Indianapolis Colts GM Chris Ballard prides himself on building a deep defensive line. That depth will now be put to the test. Starting defensive end Samson Ebukam tore his Achilles and is out for the season, a league source confirmed to The Athletic on Monday. Ebukam went down with a non-contact injury during Sunday’s training camp practice; he was carted off the field during an 11-on-11 period. #Colts camp recap: • Jim Irsay speaks publicly for first time in 2024• Irsay says Anthony Richardson must run• Irsay calls Ryan Kelly a “priority”• Camp fight• Julian Blackmon’s pick• S/o to @JJ__indy and her super cool son, Declan! 🫶🏾 —> https://t.co/px7wzqPVex pic.twitter.com/gMWXnQSq0A — James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) July 29, 2024 The 29-year-old was looking to build on arguably the best season of his career. In 2023, his first year in Indianapolis, Ebukam registered career highs of 9.5 sacks — also No. 1 on the Colts — 10 tackles for loss and 17 quarterback hits. He also tied his career high with three forced fumbles. Ebukam started all 17 games and helped the Colts set an Indianapolis-era record with 51 sacks. He also played 702 defensive snaps, which trailed only star defensive tackle DeForest Buckner for the most among Indy’s defensive linemen. In Ebukam’s absence, even more responsibility will fall on Indianapolis’ other starting defensive end, Kwity Paye. Ebukam’s injury also opens the door for 2021 second-round pick Dayo Odeyingbo to prove his worth as he enters the final year of his rookie contract. However, Odeyingbo’s increased workload will have to wait as he’s currently sidelined with a calf injury, according to Colts head coach Shane Steichen. GO DEEPERColts owner Jim Irsay gives health update, advocates for Anthony Richardson to keep running Indianapolis will likely increase the usage of both veteran backup Tyquan Lewis and first-round rookie Laiatu Latu, who was the first defensive player selected in this year’s draft. The 15th pick was already going to be used on obvious passing downs, but now he’ll likely be asked to hold his own as a run stopper sooner rather than later. Ebukam is in the second year of a three-year, $24 million contract he signed with the Colts in 2023. The 2017 fourth-round pick began his career with the Rams before joining the 49ers in 2021 and eventually moving on to Indianapolis. NFL Network first reported the news of Ebukam’s injury. Scoop City NewsletterFree, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. document.querySelectorAll(".in-content-module[data-module-id='scoop-city-newsletter'] .in-content-module-img img ").forEach((el) => { el.setAttribute("style", "pointer-events: none;");}) Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox.Sign Up (Photo: Wesley Hitt / Getty Images)

NANTERRE, France — Forget the Summer Games. This might just be Summer’s Games. Summer McIntosh, the 17-year-old Canadian phenom, won the first Olympic gold medal of her career Monday night in the grueling women’s 400-meter individual medley, touching the wall in 4:27.71. Americans Katie Grimes (4:33.40) and Emma Weyant (4:34.93) earned silver and bronze, respectively. Summer McIntosh cruises to a gold medal in the women's 400m IM! #ParisOlympics | 📺 NBC & Peacock pic.twitter.com/hilI3mkTj3 — NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 29, 2024 McIntosh is the world record-holder and two-time world champion in the event and was considered the heavy favorite in the 400 IM coming into the Paris Olympics. The result is not necessarily a surprise, but the margin was quite impressive. McIntosh said she first realized how big her lead was at the start of the breaststroke leg, and that she knew by the end of it that she was about to win her first gold medal, which led to a very enjoyable final freestyle leg. Afterward, McIntosh was calm and composed, as she so often is. She achieved the goal she’s set out to achieve. She’s swam this event so many times in major international meets that it didn’t faze her that she’d just swam (and won) it at an Olympics. She competed in the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, finishing fourth in the women’s 400 free. “I have been doing this since I was 14,” McIntosh said. “Every single time I get to race on the world stage, I learned more and more about handling (it) mentally and physically and emotionally. I try not to get too high or too low depending on my race results.” It’s her second medal of these Games so far, following a silver in the 400-meter freestyle which also saw Australian Ariarne Titmus take gold and American Katie Ledecky take bronze. That final, hyped as one of the most-anticipated races of the entire Games, featured three swimmers who had previously owned the world record in the event. McIntosh has said she grew up idolizing Ledecky and Michael Phelps. She had a poster of Ledecky on her wall growing up and her cat was named “Mikey” after Phelps. And here she is, shining on the Olympic stage just like them. “She’s an inspiration to everyone,” said teammate Kylie Masse, who swam in the women’s 100-meter backstroke semifinals Monday night. “For so many young swimmers in Canada to be able to see her and see her success here on the international stage, (they’ll know) that they can dream big and continue to do whatever they put their mind to.” McIntosh’s gold is the second for Team Canada at the Olympics after Christa Deguchi won gold earlier Monday in women’s under-57 kilogram judo. Later this week, McIntosh will swim — and be a top contender — in both the 200 IM and the 200 fly. Required reading At 17, swimmer Summer McIntosh is ready to be a breakout star at Paris Olympics Summer McIntosh, at 17, has everyone’s attention. Now she’s after Olympic glory (Photo: Manan Vatsyayan / AFP via Getty Images)

Fresh off finishing the season as the NHL’s Calder Trophy runner-up and making the league’s all-rookie team, the Minnesota Wild’s Brock Faber signed the largest extension in franchise history Monday at eight years, $68 million beginning in 2025-26. The $8.5 million annual average value (AAV) is also the largest for a defenseman in Wild history. Captain Jared Spurgeon held that record at his current $7.575 million AAV. Faber’s contract doesn’t include any signing bonuses but does include a no-move clause and 15-team no-trade clause once he’s eligible for both after year five of the deal, a league source tells The Athletic. 8 MORE YEARS OF BROCKSTAR 🤯 More » https://t.co/wCHpyPED6g pic.twitter.com/I9uuoiWAjb — Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) July 29, 2024 Faber — a native of Maple Grove, Minn., and the former University of Minnesota captain who came to the Wild in the Kevin Fiala trade with Los Angeles — and president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin will be available during a news conference Monday afternoon. GO DEEPERWild's Brock Faber could get richest extension in team history this offseason: Analysis Faber, who turns 22 next month, scored eight goals, 39 assists and 47 points in 82 games last season, blocking 150 shots and averaging 24 minutes, 58 seconds per game. Going up against the opponent’s best players, Faber led all NHL rookies in average ice time and blocked shots and tied for first in assists and second (and tied for first among defensemen) in points. He established new Wild season rookie records for assists, blocked shots and time on ice per game and ranked second only to Kirill Kaprizov’s 51 points in 2020-21 for the team’s single-season rookie point record. “There’s good and bad parts of it obviously,” Faber said last month before the NHL Awards Show in Las Vegas. “Not making the playoffs was a huge down part of the year. But individually I thought there were some unfortunate injuries there (with teammates) and I was maybe put in spots that I didn’t expect to be put in a little bit. The coaches had all the confidence in me just to allow me to play my game and be myself. So, it worked out just like that.” The question now is how Faber, who one day could be the heir apparent to Spurgeon as team captain, will build on last season’s success. For instance, the penalty kill is one area he knows he has to get better in. He was on the ice for 35 power-play goals against, tied for the fifth most in the NHL. “I think for me, points and goals and assists are one thing but continuing to try to make more of an impact on the game is how I look at it,” he said last month. “Not always numbers but what I can do to impact the game maybe off the scoresheet. Sophomore slump — you hear it all the time, but I think that comes a lot with mindset after that first season if you have a great first season and continuing to humble yourself and stay confident in yourself obviously, but humbly. “It starts in the offseason, offseason training, and that’s kind of ramping back up. That’s something I’m looking forward to is again trying to take another step next year and another step after that. That’s my goal. That’s the position I’m in and again grateful to be in that position.” Calder Trophy finalist Brock Faber is wearing one cool, new jacket pic.twitter.com/wMNgNFOYxo — Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) June 27, 2024 Over the past several months, Guerin had openly discussed signing Faber to a max eight-year extension this offseason and told The Athletic last month the next contract won’t come with added pressure. “I’m not going to put that pressure on him, (coach John Hynes) is not going to put that pressure on him,” Guerin told The Athletic. “The biggest thing is skate and defend like you do. The power-play stuff came because Spurge was out, and he got in there kinda by default and he performed well. That’s good. That’s the idea. I don’t know if he’s going to be on the first PP again (with Spurgeon back healthy and Declan Chisholm in the mix). We don’t need to worry about that or put that pressure on him. “Just come and f—ing play and work hard and don’t worry about points and this and that. Just play.” YES PLEASE 🙌 pic.twitter.com/HfCunOOAZt — Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) July 29, 2024 Why not wait? While Faber’s profile trends more toward a shutdown defenseman, Faber is a linebacker on skates whose game should only continue to grow. And the Wild saw where the market for young, blossoming defensemen is going. Recent deals include Jake Sanderson’s eight-year deal at $8.05 million annually in Ottawa, Owen Power’s seven-year, $8.35 million-a-year deal in Buffalo and Charlie McAvoy’s eight-year, $9.5 million-a-year deal in Boston. Considering McAvoy is the player many in the NHL compare Faber to, this should be a quality contract well into the future. Where will Faber play in the future?  In the short term, Faber will likely open next season on the right side of the top pairing with Jonas Brodin. That’s because Spurgeon is expected to be ready for the start of training camp after season-ending back and hip surgery last season. Spurgeon’s return will allow Jake Middleton to be reunited with the partner he plays best with. Brodin has three years left on his contract, but we could see, at some point, 2024 first-round pick Zeev Buium sliding onto Faber’s left not long after he turns pro. Regardless, as Guerin said, it’s not a guarantee Faber opens next season on the No. 1 power play with Spurgeon back and Chisholm re-signed to a one-year deal, but Faber’s future is bright as the stalwart on the Wild’s back end well into the future. (Photo: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)

PARIS — On Saturday morning, after Stephen Nedoroscik finished his pommel horse routine, Paul Juda pointed to Nedoroscik’s forearm: “You’ve got goosebumps,’’ he said. After the men’s gymnastics team’s final, Nedoroscik gave them to everyone else. Brought to Paris to nail one routine and one routine only, the pommel horse specialist delivered in the most dramatic of Olympic fashions. The last man up for the U.S., Nedoroscik had to wait the entirety of the meet — more than two hours — before walking up to the pommel horse. As China, the leader after five rotations, fell repeatedly on the horizontal bar, Nedoroscik stepped up to give the U.S. not only a shot at a medal, but perhaps a path to a silver. As he finished his routine with only the slightest of form breaks, Nedoroscik pumped his arms as the crowd erupted in chants of USA, flashing flags around Bercy Arena. As he walked off, his teammates lifted him up as if he’d just won well… a team medal. Stephen Nedoroscik had to score big on pommel horse for Team USA in the last rotation… AND HE DID. 🤯 📺: NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/hkhiHpovyh — NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 29, 2024 Their arms slung around each other’s shoulders, Team USA watched the scoreboard first for Nedoroscik’s score — a 14.866 — and then waited for the last competitor, China’s Zhang Boheng to finish his routine on horizontal bar. Though Boheng did enough to move China back to silver behind Japan, the U.S. still got what it came for — its first team medal in 16 years. Their celebration was every bit as jubilant as the gold medalists, and deservedly so. Make no mistake. Nedoroscik hardly did this on his own. He was merely the exclamation point to finish a story the U.S. has been building for four years. Dismayed after a fifth-place finish in Tokyo, the USA Gymnastics coaches set about intentionally changing their approach. Realizing their routines lacked the difficulty they needed — they came into Tokyo a solid six points behind from the highest level of the competition — they made a concerted effort to demand more of their gymnasts. It is, of course, one thing to create harder routines; it is another to execute. At the most important meet, Team USA executed. Save a few minor hops and form breaks, the men essentially hit all 18 of their routines. Only one set — Paul Juda’s high bar — scored below 14 points. GO DEEPERHow is Olympic gymnastics scored? A guide to understanding the competition The U.S. was a model of consistency, building steadily throughout the meet, relying on different gymnasts at every turn. Asher Hong took one hop on his highly difficult vault, helping launch the U.S. from fifth to first in the standings after two rotations; Frederick Richards planted his feet like glue on the last tumbling pass of his floor exercise, to keep them in contention. Juda followed up what he termed the meet of his life in qualifying with an even more solid night here, and Nedoroscik doing what he was here to do. Maybe no one, however, earned the medal draped around his neck more than Brody Malone. A little more than a year ago, he suffered a catastrophic leg injury. Doctors worried he might not walk, let alone compete and up until the start of the Olympic Trials, he still wore a clunky brace for vault and floor exercise. The lone returning Olympian on this roster, Malone struggled during qualifications, failing to advance to the all-around final or any individual event finals. When it counted, Malone came through. The stoic on a team of fist-bumping, high-fiving hype men, he stepped up for what could be the last routine of his life, on the same pommel horse he started out dismally on Saturday. He calmly and methodically executed his routine, dismounting and showing what is for him, a torrent of emotion. Malone allowed himself a hulk flex before heading to his teammates for bear hugs. Required reading Can American men’s gymnastics team give a waning U.S. sport a boost in Paris? Fred Richard, after lifetime of handstands, is built to burst onto Olympics scene When does gymnastics start at the 2024 Paris Olympics? Schedule, contenders and how to watch (Photo: Jamie Squire / Getty Images)

As the Red Sox continue to build out pitching depth, another starter may be on the way. The Red Sox are close to acquiring right-handed starter Quinn Priester from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for infielder/outfield prospect Nick Yorke, a team source confirmed to The Athletic. It’s long been speculated the Red Sox would be shopping Yorke, a 2020 first-round pick and the No. 9 Red Sox prospect, according to The Athletic’s Keith Law, to alleviate some of the logjam of middle infield top prospects. The 22-year-old Yorke had spent his entire minor-league career in the infield, but began taking reps in left field this season in Double A to expand his versatility. After a promotion to Triple A in early July, Yorke has been on fire, hitting .310 with an .898 OPS in 38 games. Yorke is also Rule 5 eligible this winter so the Red Sox would have had to add him to the 40-man roster, but it was widely believed he’d be among the prospects traded to bolster the team at the deadline. In the deal, which was first reported by ESPN, the Red Sox are acquiring a 23-year-old righty in Priester who made his MLB debut last season in Pittsburgh. In 10 games — six starts — this season, Priester has a 5.04 ERA with 31 strikeouts and 13 walks in 44 2/3 innings. In seven starts at Triple A this season, Priester posted a 3.21 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 33 2/3 innings. Priester, a 2019 first-round pick, is under team control through the 2030 season and continues to add depth to the Red Sox pitching system, a goal chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has put at the forefront since being hired. The Red Sox feel they can help Priester improve. In 2019, the Red Sox didn’t even focus on him in the draft because they knew he’d be gone by their pick. The Red Sox didn’t have a first round pick in 2019 because they exceeded the luxury tax threshold in 2018 and their first pick dropped 10 spots. Per one evaluator, Priester “has a lot of pitches. Mainly sinker FB 92-96. Mixes CB and SL. Change has good promise … hard to say why he has struggled but that’s pretty common … He is still very young obviously.” (Photo of Priester: Chris Bernacchi / Diamond Images via Getty Images)

by Katie Woo, Ken Rosenthal, Fabian Ardaya and Zack Meisel  The St. Louis Cardinals are acquiring starting pitcher Erick Fedde and outfielder Tommy Pham from the Chicago White Sox as part of a three-way trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers, multiple league sources tell The Athletic. The Dodgers will receive utility player Tommy Edman from the Cardinals and pitcher Michael Kopech from the White Sox, while prospects Miguel Vargas, Jeral Perez and Alexander Albertus are being sent to Chicago. The Cardinals have long targeted Fedde to help bolster their rotation depth. After spending 2023 with the NC Dinos in South Korea, Fedde – No. 21 on The Athletic’s Trade Deadline Big Board – is back in the big leagues and finally living up to the potential that once followed him as a first-round pick and consensus Top 100 prospect. It’s nothing sexy — sinkers, cutters, sweepers and changeups. Nothing overpowering, nothing inducing a ton of swing-and-miss. But he has limited hard contact and limited walks and has been a consistent high performer in Chicago’s rotation. Both the Cleveland Guardians and Milwaukee Brewers had pursued Fedde in recent days. Fedde’s 3.11 ERA is currently 11th in the American League among qualified starters. Cardinals’ president of baseball operations John Mozeliak was aiming to acquire starting pitching without taking on additional payroll for this season and next season. The defensive emergence of Michael Siani, along with the steady play of Brendan Donovan and Alec Burleson made Edman expendable. In acquiring Pham, the Cardinals reunite with a gritty right-handed outfielder that can play center field and slug left-handed pitching. St. Louis ranks second-to-last in baseball in OPS against lefties, and their lack of a true right-handed bat off the bench plagued manager Oli Marmol throughout this first half. Pham, who debuted with the Cardinals in 2014, had expressed interest over the offseason in coming back to St. Louis. Initial expectations indicate Pham will start in the outfield against left-handed pitching, while Siani will continue to play centerfield against right-handed starters. Tommy Edman has not played in the majors in 2024 as he recovered from offseason wrist surgery. (Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports) The Cardinals, who entered Monday one game out of the National League playoff picture, desired experienced rotation help to slot in alongside Sonny Gray and Kyle Gibson. Fedde, who had heavy interest throughout the market, ultimately lands with St. Louis on a team-friendly deal. He signed a two-year, $15 million contract before the 2024 season, and is owed $7.5 million in 2025. Moving Edman, who has yet to play a major-league game this season due to offseason wrist surgery, frees up roughly $9.5 million in payroll for the Cardinals. Edman signed a two-year, $16 million extension in January to carry through his arbitration years.The Dodgers were aggressive on Edman, who fills their need for infield depth as a super utility option. The Dodgers landing Edman plugs a lot of holes for a high-payroll roster that seemingly has lots of them. Edman has a history at shortstop and center field, two potential areas of need for a roster that is currently without Mookie Betts (fractured hand) and Miguel Rojas (flexor strain) and signed Nick Ahmed last week as a stopgap. The Dodgers have gotten the third-worst production in the majors this year in center field by FanGraphs WAR, relying heavily on rookies Andy Pages and James Outman at the position. Kopech’s foray into the bullpen after coming up as a top starting pitching prospect has been mixed – he’s posted a 4.74 ERA in 43 2/3 innings to go with a 4.82 FIP – but some of the underlying numbers still show signs of potential promise for a Dodgers bullpen that is in need of massive reinforcements after taking on the largest workload in the sport in July. Kopech has still retained his premium velocity, averaging 98.6 mph on his fastball with good extension and an ability to induce swing and miss. The problem has minimizing hard contact. The Dodgers are moving on from Vargas, a 24-year-old hitting prospect who, while flashing at times with the bat, never found a true home in Los Angeles. The club made Vargas its Opening Day second baseman in 2023, but a series of hand injuries sapped up his offensive production (.672 OPS) and he was sent back to the minors by the All-Star break. This year, Vargas largely saw time in left field but was taking ground balls at third base and appeared close to swapping positions once again before he was moved. In 80 plate appearances amidst sporadic playing time, Vargas hit .239/.313/.423. Perez, ranked the Dodgers’ 16th-best prospect on a preseason list from The Athletic’s Keith Law, is a 19-year-old infielder with a .264/.381/.461 slash line in 75 games at Class-A Rancho Cucamonga this season. Albertus, another 19-year-old infielder, is at a combined .298/.420/.409 in 51 games between rookie ball and Class A in 2024. GO DEEPEREno's take on Erick Fedde trade: Is Cardinals' new righty a postseason starter? (Top photo of Erick Fedde: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Houston Texans defensive end Denico Autry has been suspended for six games for violating the NFL’s policy against performance enhancing drugs, according to league sources. Autry signed with the Texans this offseason after spending the past three seasons with the Tennessee Titans. The 34-year-old defensive lineman is coming off one of his most productive seasons where he logged a career-high 11 1/2 sacks in 2023. Autry denied knowingly ingesting a banned substance, but said in a statement released on Monday that he accepted the six-game suspension. “It was important to me that the NFL know that I did not intentionally or even knowingly ingest a banned substance,” he wrote in the statement. “I understand however, that under the NFL’s policies, ultimate responsibility for what enters my body rests with me.” Autry explained that he became aware that he tested positive for a banned substance this offseason. Autry said he discovered that he received a different medication from a pharmacy than the one prescribed by his doctors which contained the banned substance. “I want to be clear, at no time did I know or even suspect this medication contained a banned substance,” he said. How does this affect Houston I’ve lauded the Texans’ signing of Autry as one of the more underrated additions of the offseason given his pass-rushing prowess. He’s coming off his best season in terms of sacks and has produced a 12.9 percent pressure rate the past three seasons, via TruMedia. Adding Autry and Danielle Hunter should certainly bolster the Texans defense with Will Anderson Jr. Now without Autry for six games, that should leave quite a void up the middle in the interim. The Texans open up the season with these six QB matchups: Anthony Richardson, Caleb Williams, Sam Darnold, Trevor Lawrence, Josh Allen, Jacoby Brissett. These aren’t impossible matchups for Houston, the defending AFC South champions. But no Autry for those matchups could allow some of those QBs to feel less pressure up the gut without Autry in the lineup. — Larry Holder, NFL senior writer (Photo: Tim Warner / Getty Images)