The Minnesota Vikings will showcase a few position battles at training camp in late July, but none is higher profile than the quarterback competition between the incumbent, J.J. McCarthy, and the newcomer, Kyler Murray. And as of May, there’s a frontrunner to prevail — pretty heavily, actually: Murray.

Minnesota’s quarterback room suddenly has a betting favorite before training camp begins.

Carson Wentz will be there, too, but he’s realistically in line for the QB3 job.

Murray Enters Summer with a Clear Edge

McCarthy faces an uphill battle to seize the job he had last year.

Vegas Points to Murray as Overwhelming Frontrunner

Sportsbooks generally have odds for everything, and the Vikings’ quarterback race is no different. VikingzFanPage, an account with nearly 30,000 followers on Twitter (X), tweeted Wednesday, “Kyler Murray is the overwhelming favorite (-1000) to start week 1 for the Vikings, per FanDuel. J.J. McCarthy (+600) and Carson Wentz (+7000) trail him.”

As a point of reference, a -1,000 moneyline is close to the equivalent of an NFL kicker connecting on a 25-yard field goal. That’s how automatic Murray is for oddsmakers later this summer.

Saying the Quiet Part Out Loud

The telling part about the gambling odds? This is what most reasonable Vikings expect as the ultimate outcome.

When the Cardinals ousted Murray in March, it was just kind of a generalized assumption that he would land with the Vikings. The momentum emerged immediately, and with very little suspense, he signed in Minnesota.. That was that.

While every athlete should have to earn his spot on the roster, all signs point to Murray, pretty damn strongly indicating he was signing with the Vikings as the QB1. The team either insinuated it, or Murray is confident enough to know that he’s not losing a camp battle to McCarthy.

SI.com‘s Thomas Carelli noted on Murray this week, “While his QB1 job has yet to be confirmed, the expectation is that Murray will easily beat out JJ McCarthy, if that even is a competition. It is fair to question how good Murray is. However, he finds himself in the perfect situation. Murray plays indoors for an offensive wizard and quarterback expert in Kevin O’Connell.”

“He has Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and Jauan Jennings at his disposal. Beyond that, the Vikings roster includes TJ Hockenson at tight end and a solid 1-2 running back duo of Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason. Murray is ranked just inside the top-20 quarterbacks as of now. Given the talent surrounding him, the upside is absolutely that of a top-10 fantasy football quarterback, if not even higher.”

Don’t Forget Injuries for Both Men

Why is Minnesota’s quarterback room so deep? Easy — the main three guys have documented and recent injury history.

Murray has missed 26% of all career starts due to injury. Hell, he played just five games in 2025. The speedy passer has two knocks on his resume: he’s not very tall, and he’s not very durable. One must assume that stature contributes to the injury history.

How about McCarthy? Well, he has a wild injury history after having no major ailments in high school or college. A clean bill of health is one thing that made his 2024 draft stock so attractive — McCarthy hardly ever got hurt.

However, he arrived in the Twin Cities and began experiencing a bizarre parade of injuries, including a torn meniscus, high ankle sprain, concussion, and broken hand. To date, McCarthy has been unavailable for about 73% of all Vikings games. Not ideal.

Finally, Wentz played five games for the Vikings last year before going down with a torn labrum. He claims to be fully healed now, but his shoulder failed him last season.

Between the three, the Vikings assume that one quarterback will stay healthy. They can’t all three get hurt and lost for the season, right?

Wentz and Brosmer Lurking

Murray as the sportsbooks’ frontrunner? Check. McCarthy as the probable QB2? Check. That leaves Wentz and second-year passer Max Brosmer as contingency plans.

Wentz played decently in five starts last year, guiding Minnesota to a 2-3 record on his watch. The offense showed more consistency with him under center than with McCarthy.

On Brosmer, he stunk as a rookie. He often played buffoonishly. Still, a quarterback isn’t defined by a couple of games in his rookie season. Like thousands before him, Brosmer still has time to develop as an NFL quarterback, probably a guy with QB2 upside.

The NFL schedule was released on Thursday night; Minnesota is hosting Green Bay in Week 1. It’ll be trial by fire for Murray against Minnesota’s main rival right away.

Dustin Baker is a novelist and political scientist. His second novel, The Invaders , is out now. So is … More about Dustin Baker

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has explained why he decided against buying Arsenal despite years of interest in the Premier League club.

Dangote, who has supported Arsenal since the 1980s, had been linked with a takeover move for more than 10 years. His interest first became public in 2011 when he considered buying a 15.9 per cent stake in the club before it was eventually sold to American businessman Stan Kroenke.

At the time, Dangote believed the club’s valuation was too expensive and chose to step away from the deal.

Speaking in a recent interview shared by Soccernet, the Nigerian billionaire said his attention was focused on completing his major business projects, including the Lagos refinery, fertiliser plant and petrochemical company.

“I almost bought the club,” Dangote said. “But at that period, I was also handling the refinery, fertiliser and petrochemical projects.”

He explained that he had to choose between investing heavily in Arsenal or continuing to fund his industrial businesses.

“Arsenal was worth about two billion dollars then. I had to decide whether to put my money into the club or continue building my businesses,” he said.

Dangote added that he eventually decided to remain a loyal supporter instead of becoming the club owner.

“I still support Arsenal, watch their games and wear their shirt and scarf whenever they play,” he added.

The billionaire also admitted that he no longer has plans to buy the North London club because of its current value.

“It is better for me to remain a fan and continue growing my business. Today, the club is worth billions and it is no longer worth it for me,” he said.

According to Forbes, Arsenal is now valued at about $3.4 billion, making them the eighth most valuable football club in the world. Stan Kroenke remains the majority owner of the club.

Manchester City defender Marc Guehi spoke about an interesting year for him as he looks to make more FA Cup history

It’s fair to say that Marc Guehi’s glass is at least half full. Manchester City staff have been impressed by how their newest signing recovers from setbacks, believing it marks him out as a top player for a top club in the same way that it does for Gianluigi Donnarumma and Erling Haaland.

Guehi arrived from Crystal Palace and plunged himself straight into a City emergency, stabilising a team that had lost two central defenders to significant injuries in the same game and rescuing their hopes in multiple competitions. Commanding performances at Anfield and Stamford Bridge have been highlights to a promising start.

Victory at his former club Chelsea, which included a terrific goal, could have been seen as revenge for not being given a chance as a first team player after coming through the academy. There is none of that though, instead a warmness and gratitude for everyone in West London who he believes played a part in making him the footballer he is today.

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But there have also been setbacks. Guehi had to keep his cool early in his City career when Dominic Solanke kicked through his leg to score for Spurs in a damaging draw for the Blues, and then came the fatal error at Everton when he lost his focus to gift Thierno Barry a goal.

Before then, there was also the bizarre situation of the Carabao Cup. Despite the competition having made moves to stop players being cup-tied – allowing Antoine Semenyo, for instance, to feature for both Bournemouth and City – Guehi became the only ineligible player in the competition by virtue of having only completed his move after the first leg of City’s first leg against Newcastle.

Guardiola pleaded for common sense to prevail but the rules stood and City had to make do without Guehi as well as the injured Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol. Having joined City to win trophies, the 25-year-old could only sit and watch – something he hates – as his new teammates came together and won a trophy he had played any part in.

If some would naturally be disappointed, it should not surprise that Guehi has found the positive. Having found it tough to acclimatise to a different environment at City while being asked to play straight away, his enforced absence for the league cup final gave him a front row seat for exactly what is required for a City team to win trophies.

“It was great. It was great, to be honest,” he said. “It was great just to see what the guys were able to achieve against such a formidable opponent in Arsenal. And it was great to see the mentality and just learn. Learn what it takes to go on and on those trophies and in those moments.

“When you’re not in those moments often, it’s hard to understand. So taking, I guess, a backseat was probably the best thing for me and just seeing how well that did was amazing.

“I wouldn’t say it makes me hungrier. I think the hunger is always there. I don’t think it ever goes away. It just makes me appreciate the art of winning a bit more, understanding what it really takes to maintain that level and keep winning and finding new ways to win as well. So yeah, I just appreciate the craft a bit more.”

City have taken the fight for the Premier League title into the final week of the season after beating Palace and have also made it to the FA Cup final to present Guehi with a unique opportunity.

The centre-backs has had to endure a few jokes about beating City in last year’s final in controversial fashion, but could become just the fourth player in history to win the FA Cup in successive years with two different teams. Olivier Giroud managed it with Arsenal and Chelsea in 2017 and 2018, Brian Talbot with Ipswich and Chelsea in 1978 and 1979, and Arthur Kinnaird all the way back in 1878 and 1879 with Wanderers and Old Etonians.

Having also been dumped out of the competition by Macclesfield with Palace in the third round, Guehi could also benefit from the same rules that denied him in the Carabao Cup and become the first player to win the tournament after representing two teams. Needless to say, it has been a memorable year for the player..

“I feel like my football life is just crazy. There’s no, how can I say, consistency to it. It’s just very unpredictable. And it’s quite fun to be honest. But yeah, it’s very interesting. I’m glad to be given the opportunity to play in such a prestigious final again.

“And for this football club, I know how much it means to them to win trophies, especially FA Cup and the history that it has behind and also the record breaking, getting to this part of the competition again. So it’s a really big thing for the football club and I’m glad to be involved in it.”

Part of Guehi’s ‘crazy’ life has been ending up at City at the first place. He was hours away from signing for Liverpool in the final days of last summer’s transfer window, having already done a medical, when that deal collapsed and there was then no guarantee that he would move to Anfield or anywhere else in January.

City were interested in him as a free agent for this coming summer but were not expected to be first in line, yet they pounced in January when other clubs stalled and landed their man. Guehi agreed to come, despite knowing that the majority of his career at the Etihad will almost certainly not be with the best manager in the world in Guardiola.

“I just felt like it was the right timing. Right timing, right place,” he added.

“And I think since I’ve been here only a few months, I just get the feeling that I made the right decision. The people at the football club are incredible. It’s got absolutely everything I need to try and develop as a player and just help the football club go even further.

“And so I just think everything just aligned in terms of timing, in terms of what I wanted in my career and where I needed to be in my own personal life as well. So yeah, it’s just been great.

“There’s so much that we can all improve on. We’re all, I think, trying to learn from the older guys, from the guys that have been there and done it again and again and again. But yeah, definitely see the potential. Whether we go on and do it, it’s up to us. We’ve got to make that decision every day we come into training and be intentional about our work.”

Having arrived, it should come as no surprise that the centre-back is feeling upbeat about City’s chances of silverware for this season and the future. A lot has changed for Guehi since he captained Palace to victory over the Blues at Wembley a year ago, but he has not and that is why City are so pleased he is now theirs.

Left untouched, the Vikings’ roster is going to see a ton of talent venture into next year’s free agency, creating perfect conditions to welcome a boatload comp picks (maximum = four).

Indeed, a lot of the in-house talents are working with just a single year left on their deals. That’s not to say that things aren’t going to change for some of these guys. Making a final call on the new GM will presumably be what precedes some of the contract decisions that have yet to be made. Agreeing to longer contracts with some of these players will still involve a future where Minnesota could be adding a good cluster of picks.

The Vikings’ Comp Picks Tidal Wave

Begin with some very basic rules to govern the conversation. Anyone looking to go more in-depth on the mystery of comp picks can check out Over the Cap, especially Nick Korte.

A basic understanding of comp picks means recognizing that a team that loses pricey veterans in free agency without bringing in a proportionally expensive incoming free agent is set to earn a draft pick. When Minnesota lost Sam Darnold on a deal for $33.5 million annually without bringing in someone of a similar price range, the Vikings earned that 3rd (the pick used on o-lineman Caleb Tiernan).

A variety of factors can complicate that too-simple math. Cutting a player, for instance, doesn’t mean a team gets a new candidate to generate a comp pick. What needs to occur is a team seeing a veteran get to the end of his deal before departing due to free agency. The NFL moves in afterwards to compensate the team that lost the pricey veteran by kicking over a draft pick.

The current outlook has the cutoff for 2027 compensatory picks sitting a touch below $4 million per year.

Korte’s current estimation has Minnesota moving toward adding a 6th for the 2027 NFL Draft due to losing Ryan Wright ($3.5 million per year) and Jalen Nailor ($11.7 million per year). Signing James Pierre ($4.25 million per year) cancels out that possible Wright comp pick, but Nailor’s beefy deal didn’t have an offsetting deal to cancel out the added draft selection.

Jauan Jennings would have cancelled out that pick since his deal is reasonably meaty. Crucial, though, was the timing. Waiting until after the draft to sign Mr. Jennings means getting that projected 6th across the finish line, at least per the current outlook.

With all of that being said, consider players moving into a final contract year who could plausibly make enough on the open market to generate a comp pick:

• OL Blake Brandel
• LB Blake Cashman
• WR Jauan Jennings
• RB Aaron Jones
• RB Jordan Mason
• QB Kyler Murray
• RT Brian O’Neill
• LB Ivan Pace
• CB Isaiah Rodgers
• OT Ryan Van Demark
• EDGE Andrew Van Ginkel
• S Jay Ward

Consider a 2027 where the cutoff for comp picks sits at an average of $5 million. How many of the above-listed players will demand contracts meaty enough to get a comp pick on the board? The 2028 NFL Draft — an event that’s genuinely not that far off — could see two, three, or four picks added due to some of these guys going elsewhere.

The new GM, whoever that person ends up being, could opt to extend all of Brian O’Neill, Andrew Van Ginkel, Jay Ward, and maybe two or three others. Even that scenario, though, means seeing somewhere around a half dozen veterans who could be pricey enough to generate a comp pick.

Of course, the Vikings will probably be more frisky in next year’s free agency period since the current outlook has Minnesota at $56 million in cap space, albeit with only 42 contracts under consideration. Even bringing that open room down in the $30 to $40 million range will be more than enough to bring in some external talent, especially since next year’s cap saving moves haven’t yet taken place.

A tricky balance, to be sure, as Minnesota looks to thread the needle on veteran talent and assets to acquire young talent.

The Minnesota Vikings have worked through rookie minicamp. Next up are OTAs alongside mandatory minicamp. A summer break will take place before training camp gets rolling in late-July. After the GM mystery gets solved, some players will be extended ahead of being able to generate comp picks in March of 2027.

If/when these deals get done, consider who remains and what sort of possibilities the Vikings are working toward.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

Kylian Mbappé will spearhead France at the World Cup after national team coach Didier Deschamps on Thursday announced his 26-man squad for this summer’s tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Deschamps, who guided France to World Cup glory in 2018 and will leave his role after the 2026 edition, included few surprises.

“It’s a squad. Not necessarily the 26 best players. It’s about balance and how the team comes together,” Deschamps told French TV channel TF1.

“The overriding and essential criterion (for selection) is a sporting one,” the 57-year-old later explained to journalists.

Mbappé will likely captain the team despite a thigh injury sustained last month, which caused him to miss key matches in Real Madrid‘s La Liga run-in.

Read moreFrance host Ukraine in Paris with 2026 World Cup spot up for grabs

However, the 27-year-old will be on the plane to North America as part of a glittering French forward line, also featuring Ballon d’Or holder Ousmane Dembélé and Desiré Doué of Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise.

Read moreDidier Deschamps to step down as France coach after 2026 World Cup

Rayan Cherki will make his World Cup debut. The 22-year-old playmaker has enjoyed a sparkling debut season at Manchester City, while his Premier League rival William Saliba of Arsenal will provide defensive solidity for Les Bleus.

Full-back Lucas Hernandez and midfield dynamo N’Golo Kante are, alongside Mbappe and Dembele, the only survivors from Deschamps’ World Cup-winning squad from eight years ago in Russia.

Goalkeepers: Mike Maignan (AC Milan/ITA), Robin Risser (Lens), Brice Samba (Rennes)

Defenders: Lucas Digne (Aston Villa/ENG), Malo Gusto (Chelsea/ENG), Lucas Hernandez (Paris Saint-Germain), Theo Hernandez (Al Hilal/KSA), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool/ENG), Maxence Lacroix (Crystal Palace/ENG), Jules Kounde (Barcelona/ESP), William Saliba (Arsenal/ENG), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich/GER)

Midfielders: N’Golo Kante (Fenerbahce/TUR), Manu Kone (Roma/ITA), Adrien Rabiot (AC Milan/ITA), Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid/ESP), Warren Zaire-Emery (PSG)

Forwards: Maghnes Akliouche (Monaco), Bradley Barcola (PSG), Rayan Cherki (Manchester City/ENG), Ousmane Dembele (PSG), Desire Doue (PSG), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich/GER), Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid/ESP), Jean-Philippe Mateta (Crystal Palace/ENG), Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan/ITA)

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

If you happen to be piling up club championships and your Handicap Index is in the low single digits, there’s little doubt you are an uber-talented golfer. But what about the rest of the golfing public? At what point are you considered a “good” golfer? A Handicap Index adds some context, although the answer remains subjective.

For a sport so maddeningly difficult to master, what does an amateur golfer have to shoot to be considered “good” at golf?

That was the question CBS Golf’s Colt Knost — who is also one-half of GOLF’s Subpar podcast duo — posed to some of the sport’s best players at this week’s PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club. And if you needed any sort of evidence of just how compelling (or controversial) this topic is, the video has already been viewed more than 4 million times in less than 24 hours on CBS Golf’s Instagram page.

As you can imagine, the answers to the burning question were not universal.

“I think if you can shoot in the 80s I feel like you’re a serviceable golfer,” said World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.

“If you are shooting 85 or under, I think you are pretty good at golf,” said Xander Schauffele.

World No. 3 Cameron Young had a slightly higher bar to clear.

“I feel like anyone that shoots around 80 is realistically pretty good at golf,” he said.

Meanwhile, two European Ryder Cup teammates have much higher standards. Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy both said you have to break 80 to be considered a good player. Their Ryder Cup captain, however, allowed for a little more grace.

“I would say break 90,” said Luke Donald.

Collin Morikawa wouldn’t offer a number, but he did have more context to add than anyone else.

“I don’t think there’s a number, but I think you have to be able to finish out every hole without like picking up a 2-footer,” he said. “But to be good at golf, not make a double bogey.”

Pressed for a number, Morikawa still didn’t budge.

“There’s no score, just without a double bogey,” he said. “You can shoot 90, that’s 18 over, but all bogeys.”

We can also turn to our friends at the USGA for help answering this question. Last year, 3.68 million golfers in the United States alone kept a handicap and posted a domestic record of 82 million rounds. Only 2 percent of those male golfers were scratch, and less than 1 percent of females were scratch.

But we already know scratch golfers are considered good.

The average handicap, however, was 14.0 for male golfers and 28.8 for females. The USGA also broke down the percentage of golfers in each handicap range, and the largest for men (26.48 percent) was in the 10-14.9 handicap range. According to their data, 29.81 percent of the men who kept a handicap last year were single-digit players.

So, what do you consider “good” at golf? That answer remains as subjective as ever. But if you happen to be asking this author — he agrees with the European Ryder Cup skipper.

Kylian Mbappé has reportedly created fresh tension at Real Madrid after claiming interim coach Álvaro Arbeloa reduced his importance in the squad.

The French forward spoke after Madrid’s 2-0 win against Real Oviedo, a game that did little to calm the growing frustration between the player and sections of the club’s supporters.

Mbappé came on from the bench and provided an assist for Jude Bellingham’s goal, but he was still greeted with loud boos from some fans inside the Santiago Bernabéu.

The reaction from supporters comes after reports of an online petition calling for the striker to leave the club following Madrid’s recent struggles, including their 2-0 defeat to FC Barcelona that confirmed the La Liga title for their rivals.

After the match, Mbappé questioned why he was left out of the starting line-up and suggested that his place in the team had dropped.

“I was ready to start but Arbeloa told me I am the fourth striker now,” Mbappé said.

“It’s okay, we have to accept the coach’s decision. I will continue to work harder. I am fully fit and ready to play. Why I didn’t start? Ask the manager.”

However, Arbeloa quickly rejected the claims and insisted he never told the player he was fourth-choice in attack.

“It never happened that I told Mbappé he’s our fourth striker,” the Madrid coach said.

“Maybe he misunderstood. I have never said that.”

The disagreement has added more pressure around the club as Madrid prepare for changes after missing out on the league title.