Vikings sign veteran cornerback Bene' Benwikere

After opening training camp with a search for more depth in their defensive backfield, the Vikings have decided on an option.

The team announced it signed sixth-year cornerback Bene' Benwikere on Saturday, releasing cornerback Terrence Alexander to make room for the 27-year-old. Benwikere, a fifth-round pick for the Panthers in 2014, could help round out the Vikings' cornerback picture with Holton Hill suspended for the first eight games of the season and Mike Hughes still working his way back from last October's torn knee ligament.

Benwikere started a career-high eight games for the Cardinals last season, before being released in November. He finished the season by playing four games with the Raiders, and learned much of coach Mike Zimmer's system during both his time with Oakland defensive coordinator Paul Guenther (a Zimmer disciple) and an offseason with the Bengals.

"It's been almost two weeks that we've been showing mutual interest," Benwikere said Saturday night. "For myself, I liked [it] here; I liked the situation. Obviously, they need positions filled with guys being hurt. They just need depth."

He said he had four teams to pick from, but when he came to the team facility for a workout with the Vikings, "it just felt homey.

"I ended up seeing some of the guys that I knew [from previous stops,] and they all said, 'Bro, this is a nice place.' "

The addition of Benwikere comes after a search for veteran players that included workouts for Orlando Scandrick and Morris Claiborne, among others. Scandrick signed with the Eagles this week, while Claiborne, who remains a free agent, is reportedly facing his own four-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy.

Benwikere also continues the Vikings' somewhat regular custom of adding an experienced defensive back in the final weeks before the regular season. Last year, the team signed safety George Iloka in August, and acquired Tramaine Brock in a trade with Seattle before the 2017 season. Back in Zimmer's first training camp as Vikings coach, he coaxed former Bengals safety Chris Crocker out of retirement, to spend the preseason with the team.

Stefon Diggs and Xavier Rhodes had several days of contentious moments in training camp last year — to the point where Zimmer tossed both of them out of practice for a day to let them cool off. During the Vikings' night practice in TCO Stadium on Saturday, the wide receiver and cornerback renewed a bit of their rivalry.

Diggs took issue with Mackensie Alexander for shoving him to the ground after a pass during an 11-on-11 drill, and Rhodes jumped in to the point where both players had to be separated while exchanging words. Zimmer took both players out of the drill, and Adam Thielen spent several plays trying to calm Diggs down.

With the Vikings practicing on turf for the only time during training camp, Zimmer kept several players out of the evening session in the stadium.

Tight end Kyle Rudolph, among the players to get a veteran's day on Friday, watched Saturday night's practice from the sideline with a sleeve on his right leg. Running back Dalvin Cook also sat out, and defensive tackle Jalyn Holmes — who had an apparent leg injury earlier in camp — was didn't participate. Defensive tackles Shamar Stephen and Linval Joseph continued to sit out team drills.