The Cleveland Browns signed veteran free agent cornerback Nik Needham on Monday.
Terms were not disclosed by the team.
Needham, 28, has six interceptions and 25 passes defensed in 63 career games (27 starts) with the Miami Dolphins, who signed 6-foot-1 defensive back as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He also has 200 tackles and three sacks.
Needham played the 2024 season on a one-year deal worth $1.292 million.
More must-reads:
Green Bay Packers star quarterback Jordan Love and his wife, Ronika Stone Love, are truly in, well, love. The couple just got married in June, and with the Packers deep into their preparation for the upcoming 2025 NFL season, Ronika shows full support for her husband. In a social media post on Instagram, Ronika shared a series of photos from last Saturday’s Packers Family Night at Lambeau Field. The first photo on the post shows a happy Ronika in the arms of the former Utah State Aggies star signal-caller. “My version of a Lambeau Leap,” Ronika wrote as a caption. Last season, Love played in 15 games, throwing for a total of 3,389 passing yards to go along with 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. That year was considered a down one for Love, but many expect him to come up with a bigger performance in 2025, as Green Bay looks to surpass its 11-win total in 2024. Fans react to Jordan Love’s wife’s Green Bay Packers Lambeau Leap Apart from Love, many others reacted to Ronika’s heartwarming post. Here are some of them: “Two Green Bay 10’s right there,” said a fan. Another one said: “Hair looks amazing” From a commenter: “Awhhhh y’all are so cute!! And I’m obsessed with the hair it’s giving SZA!! ” “Love the Loves!,” a social media user posted. Via a different commenter: “your outfit is adorable” Said another: “I love the fit! Both of yall ”
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone responded Sunday, one day after Alex Rodriguez suggested his team lacks discipline and accountability. On FOX’s MLB pregame show Saturday, Rodriguez questioned the “accountability” of the Yankees after Boone did not pull Jazz Chisholm from Saturday’s loss to Miami after the infielder made a brutal baserunning blunder. Rodriguez suggested that the Yankees do not face consequences for such mistakes, and that it has contributed to further errors. “If any one of us made a mistake, we would be sitting our butt right on the bench,” Rodriguez said. “I see mistake after mistake, and there’s no consequences.” Boone took issue with those remarks when asked about them on Sunday. He said he accepts that the Yankees will always face added scrutiny, but that he disagreed with the substance of Rodriguez’s remarks. “I would disagree a little bit with the accountability factor, but the reality is, we’re focused every day on being the best we can be,” Boone said, via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “That’s how we have to do it. But I understand when it doesn’t happen, or we don’t have the record that I think we should have, or certainly people think we should have — that comes with the territory.” Boone is known for keeping things positive publicly, even when things are going poorly for the Yankees. That has led to some criticism from fans, who feel that he goes too easy on his players when they are underperforming. The team’s recent stretch of mediocre play combined with a lack of consequences for errors like Chisholm’s have reinforced those critiques. The Yankees lost again on Sunday and were swept by the Marlins, dropping them to 60-51 on the season. Until the team starts consistently winning again, Boone is going to hear more comments like Rodriguez’s.
As it turned out, veteran pitcher Nestor Cortes’ time with the Milwaukee Brewers was just a short one. Cortes, who was acquired by the Brewers via a trade with the New York Yankees in December and signed a one-year, $7.6 million contract with the Brewers nearly a month later, has been sent by Milwaukee to the San Diego Padres ahead of last week’s trade deadline. Cortes opens up about trade from Milwaukee Brewers to San Diego The 30-year-old Cortes recently shared how he learned he was on the move to San Diego, which came just minutes before he was to board the team bus for a road trip. “It’s been a little crazy, I was in Milwaukee and flew in last night,” Cortes said on Monday (h/t Marty Caswell of The Sporting Tribune). “But as soon as I got traded, a bunch of people reached out and made me feel like I was really welcomed here. And walking into the clubhouse today, obviously a lot of guys came up to me and presented me to all these places that we have here. It’s amazing for me now. Just happy to be here, happy for the opportunity.” Getting traded wasn’t exactly a surprise for Cortes, and he also seemingly got to an ideal situation with the Padres despite parting ways with a Milwaukee squad that is leading the big leagues in the standings with 67 wins through Sunday. “I was a little surprised. Even though I felt if there was a chance to get out of Milwaukee, it was going to be to a contender and I’m just happy to be here and happy to compete,” added Cortes. “I want to get the ball every five days hopefully and be able to give the best that I can.” Cortes appeared in only two games with the Brewers, as he landed on the 15-day injured list with an elbow flexor strain before getting placed on the 60-day IL.
Michael Soroka is scheduled to make his Chicago Cubs debut when the right-hander takes the mound against the visiting Cincinnati Reds in the opener of the teams' three-game series on Monday night. Soroka (3-8, 4.87 ERA) was acquired from the Washington Nationals on Wednesday for the No. 13 and 14 prospects in the Chicago farm system in shortstop Ronny Cruz and outfielder Christian Franklin. "It's new life," Soroka said. "Kind of like a new start to the season for me. You get some long days in July. You're looking forward to this [MLB] trade deadline and seeing what happens. Obviously, joining a team like this, it's a new breath of adrenaline and life. So looking to take that through the end of the season and, hopefully, help this team compete for a World Series." Soroka spent his first four major league seasons with the Atlanta Braves, developing a friendship with current Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson. Soroka missed the 2021 and 2022 seasons after twice rupturing his Achilles tendon but got to witness Atlanta's run to the World Series up close in 2021. "Although it was exciting to be along with the team and a lot of guys that I played with those previous couple years, it's still something that's burning me to this day that I really didn't do a ton that year," he said. "I didn't throw a pitch, so looking to rewrite that and have new memories this time." Soroka will go from pitching in front of one of the poorest defenses in the majors to one of the best. "It's exciting," he said. "A goal this year was coming in and being relentless inside the strike zone. It helps a ton when the defense is as good as it is. I obviously got to watch Dansby for a long time with the Braves, and this is a team, from the outside looking in, you see that as well." Soroka is 1-2 in three career starts against the Reds with a 3.94 ERA. He will face a Cincinnati team that spent the previous two days in Bristol, Tenn., trying to squeeze in the first MLB game played in Tennessee. The weather finally was good enough for the Reds to face the Atlanta Braves on Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway. Cincinnati lost 4-2 in the rubber match of the three-game series after the first two games were played in Ohio. Nick Lodolo (8-6, 3.09 ERA) is set to take the mound for the Reds in the series opener on Monday. He is coming off a solid July in which he went 3-1 in five starts with a 1.89 ERA. The left-hander most recently received a no-decision after holding the Los Angeles Dodgers to two runs and six hits over 5 1/3 innings last Tuesday, striking out a season-high 11 batters in his team's 5-4 loss. He handed over a 4-2 lead to the bullpen, but Los Angeles scored two runs in the seventh and one run in the ninth. The start was the career-high 22nd of the season for Lodolo. "It means a lot," he said of his starts. "That was my goal I set out for in the offseason. ... I don't want to just barely beat [his career high in starts], I want to blow past it. I feel good and in a position to do that." Lodolo is 2-2 in seven career starts against the Cubs with a 4.46 ERA.
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!