Veteran running back Ameer Abdullah has been around the block a time or two. He’s putting his shoes (cleats?) on to take another lap.

The speedy ex-Vikings weapon has earned a deal to continue competing in the NFL. Check out the news update courtesy of KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, who writes, “#Jaguars signed Ameer Abdullah, re-signed Sal Wormley, placed Jordan White on the reserve/retired list, waived Ja’Quinden Jackson.”

Ex-Vikings RB Now with Jags

Right now, the Vikings are working with a running back room that boasts a nice blend of players. Most prominently, there’s the older Aaron Jones — a well-rounded player who offers excellent leadership — alongside the powerful, rugged Jordan Mason. These two are going to shoulder the majority of the burden within the ground attack.

Further enhancing the upside is rookie newcomer Demond Claiborne, a 6th-Round selection from the 2026 NFL Draft. Claiborne is an impressive guy, in no small part due to his work ethic, resilience, and his all-world speed. Even better, there’s a new fullback in town. Adding Max Bredeson is a delight to J.J. McCarthy and all football fans who enjoy old school ball.

Somebody who used to carry the ball for the Vikings was Ameer Abdullah, a runner who got his start with the Lions before working for various NFL franchises. Consider where Mr. Abdullah has played:

• Detroit Lions (2015-18)
• Minnesota Vikings (2018-2021)
• Carolina Panthers (2021)
• Las Vegas Raiders (2022-2024)
• San Francisco 49ers (2025)
• Indianapolis Colts (2025)

Tack on the Jacksonville Jaguars as the newest team to get worked into the mix. Travelling southward makes a lot of sense. For starters, there’s the Jaguars having seen Travis Etienne move on. But then there’s the strong Vikings influence due to Grant Udinski operating as the OC.

— READ MORE: The Caleb Banks Injury Update is Here —
— READ MORE: With Ink Barely Dry on Receiver Deal, Vikings Sign a 6’6″ D-Lineman —
— READ MORE: Kevin O’Connell Talks Emergency QB Add —

Consider, as well, the status of LG Ezra Cleveland, QB Nick Mullens, and WR Tim Jones. Each played for the Vikings in the past. Go ahead and toss Abdullah into the mix as yet another connection.

At 32, Abdullah is getting close to the end of his career. He’s very likely to have a ceiling sitting at RB3, a player who can helps on specials while pinch hitting on offense (though sparingly). His stats last season involve 14 carries for 60 yards (4.3 yards-per-carry average) and 1 touchdown. More promising is that he turned 17 targets into 16 catches for 99 yards, earning a 1st down on four occasions.

Do a final tally and Abdullah shows 86 plays on offense for 2025 alongside 135 plays on special teams.

In fact, Abdullah had 19 kickoff returns last year, turning those chances into a total of 563 yards for a beefy 29.6 yards-per-return average. His best return went for an explosive 81 yards.

In Minnesota, Myles Price alongside Tai Felton are likely to handle kickoffs. Newcomer Dillon Bell has a shot. Mr. Price is very likely to be the punt returner.

The NFL will be releasing the schedule for the 2026 season on Thursday, May 14th. The Vikings and the Jaguars aren’t scheduled to play each other. At least in theory, the two sides could battle for the Super Bowl since they play within different conferences. No doubt, that possibility appears extremely unlikely, but most would have said the same about Seahawks v. Patriots in May of 2025.

Ameer Abdullah will turn 33 in June. He stands at 5’9″ and 203 pounds.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

After a debut victory at Caulfield, Natural Fling is Queensland-bound aiming at a high-prize juvenile race.

The filly under the care of Tony and Calvin McEvoy drew heavy support in the Sportsbet Feed Handicap (1100m), leading from start to finish in a convincing effort.

As the $2.10 favourite with Harry Coffey in the saddle, Natural Fling prevailed by three lengths from Jarbardar ($6), followed by Shooting Brake ($6.50) another 1-½ lengths behind in third.

The $1 million Magic Millions National 2YO Classic (1000m) on May 22 at the Gold Coast is the target identified by the McEvoy father-and-son team for the filly.

That training partnership succeeded in the race back in 2024 with Arabian Summer at Doomben.

“She’s going to be looking to kick on up to Queensland,” Calvin McEvoy said.

“There’s a $1 million race up there to consider.

“She’s very fast and the 1000 or 1100 metres, I don’t think it matters, but I was so impressed with her attitude today and she handled it all very well and that will take her a long way.”

Natural Fling parades in Sunlight’s colours – the mare a Magic Millions winner – with ownership including connections to double Cups victor Half Yours, and she is out of first-crop sire Home Affairs.

Sunlight and Home Affairs each won the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington to open the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

“She’s been very natural all the way along with a terrific attitude,” McEvoy said.

“Home Affairs is doing a pretty good job and it’s a really good ownership group, some of our biggest supporters, some from Sunlight and some from Half Yours.

“She’s a filly that we have always loved, and we came here very confident, but the track was something that came up as a little bit of a query.

“She’s fast, had shown good ability in her jump-outs, but they all had to get through it.

“Harry had to use her a little bit, but she was quite dominant in the end.”

Visit the betting sites for competitive racing odds on Natural Fling’s upcoming tilt at the Magic Millions National 2YO Classic.

Awesome Championship Wrestling (ACW) will return to the MJN Center in Poughkeepsie, New York, for its Reckoning event on Saturday night in what’s expected to be a star-studded affair.

Recognizable names in pro wrestling like IWGP global heavyweight champion Andrade, NWA world historic middleweight champion Flip Gordon, ACW women’s champion Steph De Lander, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) star Indi Hartwell, Major League Wrestling (MLW) Lady Frost as well as top names on the independent scene like Richard Holliday and Ben Bishop will all be featured on the card.

The ACW tag team champions will also be among those competing at the event. Vik Dalishus and Hale Collins, the duo known as The Now, will defend the titles in a steel cage match against Sent 2 Slaughter – the team made up of Danny Maff and Shawn Donovan.

Vik Dalishus and Hale Collins make their way down the ramp for an Awesome Championship Wrestling match. (Jay Adam Photography)

Dalishus and Collins hope to end their feud with Sent 2 Slaughter.

MEET RICHARD HOLLIDAY – THE ‘MOST MARKETABLE’ MAN IN PRO WRESTLING TAKING THE INDIES BY STORM

“Guys we’ve had to deal with in the last year and a half and our feud has actually extended outside of ACW,” Dalishus said. “We’ve feuded in several different promotions all throughout the Northeast.”

Dalishus added that Maff and Donovan crashed his wedding, turning up the temperature on the feud.

“And they’re all bitter because we stole, well, we won their tag titles at WrestlePro,” Collins said, adding that their tag team opponents even crashed his Hall of Fame ceremony at Johnny Rodz’s wrestling school.

HOW PRO WRESTLING STAR BEN BISHOP WENT FROM BASKETBALL PLAYER TO ‘BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA’-INSPIRED GIANT

“It’s a very personal rivalry. They actually crashed my wedding,” Dalishus continued. “They showed up unannounced. They’ve made it very personal and we’ve responded accordingly. The very first time we were in a steel cage with them, they had our manager (Josh Shernoff) in their back pocket.

“He actually turned on us … What this steel cage is really all about is redemption to right the wrong that happened to us last time we were in a cage. We’ve said this was going to be the final chapter – whoever wins, wins, and whoever loses, that’s it.”

Hale Collins, left, and Vik Dalishus walk with the Awesome Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship. (Smoothlenz photography)

Dalishus and Collins are the promoters behind ACW, which has drawn high praise from wrestlers who competed in their events. They stressed why having a spot like the MJN Center is a critical component of the promotion’s success.

PRO WRESTLING STAR STEPH DE LANDER REVEALS HOW COLLEAGUE’S ADVICE HELPED LEAD HER TO TITLE TRIUMPH AT ACW

Dalishus recalled going to tapings of WWE’s “Monday Night Raw” in the 1990s and watching a Sensational Sherry and Luna Vachon go at each other as well as Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore getting started in the building.

“That building and our careers and our lives have really intertwined in the craziest way and we’re very fortunate that Awesome Championship Wrestling has been this thing that has kinda caught on in this area and really been the next wave of professional wrestling. The WWF and the WWE coming here in the 70s, 80s and 90s and then ECW and then there was some local independent wrestling that was running the building trying to do a good job with providing big stars in the area but there was a real big gap in the last few years with pro wrestling and bringing TV stars into this area.

Hale Collins, left, and Vik Dalishus pose for a photo. (Lifelumens – Edward-Daniel Simons Jr.)

“NXT had run the building, TNA had run the building a few times and the crowds were a little bit underwhelming and we knew when we were going to start Awesome Championship Wrestling that we wanted to do something a little bit different but also cater to all of the wrestling fans – provide something for everyone.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

As ACW has been credited with being just above a regular independent promotion with its lighting, camera work and professionalism backstage, Collins and Dalishus highlighted the impressive growth they’ve made since their first show in January 2025.

“The first show, we almost lost our butts, and then we had a great walk up,” Collins told Fox News Digital. “It was almost like the movie ‘Field of Dreams’ – ‘if you build it, it will come.’ All of a sudden, 2, 3, 400 people walked up and it was awesome. Ever since then, we’re going day-by-day, but we have goals in mind.”

Dalishus said they’ve been “really smart” with how they’ve taken the necessary steps to get more eyes on their shows, including with a YouTube show that showcases its past matches and highlights upcoming events.

CMLL CHAMPION FLIP GORDON TALKS GOING FROM US ARMY NATIONAL GUARD RESERVIST TO PRO WRESTLING RING

The Now bring the pain in Awesome Championship Wrestling. (Smoothlenz photography)

“Who knows where it can really go? The idea for us is to ride this roller coaster for as long as we can and see what happens,” Dalishus said. “Does it become a brand that starts to tour around the country? We hope so. We hope that it’s something that we’re able to do and we’re able to take ACW to different markets. Right now, the thing we’ve been able to leverage is that the building here, the MJN Center, is in partnership with us and that we’ve been able to really grow with a partner that’s wanting to see us succeed just as much as they want to see success. So, it becomes a big risk to start traveling outside of this home area because of the things we’ve been able to leverage with our friends and our business connections and our partnerships that we have.

“We spent a lot of time in the last year surrounding ourselves with some of the people that we’ve known throughout our time in wrestling that we trust, that are really great minds for pro wrestling and that they’re guys who bring something to the table that will help us grow at a big rate. Being able to take this thing on the road would be something that I’d really like to see us do.”

Collins added that going on the road was “definitely a goal.”

“Everything we do, even if it’s something simple like getting the apron branded, that’s the goal. The branding is pretty good right now so let’s go to the next goal. Now, we can take the show, put it in another building, but it’ll still look like ACW. We’re thinking of every aspect and being careful as we do. As of right now, I think we’re on to something really cool and whatever we take, we put it back into the company.”

Reckoning will take place Saturday night and will include “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Mike Bell’s inductions into the MJN Center’s Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The final card looks like this:

• Brian Cage vs. Hammerstone vs. Flip Gordon vs. Mance Warner vs. a mystery opponent former world champion in a five-way survival match to become the No. 1 contender for the ACW National Championship.
• Zack Clayton (c) vs. Dante “El Jaguar” Casanova for the AEW National Championship.
• “Big Trouble” Ben Bishop vs. “Firework” Foxx Vinyer.
• Leo Sparrow (c) vs. The Phoenix GKM vs. Liamo in a triple-threat match for the AEW Cruiserweight Championship.
• Steph De Lander and Indi Hartwell vs. Vicious Vicki and Lady Frost.
• Vincent and Dutch (The Righteous) vs. Yoscifer (w/Shir’rak) and Wrecking Ball Legursky.
• Andrade vs. Richard Holliday.

On Friday, April 24th, the Minnesota Vikings offloaded outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard and a 7th-Round pick, sending the package to the Philadelphia Eagles for two 3rd-Rounders. Two weeks later, the team’s fans claim newly signed wide receiver Jauan Jennings is a part of the deal by default.

Minnesota’s Greenard deal may have created a wider payoff than expected.

The Vikings signed Jennings last Thursday, and because the club freed up cap space with the Greenard trade, the working theory is that Jennings is indeed part of the trade.

Jennings Gives Kevin O’Connell the Insurance Piece He Needed

Do you include Jennings in the Greenard trade fallout?

The New Way to Spin It

SKOR North‘s Thor Nystrom led the charge, tweeting Thursday, “Final transaction (basically) for the Vikings…Vikings get: WR Jauan Jennings, No. 98 (S Jakobe Thomas), 2027 R3. Vikings give: EDGE Jonathan Greenard, No. 244 (S Cole Wisniewski).”

Had the Vikings not traded Greenard — instead paying him $100 million over the next four years — affording Jennings may not have been in the cards, or so the theory goes.

A Sweet Deal if So

Of course, one must be expansive in one’s thought process to include Jennings in the trade: Jennings wasn’t part of the Eagles’ roster. It’s similar to including T.J. Hockenson in the Vikings’ 2023 draft class, since the club traded for him in 2022 using 2023 draft picks.

Still, if Jennings were included pound for pound in the swap — basically Nystrom’s assertion — the deal looks all the more attractive. Minnesota already grabbed Thomas from the draft as fruit from the trade; another 3rd-Rounder will enter the mix next April.

The Vikings may not have been able to afford Jennings if they extended Greenard — unless they restructured current players’ deals and kicked the can down the road on future salary caps — so noting his arrival as fallout from the Greenard trade is fair.

Jennings’s History

Foremost, Minnesota will get this documented production for its new wideout:

If Jennings can combine his 2024 yardage totals with his 2025 touchdown production, O’Connell’s offense will experience a rapid boost. Jennings has already proven himself as a legitimate WR3, eliminating the need for Minnesota to hope for his eventual development.

Beyond that, Jennings offers sweet depth. Should Justin Jefferson or Jordan Addison miss time, he provides a reliable WR2 option, preventing the Vikings from having to thrust a young player into a demanding role prematurely. Call it insurance for the just-in-case.

His contributions extend to blocking, too, an oft-underappreciated aspect of the sport. Jennings stands out as one of the NFL’s premier blocking wide receivers. While this might seem like a minor detail, players primarily known for this skill often have limited offensive roles, a pitfall Jennings avoids. For instance, former Viking Trent Sherfield was a useful blocker but had a largely restricted offensive role.

Jennings, however, offers a more complete package. In 2024, Pro Football Focus awarded him a 73.8 run-blocking grade. While wide receiver blocking isn’t a primary factor in player signings and may not excite fans in May, it’s a valuable asset that Vikings coaches undoubtedly appreciate. Jennings has versatility. Think of it that way.

Ultimately, his primary appeal lies in providing the Vikings with a much more robust WR3 option and valuable depth behind Jefferson and Addison. A realistic, though difficult, consideration involves potential injuries. What if Jefferson or Addison were to suffer an injury this summer? While no one wants to dwell on such possibilities, NFL rosters are almost invariably tested.

Without Jennings, a significant injury to either Jefferson or Addison would leave the Vikings with a much thinner receiving corps. For instance, if Jefferson were sidelined, the top three receivers in September could be Addison, Tai Felton, and Myles Price. That would spell panic. Addison, Jennings, and Felton is much different than Addison, Felton, and Price.

While some might suggest the Vikings could simply run the ball more, O’Connell has made his offensive philosophy clear: he prefers to throw the football. Jennings helps maintain that offensive identity.

Best WR Trio since the Glory Days

The Vikings have employed decent WR3s over the years, including Jalen Nailor, K.J. Osborn, Jerome Simpson, and Bernard Berrian, to name a few.

But with Jennings in the house, and assuming Jefferson, Addison, and he stay healthy, the current threesome is Minnesota’s best on paper since the days of Randy Moss, Cris Carter, and Jake Reed. There are still posters and shirts with “Three Deep” around in the Twin Cities.

Jefferson-Addison-Jennings won’t quite replicate Three Deep, but it’s the closest thing to it since 1999.

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

Gilberto Ramirez has confirmed his future after losing to David Benavidez, while also addressing the elbow controversy in their cruiserweight encounter earlier this month.

‘Zurdo’ entered their showdown as the defending unified champion, but was ultimately relieved of his WBO and WBA world titles via a sixth-round stoppage.

The emphatic finish came courtesy of a sustained onslaught from Benavidez, who scored a fourth-round knockdown before becoming a three-division world champion.

Despite it being his first outing at 200lbs, ‘The Mexican Monster’ showed remarkable composure and hand speed, forcing a nasty swelling to appear on his opponent’s right eye.

Ramirez, to his credit, showed tremendous spirit to battle through the pain, but was eventually beaten into submission by the naturally smaller man.

Since their contest, video footage has shown that Benavidez connected with an elbow during one of their exchanges, causing a slow-motion replay of the incident to circulate on social media.

In response, the 29-year-old has insisted that it was completely unintentional, yet a selection of observers have attempted to accuse him of using dirty tactics.

Ramirez, however, has urged fans to not discredit Benavidez’s performance, while also explaining in a social media post that he intends to “come back stronger”.

“Saturday didn’t go the way I planned. The loss is painful – the hurt is real. But I’ll sit with it, learn from it, and come back stronger. This is not the end.

“I tip my hat to David… His success didn’t come overnight, and that only motivates me more. Don’t discredit what he brought — he was the better man that night and I have nothing but respect for him and his team for the preparation they put in. Elbow or no elbow, it’s a fight at the end of the night.

“If we ever share that ring again, I’ll be better prepared — and I will get my revenge. For now, I’m taking time with my family and enjoying the summer.”

At the age of 34, it is difficult to see where Ramirez goes from here, while a rematch with Benavidez appears far from realistic.

Instead, the WBC light-heavyweight champion has initiated preliminary talks for an undisputed showdown with Dmitry Bivol, who must first defeat mandatory challenger Michael Eifert on May 30.