Judon expected to miss time

Two players the Patriots can’t afford to lose left Sunday’s Week 4 matchup with the Cowboys.

Rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez injured his shoulder late in the first quarter Sunday. He was ruled out of the remainder of the game to start the second half.

Outside linebacker Matthew Judon then suffered an arm injury early in the fourth quarter on a tackle and also didn’t return to action after being announced as “doubtful.”

Patriots captain Deatrich Wise called Judon’s injury, which is to his biceps and could cause him to miss some time, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, “devastating.”

“We’ll be with him mentally throughout this year,” Wise said. “And I know he’ll be with us too. There’ll be some guys behind him who will be stepping up and filling into his spot.”

Trainers looked at Gonzalez on the AT&T Stadium turf before he walked to the team’s blue medical tent. After several minutes, Gonzalez departed for the locker room with Patriots training staff.

Judon suffered his injury on rushing attempt by Cowboys running back Deuce Vaughn that went for a 1-yard loss. Judon stayed on the field for several moments being tended to by trainers before walking off of the field holding his right arm. He went straight into the Patriots’ blue medical tent.

Gonzalez was the NFL’S Defensive Rookie of the Month of September. He was instrumental in limiting the Eagles, Dolphins and Jets passing attacks against top wide receivers A. J. Brown, Devonta Smith, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Garrett Wilson as the team’s most exciting young player.

Judon, a Pro Bowl selection in each of his first two seasons with the Patriots, had four sacks through the Patriots’ first three games heading into Sunday’s matchup with the Cowboys.

Gonzalez was drafted 17th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Oregon. The Patriots also have cornerbacks Jack Jones and Marcus Jones on injured reserve. Jonathan Jones was ruled out of Sunday’s game with an ankle ailment. The team was left with Myles Bryant and Shaun Wade as their top cornerbacks.

Immediately after Gonzalez left Sunday’s game, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott hit top wideout Ceedee Lamb for a 20-yard touchdown with Bryant in coverage.

The Patriots also have rookie cornerback Ameer Speed on their active gameday roster. Safety Jalen Mills also helped fill in at cornerback.

of the best defensive guards in the league. He’s a fivetime All-defensive selection, including three on the first team (2018, 2021, 2023). He also gives the Celtics another proven scorer and offensive playmaker. He averaged 19.2 points per game — and shot 38.4 percent from 3-point range — while dishing out 7.4 assists per game last season.

Most importantly, Holiday walks into this Celtics locker room as a proven NBA champion, a key member of the 2021 Bucks alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo. For a Celtics team trying to find a way over the hump, Holiday could be the missing link to help Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown find glory.

With the addition of Hol

at Fenway Park. The righthander carried a no-hitter into the bottom of the sixth and ultimately allowed one hit and three walks over six shutout innings.

Houck’s outing nearly ended in disaster when he allowed runners on the corners and a fly ball to right field that Verdugo initially lost in .the sun, but the outfielder was able to pick up the ball just in time and made a low basket catch to end the inning.

Had the ball fallen in at least one run would have scored and things could have easily snowballed, as has happened so often this season. Instead the Red Sox put up a quick four runs, getting two on a Reese Mcguire grounder misplayed by Henderson and the last two on RBI singles by Trevor Story and Wilyer Abreu to make it 6- 0.

Baltimore scored once in the eighth on an Adley Rutschman RBI single but otherwise never seriously threatened. With a bye to the American League Divisional Series already in

The Patriots’ remaining edge defenders were Deatrich Wise, Josh Uche, Keion White and Anfernee Jennings. iday, the Celtics and Bucks are now co-favorites to win the NBA championship, per Draftkings Sportsbook. The guard helps the Celtics form what could be the most fearsome starting five in the NBA, with Holiday joining Tatum, Brown, Porzingis and Derrick White. The backcourt of Holiday and White — two All-defensive guards — will be a terror on a nightly basis for opponents.

The deal likely sends Al Horford — who has started every game he’s played with the Celtics — to the bench, where the 37-year- old can stay fresh for another playoff run. The Celtics certainly still have double-big possibilities with Porzingis and Horford, but the loss of Williams — though he has

hand, the 101-win Orioles have bigger fish to fry.

The Red Sox, on the other hand, wrap up the season 78-84, the same record they finished with last year. Now after back- to- back lastplace finishes, a potentially transformative offseason awaits.

Since Chaim Bloom was fired, rumors have swirled that Red Sox manager Alex Cora might be a candidate to move up and become the new head of baseball operations. Even after Cora announced this week that he’ll be back in 2024, there was still speculation that a move to the front office might be possible.

Speaking to reporters Sunday, Cora put the notion to rest.

“I’m not ready to do that,” Cora said, noting that he’s said as much to owners John Henry, Tom Werner and Fenway Sports Group president Mike Gordon. “If I felt like, yeah, I think I can

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said Sunday after the Patriots’ loss to the Cowboys that Mac Jones will remain the team’s starting

shown to be injury-prone throughout his career — will test the Celtics’ frontcourt depth and rim protection.

Luke Kornet stands to take on an increased load in the regular season, but the Celtics will almost certainly scour the market for a capable big, especially given Porzingis’ health history — he missed the FIBA World Cup this summer due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot — and Horford’s age and durability. The Celtics have a traded player exception worth about $6.2 million they received in the Grant Williams trade that they could use to pick up another big. Could this trade open the door for the return of Blake Griffin, who was a valuable big for the

do that job, I’d probably tell them, ‘Hey, I would like to be part of the candidates.’ But I’m not ready for that.”

Cora has expressed a desire to one day shift to a front office role, but for now he’ll return as Red Sox manager in 2024 and in the meantime will play a role in the club’s ongoing search for a new general manager.

The news of former Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield’s death broke approximately 30 minutes before first pitch, right in the middle of NESN’S pregame show. Coming out of a commercial break NESN’S Tom Caron announced the tragic news and the remainder of the show was dedicated to the franchise legend.

Then, right before the game began, play-by-play man Dave O’brien and color commentator Kevin Youkilis reacted to the news as well, with Youkilis delivering an emotional quarterback.

Jones was benched late in the third quarter after throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble. Two of the turnovers led to defensive scores.

Belichick emphatically said, “no,” Jones wasn’t benched for his performance.

“There was no point in leaving him in the game,” Belichick said.

The Patriots play the Saints on Sunday at Gillette Stadium.

Bailey Zappe replaced Jones at quarterback on Sunday. The team also has Will Grier on their roster. He served as an emergency third quarterback on Sunday.

Patriots defensive tackle Davon Godchaux was active after he didn’t finish last Sunday’s win over the Jets due to an ankle injury. He was limited in practice throughout the week but dressed in Week 4.

Here was the Patriots’ full list of inactives:

QB Will Grier (emergency third QB) CB Jonathan Jones LG Cole Strange WR Kayshon Boutte OT Tyrone Wheatley

The Patriots also placed defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale on injured reserve and elevated Jeremiah Pharms Jr. off of the practice squad this week. The team had Godchaux, Christian Barmore, Lawrence Guy, Sam Roberts and Pharms available.

Celtics last season?

The Celtics will now be taking on four significant salaries this season — Tatum, Brown, Porzingis and Holiday will all make north of $28.5 million — and there’s no guarantee that Holiday extends his stay in Boston beyond this year, which makes this move even riskier. ESPN reported that the Celtics will work to sign Holiday to a long-term extension, but they don’t have a lot of salary cap flexibility, already tied to supermax extensions with Tatum and Brown and an extension with Porzingis through 2026. With the second apron looming, is there room for an aging Holiday long-term?

It seems the Celtics are willing to roll the dice.

tribute to his former teammate and colleague.

“He was a great competitor when he took that mound, he was a great teammate and a great friend,” Youkilis said. “I had the luxury to play with him on the field, in the booth, and just glad I had the opportunity over the years to be alongside him. Just an amazing husband, father and community leader. He really enjoyed people, he really enjoyed being around people, and today we lost one of the good ones.”

A moment of silence in Wakefield’s honor was observed at Camden Yards during the pregame ceremonies, and following the game Cora offered his condolences, calling Wakefield one of the best teammates he ever had.

“He was there for us all the time, he was accountable, he was what a Boston Red Sox should look like,” Cora said. “Of all the guys I played with, no one wore his jersey with more pride than Tim Wakefield.”