The Minnesota Vikings signed wide receiver Jauan Jennings on Thursday night, making the roster pretty full after an initially quiet free agency and a fruitful draft. Now, our staff has recommendations for one extra free-agent move as a cherry on top.

One signing helped the offense. Now the staff turns to the defense.

We asked for one name per writer. Here’s what they said.

Staff Picks for the Vikings’ Next Free Agent Addition

Who’s your final free-agent recommendation for the Vikings?

Kyle Van Noy | OLB

VT Writer: Henrique Gucciardi

After trading Jonathan Greenard, the Vikings need an experienced EDGE rusher to rotate with Dallas Turner and Andrew Van Ginkel. Van Noy turned 35 recently, but still played almost 50% of the snaps in 2025, and has familiarity with Brian Flores.

Xavier Woods | S

VT Writer: Tony Schultz

The Vikings shored up a lot of spots over the last few years, including the offensive and defensive lines. There are a few spots that are more glaring than others right now, with wide receiver taken care of after the Jauan Jennings signing. I wrestled with which position needs the most attention now, and between EDGE and safety, I feel the team has solid young depth on the outside.

Safety is the one position that could use another veteran body. If Harrison Smith truly is retired, then Xavier Woods is the player I would tap in. He brings experience and can help younger players, like rookie Jakobe Thomas, find their path. Without Smith at the wheel, the defense may need a steady hand to keep the ship on course.

Joey Bosa | OLB

VT Writer: Ted Schwerzler

The Vikings have addressed plenty of holes on their roster, and did well to cover them in the draft. There’s still room to add depth at the EDGE rusher position in the Dallas Turner role. A veteran like Joey Bosa, or someone a little younger like Yetur Gross-Matos, could be a good contingency plan.

Cameron Jordan | OLB

VT Writer: Dustin Baker

Jordan will turn 37 this summer, so yes, he’s old and won’t play much longer. He should cost around $7 million or $8 million. The longtime New Orleans Saint registered 10.5 sacks last year and missed just two games in his entire career, an absolutely remarkable feat.

His father, Steve Jordan, played tight end for the Vikings for 13 seasons from 1982 to 1994. There is some poetry in adding Jordan; he can finish his career where his father’s started and ended. Steve Jordan, incidentally, is one of the best tight ends in Vikings history.

Bring his son aboard to play OLB for a year or two. He’d make great insurance for Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner.

Nobody

VT Writer: Wes Johnson

The signing of Jennings saps up a lot of the cap savings the Vikings got in the Greenard deal. What cap they have left needs to be treated like having a single silver bullet against a hungry vampire; they need to make it count. This money will be saved and used to fill roster positions should an injury occur during the preseason or at the start of the season.

Jadeveon Clowney or Joey Bosa | OLB

VT Writer: Cole Smith

The one glaring hole right now is EDGE3 depth, depending on how the Vikings view Jake Golday. I’d be in favor of signing either Jadaveon Clowney or Joey Bosa to bring a veteran presence off the bench.

Jadeveon Clowney | OLB

VT Writer: Ali Siddiqui

With Jonathan Greenard gone, the Vikings can use another pass rusher. Clowney is 33 years old, but can still produce. He had 8.5 sacks last season in 13 games while playing just under 400 defensive snaps. The man can ball; he proves it every year.

Jadeveon Clowney | OLB

VT Writer: Steve Hoikkala

The Vikings still lack depth at the EDGE position behind Dallas Turner and Andrew Van Ginkel. By adding Clowney, who had 8.5 sacks last year in 13 games, the Vikings gain a rotational pass rush threat that can provide additional pressure on the quarterback and depth on a cheap one-year contract. This kind of move is ideal for the Vikings’ current cap space and needs.

Jadeveon Clowney | OLB

VT Writer: Brevan Bane

The former first overall selection remains awaiting an opportunity in 2026. Clowney has a solid 23 sacks over the last 3 seasons, the perfect amount for a third EDGE rusher. That is a spot that opened up on the Vikings after Jonathan Greenard got sent packing to Philadelphia, meaning Dallas Turner is now a starter. Minnesota needs EDGE rushing depth, and they have the money to get a halfway decent rotational piece.

Jadeveon Clowney | OLB

VT Writer: Janik Eckardt

The Vikings could use another established pass rusher to solidify their defensive front. Every summer, he chooses his new team, and he’s always fantastic. With Jonathan Greenard in Philadelphia, it’s time to make the call.

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

Jeremy Doku struck again as Manchester City kept their title hopes alive with a vital 3-0 win over Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday.

The winger scored his fifth goal in six games before Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush wrapped up a victory at the Etihad Stadium that cut Arsenal’s advantage at the top to two points.

Both contenders now have three games to play, with Arsenal the next in action at relegation-threatened West Ham on Sunday.

After Monday’s frustrating draw at Everton, City needed to win to keep any pressure on the Gunners and – as at Hill Dickinson Stadium, where they were facing defeat until the final moments, Doku came to their rescue.

The Belgian struck in now trademark style to break the deadlock on the hour with a fine curling shot before Haaland and substitute Marmoush made the points certain.

Victory was not without controversy, however, as European hopefuls Brentford had two penalty appeals turned down and City captain Bernardo Silva might have been sent off on another day for lashing out.

But ultimately City, who were again missing the influential Rodri, did what they needed to do.

Doku repeatedly troubled Brentford cutting in from the left and he threatened in the opening minutes when he shot straight at Caoimhin Kelleher.

Silva and Tijjani Reijnders both shot over and Haaland headed tamely at Kelleher.

Haaland had another opportunity from a Doku cutback but his shot was blocked by Kristoffer Ajer and Kelleher smothered Nathan Ake’s follow-up.

Despite City’s dominance, they looked vulnerable at times and they had a scare when Gianluigi Donnarumma missed Michael Kayode’s long throw-in and Matheus Nunes cleared off the line.

Nunes was also involved in some of the game’s main talking points, the first coming after the dangerous Kevin Schade raced onto a long ball.

The Portuguese chased back and Schade went down as the pair made contact on the edge of the area but nothing was given by referee Michael Salisbury.

There was further controversy when Silva escaped with a yellow card after striking the back of Nathan Collins’ leg with his arm in frustration following a tangle in the area.

Rayan Cherki drove wide as City tried to step up the urgency after the break but manager Pep Guardiola felt the need to make changes on the hour, sending on Phil Foden and Marmoush.

Within seconds the game changed, although it had nothing to do with the substitutes as Doku again ran at the Brentford defence. The Belgian got lucky when an attempted pass was cut out by Mikkel Damsgaard and rolled straight back to him, but there was nothing fortunate about his sublime finish.

Brentford appealed again for a spot-kick following another incident involving Schade and Nunes but it was cleared.

Haaland made sure of victory when he backheeled in amid a goalmouth scramble 15 minutes from time and Kelleher produced a fine save to deny Foden before Marmoush completed the scoring in stoppage time.

Novak Djokovic says his preparation for the French Open has been far from ideal after another difficult clay-court outing in Rome.

Djokovic was eliminated by Dino Prizmic and later admitted he has been dealing with ongoing physical and health issues ahead of Roland Garros.

“It’s not an ideal preparation, to be honest,” Djokovic said.

“I don’t recall the last time in the last couple years I had a preparation where I didn’t have some kind of physical or health issues coming into the tournament. There’s always something. Kind of a new reality that I have to deal with.”

The 24-time Grand Slam champion refused to go into detail about the issues affecting him after the match.

“I hope you understand I will not talk about that,” he said. “I want to congratulate Dino. Deservedly the winner today.”

Djokovic also confirmed he will not play another clay-court tournament before Roland Garros, meaning he heads to Paris without a win on clay this season. The tournament in France will also be just his fourth event of 2026.

Despite the concerns surrounding his fitness and form, Djokovic said he is still hoping things improve before the Grand Slam begins.

“I don’t know. I hope so,” he said with a smile when asked if he expects to be ready for Roland Garros. “Let’s see what happens.”

The Serbian added that continuing to compete despite the setbacks has been his own choice.

“It is frustrating. At the same time it’s my decision to still perform in that kind of state and conditions. It is what it is.”

Vinesh Phogat on Saturday indicated that she would fight back after the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) issued a detailed show-cause notice, accusing her of indiscipline and anti-doping rule violations, while also declaring her ineligible to compete in domestic events till June 26.

The WFI said Vinesh failed to complete the mandatory six-month notice period required for athletes returning from retirement under UWW Anti-Doping Rules.

It means that the two-time World Championship medallist will have to wait for her comeback. She was targeting the National Open Ranking event in Gonda, starting Sunday, for her return to competition.

She had quit the sport in 2024 after her disqualification from the Paris Olympic Games.

“Life is caught in some deep whirlpool’s midst. The world seeks flaws in my character, persists.. Life has always held your head held high. No sword has the power to make it bow.!!!,” according to the English translation of her tweet in Hindi.

Earlier in the day, the WFI, in a 15-page notice, alleged that Vinesh’s conduct had caused “lasting damage to reputation of Indian wrestling” in Paris and violated provisions of the WFI Constitution, UWW International Wrestling Rules and anti-doping regulations.

Allegations have flown thick and fast in the last few days. Vinesh had accused WFI of blocking her entry for the Gonda event and also said that she was one of the six complainants against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been accused of sexual harassment.

WFI said that compliance with WADA rules was non-negotiable and the onus to prove her eligibility was on Vinesh.

“We have to see if WADA rules have been followed properly. It has not yet been proved that she has fulfilled the requirements for coming back from retirement. She has to complete the mandatory six-month notice period before she becomes eligible to compete again,” WFI President Sanjay Singh told PTI.

Timothy Bradley has assessed the boxing IQ of David Benavidez and Dmitry Bivol, considering who has the superior ring intelligence ahead of their potential showdown.

Both sides have held preliminary talks for their possible encounter later this year, which would see them square off for the undisputed light-heavyweight crown.

Additionally, Benavidez has proposed they meet at a catchweight of 190lbs, allowing him to defend his WBO and WBA world cruiserweight titles.

The 29-year-old claimed these belts last Saturday, dethroning Gilberto Ramirez with a sixth-round finish and, in turn, becoming a three-division world champion in his first outing at 200lbs.

Bivol, too, boasts a win over Ramirez, which followed an equally dominant points victory over Canelo Alvarez that same year, in 2022.

Since then, the Russian has claimed all four major belts at 175lbs, outpointing Artur Beterbiev by majority decision in February 2025, after which he decided to undergo back surgery and vacate the WBC title, enabling Benavidez to be elevated from ‘interim’ to full champion.

Having now recovered from his surgery, the 35-year-old will make a mandatory title defence against Michael Eifert on May 30.

Regardless of his next performance, though, Hall of Famer Bradley has said on his YouTube channel that he expects Bivol to cause Benavidez serious problems.

“Bivol has the perfect style to beat him. I like me some David Benavidez – I can’t wait ‘til he fights again – but [fighting] Bivol is a recipe for disaster.

“[Benavidez has] got a high boxing IQ, too. But he’s stubborn. Bivol isn’t stubborn. Bivol is one of those guys that’ll do the complete opposite [to] what you think he’s gonna do.

“He’ll have a plan A and a plan B. When he fought Ramirez, he stepped to Ramirez. We thought he was going to box because Ramirez was so damn big.

“Ya’ll probably don’t think Bivol would step to Benavidez – you’ll be surprised.”

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Along with Bivol’s boxing brain, Bradley highlights his foot speed as a significant factor in a potential clash with Benavidez, who is known more for his hand speed.

Chelsea may have picked up their first point in Premier League play since March 4 with Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Liverpool, but it is little consolation to the Blues as their chances of qualifying for next season’s UEFA Champions League continue to dim – even as a bonus sixth spot becomes closer to a reality.

The Blues currently sit in ninth place thanks to their poor run of form, despite sitting level on points with the Reds in early March. They entered the weekend nine points behind fifth-place Aston Villa with three games to go, a win at Anfield the only way they could mathematically begin the comeback. Fifth place now eludes them, but the Champions League is technically still within their sights – but it will depend on a lot of favors, and for them to actually pick up their form with two games to go.

A special set of circumstances could see a sixth Premier League team enter the Champions League next season, but Chelsea have to dig themselves out of their own mess first. Bournemouth, Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford all entered the weekend ahead of the Blues and though just three points separated the four teams before this round of matches began, one of them just might be more likely to reach Europe’s top club competition than two-time winners Chelsea.

How the Premier League’s sixth-place team could qualify for the Champions League

The Premier League was guaranteed to have four teams in next season’s edition of the Champions League, but in the new Swiss style format introduced in the 2024-25 season, a bonus berth each is available to the two countries atop UEFA’s association club coefficient rankings. The rankings are determined by the performance of those countries’ clubs in European competitions each season and are currently led by England and Italy, the Premier League bolstered by the fact that all six of this season’s participants advanced to the knockouts and that Arsenal will take part in the final against Paris Saint-Germain on May 30.

That’s how the Premier League earned a fifth spot, though it is one that many expected for England’s top flight, and seems likely to go to Aston Villa at this point. There’s a unique quirk in this whole scenario, though — Villa are off to the UEFA Europa League final on May 20, where they play Freiburg in a competition where winners take home a well-earned European trophy and a Champions League berth.

This is where things get tricky. It’s a well established rule that winning the Europa League only generates an extra spot for the team that wins it. So, for example, if you win the Europa League and win your domestic league, congratulations, you’ve qualified twice for the Champions League, but nobody else gets the benefit. Your league wouldn’t expand from four to five spots (or five to six). That’s not the same as the extra Champions League spot leagues win for performance in the Champions League though. That’s just always tacked on at the end.

So here’s what that means for England if we follow the bouncing ball. If Aston Villa win the Europa League and finish fourth in the Premier League, then they’ve qualified for the Champions League twice, to nobody else’s benefit. Then, the extra Champions League spot from the coefficient ranking goes to the fifth-place team in England. However, if Villa win the Europa League and finish fifth in the Premier League, then the top four in England qualify, Aston Villa qualify via solely the Europa League, and then the coefficient spot gets awarded, meaning the sixth place team in England goes to the Champions League. Simple.

This is a noticeably more complicated scenario than last season, though the same operation is at play, more or less. Six Premier League teams reached the Champions League because Tottenham Hotspur won the Europa League, the top four qualified, and then the bonus spot went to the first team that hadn’t already qualified, which was the fifth-place finisher.

Who’s in the running for sixth?

Chelsea are still mathematically able to finish sixth, but their late-season slump has really put a dent in their chances of reaching the Champions League. Bournemouth, Brighton and Brentford all entered the weekend above the Blues and will stay there for another week regardless of their own results because Chelsea’s draw at Liverpool was not enough to lift them out of ninth, even temporarily. Everton are also mathematically in the hunt, depending on how results fall.

Much of it will come down to the final weeks of the season. The Premier League title race — or whatever is left of it — will run through this race, with challengers Manchester City to face Brentford and Bournemouth during that stretch. The same is true for the relegation race, with Spurs hoping to stay safe in an upcoming battle against Chelsea, while Nottingham Forest hope to have secured safety from the drop before the final day against Bournemouth.

Could Chelsea miss out on Europe altogether?

There is a very real possibility that Chelsea will sit out of European competition completely next season. Only the top seven are guaranteed continental play next season — currently, the sixth-place team will qualify for the Europa League’s league phase and the seventh-place side will enter the final qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League. If a sixth Champions League spot comes into play, expect the Europa League berth to land at seventh place and the Conference League berth to fall to the eighth-place team. That would mean whoever sits in ninth would miss out entirely.

Chelsea do have one more option available to them, though — they will play Manchester City in the FA Cup final on May 16 and if they win, they will qualify for the Europa League.

If Arne Slot has not realised already, then he needs to realise very quickly that the Anfield crowd demands energy and a certain intensity from its side.

Far too often at home this season, Liverpool have lacked a spark – something that the crowd can feed off – and kill the opposition off when they take the lead.

When they went in front early against a Chelsea side that had lost their last six Premier League games, Slot’s side should have used that as the moment to dominate the match and secure an important win.

Instead, they allowed Calum McFarlane’s out-of-form side a way back into the game.

“The adjustment we made at half-time helped us be the more dominant team in the second half. We were twice close,” claimed Slot.

“So it is not fair to me to say I ever tell my players to back off and not press. If it did look like that, it was never the intention,” he added.

Enzo Fernandez’s equaliser for Chelsea means Liverpool have now dropped nine points from winning positions in Premier League home games this season, their most at Anfield since 2015-16, when Jurgen Klopp replaced Brendan Rodgers as the manager.

“Our identity is intensity” was the phrase coined by Pep Lijnders when he was Liverpool‘s assistant manager under Klopp.

Slot’s brief was always to do things his own way and never to be like Klopp but his side has lacked any identity this season and have next to no intensity.

“I thought Liverpool actually started quite well, got the goal, and then from there Chelsea were the better team. They caused Liverpool big problems, especially Marc Cucurella running behind,” said Wayne Rooney on Match of the Day.

“The crowd were obviously a bit edgy, which you very rarely get from Liverpool fans. It comes from not having the season they hoped for, and after spending a lot of money,” added Rooney.

Not for the first time this season, there were loud boos at full-time even though Liverpool had not lost the game. Discontent online is one thing, but it is becoming clearer that even the match-going fans are getting frustrated.

“That’s probably got something to do with us not winning, ” Slot told TNT Sports. “It completely makes sense people are disappointed if Liverpool don’t win.”

Midfielder Ryan Gravenberch added: “To be honest, we need them behind us. OK we didn’t win, but I don’t really think we deserved this [reaction].

“The fans have to be behind us for the full 90 minutes because when they were behind us in the second half, we were pressing really well. We need them. Hopefully they wouldn’t do it again in the next two games.”

Asked later in his post-match press conference how the boos felt, Slot struggled to find the right words in English, but said: “I would love to show them [the fans] something else but at this moment we are not able to.

“We are able to be a dominant team and have more of the ball and I want to give them much more to be positive about and happy about and I am 100% sure the team wants the same.”

Manchester United are back in the Champions League next season but on the evidence of their draw at Sunderland they don’t have the squad to challenge on two fronts.

If this was a taster of what could have happened to Manchester United had Michael Carrick not been able to pick a pretty settled team for the past four months, then the head coach will be counting his blessings tonight.

Carrick found a winning formula early on in his interim role and rarely had to change the ingredients too much, but a couple of injuries and a desire to freshen things up saw him change almost half the team at Sunderland. The response was a performance in keeping with the weather.

We’re at the time of the season when teams can be on the beach. United have achieved their objective for the season and could be forgiven for taking their foot off the pedal. There is a beach less than a mile from the Stadium of Light, but this wasn’t a day for building sandcastles.

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The temperature barely crept above zero and it would have been pretty frosty in that away dressing room at full-time. Carrick has already done enough to land this job beyond the end of the season, but a veteran of the Sir Alex Ferguson era who cut his teeth coaching under Jose Mourinho isn’t the type to abide a performance such as this one.

Carrick had said on Thursday that he was aware some players hadn’t played as much as they might have hoped, but we’ll never know how much his selection in the north east was based on remedying that, and how much was due to injuries.

The loss of Casemiro was certainly damaging. Kobbie Mainoo and Mason Mount are technically sound midfielders, but they lacked the bite required in the centre of the pitch in the Premier League. It was a reminder of why signing the right No.6 this summer is the centrepiece of the transfer window.

Casemiro’s passing is an often underrated weapon and United did struggle to progress the ball between the lines, but they also lacked presence. The five-time Champions League winner will take some replacing, and whether it’s Elliot Anderson, Aurelien Tchouameni or someone else who is tasked with the job, they have big boots to fill.

Mount worked hard defensively and put himself about, but he certainly didn’t look the answer in a deeper role. Neither did Joshua Zirkzee as a No.9. Mount and Zirkzee were making their first starts under Carrick and if these were intended auditions, neither passed, although it is Mount who clearly has the more secure Old Trafford future.

With Champions League football secure, Carrick knows United need a bigger squad, and he will need to use more players next season. This was evidence that, as it stands, this squad isn’t equipped with the depth required to compete on two fronts.

They just couldn’t keep possession in the early stages and their problems were twofold. Sunderland’s aggressive press forced them to regularly cough up the ball in dangerous areas, with Lisandro Martinez struggling to find his radar and the rest of the back four not in the same league when it comes to taking the ball under pressure.

To try and alleviate some of the pressure, Senne Lammens was going long. The Belgian was stung by his first major error with the ball at his feet last weekend and looked keen to avoid a repeat, but Zirkzee lacks the physicality and tenacity to make those passes stick. He was bullied by Nordi Mukiele and Omar Alderete.

Lammens might not yet be pinging passes between the lines, but he is making saves. He denied Noah Sadiki with a superb stop after Sunderland had cut through United, then flung himself at Brian Brobbey’s feet after the striker had turned Martinez.

Chances at the other end were few and far between. Amad curled a shot just wide and Zirkzee sent a free header over. Even the half-chances were more promising for Sunderland. Sadiki had another shot blocked and Brobbey, who was all over Martinez, dragged a shot wide.

The second half offered little respite. United’s best opportunity came early, when a fortunate deflection sent the ball spinning through to Amad, only for the Sunderland loanee to get his pass into the middle wrong.

Sunderland soon had the whip hand again. Lammens produced an excellent save from Brobbey after a scrappy passage of play in which the hosts’ desire to win the ball was the difference.

Carrick tried to muster a response from the bench, turning to the returning Patrick Dorgu and the dropped Bryan Mbeumo, but it had little effect.

He will at least console himself with the fact that the job is done for this season. But this was the first glimpse of what will be needed next season, when United will play closer to 60 games than 40. It only highlighted how much work there is to do this summer, and that director of football Jason Wilcox and head of recruitment Christopher Vivell have to ensure they equip Carrick with a stronger squad than this.

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