Vikings Promote QB Sean Mannion
Although the Vikings featured different passers during their training camp competition at backup quarterback, their 2021 plan will likely end up being the same as it was in the past two seasons. They are promoting Sean Mannion to their active roster, Sports Talk 790’s Aaron Wilson tweets.
Kirk Cousins‘ backup in 2019 and ’20, Mannion was linked to the Vikings early in the offseason but ended up signing with the Seahawks. After Seattle released the veteran last week, Minnesota circled back for a reunion. Despite Mannion’s reunion coming via the practice squad, the St. Paul Pioneer Press’ Chris Tomasson notes the team’s plan all along was for Mannion to be Cousins’ top backup to start the season (Twitter link).
The Vikings drafted Kellen Mond in Round 3 and pitted him against Jake Browning for the QB2 job during camp. Mond obviously made Minnesota’s 53-man roster, as a possible Cousins heir apparent. After two years on the Vikings’ practice squad, Browning is now with the Bengals on a P-squad deal.
A seventh-year veteran, Mannion has managed to remain a viable backup despite having never made a start in a game of consequence. The Rams used him as a reserve for four seasons, and the Oregon State alum only started in a 2017 Week 17 game in which Sean McVay sat his starters. Mannion’s lone Vikings start, in Week 17 of the 2019 season, came under similar circumstances. But he is set to provide veteran insurance behind Cousins to start the season.
Minnesota also bumped Ameer Abdullah up to its active roster, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. While the former second-round pick did not work out as a running back solution with the Lions, he has established himself as a key Vikings backup and special-teamer. Abdullah played in each Vikings game over the past two seasons. This will be his fourth season in Minnesota.
Vikings’ Stephen Weatherly Takes Pay Cut
Stephen Weatherly took a pay cut in order to stick with the Vikings (Twitter link via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press). Instead of earning $2.5MM, the defensive end will make $2MM in 2020. On the plus side, that sum is now fully guaranteed since he is a vested veteran.
The Vikings considered cutting Weatherly after he lost his first-string spot to D.J. Wonnum. That would have left the club with $500K in dead money, so this was a much more logical compromise.
The 27-year-old started his career in Minnesota and came back to where it all began in March. He started out as a seventh-round pick in 2016 and went on to record six sacks between 2018 and ’19 for the Vikings. Last year, he moved on to the Panthers and began the year as a starter. Then, when finger injury derailed his season, second-rounder Yetur Gross-Matos stepped into his role.
Weatherly recorded zero sacks in Carolina, so he’ll aim for a more productive 2021. It all starts on Sunday when the Vikings face the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium.
Vikings Extend Brian O’Neill For Five Years, $92.5MM
On the eve of the regular season, the Vikings are locking up a key piece. Minnesota has agreed to an extension with offensive tackle Brian O’Neill, the team announced on Wednesday.
It’s a five-year deal worth a whopping $92.5MM, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. That’s an average annual value of $18.5MM. He’s still pretty young, so it’s not too surprising to see O’Neill getting top-of-the-market right tackle money. With this new pact, he’s now the second-highest-paid right tackle in the league.
The deal includes $53.4MM in total guarantees and $22.6MM guaranteed at signing, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). The total guarantees place O’Neill in the top three at right tackle, but the true guarantee does not. Six right tackles are signed to deals that include more than $24MM guaranteed. O’Neill will collect $40MM through the second year of this extension.
O’Neill, a second-round pick back in 2018, had previously been set to enter the final year of his rookie deal and become a free agent at the end of the season. The Pittsburgh product had his best year last season and earned pretty strong marks from Pro Football Focus, grading out as their 24th-best overall tackle.
O’Neill became a starter a little over a month into his rookie season and has held onto his job ever since. He started all 16 games last year and won’t turn 26 until next week.
The team drafted Christian Darrisaw in the first round out of Virginia Tech to start opposite O’Neill on Kirk Cousins‘ blindside. But as Darrisaw continues to struggle to recover from core muscle surgery, it looks like Rashod Hill will be starting the season across from O’Neill.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/2/21
Here are Thursday’s practice squad moves, with the list being updated throughout the day:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: WR Devin Gray
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: TE Kahale Warring
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Aaron Parker
- Cut: CB Rashaan Melvin
Chicago Bears
- Signed: WR Rodney Adams
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: WR Trenton Irwin
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DB Tim Harris, G David Moore, K Chris Naggar, OL Jordan Steckler
Denver Broncos
- Signed: DL Jonathan Harris
Detroit Lions
- Signed: OLB Jessie Lemonier, QB Steven Montez, CB Parnell Motley, TE Jared Pinkney, TE Shane Zylstra
- Cut: OLB Rashod Berry, NT Miles Brown, TE Alize Mack, RB Dedrick Mills
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: LS Steven Wirtel
- Cut: DT Willington Previlon
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: QB Kyle Lauletta, TE Matt Sokol
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: RB B.J. Emmons, DE Gerri Green, T Devery Hamilton, CB Madre Harper, CB Robert Jackson, C Jimmy Morrissey, OL Jeremiah Poutasi, RB Trey Ragas, LB Max Richardson, DT Niles Scott, WR Dillon Stoner, WR DJ Turner, DE Kendal Vickers
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: CB Brandon Facyson
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: G Jared Hocker
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: DB Tino Ellis, WR Brandon Powell, RB Jordan Scarlett, OL Kion Smith, DL Jason Strowbridge, OL Cameron Tom
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: WR Trishton Jackson
New York Giants
- Signed: LB Trent Harris, QB Brian Lewerke, TE Chris Myarick, WR Dante Pettis, RB Dexter Williams
- Cut: OL Jake Burton, TE Nakia Griffin-Stewart, OL Brett Heggie
New York Jets
- RB Josh Adams, DL Ronald Blair, OL Grant Hermanns, CB Lamar Jackson, WR D.J. Montgomery, OL Jimmy Murray, LB Del’Shawn Phillips, DL Hamilcar Rashed, DL Tanzel Smart, WR Vyncint Smith, OL Isaiah Williams, TE Kenny Yeboah, DE Jabari Zuniga
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: TE Nick Eubanks, WR KeeSean Johnson, DT Marvin Wilson
- Cut: S Grayland Arnold
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: CB Michael Jackson
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: S Andrew Adams, OLB Ladarius Hamilton, WR Jaydon Mickens, DB Troy Wagner
Vikings To Sign P Jordan Berry
The previously noted Britton Colquitt procedural return does not look like it will end up coming to pass. Instead, the Vikings intend to sign former Steelers punter Jordan Berry, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
Minnesota released Colquitt on Wednesday, but the veteran was back at the team’s facility Thursday. The second-generation NFL punter appears to need other plans now, with the Vikings pivoting to Berry.
Berry received his walking papers from the Steelers on Monday, with the team going with drafted punter Pressley Harvin III. Berry was with the Steelers from 2015-20. Interestingly, his 11-game 2020 Pittsburgh slate came after the Steelers opted to cut Dustin Colquitt, Britton’s older brother, in October.
Britton Colquitt operated as the Vikings’ punter for the past two seasons, playing in all 32 Minnesota regular-season games in that span. The 11-year veteran is going into his age-36 season. Berry turned 30 earlier this year.
Vikings Re-Sign Britton Colquitt
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
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
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:
- WR Nsimba Webster (from 49ers)
Signed:
Waived:
- WR Rodney Adams
Placed on IR:
Signed to practice squad:
- DL Auzoyah Alufohai, C Dieter Eiselen, CB Thomas Graham Jr., OL Arlington Hambright, WR Isaiah Coulter, K Brian Johnson, WR Jon’Vea Johnson, OLB Sam Kamara, RB Ryan Nall, WR Dazz Newsome, RB Artavis Pierce, OLB Charles Snowden, DB Teez Tabor
Detroit Lions
Released/Waived:
- TE Darren Fells, S Dean Marlowe
Signed to practice squad:
- LB Tanner Beckett, LB Rashod Berry, DT Miles Brown, S Jalen Elliott, K Zane Gonzalez, DL Bruce Hector, G Tommy Kraemer, TE Alize Mack, WR Javon McKinley, RB Dedrick Mills, OT Darrin Paulo, RB Craig Reynolds, CB Nickell Robey-Coleman, WR Sage Surratt, TE Brock Wright, TE Shane Zylstra
Green Bay Packers
Signed to practice squad:
- DL Abdullah Anderson, QB Kurt Benkert, WR Chris Blair, G Ben Braden, OL Jacob Capra, CB Kabion Ento, S Innis Gaines, LB Tipa Galeai, TE Bronson Kaufusi, K J.J. Molson, DL Willington Previlon, WR Equanimeous St. Brown, RB Patrick Taylor, OL Cole Van Lanen, LB Ray Wilborn, WR Juwann Winfree
Minnesota Vikings
Signed:
Claimed:
- TE Ben Ellefson (from Jaguars)
Placed on IR:
- WR Dan Chisena, RB Kene Nwangwu, TE Irv Smith Jr. (story)
Signed to practice squad:
- OT Zack Bailey, FB Jake Bargas, LB Tuf Borland, TE Zach Davidson, S Myles Dorn, G Dakota Dozier, G Kyle Hinton, WR Myron Mitchell, CB Parry Nickerson, WR Whop Philyor, RB A.J. Rose, CB Tye Smith, DE Kenny Willekes
Vikings Re-Sign DE Everson Griffen
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
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.