If, in the end, things go sideways at quarterback, then the Vikings will need to hit reset going into 2027. Quite possibly, that will involve moving on from Kevin O’Connell, but that’s a bit of speculation for a different day.

Who would the passer be to compete for the job if things fizzle?

Right now, Kyler Murray is looking to overcome J.J. McCarthy for the QB1 job. Next up is Carson Wentz, an elder statesman who is in town as an ideal QB3. Wentz can get inserted with essentially zero preparation before doing a nice job; Minnesota values that reality. Otherwise, Max Brosmer is the young fella being developed slowly, but his likeliest spot is on the practice squad.

A future where none of these passers are around beyond the current year is unlikely but not impossible.

Seattle’s Jalen Milroe as The Passer to Watch in 2027

In March of 2025, Minnesota said goodbye to Sam Darnold; Seattle then said hello to Sam Darnold. The rest is history (as they say).

The old GM got canned. The new GM came to town after doing tremendously well with the Seahawks. Already, the effort to improve the roster has involved bringing over talent from the Seahawks. Most of that has occurred around the edges of the roster, but do note that three of the four new players have a connection to The Emerald City.

Does that path back to the Pacific Northwest involve snagging Jalen Milroe?

The backup passer for Seattle isn’t going to usurp Darnold. The 29-year-old quarterback led his team to a Super Bowl victory while pushing Jaxon Smith-Njigba into the conversation for best WR in the NFL. He’s close to untouchable. Milroe can continue hanging around as an upside backup but that may not be the best use of the young arm for more than just another year or two.

Quite possibly, a trade will occur.

Chosen at No. 92 in the 2025 NFL Draft, Milroe is far from a lock to develop into a strong QB1 in the NFL. Part of what he has going for him is the history of soaking up wisdom from a strong starter while getting coached up by Mike Macdonald’s impressive staff.

Consider what was said about Milroe going into his draft by Lance Zierlein of the NFL’s website: “Milroe is an explosive athlete who is very capable outside the pocket, but he lacks accuracy, touch and decision-making when he’s inside the pocket. A lack of anticipation and timing leads to interceptions and contested throws to intermediate areas of the field. He has an NFL arm, but he might need to fine-tune his footwork and delivery to improve accuracy on all three levels. He can get through his reads when he’s confident and feels protected but becomes predictable and easier for defenses to manipulate when he’s rattled.”

More: “He’s built like a Will linebacker, runs like a receiver and is a threat to hit the home run on called runs and scrambles. Milroe was a much better deep-ball passer in 2023, but his 2024 regression makes it harder to project success from the pocket at a high enough rate to become a capable NFL starter. A strong arm and elite speed will have teams intrigued, but if he doesn’t make it as a starter, it’s incumbent upon his team to find a way to get the ball in his hands with packaged plays.”

Talented but raw, Jalen Milroe will have benefited from watching and learning without the starter’s spotlight. Maybe that will serve him well.

Nolan Teasley will know the passer well. So, too, will he be getting a good understanding of the in-house talent in Minnesota. There’s essentially zero chance of a swap during 2026. What could occur, though, is a future trade.

Seattle doesn’t appear likely to keep Milroe over the long-term since Darnold has worked out so well. Trading Milroe is a way to recoup value from the QB-starved NFL.

Minnesota doesn’t have much certainty beyond the reality of promise. The current quarterbacks are talented and are in the midst of a battle. If anyone emerges from the passers to put the starting position into a stable spot remains to be seen.

Jalen Milroe, 23, is going into his sophomore season. Teams will be calling to see if he’s available before too long.

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

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Wyndham Clark arrived at Shinnecock Hills on Sunday knowing that his name would be etched in history. Either he would capture his second U.S. Open title in the last four years or he would join an infamous list of players to blow a massive lead at the 54-hole mark in a major championship as he entered the deciding day a half dozen clear of his closest competitor.

There was no in between with Clark, and perhaps that was always the point.

Much has been made about Clark the person this week as he slept on the lead on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. He will sleep with the U.S. Open trophy on Sunday. But when one gets put into that position, they got put under a microscope. It’s part of the deal. For better or worse, almost everything is revealed and people latch on.

The smashed and destroyed locker at Oakmont Country Club after last year’s U.S. Open. The thrown driver that damaged a sponsorship sign at the PGA Championship and came close to hitting a volunteer. Some eyebrow raising rulings, head-scratching quotes and apology attempts. 

There’s more than a few to latch onto.

All of them put Clark’s character at the forefront of the conversation. All of it overshadowed Clark the golfer and what the American was accomplishing around a brutally tough Shinnecock Hills. All of it came to a boiling point as he made the slow stride from the driving range to the first tee Sunday afternoon. 

2026 U.S. Open prize money, purse: Payouts, breakdown for Wyndham Clark, field from record $22.5 million pool

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Robby Kalland

A long embrace with his mental coach and a deep breath ensued, and then Clark entered the arena knowing he’d be up against it, knowing it would all be used against him.

There was no mistaking who those lining the fairways of Shinnecock Hills were cheering for on a picture perfect New York summer day. It was not Scottie Scheffler. It was not Sam Burns. It was not Tom Kim. 

It was anybody but Clark. Anybody who would make this tournament interesting. 

“Man, they definitely didn’t want me to win,” Clark said with the trophy shining right next to him in the champions press conference. “It’s pretty rare in an Open Championship or a major to have fans kind of boo against your shots or cheer for bad shots.

“That was tough, but sometimes being the underdog is nice. I was in ’23, and I kind of did the same thing. Anytime someone said something negative to me, I replaced it with something positive. You know, some of it’s self-deserved. I kind of brought it on myself, but I also get it, too. Scottie was going for the career Grand Slam, and it hasn’t happened very often.

“It was tough, but I’m proud of myself that I battled through. Things really could have gotten away from me. I stood tough. I would have liked to have won by more, but as long as you win, it doesn’t matter.”

Around every turn and in between every hole, those outside the ropes let him have it. A constant barrage of jeers, with cheers being produced only when he took a misstep. A tunnel of naysayers felt suffocating to walk through as excitement rose with the dust only when a ball would fall off line.

It reached the point on the back nine that fans summoned others away from the golf course to lend a helping hand. Those on site turned to their phone to FaceTime friends so that they could get in on the action. Additional insults were hurled from miles away.

Clark heard them all.

“I was kind of making jokes about it with Dave where if we heard someone cheer for me, I’d go, ‘Oh, there’s one person that likes me.’ So we would kind of make jokes and make it maybe a little light-hearted,” Clark said. “But it’s tough, man. I’ve played now a Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup on foreign soil, and it kind of had that atmosphere a little bit.

“I also got good prep last week in Canada. They were pretty harsh on me the last day, so I think that all of that combined kind of led to this moment where, all right, I’ve been in this position. It sucks being the underdog or getting rooted against, but I can pull through, and there’s nothing like winning kind of an away game, if you will.”

Clark took his fair share of punches on Sunday — some self-inflicted, others not. He made a horrible bogey on the par-5 5th and turned in 3 over on the front nine alone. He helped make this a golf tournament as much as Burns and the other pursuers. 

But he also threw some, too. 

Clark landed a body blow on No. 10 after Scheffler rolled in a birdie bid before him. Little applause it caused.

The fans countered a few holes later as it felt as if the grandstand behind the 13th hole willed his ball off the green. It stopped and started to trickle away from the pin only when the noise around the surface started to reach new levels. This back-and-forth was continuous.

It was relentless.

It was nonstop.

It kept coming wave after wave, hole after hole.

Groans for good shots. Claps and high fives for the bad.

But Clark had the last laugh as he threw the last punch in the form of an uppercut on the par-5 16th. Out of position off the tee and without the best look for a birdie, Clark summoned his putter again to drain a 24-footer, as he would a couple holes later for his championship-sealing two-putt par.

Clark emerged from the ringer and came out the other side as a two-time U.S. Open champion. Something only Tiger Woods, Bryson DeChambeau, Retief Goosen and Brooks Koepka have accomplished in the 2000s. Cheers and applause were muted for Clark’s addition to this list, but the few were more than hard-earned. 

He climbed up the path towards the sun and the clubhouse and was greeted by his peers — players, caddies, members of the traveling circus that is professional golf. The respect was apparent.

All week, Clark has voiced his regret for his past actions. He has been peppered again and again about his past indiscretions. 

On Friday, he said this:

“I’m hoping I can win back the fans that I had or some new fans because it was a terrible incident. You know, I really feel like I can show people that I’m fun and outgoing, I’m fierce, competitive, love the game, respect the game, and I just had a bad moment. 

“Hopefully I can win those people back. I definitely feel like I’m in a better place. Hopefully a great weekend and great rest of the year, maybe I’ll gain all those fans back.”

Whether you believe in his contrition is not really the point. You can like Clark. You can dislike him. You can wish that he did not win. You can hope it is his last major championship victory. This is sport after all. Opinions about those in the arena are half the fun. If everyone was vanilla, the game would lose its taste.

But after a performance like that in an environment like that — one few if any of his peers have experienced en route to a major championship — you have to respect him. 

It’s the other part of the sports equation, and much like Clark himself, there’s no in between on that.

“I sure hope it closes the door on it,” Clark said. “I figured in my mind that this would maybe be the last time just because it’s one year removed. I’ll probably always get them, but I hope I don’t become the heel of the PGA [Tour]. 

“I guess if I am, any press is good press, right?”

Ivory Coast striker Elye Wahi has been denied entry to Canada ahead of the “Elephants’” World Cup game against Germany in Toronto on Saturday due to match-fixing allegations.

Wahi, who is under contract at German Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt but was on loan at French Ligue 1 side OGC Nice last season, is currently being investigated by authorities in Marseille in connection to allegations of “organized fraud, organized sports corruption, handling of proceeds of crime and money laundering,” according to a statement provided to The New York Times (NYT).

Ivory Coast: What is Elye Wahi alleged to have done?

The allegations concern in particular a Ligue 1 fixture between Nice and FC Metz (0-0) on May 17 in which the 23-year-old is alleged to have intentionally picked up a yellow card.

In a statement, the French Football League (LFP) said they had been made aware of “an unusual volume of bets relating to a booking involving the player Elye Wahi.”

According to the NYT, Wahi was arrested on by French police on May 29 – just hours after scoring two goals in a play-off win against AS St. Etienne, which kept Nice in Ligue 1 – but was released without charge as investigations continued.

Having not been charged with a crime, Wahi’s entry into the United States, where Ivory Coast are based and where Wahi started in a 1-0 win over Ecuador in Philadelphia on Sunday, was deemed unproblematic.

Elye Wahi: Ivorian federation express support

But Canadian authorities have taken a stricter line, with the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) confirming on Thursday that the “necessary administrative authorization for [Wahi’s] entry into Canadian territory could not be obtained at this stage.”

They said Wahi would therefore “remain in the United States pending the team’s return” ahead of Ivory Coast’s third Group E game against Curacao in Philadelphia on Thursday.

“At this particularly delicate time, the FIF extends its full support to the player and reaffirms its confidence in him,” concluded the statement, adding that “Elye Wahi remains an important element of the Ivory Coast national team.”

Canada: Ghana’s Partey also denied entry

Wahi is not the first player to be denied entry to Canada due to ongoing investigations abroad.

Last week, Ghana‘s Thomas Partey was refused a Canadian visa due to rape and sexual abuse charges in the United Kingdom, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

Wahi was born in Paris and represented France at youth level before opting to play for Ivory Coast. He has since made three appearances for the Elephants.

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The allegations could also have ramifications for Eintracht Frankfurt who, following the season-long loan to Nice and the World Cup, would have been hoping to sell Wahi in order to fund the permanent signing of French striker Arnaud Kalimuendo from Nottingham Forest.

Uruguay players walk from the field following the World Cup Group H soccer match between Uruguay and Cape Verde in Miami Gardens, Fla., Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida — Uruguay is off to a start many did not expect. After draws against Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde, and with a match against Spain still to come, the two-time World Cup winner is at risk of missing the knockout stage.

Among the many fans watching was someone the team looked to for goals for more than 15 years: Luis Suárez.

The matches were played in Miami Stadium, near where Suárez serves as striker for Inter Miami. The 39-year-old watched from above as Uruguay struggled despite being heavily favored.

READ: Uruguay’s Luis Suarez announces retirement from international football

Suárez ended his international career in 2024 as the all-time leading scorer for the national team with 69 goals in 143 appearances. He was ultimately left off coach Marcelo Bielsa’s squad after months of speculation.

After the match, Bielsa spoke about the team’s inability to capitalize on some of its advantages.

“I think that the problem or greatest issue is that we started the second half with the ball and with the victory,” Bielsa said through a translator after Sunday’s game. “And it was at that moment that we didn’t close it. We didn’t make any danger.”

Bielsa claimed his team “lacked a finishing touch” in Sunday night’s draw. Something that Suárez once delivered in his time with Uruguay.

Fans of Uruguay recognized how difficult it can be to replace a player of Suárez’s caliber.

“(I have) mixed feelings to be honest,” Uruguay supporter Frederico Suárez said. “He’s old and now it’s time for the younger players. But he’s a good player, maybe the best player I’ve ever watched with Uruguay.”

READ: World Cup: Salah, Egypt down New Zealand, 3-1, for first win

In April, Luis Suárez announced he was willing to come out of retirement to play for Uruguay in the World Cup. The announcement fueled speculation that Uruguay’s star could make one final appearance on soccer’s biggest stage. Bielsa instead placed his faith in Uruguay’s next attacking generation, also excluding veteran striker Edinson Cavani from his roster.

“I feel like he’s a little older, so for players like Darwin (Núñez), I think it just gives him a little bit more of a chance to shine,” Uruguay fan Ian Lancaster said.

In its first World Cup match without Suárez since 2010, Uruguay narrowly avoided an upset against Saudi Arabia with the team’s only goal coming late from midfielder Maxi Araújo. Nuñez and Federico Viñas led the front line but were largely ineffective.

Bielsa chose a different lineup Sunday night, starting only Viñas to lead the attack. Midfielder Agustín Canobbio was added to the starting lineup against Cape Verde and made a difference, scoring Uruguay’s second goal.

It was Canobbio’s narrow miss in the second half, however, that could have given Uruguay a much-needed victory.

Suárez and Bielsa clashed after the 2024 Copa América when Suárez criticized Bielsa for the negative environment he had created under his leadership. Now, Bielsa and the Uruguay team will face further pressure to secure a win with an attack that has yet to dispel concerns.

All eyes will be on Uruguay on Friday as they travel to Guadalajara Stadium for a match against Spain.

“Our expectations with Uruguay now is that we never know,” Uruguay fan Alfonso Aguel said. “We need to play every match, go match by match, and see what actually happens.”

Mohamed Salah scored the go-ahead goal and Egypt went on to defeat New Zealand 3-1 on Sunday night and secure their first-ever World Cup win. Salah celebrated his 68th international goal by pumping his fist before he was mobbed by his teammates in the 67th minute, to the thrill of the red-clad Pharaohs fans in the sellout crowd at BC Place Vancouver. When Salah was subbed off in the 85th minute he was treated to a standing ovation. Egypt moved to the top of the standings in Group G with the win, but was not yet assured a spot in the knockout round. The Pharaohs will play a deciding game against Iran on Friday in Seattle, needing at least a draw to advance.

Egypt is making its fourth World Cup appearance after missing the field in Qatar four years ago. Salah scored a pair of goals in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Finn Surman put New Zealand in front in the 15th minute with a flying header off a corner kick delivered by Instagram sensation Tim Payne. It was the third international goal for the 6-foot-3 defender who plays for the Portland Timbers in MLS.

Omar Marmoush dropped a free kick off to Salah in the 35th minute but it went just wide and bent into the side netting.

Egypt turned up the pressure coming out of the half and Mostafa Zico broke through with equalizer, finding space between Surman and Payne for a header that goalkeeper Max Crocombe got a hand on but couldn’t stop in the 58th minute. Zico celebrated by gesturing for the fans in the crowd to cheer.

Salah took a back-heel pass from Zico for his goal, which puts him just one away from tying his coach Hossam Hassan for the national team’s all-time scoring lead. Trezeguet’s diving header wrapped up scoring for Egypt in the 82nd.

Egypt’s Hamdy Fathy was subbed off late in the first half after an apparent injury away from the ball. He was replaced by Ramy Rabia.

In the opener against Belgium, Emam Ashour scored the early goal for Egypt but then Romelu Lukaku subbed into the match and caused chaos in the box, resulting in an own goal for a 1-1 draw.

New Zealand twice took the lead against Iran in their group opener, only to cede it for a 2-2 draw in the end. Elijah Just scored both goals for the All Whites.

New Zealand previously appeared at the World Cup in 2010 and drew all three of its games.

Iran and Belgium played to a scoreless draw earlier in the day in Inglewood, California, giving both teams two straight draws at the tournament. New Zealand returns to Vancouver on Friday to face Belgium.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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It has not always been easy for a neutral observer to get behind Adrien Rabiot, whose dependency on the pitch has been repeatedly concealed by a curious, maddening penchant for irritating coaches, clubs and team-mates as much as opponents.

Yet if France are to reach an unprecedented third straight final, and wrest back the trophy from Argentina’s grasp, Didier Deschamps needs his team’s maligned midfield mainstay to keep pursuing what seems a neverending path to proving critics wrong.

Rabiot has come a long way from emailing Deschamps eight years ago to say he would not accept a place on the standby list for the 2018 World Cup in which Les Bleus ground their way to glory. Not long after that he was jettisoned by Paris Saint-Germain because of a dispute in which his mother and agent, Veronique, was infamously prominent.

But Rabiot began to grow at Juventus, leading to Andrea Pirlo, who served as head coach of the Old Lady for a spell, to declare him as a “complete” midfielder who could combine the technical and physical side of the game. High praise from one of the great purveyors of the former who struggled with the latter.

Gradually, Rabiot clawed his way back to the national team set-up and by Qatar was a crucial cog on the path to the greatest World Cup final of all, though he missed the last-four win against Morocco owing to illness.

Now Rabiot is one of Deschamps’ key lieutenants, among the cleanest players to carry out the dirty work, and a figure who is clearly more appreciated by his present team-mates than many of those who have gone before – not least former Marseille colleague Jonathan Rowe, with whom he had a changing room scrap that led to both players being sold last year.

“A guy with incredible resilience,” Kylian Mbappe said of Rabiot before the tournament got underway. “No matter what gets said about him, what happens to him, the guy’s always there. He’s weathered storms and gales and, when you look at his career, his CV speaks for itself.”

It is still missing a World Cup. But if Mbappe is to win his second, the leading star knows the less flashy presence two rows behind will be relied on intensely.

Maybe not against Iraq in Philadelphia on Monday night but from the group closer against Norway on Friday and into the knockout stages, it should become increasingly clear that this iteration of the fraternité is far more than the front four.

For all the criticism of Deschamps’ vague philosophy he has always considered balance a central tenet of all gameplans. So by committing to such a luxurious attack, the emphasis on Rabiot and Aurelien Tchouameni to bring control behind the chaos is even greater than before.

“With Aurelien, we need to maintain this balance,” Rabiot said before the tournament began. “We’re not restricted by the coach but, in this setup, we need to find the right adjustments with the four key attacking players who can make the difference.”

The early signs are promising. Rabiot’s pass to Bradley Barcola for France’s second against Senegal was exquisite, among the assists of the tournament to date, and he got through the standard pile of unseen work against an opponent whose mobility would upset plenty of teams.

There is an elegance to Rabiot that has often been overlooked by the perception of him being a workhorse; a misreading no doubt enhanced by him sharing a pitch with some of the game’s most thrilling forwards.

His physical capacity perhaps limits the appreciation of the technical side too. A team in which a gifted centre-forward has been fairly criticised for an unrivalled lack of work ethic off the ball requires the rest to be committed.

Deschamps knows that in Rabiot he can place unwavering faith to keep running, keep battling and keep trying – even if his inclusion seems destined to be forever questioned.