Vikings Sign Ito Smith, Place Janarius Robinson On IR
Teams continue to make flurries of roster moves on Monday, and we’ve got another couple of notable ones to pass along. The Vikings announced that they’ve signed free agent running back Ito Smith and placed rookie defensive end Janarius Robinson on injured reserve.
Smith wasn’t out of a job too long, as he was just released by the Cardinals last week. He spent the first three seasons of his pro career with the Falcons, and was Atlanta’s lead back for stretches in both 2018 and 2020. As a rookie he got his most extensive run, carrying the ball 90 times for 315 yards and four touchdowns, adding 27 receptions for another 152 yards. This past season he rushed 63 times for 268 yards and one touchdown, with 17 catches for 75 yards.
Smith will now compete with Ameer Abdullah and Kene Nwangwu for spots in Minnesota’s backfield behind Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison. Since Robinson is being placed on IR before the cutdown to 53 players, that means he’ll have to miss the entire season.
It’s a disappointing end to his first campaign. The pass-rusher was just drafted by the Vikings in the fourth-round out of Florida State. Minnesota re-signed Everson Griffen earlier this morning, perhaps partially due to this injury.
Vikings To Sign DE Everson Griffen
The Vikings are set to sign defensive end Everson Griffen (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). 
The deal hasn’t been finalized just yet, but Griffen will return to Minnesota barring any snags.
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. All of those vets will lead the way as third- and fourth-round rookies Patrick Jones II (Pittsburgh) and Janarius Robinson (Florida State) provide support at DE.
With Griffen, Justin Houston, and Melvin Ingram off of the market, Olivier Vernon stands as the most accomplished DE in free agency.
NFC North Notes: Rodgers, Darrisaw, Lions
Aaron Rodgers surfaced in an NFL news cycle or two this offseason, but the reigning MVP reported to Packers training camp on time. The 37-year-old quarterback did air some grievances about his situation, and he shed more light on his complicated offseason recently. As late as the weekend before camp, Rodgers evidently was quite close to retiring. A report early during his offseason quest to leave Green Bay indicated retirement was on the table. The 17th-year veteran confirmed as such.
“I mean, I felt going into the weekend before camp that I was 50/50,” Rodgers said on retirement during an appearance on the Dan LeBatard and Friends podcast (via CBS Sports). “I don’t care if people don’t believe that. That’s true. There were some things that got me to 50/50 for sure, and you know I spent a couple of days in silence and meditation and contemplation and really felt like that I should come back. There’s a lot of opportunities for growth and exciting things in Green Bay and that felt like the right thing to do.”
While Rodgers and Packers management are still not on great terms, with the sides set to huddle up after the season to determine the QB’s future, he will play a 14th season as the team’s starting QB. Here is the latest from the NFC North:
- The Vikings continue to wait on first-round pick Christian Darrisaw. The rookie left tackle is on the mend from his second core muscle surgery this year, and Mike Zimmer indicated the team was surprised this operation became necessary. “They tell me one thing and it ends up being something else,” Zimmer said, via the St. Paul Pioneer Press’ Chris Tomasson (on Twitter). “It was taken care of in January. We didn’t expect this.” The eighth-year Minnesota HC did say he expected Darrisaw to be ready by Week 1, but the Virginia Tech product has not practiced fully during camp and may take time to move into the starting lineup. Veteran backup/spot starter Rashod Hill has worked as the Vikings’ top left tackle in Darrisaw’s absence.
- A car accident changed the Lions‘ depth chart recently. Last week, Detroit waived cornerback Alex Brown. More details emerged on why soon after. Brown was hit with four charges for his role in the accident, according to the Detroit News’ Justin Rogers, who tweets the 24-year-old defender was allegedly intoxicated while driving on the wrong side of a highway around 2am Aug. 15. This crash left two injured, including Lions teammate Charlie Taumoepeau, per Rogers (via Twitter). A 23-year-old tight end, Taumoepeau suffered a neck injury that required hospitalization. The Lions cut Brown immediately; Taumoepeau reverted to Detroit’s injured reserve after being waived with an injury designation.
- Third-year player Kabion Ento has completed a successful conversion from wide receiver to cornerback with the Packers, per Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Although the 6-foot-1, 187-pound defender has yet to play in a regular-season game, the Packers have been patient with the ex-Colorado wideout. They stashed Ento on their practice squad in 2019, kept him on IR in 2020 — after a foot fracture sidelined him — and retained him via reserve/futures deal. Ento only caught 20 career passes with the Buffaloes and is now vying to land one of the Packers’ backup cornerback jobs.
Vikings Not Ruling Out QB Addition
The Vikings have taken a different path at quarterback this year, slotting inexperienced passers behind starter Kirk Cousins. Third-round rookie Kellen Mond and practice squad veteran Jake Browning are competing to be Minnesota’s backup. Thus far, the results have not impressed.
While Minnesota also has 2020 seventh-round pick Nate Stanley and well-traveled former UDFA Danny Etling on the roster, Mond and Browning appear to be vying for the gig. Following the team’s second preseason game, Mike Zimmer described his QB2 situation as a work in progress said the team will discuss bringing in an outside option this week, via the St. Paul Pioneer Press’ Chris Tomasson.
Mond, who missed time due to a COVID-19 contraction earlier in camp, has not progressed to the point he can be relied upon as a backup, per Tomasson. Browning, Stanley and Etling have also not taken any NFL regular-season snaps. Browning has spent the past two seasons on the Vikings’ practice squad. The Vikes did not re-sign two-year backup Sean Mannion, and their hopes of trading up for Justin Fields did not produce the desired result. Although Cousins has proven durable (zero missed games due to injury), the team may be vulnerable if its starter suffers an injury or lands on the reserve/COVID-19 list again.
Under Zimmer, the Vikings have used several veterans as backups. Matt Cassel, Shaun Hill, Case Keenum, Trevor Siemian and Mannion have been in these roles at various points over the past seven seasons. The Vikings’ 2017 Keenum addition proved rather important, with Sam Bradford going down early and Keenum delivering by far the best season of his career to steer the team to the NFC championship game.
Zimmer cited a need to be careful financially, despite the team holding more than $13MM in cap space and a QB2 signing unlikely to cost much at this point. Available options include Blake Bortles, new ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III and Josh Rosen. The latter, however, has not been viewed by his past two teams as a backup-caliber passer. Minnesota could look to the trade market as well. With Falcons backup A.J. McCarron going down with an ACL tear and the Jets also having no experience behind their starter, there figures to be competition on the trade front.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/22/21
Here are today’s minor moves. All teams must reduce their roster size to 80 players by 4pm ET on Tuesday, August 24.
Chicago Bears
- Signed: WR Isaiah Coulter
Cincinnati Bengals
- Cut: DE Freedom Akinmoladun, QB Eric Dungey, S Kavon Frazier, C Lamont Gaillard, TE Cheyenne O’Grady
Minnesota Vikings
- Cut: WR Warren Jackson, CB Dylan Mabin
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: TE Cary Angeline
- Placed on IR: TE Jason Croom
- Cut: Blake Countess
Seattle Seahawks
- Cut: TE Dominick Wood-Anderson
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Cut: OLB Quinton Bell, CB Nate Brooks, RB Troymaine Pope, WR T.J. Simmons, S Lawrence White
Vikings LB Cameron Smith Retires
Vikings linebacker Cameron Smith will opt not to pursue another NFL season, instead announcing his retirement (Instagram link) Wednesday night. This comes after the young defender underwent open-heart surgery in 2020.
A COVID-19 test last summer revealed Smith needed the operation, which ended his season before it started. Although Smith went forward with a procedure that would allow him to continue his NFL career, he will retire nearly a year later.
Smith returned from the surgery and was cleared to return in late May. He participated in Minnesota’s first preseason game Saturday, recording a tackle in the Vikings’ home loss to the Broncos. A concussion, however, ended Smith’s day early.
The 24-year-old defender played in five regular-season games with the Vikings, who selected him in the fifth round of the 2019 draft. As a backup and special-teamer in 2019, Smith notched eight tackles. He logged special teams snaps in both of Minnesota’s playoff games that year.
Despite the Vikings waiving Smith before last season, he wound up on their IR list. The team paid his full $675K base salary while he recovered from the operation. Smith was a four-year contributor at USC, topping out at 112 tackles (11 for loss) during his 2017 junior season.
DE Everson Griffen To Work Out For Vikings
Everson Griffen‘s hope of rejoining the Vikings could come true. The veteran defensive end is set to work out for the Vikings tomorrow, reports Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News in Minnesota (via Twitter).
We heard last month that the longtime Vikings pass rusher wanted to return to Minnesota, with Griffen acknowledging that he “never should have left the Vikings” in the first place. That report indicated that the veteran also had the support of some former teammates regarding a reunion, but the signing wasn’t expected to come to fruition. Now, Griffen has a chance of landing back in Minny.
Following a 10-year stint with the Vikings that saw him make four Pro Bowl appearances, the 33-year-old split the 2020 season between the Cowboys and Lions. Despite playing for two teams and missing two games due to contracting COVID-19, Griffen finished with six sacks last season. No Viking rusher compiled more than five. Yannick Ngakoue reached five before the Vikings traded him in October; no one still with the team tallied more than three sacks in 2020. The Vikings finished with just 23 sacks last season, which ranked 28th in the NFL.
Minnesota’s D-line situation looks better going into the 2021 season. Danielle Hunter is on track to return after missing all of last season due to a neck injury. The team has three veteran D-tackle starters — Michael Pierce, Dalvin Tomlinson and Sheldon Richardson — set to join Hunter. The Vikings also used third- and fourth-round picks on ends — Patrick Jones II (Pittsburgh) and Janarius Robinson (Florida State) — in April. That said, Griffen could profile as a veteran stopgap opposite Hunter. He has three double-digit sack seasons on his resume and was a Pro Bowler as recently as 2019.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/17/21
Tuesday afternoon marked the deadline for teams to cut down from 90 to 85 players. We’ll keep track of those cuts and the day’s other minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Claimed (from Packers): P Ryan Winslow
- Waived: P Tyler Newsome
Atlanta Falcons
- Released from IR via injury settlement: WR Jeff Badet
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: P Johnny Townsend
Carolina Panthers
- Waived/injured: LB Nate Hall, C Mike Panasiuk
- Placed on IR: CB Troy Pride Jr.; Pride suffered a torn ACL
Chicago Bears
- Released: WR Justin Hardy
- Waived: DB Michael Joseph, LB Ledarius Mack
Dallas Cowboys
- Placed on IR: LB Anthony Hines, FB Sewo Olonilua, CB Reggie Robinson
- Waived: CB Kyron Brown, WR Brennan Eagles
Denver Broncos
- Signed: RB Adrian Killins
- Waived: DB Rojesterman Farris, LB Peter Kalambayi, DT Lorenzo Neal Jr.
- Waived/injured: WR DeVontres Dukes, RB LeVante Bellamy, DL Deyon Sizer
Detroit Lions
- Placed on IR: LB Shaun Dion Hamilton
- Signed: QB Jordan Ta’amu
- Waived: DT Michael Barnett
- Released from IR via injury settlement: WR Chad Hansen
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed: QB Jake Dolegala
- Placed on IR: TE Isaac Nauta, WR DeAndre Thompkins
- Waived: OL Zack Johnson
Houston Texans
- Reverted to reserve/NFI: RB Dontrell Hilliard
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: LB Te’von Coney
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: LB David Bellamy
- Waived: QB K.J. Costello, TE Matt Seybert
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived: CB Amari Henderson
- Reverted to IR: K Riley Patterson, WR Blake Proehl
New England Patriots
- Waived/injured: TE Troy Fumagalli
New York Jets
- Placed on IR: OL Cameron Clark
- Waived: DL Michael Dwumfour, S Bennett Jackson, RB Austin Walter
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Waived: DL Abdullah Anderson, DB Stephen Denmark, WR Isaiah McKoy, K Sam Sloman, OT Brandon Walton
San Francisco 49ers
- Claimed (from Ravens): CB Davontae Harris
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: OL Jake Benzinger
- Placed on IR: G Sadarius Hutcherson
- Waived/failed physical: WR John Franklin III
- Waived/injured: G Donell Stanley
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: S Jamal Carter
- Placed on IR: DL Trevon Coley, S Tedric Thompson
Washington Football Team
- Waived: TE Nick Guggemos, CB Greg Stroman
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/16/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LB Bryson Young
- Cut: LB Reggie Walker
Atlanta Falcons
- Waived: OL Bryce Hargrove, LB George Obinna
- Reverted to IR: WR J’Mon Moore
Baltimore Ravens
- Re-signed: QB Kenji Bahar
- Placed on IR: CB Khalil Dorsey, CB Iman Marshall
Chicago Bears
- Waived: OL Gage Cervenka, DB Dionte Ruffin, WR Jester Weah
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: WR Reece Horn, WR Riley Lees
Cleveland Browns
- Placed on IR: TE Stephen Carlson, WR Ryan Switzer
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: OL Jon Dietzen, P Ryan Winslow
Houston Texans
- Waived: WR Isaiah Coulter
- Waived/injured: RB Dontrell Hilliard
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: LS Matt Overton
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: K Austin MacGinnis, LB Derrick Moncrief, T Ryan Pope, OLB Max Roberts, DL George Silvanic
- Released from IR: DB Dayan Lake
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: WR Khalil McClain
- Waived: TE Carson Meier
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived/injured: K Riley Patterson, WR Blake Proehl
New York Giants
- Signed: QB Brian Lewerke
- Waived/injured: QB Clayton Thorson
- Placed on IR: LB TJ Brunson, OL Kyle Murphy, S Joshua Kalu
New York Jets
- Waived: K Chris Naggar
- Activated off PUP list: DL Quinnen Williams
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived: LB Donald Payne, DL Eddie Vanderdoes
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived: LB Nate Evans, OT Lukayus McNeil, CB Jordan Miller, DT Walter Palmore, WR Anthony Ratliff-Williams, RB Cameron Scarlett
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/15/21
Here are today’s minor moves. All teams must cut their rosters to 85 players by 4pm ET on Tuesday.
Buffalo Bills
- Cut: DL Eli Ankou, LB Mike Bell, OL Caleb Benenoch, G Marquel Harrell, OL Syrus Tuitele
Cincinnati Bengals
- Cut: TE Pro Wells
Detroit Lions
- Cut: CB Alex Brown
Minnesota Vikings
- Cut: LS Turner Bernard, DE Jordan Brailford
New England Patriots
- Cut: TE/DL Rashod Berry, WR Marvin Hall, OL Jerald Hawkins, TE David Wells
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Cut: CB Cameron Kinley, TE De’Quan Hampton and WR Josh Pearson
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: TE Deon Yelder
- Cut: TE Gabe Holmes
- Placed on IR: LB B.J. Bello
Washington Football Team
- Claimed (from Eagles): TE Caleb Wilson