Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy hasn’t even fully begun his competition with Kyler Murray, and the world has already lined up new employers for him, including trade ideas to the Arizona Cardinals and New York Jets, among others. Now, one podcast host believes McCarthy would fit well in Denver.

The Broncos clearly have a QB1 in Bo Nix, but David Marshall’s theory suggests McCarthy could play QB2 in Denver rather than in Minnesota.

Minnesota Has No Reason to Rush a McCarthy Trade to DEN or Anywhere

Marshall: McCarthy to DEN Makes Sense

Marshall advanced the idea on the David Talks Broncos show last week: “McCarthy was kind of a disaster last year after his time at Michigan. You could see here at Michigan, National Champion, he’s got all the traits and tools you’re looking for, and you saw here during his time in the NFL.”

“He tore his ACL in 2024, so he didn’t get a lot of time to actually improve his game. He played in a pro-style offense under Jim Harbaugh at Michigan, and I think he’s got the brains to operate this offense with Sean Payton and Davis Webb.”

Denver’s QB2 at the moment is Jarrett Stidham, who started in the AFC Championship in January.

Marshall added, “He needs to fine-tune his mechanics, his footwork, and that’s where the Broncos do some of their best work. I think J.J. McCarthy in terms of not looking at him as a franchise quarterback because we’ve got that in Bo Nix, but as that franchise backup. That next guy that can be here for a few years.”

Why … Would McCarthy Leave QB2 Job in MIN for QB2 Job in DEN?

The idea from Marshall is predicated on McCarthy leaving the friendly confines of Minnesota — presumably as Murray’s backup — for Denver to presumably become Nix’s backup.

Immediately, the question becomes: Why on earth would he want that? McCarthy departing the Vikings in 2026 would probably have to come from his trade request, and it would be strange for him to sign off on a deal that shipped him to the Broncos. If McCarthy wants a real shot at QB1 action, he should either remain in Minnesota to see if Murray shows progress or force his way to a team like the Cardinals or Jets that realistically need a QB1 for the future.

Preferring Denver to Minnesota — swapping QB2 assignments for QB2 assignments — just doesn’t make sense for the 23-year-old.

Too Early for a Trade

Kevin O’Connell said in 2024 that organizations fail young quarterbacks before young quarterbacks fail organizations. Well, here we are.

If the Vikings were to trade McCarthy now, especially after selecting him as their franchise quarterback just two years ago, it would directly contradict their head coach’s previous warnings. The move would be particularly puzzling given the widespread enthusiasm for McCarthy as the team’s future in April 2024.

Discarding him before he has had a fair chance to develop seems premature. McCarthy’s professional career has faced significant hurdles. His early entry into the league, a rookie-year injury that led to benching, and a rocky 2025 performance all contributed to his inconsistent start.

Even if the Vikings believe Murray offers a better immediate solution for the 2026 season, it doesn’t necessitate McCarthy’s immediate departure.

Quarterback development is a lengthy process, and teams that rush it often regret their decisions. The Jets with Sam Darnold and the Cleveland Browns with Baker Mayfield serve as cautionary tales; both teams moved on too quickly, only to see those players succeed elsewhere. Minnesota risks falling into a similar trap.

The Vikings aren’t obligated to declare McCarthy a superstar today; their priority should be avoiding a shortsighted decision.

Trading him now would essentially invite another franchise to “fix McCarthy.” Should another coach successfully develop him into a star, the Vikings would spend the next decade justifying how a 23-year-old former 1st-Round pick was let go without a development plan. You might recall the Vikings casting Darnold off last offseason and him winning a Super Bowl 11 months later.

Trade Price?

Pretend for a moment that McCarthy indeed requests a trade later this summer, possibly after losing the competition to Murray. Now might be the best time to sell, as the Vikings could realistically grab a mid-round pick. At worst, McCarthy would fetch a 5th-Rounder.

On the whole, the likelihood of McCarthy leaving the Vikings is low. The team needs all the quarterback depth it can find after injuries to its quarterbacks killed the 2023 and 2025 campaigns.

But there’s always a chance that McCarthy personally asks for a change of scenery, and per Marshall, the Broncos shouldn’t be ruled out.

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

Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue blew India away with pace at Trent Bridge as England condemned the world champions to a record 125-run T20 defeat.

The hosts posted 201 for seven on the back of 70 from Phil Salt, with the entire India team only just besting the opener’s score as they were rounded up for 76.

Archer and Tongue were too hot to handle, both seamers pushing the speed gun past 90mph to scatter the power-packed Indian top order in a match-winning new-ball burst.

Tongue claimed career-best figures of four for 28 and Archer took three for 29, with the innings wrapped up 8.2 overs ahead of time.

It was an emphatic result in Nottingham – eclipsing India’s previous worst result in T20s by a massive 45-run margin – and handing the hosts a 2-0 lead with two to play in the Vitality Series.

Manchester United have been busy in the summer transfer window as Michael Carrick aims to bolster his squad ahead of the upcoming Premier League season

Marcel Desailly has given the thumbs up to Manchester United as their pursuit for Aurelien Tchouameni continues to accelerate. The latest updates from Spain indicate that club officials are planning to travel to Madrid to explore a potential deal with the midfielder.

Diario AS claims that any sale Real Madrid agrees to this summer must exceed £85million, meaning United will have to drop a hefty sum to secure his signature. It is understood that the France international is keen to stay in Spain but recent transfer activity between United and Madrid could help push the deal forward.

Former Chelsea defender Desailly has pointed to the move of Raphael Varane as he gave the green light to Tchouameni’s potential move to United. Speaking to sportscasting.com, the ex-France international said: “I’m sure Aurelien Tchouaméni would move to the Premier League, and Manchester United is still a massive club; a massive name.

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“He had a difficult season, but at least he shows leadership. That’s why when you talk about Konaté or Tchouaméni, I’ll always choose Tchouaméni because of his desire. And he also wears my number 8 on his back, so I love him for this!

“I believe that he has that little bit of leadership and the desire to bring the team all together. So it could be a good move for him, just like when Raphaël Varane swapped Madrid for Manchester back in the day.

“So why not? I would encourage him to go for it and try the Premier League.”

Varane is a prime example of a success story from La Liga to the Premier League, joining United in 2021 for a fee of around £41m. He won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup during his time at Old Trafford, making 95 appearances and becoming a defensive stalwart.

Casemiro also made the same move a year later and became a fan favourite at Old Trafford. The defensive midfielder racked up 160 appearances for United, making 40 goal contributions and securing two domestic cups along the way.

His departure from the club this summer kick-started United’s pursuit of Tchouameni, and the 26-year-old could look to his old Madrid colleagues for inspiration in heading to the Premier League.

Michael Carrick has already secured the £35m signing of Atalanta midfielder Ederson this summer and will be keen to add more firepower to his squad as his first season in permanent charge edges closer.

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Jannik Sinner believes the work he and his team put in after the French Open has already paid off following his straight-sets victory over Jan-Lennard Struff at Wimbledon.

The world No. 1 defeated Struff 7-5, 7-6(5), 6- 3 to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals for the second consecutive year.

Playing in hot conditions, Sinner admitted he was pleased to get through the match in three sets.

When asked whether the heat made the victory even more satisfying, the Italian laughed before saying:

“Yeah, thanks for reminding me.”

He then explained how the French Open disappointment led to the important changes behind the scenes.

“We worked a lot, especially after Paris, trying to understand what went wrong there. We prepared ourselves in the best possible way.”

Sinner said he was especially encouraged by how he felt physically throughout the match.

“It was a huge test today. I felt really, really comfortable on the physical side today. A good step forward.”

Although he hopes not to experience another setback like the one in Paris, Sinner believes his team is now better prepared.

“If it would happen again like in Paris, I hope not, but if it happens again, we know we need to change some things again.”

The defending Wimbledon champion also praised Struff, describing the German as one of the toughest opponents on tour.

“Very, very tough player to play against. He deserves everything he’s done and achieved in his career.”

Sinner will now head into the Wimbledon semi-finals looking to continue his title defence after another composed performance on grass.

The Argentina comeback win over Egypt in the 2026 World Cup Round of 16 had everything: An incredible goalie performance (for a bit), a VAR controversy, a tweet by none other than Tom Brady, and finally, Lionel Messi scoring the game-tying goal that made Andres Cantor lose his mind and his voice.

And the photo from that goal was just unreal. It was snapped by Elsa of Getty Images — she’s shot so many incredible sports moments — and just look at it: It’s from inside the net as the ball goes in, with Messi watching from afar and getting ready to celebrate. The rest of the players are watching it, with some realizing what just happened.

It’s so good:

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A tearful Messi perfectly celebrated Argentina comeback vs. Egypt

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A tearful Messi perfectly celebrated Argentina comeback vs. Egypt

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A tearful Messi perfectly celebrated Argentina comeback vs. Egypt

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A tearful Messi perfectly celebrated Argentina comeback vs. Egypt

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A tearful Messi perfectly celebrated Argentina comeback vs. Egypt

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A tearful Messi perfectly celebrated Argentina comeback vs. Egypt

Truly incredible work here.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: This Messi photo of Argentina goal vs. Egypt deserves its own World Cup Golden Boot

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi takes a brilliant catch to remove Jacob Bethell and England lose Tom Banton in the next delivery as Harshit Rana strikes twice for India during the third T20 at Trent Bridge.

FOLLOW LIVE: Third T20 – England vs India

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Jon Rahm says no, he hasn’t been asked to put his own money back into LIV Golf. 

But what if the league made the request?

“Something I’ve learned in life, never say never,” he said Tuesday. 

“I’m not going to say absolutely no to anything that can happen in the future.”

Speaking Tuesday ahead of this week’s Genesis Scottish Open, Rahm had been asked whether he’d help finance the prize fund for the league in which he plays, an idea that a reporter said could be an option while LIV seeks new investors as it’s been told it will no longer be backed by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund. In December of 2023, Rahm left the PGA Tour and signed what has been reported as a nine-figure deal with LIV.   

But Rahm said he hasn’t been asked to invest into the tour playing its fifth season. Since the PIF announcement, LIV CEO Scott O’Neil has said he’s exploring options, though Rahm said early last month that he wouldn’t be involved in an investor search. 

“I know Scott is doing a lot of work trying to find developers,” Rahm said Tuesday. “And there’s many ways around that. As far as putting my money into it, they have not asked me to do that yet. 

“So I don’t know if they will or not. It’s not something that they have asked me, but there has been many different avenues to try to make it different, what we’ve had till now. They haven’t asked me to put my money in yet.”

Several questions during his media session centered around LIV, which was to be expected given the league’s uncertainty — and the fact that Rahm is playing a tournament co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour. The latter does not allow players to play on LIV, but the formerly named European Tour, through an agreement, is letting LIV pros into its tournaments, all of which seemingly would lead to at least a different feeling this week, but Rahm said he hasn’t experienced that.  

“Not really,” he said. “It’s just another event. Just happy I can — happy that the DP World Tour let me have the opportunity and that I can be here and play what’s not only a great week but a great golf course, great crowd. It’s one of my favorite weeks, so it’s really fun to be here again.”

A reporter also wondered whether Rahm thought that his appearance this week, along with those of other LIV players in the Scottish Open field, would be looked at as “a turning point” in the men’s game. 

“Yeah, it could be,” he said. “Yeah, I mean, it’s a fantastic event, and I think a lot of us, if given the opportunity, we are going to continue to play in the events that we like to play. Myself, very thankful and happy that I can be here.”

Rahm also said he hadn’t seen any of the news announced last week regarding the PGA Tour’s future schedule and format; when told by a reporter that there would be two tours, Rahm said: “That’s not the first time I’ve heard that, so it’s not a surprise that that would happen.” A reporter also wondered how difficult it was for Rahm to put himself in the present, while answering questions about the future.  

But Rahm said that wasn’t hard. 

“Maybe early on,” he said. “I think at this point, seeing whatever some of the headlines that come my way, I can pretty much predict what I’m being asked. I’m ready for what is coming. It’s not entirely a surprise.”

“I also understand it’s everybody’s job to do,” he said later. “I’m ready for it. I like to say I’m an open book, so I like to be as honest as I can.”

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