Today’s practice squad moves:
Baltimore Ravens
Buffalo Bills
Detroit Lions
Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs
Minnesota Vikings
New York Jets
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Vikings claimed safety Andrew Sendejo off waivers from the Eagles, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). It’s a reunion for the vet and the Vikes – Sendejo spent eight seasons in Minnesota up until this year. 
The Vikings had the opportunity to keep Sendejo through 2019, but they elected to put him on the free agent pile by waiving his option. He would have earned $5.5MM had he stayed. Instead, the Vikings dropped that entire number from the cap and set the wheels in motion for him to sign a one year deal with Philly.
Now, he’s back, but at a much lower rate. He’ll have his first chance to don purple again on Sunday, when the Vikings take on the Cowboys.
The Colts have been having a surprisingly strong season after Andrew Luck retired, but everyone in Indy was left holding their breath when Jacoby Brissett went down with a knee injury. After the game, head coach Frank Reich said it was a sprain that was “MCL-ish.” Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like Brissett tore anything. Quarterbacks can usually play through MCL sprains, so it doesn’t sound like Brissett will be on the shelf too long. Brian Hoyer filled in and had the Colts in position to win the game late, but Adam Vinatieri missed a 43-yard kick with a minute to go.
Here are more injury updates from around the league:
Holton Hill is finally back. The Vikings activated the young cornerback after he finished serving his suspensions and waived linebacker Cameron Smith in a corresponding roster move, according to Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune (Twitter link).
Back in April, Hill was slapped with a four-game ban for a PED violation. A few months later he was suspended again, this time for a substance abuse violation, which earned him another four games. Hill made the team as an undrafted rookie last year and ended up playing a key role, appearing in all 16 games and starting three. A Texas product, Hill had been slated for a lot of playing time in 2019. Still only 22, Hill could provide a huge boost to a Vikings defense that quietly hasn’t been as good as in years past.
Goessling writes that Hill could make his season-debut Sunday against the Chiefs, but that doesn’t sound definite. Smith is a rookie who was released at final cuts and then signed to the practice squad before being promoted a couple weeks ago. A USC product, he was a fifth-round pick in April’s draft.
On Wednesday, the Vikings designated wide receiver Josh Doctson for return. He’ll practice for the first time since suffering his hamstring injury and will be eligible to play as soon as Week 10. 
The Vikings signed Doctson towards the end of August, shortly after cutting Laquon Treadwell, who was taken one spot behind him in the 2016 draft. Treadwell has since returned to Minnesota, meaning that the two may actually take the field together.
Doctson’s next game with Minnesota will be his first in purple – at least, his first in Vikings purple. Before joining the Vikings, Doctson started 26 games across the previous two years for the Redskins, but registered just 79 total catches for 1,034 yards and eight touchdowns. Last year, he placed 96th out of 107 qualifying wideouts in yards per route run last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
Those numbers aren’t great, but the potential is still there. His history with quarterback Kirk Cousins may also help matters.
Besides Doctson and Treadwell, the Vikings also currently have wide receivers Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, Olabisi Johnson, and Davion Davis in the mix.
The Bears‘ kicking woes continued Sunday when Eddy Pineiro missed a 41-yard field goal attempt as time expired in a 17-16 loss to the Chargers. Matt Nagy is not publicly wavering from Pineiro, though, according to Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic. Nagy said, “We love Eddy. We’ve got all the faith in the world in him.” Chicago, of course, has struggled to replace kicker Robbie Gould since the team let him go in 2015. Last postseason, the Bears were eliminated after then-kicker Cody Parkey missed a 43-yard field goal in a 16-15 loss to the Eagles. Nagy did not shy away from making the team’s kicker situation a front-and-center issue throughout the offseason. However, the second-year Chicago coach is sticking with Pineiro going forward.
Here’s more from around the NFC North:
Vikings safety Jayron Kearse was arrested this morning on suspicion of DUI and possession of a firearm without a permit, as Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). He is being held without bail for the firearm charge.
Kearse, a fourth-year player out of Clemson, was selected by the Vikings in the seventh round of the 2016 draft. He has appeared in 55 regular season games in his career, starting just four of them. But he has become a consistent part of the team’s DB rotation, having appeared in over a quarter of Minnesota’s defensive snaps this year, and he has been a regular special teams contributor since his rookie campaign.
Cronin passes along the team’s statement on the matter (Twitter link): “We are aware of Jayron’s arrest and are gathering additional information at this time.”
Kearse has compiled 55 tackles, four passes defensed, and a half-sack in his career.
As expected, the Vikings have officially ruled wide receiver Adam Thielen out for Thursday Night’s matchup against Washington, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com. Thielen pulled his hamstring in the Vikings win against the Lions on Sunday. 
On the heels of their victory against Detroit, Minnesota stands at 5-2 and in prime of NFC playoff position. Quarterback Kirk Cousins has had an erratic season thus far, but over the past few weeks has been fantastic. He aims to build upon that success next week, but it will have to come without his best best receiver.
Thielen currently leads the league in receiving touchdowns with six and has accrued nearly 400 receiving yards as well. This success is nothing new for Thielen, who has been one of the league’s best wideouts over the past two seasons. While things will obviously be difficult, Stefon Diggs, the team’s number two receiver, would be the number one option on a number of teams around the league.
Furthermore, previous reports suggested the team is hopeful that Thielen will be able to return relatively quickly. It definitely helps their cause that their next opponent, Washington, has been one of the worst teams in the league.