Le Journal

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor is keeping his cards close to the chest. Taylor has not made a decision yet on Joe Burrow status for Sunday’s matchup with the New England Patriots, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic — or at least isn’t comfortable sharing that information. “We feel comfortable waiting as long as we can with this decision,” Taylor said. “(Burrow) has done everything he can to try to make himself ready to go.” Burrow is currently sitting on injured reserve due to a toe injury that he suffered on Sept. 14 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but returned to practice last week and is eligible to be activated at any point — and has taken first-team reps throughout the week. It’s unlikely that the club would give him first-team reps without intending to reinsert him into the starting lineup, which will be extremely important as it deals with injuries to defensive lineman Trey Hendrickson and cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt, as well as a suspension that will be served by wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. Taylor refused to tip his hand earlier this week on WLW-FM, and will continue to stay mum on the topic until the deadline to activate him passes at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday. All signs point to Burrow’s return, though… More Patriots: Patriots’ Drake Maye Explains Reason For Early Struggles Vs. Bengals

MLB Network’s Jon Morosi said recently that he expects the Boston Red Sox to either re-sign All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman or sign free agent first baseman Pete Alonso this offseason. ESPN’s Jorge Castillo wrote on Friday that he sees a way that the Red Sox could possibly bring back Bregman and ink Alonso to a deal over the winter. “The Red Sox president of baseball operations, Craig Breslow, has made it clear: He wants to acquire an accomplished middle-of-the-order bat, preferably a right-handed one,” Castillo said. “Trading (Rafael) Devers, combined with Alex Bregman’s free agency, has left the Red Sox without much proven slug in their lineup. A reunion with Bregman would check that box. As would signing Alonso, who could split time at first base and DH with (Triston) Casas if Boston were to keep him.” The baseball reporter explained how Boston’s June trade of Rafael Devers could help the team get both Bregman and Alonso for 2026. “Do the Red Sox have the appetite for both free agents? Trading Devers moved $29.1 million off the competitive balance tax payroll for each of the next eight years. The Red Sox had approximately $98 million of their relatively modest $201 million CBT payroll come off the books after the season,” Castillo wrote. “Their 2026 payroll is projected to include more than $50 million in raises, but Boston is a big-market club with plenty of money to fill its needs.” The Red Sox have been connected to the “Polar Bear” for much of the offseason and are seen as one of the frontrunners to land the five-time All-Star. Alonso finished the 2025 season by leading the New York Mets in games played (162), RBIs (126), doubles (41) and total bases (327), while ranking second in home runs (38), hits (170), slugging percentage (.524), OPS (.871) and batting average (career-high .272). More MLB: New Free Agent Starting Pitcher Option Emerges For Red Sox

New York Yankees fans descended into crisis mode this week when outfielder Trent Grisham surprisingly accepted his $22.025 qualifying offer for the 2026 season. While Grisham had a career year in 2025 replete with 34 home runs, Yankees fans had already planned for his departure as a means to pursue other free agents and/or provide opportunities to stud outfield prospect Spencer Jones in 2026. Well, it turns out Grisham will once again be manning center field for the Yankees next year alongside Aaron Judge in right. OF Trent Grisham accepts the qualifying offer and will return to the Yankees per multiple reports, including MLB's @Feinsand. pic.twitter.com/UCFp1wiVQz— MLB (@MLB) November 18, 2025 It remains to be seen who the Yankees will end up having fill the third spot in the outfield. Brian Cashman has been clear about New York’s desire to re-sign Cody Bellinger. The Yanks are also one of the teams linked to Kyle Tucker. But it’ll be more than a few days before Yankees fans can move past the confusion and head-scratching nature of the Grisham outcome. Some fans are wondering if Cashman offered Grisham the QO with the expectation that Grisham would decline it and seek a better deal elsewhere, thereby setting up the Yankees to receive draft compensation. If Cashman did feel that way, it wouldn’t have been unwarranted. Grisham’s productive season could very well have landed him a multi-year deal amounting to a total dollar figure north of $22 million. Did Grisham opt to return to New York because his market wasn’t as lucrative as supposed? It’s difficult to know, although Cashman did discuss his side of the situation on Thursday in a street-side interview. Cashman was literally sleeping on the street on Thursday as part of the Sleep Out fundraiser to combat youth homelessness in New York City. Yankees reporters took the opportunity to ask an out-and-about Cashman some questions about baseball. Brian Cashman on why the #Yankees believed Trent Grisham was a good candidate for the $22 mil QO: pic.twitter.com/A8PQZ4P045— Ryan Garcia (@RyanGarciaESM) November 21, 2025 When pressed on Grisham by reporter Ryan Garcia, particularly in regard to why Cashman offered Grisham the QO, Cashman basically said that $22 million will be a great price for Grisham if he’s able to replicate what he did last season. “We believe the changes he made are real,” Cashman said of Grisham, indicating that another big season is plausible. “We think that the player that he showed he was last year, if he stays injury-free, he can continue to ride that wave.” Cashman also noted that the outfielder market is thin this offseason. He identified Grisham as the third-best outfielder on that market outside of Tucker and Bellinger. It was also notable that Cashman described the Yankees as having two vacancies in their outfield (one, now that Grisham is back). This pretty much reveals that Cashman and the Yankees’ leadership don’t view Spencer Jones and Jasson Domínguez as potential everyday outfielders in 2026. More MLB: Yankees Slugger’s Surprising Return To NY Headlines Record-Breaking Day In MLB

The fallout from the awful Luka Dončić trade has created a dark saga for the Dallas Mavericks. They just fired Nico Harrison, the author of the trade, and NBA insiders predict that Dallas might now decide to lean into a rebuild around Cooper Flagg, which could mean trading Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving for younger players and/or draft capital. Interestingly, a new report from Marc Stein of The Stein Line suggested this week that Dallas is shopping AD, but not Kyrie. “League sources say that the Mavericks still intend to field any trade interest in Davis that emerges over the next two-plus months … with the prospect of an actual trade obviously dependent on offer quality,” the report read (subscription required). “Davis, remember, has only been healthy enough to appear in 14 of 48 regular-season games since becoming a Maverick due to serious adductor and calf setbacks. Sources say that the Mavericks, by contrast, are not encouraging trade inquiries for Kyrie Irving, who remains out indefinitely after undergoing knee surgery in late March. Already vibing nicely with prized rookie Cooper Flagg in practice settings, Irving is a player they hope to keep.” The AD reports have caused a flurry of different reactions around the NBA. Some pundits feel that Davis could cause a power shift in the Eastern Conference if he were to join a team like the Detroit Pistons or Atlanta Hawks. Other people are still doubtful that Dallas will move AD, especially since minority own Mark Cuban came out and denied the trade rumors. Mark Cuban has released a statement saying the Mavericks will NOT trade Anthony Davis and are focused on winning.“We won’t. We want to try to win,”(Via @joevardon ) pic.twitter.com/22JDfmbbRB— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 19, 2025 Whatever ends up happening with Davis, it’s obvious by now that the Mavericks (well, Nico Harrison) completely set the franchise back five or 10 years by trading Dončić. Flagg is a wonderful piece, of course, but by the time he’s in his mid-twenties, Davis and Irving will be close to retired (assuming they avoid more serious injuries, which is a big “if”). What are the chances that Dallas can make a title run this year or next year? That would imply that both AD and Kyrie can be healthy for an extended period of time (simultaneously), including a grueling playoff run. That just doesn’t feel plausible. The Mavs would be wise to swallow their win-now pride and sell the non-Flagg farm to start building for a brighter future. Further injuries to AD and Kyrie would doom their win-now hopes and also drive down those guys’ trade value. More NBA: Lakers Reportedly Shopped Anthony Davis To Celtics Before Luka Doncic Trade

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott wasn’t happy that Josh Allen got sacked eight times on Thursday in a 23-19 loss to the Houston Texans. The Bills went on the road as Buffalo was chasing the New England Patriots for the top spot in the AFC East. It was a pivotal game for the Bills, but the Texans’ defense proved to be too much. Houston sacked Allen eight times and hit him 12 times, which McDermott wasn’t happy about. “Well, when they hit the quarterback 12 times, I don’t like that,” McDermott said postgame on Thursday. “I don’t like that stat at all. And it’s not a healthy way to play or a healthy way to keep our quarterback healthy through the remainder of the season. So, that’s just not a good formula there. … “That’s the formula, the unhealthy formula I’m talking about when Josh takes too many hits. And so, we’ve got to figure that piece out. And I believe in our offensive staff, I believe in our coaching staff.” Allen was under pressure throughout the game, which McDermott wasn’t happy about. The Bills’ head coach was frustrated with the offensive performance, which averaged just 2.3 yards per play on first down. With the loss, Buffalo fell to 7-4 on the season and is now two games back of the Patriots for the top spot in the AFC East. The Bills will go on the road to play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 30 at 4:25 p.m. ET. More Bills: Patriots’ Division Rival Loses Several Players In Disastrous Thursday Night Loss