Vikings Place Andrew Sendejo On IR
- The Vikings promoted wide receiver Isaac Fruechte from their practice squad, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. Minnesota moved safety Andrew Sendejo to IR (Twitter link, via Tomasson) to make room for the UDFA second-year man. Both Stefon Diggs and Laquon Treadwell are doubtful for the Vikes’ season finale, creating the need for some pass-catching depth. A knee issue will end Sendejo’s season prematurely. He finished his seventh NFL campaign with 66 tackles and a career-high two interceptions.
Vikings To Open 2017 With Sam Bradford At QB
- Even if Teddy Bridgewater recovers from his disastrous knee injury by next season, the Vikings will begin 2017 with Sam Bradford as their starting quarterback, report Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter of ESPN. Not only has Bradford fared well this year, but he’ll account for a $17MM cap hit against Bridgewater’s relatively meager $2.18MM charge next season. Both signal-callers are scheduled to become free agents in March 2018.
Mike Zimmer Praises Sam Bradford
It’s unclear whether Sam Bradford or Teddy Bridgewater will be the Vikings’ starting quarterback next year, but the former has a clear advantage based on health. Moreover, Bradford’s performance has impressed head coach Mike Zimmer, who heaped praise on the 29-year-old Thursday. “I think, honestly, if you sat back and looked at all the things — being traded, trying to learn a new system, having a new coach, having to learn teammates — all these things that he’s had to deal with. Injuries on offense. I thought he’s done an unbelievable job,” said Zimmer (via Ben Goessling of ESPN.com).
Minnesota paid a high price to acquire Bradford from Philadelphia in early September after Bridgewater suffered a catastrophic knee injury. Now a disappointing 7-8, the Vikings won’t replicate their playoff-bound 2015 campaign under Bridgewater, though Bradford has nonetheless fared respectably despite having little help from his offensive line or running game. With a 71.3 percent completion percentage, the seventh-year man is on track to surpass the single-season record of 71.2. He has also amassed 17 touchdowns against just four interceptions and posted a career-best 98.3 passer rating in 14 starts. Those numbers are somewhat the product of a conservative offense, though, as Bradford ranks last in the league in air yards per attempt (6.24), notes Goessling.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/28/16
Here are today’s practice squad updates.
Denver Broncos
- Signed: DL Iosia Iosia, WR Hunter Sharp, OL Reese Dismukes
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: WR Cayleb Jones
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: LB Brian Blechen
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: RB Kelvin Taylor, OL Ross Burbank
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: RB Blake Sims, DE Deonte Gibson
- Cut: OL Kyler Kerbyson
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: LB Kourtnei Brown, WR K.J. Maye
Washington Redskins
- Signed: LB Rufus Johnson
2017 NFL Draft Order Through Week 16
This weekend, the Browns got the best of both worlds when they won their first game of the 2016 season while the 49ers also found their way to victory. Now, the 1-14 Browns remain in the top spot as we head into the final week of the NFL season.
Here’s where we stand through Week 16. (Note: Ties are broken by strength of schedule):
- Browns 1-14
- 49ers 2-13
- Bears 3-12
- Jaguars 3-12
- Rams (pick belongs to Titans) 4-11
- Jets 4-11
- Chargers 5-10
- Bengals 5-9-1
- Panthers 6-9
- Eagles (pick belongs to Browns) 6-9
- Cardinals 6-8-1
- Bills 7-8
- Colts 7-8
- Vikings (pick belongs to Eagles) 7-8
- Saints 7-8
- Titans 8-7
- Ravens 8-7
- Buccaneers 8-7
- Broncos 8-7
- Redskins 8-6-1
Vikings Rule Out Adrian Peterson For Saturday
The Vikings face the Packers on Saturday but they will not have Adrian Peterson on the field with them. The running back has been ruled out for the game, the team announced.
Peterson tore his meniscus in the second game of the season and his status for the rest of 2016 was very much in doubt. Miraculously, he had a quicker-than-expected recovery from surgery and managed to return this month. Unfortunately, he suffered a groin injury in his return.
Now, the Vikings have just a 3% chance of making the playoffs and it doesn’t make a ton of sense for Peterson to put himself in jeopardy. His status for Week 17 is currently unknown, but a loss on Saturday could lead to Peterson sitting out, regardless of his health.
Peterson had a dreadful start to the season before his injury and he didn’t look much better in his return on Dec. 18. Now, there’s talk that the Vikings will likely not pay Peterson’s $6MM roster bonus and instead will approach him about a pay cut prior to the bonus coming due.
Vikings Promote C.J. Ham
The Vikings promoted running back C.J. Ham off of the practice squad in advance of Saturday’s game against the Packers. To make room, the Vikings placed cornerback Mackensie Alexander on injured reserve. 
This may not be a great sign for Adrian Peterson, who hasn’t practiced in recent days. Peterson returned from meniscus surgery to help the Vikings make a playoff push. Now that the Vikings are 7-7 with a 3% chance of qualifying for the postseason, the veteran doesn’t have much incentive to press his luck and take the field. We should know more about Peterson’s availability later on today.
A product of Division II Augustana College in South Dakota, Ham helped his team reach the postseason in his final year and led the Northern Sun Conference in rushing yards and touchdowns. In May of 2016, he signed with the Vikings as a free agent after competing in the rookie camp on a tryout basis. He did not make the team’s final 53-man cut in September, but he was brought on to the practice squad. After months of waiting, he may finally be making his NFL debut.
Vikings Sign Toby Johnson
- The Vikings re-signed defensive tackle Toby Johnson, the club announced today, and confirmed that defensive lineman Tom Johnson is headed to IR. Toby Johnson had just been waived by Minnesota several days ago.
2017 NFL Draft Order Through Week 15
With just two weeks to go, the NFL playoff picture is starting to get clearer. The Cowboys, Seahawks, Patriots, and Raiders have already punched their playoff tickets while the Chiefs, Steelers, Falcons, and Giants are considered near locks by the forecasts at Five Thirty Eight.
Here’s a look at where the draft order stands for the teams not currently slated to make the cut (Note: Ties are broken by strength of schedule):
1. Browns 0-14
2. 49ers 1-13
3. Jaguars 2-12
4. Bears 3-11
5. Jets 4-10
6. Rams (pick belongs to Titans) 4-10
7. Eagles (pick belongs to Browns) 5-9
8. Chargers 5-9
9. Cardinals 5-8-1
10. Bengals 5-8-1
11. Panthers 6-8
12. Saints 6-8
13. Bills 7-7
14. Colts 7-7
15. Vikings (pick belongs to Eagles) 7-7
16. Redskins 7-6-1
17. Titans 8-6
17. Ravens 8-6 (Note: The Titans and Ravens are currently knotted up in terms of both record and strength of schedule. In all statistical likelihood, the SOS logjam will be broken by the end of the season.)
19. Texans 8-6
20. Buccaneers 8-6
Vikings To Place DT Tom Johnson On IR
The Vikings will place defensive tackle Tom Johnson on injured reserve after he suffered a torn hamstring on Sunday against the Colts, reports Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter link).
[RELATED: Vikings Likely To Retain Sam Bradford]
Johnson, 32, becomes the latest Viking to be sent to injured reserve in what is quickly becoming a lost Minnesota season, as he joins Teddy Bridgewater, Adrian Peterson (who has since returned), Matt Kalil, Andre Smith, Sharrif Floyd, and others who have been sidelined this season. In the midst of his third season with the Vikings, Johnson has appeared in all 14 games, playing on slightly more than half the club’s defensive snaps while posting two sacks, grading as the league’s No. 47 interior defender among 126 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus. Johnson is signed through 2017, but Minnesota wouldn’t incur any dead money by cutting him during the offseason.
With Johnson out, Shamar Stephen will continue to see more snaps next to Linval Joseph, while the Vikings could add another defensive tackle in the coming days.