SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - JULY 27: Bryson Eason #67 of the San Francisco 49ers works out during training camp practice at SAP Performance Facility on July 27, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The San Francisco 49ers will take on the Las Vegas Raiders in their preseason finale. We won’t see many, if any, of the starters. The opposite is true for the last two draft classes. However, it does not sound like we’ll see De’Zhaun Stribling. That’s a good thing, and a sign the coaching staff has seen enough from their first pick in the NFL Draft.
If you are a wide receiver fighting for a spot tonight, you may have wished you had cemented a job ahead of tonight. Mac Jones is in uniform, but we’re likely looking at a heavy dose of Adrian Martinez, who has been inaccurate in a pair of preseason games. Hopefully, for the sake of the pass catchers, that changes tonight.
I’m interested to see Kaelon Black and Jordan James, and how much run they get. We have yet to see James. They’ll be running behind a backup offensive line, so it could be a play-it-by-ear situation if we see them at all.
There are realistically a few jobs available tonight. Most of those are either for depth or special teams. A few splashes from the defensive tackle trio of James Thompson Jr., Sebastian Valdez, and Bryson Eason could seal the deal for a roster spot.
Buffalo Bills running back Ray Davis is among those battling for the team's punt returner role. His efforts to earn the job may have been undone by an all-time announcer's jinx from Andrew Catalon.
Catalon was setting the stage for Davis' first punt return after Buffalo's defense forced the Pittsburgh Steelers into a three-and-out on their opening drive.
"Joe Brady wanted to see Ray Davis return punts at night," Catalon started. "He's done it during the day."
However, as Catalon finished his thought, Davis let the punt slip through his hands as he tried to catch it. The ball glanced off his chest and to the ground, where it took a massive bounce into the waiting arms of Brandin Echols.
"And that's why he had him back there," Catalon said, referencing Brady's decision to give Davis some reps as a punt returner.
Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) high-fives teammates in the dugout on Aug. 16. (Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Lefty Tarik Skubal hasn’t had time to fully reflect on his time in Detroit. When he learned at the beginning of the month that he was being traded to the Dodgers, he had one night of emotional goodbyes, before shifting his focus the next morning to preparing to face the Cubs in a few days.
Friday won’t be the right time either. He’s scheduled to take the mound against the Tigers, the only organization he’d played for up until three and a half weeks ago, in the series opener.
“I play baseball, and I don’t really want to let any noise or anything outside change or take away from my ability to go play baseball and put our team in a position to win,” he said in a recent conversation with The Times. “So that’s where my focus is always at. It doesn’t matter if it’s opening day of the season, it doesn’t matter if it’s spring training, it doesn’t matter if it’s the dog days of July, it doesn’t matter if it’s the postseason. For me, the game is always the same game, and that’s something that I take a ton of pride in.”
Even in his short time with the Dodgers, Skubal has thrown himself into the task at hand, from the way he’s pitched, to his commitment to connecting with his new teammates, to how he’s handled questions about his impending free agency.
Oddly enough, after the World Series favorites traded for the best pitcher available, they lost the next six games as part of a seven-game losing streak.
“Everyone around here was like, ‘Hey, we win games here,’” Skubal said. “And I go, ‘I don’t know, maybe it’s me.’”
Eventually, the Dodgers did win a game with Skubal on the roster. They even swept two series straight — before running into the Braves this week. And as Skubal has settled in, he’s enjoyed the sheer abundance of baseball conversations going on around him all the time, whether it be a pitcher chatting with the pitching coaches about sequencing, or hitters breaking down how an opposing pitcher attacked him.
“No one’s ego is too big to ask a question and try to learn from anybody,” Skubal said. “So I think that’s what makes this team so good. I think that’s why they tick, and I think that’s why they’re so good, especially in September, is they’re just not afraid to fail. They’re going to try and learn as much from each other as possible. I just love being a part of that.”
Likewise, his new teammates have loved him embracing them right away.
“You can’t tell whether he’s pitching or not because his personality never changes,” Kiké Hernández said. “And I appreciate how talkative he is, like even during his starts, like in the middle of the game, which is kind of refreshing.”
“At the end of my career, if the one thing [all my ex-teammates] say about me is, ‘Yeah, he was talented on the field, but he was an even better teammate,’ that’s what I want to be remembered as,” Skubal said.
Skubal is only under club control for the rest of the season, but he’s consistently said he doesn’t want to address free agency.
“I really am probably not going to get to that until this season’s done,” he said. “Until, hopefully, I’m holding up a trophy and I’m celebrating with these guys for two weeks, and I’m going to [have a headache] for a month after.”
A video clip from Skubal’s appearance on the podcast “Pardon My Take” caused a stir on social media, when he said, “I would love to play my whole career in Detroit” and expresses hope that the Tigers are involved in negotiations in November. But Skubal points out the missing context in that clip.
His response was to a question that described the Tigers trading him as an “unfortunate part of where baseball is.” He understood the premise as: smaller markets can’t retain their stars.
Pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) hugs Jack Flaherty in the dugout after getting pulled from his last start with the Tigers on July 29. (Paul Sancya / Associated Press)
“Which I don’t agree with,” said Skubal, who has thought a lot about the larger picture as a member of the MLB Players Assn. Executive Subcommittee. “You can retain whoever. Now, the longer you wait, the harder it is to get guys to give away the years to hit free agency. I think that’s just the business of baseball, and that’s not any different than any other sport.”
He backed his point with counterexamples on each side: the Royals signing homegrown star Bobby Witt Jr. to an 11-year extension worth $288.8 million guaranteed, and the Yankees’ Aaron Judge still hitting free agency in 2022 (before ultimately re-signing).
“There’s narratives around the sport that I don’t agree with, and that’s one of them,” Skubal said.
Skubal also doesn’t buy into the fascination with the 100-pitch threshold.
He threw 109 and 106 pitches in each of his last two starts. Skubal had only surpassed 105 pitches twice before in his career, including the postseason.
“I don’t really understand the difference between 98 and 107,” he said. “I always adjust my workload in between, based on what I’m doing on the field anyways. My routine I trust a lot in terms of that, too, and how I go about my business to make sure that I feel good every fifth day.”
Clearly, even though he’s coming off a May surgery to remove a bone chip from his left elbow, and will have free agency to worry about in a couple months, Skubal isn’t being precious about his workload.
“All my games that I’ve been pitching in have been pretty competitive,” Skubal said, “and I want to be on the mound in all those games and try to win as many games as I can for L.A.”
As he and manager Dave Roberts get more time together, Roberts will get an even better sense of how to read the southpaw’s body language — something Skubal said they’ve already had “unique conversations” about — to help him decide when to take him out of games and when to push him.
They seem to be off to a solid start. As Skubal entered the dugout after the first inning of his last start, having given up three runs to the Pirates (“bad luck, but also some bad execution,” Skubal said), Roberts said: “That’s all they get today.”
That’s exactly how the game played out.
“He could have said that, and I could have given him five runs,” Skubal said. “But he said that, and mentally, I’m like, he’s got my back. He knows, keep us in the game, and we’re going to win.”
Though Skubal excels at focusing on the present, he also seems to sense how much weight his words carry. Wanting to avoid out-of-context reading between the lines as he praised the Dodgers, Skubal made sure to note that he wasn’t comparing his new situation with his old one.
He’s made clear over and over how special his time in Detroit was to him.
Skubal’s resolve hasn’t been tested in exactly the way it will be on Friday. But he’s performed on that same mound under unique circumstances.
When Skubal took the mound in his last start for the Tigers on July 29, he knew it could be a turning point for him and the club. The Tigers lost in extra innings, but he made a quality start and recorded his 1,000th career strikeout before leaving the game to a standing ovation at Comerica Park.
“You really appreciate that stuff,” Skubal said. “And I went down the tunnel and had some conversations with coaches that were pretty emotional too.
“You appreciate everything because without fans, this game is nothing. If no one showed up, we wouldn’t be able to play baseball for a living.”
He’s sure to have quite the reception on Friday, too. And even though Skubal excels at compartmentalizing, Roberts had one request for the Tigers.
“I hope they do the festivities the night after we win on Friday,” Roberts said, “so the emotion doesn’t get to him and he can just kind of enjoy the welcome back.”
The Kansas City Royals’ nine-game winning streak came to an end with a 3-0 loss to Toronto, but Jacob Milham and Jeremy Greco frame it as a strong stretch rather than any kind of collapse. Bobby Witt Jr. stays in the AL MVP conversation, though the offensive edge right now still points toward Yordan Alvarez. Jac Caglianone’s struggles since returning from injury spark a broader conversation about rhythm and confidence, and how much weight a rough game or two should actually carry.
The roster continues to churn. Michael Massey has gone on the seven-day concussion list after a scary-looking play, and Mason Black has been optioned to Triple-A Omaha. Josh Rojas is back for his third stint with Kansas City, and Anthony Gose has been selected after a strong stretch in Omaha and a long MLB career as both an outfielder and a pitcher. Beck Way’s returned rehab assignment reignites a heated critique of how the organization has handled player health this year, and Nick Mears’ thoracic outlet syndrome diagnosis becomes another example of injuries taking far too long to sort out. The conversation turns pointed when Craig Kimbrel and the broader old-versus-young roster philosophy come up, with Jacob and Jeremy questioning whether Kansas City is leaning too hard on veterans who have no real bearing on the team’s future.
The back half of the episode is dedicated to MLB’s newly floated CBA proposal, and it is a thorough breakdown. A proposed $265 million cap on free-agent contracts, changes to Rule 5 draft eligibility, and earlier arbitration and free agency timing are all covered in detail. Jacob and Jeremy are particularly critical of the calendar-based offseason plan, arguing that manufactured transaction windows and a winter meetings quiet period would depress salaries and make the sport less interesting rather than more efficient. The very real possibility of a lockout when the current CBA expires in December 2026 closes out the discussion, along with a personal note on how a work stoppage would affect the people who depend on baseball’s offseason calendar to network and find jobs in the industry.
When it comes to the NFL's potential discipline of 49ers owner Jed York for his no-contest plea resulting from an attempt to pay for sex at an Ohio trailer park, the widespread public humiliation (which has crossed the Atlantic Ocean due to his partial ownership of two English soccer clubs) could be punishment enough.
Moving forward, the embarrassment could prompt York to impose a suspension on himself.
"Self-suspend" is the term an unnamed insider used to describe the potential outcome to Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal at this week's special ownership meeting to approve the sale of the Seahawks — from which York was absent.
"The shame elementwas an overriding theme in the hushed hallway conversations around the Atlanta Airport Marriott, with person after person noting that the formal sanctions are likely to be an afterthought compared to the long-term reputational damage, externally and internally," Fischer writes.
Many will nevertheless be paying attention to the NFL's handling of York. As Fischer explains, the outcome probably will be a suspension and a fine.
Of course, an owner's suspension never carries the same weight as a player's suspension. When a player is suspended, he loses all income for the duration of the banishment. When an owner is suspended, the owner still gets all of the revenue his team earns during the owner's absence.
The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Roki Sasaki on the 15-day injured list on Thursday, Aug. 27.
Sasaki had a blister on his right middle finger, according to the team. The blister led to him leaving a game against the Atlanta Braves in the fourth inning on Wednesday night.
Sasaki allowed four runs in 3.1 innings before he had a visit on the mound from the team's athletic trainer and left the game.
The right-handed pitcher has a 5-5 record this season, allowing 63 runs (61 earned runs) and 22 home runs in 119.1 innings pitched.
In a corresponding move, the Dodgers recalled Seth Halvorsen to replace Sasaki.
Halvorsen, 26, has produced a 4-4 record with a 4.25 ERA during his three-year career. He made his debut with the Dodgers on Aug. 11, throwing a scoreless inning against the Kansas City Royals before recording the win.
HOUSTON, TX - JANUARY 04: Mekhi Blackmon #29 of the Indianapolis Colts lines up before the snap during an NFL football game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on January 4, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cleveland Browns have spent the summer on a tiresome and mostly pointless quarterback battle that was finally settled, at least temporarily, when head coach Todd Monken announced that Deshaun Watson would be the starter when the team opens the regular season against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
With so much of the focus on the quarterback position, the situation at cornerback has flown a bit under the radar.
Cleveland is set with starters Denzel Ward and Tyson Campbell, and Myles Harden seems locked in at one of the backup roles.
But after that, things have gotten a bit murky thanks to an injury to Michael Coats Jr., who left practice this week on the medical cart with a leg injury, leaving D’Angelo Ross, Tre Avery and a cast of characters filling out the position group.
General manager Andrew Berry made a move to address the situation on Thursday, however, as the club claimed veteran cornerback Mekhi Blackmon off waivers from the Indianapolis Colts.
We've claimed CB Mekhi Blackmon via waivers and waived WR Cedric Tillman
The Minnesota Vikings originally drafted the 5-foot-11 and 178-pound Blackmon in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He spent two seasons with the Vikings before moving on to the Colts, and has played in 32 games with 14 starts. His stat line shows him with 105 career tackles, three interceptions, 15 passes defensed, and a sack.
With cutdowns to the initial 53-man roster coming by Sunday a 6 p.m., it will be interesting to see if Blackmon has enough time to make an impression on the coaching staff and earn a roster spot.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 26: Tommy Edman #25 reacts with Freddie Freeman #5 of the Los Angeles Dodgers after a two run home run during the third inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on August 26, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Dodgers install a righty-heavy lineup to face Chris Sale, trying to avoid getting swept by the Braves.
McInnes worked wonders with Hearts before returning to Rangers, where he had a playing spell [Getty Images]
Where do you start? How do you catalogue the insipidness of Derek McInnes' Rangers team in Jablonec?
How do you catalogue the Pedro-Caixinha-in-the-bushes level embarrassment that the club experienced in their exit from European football on Thursday?
In Jablonec, Rangers were unspeakably awful, devoid of any cohesion, desire, threat, their manager reduced to saying how embarrassed and mortified he was multiple times post-match.
They had one shot on target the whole night, one goal scored in 210 minutes. Rangers fans in the stadium gave it to them with both barrels at the end.
McInnes apologised. The whole scene was cringe-making. He tried to explain what he was trying to do with his multiple switches of formation and attempted to explain why his side were "miles off it".
Talk is cheap in his position. There's a limited shelf life for that kind of thing at Ibrox.
The chat from some Rangers folk in the preamble was that the Conference League meant little to them, that an exit wouldn't spark an uprising, that no midweek European football could give them a chance to hurl themselves at the Premiership instead. Fine in theory, but not in reality.
The notion that a defeat would be met with a collective shrug by Rangers fans was never a serious proposition. This defeat sparked untrammelled fury.
McInnes would be as well staying away from social media. Winning in the bear pit of Pittodrie on Sunday is strongly advised.
Rangers were so flat in the Czech Republic, meandering about like confused men, showing weakness in the tackle and not a scintilla of wit. McInnes changed the shape of his four or five times and the poverty of their play didn't improve one iota.
"I look at us now and I'm thinking, well, we're no' great as a possession-based team at the minute," said McInnes in explaining his constant switches.
"We're not a counter-attacking team enough, or effectively enough, at times. We don't look like a team who are happy when we go direct. And teams need to be something."
Quite. And what are Rangers? What's their identity? What are they good at? In what areas are they improving?
McInnes was appointed in June, had a full pre-season, had six games and then a week off to prepare for the trip to Jablonec, only for Rangers to produce their worst effort of this, and many other, seasons.
During the dog days of his reign at Rangers, Russell Martin was once asked if he could name one or two things that were better on his watch - and he couldn't do it.
If McInnes was asked the same question now then there's no guarantee that he would come up with an answer, or at least, an answer that rang true.
Nobody really knows what his Rangers are, least of all McInnes, you suspect. He made three substitutions at the break on Thursday, a trio that brought his total of half-time replacements to 11 in seven games.
That betrays a manager who has either got his team wrong in the first place, hasn't been able to impart his message to his starters or doesn't have a dressing room capable of taking in what he's saying to them. Whatever the truth of it, it's not good.
He knows what he wants because he watched it on television the night before. Hearts had four new players in their starting line-up against Rapid Vienna and used another two off the bench.
Wouter Vrancken, in quick time, moulded them together and made something terrific out of them in winning their own Conference League tie in Austria.
McInnes praised his old club for the resilience of their players and the stomach they showed for the fight. The inference being that his own boys had little or none of that. Again you ask, why not?
Vast periods of this play-off went by without Rangers stringing more than four and five passes together. They pressed in ones and two or not at all.
They came across as a team that had just met, a collection of guys rounded up in a pub and coached by a character who had no idea what to do with them.
Where was Raskin? And why not sign experience?
Ibrox is a confused place right now. McInnes said his team looked young and inexperienced against Jablonec. This was on the back of announcing the signing of a 20-year-old winger and - if things go to plan - a 22-year-old striker.
If they need gnarled operators then why not sign some?
There was no Nico Raskin, the midfielder left at home, not because there'd been a bid for him, said McInnes, but because there might be.
If there were was a decent offer and the possibility of higher ones, his absence would have been understandable. If there was no bid then why was there no Raskin?
He was missed, said McInnes. A player who performed well at the World Cup and he's left at home? Odd.
McInnes said that his coaching staff are "elite in everything we do" in preparing the players for games like this. That's a massive claim after losing the way they did.
The manager said that the responsibility for the failure was his but he repeatedly returned to how lamentable his players were. His players. Six of McInnes' signings started and another two came off the bench.
What has McInnes been doing with his expensively-assembled team. A dozen players have now been signed. How much money has to be spent before the manager starts to look convincing in the role?
The Rangers players who were on the field in the Czech Republic cost about £30m in transfer fees. The wage bill at Ibrox must be astronomical. They've now added the £8.5m winger Kim Min-su and may soon recruit a £9.5m striker in Kevin Kelsy.
The giant wad of cash splurged on all this would choke an elephant.
By contrast, Jablonec's record signing cost around £700,000. Their most recent turnover was £8.5m compared to Rangers' £94m. Their stadium is the size of a shoebox, their support tiny, their European story minimal.
They were the ones who went after the game, though. They didn't have a huge amount going for them in ability terms, but they had edge and character.
Hard work and energy? They trounced Rangers on all of the things that require no talent, just honesty.
McInnes is in a tight spot, not in any danger of losing his job, but with huge amounts of ground to make up with the fans.
He's been around a long time, but the pressure those supporters can exert when things are bad is a challenge for any manager, no matter how long he's been around.
Tampa City Council voted four to three to approve a stadium development through which Tampa would commit $80 million toward building the infrastructure required for a new Rays stadium. The three no votes were Miranda, Hurtak and Maniscalco, who had also voted no in previous Council votes on the stadium.
There’s a lot in the new agreement, a lot that was discussed today, and perhaps even more that has not been addressed at all. I’m not going to try to provide a detailed, in the weeds analysis, but rather pull out some of the key issues that were raised by Council members and in public comments.
What does this agreement include? It is an agreement about building the stadium, and NOT about the larger redevelopment project. It sets up three actors — StatCo (the Rays entity responsible for building the stadium), the county and the city, and outlines their contributions. It also describes the creation of a Community Development District (CDD) that will be able to capture new tax dollars generated by the development, and proposes some changes to several existing Community Redevelopment Areas (CRAs). That’s a lot! And keep in mind: The Rays shared a version of this agreement on Sunday, and then an updated version on Wednesday. For city staff, Council members and the general public there was very little time to absorb the 139-page document.
The clear city financial contribution is $80 million, payable in four installments between 2027 and 2029. Councilmember Hurtak contended that the city will need to borrow to pay their share, and accounting for borrowing costs the full financial hit to the city is closer to $120 million. (Note that Councilmember Carlson, who supports the deal, says that dividing the $80 million into four payments over three years means they might not need to borrow after all). The city would eventually get money back over several decades through the CDD.
What is absent from this agreement? SO MUCH. It is ONLY about the stadium development. It doesn’t address the renovation/relocation of Hillsborough College or of the other government buildings on the site. It doesn’t address the management of the stadium, who covers maintenance costs, how various revenues (from parking, naming rights, non-baseball activities) will be allocated. It doesn’t address any rent payments from the team to the county (there is reporting that Rays have agreed to pay $4 million a year, but that’s not in the agreement.)
What did the supporters say? The main line of argument for supporters seemed to be something like this: we have the opportunity to keep baseball in the community while catalyzing billions in a mixed use development along Dale Mabry. Over the long run, the benefits of developing 100 acres that currently generate no property taxes will far outweigh the costs. Morever, Rays baseball has become part of our community’s identity.
What did opponents say?
It’s all too rushed, we need more time to consider these details.
How can we commit public funds with Amendment 3 pending? City and county decision makers are waiting to see the results of Amendment 3, the ballot measure that will significantly reduce residential property tax collections. This could be a good reason for both the Commission and the Council to wait until November to see whether they can afford this kind of investment.
Even without Amendment 3 looming, the time frame for the city’s payments to the project and the time frame for the CDD generating revenue back to the city are vastly different. The city will need to provide its $80 million between now and 2029. Financial benefits from that larger CDD will start at best around 2032-2035.
Aren’t there better things to do with this money? Its hard to commit $80 million when so many Tampa streets are subject to flooding and other programs go begging.
Will there be broader community benefits? Well the largest benefits would come from the massive redevelopment planned near the stadium. (To give you an idea of the size: the entire site is 120 acres and 20 will be for the ballpark. That leaves 100 acres for some combination of Hillsborough College buidings and commercial/residential development. In comparison, the nearby Midtown development is about 25 acres; Water Street is 55 acres). But…this particular agreement doesn’t provide guarantees or project milestones for this larger development.
The Rays also put out a community benefits “memo” but it’s just a vague, aspirational list of bullet points. Either someone wrote this in five minutes or they just prompted ChatGPT to come up with a list of nice things for the community. When the Rays signed the agreement with St. Pete, their Community Benefits Agreement — which certainly had critics — had a lot of specifics: a minimum number of affordable housing units; a certain amount of open space; investment in jobs training and cultural institutions. So as far as I am concerned, there is no CBA, just someone saying “we’ll be nice, we promise!”
Why the rush? I understand that the Rays want to move this ahead quickly. They have two reasons to want to rush. The most obvious is the lead time needed to build a stadium as they look at their expiring Trop lease. To have a stadium ready for March 2029, construction needs to start ASAP. The second is upcoming elections; several members of the Commission are up for reelection in November; one member of the Council is running for state legislature and if he wins his election he’ll leave his seat. Then, in March of 2027 we’ll get a new Tampa mayor and several new Council members. I have no idea whether any newcomers will be more hostile to the stadium than current members, but if I’m the Rays I really don’t want to have to start all over courting new players.
You know that feeling when your team plays a 12 inning night game and then your realize there is a noon game the next day? Well, tomorrow the County Commission — which is providing nearly ten times the funding as the City of Tampa — will meet on this agreement at 9am. This is a special meeting called to discuss the agreement and not a regular Commission meeting, so it’s likely that they will start on this topic very soon after they convene. You can stream the hearing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nW47pVvIVA
TORONTO, ON - JULY 18: A close-up view of the base of a statue in the likeness of Toronto Blue Jays alumnus Joe Carter (29), not shown, displays a quote by Tom Cheek: "TOUCH 'EM ALL, JOE! YOU'LL NEVER HIT A BIGGER HOME RUN IN YOUR LIFE." during an MLB game between the Chicago White Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays on July 18, 2026, at Rogers Centre in Toronto, ON. (Photo by Mathew Tsang/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Game three with the Royals. A win would be nice.
I spent part of the morning buying some fish. I have two good sized fish tanks, but they have been sitting empty for a year. We went on holiday for a month last year and our son watched the house, but he didn’t notice that the water filter stopped working, which isn’t a good thing. I finally decided to get them back in shape and get some fish. Slowly build up the numbers. The cats are enjoying watching the fish.
Fish tanks are really just a money pit, but what else am I’m going to do with the $1.99 SB sends me every month?
Today’s Lineups
ROYALS
BLUE JAYS
Carter Jensen – C
Charles McAdoo – 2B
Bobby Witt – SS
Vladimir Guerrero – 1B
Jac Caglianone – RF
Alejandro Kirk – C
Vinnie Pasquantino – 1B
George Springer – DH
Salvador Perez – DH
Kazuma Okamoto – 3B
Isaac Collins – 2B
Ernie Clement – SS
John Rave – LF
Daz Cameron – LF
Josh Rojas – 3B
Myles Straw – CF
Kyle Isbel – CF
Nathan Lukes – RF
Noah Cameron – LHP
S. Arrighetti – RHP
Hey, US, we have an Orange Guy, too. Only his orange is far more natural:
BREAKING NEWS: Youppi! has signed an executive order to rename Washington Nationals as “Montreal Expos,” a change the mascot says would take effect immediately pic.twitter.com/5V1xnZtajh
Sometimes a retirement is a deeply personal life decision. Sometimes it’s just a two-year vacation while you wait for your general manager to acquire Myles Garrett.
When the Los Angeles Rams traded for the reigning Defensive Player of the Year this summer, it didn't just alter the NFC West landscape — it woke up a sleeping giant. After two full years out of the league, 35-year-old Aaron Donald is suddenly working out at the Rams' facility and texting insiders about whether his "fire can light back up". Unsurprisingly, Kalshi's Aaron Donald return odds have absolutely detonated.
Aaron Donald Return Odds
Outcome
'Yes' Price
✅ Yes, plays at least one snap
81%
81¢
❌ No, does not play
19%
19¢
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Trade $25, Get $35
This is a binary prediction market tracking whether the three-time DPOY will officially unretire and play a single snap in the upcoming 2026-27 NFL season. It is currently pricing in a cocktail of nostalgia, superteam hype, and the undeniable gravitational pull of a Super Bowl hosted at SoFi Stadium.
For sharp traders, navigating this $200,000 plus market means separating genuine competitive itch from a bored legend simply enjoying the summer spotlight.
Key Takeaways
The Heavy Favorite: "Yes" surged to an 82.3% implied probability by mid-July, completely flipping the board after a frantic 44.8-point climb since early June. With news that Aaron Donald worked out with the Rams on August 5: the market hit a new high of 87.5%.
No news is bad news: A Donald return has dipped to 81% in late August as the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year has still not committed to play this season.
The Snap Rule: Resolution does not require a full 17-game season; Donald only needs to record one official snap in the preseason, regular season, or playoffs for "Yes" to cash.
The Current Board: Will Aaron Donald Play?
As documented in the order book, total market liquidity has scaled close to the $400,000 mark. This aggressive volume proves that institutional sports traders are treating a potential return as a highly actionable event rather than just a slow-news summer rumor.
The trend line is undeniable: the market was deeply skeptical in early June, but a steady drip of insider leaks and workout sightings has pushed the "Yes" contract to a commanding 88¢ peak.
Value Picks: Where the Smart Money is Moving
In a binary prediction market hit by a wave of intense public hype, finding value is about identifying whether the crowd has priced the narrative to perfection or ignored the physical realities of the sport.
Aaron Donald to Play | ‘Yes’ 81¢ | 81% Chance
The logic here is intoxicating. The Rams are building an impenetrable defensive line, the Super Bowl is in their home stadium, and Donald explicitly told reporter Jordan Schultz that he is "for sure flirting with the idea":
However, at 81¢, most of the intrinsic value has been squeezed out of the narrative. You are paying a massive premium for an aging player who still has to pass a physical, survive training camp, and officially sign the paperwork before stepping onto the gridiron.
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Trade $25, Get $35
Aaron Donald to Play This Season | ‘No’ 19¢ | 19% Chance
This is where the actual mechanical value lives on the board. The hype train is currently ignoring the biological reality of the NFL trenches. Donald has been out of professional football for two full years. Returning to absorb 300-pound double-teams at age 35 is an entirely different proposition than lifting weights in a private gym.
Furthermore, as Donald noted during his initial retirement, he stepped away because he didn't want to endure another brutal 17-game grind. At a cheap 19¢, you are buying high-leverage insurance against a legend waking up sore in August and deciding the couch is actually perfectly fine.
Expert Context: Why the Markets are Shifting
The underlying mechanics of this market shift are entirely driven by front-office aggression. The Rams didn't just add a rotational piece; they traded for the 2025 Defensive Player of the Year, completely altering the math on what Donald's potential workload would look like.
Historically, Donald was forced to be the singular engine of the Rams' defense, absorbing historic rates of double and triple-teams. With Garrett now terrifying opposing quarterbacks on the edge, the pitch to Donald is simple and alluring: come back, play high-leverage rotational snaps, and chase another ring without carrying the entire franchise on your back.
The narrative momentum is being fueled directly by Donald himself. Texting Pat McAfee that the Garrett trade "for sure got me thinking" essentially functioned as a public negotiation tactic. When a player of his caliber starts taking test-drive workouts at the team facility in July to "see how he felt," prediction markets instantly reprice from hypothetical to imminent.
Strategic Considerations for Traders
Watch the Conditioning Clock: Training camp officially opened in late July. We have already seen a bit of a dip, simply because Donald is not taking part of the festivities.
The Loophole Leverage: You do not need Donald to commit to a full 17-game season for a 'Yes' ticket to cash. Under Kalshi's specific resolution terms, he merely needs to record a single snap in the preseason, regular season, or playoffs. If Los Angeles signs him purely as a late-season playoff mercenary, the 'Yes' contract still wins.
The Flip Strategy: Roster markets are highly reactive to social media breadcrumbs. If you buy 'No' contracts at 18¢ and Donald’s camp leaks a hesitant report regarding his physical conditioning, you can immediately sell your position into the panic for a clean profit before the market resolves.
How to Trade Aaron Donald Return Odds on Kalshi
Navigating binary player props allows you to trade directly on NFL front-office incentives and media narratives with total structural flexibility.
Account Setup: Create your profile and fund your exchange balance via standard wire or bank transfer to ensure maximum liquidity ahead of sudden breaking news cycles.
Navigate: Click into the main sports dashboard, filter your directory view by the "Pro Football" portfolio, and select the active Aaron Donald market.
Execute: Evaluate the fast-moving contract prices to determine if you want to pay the premium to back the comeback narrative via 'Yes' shares or execute a risk-managed fade by purchasing 'No' contracts.
Monitor: Track your risk exposure in real-time through your continuous portfolio stream, giving you the power to execute early cash-outs to capture profits or mitigate downside drift.
Aaron Donald Return FAQs
How is the winning contract determined on Kalshi?
The market formally resolves to 'Yes' if Aaron Donald competes in a Pro Football game during the 2026-27 season. Kalshi utilizes official game logs verified by ESPN and the governing league to confirm that he recorded at least one official snap in the preseason, regular season, or playoffs.
Can I change my position before he signs a contract?
Yes, prediction markets feature a continuous trading window where you can buy or sell contracts at any point before final resolution. If a negative injury update or a definitive retirement statement causes the market to shift, you can immediately liquidate your active shares to protect your capital.
What happens if he signs with the Rams but gets injured before playing?
The resolution criteria strictly require Donald to record "at least one snap" in an actual game. If he signs a lucrative contract but suffers a season-ending injury during training camp before ever taking the field for a preseason or regular-season matchup, the market will resolve to 'No.' Traders must factor this inherent physical risk into their pricing models.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 12: Walker Jenkins #23 of the Minnesota Twins bats in the MLB All-Star Futures Game at Citizens Bank Park on July 12, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Per Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline, Twins top prospect Walker Jenkins will make his Minnesota debut this Friday against the Chicago White Sox. Jenkins is ranked #13 overall by MLB Pipeline, #4 by FanGraphs, and #9 by Baseball America. He is the highest ranked Twins prospect to debut since Byron Buxton in 2015.
Minnesota will need to add Jenkins to both the 40 and 26-man rosters before he can play. Both can be solved DFA-ing Alex Jackson again, who hasn’t touched the field since being re-added to the roster last week, but if Byron Buxton is headed to the IL, a player will need to be dropped from the 40-man. The likely casualty there would be Kyler Fedko, who is out for the rest of the season after tearing his ACL a few weeks ago.
Jenkins joins the Twins at a time where the lineup could seriously use a boost, which he is more than capable of providing. Minnesota was waiting to see his in-game power develop before he came up, and it finally showed through this month. Jenkins has hit an insane .411/.482/.795 in August with eight homers, seven steals, and nearly as many walks as strikeouts. He is more than ready and should slide into the middle of the lineup immediately.
Minnesota is a long shot to make the playoffs at this point, with their playoff odds dropping to a season low 11.1% after losing a series to the homeless Athletics. They’ll need a hot stretch from everyone on the team to make the postseason, which means regularly running out your best nine hitters. There’s no universe where that doesn’t include Jenkins at this point.
Regardless of the Twins’ October fate, this final month will be important for both Jenkins and the Twins moving forward. As with Culpepper, the goal for both of these highly-touted youngsters is to never play in St. Paul again, but development isn’t linear. Given his prospect profile, there are almost no scenarios where Jenkins isn’t a useful MLB player. However, GM Jeremy Zoll needs to gauge how ready Jenkins is to step into the limelight.
If he hits the ground running and his underlying swing decision and approach metrics remain strong, you can pretty much bank on an outfield of Buxton, Jenkins, and Keaschall heading into next season with Alan Roden as an overqualified fourth option. Emmanuel Rodriguez, meanwhile, becomes one of the most appealing trade chips on the market for other spots the Twins need to shore. If Jenkins needs more time in St. Paul, maybe there’s some logic to bringing back Larnach for his final arbitration season.
It’s been a rollercoaster of a season, but getting to see the Twins’ best prospect in a decade is certainly worth celebrating. Welcome to Minneapolis, Walker! Let’s hit the ground running!
ATLANTA, GA - AUGUST 26: Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) points to the outfield as Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson (28) looks on during the MLB game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves on August 26, 2026 at TRUIST Park in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The misdemeanor charges against Packers running back Josh Jacobs arise from a domestic incident. And a portion of the incident apparently was captured by the surveillance system at Jacobs's house.
Via the incident report posted by Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, "Jacobs grabbed [the victim] and threw her to the ground and she struck her head, suffering an injury. Jacobs then took her phone from her while she was on the ground. [She] laid on the ground for a while and then struggled to walk back into the house." The incident report strongly suggests that this altercation appears on the video.
As everyone learned nearly 12 years ago in the Ray Rice case, if video exists the video eventually will emerge. And seeing the video will spark a much stronger action than knowing the video exists.
It could be enough to prompt the NFL to place Jacobs on paid leave, even though the charges are misdemeanors and not felonies. Depending on the specific content of the video, the Packers could also release him.
For now, the Packers have issued a predictably perfunctory statement.
“We are aware of the charges brought against Josh Jacobs," the team said. "We will continue to cooperate with the NFL as we work through the process. We will have no further comment at this time.”
Jacobs's lawyers also have issued a statement, which omits the typical insistence that their client is innocent: "The Brown County District Attorney has reviewed evidence and elected to file misdemeanor charges against Josh that do not include domestic violence. The allegations will be addressed in court, and not in the media. Mr. Jacobs respects the District Attorney's office and the process it followed."
Although the Personal Conduct Policy applies to a wide range of off-field misconduct, the league typically takes a stronger position in cases involving domestic violence; the fact that Jacobs's lawyers claim the charges of battery and criminal damage to property "do not include domestic violence" does not change the domestic nature of the incident.
Regardless of whether Jacobs is placed on paid leave, he's subject to a baseline suspension of six games — based either on any resolution pursuant to which Jacobs accepts responsibility for the situation or through an independent investigation that the league conducts.
