Aug 24, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell and Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni speak after the game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Caean Couto-Imagn Images.
The Minnesota Vikings’ offseason is in full motion, evidenced by the termination of general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah nine days ago. Things are changing. The club will embark on free agency in one month and the NFL draft in April. Expect three roster areas to get love and garner all the attention.
Minnesota’s offseason hinges on stabilizing the secondary and clarifying the QB room, with free agency and the draft both in play.
There is a litany of depth roster teams, as many teams encounter in February, but these are the biggies.
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Three Vikings Roster Areas Drawing Special Attention in 2026
It’s a three-horse race for Minnesota’s paramount roster need.
Arizona Cardinals defensive backs Jalen Thompson and Budda Baker go through pregame warmups in Glendale, with the scene set on Sept. 19, 2021, as Arizona prepared to face Minnesota while the duo loosened up, communicated alignments, and set coverage expectations ahead of the interconference matchup at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK.
1. Safety
Who’s Under Contract in 2026:
Josh Metellus
Theo Jackson
Jay Ward
Kahlef Hailassie
The 2025 campaign might have been the end of the road for Harrison Smith, and if so, the Vikings will need an immediate replacement, mainly because Lewis Cine didn’t work out four years ago.
In theory, Brian Flores might be able to get by with Metellus, Jackson, and Ward. That just doesn’t feel likely, though. From free agency or the draft, Minnesota needs a Smith replacement if he walks away.
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It’s also worth mentioning that Smith could return one more time with Flores back in the saddle as defensive coordinator, allowing Minnesota to push the safety timeline in 2027.
SKOR North‘s Judd Zulgad noted on Smith this week, “There remains no word on Smith’s plans, and that leaves the door ajar for the recently turned 38-year-old to continue playing. What could influence him? Many veterans will tell you that at the end of the season — and the few weeks that follow — that they give thought to walking away.
“This is a brutal sport, and the nearly constant in-season grind makes retirement seem attractive. Those same veterans will acknowledge that as they get into the offseason their minds drift toward what they love about the game. The camaraderie that comes from being in the locker room, the thrill of competing on game day, the ability to play a kids’ game into their 30s.”
Who the Vikings Could Target:
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Dane Belton (NYG)
Reed Blankenship (PHI)
Nick Cross (IND)
Andre Cisco (NYJ)
Alohi Gilman (BAL)
Jalen Thompson (ARI)
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren (Rookie, Toledo)
Dillon Thieneman (Rookie, Oregon)
The Athletic‘s Alec Lewis recommended Thompson this week: “If Harrison Smith retires, safety will be one of the team’s primary needs for 2026. Thompson is similar to Mays. He’s only 27 and has played for the Arizona Cardinals since 2019. He has the smarts to man the controls for Flores’ defense, and his athleticism would help the Vikings stick with receivers on the back end.”
“There are plenty of enticing free-agent safeties. The Los Angeles Rams’ Kamren Curl feels like a perfect player for Flores’ system, but Minnesota might be priced out of a rangy ball hawk like him.”
2. Cornerback
Who’s Under Contract in 2026:
Byron Murphy Jr.
Isaiah Rodgers
Dwight McGlothern
Zemaiah Vaughn
Vikings fans have yearned for a productive young cornerback from the draft since the days of Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander — guys drafted a decade ago. In fact, various Vikings general managers have swung and missed on virtually all cornerbacks in the draft, to the tune of eight and hopefully none counting.
The purple team limped into 2025 with an extremely skimpy CB room, got away with it, and will probably take measures to get deeper at the roster spot in 2026. Remarkably, Murphy Jr. and Rodgers didn’t miss a single game in 2025.
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New York Giants cornerback Cor’Dale Flott secures a fourth-quarter interception at MetLife Stadium, with the play occurring on Oct. 9, 2025, as Flott undercut the route and took away a throw intended for Philadelphia wide receiver Jahan Dotson during a tense late-game sequence as momentum swung sharply in the final minutes. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images.
This one is for all the marbles. Minnesota will likely enter 2026 with McCarthy somewhere on the roster, but he’s no longer guaranteed a starter’s job “just because.”
McCarthy has played in 30% of Vikings games since joining the team in 2024. That isn’t enough. He’s officially injury-prone. And in his first season as a starter, he played about five good games, missed seven due to injury, and played poorly in the other five contests.
Chicago Bears defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. brings down Minnesota quarterback J.J. McCarthy at Soldier Field, with the contact happening on Sep. 8, 2025, as Chicago’s interior pressure collapsed the pocket and ended the play during first-half action amid early drives, crowd noise, and shifting protection calls on a critical snap. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images.
Whether it’s a competition this summer or just an insurance policy, Kevin O’Connell will add a quarterback or two from this list:
Wrexham’s on field success is plain for all to see, however, background developments and groundworks are equally important to sustain Reynold’s and Mac’s ambitions for the north Wales club.
Regulars at the Stok Cae Ras – or the millions of viewers watching games on screens around the globe – will also have noticed a number of alterations to the world’s oldest international football stadium still in continuous use.
The stadium’s iconic Kop Stand was demolished in 2023 having been abandoned for 16 years.
A temporary stand, holding around 3,000 supporters, was used during the 2024-25 campaign before being removed to pave way for a new permanent stand.
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Work on the stand – which will hold 7,500 fans in total, taking the overall capacity at Stok Cae Ras to 18,000 – started early on in the 2025-26 season and is due to be completed in early 2027.
As they do not own their Colliers Park training complex, Wrexham are regularly required to train elsewhere, including at Carden Park or at The Rock – now owned by the club.
But even other aspects including catering and travel arrangements – which include flying to some away matches to help aid recovery – have been tweaked to improve performance.
“The difference is massive,” said former club captain Ben Tozer, who made 136 appearances and won back-to-back promotions with Wrexham.
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“Even though some of the really big changes might not have happened – like we still don’t have our own training ground – the infrastructure has improved every year.
“The players always felt looked after, but the levels have gone up.”
Walker is the first running back to win the award since former Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis rushed for 157 yards and three touchdowns in Super Bowl XXXII. Davis’ performance led the Broncos to a 31-24 upset win over the defending champion Green Bay Packers that snapped the NFC’s 13-year winning streak in the big game. He earned MVP honors despite missing nearly the entire second quarter with a migraine.
The 25-year-old Walker has joined an exclusive fraternity of running backs that includes six Pro Football Hall of Famers.
That list does not include former Washington running back Timmy Smith, whose 204 rushing yards in Super Bowl XXII remain the single-game record. It also does not include former Buffalo Bills running back Thurman Thomas, who likely would have won MVP of Super Bowl XXV if Scott Norwood had converted his 47-yard field goal attempt in the game’s final seconds. Thomas rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown and totaled 190 all-purpose yards in Buffalo’s 20-19 loss to the Giants.
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The award instead went to the 34-year-old Anderson, a former All-Pro who became the oldest player to win Super Bowl MVP. He remains the oldest non-quarterback to earn the honor.
Like the other seven running backs to win Super Bowl MVP, Walker’s performance helped lead his team to victory. Walker’s 94 rushing yards in the first half was the second-most in Super Bowl history behind only Smith’s 131. His runs of 29 and 30 yards on Seattle’s fourth drive helped set up Jason Myers‘ second field goal of the night while extending the Seahawks’ lead to 6-0.
Walker became the first player in the Super Bowl to record two runs of at least 20 yards on one drive.
While he was less productive in the second half, his 20-yard catch-and-run on the Seahawks’ first drive of the second half set up Myers’ fourth field goal. Walker and Myers were complemented by a Seattle defense that dominated the Patriots’ offense all night. The Seahawks kept the Patriots off the scoreboard through three quarters and essentially put the game away when Uchenna Nwosu recorded a 45-yard pick-six with 4:27 left.
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The Seahawks have now won two Super Bowls and evened their overall record in the big game at 2-2. Seattle’s win on Sunday night also avenged its last-minute loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX.
If you had to choose a defining moment in a Super Bowl of very few standout moments, it would probably be Uchenna Nwosu scooping up the ball in the wake of a Drake Maye sack to put the cherry on top of a Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl win that may not necessarily live long in the memory.
As it happened, the most unlikely of Super Bowls produced the most likely of outcomes, as Seattle torched the Patriots 29-13, a scoreline that might not even reflect the gulf between the teams. The game followed two weeks in which both sides were given a chance to make their case to win the biggest game of all, having entered the campaign without even a mention of being in this position.
Seattle’s argument was that they were simply a better team in all three phases, the NFC champions had vanquished far more challenging foes, and, despite going against modern NFL team-building by being a defence-first outfit, they had more than enough credentials to back them up as big favourites, and their reclamation project quarterback, Sam Darnold, had flourished to turn them into a true contender.
On the way to their AFC championship the New England Patriots had enjoyed a friendly schedule, it formed much of the debate between their quarterback Drake Maye and the Rams passer Matthew Stafford, who would eventually win out, for the regular season MVP award.
But New England’s strong defensive unit complemented their ascendant quarterback, despite falling a vote or two short of the landmark prize.“You talk about a group of guys who battle every day, who believe in each other, believe in their coach,” star cornerback Devon Witherspoon remarked afterwards. “I mean, you can’t describe this group no better. It’s just a one-of-a kind feeling.”
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Uchenna Nwosu scores a touchdown during Super Bowl LX (AFP via Getty Images)
While the modest Darnold rightfully switched focus away from his own redemption arc, back to the more imposing side of the football. “It’s unbelievable. I’m so proud of our guys. our defense, I mean I can’t say enough good things about our defense, our special teams. I know we won the Super Bowl, but we could’ve been a little better on offense, but I don’t care about that right now. It’s an unbelievable feeling.”
When we look back at this trouncing in Santa Clara, it might be for the best that the NFL had not crowned Maye as the league’s newest superstar mere days before he struggled to move the ball in the biggest game of his life, only scoring the Pats’ first touchdown in the fourth quarter when the game already seemed far beyond an overmatched New England team.
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Unfortunately, one of the realities of football at this level is that you have to be battle-tested. In a season where so many of the established elite fell early, first Patrick Mahomes to a season-ending injury, then Lamar Jackson to niggling knocks and then Josh Allen to a substandard roster, the path was open for a surprise Super Bowl winner. As it happened, the lack of star QBs only served to highlight the importance of roster depth and strength.
Maye got to the Super Bowl by the skin of his teeth as the Pats’ offense laboured through the post-season, while Seattle had beaten the LA Rams and San Francisco 49ers, not only divisional foes but two of the stronger all-around teams in the game. Indeed, the Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan lauded Seattle’s defense as one of just two, alongside the Texans, who could win the Super Bowl almost without the help of their offense.
Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald and quarterback Sam Darnold, left, hold the Lombardi Trophy (AP)
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Devon Witherspoon clatters into Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (AP)
As the Patriots struggled to get anything going against a defensive unit coached to perfection by Mike Macdonald, Darnold didn’t even need to provide an explosive play to increase Seattle’s lead. Chipping away with field goals was not necessarily the entertainment America wanted in the biggest entertainment event of the year, and the same could probably be said for Bad Bunny, but both got the job done in the light of gritty but ultimately helpless opposition.
As the clock wound into the fourth quarter and the Seahawks throttled New England, Maye needed to find an answer. The Patriots had to score a touchdown.
Maye’s pass only found Seahawk hands and the game, as a spectacle at least, was over.
When Nwosu ran the ball in a few minutes later to lend some mathematical certainty to the result, it was more in celebration than competition, but a Seahawks defender taking home the points probably made more sense in a matchup that neutrals won’t have loved, but that reminds us how the orthodoxy of NFL decision-making is always ready to be challenged.
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“This has been one of the most brilliant performances I have ever seen in the National Football League,” NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth remarked, almost drooling at their brilliance. “This defensive performance is as good as I’ve seen.”
Darnold with the MVP Ken Walker (AP)
Mike Macdonald has defied the NFL trend of offense-heavy gameplans (Associated Press)
For years now, it has felt like you couldn’t possibly compete if you didn’t draft an elite QB prospect and blow teams away with explosive offense. Two years ago, the Seahawks rebuilt on the fly with a defensive head coach, they added a reclamation project at quarterback less than a year ago and now they are the world champions.
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As Nwosu ran the ball in and Seattle’s overwhelming fan army celebrated inside Levi’s Stadium, the NFL was reminded there is more than one way to do this.
Gold medalists Ilia Malinin, Amber Glenn, Ellie Kam, Danny O’Shea, Madison Chock, Evan Bates and Alysa Liu of the United States celebrate on the podium after winning the team figure skating event
MILAN, Italy — “Quad God” Ilia Malinin vaulted the United States above Japan and to the top of the podium at the Milan Cortina Games on Sunday to cap a thrilling team competition that saw host Italy seize bronze.
With the U.S. and Japan tied going into the men’s free skate, the 21-year-old Malinin met the moment even though he wasn’t at his best to lead the U.S. to a second successive Olympic team title.
“I’m proud of myself,” Malinin told reporters.
“I’m proud of my team for all the work they’ve put into this event, without each other it wouldn’t have happened.”
Malinin had been expected to perform seven quads in his free skate but ended up attempting only five, and even those were not flawless as he stumbled out of his quad Lutz. He turned two planned quads – including the quad Axel – into triples.
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But he salvaged his program with a huge quad toeloop followed up by a quad Salchow, both in combinations.
He also landed a backflip on one leg to the delight of a packed crowd, which included a large number of vocal Americans at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
His score of 200.03 was almost 40 points less than his season’s best but still good enough to defeat Japan’s Shun Sato, who skated cleanly after Malinin but was unable to match his rival’s technical ability.
“Honestly, the moment has still not settled in yet. I still haven’t really figured out that I’m wearing a gold medal from the Olympics,” Malinin said.
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“It’s honestly just such an unreal feeling. But overall, I’m just so excited. This brings me so much joy and energy, and of course, the confidence and the motivation leading up to my individual event.”
The U.S. finished with 69 points, one more than Japan, while Italy took bronze with 60 points. Malinin remains the runaway favorite to win gold in the individual event at his first Olympic Games.
The U.S. team included the veteran ice dancing duo Madison Chock and Evan Bates, the pair of Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea, and Alysa Liu.
Chock and Bates got the chance to savor the gold medal on the night unlike in Beijing 2022, where a failed drug test by a Russian skater changed the team results and the U.S. athletes did not receive their medals until more than two years later.
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JAPAN FIGHT BACK
Japan came into the final day of the team competition trailing the U.S. by five points but their gold medal hopes were given new life with stunning performances from Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara in the pairs and Kaori Sakamoto in the women’s free skate — leaving them tied with the U.S heading into the final men’s free skate.
The Japanese pairs world champions opened with a triple twist lift and Miura was left punching the air in delight as the duo closed their program with Kihara lifting her above him into their final pose — a performance that earned them a season’s best 155.55 from the judges.
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“We were trying to aim for about 145 or a little bit higher, and when we saw that it was 155, there was so much joy… we were overwhelmed with emotions,” a teary-eyed Miura told reporters following the rousing performance which left Japan trailing the U.S. by just two points with two segments to go.
Japan pulled into a tie with the U.S. when Sakamoto delivered a spellbinding performance that earned her top place in the women’s free skate with 148.62 points.
American Amber Glenn had to settle for third behind Sakamoto and Georgia’s Anastasiia Gubanova after she endured two botched landings at the start of her routine – a result which wiped out the United States’ lead heading into men’s free skate.
“I just physically didn’t feel great,” Glenn said.
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“My legs were feeling heavy, I was tired. I just didn’t feel my best.”
U.S. hopes of defending their gold medal from Beijing then rested on the shoulders of Malinin, who made up for his disappointing short program on Saturday by winning the point America needed to top the podium.
Japan held their heads high after pushing the heavily favored U.S. team to the limit.
“Everybody has done a gold-medal performance,” Sakamoto, a three-time world champion, said.
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“So it really doesn’t matter what color medal we get.”
ITALY SHINE
In the battle for bronze, Italy’s Matteo Rizzo delivered the performance of his life to keep his team ahead of Canada and Georgia after solid skates by Lara Naki Gutmann and the duo of Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii.
The Italian team shouted “bronze! bronze!” as Rizzo went through the final moments of his performance, drawing a huge roar from the crowd as he finished and knelt with his forehead on the ground, hiding his tears.
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Rizzo smiled and slid on his knees over to his delirious teammates in his box when it was clear Italy would be taking home its first Olympic medal in figure skating since 2014.
“I have no words to describe the feeling of staying on the Olympic ice with the crowd cheering while you’re skating the best program of your life.
“I couldn’t hear the music anymore, I could just hear the screaming of the people, the screaming of my teammates.”
Paris Olympic tennis gold medalist Novak Djokovic, NBA Hall of Famer Pau Gasol, and eight-time Olympic medallist in short track American Apolo Ohno were among the notable names in attendance at the arena on the outskirts of Milan.
ONE interim featherweight Muay Thai world title challenger, Nico Carrillo of Scotland, says it’s all business heading into his showdown with Shadow Singha Mawynn.
The ‘King of the North’ will get a second stab at 26 pounds of gold against the Thai brawler in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 40 on February 13 at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
Carrillo shared in his pre-event interview with ONE Championship:
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“Shadow’s just all-round good. He’s good at everything. He was obviously a Rajadamnern Champion before he came to ONE. So, he’s very accomplished.”
The Deachkalek Muay Thai Academy affiliate continued:
“He had a bit of a rocky start when he came to ONE Championship, and then found his feet, and he’s just been on the same kind of trajectory as myself. So, yeah, no bad words to say about Shadow.”
ONE Fight Night 40 will air live in U.S. Primetime free for Prime Video subscribers in North America.
Nico Carrillo looks back at second chance in new division
Nico Carrillo saw his world crumble after losing to Nabil Anane in their interim bantamweight Muay Thai world title match last year.
After licking his wounds, the Scotsman chose to start over, taking his talents to the featherweight Muay Thai ranks.
“The World Title represents what I stand for, and that’s hard work. That’s what this journey’s been. It’s been nothing easy. It’s been difficult. And when I get the gold over my shoulder, it’s a message to everybody and anybody that hard work pays off,” he told ONE Championship.
It was the second defeat of Paul’s career, having previously been beaten by Tommy Fury back in February 2023, and ahead of his return to the ring, it appears he may now be keen to avenge that loss.
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Speaking to Sky Sports, Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian revealed that the ‘The Problem Child’ is targeting a second meeting against Fury.
“He wants to prove to the world that he can beat Tommy Fury. Jake before Joshua had one loss on his record and that was Tommy Fury and I would love for that fight to happen because I think it’s a great barometer of how far Jake has come.
“I don’t think he [Fury] has developed as much as Jake has over the last three years. Because he hasn’t been as focused on boxing. I would love for that fight to happen.”
Bidarian then revealed that the rematch could potentially take place in the UK.
“There was more internet interest in Jake Paul versus Tommy Fury in the UK than any Tyson Fury fight over the past five years, than any Jake Paul fight other than Mike Tyson over the past five years and that includes Jake Paul versus Anthony Joshua. And that was a fight that happened in Saudi Arabia.
“So if I could do that fight in the UK or somewhere in Europe, I think people would go bananas for it – the youth, the generation that uses the internet.
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“It’s difficult to come to someone’s country and do that so we’ll see where we end up on that discussion but I would love to do a fight in the UK with Jake. I think it would be a big statement.”
Since beating Paul, Fury has competed on just two further occasions, claiming a unanimous decision victory over YouTuber KSI in October 2023, before another points win over the unheralded Kenan Hanjalic in Hungary last May.
The Seattle Seahawks defence put on a clinic to lead their team to a 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 60.
How does the saying go? Defence wins championships – and that’s exactly what happened at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday.
Here are some of the best pictures from a memorable night as the Seahawks got their hands on the Lombardi trophy for the second time in franchise history.
India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav, and Mohammed Siraj. (AP Photo)
MUMBAI: Mohammed Siraj returned to India’s T20I side and took 3-29 in four overs as India beat USA by 29 runs in their opening match of the 2026 T20 World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. Siraj came into the playing eleven after India’s premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out due to illness.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The 31-year-old Hyderabad fast bowler had earlier received a call-up to the squad after pace-bowling all-rounder Harshit Rana was ruled out of the T20 World Cup due to a knee injury.
T20 World Cup: ‘God changed my destiny’ – Mohammed Siraj on emotions of lucky comeback
India’s T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav informed Siraj that he wanted to draft him as Rana’s replacement. Siraj said he initially thought his captain was joking before being convinced he was serious. Narrating his T20I comeback, Siraj told reporters philosophically: “Two days ago, Surya bhai said, ‘Miaan bags pack kar aur aaja’. I told him, ‘Bhai mazaak maat karo, kyon ki yeh to honewala hain nahin.’ But he said, ‘Main sach keh raha hoon, ready ho jaa’. Then Ojha bhai (India selector) called me. Whatever the almighty has written, no one can change that.”Before Saturday, Siraj had last played for India in the format on July 30 against Sri Lanka at Pallekele. Siraj said he had planned to travel to Spain during a rare break after India’s home season before the IPL commenced. “There is a Real Madrid game on 15th and I was going to watch it, and after that Ramzan, but whatever the almighty has written happens.”A football fan, Siraj still has the Cristiano Ronaldo wallpaper on his phone, which he previously shared on Day 5 of the Oval Test during the England tour. “The wallpaper is still the same,” he revealed during the post-match press conference on Saturday.Siraj was part of India’s victorious 2024 T20 World Cup campaign in Barbados, but he said he was not in India’s plans for this edition. After receiving the call-up, Siraj said he did not know he would play in the opening game. “I got to know in the morning that I am playing, so I was a little more excited because I only arrived yesterday (Friday). I wanted to keep myself calm and I was only thinking about how I can put pressure and attack. Whatever I could think of, I was able to execute,” he concluded.
There aren’t many fighters that are deemed to be superior to Floyd Mayweather but Roy Jones Jr believes there is one active fighter who claims that accolade.
He also defeated some of the biggest names in the sport, including the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya and Canelo Alvarez, though one criticism by some fans of Mayweather is he was tactical with deciding when and who to fight.
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Because of that, boxing legend Jones Jr has explained to Fight Hub TV why he thinks unbeaten star Shakur Stevenson has eclipsed Mayweather.
“He is [the Mayweather of this era], he’s not giving guys any chance to beat him but the difference with him [Shakur] is he’s fighting everybody. He’s not ducking and dodging. He’s fighting everybody and that’s a bit different.
“He could be Floyd Mayweather [in terms of] not getting beat in his era, but the difference to Floyd is he’s willing to take on the big challenge, and he’s also getting the right money for it early in his career.”
He also holds impressive wins over fighters such as William Zepeda and Oscar Valdez during his career, and at just 28-years-old, time is well and truly on his side for Stevenson to continue to add to his already impressive resume.
The Searching for a Spyside quest is one of the many missions you encounter in the Nioh 3 storyline. In this mission, you need to help Hattori Hanzo search for a spy. While the objective sounds simple, one section of the mission puts you in front of a locked door with no alternate path. This can make the quest challenging for many players, especially beginners.
If you are facing difficulty completing the Searching for a Spy side quest in Nioh 3, here is a detailed article to help you out.
How to unlock the Searching for a Spy side quest in Nioh 3
Location to find Hattori Hanzo (Image via Koei Tecmo || Sportskeeda Gaming)
As mentioned earlier, you will unlock the Searching for a Spy side quest in Nioh 3 after you meet Hattori Hanzo. To find him, visit Futamata to encounter him on the roof of a house. Additionally, you can use the Tealeaf Village fast travel point. The image attached above will help you reach the precise location.
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How to complete the Searching for a Spy side quest in Nioh 3
Learn the objective of the Searching for a Spy quest (Image via Koei Tecmo || Sportskeeda Gaming)
Once you get the quest, your objective is to help Hattori Hanzo look for a spy. For this, you need to take the stairs going down to the village. After that, take the path on your right to reach uphill. At the intersection, turn left to arrive in front of a closed door at the very end. Upon interacting with it, you will learn that it is closed and requires a key.
How to find the Abandoned Shrine Key in Nioh 3
You will find the door closed (Image via Koei Tecmo || Sportskeeda Gaming)
You need a key to open the shrine’s door. To obtain it, head down the path on your immediate right. When you see stairs on your left, go up them. Then turn right and walk straight to the end. Once there, you will find another set of stairs going down. At the midway point, you will come across a fallen soldier. Interact with the body to collect the Abandoned Shrine Key.
Obtain the Abandoned Shrine Key (Image via Koei Tecmo || Sportskeeda Gaming)
After retrieving the key, jump down and follow the path on your right. At the very end, you will reach the door again. Now, use the shrine key to open it and go through. Once inside, climb the stairs to reach the courtyard. Since this area will be full of enemies, you need to clear them out.
Defeat the enemies to wrap up the mission (Image via Koei Tecmo || Sportskeeda Gaming)
After you defeat the first wave, another will appear. In this group, you also need to defeat the yokai Kyokotsu. Once you eliminate all enemies, interact with Hattori Hanzo to complete the Searching for a Spyside questinNioh 3.
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