There has been a lot of hoopla surrounding the Minnesota Vikings and the quarterback position so far this offseason.

That topic has only picked up steam in the aftermath of the firing of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah last Friday, following which many talking points circulated that not everybody was on the same page with how the position was handled last offseason when Sam Darnold was let go.

Now, the Vikings have to make a really big decision this offseason at that quarterback spot, which could shape the direction of the franchise for the next decade. With so many options being thrown out there, here are the four paths Minnesota can take at quarterback this offseason.

Stand Pat with J.J. McCarthy as the Sure Starter

This probably won’t happen based on the Minnesota’s current QB options, but technically, they could decide to just stick with what they have.

Perhaps there is no doubt that McCarthy is the starting quarterback heading into 2026, which wouldn’t be entirely out of the realm of possibility after his fairly strong conclusion to the season prior to his hand injury, and they don’t want to spend more money on the position when there are other pretty glaring needs on the roster.

That being said, this is very unlikely to happen given McCarthy’s concerning injury history over his first two NFL seasons. As of now, the Vikings only have Max Brosmer as the backup option behind their 2024 first-round pick. Brosmer was signed as an undrafted free agent last season, and when he did play last year while McCarthy was out with various injuries, it was pretty apparent he is not ready to start at the NFL level.

Bring in a Veteran Free Agent to Compete

Let’s say the Vikings are still plenty confident that McCarthy is capable of starting at the NFL level, but they just want to give him an extra “umph” of competition heading into training camp while also having an insurance policy in case the injury bug bites him again.

There are a number of free agents out there who could be cheap enough to reasonably bring in as a backup quarterback while also pushing McCarthy in camp and potentially being an extra voice in his ear this season.

One name that comes to mind is Jimmy Garoppolo, who spent the 2025 season as the backup for the Los Angeles Rams. Vikings fans will remember that Kevin O’Connell came from Sean McVay’s system before he took the head coaching job in Minnesota. Garoppolo also had plenty of experience with Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco. If there is a veteran QB who will immediately be ready to play in O’Connell’s system, it’s hard to rationalize one better fitted for it than Garoppolo.

Trade for a Bonafide Starter

The Vikings could go down this path for a number of reasons.

Perhaps they flat out don’t believe McCarthy should be the starting quarterback moving forward, and Minnesota simply wants to turn the page by bringing in an established starter and not having to think about the position again for a few years.

On the other hand, maybe they think McCarthy can be a starter down the road, but the play he put on tape in 2025 showed the coaching staff and front office that the time for him to be under center is not right now if Minnesota wants to compete sooner than later.

Two names have continuously circulated around the Vikings if they were to try to trade for a true, bonafide starting quarterback: Kyler Murray and Joe Burrow.

Murray makes a bit of sense if they want to go all in on 2026 while still offering McCarthy a chance to develop and eventually start down the road. He is under contract through 2027, and while his cap hits of $52.66 million and $43.5 million over the next two years may seem daunting, they rank 8th and 10th in the NFL over those two years. The Vikings would also only eat $7.2 million of that $43.5 million in 2027 if they decided it was time to part ways.

However, if the Vikings ended up going the Burrow option and somehow put together a package of picks and players to convince the Bengals to part with the 2020 No. 1 overall pick, that would instantly indicate they are building around their new quarterback for the long haul. Burrow is under contract through 2029 with ever growing cap numbers through that year.

Take Another Stab in the Draft

Given the depth of the QB class in this year’s draft, this is probably the least likely option heading into 2026. Of course, Fernando Mendoza is being chalked in as the No. 1 overall pick this April whether that be to the Las Vegas Raiders or another team via trade.

After that though, the options get thin in a hurry, especially now that Dante Moore has announced he will be going back to Oregon for another year.

The most obvious choice would be Ty Simpson out of Alabama, who is the other QB who could end up landing in the latter half of the first round or early in the second round. Simpson isn’t the most physically gifted player with underwhelming size and arm speed, but he has tremendous poise in the pocket that could turn him into a starting caliber player at the NFL level.

In this scenario, Minnesota almost certainly would ship McCarthy out for picks. The question is: are the Vikings really ready to use another high end pick on a quarterback experiment without landing the best player in the class?

Editor’s Note: Information from Spotrac helped with this article.

Josh Frey is a senior writer at both PurplePTSD.com and VikingsTerritory.com, with a fascination for the NFL Draft. To … More about Josh Frey

The NFL is headed to another South American city for the first time, and they’re bringing the Dallas Cowboys along for the ride.

It was announced on Thursday that the NFL’s upcoming trip to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, will feature an appearance by the Dallas Cowboys. It will be just the second appearance by the team in the NFL International Series since it began in 2007, and their first trip outside the US for a regular season game in over a decade, when they defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-17 in London. Neither the date and time nor the opponent for the Cowboys was announced.

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“We are proud to welcome the Dallas Cowboys to Brazil for the first‑ever NFL game in Rio de Janeiro,” said NFL Brazil General Manager Luis Martinez. “Introducing one of the league’s most iconic teams to the Maracanã Stadium marks a powerful milestone in the continued growth of the sport worldwide. Bringing a regular-season game to Rio strengthens our connection to a vibrant and passionate football community and underscores our long‑term commitment to the market.”

The game is part of a nine-game international slate scheduled for the 2026 season, which will encompass trips to four continents, seven countries, and eight stadiums. Other cities seeing their first NFL game in 2026 include Melbourne, Australia, and Paris, France.

The NFL has played in Brazil twice, once in 2024 and once in 2025. Both games took place in São Paulo, the country’s capital. Brazil is reportedly one of the league’s largest international markets, with more than 36 million viewers. The 2026 game in Rio is part of the NFL’s commitment to bring at least three games to the city over the next five seasons.

This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: Dallas Cowboys to star in NFL’s first ever trip to South American city

Pep Guardiola has responded to criticism of his comments on global conflicts by asserting that he condemned anything “when innocent people are killed”.

The Manchester City boss used his press conference ahead of their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Newcastle to reveal his outrage at what he branded the indefensible killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by ICE, as he compared the death of the latter to seeing a nurse in the NHS gunned down on the grass.

Guardiola said he has to carry on speaking up to try and produce a better society, as he talked of his anguish at seeing images of what he called genocide in the Gaza Strip and deaths in Ukraine and Sudan.

It sparked outrage from Jewish community leaders, who felt Manchester City were “being let down by him repeatedly straying into commentary on international affairs” and called for Guardiola to “focus on football”.

The Spaniard has hit back by insisting his comments were hardly contentious and doubled down on his beliefs, saying: “To be honest I didn’t say anything special. I don’t feel that.

“I think why should I not express how I feel just because I am a manager? So I do not agree but I respect absolutely all opinions.

“What I said basically is how many conflicts there are right now around the globe or around the world. How many? A lot, right? I condemn all of them. All of them.

“When innocent people are killed, I condemn all of them.”

Former Super Eagles and Marseille defender Taye Taiwo has welcomed Tochukwu Nnadi to the French Ligue 1 side following the Nigerian midfielder’s move to the club.

Taiwo sent a video message to Nnadi, which was shared on Marseille’s official social media platforms. In the message, the former left-back congratulated the 22-year-old and encouraged him as he begins a new chapter in his career.

“Hi Nnadi congratulation brother. Welcome to Marseille you know I just want to say I wish you all the best and I will see you soon. You know say Naija no dey carry last. All the best brother. See you soon. Ciao. Yeah,” Taiwo said.

Taiwo spent six successful years at Marseille between 2005 and 2011 and remains a respected figure at the club. His message was seen as a major show of support for Nnadi, who is joining one of France’s biggest teams.

Nnadi responded by thanking Taiwo for the kind words and said the message meant a lot to him.

“I’m just going to say thank you so much to Uncle Taiwo. This message means a lot to me and like he said Naija no dey carry last. So come on Naija,” the midfielder said.

Nnadi, who was born in Ihiagwa, Imo State, completed his transfer to Marseille from Belgian Pro League side Zulte Waregem. He impressed in Belgium with his strong work rate, defensive qualities and ability to play in different midfield roles.

Marseille confirmed the signing on Monday, February 2, just hours before the winter transfer window closed.

The move highlights the growing presence of Nigerian players in Europe and creates a strong link between Nnadi and Taiwo, whose time at Marseille is still fondly remembered by the club’s supporters.

Super Eagles forward Terem Moffi has been tipped to make a bigger impact at FC Porto than Viktor Gyökeres has done at Sporting, following his winter move to the Portuguese giants.

Moffi joined FC Porto on loan from French club Nice during the January transfer window. The deal includes an option to buy, valued at eight million euros, with an additional 250,000 euros in bonuses.

The move followed a difficult period for the Nigerian striker in France, where he struggled for form and was affected by off-field issues, including an incident involving a group of fans targeting players.

Speaking on Moffi’s character and development, former teammate Mindaugas Grigaravicius said the striker has the mindset and quality to succeed at the highest level. The two played together at Lithuanian club FK Riteriai, where Moffi joined at the age of 18 after leaving England.

Grigaravicius recalled that Moffi found life and football in Lithuania difficult at first but later proved his critics wrong.

“I lived with him for three weeks in a hotel, while the club looked for apartments for the players. I was the one who took him to training, we went for rides in the car and ate together,” he said.

“He was a shy and quiet boy who didn’t speak at first. He didn’t show his emotions; he seemed like a boy who had come from Africa just chasing his dream of playing football. His first training sessions were terrible.”

He added that many people doubted Moffi’s ability in the early weeks.

“We were discussing amongst ourselves what he had come here to do, he couldn’t fit in or play. He was strong and tall, but he seemed weak, he lost every ball,” Grigaravicius said.

“After a month, we said he had no chance of staying… But he showed us how wrong we were.”

According to Grigaravicius, Moffi’s improvement began when he accepted the physical and tactical demands of European football and put in extra work, especially in the gym and on the training ground.

“He had a complicated adaptation… He had to do extra work, and that’s where the progress began,” he said.

Once he settled, Moffi’s rise was rapid.

“He showed passion, power, a lot of strength… he crushed the defenders, he killed them! He started scoring a lot of goals,” Grigaravicius added.

Looking ahead to Moffi’s time at FC Porto, Grigaravicius said the striker has everything needed to succeed in Portugal.

“At a big club like FC Porto, there’s no time for adaptation… he will surely be successful,” he said.

“In good form, with everyone’s confidence, he has no limits. He could be better than Gyökeres at Sporting.”

A wrestling veteran said that the former AEW World Champion, Chris Jericho could return to WWE in a non-wrestling role. The veteran believes that Y2J could join the Stamford-based promotion in an off-screen role.

Chris Jericho may not return to the WWE as a talent, according to the wrestling veteran, Dutch Mantell. Jericho last appeared on AEW TV back in April 2025. While he has been heavily rumored to be returning to the Sports Entertainment Juggernaut for months, Y2J is still listed on the official roster page of Tony Khan’s promotion.

Speaking on his Story Time podcast recently, Dutch Mantell assumed that Jericho may not return to the WWE as a talent, but could become a part of the promotion’s creative team instead:

“Well, he may be in shape, but when people hear he’s 55-56, to me, he is an old guy in a young man’s game; it’s what he is. I don’t care how good he is, he is great. I’ve seen him do a lot of great stuff and he hits all the points. But at 55, and he’s not going back till next year, I would say there is a possibility that he doesn’t even go now, as a talent, let me say that. He may not go as a talent; he could go as a part of the creative team, but I don’t think he wants to do that.”

Veteran believes Chris Jericho will end his wrestling career in WWE

The wrestling veteran, Jim Ross recently claimed that Chris Jericho wants to finish up his wrestling career in the WWE. Speaking on his Grilling JR podcast, Ross also recalled hiring Jericho to the Stamford-based promotion decades ago:

“I don’t think going to WWE is a matter over paychecks. I think he wants to end his career in wrestling in WWE. I hired Chris Jericho. Jerry Brisco and I had a couple of meetings as I recall to get him pointed in the right direction,” JR said.

Only time will tell what the future holds for Y2J.

If taking quotes from this article’s first half, H/T ‘Sportskeeda Wrestling’ for transcription and credit ‘Story Time with Dutch Mantell on YT.’