Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy was sidelined because of a right meniscus tear during his rookie season, but he's certain he's ready to rock in 2025.
"I know I'm ready to start," McCarthy said while grinning and wearing a backward baseball hat in a Tuesday news conference. "And I appreciate that question."
The 22-year-old then explained why he's brimming with confidence, despite his lack of experience.
"Because all the work I put in and just the confidence in my skills and abilities," McCarthy said. "And just being able to do my job and simplify things to the best of my ability every single day. And just taking it one day at a time, one play at a time. I have a tremendous coaching staff, a tremendous group of guys around me that I can lean on and they can lean on me."
Minnesota has yet to name McCarthy as its starter, but he's expected to be its QB1 next season. The Vikings let QB Sam Darnold sign with the Seattle Seahawks in free agency, even though he tossed the league's fifth-most touchdown passes (35 in 17 starts) last season.
The Vikings showed interest in free-agent QB Aaron Rodgers this offseason but didn't sign him. During the 2025 NFL Draft, Minnesota acquired backup QB Sam Howell in a trade with the Seahawks to add depth at the most important position.
The Vikings went 14-3 last season but lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC wild-card round. They hope McCarthy — the 10th overall pick of the 2024 draft — catapults them to the top of the conference.
McCarthy won a national championship at Michigan during the 2023 season but failed to produce eye-popping numbers throughout his college career. In three seasons with the Wolverines, he never threw for more than 2,991 passing yards and 22 touchdown passes.
While it's too early to determine whether McCarthy is the last piece of the Vikings' Super Bowl puzzle, at least he seems to have the swagger a franchise cornerstone needs.
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The Green Bay Packers have a logjam at wide receiver. Adding rookies Matthew Golden and Savion Williams to quarterback Jordan Love’s arsenal infuses a big-play element to head coach Matt LaFleur’s offense, while Mecole Hardman is a veteran presence at an otherwise young position group with untapped potential but limited big-game experience. As the 2025 regular season approaches, the Packers might be a popular phone call for general managers of teams aiming to bolster their receiving corps and upgrade the offense. Could Packers’ Romeo Doubs be a Top Trade Candidate? With training camp underway, Romeo Doubs sits atop the depth chart but could quickly be pushed by Golden for the top spot. In addition to Hardman, Golden, Williams, and Doubs, playmakers like Dontayvion Wicks and Jayden Reed will also be pushing for snaps and a consistent role in the passing game. According to Pro Football Focus NFL analyst Bradley Locker, the competition and infusion of talent at receiver could make Doubs one of the top trade candidates across the NFL. “Since being taken in the fourth round in 2022,” Locker writes for PFF. “Doubs has become a solid option for Green Bay. Last season, he turned in a 71.0 PFF receiving grade with 1.62 yards per route run. However, his drop rate has sat above 9% in two of his three seasons, and health has also been an issue, with Doubs logging less than 700 snaps in two of three campaigns. “Golden figures to be Jordan Love’s WR1, especially with Christian Watson sidelined yet again. Green Bay also added rookie Savion Williams to the mix, which suggests that the team wasn’t satisfied with its receiver play from a year ago. Will the Packers finally move on from one of Doubs, Jayden Reed or Dontayvion Wicks, each of whom has shown flashes but not developed in full? The most likely would figure to be Doubs, who is effectively playing on a one-year deal in 2025.” If Golden makes the immediate leap and flashes like a No. 1 wide receiver, GM Brian Gutekunst and the Packers could bit sitting on one of the most coveted receivers for contending teams aiming to fill a need. Doubs has caught 147 passes for 1,700 yards and 15 touchdowns through his first three seasons as one of Love’s top targets. If he’s supplanted by Golden, his next catch may come from elsewhere.
Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, Callan Foote, Michael McLeod and Alex Formenton have been found not guilty by Justice Maria Carroccia in London, Ontario, according to reporting from The Athletic, after being charged in connection with an alleged sexual assault involving the 2018 Canadian men’s national junior team. Carroccia said that she did not find E.M.’s [the alleged victim] evidence “credible or reliable,” in explaining her reasoning. “Having found that I cannot rely upon the evidence of E.M. and then considering the evidence in this trial as a whole, I conclude that the Crown cannot meet its onus on any of the counts before me,” Carroccia said. The allegations against Dube, Foote, Formenton, Hart and McLeod first became public in May of 2022, when reports emerged that Hockey Canada had paid to settle a lawsuit with a woman, known in court documents as E.M., who said she was sexually assaulted by eight players “over several hours” in a London hotel room on July 18, 2018. No charges were levied as a result of the initial investigation by local police, which was closed in February 2019, but the case was reopened after the 2022 report. Formal charges were then brought against the five defendants on Jan. 30, 2024. The trial began on April 22, 2025, and the verdicts were reached solely by Justice Carroccia after two mistrials influenced her to dismiss the jury. The NHL does not have a formal policy for players accused of or charged with domestic violence, sexual assault or similar crimes. Instead, the four players who were under NHL contracts at the time – Dube, Foote, Hart and McLeod – were granted indefinite leaves of absence by their clubs shortly before the charges were announced. All of them were pending restricted free agents on expiring contracts and were not extended qualifying offers, making them unrestricted free agents as of July 1, 2024. When asked about the playing eligibility of the defendants, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has continually deferred action until after a verdict was reached. While none of the players are formally suspended by the league, similar situations have routinely required some sort of permission from league offices for them to play in or return to the NHL. If teams approach any of them with a contract offer, they will presumably wait for that guidance before registering the deal.
The Milwaukee Bucks' decision to waive-and-stretch Damian Lillard sparked even more Giannis Antetokounmpo rumors on social media. There were already reports that Antetokounmpo was considering his options and potentially forcing his way out of Milwaukee, and the Lillard move did little to alleviate the situation. Nevertheless, the weeks have gone by, and Antetokounmpo is still a Buck. More importantly, the team believes that's not going to change any time soon. "We have no indication that anything is really changing as far as our relationship with the player we think is the best in the world," a Bucks front office executive told Spotrac's Keith Smith. "We rebuilt on the fly, in a really challenging situation, but we think we did it as well as it could be done." Antetokounmpo trade rumors have cooled off around the league, and while anything can happen in the NBA, that doesn't seem likely at this point. "Do I think the star guys like Giannis (Antetokounmpo) or LeBron (James) are going to go anywhere? Nope. Is it possible? Sure is," said a Western Conference executive. Giannis chose to stay in Milwaukee with one of the most lucrative contract extensions in NBA history. He was overly critical of the team's effort last season, and another early playoff exit may have driven him to the edge. Even so, he's talked about how he wants to win "the right way," as opposed to chasing rings. That said, with head coach Doc Rivers' long list of questionable postseason performances and a championship window that could be closing right before their eyes, Giannis trade rumors will flood social media again if the Bucks get off to a slow start during the 2026-26 campaign.
New York Yankees top prospect Spencer Jones is absolutely scorching hot at the plate right now, as he's hit three home runs in the first five innings on Thursday for the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders. With 29 home runs, Jones now has the minor league lead in home runs. He's played only 67 games this season between Double-A and Triple-A, making his season even more impressive. He's hitting .308 for the season. SPENCER JONES THREE-HOMER GAME! and it's only the 5th lol The @Yankees prospect ties, takes and extends the MiLB HR lead with a big day for the @swbrailriders. He has 29 this season. Ranked as the No. 4 prospect in the organization by MLB Pipeline, Jones is an interesting conversation point for the Yankees right now. Do they bring him up to the big leagues and let him try to help a team that has fallen to four games back in the American League East? Do they let him stay in Triple-A, where he's only played 18 games, and continue to develop? Do they include him in a trade at the deadline in order to go get help for the MLB roster? Or, do they make him off-limits in any talks? It's all part of the calculus for general manager Brian Cashman as the deadline looms on July 31. The Yankees are off on Thursday but they will resume play on Friday night against the Philadelphia Phillies at home. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. ET as Ranger Suarez (PHI) pitches against Will Warren (NYY). Related MLB Stories DOMINANT OUTING: Cristopher Sanchez threw a complete-game against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night, making rare history among Phillies lefties. CLICK HERE: 20/30 ONCE AGAIN: Jose Ramirez just keeps doing things that no player in Cleveland history has ever done. CLICK HERE: TURNING DOWN AN OFFER: According to reports, D-backs star Corbin Carroll will not play for Taiwan at the World Baseball Classic. CLICK HERE:
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