The Arizona Cardinals won't face the Washington Commanders for a few more weeks, but there is some news that will impact that matchup. The Commanders' top wide receiver, Terry McLaurin, suffered a season-ending knee injury on Monday against the San Francisco 49ers.

He tore his patellar tendon and will miss the rest of the season.

The Cardinals will face the Commanders at home in Week 12. McLaurin has five 1,000-yard seasons. This year, he had 15 receptions for 230 yards and a touchdown in five games.

In three career games against the Cardinals, McLaurin has caught 16 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns.

His absence will impact how the Cardinals defend Washington. They will now have to turn their attention to Stephon Diggs and Antonio Williams.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple Podcasts.

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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Washington Commanders WR Terry McLaurin out for season with knee injury

WEST LAFAYETTE − Matt Painter has a roster problem.

A good one, however, for the 2026-27 Purdue basketball season.

The Boilermaker head coach can't pinpoint a potential leading scorer. For that matter, a top two or three leading scorers. There's just too much talent to differentiate as the regular season draws near.

Others, though, can point to someone who torched the Boilermakers as a scout-team player throughout the 2025-26 season and say it could be redshirt freshman Antione West.

"I wish that people could have seen what he did in practices last year," point guard Omer Mayer said. "He's really, really, really good at basketball."

Mayer labels West as a "certified hooper just getting buckets."

While West echoes most everyone else on the roster by saying the team could have different leading scorers nightly, he also isn't shy that, at season's end, he could top the stat category for the Boilermakers.

"Of course," West said with a laugh when asked if he could be Purdue's leading scorer.

In last Sunday's exhibition opener against Ball State, West scored 11 points off the bench in 23 minutes. He also showed one of the potential obstacles working against him in his quest to top Purdue's scoring list.

West had four fouls.

More: Rebounding by committee shows Purdue basketball can thrive on boards

Not only will West's ability to score be needed for the Boilermakers to have success, but so will his defensive abilities. He's one of Purdue's best perimeter defenders and has size and length that trumps other Boilermaker guards.

But he's still learning what he can and can't get away with.

"Antione is a heck of a player. I think he's special. Special on both ends," Purdue associate head coach PJ Thompson said. "But I've been in enough college basketball seasons to understand it's a process, no matter how talented you are. You're going to have highs and lows. He's got to learn how to play without fouling. He's got to learn how to be an aggressive, elite defender without putting hands on people."

Thompson goes so far as to project West as a future NBA player.

If West is unable to stay out of foul trouble, it will ultimately restrict how often he plays.

From an offensive skillset alone, though, there's no doubt.

"When he was redshirting and he was on the scout team, he was definitely a tough shot maker," junior guard CJ Cox said. "That's one of the things he's really good at is hitting those tough shots and scoring. We knew right away from there that he would be a big help for us this year and could potentially lead our team in scoring."

West was so proficient in some practices that it drew criticism of Purdue's rotational players as defenders.

"We had practices where he was on the scout team and he just made shot after shot," Mayer recalled. "The coaches were looking at us and we're like, hey, man, he's shooting from really deep and he was making them pretty consistently."

West anticipated having a role for the Boilermakers last season.

Painter was hesitant to redshirt West, who didn't initially agree to the decision. Painter has always had players come to a mutual agreement with the coaching staff on that decision.

As games wore on and West didn't see the floor, there was no longer fighting the choice.

West dove fully into weight training and a grinding, workmanlike approach because he knew his body didn't need the rest and recovery others got when they were getting minutes on game days.

Ultimately, West saw the benefits of that.

"It was definitely tough at first, but once I flipped the switch and got over it, I kind of just went to just working every day and putting in the time and knowing they had a plan for me and it was going to pay off," West said.

Now is time for the payoff as West and the Boilermakers travel to Fort Wayne Thursday for their second exhibition game against the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons.

"He can be our most talented player. Does it equate to him leading us in scoring? I don't know," said Thompson, Purdue's offensive coordinator. "I am big on picking on advantages and each team presents different advantages for us to pick on, but he's definitely going to be involved and have the ball in his hands to decision make."

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue basketball can't pinpoint potential leading scorer, but Antione West can

This is the type of defense we expected the Oregon Ducks to be playing at the start of the season.

Suffocating pressure, aggressive play in the secondary, and sound tackling at the second level. It took longer than anticipated, but as the pressure has grown on the Ducks' defense to perform, they have risen to the occasion. So, what changed?

Oregon has been dealing with struggles on offense with Dante Moore on the sideline in concussion protocol. It has been anything but smooth sailing with Dylan Raiola and Brock Thomas trading snaps against UCLA and Nebraska, but the Ducks were in a position in the fourth quarter of both games to win, thanks to the defense creating opportunities.

Sophomore edge rusher Nasir Wyatt is one of several players on Oregon's stopping unit who have taken a massive step forward recently. Wyatt picked up his first sack of the season against the Cornhuskers, while also managing three tackles, two for a loss, and a pair of pressures. Wyatt isn't being deployed as a mercenary on third down anymore, rather developing into an every-down player, and the increased role is making a difference.

For Wyatt, nothing has changed for the players, but the coaching staff has figured out what is working and is sticking to it. The Ducks on the field aren't second-guessing any of defensive coordinator Chris Hampton's decisions and are playing for each other on every snap.

"I just feel like everybody is playing the call," Wyatt said. "Everybody's not really playing for themselves, and everybody's playing for something bigger than just them and their own personal goals, including myself. Not playing to make sacks or make plays. Just everybody playing within the scheme of the defense, and then letting the plays come to them. I feel like everybody's learning that now. If we just stay together and stay as one, and we just play our fabric of football, we're gonna continue to look how we've been."

With so much uncertainty surrounding the Oregon offense with different quarterbacks cycling in, the defense has needed to step up. Wyatt said the Ducks have often discussed the 2000 Baltimore Ravens team, which won a Super Bowl after backup quarterback Trent Dilfer took over midseason. Dilfer didn't play the cleanest football, tossing 12 touchdowns to 11 interceptions that season, but the defense made up for the offense's mistakes.

Nasir Wyatt twists from the edge and finds a wide-open rushing lane up the middle to pull down Colandrea for a sack on 3rd down.

Oregon defense is balling so far. Offense? Not so much. pic.twitter.com/kSaiHkObPO

The Ducks have played with a similar mentality the past two weeks. It didn't result in a win over UCLA, but the Ducks forced a turnover and three sacks against Nebraska, often setting the Ducks' offense up in good position to score. When Raiola entered the game in the fourth quarter, Oregon played complementary football and prevailed at home.

"Ray Lewis, all he talked about was scoring on defense, stopping them on defense, nobody. passing the 50," Wyatt said. "That's all we talk about. When we go out there, and the offense may do whatever they do, get stopped, turnover; that's our mindset. They don't pass the 50, and we put out the fire."

Nebraska's final drive to attempt to get into field goal range began with Wyatt forcing an incompletion by getting pressure on Colandrea. The Cornhuskers did get just beyond midfield, but the clock expired before Colandrea could get another snap off.

For 45 minutes of game time, the Oregon defense answered the call. Five of Oregon's drives on offense started at or beyond the Ducks' 35-yard line, twice starting drives in Nebraska territory. While the Ducks failed to come through on some of those drives, it can be frustrating and demoralizing for a defense playing its tail off.

Still, the Ducks understand the limitations on offense without Moore, and the defense is relishing the opportunity to lead the team into battle, shouldering the responsibility to put up points or keep the team in the game for all four quarters.

"Coach Lanning talks all the time about passing the torch," Wyatt said. "As soon as we get off defense, we pass the torch to offense. If it doesn't go right for them, they pass the torch back to us. Once we get those moments, we've got to just put out the fire."

Wyatt and the Oregon defense will carry the torch once again as the Ducks hit the road this week to face Illinois, still without a clear answer offensively. But the trust in Hampton and the rotation defensively will push the Ducks forward into a road matchup against an unknown entity at quarterback for the Illini.

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Nasir Wyatt credits Oregon defensive growth to trust in scheme

With a few days off before the World Series gets underway, there is plenty of opportunity to look back on the Atlanta Braves’ 2026 season. Our player review series continues with left-hander Aaron Bummer, followed by a look back at the top 10 game-changing hits for the Braves throughout the 2026 campaign.

The New York Mets have reportedly shown interest in John Mallee as they continue their search for a hitting coach. 

The Braves have a few needs that should be addressed this offseason with some notable free agents available. Between Seiya Suzuki and Randy Arozarena, who should the Braves go after?