SAN FRANCISCO — Retirement will have to wait a little while longer for Matthew Stafford. After being named NFL MVP for the first time in his 17-year NFL career, the Los Angeles Rams quarterback announced on the NFL Honors stage that he will be back for the 2026 season. Before this announcement on Thursday night, Stafford’s playing future had been up in the air ever since the Rams’ season ended in the NFC Championship. 

“I’ll see you guys next year,” Stafford said with the MVP award in hand and four daughters alongside him. 

“It’s something that I’ve been thinking about,” Stafford told reporters after receiving the award. “Talking with my family about even before the season ended, whether or not they wanted me to continue to play and whether or not it felt like I wanted to keep playing. I ended the season on a healthy note and was a part of a great team. I had a bunch of teammates in the crowd, coaches in the crowd, and it just felt like the right thing to do at the right moment. 

“It’s a family decision. I have my girls with me, so it just felt right. Happy to be coming back.”

Stafford, 37, just completed a prolific 2025 season that found him voted as a first-team All-Pro along with this MVP honor. His 46 passing touchdowns were a franchise record and a career high for the former No. 1 overall pick in 2009. He was also just the fourth quarterback all time with at least 45 passing touchdowns and under 10 interceptions on the year.

“This game takes a lot out of you,” Stafford said when asked why he considered retirement after a season where he played at such an elite level. “You saw the people, the four little girls that were standing on stage with me, and I want to be as big a part of their life as I possibly can be. That’s really important to me, and if they weren’t supportive of me playing, I wouldn’t do it. 

“I’m lucky to have little girls that want their dad to do what he loves to do. They love cheering me on and all my teammates. It’s a special thing to have that, but it’s not something I’m willing to lose over a game that I love to play there’s no question about it but if they weren’t behind me in that decision, I don’t care how good I played that year or the year before or whatever it is, you know, we’d have some real talks.”

Stafford is also just the 15th quarterback ever to win MVP and have a Super Bowl on his résumé. Ten of those other 14 players are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, while three of the ones currently on the outside looking in are simply not eligible, but will get in (Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes). 

With that in mind, Stafford has positioned himself quite nicely to one day be enshrined in Canton, Ohio, but the clock for his eligibility won’t start ticking quite yet. 

The Super Bowl is just three days away, and after either the Seattle Seahawks or New England Patriots prevail, the NFL will jump with both feet into the pre-draft process. The Minnesota Vikings will pick 18th on Draft Night Number One, and according to budding consensus, the frontrunner to land in the Twin Cities is Clemson cornerback Avieon Terrell.

Terrell’s name keeps surfacing for Minnesota mock drafts, and the fit makes sense given Brian Flores’ appetite for physical corners who can survive on an island.

Minnesota is due — massively overdue — to hit on a rookie cornerback. Perhaps that man will be Terrell.

Vikings Mock Drafts Keep Pointing to Terrell

Get your mock draft machines warmed up.

Terrell a February Mock Draft Frontrunner for Vikings

Fox Sports‘ Bucky Brooks published a mock draft this week, and lo and behold, Terrell got another mention for Minnesota.

Brooks wrote, “Brian Flores needs a collection of high-IQ cover corners to make his scheme work. Terrell’s experience and ball skills would make him a nice fit as a CB2 opposite Byron Murphy.”

A day prior, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein went the same route for the Vikings, noting on Terrell: “Terrell is a sticky, man-cover cornerback with the ability to irritate at the catchpoint and play inside or outside.”

Terrell has also been mock-drafted to Minnesota by about six other writers in the last week. You can see those publications here.

Brian Flores Calling the Shots?

Last week, the Vikings severed ties with general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, a few days removed from former Vikings passer Sam Darnold reaching the Super Bowl. Adofo-Mensah’s draft record was apparently too poor for a fifth offseason, and although it was late by offseason standards to make the decision, the ownership group pulled the trigger on Adofo-Mensah’s termination.

Nobody is too sure who will make the personnel calls on draft night, but with Brian Flores back in the saddle as defensive coordinator, equipped with a contract worth $6 million per year, the defensive mastermind might call the shots in Round 1.

If so, Flores’s defense could reach new heights with Terrell or his draft mate, Mansoor Delane of LSU, who is expected to be the first cornerback off the board in April.

With Flores empowered to make roster decisions, as the working theory suggests, Minnesota’s defense could bend defensively in the first couple of rounds.

Terrell’s Scouting Report

Terrell checks several boxes that keep him firmly in 1st-Round conversations. He’s just 21 years old, giving him youth that many prospects don’t have. At 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds, the frame works, too. The skill set follows — physical coverage, ball tracking, and a knack for finishing plays. The collegiate traits translate cleanly to the NFL level.

Bleacher Report‘s Daniel Harms on the Clemson corner: “Terrell gets proper depth in zone coverage and uses exceptional eyes to break on route concepts and throws. He has a great competitive nature across the board and won’t back down to anyone. He’s improved strength and leverage understanding to deliver hits and get off blocks.”

“Smooth backpedal and hip-flip to match to maintain connectivity in man coverage and zone match principles. Breaks on the football quickly and regularly attacks the catch point with his hands and ball tracking skills.”

And NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein: “Avieon shares the same bloodlines and coverage temperament as his brother, A.J., a first-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2020. Avieon Terrell is an athletic, fluid mover with clean transitions and enough speed to stay in phase on most vertical routes. He’s most effective in press-man coverage, where he mirrors releases with timing and discipline, staying crowded to the route.”

“He concedes 50/50s to bigger targets at times, but is a constant catch irritant with good technique on all three levels. He can play wide or inside and is willing in run support, but he lacks ideal size. Terrell projects as an early starter thanks to his polish, ball skills and coverage versatility.”

The New-Look CB Room if So

If the mock-draft powers that be have this Terrell pick right, Minnesota’s 2026 cornerback room will look something like this before free agency:

• Byron Murphy Jr.
• Isaiah Rodgers
• Avieon Terrell
• Dwight McGlothern
• Zemaiah Vaughn

While Minnesota doesn’t have much cap space as of early February, interim boss Rob Brzezinski could add a corner or two from the open market in March.

The Vikings are egregiously overdue to hit on a cornerback; they haven’t successfully drafted one with long-term staying power since Trae Waynes and Mackenise Alexander a decade ago.

The NFL Draft is 11 weeks away.

The trainer for Feroce, Dominic Sutton, intends to remain non-committal on the gelding’s autumn program until gauging his return to racing at Caulfield.

Having claimed the Group 1 Australian Guineas in the prior year, the gelding lines up first-up in the Group 3 Kevin Heffernan Stakes (1400m) this coming Saturday.

How Feroce performs upon resumption will guide his future racing route.

In contemplation for Sutton are events including the Group 1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) on February 21 at Caulfield, the Group 1 All-Star Mile (1600m) next month at Flemington, plus the Group 2 Blamey Stakes (1600m) set for February 28.

“We haven’t made any set plans. We want to see how he returns first-up,” Sutton said.

“We’ll probably keep him to that 1400 metres, to a mile, but he has returned well.

“Potentially he could head to the Futurity, the All-Star Mile, but if we need to keep him a level down, there is also the Blamey at Flemington.

“The weather will dictate whether he goes to Sydney for a race like the Doncaster, but we’ll probably just target Victoria because we know how wet Sydney can get in the autumn.

“I’ll be dodging the wet tracks with him.”

Feroce enjoyed a solid launch to his spring campaign last time, achieving third position in Caulfield’s Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m), prior to fading to eighth in the Toorak Handicap and facing adverse wet going in the Sydney Golden Eagle.

“He had a really good start to the spring and in the Rupert Clarke, he was super, ran a peak performance that day, and then we got things tactically wrong in the Toorak,” Sutton said.

“We pressed forward from a wide gate, and he just couldn’t do it in that high pressure race, riding the speed and that pressure early.

“Then we took him to Sydney for the Golden Eagle. It rained on the day, it was a horrible track, horrible conditions.

“He needs a good surface, and it was literally a forget run.”

Sutton holds that Feroce excels between 1400m and 1600m, but could consider extending the gelding to 2000m anew.

On the one occasion he tackled 2000m before, Feroce placed sixth in the Group 1 Australian Cup of last year at Flemington.

“It was an afterthought and he was the youngest horse in the race and with Pride Of Jenni in the race, it was a stiff 2000 metres,” Sutton said.

“I have always thought he would be a 10-furlong horse, but he does seem to sprint quite well fresh.

“We’ll see which way he takes us, but there are plenty of options.”

Visit leading racing betting markets to place your wager on the Kevin Heffernan Stakes.

The post Sutton keeping an open mind with Feroce first appeared on Just Horse Racing.

Wilson is rounding out its 2026 releases with a great answer for improving players demanding better from their irons.

Wilson’s new Dynapwr Forged irons enter a crowded player’s distance spot in the market, but with a cavity back design and an AI-generated “Variable Face Technology,” they’re making a push toward the top of the category.

“We wanted to build on the success of the previous award-winning model, while taking strides to elevate the performance to the next level,” Ben Hanser, CAD engineer at Wilson Golf, said in a statement. “The new iron is a statement of Wilson’s dedication to innovation and tradition. By combining forged precision with AI-driven design, we’ve created an iron that delivers distance, control and feel in perfect harmony.”

Keep reading below for more on the Dynapwr Forged irons, including my take on the release.

What’s new with the 2026 Wilson Dynapwr Forged irons — and why you should care

While the previous generation Dynapwr Forged irons were super successful, the 2026 models improve on them by adding a new optimized face thickness with the help of AI. This eliminated the need for the power holes of the previous model.

The variable face thickness helps boost face flex, in turn increasing ball speeds.

Dynapwr Forged also has a new KR-CUP face design, which overlaps the face around the sole, enhancing face flex further, particularly on low strikes.

To help further improve feel in the forged 8620 carbon steel chassis, the cavities in the 3- to 9-iron are filled with urethane to enhance feel.

The 2026 Dynapwr Forged irons

What is it: A player’s distance cavity back iron with a new AI-designed variable face thickness and urethane-filled cavity.

Who it’s for: Players who are advancing their ball striking ability and want something with a more premium feel without sacrificing forgiveness and speed, or moving to something as compact as a hollow-body.

My take: The final piece of a revitalized lineup

Many people are going to ask if they should choose between the Dynapwr Forged or the Staff Model XB iron. But truthfully, the new Dynapwr Forged perfectly fills a gap between the XB and the standard Dynapwr iron.

The Dynapwr Forged is clearly in that player’s distance category with entries like the P790, JPX 925 Forged, Ti Fusion and many others for players looking for speed and forgiveness.

The Dynapwr Forged is going to fall on the larger and faster end of that spectrum, while the XB falls more in this newer category of player performance.

What’s the difference? I believe it depends on your trend. This Dynapwr Forged is great for a player who is improving and needs to build confidence, but also wants to start getting into the more premium feel. In other words, they are a player who is improving, rather than a player looking to recapture lost performance.

You can still benift from lots of modern technology, like the new varaible face thickness and urethane-filled cavity, but you can also hone in your precision with a more players shape than the Dynapwr irons.

Dynapwr Forged gives Wilson a very complete iron lineup with no one left out. Another step toward the restoration of one of golf’s (and sport’s) great brands.

Price, Specs and Availability

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Wilson 2026 Dynapwr Forged Custom Irons

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Wilson’s new Dynapwr Forged irons are available for pre-order starting Feb. 5 and will arrive at retail locations on Feb. 19.

The full set will cost $1,199.99 for 5-GW with steel shafts or $1,299.99 for graphite. A 3- and 4-iron are also available through custom.

Want to find the best driver for your game in 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

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Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett and Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba were named the NFL’s Defensive and Offensive Players of the Year respectively on Thursday night at the NFL Honors.

Garrett was the unanimous choice for NFL Defensive Player of the Year and it was the second time in his career that he was awarded the honor.

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Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett accepts the AP Defensive Player of the Year award during the NFL Honors award show, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

The Browns star set the NFL mark with 23 sacks in a single season, surpassing Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt and New York Giants legend Michael Strahan in the final game of the season. Garrett sacked Joe Burrow in the final game of the season. Cleveland defeated the Cincinnati Bengals, 20-18.

It was the first time Garrett reached at least 20 sacks in a single season. He never had more than 16. Garrett added 60 total tackles, tying a career high. He had three forced fumbles and a pass breakup.

CONTROVERSIAL PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2026 REVEALED

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba speaks during a news conference on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in San Jose, Calif., ahead of Super Bowl 60 between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Smith-Njigba helped the Seahawks get back to the Super Bowl as they will take on the New England Patriots on Sunday night. In 2025, he asserted himself as one of the best receivers in the NFL and was rewarded for it.

The third-year player had 119 catches for an NFL-leading 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns. It was the first time in his young career that he reached the double-digit touchdown mark. He also led the NFL in yards per touch with 14.3.

Myles Garrett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba were named the Defensive and Offensive Players of the Years respectively on Feb. 5, 2026. (IMAGN)

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With Sam Darnold under center, the Seahawks were third in points scored and eighth in yards gained.

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Veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford confirmed he will keep playing for at least one more season after being named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player for the first time.

The Los Angeles Rams star was the slight favourite for the award and beat New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye by one first-place vote.

The 37-year-old became the oldest quarterback to win the MVP for the first time and it is the 13th straight win by a QB.

Stafford had been rumoured to be considering retirement and while on stage with his four daughters in San Francisco, said: “I’ll see you guys next year.”

“It’s something I’d been thinking about, whether I wanted to keep playing or not,” he added.

“I ended the season on a healthy note, had a bunch of team-mates in the crowd and my daughters with me, so it felt like the right thing to do in the moment. I’m happy to be coming back.”

Stafford was unable to register a play-off win in 12 years with the Detroit Lions, but after being traded to the Rams in 2021, he won the Super Bowl in his first season and has now been named MVP.

The former first overall draft pick is just the second quarterback after Tom Brady (2007) to lead the NFL in touchdown passes, passing yards and touchdown-interception ratio over the past 50 seasons.

He led the Rams to the NFC Championship game but the Seattle Seahawks won to book their spot in Sunday’s Super Bowl, where they will face the Patriots in Santa Clara.

Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba was named Offensive Player of the Year at the NFL’s end-of-season awards night after leading the league for receiving yards.

New England’s Mike Vrabel won Coach of the Year having led the Patriots to the Super Bowl in his first season as their head coach.

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett was named Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in three years after claiming the single-season sack record.