Cowboys. But he hasn’t led a team to a conference title game since the 2016 season — with the Packers and Aaron Rodgers. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

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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.

A Few Other Observations

• McCarthy may be known as an offensive-minded coach, but if you’re waiting for him to unveil the scheme that was so successful in Green Bay and Dallas, don’t. The offense being run by him and offensive coordinator Brian Angelichio in Pittsburgh may be more like what last year’s Steelers ran. “It’s not like just (Rodgers) and I got back together and dusted off the old playbook,” McCarthy told me. “There’s a lot of language that’s changed. And we kept some of the things that were here last year just to try and keep the guys in sync.” Obviously, McCarthy will put his stamp on it and incorporate some of his old plays. But in taking over a 10-win team with a 42-year-old quarterback, continuity was more important to him.
• When you’ve got an aging quarterback, you’ve got to find ways to support him, and a strong running game could really help. The Steelers didn’t have one last year (103.3 yards per game, 26th in the league). But McCarthy thinks the signing of RB Rico Dowdle could change that. Remember, McCarthy helped turn him into a 1,000-yard back in Dallas two years ago (1,079 yards, 2 TDs), and he continued to prove he’s capable in Carolina last season (1,076-6). Dowdle should end up as the workhorse in the Steelers’ backfield. And if he plays well, he and Jaylen Warren (958 yards last season) could be a potent tandem.
• Once the Steelers invested these two years in Rodgers, it seemed obvious they needed to start searching for their quarterback of the future. And maybe now they’ve found him in former Penn State QB Drew Allar, their third-round pick. He was a dazzling 10 of 13 for 153 yards and three touchdowns in his preseason debut against the Packers this past Thursday. And while preseason performances can be deceiving, McCarthy thinks it showed how good Allar really is. He told me, “I don’t know what you’re looking at if you don’t see a first-round talent in Drew.”

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.

T.J. Watt is a future Hall of Famer. But he’s also coming off the quietest season of his career. (Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images)

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Quote Of The Day

“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 

Long-term view

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.

My Next Stop: Browns Camp

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.

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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.”

Marcus Ericsson snapped a 63-race winless streak by taking the checkered flag on the streets of Markham.

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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.”

Will Power came through with a third-place finish on Sunday.

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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.”

The new circuit at Markham drew mixed reviews from drivers.

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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.

WHAT YOU SHOULD READ NEXT

From Ontario to Washington, D.C., INDYCAR has back-to-back brand-new street tracks. So how do drivers prepare?

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Barcelona has completed the transfer of midfielder Rodri from Manchester City on a multi-year contract for a reported $87.8 million fee. 

City will reportedly receive an initial $68.8 million fee, with achievable add-ons expected to bring the total package to at least $82 million for the midfielder entering the final year of his contract. Fresh off winning the Golden Ball and leading La Roja to a second World Cup trophy this summer, he is departing the Premier League.

The move brings an end to the 2024 Balon d’or winner’s time in England, where he established himself as a central figure in Manchester City’s midfield.

At Barcelona, Rodri will reunite with seven of his World Cup-winning Spain teammates. Those names include Joan Garcia, Eric Garcia, Pau Cubarsi, Gavi, Dani Olmo, Pedri, and Lamine Yamal.

This transfer marks a return to Spanish football for Rodri, who previously played for Atlético Madrid and Villarreal before moving to the Premier League in 2019. 

Rodri is expected to arrive in Barcelona soon and could be presented before Wednesday’s Joan Gamper Trophy match against Al Ahly at Camp Nou. He joins a busy summer window for Barcelona, arriving alongside Anthony Gordon, Karim Adeyemi, Jesse Bisiwu, and João Cancelo. 
 

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Aaron Donald took another step toward a potential NFL return on Sunday. 

The legendary defensive tackle appeared on the league transaction wire after completing his second workout with the Los Angeles Rams this summer.

Donald retired in March 2024 following a 10-year career with the Rams. Donald worked out with the Rams earlier this month after Los Angeles acquired Myles Garrett in a trade in June.

Rams head coach Sean McVay addressed Donald’s status following Saturday’s preseason win against the Kansas City Chiefs, stating that he will not impose a strict timeline on Donald’s decision.

“He’s put himself in a position to be able to say yes or no,” McVay told reporters. “I think he’s earned that right to have clarity on that. We’re not at that point quite yet.”

Aaron Donald capped his iconic Super Bowl LVI performance with two sacks and the game-sealing pressure to deliver the Rams a championship. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)

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Although NFL teams must trim their rosters to 53 players on Aug. 30, McVay reiterated that he will not force a deadline on the veteran defender.

“We have some loose things where we’ve identified dates that we’d like to be able to hit,” McVay said. “But what I don’t want to have is any sort of unnecessary pressure on him if there’s some unforeseen circumstances.”

McVay noted that internal discussions remain ongoing as Donald evaluates his physical readiness for the upcoming season.

“We’ve had some tentative discussions behind the scenes,” McVay said. “There’s a lot of stuff, without getting too granular with it. … He knows himself in terms of, ‘Am I able to stack back-to-back days? Am I able to do some of the benchmarks’ that he’s set out for himself.”

McVay added that he does not want to place an “invisible deadline” on Donald and remains satisfied with the roster regardless of the outcome.

“I feel great about our football team as it currently stands, and I know he’ll add value if he decides to come,” McVay said.

NFL Related Stories

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Jamal Adams’ attempt to resurrect his career with the Minnesota Vikings hit a major setback.

Adams suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Vikings’ preseason game against the New York Giants on Saturday, first reported by NFL Network. He was in prime position to make the Vikings’ 53-man roster after working in training camp as a hybrid safety and linebacker.

At 30 years old, Adams has bounced around the league. After being selected No. 6 overall in the 2017 NFL Draft by the New York Jets, he was sent to the Seattle Seahawks in a 2020 blockbuster trade.

Adams has also spent time with the Detroit Lions, Tennessee Titans and Las Vegas Raiders before signing with the Vikings this offseason. 

Through nine seasons in the league, Adams has recorded 546 tackles, 22.5 sacks, eight forced fumbles, four interceptions, and 36 pass deflections. Moving to linebacker late in his career, he is looking for a fresh start at a new position.

With Adams now out for the season, attention shifts to free-agent safety Harrison Smith. The longtime Vikings star hasn’t officially retired, with some speculating that a reunion between the two sides would make sense following Adams’ injury. 

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We might not see Jeremiyah Love take the field again until the regular season arrives.

The Arizona Cardinals’ rookie running back is dealing with a high ankle sprain that is expected to keep him sidelined for the remainder of the preseason, according to ESPN. The team remains hopeful that Love can recover in time for the regular-season opener on Sept. 13 against the Los Angeles Chargers. 

Love sustained the ankle injury during the team’s preseason matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders. He rushed 11 times for 58 yards, splitting work in the backfield with Tyler Allgier. Love made some standout plays while contributing to three Cardinals scoring drives against the Raiders after sitting out the Hall of Fame Game the week prior.

Love was selected third overall in the 2026 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame, and while the Cardinals do not have the highest expectations into Year 1 under Mike LaFleur, he is expected to be one of the bright spots on the roster in 2026 and beyond.

Following Friday’s game, LaFleur noted that Love experienced more ankle soreness than expected. Arizona plans to hold the rookie out for approximately a week to allow the injury to heal, with a re-evaluation scheduled next week to determine his availability for the remainder of the preseason.

NFL Related Stories

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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. 

Jacob deGrom won multiple Cy Youngs with the Mets. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

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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.

Tarik Skubal won the Cy Young two years in a row. (Photo by Izzy Rincon/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

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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.

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Von Miller is returning to Texas to play for his hometown team.

The two-time Super Bowl champion is expected to sign with the Dallas Cowboys, adding an experienced pass rusher to their defense, according to ESPN.

Miller unofficially confirmed the move on social media, sharing a graphic of himself in a Cowboys uniform on his official X account.

Miller, an eight-time Pro Bowler who grew up in DeSoto, Texas, comes to the Cowboys after spending last season with the Washington Commanders. During his year in Washington, the edge rusher recorded nine sacks while playing in seventeen regular-season games.

The move keeps Miller in the NFC East while adding historic production to the roster.

In 203 career regular-season games, he has accumulated 138.5 sacks, 27 forced fumbles and 9 fumble recoveries. Miller was also the Super Bowl 50 MVP and a three-time first-team All-Pro. He is the active NFL leader in career sacks with 138.5.

Miller joins a Cowboys team that has sky-high expectations entering this season, as is always the case in Dallas. With a revamped defense and Dak Prescott, who led the league in passing yards last season with 4,552 yards, under center, the Cowboys have a 9.5-win total, but are favored in 11 games.

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