Minnesota Vikings News & Rumors

Updated 2022 NFL Draft Order

Have you been waiting all day for Tuesday night? Thanks to COVID rescheduling, we still have two games to go in Week 15. While the Eagles, Rams, and the Washington Football Team are all jockeying for postseason berths/positioning, the Seahawks are — for all intents and purposes — out of playoff contention.

If the season ended today, the Seahawks would own a top ten pick…that is, if they owned it. The Jets, who hold the Seahawks’ 2022 first-round pick by way of the Jamal Adams trade, will be cheering for the Rams tonight.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order will be determined by the inverted 2021 standings, plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. For playoff teams, the order is determined by their postseason outcome and regular season record.

Before the games begin, here’s a look at the currently projected 2022 NFL Draft Order:

  1. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-12)
  2. Detroit Lions (2-11-1)
  3. Houston Texans (3-11)
  4. New York Jets (3-11)
  5. New York Giants (via Bears)
  6. New York Giants (4-10)
  7. Carolina Panthers (5-9)
  8. New York Jets (via Seahawks)
  9. Atlanta Falcons (6-8)
  10. Philadelphia Eagles (6-7)
  11. Washington Football Team (6-7)
  12. Philadelphia Eagles (via Dolphins)
  13. Denver Broncos (7-7)
  14. New Orleans Saints (7-7)
  15. Cleveland Browns (7-7)
  16. Las Vegas Raiders (7-7)
  17. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6-1)
  18. Baltimore Ravens (8-6)
  19. Minnesota Vikings (7-7)*
  20. Buffalo Bills (8-6)*
  21. Miami Dolphins (via 49ers)*
  22. Los Angeles Chargers (8-6)*
  23. Philadelphia Eagles (via Colts)*
  24. Detroit Lions (via Rams)*
  25. Cincinnati Bengals (8-6)*
  26. Tennessee Titans (9-5)*
  27. Arizona Cardinals (10-4)*
  28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-4)*
  29. New England Patriots (9-5)*
  30. Dallas Cowboys (10-4)*
  31. Kansas City Chiefs (10-4)*
  32. Green Bay Packers (11-3)*

* = Playoffs

Minor NFL Transactions:  12/21/21

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawk

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Football Team

Minor NFL Transactions:  12/20/21

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

  • Promoted: OL Jacob Capra

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Washington Football Team

  • Promoted: OT Sam Cosmi

NFL COVID List Updates

We are trying our best here at Pro Football Rumors to keep up with all of the updates throughout the league concerning players on the reserve/COVID-19 list. A lot of teams had high hopes during today’s testing as they were trying to get players activated in time for Sunday’s slate of games.

Here are updates as of 8:30 PM ET, Sat 12/18:

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Eddie Goldman
  • OC Bill Lazor, DC Sean Desai, STC Chris Tabor in COVID-19 protocols

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: DB P.J. Locke

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Four Coaches in COVID-19 protocols

New York Giants

New York Jets

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Football Team

Vikings Waive Bashaud Breeland

The Vikings have waived cornerback Bashaud Breeland, per a club announcement. The comes just hours after the team listed Breeland as questionable for this week’s game due to non-injury reasons.

Breeland “got into a verbal altercation” with coaches at Saturday’s practice, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero (Twitter link). Apparently, the veteran took off his cleats at some point during the fracas and got into it with teammates who were trying to restore order. After that, the Vikings acted fast to hand Breeland his pink slip.

After two seasons with the Chiefs, Breeland spent much of the offseason in free agency limbo. Finally, in June, the Vikings signed him to a one-year, $4MM deal. It’s worth noting that the Bears and the incumbent Chiefs were also in the mix.

The 29-year-old (30 in January) graded out as a midlevel corner in 2020, slotting him 57th at the position. This year, PFF has him ranked as one of the worst among all qualified corners — 117 out of 119. Teammate Mackensie Alexander, also in the midst of a rough year, is tied for dead last.

Breeland’s Minnesota run will end with 63 tackles and two interceptions across 13 games. The Vikings, sans Breeland, will face the Bears on Monday night in a game that could make or break their playoff hopes.

Updated 2022 NFL Draft Order

The Chiefs (9-4) and Chargers (8-5) are getting set to kick off Week 15 in a matchup that could decide the AFC West crown. Meanwhile, more than one-quarter of the NFL’s teams have either been mathematically or effectively eliminated from playoff contention.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order will be determined by the inverted 2021 standings, plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. For playoff teams, the order is determined by their postseason outcome and regular season record. (Ex: Washington would own the No. 19 pick if they were eliminated in the Wild Card round with the worst record of the group.)

With that in mind, here’s a look at the currently projected 2022 NFL Draft Order:

1. Detroit Lions (1-11-1)
2. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-11)
3. Houston Texans (2-11)
4. New York Jets (3-10)
5. New York Giants (via Bears)
6. New York Giants (4-9)
7. New York Jets (via Seahawks)
8. Carolina Panthers (5-8)
9. Atlanta Falcons (6-7)
10. Philadelphia Eagles (via Dolphins)
11. Philadelphia Eagles (6-7)
12. Minnesota Vikings (6-7)
13. New Orleans Saints (6-7)
14. Las Vegas Raiders (6-7)
15. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6-1)
16. Denver Broncos (7-6)
17. Cincinnati Bengals (7-6)
18. Cleveland Browns (7-6)
19. Washington Football Team (6-7)*
20. Buffalo Bills (7-6)*
21. Philadelphia Eagles (via Colts)*
22. Miami Dolphins (via 49ers)*
23. Los Angeles Chargers (8-5)*
24. Detroit Lions (via Rams)*
25. Baltimore Ravens (8-5)*
26. Dallas Cowboys (9-4)*
27. Kansas City Chiefs (9-4)*
28. Arizona Cardinals (10-3)*
29. Tennessee Titans (9-4)*
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-3)*
31. New England Patriots (9-4)*
32. Green Bay Packers (10-3)*

* = Playoffs

Minor NFL Transactions:  12/14/21

Today’s minor moves:

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

Washington Football Team

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/14/21

Today’s taxi squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Football Team

  • Signed: DT Hercules Mata’afa

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/13/21

Today’s taxi squad moves:

Baltimore Ravens

  • Placed on COVID-19 list: WR Binjimen Victor

Denver Broncos

  • Placed on COVID-19 list: WR Seth Williams

Green Bay Packers

  • Released: QB Danny Etling

Minnesota Vikings

  • Placed on COVID-19 list: G Kyle Hinton

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Vikings RB Dalvin Cook To Play Tonight

Dalvin Cook will be in uniform when the Vikings take on the Steelers tonight. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter), the Pro Bowl running back will play tonight vs. Pittsburgh. Cook will wear a shoulder harness, and he’s expected to see a normal workload.

As Schefter points out, Cook previously played with a shoulder harness during a 2020 wild-card game against the Saints. In that game, he collected 130 yards and two touchdowns on 31 touches.

Cook was expected to to miss two games due to a labrum tear and shoulder dislocation, but the running back seemed to be progressing in the right direction throughout the week. After sitting out Week 13, Cook passed all necessary tasks and took first-team reps at practice this week. The 26-year-old has also regained full range of motion in his shoulder.

The Vikings could have kept Cook out of the lineup and provided the RB with an extra 11 days of rest between now and their MNF game in Week 15. However, with the team clinging to wild-card hopes, the organization is obviously prioritizing winning. Minnesota’s recent loss in Detroit bumped the team down to 5-7, and the Vikings will already be without Adam Thielen tonight. The team ruled out the veteran wide receiver, who is battling a high ankle sprain.

A Pro Bowler in each of the past two years, Cook is in the first season of a five-year, $63MM extension. He has missed three games this season, leading to high-end backup Alexander Mattison making starts.