The Vikings stacked depth at specialized spots after re-signing 13 players on Sunday to the practice squad, including two quarterbacks soon to be reportedly followed by another kicker.
Vikings re-sign 13 to practice squad
September 7, 2020 at 4:08AM
Quarterbacks Jake Browning and Nate Stanley, receiver Alexander Hollins and guard/tackle Aviante Collins are among the reserves officially signed. With three jobs still available on the 16-man practice squad, kicker Chase McLaughlin is also expecting to return, according to the Providence Journal, but he was not among the official moves on Sunday.
McLaughlin, the former Bills kicker who spent a week on the Vikings practice squad last season, was most recently waived by the Colts. If signed, he will provide an emergency option behind kicker Dan Bailey as the coronavirus pandemic gives teams reason to consider contingency plans.
The Vikings kept only two quarterbacks on the active roster in Kirk Cousins and Sean Mannion but have four passers available after Browning and Stanley also got 11-on-11 work during a shortened training camp.
Center Brett Jones, guard Kyle Hinton, tackle Blake Brandel, tight end Brandon Dillon, fullback Jake Bargas, cornerback Mark Fields, safety Nate Meadors, safety Josh Metellus and linebacker Blake Lynch were also re-signed to the Vikings practice squad.
Practice squad players can now be activated on game days, with NFL teams not required to sign them to the active roster unless calling up the same player for a third time during the season. The Vikings can do this with up to two practice squad players per week, but the same player can't be elevated two weeks in a row.
Of the Vikings' 15 draft picks, 14 are on the roster in some fashion, with only seventh-round safety Brian Cole II not on the team. Notably, the top two undrafted signings — cornerback Nevelle Clarke and receiver Quartney Davis — were unsigned as of Sunday afternoon.
The Vikings guaranteed $473,000 to undrafted free agents this spring, led by $115,000 to sign Clarke out of Central Florida and $110,000 to win a bidding war with the Cowboys for Davis from Texas A&M. Neither was able to mix in with the first or second teams, as all newcomers were dealt a tough hand with no OTAs, just 17 practices in 22 days and no preseason.
Vikings claim Connelly
The Vikings continued to churn linebacker depth Sunday when the team was awarded former Wisconsin and Eden Prairie linebacker Ryan Connelly off waivers. Connelly, a 2019 fifth-round pick by the Giants, was a surprise release by New York, after he intercepted two passes in three starts as a rookie.
Connelly should be available by Wednesday's practice, as updated NFL testing protocols allow players claimed off waivers to enter the new team's facility after one day of testing, if a 24-hour PCR test is negative and, the next day, a point-of-care test at the facility is also negative.
The Vikings waived linebacker Hardy Nickerson Jr. to make room on the roster.
Where's the safety depth?
Two backups at safety — Meadors and Metellus — were re-signed to the practice squad Sunday, but the Vikings were still officially without listed backups to starters Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris on the active roster.
Because the Vikings weren't awarded a safety on waivers doesn't mean they didn't try to claim one. But only two defensive backs with safety experience — former Kansas City safety Adrian Colbert, to the Giants, and former Philadelphia defensive back Rasul Douglas, to Carolina — were claimed on Sunday, both by teams ahead of the Vikings in the waiver order, which before the season is set by the NFL draft order.
The Vikings' tryouts last month included veteran safeties George Iloka and Jahleel Addae.
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
