Saturday’s Purple Rumor Mill brought theories about J.J. McCarthy, Derek Carr, and free-agent cornerback Jaylen Watson. It’s time for Sunday’s batch of Minnesota-Vikings themed rumors. You can read Saturday’s here.

Vikings rumors are stacking up fast, spanning a safety succession plan, Addison trade fodder, and growing uncertainty around McCarthy.

The rumor mill is louder than usual because free agency is just three weeks away.

Latest Nuggets in the Vikings’ Rumor Mill

All the fascinating tidbits in Minnesota’s evolving rumor mill.

Rumor: From free agency, to possibly replace Harrison Smith, the Vikings could sign safety Kamren Curl.

Zachary Pereles of CBS Sports mapped out landing spots for the league’s Top 50 free agents next month, and when Curl’s name surfaced, Minnesota landed in the projection.

He explained, “With Harrison Smith potentially retiring, Minnesota gets his replacement in Curl, a strong-tackling safety who has done solid work with both the Commanders and the Rams. Other suitors: Rams, Jets, Bears.”

Pereles also tagged Minnesota as a potential destination for Coby Bryant (S, SEA), Bryan Cook (S, KC), Rashid Shaheed (WR, SEA), Aaron Rodgers (QB, PIT), and Cade Mays (C, CAR).

Curl stands out as a 7th-round win. Washington drafted him in 2020 — two days after the Vikings selected Justin Jefferson — and he logged four seasons in the nation’s capital on his rookie contract. He joined the Rams in the 2024 offseason and has started 33 games under Sean McVay since.

In total, Curl has appeared in 93 NFL games with 86 starts, compiling 586 tackles, 28 passes defended, 18 tackles for loss, 14 quarterback hits, eight sacks, and five interceptions. He moves around the formation and fills multiple roles in the secondary.

Fans would rejoice at the Curl signing; it’s just unclear whether Smith will actually retire. Shouldn’t he have announced that by now?

Rumor: The Kansas City Chiefs would be a trade fit for Jordan Addison.

Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine ran through trade targets for every team, and when he reached the Chiefs, he connected the dots to Minnesota. He wrote, “There’s still room for a smart GM like Brett Veach to add talent to the roster that won’t hurt their cap situation. For instance, Jordan Addison is now extension-eligible, but the Vikings will have a new general manager.”

“Minnesota could be looking to move on from Addison after he was arrested and charged with misdemeanor trespassing. The charges were later dropped, but he’s had mutliple arrests since being draft. He could get a fresh start in Kansas City. He would only account for a $2.6 million cap hit this season.”

Kansas City stumbled to a 6-11 finish last year, a sharp dip for a franchise that had been operating in dynasty territory.

Despite his game-changing potential and flashes of WR1 ability, Addison’s past legal issues and failure to surpass 920 receiving yards in a season likely limit his trade value. While Vikings fans recognize his upside, his overall performance and off-field history make a first-round pick an unlikely return.

If Minnesota were to explore a trade, a more realistic expectation would be a 2nd-Roun pick plus additional assets to even out the deal. Anything less would probably discourage serious offers. Furthermore, interim general manager Rob Brzezinski has until May to decide on Addison’s fifth-year rookie option, which Minnesota is widely expected to exercise.

Generally speaking, though, Minnesota probably won’t trade Addison.

Rumor: Per ESPN, “all bets are off” regarding J.J. McCarthy’s future in Minnesota.

Kevin Seifert zoomed out on the Vikings’ offseason last week after Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s firing and zeroed in on J.J. McCarthy’s suddenly murky outlook. He wrote, “The best way to put this, based on what sources have said, is that all bets are off. The general manager who drafted McCarthy No. 10 in 2024 has been fired, and the coach who was in full agreement with that decision is now under considerably more scrutiny.”

“In the big picture, McCarthy is a talented player who just turned 23 and has a total of 10 NFL starts. Few NFL teams would give up on a quarterback with that profile, and many team builders are particularly enamored with optimizing a quarterback’s rookie contract.”

McCarthy’s rookie deal remains affordable (or somewhat affordable) for up to three more seasons.

Seifert added, “Adofo-Mensah was one of them, but his departure is a reminder of the range of outcomes that approach can lead to. If anything, these events increase the chances that the Vikings will take a big swing at finding a veteran quarterback who could start in 2026,” he continued.

“The only thing more damaging than making the mistakes the Vikings made last season would be to repeat them this year.”

The bottom line: All bets are off. A new quarterback could indeed be on the way.

Keely Hodgkinson says she is aiming for a new world record after breaking the British 800m mark at the UK Athletics Indoor Championships in Birmingham.

The 23-year-old, who won Olympic gold in 2024, clocked 1:56.33 in the heats on Saturday to beat her own national record by almost one second.

It was the fastest time in a women’s indoor 800m race in 24 years and the third-fastest in history.

Having announced beforehand that she would not compete in Sunday’s final because she is due to race in France on Thursday, Hodgkinson described the run as “a personal challenge”.

The event in the Midlands counts towards athletes qualifying for the World Indoor Championships in Poland from 20-22 March.

“I had to come to qualify for the Worlds and that is why I was only doing one round,” she said.

“But it was a good test. It is three years since I ran indoors, so I knew I had to go out there and stay focused.

“We didn’t set out to run a world lead, but I started well and just kept it going. It was a nice surprise. It was a really strong day.”

Tom Banton thinks he is older, wiser and, quite simply, better these days.

It is coming up to seven years since the England batter first caught the eye as a 19-year-old by hitting a stunning 71 from 37 balls to help Somerset chase 204 against Surrey in the T20 Blast.

If the pure numbers from that day were not enough, one reverse flick for six off Sam Curran – now an England team-mate – made some smart judges take note.

The following winter Banton was picked by England for their tour of New Zealand.

He kept his place the next summer, in Twenty20 and 50-over cricket, picked as the fresh face to help take the 2019 World Cup winners on into a new era.

Banton made 58 against Ireland and 71 in a T20 against Pakistan, but they were his only scores above 50 in 15 matches.

Another five caps came and went in 2022, making this current run the 27-year-old’s third go at international level.

His match-winning 63 not out in England’s five-wicket win against Scotland on Saturday, with his side’s T20 World Cup hopes on the line, may not have been his highest score, but it was his best knock for his country – a breakout innings in which he finally delivered on all of those talents by truly defining a match on the biggest stage.

“I think just a bit, obviously older, more mature, got a better understanding of my game,” Banton said, asked what he is doing differently this time.

“When I came onto the scene, I remember at the start of that summer I was just about scraping into Somerset’s second team.

“Then six months later, I was playing for England and traveling all over the world, which was great, but I’ve got more of an understanding.

“I have kind of, I don’t know, just grown. I’ve learned a lot about myself. Not even anything to do with cricket.”

When discussing Real Madrid’s play this season, balance, specifically the lack thereof in attack, is a word that often comes up. But in stopping a surging Real Sociedad side and running their own unbeaten streak in LaLiga play to eight straight victories with a 4-1 win, the balance that Trent Alexander-Arnold can bring was on display. And they did it without Kylian Mbappe.

It only took five minutes for Real Madrid to open the scoring via a lovely pass from Alexander-Arnold to Gonzalo Garcia. It’s only the second assist for the English right back this season, as injuries have limited him to only 12 appearances in all competitions. But with Benfica looming in Champions League play on Tuesday in the playoffs (which you can watch on Paramount+), this performance comes at a more important time than ever.

One of the best creative right backs in the world, Alexander-Arnold joined from Liverpool ahead of the Club World Cup during the summer, and it was an exciting acquisition expected to take the Real Madrid attack to the next level. Rightfully so, as well, look at this pass map from last season at Liverpool.

With a player spraying the ball forward like that, every attacker is able to focus on getting into good position, and there’s the additional benefit of Federico Valverde being able to return to the midfield. That was also an important shift with Valverde switching from open play to join Vinicius Junior, who scored two penalties during the match.

Despite the result, it wasn’t all smiles for Real Madrid, with young defender Dean Huijsen conceding a penalty from a rash challenge that Mikel Oyarzabal scored. Los Blancos also will have felt as if they could’ve scored more goals, but strong finishing and penalties made sure that Real Madrid made the most of their chances. They struggled to create much from open play after the first half of action, but considering that this was without Mbappe’s 38 goals in all competitions, Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa won’t be too concerned.

The leadership of American manager Pellegrino Matarazzo has turned Real Sociedad around in the league, and they’re only 90 minutes from an appearance in the Copa Del Rey final, so losing in the Santiago Bernabeau it nothing to hang your head over. Arbeloa’s Madrid are moving in the right direction, but all eyes will be on their Champions League fixture this week. Losing to Benfica on the final day of the league phase is what got them in this scenario; instead of the stars getting to rest during the week, Los Blancos need to find their way into the round of 16 in the Champions League.

Already being knocked out of the Copa Del Rey in shocking fashion to Albacete last month, catching Barcelona in LaLiga and winning the Champions League are the top priorities, and a lopsided victory over Benfica on Tuesday will be a step in the right direction as they continue to look to find balance.

Defensive end Maxx Crosby has been a name rumored to be on the trading block for the past couple of days. He just finished his seventh year with the Las Vegas Raiders.

According to NFL insider Dov Kleiman, the Detroit Lions, who are worth $5.4 billion (as per Forbes), are one of the favorite teams to acquire Crosby. He shared a tweet on X, which was accompanied by a screenshot from Polymarket where Dan Campbell’s team has 32% chance of acquiring the defensive end.

“BREAKING: The Lions are the FAVORITES to trade for Raiders superstar DE Maxx Crosby on Polymarket. Detroit would be UNSTOPPABLE with Maxx,” Kleiman wrote.

Fans on social media shared their thoughts on Crosby potentially joining the Lions.

“And they still won’t win a ring,” one fan commented.

“They don’t have the money for it,” another fan said.

“So the Eagles just disappeared from being a favorite to land Crosby?” this fan wrote.

“Detroit would have to mortgage its future-we’re talking about two first-rounders plus someone like McNeil. Cannot affort that. Maxx would be awesome, but the price is too high. We have other priorities,” another fan said.

“It’s Monty going to be the sacrifice? In order to get Crosby we are going to lose something that Hurts,” one fan wrote.

“This trade would be the opposite of making detroit unstoppable. It would destroy roster cohesion and prevent detroit from fixing the real problems. Do people want to struggle wothcap for the next 4 years, not resign our good players we draftedz and have gaping 0-lines holes?” this fan commented.

“Already that time of year of Crosby lions rumors? Feel like it’s a little early, try other engagement bait,” another fan wrote.

During the 2025 season, Dan Campbell and the Lions had a disappointing campaign. After making the playoffs in 2024, they finished dead last in the NFC North with a 9-8 record.

Maxx Crosby, on the other hand, also failed to qualify for the postseason in his seventh year with the Raiders. He missed the last two games after an injury. This reportedly did not sit well with the two-time All-Pro.

This situation led to the rumor mill churning about a potential rift between Crosby and his team.

ALSO READ: “Maxx Crosby is a Patriot” “Klint Kubiak already struggling”: NFL fans react as Raiders ditch Jim Schwartz to promote from within for DC job

ALSO READ: Maxx Crosby makes feelings clear on Klint Kubiak being hired as Raiders HC

Raiders coach Klint Kubiak shares his thoughts on Maxx Crosby’s future with the Raiders

The Raiders fired coach Pete Carroll after just one season. They brought in Klint Kubiak as his replacement following his Super Bowl LX success with the Seattle Seahawks.

During his introductory press conference, Kubiak discussed Maxx Crosby’s future amid the trade rumors.

“I got a cup of coffee with Maxx this morning,” Kubiak said. “Love talking to him. And look forward to continuing those conversations. He was the first one in here working out. So that fired me up.

“We want him to be a part of our success going forward. There’s no doubt about that. He’s one of the best players in the NFL, so that’s no-brainer to get to work with Maxx and see him continue to have success with this organization.”

In seven seasons, Crosby has recorded 439 total tackles, 69.5 sacks and 133 tackles for loss.