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Eric Allen was inducted into football immortality during a ceremony at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, where the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Detroit Lions 34-7 on Thursday night to kick off the NFL preseason.
Allen, a six-time Pro Bowl cornerback who played for the Eagles, Saints and Raiders, was presented into the Pro Football Hall of Fame by one of his four sons.
He had 54 career interceptions, including eight returned for touchdowns.
Allen gave the obligatory “Fly! Eagles! Fly!” to support the Super Bowl champions who drafted him in 1988.
“I grew up in Philadelphia. I became a man there. I have a special gratitude for the organization,” Allen said.
Allen also thanked current Raiders owner Mark Davis, who was in attendance.
“Al Davis had a statement: ’Commitment to excellence,” Allen said. “It’s all over our building in Las Vegas. We are trying to make sure we fulfill that destiny, we fulfill what Al Davis was about.”
During his time at Arizona State, the Sun Devils won the 1987 Rose Bowl.
He had 15 interceptions in his four years at ASU, including two returned for a touchdown in the Rose Bowl season.
He becomes the sixth ASU football player inducted into the Hall of Fame, following Curley Culp, Mike Haynes, John Henry Johnson, Randall McDaniel and Charley Taylor.
Allen was joined by Jared Allen and Antonio Gates and Sterling Sharpe as the Class of 2025.
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Quez Watkins was placed on injured reserve ahead of the team’s annual Red & White scrimmage game on Saturday.
The team also announced the signing of wide receiver Nate McCollum.
McCollum was an undrafted rookie free agent who played college football for three years at Georgia Tech before transferring to North Carolina.
He finished his college career with 143 catches for 1,521 yards and five touchdowns.
He started his NFL career with the Seahawks.
The moves come exactly one week before the Cardinals preseason opener against the Kansas City Chiefs at State Farm Stadium on Aug. 9.
GLENDALE — Arizona Cardinals second-year receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. was not on the practice field Friday, his second consecutive day missed.
“Little bit of (knee) soreness. He’s OK, kind of day to day,” head coach Jonathan Gannon said a day earlier. “Going to be smart with him.”
Before being put on ice Thursday, Harrison had been one of the main standouts this training camp.
In addition to his bulked-up frame, the wide receiver has looked much more comfortable than he did this time last year.
“I would say a lot more relaxed. Not as nervous and fidgety,” the wideout said last week. “A lot more relaxed, calm. It’s allowed me to go out there and be free a little bit.”
Harrison has also been utilized that much more in pre-snap motions and is lining up across all three receiving spots so far this camp.
The added wrinkles should help put him in a position to improve upon his rookie numbers of 62 catches for 885 yards and eight touchdowns.
“I just always want to be a better player overall,” Harrison said. “Keep doing my best to help the team accomplish our goals. Like I said, comes down to just winning. I want to win as a team, individually, just want to win. That’s what it comes down to.”
In addition to Harrison, the Cardinals have been smart with backup offensive linemen Valentin Senn and Jake Curhan.
Neither was participating on Friday.
The Arizona Diamondbacks reinstated left-handed reliever Jalen Beeks from the 15-day injured list on Friday after he missed the past three-plus weeks with lower back inflammation.
First baseman Tyler Locklear, acquired from the Seattle Mariners in the Eugenio Suarez trade, reported to the club and will start Friday’s game against the Athletics in Sacramento.
Arizona additionally optioned left-handed pitcher Brandyn Garcia and first baseman Tristin English to Triple-A Reno, while the club selected the contracts of left-handed reliever Kyle Nelson and shortstop Connor Kaiser.
The 40-man roster is back at 40 after Arizona traded several key veterans ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, including Merrill Kelly and Suarez. The youth movement is not quite in full-swing, it turns out.
Beeks returns a semblance of stability to the bullpen as the team leader in appearances with 42. He’s worked a 4.39 ERA and made three straight scoreless appearances before hitting the shelf.
Locklear, 24, is the No. 6 prospect in Arizona’s farm system, per MLB Pipeline, and will play his first major league game of the season. He debuted last season and hit .156 in 49 plate appearances before getting sent back down. He’s made some adjustments to his hand placement this summer and has been the hottest hitter in Triple-A, as general manager Mike Hazen described.
“We feel like he made some significant adjustments fundamentally with his hands, with his setup and his swing in the middle part of the year, and he was the best hitter in Triple-A from June-on,” Hazen told Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke. “We’re gonna work to continue to push the defensive improvements at first base. He’s a great worker. We’ve heard nothing but good things makeup-wise.”
Garcia, 25, heads to Reno after making two appearances with the Diamondbacks after getting traded from Seattle for Josh Naylor. Garcia delivers a 97 mph sinker with a sweeper and slider, a potential future back-end reliever with quality stuff.
English was pushed out by Locklear, as he was getting everyday playing time at first base since Naylor was dealt last week. English is having a great year in the minor leagues (.967 OPS) but has struggled to get going in a brief MLB opportunity at 2-for-22.
Nelson returns the Arizona bullpen having last appeared in a major league game on April 22, 2024.
The southpaw suffered from thoracic outlet syndrome and missed the remainder of the 2024 season. He made his return for Triple-A Reno in May before getting designated for assignment a month later, passing through waivers and outrighted to Triple-A.
Nelson has a 3.47 ERA in 122 career games pitched for the Diamondbacks, and he made five appearances during the 2023 postseason. In Triple-A this season, he’s worked a 6.35 ERA with 17 strikeouts and nine walks in 22.2 innings.
Kaiser is a 28-year-old infielder who signed a free agent contract with the D-backs last offseason. He played three MLB games for the Colorado Rockies in 2023, his most recent big league experience.
He’s hit .236 in Reno with a .769 OPS and six home runs. He can play all around the infield but has mostly set up at shortstop.
First pitch in Sacramento is at 7:05 p.m. MST. Catch the game on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app
GLENDALE — Among the biggest question marks heading into Cardinals training camp focused on Arizona’s starting right guard spot.
After limited offensive additions this offseason and opting against bringing back veteran starter Will Hernandez, was it really Isaiah Adams’ job to lose?
Heading into Day 8 of camp, the answer’s an emphatic “yes.”
“Isaiah had a hell of a day (Tuesday), had a hell of a week last week, honestly,” head coach Jonathan Gannon said Thursday. “He probably won the day, truthfully, in my mind.
“He was the All-Star of the day, I thought. Just through team periods, through 11-on-11, through individual, he played extremely well.”
While a lot of the focus has been on Arizona’s new defensive weapons and a bulked-up Marvin Harrison Jr., Adams has been among the biggest bright spots along an offensive line that is returning a majority of its starters.
After getting his feet wet with five starts to end the year — he appeared in 100% of the available offensive snaps across that span — moving into a full-time role is the natural next step for Adams.
The Year 2 jump is a very real thing under this current regime, with nickel Garrett Williams and left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. making major jumps over the past few years. Adams is trending in that direction.
He’s not getting any free passes, either.
Isaiah Adams vs. Darius Robinson 😤 pic.twitter.com/lizBcBNBaA
— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) July 29, 2025
The second day of padded training camp practice served as a solid reminder of that.
On top of getting 1-on-1 reps in against defensive lineman Darius Robinson, who is working on his own Year 2 leap, Adams was a consistent standout during 11-on-11s.
His play throughout 11-on-11 red zone work was noticeable (keep your eye on No. 74).
Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon called RG Isaiah Adams the “All-Star” of Tuesday’s padded practice.
A good example of why: pic.twitter.com/Won77vqh9N
— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) August 1, 2025
“That’s where I really think Isaiah took the jump last week is we wanted to kind of switch what he was doing — not switch, but just give him another tool in pass pro and it looked really good,” Gannon said.
There’s still plenty of camp and preseason play to traverse, but all signs point to Adams securing his role along the interior.
Not only for his ability as a mauler in the middle, but also for his growing voice within the trenches.
“Right now, I’ve had Isaiah and Evan (Brown) out there and it’s just been great,” starting center Hjalte Froholdt said last week. “It’s a continuing dialogue. I think that’s the best trait I like to have in a guard for sure.”
Getting Adams locked in within a line full of continuity is critical to Arizona’s plans as a run-first offense and keeping franchise quarterback Kyler Murray upright. The opening came when last year’s starter, Hernandez, went down with a knee injury. Still a free agent, he was just medically cleared this past week.
Since the current regime came to town, the Cardinals have only gone up the NFL ranks in rushing totals. That trend can’t end if Arizona hopes to earn a playoff spot.
Harrison marks one of the top names that must take a Year 2 leap in 2025. Given the Cardinals’ makeup across the line, Adams is right there with him.
The end of the trade deadline on Thursday saw the Arizona Diamondbacks trade away starting pitcher Merrill Kelly to their 2023 World Series foe, the Texas Rangers.
The Texas native will be in a new jersey for the first time in his MLB career after spending over six seasons with the Diamondbacks.
The D-backs received more young pitching prospects in return: Kohl Drake, David Hagaman and Mitch Bratt.
ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle and David Schoenfield believe that Kelly will fit right in with the Rangers while they gave Drake hope to be a standout for the Diamondbacks.
Rangers grade: B-
Kelly will bump one of the Rangers’ young starters — Kumar Rocker or Jack Leiter — from the core-five rotation, with Rocker the most likely choice and a candidate to become, for now, a leverage reliever. If Tyler Mahle can make it back from a rotator cuff issue, they’ll both get bumped. But this is a good problem to have for a team trying to keep pace in a clustered AL wild-card chase, and an AL West race that remains up for grabs.
Diamondbacks grade: B+
Drake is the standout here, a 6-5 lefty with good stuff, a deep arsenal and above-average command, he has a chance to be at least a mid-rotation starter. Hagaman is raw and, at 22, remains in the low minors as he seeks to improve his control enough to allow his lively pitches to play.
Bleacher Report’s Zachary Rymer said that the trade will impact the Rangers in trying to make a playoff push and gives a good reset in the bullpen for the Diamondbacks.
For the Rangers: B
Kelly fits the bill nicely. He’s posted ERAs in the 3.00s in three of the last four seasons, including this one. He’s also on a heater with a 2.56 ERA in his last 10 starts.
He is a rental, so a three-for-one trade like this naturally carries some risk for a team that is only in wild-card contention. But then again, both Kelly and the Rangers know from 2023 that just getting in is what matters.
For the Diamondbacks: A
The Diamondbacks set a goal of replenishing their pitching ahead of the deadline, and this trade certainly accomplishes that.
Drake, Bratt and Hagaman were all among the Rangers’ top 13 prospects for MLB Pipeline. Drake is the closest to being ready for the majors, as he’s made it to Triple-A while posting a 3.10 ERA in 16 appearances overall.
FanSided’s Zachary Rotman said the Rangers came out as a clear winner in this deal but sees promise in the young pitching prospects for the Diamondbacks.
Rangers trade grade: A-
The Rangers are all-in, as they should be. This team is built right now, and with how they’ve played since the All-Star break, they’ve shown they’re worth betting on, especially since they won it all just two years ago. Kelly, a 36-year-old rental in the midst of an outstanding year, is exactly the kind of player you acquire when you’re all-in.
Diamondbacks trade grade: B+
Drake doesn’t throw particularly hard and doesn’t have a crazy ceiling, but he’s on the verge of being MLB-ready, and he could easily find himself in Arizona’s rotation by the end of the season.
The Diamondbacks didn’t get a top 100 prospects, but these are three fliers very much worth taking, especially for a team in dire need of pitching.
News trickled in after the deadline that the Diamondbacks traded pitchers Shelby Miller and Jordan Montgomery to the Milwaukee Brewers for a player to be named later or cash considerations. It was a salary dump of Montgomery’s deal that should give Milwaukee bullpen help with Miller expected to return from injury soon.
While Montgomery is recovering from Tommy John surgery, Rymer didn’t see positives for either side.
For the Brewers: D
There’s frankly too much risk for comfort going on with this deal. Montgomery is out for the year after having Tommy John surgery, so the payoff hinges on Miller making a strong recovery from a forearm injury that put him on the IL on July 5.
For the Diamondbacks: F
The D-backs saved a couple million dollars in this deal. That’s it. That’s the return. It would be disappointing even if there wasn’t backstory with Montgomery, but there is and it’s not pretty.
