Given the concerns regarding Christian Wilkins, should the Las Vegas Raiders consider acquiring another defensive tackle?
Who can forget when former general manager Tom Telesco signed Wilkins in free agency? He was the offseason’s highlight—a disruptive force who, alongside Maxx Crosby, would wreak havoc on opposing offensive lines. For five games, Raiders fans got a taste of that. Regrettably, that’s all we’ve seen from Wilkins, as a Jones fracture took him out of action last season. His recovery thus far (or lack of) has some concerned; does the team need to reinforce the defensive line’s interior?
Replacing Wilkins’s contributions when he is healthy will be difficult. His lucrative contract is a testament to his value, but there is still hope for Las Vegas. As mentioned in Moneyball, it’s possible to recreate his impact in the “aggregate.” One option could be to move Tyree Wilson inside; pairing him with Adam Butler might provide the necessary size and length to maintain a strong defensive presence. The Raiders can consider this approach to avoid unnecessary expenses.
At the same time, a temporary fix via free agency might help. With Wilkins back in a boot, it’s difficult for anyone to gauge when he’ll be 100 percent again—beat writers aren’t doctors, don’t forget. With that said, an old friend in Quinton Jefferson could be of some assistance.
As Brad Berreman of Just Blog Baby proposed, Jefferson’s ties to the Raiders and new head coach Pete Carroll make him a logical choice. It wasn’t that long ago that Jefferson was a menace inside, just like Wilkins. “He’s not far removed from a six-sack season with the New York Jets in 2023, and for a big chunk of his career, he has been a productive pass rusher,” Berreman wrote.
Another factor that makes Jefferson an intriguing option is his postseason pedigree. Having played ten playoff games, the former Seahawk has a deep understanding of Carroll’s goals in Sin City. The former Seattle head coach doesn’t shy away from looking to his old players for help, as we’ve seen this offseason. With training camp nearing, Jefferson makes sense unless Wilkins miraculously walks out of that boot.
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Cincinnati Bengals star defensive end Trey Hendrickson has been holding out from training camp as he seeks a new contract, and it does not sound like the two sides are all that close to a deal. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said on "SportsCenter" Monday that there has been "some progress" in negotiations between the Bengals and Hendrickson's representatives over the past week or so. The real disagreement has to do with guaranteed money, and Cincinnati's brass is not budging. "Hendrickson wants a stronger guaranteed structure, particularly later in what should be a multiyear deal. In talking to people with the Bengals they feel like, 'Hey, we've probably relented as far as we can go.' So this is a classic stare-off right now, and it's time to buckle up," Fowler said, via Andrew Peters of Bleacher Report. Hendrickson is set to earn $16M in base salary in the final year of his contract this season. He recently said he has shown a willingness to take less than market value on a new deal, but the Bengals do not want to guarantee him money beyond the 2026 season. Based on what he has said, the 30-year-old Hendrickson is not seeking to become the highest-paid defensive player in football. In order to accomplish that, he would have to top the three-year, $123M extension T.J. Watt signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers last week. Hendrickson had 35 sacks over the past two seasons, which was the most in the NFL during that span. He had 17.5 sacks each season and finished second in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2024. The Bengals took care of one major offseason issue on Sunday when they finally signed first-round pick Shemar Stewart to a rookie deal. All it will take is one side to budge in the team's ongoing stalemate with Hendrickson, but all parties seem to be dug in as training camp rolls on.
Only eight plate appearances into his New York Yankees career, Ryan McMahon has already been more productive than the team’s previous third base options. What might sound hyperbolic or outright false at first glance is actually true, at least from a certain point of view. Analytics — specifically, Wins Above Replacement — proves that argument, and it’s one that Yankees manager Aaron Boone should be ashamed of. McMahon went 2-for-3 with a two-run double in Sunday’s victory over the Phillies, giving him four hits in his first eight at-bats. FanGraphs ruled that McMahon is already worth 0.2 fWAR through two games in a Yankees uniform. Amazingly, McMahon has a higher fWAR than the trio of DJ LeMahieu, Oswald Peraza, and Jorbit Vivas, who have played a combined 148 games in the infield thus far. LeMahieu provided -0.1 fWAR over 45 games before being unceremoniously cut earlier this month, while Vivas (-0.2) is currently at Triple-A. Peraza and his -0.6 fWAR remain on the active roster, though he’s shifted into a bench role. Baseball-Reference has been slightly more generous, giving Peraza -0.2 bWAR. Boone stuck with LeMahieu and Peraza until he couldn’t anymore, and it’s partly why the Yankees have dropped to 5 1/2 games back in the AL East. Injuries and age took their toll on LeMahieu, who only played second after returning from calf and hip problems. Peraza owns a .152 average and .452 OPS in 170 plate appearances. We’ll see if McMahon can elevate the Yankees, who open a pivotal four-game set with the rival Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night.
Ryne Sandberg died on Monday at 65 after battling prostate cancer. His death came a day after the 2025 class was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Apparently the former second baseman’s health status was the worst-kept secret over the weekend. MLB Network reporter Jon Morosi said on X that Wade Boggs had cried when mentioning Sandberg during an interview with Morosi recently. Boggs had cried because he knew his Hall of Fame classmate of 2005 was in declining health. Veteran MLB reporter Jayson Stark said that there was sadness around Cooperstown as people prepared to hear the news about Sandberg. Sandberg played in Major League Baseball for 16 seasons from 1981-97. He played 15 seasons with the Chicago Cubs and became a beloved figure in the city. Sandberg earned 10 All-Star selections, nine Gold Glove Awards, and seven Silver Slugger Awards while in Chicago. Sandberg also was named National League MVP in 1984 and led the NL with 40 home runs in the 1990 season. Sandberg first announced in January 2024 that he had been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer. A positive development then followed in August when Sandberg revealed that tests had detected no more cancer in his body following treatment. However, Sandberg announced just a few months later that his cancer had returned. Additionally, Sandberg revealed that the cancer had spread to his other organs as well. After retiring as a player, Sandberg was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005, his third year on the ballot. He also had his No. 23 retired by the Cubs later that year and briefly had a stint from 2013-15 as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, Sandberg’s first MLB team.
It hasn’t been the flashiest of offseasons for the New York Knicks, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been productive. After acquiring Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns last summer, the Knicks have toned it down a bit this time around, targeting key depth pieces for the second unit, which struggled mightily last season. So far, the Knicks have signed Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele to help beef up the team’s bench. These moves have been largely acclaimed by analysts and pundits as positive additions. ESPN’s Kevin Pelton is one of those who believe the Knicks made strong signings. He graded the Knicks’ offseason up to this point a "B," citing the value they’ve gotten for such a small price. “After adding Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns last offseason, the Knicks had limited room to maneuver this summer,” wrote Pelton. “Getting Guerschon Yabusele to take ever so slightly less than the entirety of their taxpayer midlevel exception allowed New York to upgrade its second-unit frontcourt and still fill out its bench with veteran minimum contracts. One of those veterans, Jordan Clarkson — signed after reaching a buyout with the Utah Jazz — gives the Knicks more athleticism off the bench than unsigned backup guards Cameron Payne and Landry Shamet.” Clarkson has been one of the NBA’s best bench scorers during the 2020s, leading the league in total points off the bench in that timeframe. This past season with the Jazz, he averaged 16.2 points per game while shooting 36 percent from three-point range. Yabusele was originally drafted in 2016 by the Boston Celtics, he would go on to play two seasons for them in limited minutes before departing overseas, where he remained until this past season with the Philadelphia 76ers. He would go on to have a career year with the 76ers, averaging 11.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in 70 appearances (43 starts).
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