Month: November 2025

Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. The injury will sideline him for the remainder of the 2025-26 NBA season, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Kessler, 24, was initially ruled out of Utah’s game against the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday, November 2, 2025 due to shoulder bursitis, a lingering issue that also caused him to miss time in the preseason. Further evaluation in Salt Lake City revealed the torn labrum, necessitating the season-ending procedure.

Kessler’s absence will be a significant blow for the Jazz, as Kessler (who appeared in only five games this season) was having a strong start, averaging a career-high 14.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game. The timing is also unfortunate for Kessler personally, as he is set to become a restricted free agent next summer after he and the Jazz did not agree on a contract extension before the season’s deadline. Veteran center Jusuf Nurkic is expected to take over the starting center duties in his absence.

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The Atlanta Braves have exercised their $18 million option for the 2026 season on left-handed pitcher Chris Sale, which keeps the NL Cy Young award winner on their roster (according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post and MLB Network.)

Despite a fractured rib which cost Sale two months of the 2025 season, the lefty had another stellar season with a 2.58 ERA and 165 strikeouts in 125.2 innings, with his 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings ranked second among all players with at least 100 innings.

A native of Lakeland, FL, Sale, 36, is headed into his 16th big league season, and third with the Braves. The lefty was the 2024 National League Cy Young Award winner, claiming the Triple Crown with 18 wins, 225 strikeouts and a 2.38 ERA. Sale, a nine-time All-Star, has also previously played with the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox, winning the World Series with Boston in 2018.

In 393 career appearances (with 312 starts) Sale holds a 145-88 record, with a 3.01 ERA and WHIP of 1.046 over 2,084.0 IP.

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In the biggest and most surprising move of the 2025 NFL trade deadline, the Indianapolis Colts have acquired star cornerback Sauce Gardner from the New York Jets in a blockbuster deal that sent wide receiver Adonai Mitchell and two future first-round draft picks to New York.  The move comes after Gardner signed a record-setting four-year, $120.4 million contract extension in July that made him the highest-paid cornerback in league history.

The trade was finalized just hours before the league’s deadline, with Gardner, one of the Jets’ most celebrated players and among the NFL’s elite defensive backs, now heading to Indianapolis to anchor a struggling Colts secondary. According to CBS Sports, Gardner’s trade marks only the sixth time in the last 40 years that a player has been dealt midseason for multiple first-round picks.

Gardner wrote on X, confirming his departure from the team that drafted him: “New York it’s been real”

The 25-year-old cornerback, selected fourth overall by the Jets in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Cincinnati, quickly became one of football’s brightest young stars. He earned the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year award and was named First-Team All-Pro in each of his first two seasons, making him the first rookie cornerback ever to achieve that honor.

Gardner’s production dipped slightly last season and this year he’s been solid if not spectacular. Through seven games, logging 20 combined tackles and six passes defensed, allowing 7.2 yards per attempt in coverage over the past two seasons—still among the best marks in the league. Since entering the NFL, Gardner has allowed the lowest completion percentage (46%) of any cornerback and has three career interceptions.

The acquisition of Gardner underscores Indianapolis’ urgency to strengthen a defense that has been struggling. The Colts currently rank near the bottom of the NFL in several key defensive categories—29th in third-down defense (46%), 26th in completion percentage allowed on throws of 20 or more air yards (44%), and last in passing yards per game outside the numbers (152.2).

For the Jets, the trade brings a potential boost on offense with the addition of wide receiver Adonai Mitchell. The 2024 second-round pick (No. 52 overall) has recorded nine receptions for 152 yards this season after posting 23 catches for 312 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie. The former Texas standout was named the 2023 Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year after leading the conference with 11 receiving touchdowns.

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The Dallas Cowboys have acquired veteran linebacker Logan Wilson from the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for a 2026 seventh-round draft pick, both teams confirmed Tuesday. The move comes as Dallas looks to bolster one of the NFL’s weakest defenses following a 27-17 home loss to the Arizona Cardinals on “Monday Night Football.”

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced the deal during a radio interview, saying Wilson’s experience and instincts made him an ideal fit for a struggling defensive unit. “For what we need right now, he can come in immediately and help us at linebacker,” Jones said. He compared Wilson’s skill set to that of former Cowboys standout Leighton Vander Esch, adding, “Some guys have the ability to see a certain key and at the same time take a step up in the hole. [Wilson] knows how to get in the gaps right now.”  Jones also hinted that Dallas might not be finished making moves before the trade deadline. “With a deadline, they’re in the works — and they better be in the works, or you’re going to miss this train,” he said.

Wilson, 29, had requested a trade from Cincinnati after his playing time diminished this season. The former third-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft had been a defensive captain for the Bengals and was a key contributor during their recent playoff runs. He signed a four-year, $36 million extension with the team in 2023. Despite his reduced snaps in 2025, Wilson has remained productive, recording 46 tackles, four passes defended, and one fumble recovery through eight games. Over his six-year career, he has started 65 games, logged at least 100 tackles in each of the past four seasons, and notched 5.5 sacks and 19 tackles for loss. His 11 interceptions since 2020 lead all NFL middle linebackers.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor praised Wilson in a statement after the trade. “I appreciate everything Logan has done as a player and as a person during his time in Cincinnati. He has been a central part of our defense over the past six years, and he will be remembered as a leader in our locker room. I wish him the best moving forward.”

Dallas enters its bye week with a 3-5-1 record, sitting second in the NFC East — 3½ games behind the Philadelphia Eagles — and 11th in the conference standings. The Cowboys will return to action on November 17 against the Las Vegas Raiders on “Monday Night Football.” After that, they’ll face two top-10 scoring offenses in consecutive weeks: the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.

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