Either via free agency — the most probable route — or from trades, the Minnesota Vikings may not be finished with meaningful roster upgrades.

Minnesota has a strong roster, though a few depth-chart pressure points remain.

This tweet circulated on Twitter (X) Monday.

Three Spots Still Worth Monitoring Before Training Camp

So, here’s a look at what Minnesota has and who it could pursue for those three roster spots.

Safety

These are the Vikings’ safeties as of May 25th:

• Josh Metellus
• Jay Ward
• Theo Jackson
• Jakobe Thomas
• Tavierre Thomas
• Kahlef Hailassie
• Jacob Thomas

It’s worth noting that Harrison Smith could return, too, though there is absolutely no timetable on that decision or lack thereof. Fans must brace for the fact that Smith might’ve retired without saying a word.

Whether this group can hang tough by itself is in the eye of the beholder, hinges on injuries, and depends on Metellus. He played most of the 2025 season with a torn labrum and just wasn’t himself. The pain would also be lessened for this group if rookie Jakobe Thomas is ready to strut his stuff as a rookie. Maybe; maybe not.

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If the Vikings want a free-agent safety, these are the veteran options at the moment:

• Jamal Adams
• Ashtyn Davis
• Quandre Diggs
• Rayshawn Jenkins
• Jordan Poyer
• Jabrill Peppers
• Taylor Rapp
• Xavier Woods
• Donovan Wilson

Our Adam New wrote about the idea of a Xavier Woods reunion before the draft, “The Vikings need help at safety, and one option they could turn to is an old friend. Xavier Woods spent one year in Minnesota back in 2021 and had a solid season.”

“He never stayed for the start of Kevin O’Connell’s tenure, but remained a solid DB over three seasons in Carolina and last year in Tennessee. Now 30 years old, Woods could come in as a solid veteran presence while the Vikings turn to the draft to find their long-term solution.”

OLB

With the caveat that rookie linebacker Jake Golday could play on the EDGE as a tweener — Brian Flores loves that stuff — here’s the OLB group:

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• Andrew Van Ginkel
• Dallas Turner
• Bo Richter
• Tyler Batty
• Chaz Chambliss
• Cam’Ron Stewart
• Arden Walker

Because it’s unclear if Richter and Batty are ready for a snap-count spike, this is the most fragile EDGE group for the Vikings in years. The club traded Jonathan Greenard to the Philadelphia Eagles in April, transforming the OLB section of the depth chart from the team’s almighty strength to a lingering question mark.

Of course, if Golday shows up to training camp and looks like the real deal, the problem is solved. However, as of late, most Vikings rookies don’t play right away.

An easy way to think of it? If the Vikings sign another big-name free agent in the coming weeks, it’ll probably be an outside linebacker.

These are the free-agent options:

• Derek Barnett
• Joey Bosa
• Jadeveon Clowney
• Marcus Davenport
• Leonard Floyd
• Cameron Jordan
• Von Miller
• Yannick Ngakoue
• Haason Reddick
• Kyle Van Noy

Zone Coverage‘s Trevor Ripley noted on Clowney a few weeks ago, “With run defense addressed in the draft, Clowney would be the perfect player to rush the passer on third down, or even fill in for a few games if needed. While Turner came on strong last season, leading the Vikings with eight sacks, his development is still in progress.”

“Clowney is a savvy vet. Despite being a one-year import, he offers far more skill and experience than Minnesota has at rotational edge. Behind Turner and Andrew Van Ginkel, the next two men up would likely be Tyler Batty and Bo Richter, who have combined for 24 tackles and 0 sacks in their short careers.”

Center

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The centers in Minnesota as of late May:

• Blake Brandel
• Michael Jurgens
• Gavin Gerhardt
• Delby Lemieux

Most fans were totally convinced that Minnesota would leave April’s draft with a center before the end of Round 4 or so. But they swerved, waiting until Round 7, which turned out to be Gerhardt. The coaching staff said after the draft that it loved Gerhardt and that he was “their guy” all along; it’s just rare for a 7th-Rounder to start right away — or at all.

That leaves Brandel on tap for Week 1 center duty, a man who performed admirably at the position in 2025 during fill-in duty. The previous center, Ryan Kelly, retired this offseason because of multiple concussions.

The free-agent center market? Skimpy.

• James Daniels
• Ethan Pocic

The Vikings, in theory, could also explore Miami Dolphins center Aaron Brewer via trade, who has ties to new assistant head coach Frank Smith. A backup center, like Matt Hennessy in Dallas, might make sense as well.

If Minnesota wanted a better center than Brandel, that ship has largely sailed — unless Gerhardt is a sudden stud.

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

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With IPL 2026 league stages concluded, the focus has now shifted towards the playoffs. In Qualifier 1, defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Gujarat Titans in Dharamsala, while the Eliminator will pit Sunrisers Hyderabad against Rajasthan Royals.

Fireworks are guaranteed, and playoffs will be the ideal stage for that. Over the years, the IPL playoffs have given fans some incredible action and memorable performances.

With key figures like Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill in focus, let’s take a look at the all-time playoff records of IPL in both the batting and bowling departments.

Suresh Raina Rules the Batting Charts

In the batting department, CSK legend and Mr.IPL, or by that extension, MR. playoff himself – Suresh Raina – leads the chart for most runs in IPL playoffs. The left-hander accumulated 714 runs in 24 playoff matches at a strike rate of 155.21.

Playing for CSK and Gujarat Lions (GL), Raina scored seven fifties during his career in those playoff matches. CSK legend and five-time IPL-winning captain MS Dhoni holds the 2nd position for most runs in playoffs. Dhoni batted in 23 innings out of 28 playoff matches he has played and scored 523 runs at a strike rate of 132.07.

Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill is in 3rd spot for the most runs with 475 runs in just 11 playoff matches. Gill has scored these runs at a strike rate of 144.81 with an average of 47.5. GT will hope that their skipper can replicate his playoff performances against RCB.

Mumbai Indians’ duo and India’s two World Cup-winning skippers Suryakumar Yadav and Rohit Sharma complete the list of top five run-getters with a tally of 406 and 405 runs.

In contrast, RCB icon and the highest run-scorer of the league, Virat Kohli has had a dismal playoffs record. In the 17 playoff matches, Kohli has scored 396 runs at a strike rate of 121.10. He has registered just two 50-plus scores in playoff matches in his IPL career. On the other hand, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar has scored 245 runs at a strike rate of 172.53 with an astonishing average of 81.66.

The list of top 5 run scorers in IPL playoffs :

Shubman Gill – The Big Match Player

When it comes to the highest individual scores in playoffs, Shubman Gill holds the record for highest individual score. The right-hander opening batter scored a brilliant 129 against Mumbai Indians in 2023 to top the list.

Virender Sehwag is in 2nd position with a score of 122. The legendary Indian opener played the innings playing for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) against Chennai Super Kings.

Followed by Shane Watson’s match-winning 117 in 2018, Wridhiman Saha’s unbeaten 115 in 2014 and Murali Vijay’s 113 in 2012 complete the list.

The list of top 5 highest score in IPL playoffs :

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Dwayne Bravo: The playoffs bowling king

The record for the most wickets in IPL playoffs belongs to Chennai Super Kings’ Dwayne Bravo with the West Indian taking 28 wickets in the 19 playoff matches.

Spinner R Ashwin is in 2nd place with 21 wickets in 24 matches, while former GT and CSK speedstar Mohit Sharma holds the 3rd place with 20 wickets in just 10 matches at an average of 15.8.

Current RR spinner Ravindra Jadeja has 19 scalps in 23 matches, which gives him the 5th spot in the list.

The list of top 5 wicket-takers in IPL playoffs :

Aakash Madhwal’s stunning 5/5

In terms of best bowling figures in a playoff match, Akash Madhwal leads the list with a stunning figure of 5/5. Playing for Mumbai Indians he recorded this figure against LSG in 2023.

Mohit Sharma holds the 2nd position with a 5-wicket haul, playing for GT, conceding just 10 runs against MI in 2023 playoffs.

Doug Bollinger (4/13), Dhawal Kulkarni (4/14), and Jasprit Bumrah (4/14) complete the list for best bowling figures in the IPL playoffs.

The list of top 5 best bowling figure in IPL playoffs :

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday that she has “no issue” with her country hosting Iran’s World Cup team after its training base was moved from the United States to Mexico for the summer soccer competition.

The team will still play its matches in the US but its base has been moved to Tijuana, Mexico, just south of San Diego, California, according to Iran’s soccer federation.

The development comes against the backdrop of the war in Iran, which the US and Israel launched on Feb 28.

Sheinbaum said at a news conference Monday that she was told by a FIFA representative the US was reluctant to have the Iranian soccer team spend time outside the games on US territory.

“The United States doesn’t want the Iranian national team to stay overnight in the United States,” Sheinbaum told reporters. She said a FIFA representative had then asked, “Can they stay overnight in Mexico?” 
“And we said, Yes, no problem. We have no issue with that’,” she said.

Iran’s soccer team is slated to play matches in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15 and against Belgium six days later, before facing Egypt on June 26 in Seattle.

Before the war broke out, the team was originally planned to set up its base in Tucson, Arizona. But with tensions simmering, Iran’s team moved its base to Tijuana in Mexico, Sheinbaum said, confirming an announcement by the Iranian federation over the weekend. The federation said the Iranians had received approval from FIFA, though it has not confirmed the move.

Teams use base camps to train before and after matches. This year’s World Cup runs from June 11 to July 19 and will be co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico.

The possibility of a move had simmered for months in the uncertainty surrounding the war in the Middle East and security concerns. US sanctions on Iran were likely to only make the team’s stay in the US more complex.

The US State Department said in a statement on Monday that President Donald Trump had made it clear the Iranian team was welcome to participate in the tournament.

The department’s statement did not address where the team might stay, or Sheinbaum’s comments.

Sheinbaum said that her government was working with FIFA to hash out all the details before the competition.

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus celebrates after winning against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain during their first round women’s singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

PARIS— Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka took advantage of the heat wave at the French Open to impose her attacking game in the first round Tuesday.

Sabalenka beat 50th-ranked Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-4, 6-2 on Court Philippe-Chatrier with an array of approaches to the net and volley put-aways.

READ: French Open 2026 guide: How to watch on TV, and more to know

“That’s the most enjoyable part of the game right now — that I’m able to come to the net to play points there,” Sabalenka said. “I’m super proud that I was able to improve that part of the game.”

The unusually hot conditions at Roland Garros make net-rushing — usually better reserved for hard and grass courts — a viable option because the court is drying out quicker and playing faster.

For a third consecutive day, the temperature in Paris was forecast to rise to at least 32 degrees Celsius (90 Fahrenheit).

“Let’s hope that this is the perfect condition for me,” Sabalenka said. “It suits my game really well.”

Sabalenka reached the final in Paris last year, losing to Coco Gauff. She has won the Australian Open and the U.S. Open on hard courts.

Gauff was opening her title defense later against fellow American Taylor Townsend.

Also advancing was 17th-seeded Iva Jovic, who beat good friend Alexandra Eala 6-4, 6-2

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) opener Venkatesh Iyer failed to consolidate after a brilliant start in the IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 against Gujarat Titans (GT) at HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on Tuesday, May 26. The left-handed batter miscued one to GT skipper Shubman Gill around mid-off, perishing for 19 runs off seven deliveries, as RCB lost their first wicket for 21.

The dismissal came immediately after Iyer smashed Kagiso Rabada for a six over the deep third man region, making the most of the scoop shot. Rabada changed his length from full to short for the final delivery of the over, and Iyer went for a big shot, but the bat turned in his hands, leading to a top edge that went in between mid-off and long-off. Gill kept his eyes on the ball before completing a good running catch at the last minute.

Watch the video below:

The defending champions, RCB, slotted in Venkatesh Iyer as an opener over Phil Salt for Qualifier 1. The decision came after Iyer slammed 73* and 44 against Punjab Kings (PBKS) and SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), respectively, ahead of the playoffs.

As far as the Titans are concerned, Kagiso Rabada bagged his 25th wicket of the T20 league this season. With that, he eclipsed Bhuvneshwar Kumar for most wickets in IPL 2026.

Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal steady RCB after Venkatesh Iyer departs early against GT in IPL 2026 Qualifier 1

Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal are in the middle for RCB after opener Venkatesh Iyer perished early in the IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 against GT.

At the time of writing, RCB were 76/1 after 6 overs, with Padikkal (23* off 11) and Kohli (34* off 18) at the crease.

The two teams would be eager to win the match and advance to the IPL 2026 final. The losing team will play the winner of the Eliminator in Qualifier 2. That is because the these teams finished in the two spots in the league stage of the T20 tournament. Since 2018, all teams that won Qualifier 1 have gone on to lift the title.

Follow the RCB vs GT IPL 2026 match live score and updates here.