Along the west side of the Walk of Champions that leads to Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa stand five massive statues honoring the head coaches who have won national championships at Alabama. They have victory in common, and they have something else, too: None of them took very long to claim their titles. Wallace Wade, Gene Stallings and Nick Saban won championships in their third seasons, Bear Bryant and Frank Thomas in their fourth.
Kalen DeBoer, in his second season as Alabama head coach, might just beat them all in the next few weeks … or he might be on a white-hot seat in 72 hours. Such are the peaks and valleys that await every Alabama head coach.
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After missing the inaugural 12-team playoff a year ago, DeBoer and Alabama limped into this year’s bracket and face Oklahoma in the CFP’s first game on Friday night. DeBoer hasn’t even been at Alabama for two full seasons, and he’s already developed a blood nemesis in Oklahoma, which has beaten the Tide twice in a row as an underdog. A third loss to Oklahoma — which would mean a fourth loss in a season for a second year in a row — and DeBoer’s tenure in Tuscaloosa will become one of the offseason’s most fascinating topics.
To understand what DeBoer is up against, it’s necessary to understand the absurdly high measuring stick for coaches at Alabama. Put it this way: If you were to make a Mount Rushmore of college football head coaches, you’d start with two from Alabama before you even began considering any other two. That is the standard in Tuscaloosa.
Historically, when the stars and the polls align, the Alabama head coaching job is both the pinnacle and endpoint of a career. If you win a national title at Alabama — and, again, that’s the baseline expectation — you tend to finish your coaching days there, too.
Four of those five statue-worthy Alabama coaches ended their careers at the school. Thomas and Stallings retired. Bryant died just weeks after his last game, and Saban now spends Saturdays sitting next to Pat McAfee. Only Wade — the first national championship-winning coach at Alabama, the man who led Alabama to its legacy-defining Rose Bowl win in 1926 — coached at another institution after leaving Tuscaloosa. And his story is the most interesting in this current context.
In his two seasons and counting at Alabama, Kalen Deboer is 19-7. At most places, that would be enough, but Alabama isn’t most places. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
See if this sounds familiar: Wade, who won national championships in the 1925 and 1926 seasons, left Tuscaloosa disgusted with the absurd expectations of Alabama boosters in the years after those wins. His crime? Posting back-to-back 6-3 seasons. (Wade tendered his resignation before the 1930 season, then authored one of the great kiss-offs in college football history, going 10-0 in 1930, winning a third national championship, then immediately bolting for Duke.) A full century later at Alabama, and the story doesn’t change, only the guy holding the whistle (or headset) does.
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Alabama fan expectations induced Bryant into flirting with the Miami Dolphins after three seasons passed without a title. The calls for Stallings’ head came after just three games. Saban very nearly left for Texas in the early 2010s. (Saban’s wife Terry fired a memorable shot across the bow of Alabama boosters in a November 2013 Wall Street Journal interview: “You come to a crossroads and the expectations get so great, people get spoiled by success, and there starts to be a lack of appreciation,” she said. “We’re kind of there now.”)
And those coaches were icons, legends, national championship winners. What chance does Kalen DeBoer — does anyone, really — have against that kind of standard?
The most comparable past Alabama coaches to DeBoer’s situation don’t have statues. Look to the Dark Times — post-Bear, pre-Saban, 24 years with “only” one title — and amid names like Ray Perkins and the Mikes (DuBose, Price and Shula) are Bill Curry and Dennis Franchione. Both came to Alabama with no previous Tide ties. Both won seven games in their first season at Alabama, and 10 games in their final ones. But both went a combined 1-4 against Auburn … and both bolted for other jobs — Curry to Kentucky after three years, Franchione to Texas A&M after two.
It’s not like the Alabama coach meat grinder is any secret. There’s a reason DeBoer’s name has surfaced in connection with both the Penn State and Michigan jobs — and probably a few others under the national radar, too. Every Power Four head coaching job is incredibly difficult … but not every one has championship-or-you’re-gone expectations.
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So yes, while DeBoer has the support of AD Greg Byrne and the university establishment, his seven losses — including four to unranked opponents — have already exhausted the patience of Alabama’s vocal fringes. A third loss to Oklahoma, an early playoff exit, another uninspired performance in a big game, another four-loss season … and the fringe will become the mainstream. That’s what happens at a program where the standard is a statue.
Christmas is a week away, and the Boston Red Sox have yet to sign a free agent to an MLB deal. Only one other club, the Colorado Rockies (and their brand-spanking-new front office), has been similarly passive on the open market. But even though chief baseball officer Craig Breslow hasn’t handed out any contracts, he has still been quite a busy man.
The Sox have conducted six trades, bringing 11 new players into the organization. Not all the transactions have been of the blockbuster variety, but Boston has boosted its pitching corps with two big NL Central swaps, acquiring hurlers Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo.
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But have the Red Sox actually gotten any better? Is the 2026 club positioned to win more games and journey deeper into October than the 2025 version?
That’s a big question, one impossible to answer until we can assess the roster on Opening Day. Instead, here are five other questions that will define the remainder of Boston’s winter.
1. Alex Bregman?
No, that’s not technically a question, grammatically speaking, but you catch my drift. Come Opening Day, Boston’s entire offseason will be defined by whether or not Bregman is back in the fold. In one season with the Sox, the three-time All-Star became that important to the entire operation.
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He missed two months due to a quad injury but otherwise delivered a Bregman-esque statline. The man rarely chases or whiffs, and pulls the ball with authority often enough to produce sufficient power. Off the field, the 31-year-old continued to reinforce his reputation as one of the sport’s most influential clubhouse characters. It was, for both parties, a perfect match.
But Bregman earned the opt-out in his contract, and now 29 other clubs have a shot. That includes the Detroit Tigers, who made a serious play for the third baseman last winter, and the Arizona Diamondbacks, who were recently linked to Bregman.
In the end, though, Bregman ending up back in Boston makes too much sense. The Sox have the budget, the need and a core that, if properly supplemented, could make a real playoff push. How many years and how much dough it will take become the key questions. Fellow Scott Boras client Pete Alonso just parlayed a one-year opt-out into that evasive long-term deal. Bregman is surely hoping for something similar, and the Red Sox can’t afford to miss out.
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2. If they don’t get Bregman, then what?
The only infielder on the open market with a comparable offensive pedigree to Bregman’s is former (and future?) Jays shortstop Bo Bichette. But the suave-swinging 27-year-old is four years younger than Bregman and likely to necessitate a bigger commitment as a result. That’s not a clean fit for a Sox franchise penny-pinching its way through life. Past Bichette, it’s a pair of third basemen in veteran slugger Eugenio Suárez and Japanese import Kazuma Okamoto before things drop off into the gulp Isiah Kiner-Falefa realm.
It’s reasonable to expect youngster Marcelo Mayer to be the Sox’s Opening Day option at either second or third. His flexibility gives Breslow some of his own, but Boston has to make an external infield upgrade of some sort — and if not through free agency, then through trade. The Sox have been rumored around D-backs All-Star Ketel Marte, and Cards second baseman Brendan Donovan would also make sense. But entering the year with Marcelo at third and Ceddanne Rafaela at second (more on him momentarily) would send a message that the Sox are an unserious outfit. This is why it feels like all roads lead back to Bregman.
Boston’s outfield group has firmly entered too-many-cooks territory. Between the grass and the DH spot, the Sox have Rafaela, Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Roman Anthony and Masataka Yoshida. All but Rafaela are left-handed swingers. Yoshida can’t really play defense. Abreu and Duran struggled mightily against lefties last year. Anthony, one of the game’s most talented young hitters, has to be playing every day. And Rafaela — one of the best outfield gloves in the sport who, because of Boston’s roster realities, spent far too much time at second base last year — has to be the regular center fielder. Forcing him to the keystone is like putting Jimi Hendrix on bass guitar.
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That means somebody has to go, probably Duran or Abreu. Duran is a tricky figure because rival teams are valuing him much lower than the Sox do. Boston sees him as the 8.7 bWAR/132 OPS+ player he was in 2024; everyone else is treating him according to the 4.7bWAR/114 OPS+ season he just posted. That means either somebody will blink on Duran, the Sox will deal Abreu instead, or Boston will enter 2026 with a bunch of puzzle pieces that don’t really fit together.
Yoshida, meanwhile, is moving toward albatross territory. He’s under contract for two more seasons, doesn’t really hit for power and has the defensive chops of someone stumbling out of the bar at last call. Boston probably gives him one last shot, but there’s a strong argument to cut bait if a better option shows up.
4. Have they done enough to solidify the rotation?
At the offseason’s outset, Breslow was forthcoming about his intention to acquire a viable No. 2 starter behind über-ace Garrett Crochet. That proclamation sent fans into a frenzy, soul-deep into the Paul Skenes fake-trade abyss. Back in the real world, Breslow swung a deal to acquire veteran righty Sonny Gray from the St Louis Cardinals.
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Gray, 36, is still a good pitcher, but he’s far from a surefire, frontline force at this point in his career. Perhaps going from an old-school pitching apparatus in STL to a very progressive one in Boston unlocks something for Gray. Even if that happens, he looks less like a co-ace and more like Crochet’s soft-tossing sidekick.
The other major deal of Boston’s winter, a five-player swap that sent 27-year-old righty Johan Oviedo to Fenway, has much more upside but also much less certainty. Oviedo flashes tantalizing stuff but has had a start-and-stop career.
Those upgrades might be enough, particularly if talented southpaw Payton Tolle delivers on the immense promise he flashed during his 2025 debut. The depth is pretty good, too, with names such as Brayan Bello, Connelly Early, Patrick Sandoval and Kutter Crawford rounding out the rotation. Barring a trade that sends arms elsewhere, it’s hard to see there being room for another pitcher, which means Breslow and Co. are probably rolling into Opening Day with this group.
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5. How much are they willing to spend?
Recent history suggests the Sox are comfortable surpassing the first luxury-tax threshold ($244 million for 2026) but not by much. Last season, according to Spotrac’s very detailed accounting, Boston went less than $1 million into the tax. There’s little reason to expect that to change, based on how the Sox have conducted business over the past half-decade. At this point, despite their mammoth brand recognition and real estate clout, this organization clearly prefers to run a payroll that is firmly in MLB’s third tier (behind Dodgers and Mets in tier 1 and Yankees, Jays and Phillies in tier 2).
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Does that mean they’d balk if Bregman’s asking price gets too high? What if they sign Bregman and have the window for a Ketel Marte deal? Is ownership willing to push the envelope if the right opportunity comes along? Or is there a cement financial ceiling? The answers to those questions could dictate how this winter plays out and, in turn, the immediate future of Red Sox baseball.
The NBA trade window opened on December 15, and now’s the time to prep for potential chaos. Whether it’s a big-name star forcing his way out or a role player landing in a perfect spot, these are the guys who could swing your fantasy hoops league. I’ve broken down my All-Deadline Fantasy Teams into two squads — players whose names are heating up in trade chatter and those whose value could pop or plummet in the weeks ahead. Contracts matter. Fit matters. Opportunity matters. Let’s debate!
🥇First-Team All-Deadline Fantasy Squad
Giannis Antetokounmpo – PF/C, Milwaukee Bucks
It’s Giannis. You already know. He hasn’t publicly requested a trade (yet), but if the Bucks don’t pick it up, there will undoubtedly be suitors interested in acquiring the Greek Freak. Finding a match for his $54M contract this season will be a challenge that will likely involve multiple teams, but no matter what team he’s on, Antetokounmpo is a top-five asset in High Score, points leagues and a guy you’ll need to build around his strengths and faults in 9-cat formats specifically.
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LaMelo Ball – PG, Charlotte Hornets
Upside’s never been the issue. It’s staying healthy. Yahoo’s NBA writer Kelly Iko reported that Ball would be open to a trade. This franchise hasn’t made any headway in becoming a playoff contender with Ball running the show. LaMelo’s locked into a fat deal through 2029, so he’s not easy to move — but if Charlotte shakes it up, you’re looking at a big fantasy swing.
Anthony Davis – PF/C, Dallas Mavericks
Always dominant, always fragile. That’s AD. But this year? Davis looks uninspired. He’s still putting up 20 points with 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 stocks per game. However, fantasy managers haven’t seen much of him, as he’s played in only 11 games thus far. The Mavs are still in the Play-In race, but for how long? This is Cooper Flagg’s team now, and if they’re not a real contender, it’s best to extract what value you can before AD’s production or health really falls off. His current $54M salary balloons to $62M in 2027-28 with a player option, which may prove to be the genuine hurdle in moving one of the best big men in the league when healthy.
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Jonathan Kuminga – SF/PF, Golden State Warriors
We’ve been waiting. So has JK. He wants a bigger role and the Warriors won’t budge. Over the last three games, Kuminga has earned three straight DNPs. It’s a very odd negotiation tactic — not playing your disgruntled lottery pick enough minutes to draw interest in the open market. At this point, trade him to the Nets, Bulls or Pelicans and get whatever veteran you want in return. Kuminga’s skill set doesn’t scream must-add fantasy asset, but in the right situation (on a bottom-feeding team that offers more opportunities), it could do wonders for his ceiling.
Ja Morant – PG, Memphis Grizzlies
I would love for Ja to stay in Memphis. He is Memphis. But there’s been too much drama brewing with his new coaching staff, so it makes sense to see what you can get for the polarizing star. Now, his on-floor production has dipped — taking and making fewer shots at the rim, shooting a putrid 19.4% on 3s. He’s looking at career lows in PER and TS% by a wide margin. Morant is still a good source of assists and points, but a change of scenery and system could be the next step that brings him back to one of the top guards in the NBA. He is still solid for points leagues, but I feel for those who have him in 9-cat, he’s ranked 214 in per-game value, woof.
🥈 Second-Team All-Deadline Fantasy Squad
DeMar DeRozan – SF/PF, Sacramento Kings
Domantas Sabonis – C, Sacramento Kings
Zach LaVine – PG/SG/SF, Sacramento Kings
I’m lumping all of these Sacramento Kings veterans into one because they all need to go. The Kings built one of the most senseless rosters in 2025, putting four ball-dominant players (adding Russell Westbrook) on the floor, thinking it would produce wins. This isn’t NBA2K, Vivek Ranadivé. All three players have seen declines in their scoring, rebounding and assists from a year ago. From a fantasy perspective, each player is underperforming relative to their ADPs, so breaking up the crew would be a benefit for each player if they get moved. Where would they go? That’s the bigger question because Sabonis is hurt and really thrived as the hub of the offense — a role he may not see again. And there’s DeRozan and LaVine, who will always be a bucket who provides middling rebounding and assists. Either way, the Kings need to do something to free up Keegan Murray.
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Bennedict Mathurin – SG/SF, Indiana Pacers
Mathurin has an expiring contract because the Pacers did not extend him before the 2025-26 season. The Pacers are already looking ahead to the 2026 NBA draft, but making a move to acquire a big man for Mathurin would make a lot of sense, considering they’re rocking with journeyman Jay Huff at the moment. Mathurin has proven to be an elite reserve who could help a contender, much like JR Smith back in the day. I have several shares of Mathurin in fantasy, so I want him to stay in Indy as long as possible, but I see the logic in trading him before the deadline.
Nikola Vučević – C, Chicago Bulls
Vooch is boring. However, he can help teams in need of a center. The Bulls have emphasized playing faster and getting the ball into their guards’ hands, which, obviously, leads to fewer touches for Vučević. Still, he’s capable of a double-double, can stretch the floor and is a serviceable passer. I could see him being traded to a contender before the deadline. But in typical Bulls fashion, maybe they hold him and he walks for nothing by the summer, lol.
“If I knew that information I would’ve made a different decision. If they told me, ‘Ah, you can tear your Achilles, I probably wouldn’t have went out there.”
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The 2019 NBA Finals turned out to be the end of Durant’s run with the Golden State Warriors that produced back-to-back championships and three consecutive Finals appearances. Durant had suffered a calf strain earlier during the 2019 postseason run, which caused him to miss the entire Western Conference Finals, in which Golden State swept the Portland Trail Blazers. He’d also missed the first four games of the NBA Finals and made his return in Game 5.
Durant was done after Game 5, and the Warriors would fall to the Toronto Raptors in six games, failing in their attempt at a three-peat. In Durant’s interview on teammate Fred VanVleet’s podcast, “Unguarded,” Durant said he never really thought the Achilles injury was a possibility. He mentioned the late Kobe Bryant’s Achilles tear, which happened in 2013.
At the time, there weren’t as many high-profile players such as Durant or Bryant suffering Achilles injuries in the same way we’ve seen in recent years. Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard, and Jayson Tatum all ruptured their Achilles tendons last season. Former Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson suffered his Achilles tear after Durant in late 2020 while recovering from an ACL tear.
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While it could’ve been a sign of the time, it is strange that Durant wasn’t given a heads-up that his calf strain could lead to further injury, especially when a torn Achilles is part of that possibility.
Despite playing in on only eight games this season, Rashee Rice leads all Kansas City Chiefs wide receivers with 53 receptions and 571 receiving yards. Plus, his five touchdown grabs are tied for the team high.
But he might not be available this week against the Tennessee Titans. Rice reported concussion symptoms Monday and is in the NFL’s concussion protocol, according to Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, who also said the third-year receiver won’t practice Wednesday.
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“Those things happen, and we’ll just see where it ends up going,” Reid said.
The longtime Chiefs coach noted that receiver Tyquan Thornton is in the concussion protocol as well and wouldn’t be practicing Wednesday either.
So in addition to being down a three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback in Patrick Mahomes — who has started his recovery from an ACL tear — Kansas City has important injury questions at the receiver position.
With their 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers this past Sunday, the 6-8 Chiefs were eliminated from playoff contention. That ended their remarkable run of 10 straight postseason appearances, including seven consecutive trips to the AFC championship game and three Super Bowl appearances in a row.
During that fateful defeat to the division rival Chargers, Mahomes tore the ACL in his left knee. That injury occurred late in the fourth quarter. In the third quarter, though, Rice suffered a brutal blow from Chargers safety Tony Jefferson, the latest in a series of hard hits the standout wideout has sustained in recent weeks.
Although Rice went back in the game and finished with seven receptions for 51 yards in the three-point defeat, the symptoms he reported Monday landed him in the concussion protocol.
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Rice, who flirted with a 1,000-yard season as a rookie in 2023, was a go-to target for Mahomes after returning to action following a six-game suspension that he served because of his role in a multi-car Dallas crash that injured multiple people last year.
Due to the suspension as well as a knee injury that cost him most of the 2024 season, Rice went more than 12 months without playing in a game.
Still, he’s been effective since taking the field again. Backup quarterback Gardner Minshew will need all the help he can get to put a struggling Chiefs team back on track.
A speedy recovery from Rice, and Thornton, would be a big lift.
Los Angeles Rams wideout Puka Nacua might head into the team’s Week 16 game against the Seattle Seahawks with a lighter wallet than normal. Nacua could face a fine from the NFL following disparaging comments he made about league officials during a livestream appearance Tuesday.
During the livestream, Nacua ripped the refs and accused them of calling penalties to ensure they would appear on the broadcast, per ESPN.
“The refs are the worst,” Nacua said. “… Some of the rules aren’t … These guys want to be … these guys are lawyers. They want to be on TV too. You don’t think he’s texting his friends in the group chat like, ‘Yo, you guys just saw me on “Sunday Night Football.” That wasn’t P.I., but I called it.’”
Those accusations are almost certain to get Nacua fined. The NFL doesn’t look kindly on players or coaches who are critical of officials, and usually levy hefty fines for those types of comments. The league doesn’t play favorites with those fines, either, as both Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid were hit for a combined $150,000 after criticizing the refs following a 2023 playoff game. Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon was also given a $25,000 fine in January after the team’s playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
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While the league will almost certainly follow suit with Nacua, it’s unclear when that fine will come down. With the Rams playing Thursday night, Nacua might receive his notice from the league after the Rams play their Week 16 game.
The NFL does not normally suspend players or coaches for making critical comments about officials, so Nacua status for Thursday’s game shouldn’t be in question.
The Rams will need Nacua even more than usual in the contest, as Davante Adams is battling a hamstring injury. Adams’ status for Thursday’s game remains up in the air, meaning Nacua could see more work as Matthew Stafford looks to lead the Rams to victory over the division-rival Seahawks.
Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka lost a game Monday, and it’s going to cost him a fair amount of money.
Udoka was fined $25,000 by the NBA after he went off on the officials following an overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets, calling the contest the “most poorly officiated game I’ve seen in a long time.”
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The league announced Udoka’s fine Wednesday.
That wasn’t all Udoka had to say after the game. While he didn’t name the members of the officiating crew, he took aim at each person on the team, adding, “Two have no business being out there and the crew chief was acting star struck.”
“We were seeing all kinds of inconsistent calls, and I’m sure we should have got a few more techs,” Udoka said.
And then on Tuesday, the NBA actually backed Udoka up. The league said that there were three incorrect calls in the last two minutes of overtime, all that favored the Nuggets. Fouls on Kevin Durant and Amen Thompson shouldn’t have been called, the NBA’s Last Two Minute Report said, and a foul against Nuggets guard Tim Hardaway Jr. should have been called.
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That, however, didn’t stop the fine from coming his way.
It was a chippy game, as officials issued a number of technical fouls during the 128-125 Rockets loss. Udoka was the recipient of one of those techs after arguing for a foul call in the second quarter.
Udoka also took issue with a tripping call that allowed Denver to tie the game up with just seconds to go in the fourth quarter. Udoka challenged the call, which was upheld. The play allowed Jamal Murray to hit a game-tying free throw, sending the contest into overtime.
While foul distribution was even between both teams — with the Nuggets actually having more fouls called against them — Udoka was not happy with the way officials treated Nikola Jokić and Murray, both of whom turned in big performances against the Rockets. Jokić led the Nuggets with 39 points. Murray wasn’t far behind, adding 35.
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A big chunk of Murray’s points came via free throws. Murray hit on 14-of-15 attempts, which Udoka called out after the contest. The Nuggets had 33 total free-throw attempts in the close win. Houston had 26 free throws. While that’s not a huge disparity, the figure stands out more in a tight game that went to overtime.
The loss drops the Rockets to 16-7 on the season. After a breakout season last year, Houston is out to another strong start. The team’s decision to trade for superstar Kevin Durant has paid off, as he leads the team with 24.8 points per game.
The Rockets will be fine following the loss, though Udoka’s wallet will be lighter. The NBA typically takes action when coaches criticize officials, and Udoka took his comments further than most. Because of that, it’s no surprise the league acted quickly, issuing a fine before the Rockets’ next game.
The Miami Dolphins are benching quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, head coach Mike McDaniel confirmed on Wednesday.
Seventh-round rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers will start in his place against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
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“I think Quinn gives this team the best chance to win,” McDaniel said.
Zach Wilson will be Ewers’ backup and Tagovailoa will be relegated to No. 3 on the depth chart.
“It wasn’t an easy thing for him to hear. It was a tough conversation,” McDaniel said of Tagovailoa’s reaction. “But he exhibited why he’s a captain. He is going to help Quinn prepare for his first start.
“Disappointed,” Tagovailoa told reporters on Wednesday about his reaction. “I’m not happy about it, but it’s something out of my control.”
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel hinted at a possible Tagovailoa benching Tuesday, when he called out the team’s poor quarterback play during its Monday night loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. While Tagovailoa’s numbers weren’t awful, he put the team in a hole early by throwing his league-leading 15th interception.
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Tagovailoa finished the contest 22-of-28 passing for 253 yards and two touchdowns. He threw one interception and was sacked four times in the 28-15 loss to the Steelers.
When asked why he thinks the change is being made now, Tagovailoa said, “I would say the biggest thing, and being honest with myself as well, has been my performance. I haven’t been performing up to the level and the capabilities that I have in the past.”
When asked about the quarterback position Tuesday, McDaniel said “everything was on the table.” It wasn’t the first time the coach made that exact comment this season. He also refused to commit to Tagovailoa following the team’s Week 7 loss to the Cleveland Browns. McDaniel quickly changed his mind after looking at the Week 7 tape. But with Tagovailoa continuing to turn the ball over, McDaniel decided it was finally time for a change.
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With Tagovailoa presumably done for the rest of the season, he’ll finish the year with a 67.7 completion percentage, 2,660 passing yards and 20 touchdowns.
When McDaniel discussed the possibility of benching Tagovailoa on Tuesday, it was unclear which quarterback would replace the former Alabama star. The Dolphins have shifted their quarterback depth chart throughout the regular season, with Wilson and Ewers each seeing time in the No. 2 spot behind Tagovailoa.
Ewers was selected with the 231st overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Despite his low draft status, Ewers has seen some playing time this season. He appeared during that Week 7 game against the Browns, completing 5 of 8 passes for 53 yards. While Wilson was initially brought in to serve as Tagovailoa’s backup, Ewers showed enough promise during camp and in the preseason to earn the start in Week 16.
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The Dolphins were eliminated from playoff contention Monday night, but could still impact the race with games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots upcoming.
Though the playoffs are no longer a consideration, the team’s final three games could mean quite a bit to McDaniel. The 42-year-old head coach has been rumored to be on the hot seat all season and is likely coaching for his job down the stretch, though it might be too late for that now.
No matter how Ewers plays, McDaniel’s fate might already be sealed. But with nothing left to lose, McDaniel is going to make a last-ditch effort to salvage what’s left of a disastrous season and potentially save his job.
This time around, Burrow raised eyebrows after admitting he’s envisioned scenarios where he’s no longer playing for the Bengals anymore.
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Burrow expects to remain with the team next season, so Bengals fans don’t have to worry just yet.
But Burrow’s comments prior to Week 15’s loss have led to questions over whether he’s fed up with the franchise. Burrow has experienced a number of injuries over his career, and the Bengals did little to add to the offensive line coming into the 2025 NFL season. Despite entering the season as a Super Bowl contender, the team’s hopes were dashed when Burrow went down with a foot injury in Week 2, something fans worried could happen again after the team’s underwhelming offseason.
Burrow returned in Week 13, but it may have already been too late. The Bengals essentially needed to win out to have a shot at the postseason and, even then, the team likely would have needed help to secure a spot in the playoffs.
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That didn’t happen. After beating the Baltimore Ravens in Week 13, the Bengals lost a tough one to the Buffalo Bills in Week 14 due to two late Burrow interceptions. Following the game, Burrow expressed that he’s got to find a way to make football fun again.
Any scenario in which Burrow is playing for another team next season would likely only come about if Burrow demanded a trade. The 29-year-old signed a five-year, $275 million extension in 2023 that will keep him with the team through the 2029 NFL season. While Burrow seemed to indicate that won’t happen, there is precedent for a Bengals quarterback to force a trade after signing an extension. That’s exactly what led to Carson Palmer’s exit from the franchise in 2011.
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Palmer demanded a trade and — after the team did not grant it — retired instead of playing another game with the Bengals. He was eventually traded to the Raiders during the 2011 season.
It doesn’t sound like that’s on tap for Burrow and the Bengals … for now, at least.
While Burrow’s comments about thinking about other scenarios will draw attention, it’s important to note that could mean a lot of different things. Even if Burrow has thought about playing for another team in the future, it doesn’t mean he’s frustrated right now. It just means that he’s considered many different possibilities for the way his career will go.
Still, it’s not exactly encouraging for Bengals fans to hear their franchise quarterback waver when asked about his long-term outlook with the team, especially after last week’s comments.
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Though the Bengals are out of the playoffs, Burrow intends to keep playing down the stretch. With little else left to play for, here’s hoping Burrow finds some joy during the final three weeks of the regular season. The NFL is far more entertaining when he’s slinging touchdowns in meaningful games.
We are less than a week away from the deadline for free-agent Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami to agree to an MLB contract, with his 45-day posting window closing at 5 p.m. ET Monday. Murakami ranks sixth on our Top 50 free-agents list on the basis of his rare youth for a free agent (he turns 26 in February) and his spectacular track record of slugging in NPB.
But doubts about his ability to make enough contact to succeed against MLB pitching and concerns about his defensive fit — Murakami has mostly played third base but is projected by most talent evaluators as a first baseman or DH — have made him a particularly polarizing member of this year’s free-agent class. There’s a range of opinions on whether Murakami’s tantalizing power potential is a worthy gamble considering the pitfalls in his profile, especially if a significant financial outlay is required to sign him.
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As the debate regarding Murakami’s outlook in the majors has persisted among outside observers and industry insiders, his Dec. 22 deadline has approached with minimal buzz regarding which teams are likely to sign him. In fact, MLB Trade Rumors — the gold standard of up-to-the-minute hot stove news and notes — has published exactly one Murakami post since he was posted on Nov. 7, and that was a fan poll three days later asking where he’ll sign. This lack of reported interest isn’t entirely uncommon among top free agents at this stage of the offseason calendar, but Murakami’s deadline adds urgency to his free agency. Unlike Framber Valdez or Bo Bichette or Kyle Tucker, who can linger on the open market for months, Murakami cannot play the waiting game — decision time is coming soon.
Yet without much in the form of reported connections between Murakami and any teams — and without a sense of what Murakami is prioritizing as he prepares to make the jump to MLB — we’re left to speculate on where he could land based on two primary factors: His positional fit on the roster and teams’ likelihood/willingness to spend what it will take to sign him. The latter element is more difficult to ascertain, considering the range of what a potential Murakami contract could look like. Because of his youth, it’s possible Murakami and his representatives are interested in a shorter-term deal that enables him to reenter free agency after proving himself in MLB. That might be an alluring option if there’s a dearth of teams offering a long-term deal worth nine figures, the kind much of the industry projected for Murakami at the outset of the offseason. Then again, it’s possible Murakami’s market is more robust than we realize, and an enormous contract commensurate with some of the other elite free agents is imminent.
All we know is that we don’t know a whole lot. So with that air of mystery in mind, let’s embrace the uncertainty and canvass the entire major-league landscape in search of a landing spot for Murakami. Here’s a snapshot look at why he might or might not make sense for all 30 MLB clubs, organized by division and 2025 finish.
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Jump to a team by clicking on the links below:
Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto chased Shohei Ohtani and Roki Sasaki in free agency, only to watch both sign with the Dodgers; does Murakami represent a more realistic opportunity for Toronto to land a Japanese star? We know the Blue Jays are willing to spend, considering the contracts they’ve already doled out this winter (Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce, Tyler Rogers) and their reported interest in retaining Bo Bichette and pursuing Kyle Tucker. But with a seemingly rejuvenated George Springer under contract for another year and having just signed Anthony Santander last winter, the Jays adding another high-dollar DH-type feels unlikely right now, and we know first base is spoken for.
New York Yankees
This would send a jolt through the Bronx amid an otherwise uneventful offseason, but it’s tough to see the fit on the roster at this juncture. Giancarlo Stanton remains entrenched at DH, and New York appears intent on Ben Rice getting every-day at-bats, with first base the most logical spot for that. While Murakami fits the style of slugger the Yankees have historically coveted, it’s hard to envision him emerging as a logical target for New York.
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Boston Red Sox
President of baseball operations Craig Breslow has been active on the trade market this winter but has yet to sign a major-league free agent, making the Red Sox one of just two teams that has yet to do so. That said, it’s clear Boston has a lot of irons in the fire, whether that’s a reunion with Alex Bregman, a major trade from its outfield surplus or dealing from its pitching depth to land a big bat such as Ketel Marte.
Any interest in Murakami would be impacted by not only Bregman’s staying or going but also how confident the front office is in first baseman Triston Casas in his return from injury and another lefty Japanese hitter in Masataka Yoshida, whose presence on the roster is something of a quandary but who remains the projected DH. The Red Sox are a team that, afforded more time to consider Murakami and reconfigure their roster accordingly, could make sense as a landing spot. But the ticking clock makes it tricky.
Tampa Bay Rays
Never say never, of course, but the Rays emerging as the highest bidders in this process would be an especially flabbergasting outcome.
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Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore pursued Kyle Schwarber before successfully landing Pete Alonso, and that’s after trading for Taylor Ward. That should conclude the Orioles’ search for offense this winter; they need arms, badly. Murakami ain’t it.
Cleveland Guardians
We can firmly put Cleveland with Tampa Bay and a few other frugal franchises in the “I’ll Believe It When I See It” category for a major free agent. Not happening.
Detroit Tigers
Beyond a failed pursuit of Alex Bregman last winter, we’ve yet to see this Tigers front office exhibit a willingness to spend big in free agency, instead preferring to hand out short-term contracts and lean on the internal improvements of homegrown players to advance the franchise. You can squint and see a roster fit for Murakami here if Kerry Carpenter moves to the outfield full-time, but Detroit hasn’t signed a player from NPB since pitcher Masao Kida in 1999, so the Tigers would need to overcome a lack of history in this market to land a Japanese player of this stature.
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Kansas City Royals
DH is a modest need for the Royals right now, even with Salvador Perez expected to spend less time catching moving forward. But Kansas City is another club with almost zero track record of signing players from NPB, and first base is a no-go with Vinnie Pasquantino locked in. Pass.
Minnesota Twins
The Twins just signed Josh Bell to play first base, and amid some restructuring at the ownership level, a major investment such as this wouldn’t seem to be in the cards right now.
Chicago White Sox
Adding Murakami would be a fun way to inject some much-needed excitement on the South Side and would offer Murakami a lower-stakes setting to adjust to major-league pitching, but it would also be a sizable risk that this front office (and ownership group) is probably uninterested in taking at this stage of its rebuild.
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Seattle Mariners
The Mariners moved quickly to retain Josh Naylor as the franchise’s first baseman early in the offseason, but two other key members of Seattle’s run to the ALCS are not coming back, with Jorge Polanco finding a new home with the Mets and Eugenio Suárez expected to land elsewhere in free agency.
That leaves some uncertainty at both third base and DH, which could be addressed in part by a pursuit of Murakami. But the Mariners have prioritized cutting down on swing-and-miss in their offense recently, and spending big on a whiff-prone slugger such as Murakami would be an enormous departure from that organizational shift in philosophy. If the price is right and some of the other candidates to upgrade the lineup come off the board in the next couple of days, perhaps Murakami emerges as an alluring alternative for Seattle. But as a top-tier target for this front office, I’m not sold Murakami fits the bill.
Houston Astros
Houston is already juggling a roster crunch at Murakami’s potential positions with Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker and Yordan Alvarez, so adding another bat-first player is illogical.
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Texas Rangers
Texas’ money maneuvering via nontenders and its trade of Marcus Semien for Brandon Nimmo do not hint that the Rangers are eager to make a sizable free-agent investment right now. And with Joc Pederson under contract for another season and Jake Burger projected at first base, Texas is reportedly more focused on other needs at the moment.
Athletics
If the A’s have a glowing perception of Murakami as a defender and a sudden urge to spend big, there’s room at third base for what would be a stunning addition. But Nick Kurtz and Brent Rooker have first base and DH fully covered in West Sacramento, so don’t count on this surprise.
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Los Angeles Angels
Despite the lack of team success during his time there, Anaheim turned out to be the perfect place for Shohei Ohtani to transition to MLB and prove to everyone that his rare talents could flourish at the highest level. If Murakami wants a similarly comfortable environment in which he can navigate the expected developmental hurdles without the intense scrutiny of playing for a contending team in a major market, the Angels could be a sensible landing spot — if team owner Arte Moreno is willing to offer the requisite contract.
That said, finances aside, the positional fit isn’t that clean. Third base is fairly unsettled as the Angels put the disastrous Anthony Rendon era behind them, so this could be one of the few places where Murakami could begin his career at the hot corner instead of moving across the diamond immediately. But first base is occupied by one of their core young hitters, Nolan Schanuel, and DH duties are expected to increasingly be handled by Mike Trout as his days in the outfield dwindle.
Where will Munetaka Murakami and his prodigious power be playing next year?
(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports)
Philadelphia Phillies
Murakami could’ve been an intriguing backup plan had Kyle Schwarber departed in free agency, but Philadelphia is surely happy to have the known quantity back in the fold atop the lineup, with Bryce Harper still anchored at first base. Trade rumors continue to swirl around Alec Bohm, but even if the Phillies move on from Bohm, that would surely be for a far more proven third baseman than Murakami.
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New York Mets
Murakami might not fit the archetype of a player president of baseball operations David Stearns would pursue as he looks to reshape the roster, and the addition of Jorge Polanco narrows the path for another first base or DH-type to be added to an already crowded position-player group. But if there is any team that can literally afford to swing big on a boom-or-bust free agent such as Murakami, it’s the team with the wealthiest owner in the sport and a roster already in the middle of a full-blown makeover.
Steve Cohen flexing his financial advantage to massively outbid the field for Murakami might seem reckless if it’s the Mets’ biggest move this offseason, but if it’s an aggressive swing for superstar upside that complements a series of other floor-raising additions (such as Polanco) and proven commodities, that’s exactly the kind of flashy transaction that could reenergize this fan base for the next era of baseball in Queens.
Miami Marlins
The Marlins are one of three teams, along with Houston and Colorado, that have never signed a Japanese player directly from NPB. This would be a hell of a time to make history in that regard, but based on their thrifty signing of Christopher Morel to reportedly handle first base, I’m not holding my breath.
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Atlanta Braves
The Braves have been plenty active in free agency thus far, but Matt Olson and Austin Riley render the corner infield unavailable for additions, and with two catchers in need of playing time in Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy, the DH spot isn’t especially welcoming, either.
Washington Nationals
With a new front office, Washington appears far more focused on overhauling its infrastructure and coaching staff than making dramatic additions to its major-league roster. While the Nationals could use upgrades at third base, first base and DH, the timing doesn’t feel right for an investment of this ilk.
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Milwaukee Brewers
Adding a free agent of this magnitude would be highly uncharacteristic of how Milwaukee operates, but the Brewers can at least point to an example of a successful NPB-to-MLB transition occurring on their roster in Nori Aoki — and not that many teams can say that!
Chicago Cubs
If Seiya Suzuki spends more time in the outfield in the wake of Kyle Tucker’s expected departure, DH would appear to be a need for the Cubs. But like a lot of other cautious clubs nowadays, it seems Chicago would prefer to leave room for an uptick in regular at-bats for its own young players — in this case, Moises Ballesteros and Owen Caissie — rather than spending big on an external addition who could block their development. Plus, the Cubs haven’t exactly been throwing money around in free agency recently.
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St. Louis Cardinals
With Sonny Gray the first out the door and several other veterans expected to follow in trades for prospects, St. Louis is focused on subtracting major-league pieces with an eye toward the future, rather than adding aggressively in free agency.
Cincinnati Reds
The Reds reportedly made a real run at local product Kyle Schwarber before he chose to stay in Philadelphia, but everything coming out of Cincinnati since then suggests that was a rare exception to the team’s unusual business practices. Don’t expect the Reds to suddenly be handing out nine-figure contract offers to free agents with aplomb.
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Pittsburgh Pirates
Like Cincinnati, Pittsburgh had interest in Kyle Schwarber, reportedly offering a four-year, $125 million deal that would have shattere the franchise’s record for a free-agent contract. If the Pirates are willing to stretch the budget for the first time in a long time and are chasing offensive upside to complement a legitimately good pitching staff headlined by Paul Skenes, why not consider Murakami? Considering the complete lack of firepower in the current lineup — including glaring holes at DH and third — the Pirates might have good reason to pursue Murakami as aggressively as they did Schwarber, especially with his age better aligning with their up-and-coming roster.
That said, teams with smaller payrolls face elevated risks when swinging big in free agency. Whereas the Mets and Dodgers can more easily shrug off bad contracts and spend around them, for a team such as the Pirates, the wrong player accounting for a huge portion of the payroll could have far more dire consequences. All that said, Pittsburgh is an intriguing sleeper here, if not for Murakami then perhaps for another one of the big free-agent bats still available.
Los Angeles Dodgers
It’s understandable that the earliest reports of Murakami’s intentions to come stateside were met with bemoaning from 29 other fan bases that he would surely join his fellow Japanese superstars on the Dodgers, but that makes little sense considering what L.A. has locked in at DH (Shohei Ohtani), first base (Freddie Freeman) and third base (Max Muncy). If Murakami reenters free agency in a few years after proving himself in MLB, and Freeman and Muncy have moved on? Sure, he could definitely be a Dodger. But not right now.
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San Diego Padres
Reports indicate that the Padres likely need to shed payroll before making any significant financial investments this offseason. But if San Diego is able to unload some salary in a trade or two — and if it can conjure up a creative contract offer that limits the upfront financial burden for the club — Murakami’s fit on this roster is as clean as any across the league, given the Padres’ glaring holes at DH and first base crying out for an influx of upside (with all due respect to Gavin Sheets’ modest late-career breakout).
The Padres have a particular need for over-the-fence power, having ranked 28th in home runs in 2025, and general manager A.J. Preller has been chasing star power his entire career. Even factoring in the risks, Murakami could represent a unique opportunity to extend this team’s contention window with another impact talent potentially entering his prime and flip the narrative that this winter is all about downsizing for San Diego.
Arizona Diamondbacks
While Arizona has made some surprising free-agent splashes and there is arguably room to upgrade at DH, 1B and 3B — the D-backs’ reported interest in Alex Bregman confirms as much — a match with Murakami doesn’t quite line up right now.
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San Francisco Giants
The Giants have already invested a boatload of money in their infield, with huge financial commitments made to Matt Chapman, Willy Adames and Rafael Devers, who is expected to play first base. Would San Francisco invest heavily in Murakami if it already has an heir apparent at DH in top prospect Bryce Eldridge, who is five years younger with similar power and swing-and-miss concerns? Probably not. But if Eldridge is traded, this could be an intriguing fit.
Colorado Rockies
Murakami launching balls at altitude would be a treat to watch, and there’s plenty of room on this barren depth chart for an impact bat. But coming off a 119-loss season and amid a complete overhaul of the front office, pursuing a signing such as this wouldn’t seem to be a priority for Colorado right now.
