Sports
How Amari Cooper Trade Elevates Buffalo Bills
Did you see Amari Cooper’s big game for the Buffalo Bills on Sunday against Seattle?
Neither did I.
Sure, the Bills stomped the Seahawks 31-10 on the road and have an unbelievable 3½-game lead in the AFC East, but allow me to critique Cooper for a second. Because the well-traveled star wide receiver said he was “definitely ready for an increased role — that’s why they traded for me” after going for four catches, 66 yards, and a touchdown in his team debut Oct. 20.
On Sunday, Cooper’s snap count doubled — from a mere 19 to 38 — yet he finished the day with a grand total of one reception for three yards on two targets.
In a twist of irony, on that other target, Cooper was to blame for Josh Allen’s first interception of the season. He targeted Cooper on a slant route; Cooper tripped, and the ball sailed right into a cornerback’s hands.
In the Wide Receivers Arms Race of 2024, where DeAndre Hopkins, Davante Adams, and Cooper have all changed uniforms and more could follow before the Nov. 5 trade deadline, your mileage may vary on which guys will actually star for their new teams. (I warned that chasing Adams would be a fool’s errand for the lousy New York Jets earlier this month.)
But any teasing aside, I’m not saying that the Bills’ deal for Cooper was a poor idea. In fact, he was a bargain: the Bills only inherited $806,667 of remaining salary on Cooper’s expiring contract, according to Spotrac. Buffalo is going to come out a big winner, even if Cooper himself doesn’t have exciting stat lines that help him get his next contract.
Here’s what Cooper really did to help the Bills on Sunday: He opened up the field for his teammates.
The threat of Cooper as a top-tier NFL receiver pulled some defenders’ attention away from Khalil Shakir and rookie Keon Coleman, who had career highs of nine and five catches, respectively.
Shakir, a short and speedy weapon I’ve always liked, racked up 107 yards and is already approaching career-high totals across the board halfway through his third NFL season. Coleman, the 33rd pick in April’s draft, followed a 125-yard game last week against Tennessee with 70 yards and a score at Seattle. They have the team’s only two 100-yard receiving performances of the year to date.
Allen probably doesn’t get enough credit for elevating the level of his pass-catchers, but after Buffalo traded away Stefon Diggs, the team’s receiver corps was pretty anonymous. Give opposing defenses just one more thing to think about, and it springs guys like Shakir, Coleman, and the tight ends.
“As the season goes on everyone starts to understand what their role is. That’s a part of the game,” Shakir said. “… But I always say this: At any point in that receiver room, anybody’s number can get called on any given play and make a play. Our room is so dynamic, and I truly believe it’s one of the best in the NFL.”
Where does that leave Cooper, whose fantasy football managers aren’t nearly as happy as the Bills’ front office today?
Even though he’s gone from playing with Deshaun Watson to Allen, I personally wouldn’t bet on Cooper having the kind of explosive games he had after the Raiders traded him to the Cowboys during the 2018 season. First, he needs to play more than 50 percent of the offense’s snaps, which, in fairness, may be around the corner. But he’s a guy who has had hot-and-cold seasons in the past.
Cooper, 30, will be a free agent in 2025. As he thinks toward the future and wonders who his next team will be, of course it makes sense that he’d agitate for a bigger role in the Buffalo offense — he’s trying to secure one more bag. The Bills don’t necessarily need to give that role to him.
So while the Bills are predestined for another playoff berth, I’m interested to see how the offense looks from week to week on their way there, and if Cooper “understands what his role is,” outgrows it, or begins to express dissatisfaction.
Sports
Diamondbacks smack five homers in rout of Athletics
Jul 22, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks center fielder Ryan Waldschmidt (15) celebrates with Tim Tawa (13) after hitting a two-run home run against the Athletics in the fifth inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images The Arizona Diamondbacks enjoyed their best game of the season at the plate as they thumped the visiting Athletics 15-5 on Wednesday to claim the rubber match of their three-game series in Phoenix.
Each of the starters in the lineup reached base, and nine Diamondbacks batters registered hits as the team posted season highs in runs, hits (17) and home runs (five).
Arizona also celebrated milestones as catcher James McCann (3-for-4, 3 RBIs) hit his 100th career homer in the fifth inning just two batters before rookie Ryan Waldschmidt (2-for-4, 3 RBIs) cracked his first. Gabriel Moreno hit a solo homer to cap the Diamondbacks’ seven-run fifth.
Ildemaro Vargas also finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI before closing the rout on the mound by allowing two runs in the ninth.
Corbin Carroll (2-for-4) homered and hit his MLB-best 11th triple. Tim Tawa (2-for-5) doubled and brought home a pair while Ketel Marte (2-for-4) doubled and scored. Nolan Arenado homered during his only official at-bat and scored three times while drawing three walks.
Merrill Kelly (8-8) was the beneficiary of this outburst as he went five innings and gave up two runs on five hits and a walk. He allowed a solo homer to the Athletics’ Jeff McNeil (2-for-4) in the fifth that tied the game at 2 after Carroll and Arenado put Arizona ahead with solo shots in the fourth.
It was all Arizona from there as the team clinched its eighth win in the last 10 games by scoring seven times in the fifth and five in the six.
The Athletics dropped to 2-13 in their last 15 as starter Gage Jump (3-6) gave up six runs in 4 2/3 innings on eight hits and four walks. He struck out five but also gave up three homers.
Reliever Yunior Tur, pitching in his second major league game, allowed eight runs on five hits and three walks in just 2/3 of an inning. He gave up the homers to McCann and Waldschmidt that made it 9-2 after five.
–Field Level Media
Sports
JJ Wetherholt's HR stands up as Cardinals blank Angels
Jul 22, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Hunter Dobbins (40) pitches during the second inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images JJ Wetherholt hit a home run and four St. Louis pitchers combined on a seven-hitter as the Cardinals blanked the Los Angeles Angels 1-0 to salvage the final game of their three-game series on Wednesday afternoon in Anaheim, Calif.
Hunter Dobbins (2-1) picked up the victory, allowing six hits over six innings. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out five to pick up his sixth career major league win.
Luis Gastelum, George Soriano and All-Star closer Riley O’Brien each pitched a scoreless inning of relief after that with O’Brien notching his 26th save.
The win, just the fifth in the last 15 games for the Cardinals, snapped a season-high matching four-game losing streak for St. Louis. It marked the first time since May 17, 2025 at Kansas City that the Cardinals won a 1-0 game.
Wade Meckler and Josh Lowe each had two hits for Los Angeles, which had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Reid Detmers (3-7) was the hard-luck loser, giving up one run on two hits over 5 1/3 innings. It marked his 19th straight start at Angel Stadium without picking up a win dating back to 2024.
St. Louis took a 1-0 lead in the sixth inning on Wetherholt’s 15th home run of the season, a 409-foot drive to left-center.
Los Angeles had multiple runners on base in four different innings, including the bottom of the ninth against O’Brien. Jo Adell and Meckler both walked with one out but O’Brien bounced back to strike out Oswald Peraza and Josh Lowe to get out of the jam.
St. Louis had blown six leads in its 10 losses over a 15-game stretch, including back-to-back walk-off losses at Arizona on Sunday and to the Angels on Monday night when O’Brien hit Adell with a pitch with the bases loaded. That snapped a streak of 106 games that the Angels had lost when trailing after eight innings, including 48 this season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees LHP Max Fried activated for Game 2 of Pirates doubleheader
New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried (54) throws during the first inning of their game against the Milwaukee Brewers Friday, May 8, 2026 at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Between games of their day/night doubleheader with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday, the New York Yankees activated left-hander Max Fried so he could start Game 2.
Fried, 32, had not appeared in a major league game since May 13, when he left after three innings against the Baltimore Orioles. He went on the injured list three days later (retroactive to May 14) with a bone bruise on his left elbow.
Fried entered Wednesday’s game with a 4-3 record and a 3.21 ERA in 61 2/3 innings spread across 10 starts. He owned a 4-1 mark and a 2.09 ERA through April, but surrendered 11 earned runs in 14 1/3 innings during May before going on the shelf.
To make room for Fried, the Yankees sent right-hander Kervin Castro to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Castro, 27, was called up in the middle of Sunday’s doubleheader with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He allowed one run in two innings on May 8 in his only game for the Yankees, which doubled as his first MLB appearance since 2022.
–Field Level Media
Diamondbacks smack five homers in rout of Athletics
JJ Wetherholt's HR stands up as Cardinals blank Angels
