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Vikings Re-Sign Britton Colquitt

September 2nd, 2021 at 10:44am CST by Zachary Links

Britton Colquitt wasn’t gone for long. The Vikings re-signed their punter on Thursday morning (Twitter link via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press).

[RELATED: Vikings Add Mannion To Practice Squad]

Colquitt was cut on Wednesday — a real eyebrow-raiser since he was the sole punter on Minnesota’s roster. But, as we’ve seen before in the NFL, this was a short-lived hiatus.

Colquitt re-upped with the Vikes on a three-year, $9MM deal last year with $5MM guaranteed. It’s likely that his new contract is cheaper, and possibly shorter. The 36-year-old has suited up for every Vikings game over the last two years, averaging 45.1 yards per attempt. He’ll look to keep up the good work this year as he enters his 12th NFL season.

Vikings Add Sean Mannion To Practice Squad

September 2nd, 2021 at 10:01am CST by Sam Robinson

Sean Mannion is returning to Minnesota. Kirk Cousins‘ former backup will rejoin the Vikings but do so as a member of their practice squad. This comes a day after the Seahawks cut the veteran reserve.

Minnesota was linked to re-upping Mannion earlier this year but opted against doing so, leading the former third-round quarterback pick to Seattle this summer. The Seahawks, however, released Mannion to clear a roster spot for Jake Luton on Wednesday.

The Vikings selected Kellen Mond in this year’s third round, but the Texas A&M product can be viewed as a project. The team has only Cousins and Mond on its active roster. Mannion represents veteran insurance in the event of a Cousins injury or other unavailability this season. Teams can have up to six vested veterans on their 16-man practice squads this year.

A former Rams draftee, Mannion signed two one-year deals with the Vikings over the past two years. Cousins did not miss any time due to injury, keeping Mannion in a similar role to the one he held behind Jared Goff in Los Angeles, but the six-year vet’s presence certainly provided some stability for the Vikings. After both Mond and Cousins missed time due to placement on the reserve/COVID-19 list in August, veteran QB insurance certainly makes sense for the Vikes.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC North

September 1st, 2021 at 6:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These Bears, Lions, Packers and Vikings moves are noted below.

Here are Wednesday’s NFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.

Chicago Bears

Claimed:

Signed:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Detroit Lions

Released/Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Green Bay Packers

Signed to practice squad:

Minnesota Vikings

Signed:

Claimed:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Vikings Re-Sign DE Everson Griffen

September 1st, 2021 at 4:54pm CST by Ben Levine

As expected, Everson Griffen has landed back in Minnesota. The veteran defensive end is re-signing with the Vikings, reports NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter).

The 33-year-old signed with the Vikings in late August, but the reunion was temporarily put on hold yesterday. The team cut the former Pro Bowler in order to carry impending IR players, and today’s re-signing seemed all but inevitable.

Griffen spent his entire career with the Vikings up until 2020. Splitting time between the Cowboys and Lions, Griffen finished out with six sacks in total. Meanwhile, no Vikings edge rusher finished with more than five. His ten-year run with the Vikes saw four Pro Bowl appearances and 74.5 total sacks.

Minnesota’s D-Line registered just 23 total sacks last year, putting them 28th in the league. Things are already looking up with Griffen back in the fold plus the return of Danielle Hunter. Meanwhile, the interior will be held down by veterans Michael Pierce, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Sheldon Richardson.

Vikings Cut Britton Colquitt

September 1st, 2021 at 3:57pm CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings have released punter Britton Colquitt, per the league’s transactional wire. It’s a surprising cut, especially since Colquitt was the sole punter on the Vikings’ roster.

Colquitt re-upped with the Vikes on a three-year, $9MM deal last year with $5MM guaranteed. The 36-year-old has suited up for every Vikings game over the last two years, averaging 45.1 yards per attempt. There’s no word yet on who might replace Colquitt. It’s also possible that he’ll be brought back on a cheaper/shorter contract.

All in all, Colquitt has eleven seasons under his belt between the Broncos, Browns, and Vikings. Given his body of work, he’ll likely find a deal from some team in the coming weeks.

Vikings’ Irv Smith Jr. Done For Year?

September 1st, 2021 at 10:39am CST by Zachary Links

Bad news for the Vikings. Irv Smith‘s knee injury will likely shelve him for the entire season, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). 

Smith is looking at a 4-5 month timetable for recovery. Even in a best case scenario, that would effectively rule the tight end out for the regular season. A postseason return remains possible, in theory, but that’s a long way away. For now, Smith will have to focus on rehab while the Vikings plan to be without him for 2021.

Smith, 23, flashed serious potential last year while posting 30 catches for 365 yards and five touchdowns. The football world (and fantasy world) was awaiting a breakout year for Smith, who would have benefitted from all the attention paid to Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, and the rest of Kirk Cousins‘ weapons.

Instead, the Vikings will lean more on Tyler Conklin, who is dealing with a hamstring injury. Brandon Dillon stands as the only other tight end on the roster after rookie Zach Davidson and Shane Zylstra were waived on Tuesday. It stands to reason that one of those two players will be re-signed to the 53-man roster once Smith is placed on injured reserve. Alternatively, the Vikings could scour the waiver wire for an out-of-house alternative.

Vikings Cut Everson Griffen, Get Down To 53

August 31st, 2021 at 5:13pm CST by Ben Levine

Everson Griffen‘s reunion with the Vikings has already come to an end. The veteran defensive end was among the team’s cuts today.

Griffen spent his entire career with the Vikings up until 2020. Splitting time between the Cowboys and Lions, Griffen finished out with six sacks in total. Meanwhile, no Vikings edge rusher finished with more than five. His ten-year run with the Vikes saw four Pro Bowl appearances and 74.5 total sacks.

Running back Ameer Abdullah was among the other players to earn their walking papers today. The veteran spent the past two-plus seasons with the Vikings, collecting 313 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns on 55 carries.

The Vikings made the following moves to get down to 53 players:

Released

Waived

Waived/Injured

Vikings To Trade For Jets TE Chris Herndon

August 31st, 2021 at 2:30pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

In the wake of Irv Smith Jr’s knee injury, the Vikings are making a significant move at tight end. Minnesota is making a trade for the Jets involving draft pick compensation for tight end Chris Herndon. The Jets are sending Herndon and a 2022 sixth-round pick to the Vikings for a 2022 fourth-round pick (via Tom Pelissero on Twitter).

Smith was supposed to take over as the team’s starter after the offseason departure of longtime starter Kyle Rudolph, but we heard just a couple of days ago that Smith was having surgery for a meniscus injury that will sideline him for the early part of the season.

The depth chart got pretty thin after that, so some sort of move was always likely. Herndon was a fourth-round pick of the Jets in 2018, and he flashed major potential as a rookie. In his first year as a pro he put up 502 yards and four touchdowns, very impressive numbers for a rookie tight end.

Unfortunately he was suspended for the first four games of 2019 for a substance abuse policy violation, and then played in only one game that year after hurting himself. He returned to play all 16 games last year, but had only 287 yards as the Jets’ whole passing game struggled.

He’s still only 25 and has always been talked about as a potential breakout guy, so the addition makes a lot of sense for the Vikings. It’s also a big opportunity for Herndon as he’s set to hit free agency for the first time next offseason. The Jets will now move forward with Tyler Kroft as the unquestioned starter at tight end.

This Date In Transactions History: Vikings’ Brock Lesnar Retires From NFL

August 29th, 2021 at 6:25pm CST by Zachary Links

Seventeen years ago, Brock Lesnar stepped out of the squared circle and on to the gridiron. The WWE superstar hadn’t played organized football since high school, but his athletic ability made the Vikings curious enough to give the muscle-bound homegrown talent an opportunity to compete in training camp as a defensive tackle.

On the surface, this seemed to be a publicity ploy for the former WWE champion, but there was reason to believe that Lesnar could defy the odds and embark on a legitimate professional sports career. Before Lesnar beat the likes of The Rock and The Undertaker, he was an amateur wrestling phenom at the University of Minnesota, where he captured the 2000 NCAA Division I heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestling championship.

At 6’2″ and 285 pounds, Lesnar’s drill times and marks were downright impressive. With a reported 4.7-second 40-yard-dash time, 35-inch vertical leap, and 30 reps on the 225-pound bench press, Lesnar would have bested many DTs at the 2004 combine. For reference, No. 14 overall pick Tommie Harris ran a 4.78-second 40-yard-dash and posted 29 reps on the bench press before the Bears made him the first DT drafted in April.

Despite never playing football in college, Lesnar was still only 26 years old at the time and had real potential as a raw prospect. Still, there was one big problem – an April motorcycle accident left Lesnar with a busted jaw, a broken left hand, a bruised pelvis, and a pulled groin. Playing at less than 100% health, Lesnar’s unlikely mission became even more improbable.

After Lesnar missed the Vikings’ cut in late August, the Vikings offered him a spot on their NFL Europe affiliate team. Citing a desire to stay close to his family in the U.S., Lesnar left football, transitioned to MMA, and went on to become the heavyweight champion of the UFC.

Lesnar’s NFL career was short-lived, but his presence in camp was appreciated by Randy Moss, Nate Burleson, and other members of the Vikings’ locker room who grew up as wrasslin’ fans. Lesnar also got to put his WWE skills to good use while with the Vikes. When a Chiefs defender roughed up Daunte Culpepper during a summer scrimmage, Lesnar grabbed him by the waist, suplexed him high in the air, and slammed him on the turf. At least, that’s how Burleson remembers it.

Vikings’ Irv Smith To Miss Time

August 29th, 2021 at 6:03pm CST by Zachary Links

Vikings tight end Irv Smith Jr. is scheduled for meniscus surgery (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). The tear, operation, and recovery will sideline him for the start of the season, at minimum. 

[RELATED: Vikings, Harrison Smith Agree To $64MM Deal]

Smith, 23, flashed serious potential last year while posting 30 catches for 365 yards and five touchdowns. The football world (and fantasy world) was awaiting a breakout year for Smith, who would have benefitted from all the attention paid to Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, and the rest of Kirk Cousins‘ weapons.

Of course, all is not lost, because meniscus surgery isn’t necessary a season ender. However, it seems likely that the Vikings will be without the dynamic TE through the first six weeks of the season.

While Smith is sidelined, they’ll be counting on backup Tyler Conklin — provided that Conklin’s hamstring doesn’t keep him off the field too. Brandon Dillon, rookie Zach Davidson, and Shane Zylstra comprise the rest of the Vikes’ TE depth chart.

 

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