Minnesota Vikings Rumors & News - Pro Football Rumors

Giants Claim Former Vikings WR Stacy Coley

September 19th, 2018 at 3:24pm CST by Zachary Links

Vikings wide receiver Stacy Coley was claimed off waivers by the Giants, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Coley was waived by the Vikings on Tuesday and the Giants, using their high waiver priority, jumped at the chance to add him to the roster.

Giants coach Pat Shurmur is extremely familiar with Coley’s skillsets after coaching the former seventh-round pick in Minnesota. Coley barely saw the field in 2017 (and was not in the mix for the Vikings’ first two games of 2018, either), but Shurmur has seen Coley show off his smooth running skills in practice. Some scouts questioned Coley’s passion for the game heading into the 2017 draft, but Shurmur believes that he can get the University of Miami product to harness his talent.

In a related move, the Giants have waived fullback Shane Smith. Smith blew blocking assignments in the Giants’ loss to the Cowboys over the weekend, causing the team to replace him with Elijhaa Penny.

Vikings Release DL David Parry

September 19th, 2018 at 10:14am CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings have released defensive lineman David Parry, according to a team announcement. Parry’s release makes room for the signing of Tom Johnson, who agreed to return to Minnesota on Tuesday.

Parry appeared in each of the Vikings’ first two games and even recorded a sack in their tie against the Packers on Sunday. But, something had to give after Johnson, a fellow interior defensive lineman, was brought back.

Parry started 32 games for the Colts as a nose tackle in Indianapolis’ 3-4 scheme, but a bizarre incident in February of last year put his football future into jeopardy. Parry was alleged to have attacked a taxi cart driver, car(t)jacked the vehicle, and threatened police officers. At one point in time, Parry was facing jail time with four charges against him. One of the charges was for committing a “Super Extreme” DUI in the state of Arizona, since he operated the cart with a high blood alcohol level.

Last year, Parry hooked on with the Saints, but missed the bulk of the year due to injury. Fortunately, Parry is healthy and has put distance between himself and his embarrassing arrest, so he shouldn’t have trouble finding work.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/18/18

September 18th, 2018 at 8:45pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Waived: WR Julian Williams

Arizona Cardinals

Cut: DT Garrison Smith

Buffalo Bills

Signed from practice squad: CB Ryan Lewis

Dallas Cowboys

Waived: S Tyree Robinson

Detroit Lions

Waived: OL Jamil Demby
Waived from injured reserve: S Marcus Cromartie

Los Angeles Rams

Waived: S Isaiah Johnson

Minnesota Vikings

Waived: WR Stacy Coley

Oakland Raiders

Signed from practice squad: LB Shilique Calhoun

Philadelphia Eagles

Signed from practice squad: RB Josh Adams
Waived: WR DeAndre Carter

Tennessee Titans

Signed: CB Kenneth Durden
Signed from practice squad: RB Dalyn Dawkins
Waived: LB Aaron Wallace

Vikings' Bailey Turned Down Better Offers

September 18th, 2018 at 6:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

Robinson will only make the league minimum, and no guarantees exist in the soon-to-be 30-year-old wide receiver’s Vikings pact, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets. The former Redskins, Falcons and 49ers pass-catcher now comprises part of the Vikes’ receiving corps. Minnesota currently has five receivers on its roster, the same amount it did prior to the Robinson signing. Stacy Coley, a 2017 seventh-rounder, was cut to make room.

The Vikings were not the first team that sought Dan Bailey‘s services this season. Although he’s in Minnesota now, other franchises wanted to sign the second-most accurate kicker in NFL history. Bailey agreed to terms with the Vikings on a one-year, $2MM deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). However, the 30-year-old specialist also turned down offers worth double that on multiyear deals, Rapoport adds. The Jets brought in Bailey to work out just after the Cowboys cut him, but nothing came to fruition. Gang Green may have been one of the teams that presented a better offer, but that’s not known. Nevertheless, Bailey will replace Daniel Carlson, whom Mike Zimmer said it was not difficult to cut after his performance in Minnesota’s Week 2 tie in Green Bay.

Carlson’s cut will save the Vikings $200K, though the Bailey addition will negate those savings. Only Carlson’s signing bonus ($248K), plus his base salary through two games, will count against Minnesota’s cap, per Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (on Twitter). The Vikings are up against the cap but managed to add Bailey, Aldrick Robinson and Tom Johnson in the past two days.
Robinson will only make the league minimum, and no guarantees exist in the soon-to-be 30-year-old wide receiver’s Vikings pact, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets. The former Redskins, Falcons and 49ers pass-catcher now comprises part of the Vikes’ receiving corps. Minnesota currently has five receivers on its roster, the same amount it did prior to the Robinson signing. Stacy Coley, a 2017 seventh-rounder, was cut to make room.

Vikings To Sign DT Tom Johnson

September 18th, 2018 at 12:47pm CST by Zachary Links

Late last week, the Seahawks released defensive tackle Tom Johnson in order to free up a roster spot. The plan was to re-sign him this week, but the Vikings have spoiled their plans.

The Vikings have agreed to bring Johnson back to Minnesota, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). When finalized, it’ll be a one-year deal with a base of $1MM that can be worth up to $1.5MM, Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press tweets. In conjunction with the $1.865MM that he already earned from the Seahawks, he has the potential to earn more than $3MM this year.

The 34-year-old spent four years with the Vikings before inking a one-year deal with Seattle in March. Johnson played in at least 40% of the team’s defensive snaps in each campaign and saw a career-high 68% playing time last season.

Pro Football Focus graded the veteran as roughly a league-average defensive tackle in 2017, as he ranked 60th among 122 qualifying interior defenders. He finished out with just 17 tackles and two sacks, but the stats did not reflect his total value to the Vikings’ defense.

The Seahawks did not want to lose Johnson, but they were in a pinch following an injury to safety Delano Hill. Seattle signed Shalom Luani for depth, but he did not play in Monday night’s contest against the Bears.

Vikings To Waive Daniel Carlson, Sign Dan Bailey

September 17th, 2018 at 1:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

Zane Gonzalez isn’t the only young kicker whose rough Week 2 will cause a relocation. The Vikings are cutting ties with fifth-round rookie Daniel Carlson, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

In Carlson’s place, the Vikings will go with experience by signing Dan Bailey, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Bailey figured to draw interest from multiple teams after kicking issues impacted multiple games on Sunday, and he’ll join up with a Super Bowl contender.

While interest came Bailey’s way, it appears he was willing to wait for the right opportunity. Four teams offered Bailey a contract, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). A dome team coming off an NFC championship cameo piqued his interest.

The second-most accurate kicker in NFL history, Bailey did not make the Cowboys’ active roster. Salary concerns helped lead him out of Dallas. He’ll be in Minneapolis in time for Week 3 and can be expected to provide more consistency than Carlson gave the veteran-laden Vikings roster.

That said, the Vikings are cutting the cord on a young kicker quite early. Minnesota drafted Carlson to lead to a Kai Forbath cut. The Vikings had just re-signed Forbath this offseason but jettisoned him for Carlson this summer. Carlson will be an interesting waiver item for a team keen on seeing if the coveted Auburn prospect can quickly rebound.

Carlson missed three field goals in Minnesota’s 29-29 tie in Green Bay, the last of which coming from just 35 yards out. Two misses occurred in overtime.

The 30-year-old Bailey made the 2015 Pro Bowl and has 27 career 50-plus-yard field goal makes. Missing four games due to injury last season, Bailey made 15 of 20 attempts and 26 of 28 PATs. He’s made 88.2 percent of his career field goal tries (second only to Justin Tucker‘s 90.3 percent) and closed three seasons — 2012, ’13 and ’15 — with a 90 percent-plus conversion rate.

Vikings To Add WR Aldrick Robinson

September 17th, 2018 at 12:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

Aldrick Robinson couldn’t quite make the 49ers’ 53-man roster out of camp but will have another opportunity.

The Vikings are signing the eighth-year veteran wide receiver, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com report (on Twitter). He’ll join a receiving corps that carried five players going into Monday afternoon.

Although the Vikings were the only known team to work out Robinson, the Patriots and Bills also explored adding him as well, Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News tweets.

Set to turn 30 next week, Robinson will be the oldest Vikings wideout. Minnesota rosters third-year man Laquon Treadwell, second-season cog Stacy Coley and rookie Brandon Zylstra behind its starters. If the Vikings aren’t keen on carrying six wideouts, one of the latter duo could be on the chopping block.

Robinson worked out for the Vikings prior to Week 1, and it apparently went well enough the team had him in its wait-and-see queue. The former sixth-round Redskins pick has twice averaged more than 20 yards per catch, with the 2012 and ’13 Redskins, and has followed Kyle Shanahan to three cities — trekking to Atlanta and then San Francisco. With the 2017 49ers, Robinson caught 19 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns.

Treadwell’s four receptions represent the only passes a Vikings receiver not named Stefon Diggs or Adam Thielen has caught this season.

Pat Elflein Should Return "Pretty Soon"

September 13th, 2018 at 9:11pm CST by Ben Levine

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said today that starting center Pat Elflein will be returning to the field “pretty soon.” However, the coach wasn’t able to give a definite return date, which probably indicates that the offensive lineman won’t be ready for this weekend’s matchup against the Packers.

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