Vikings Re-Sign Brad Sorensen
The Vikings will re-sign quarterback Brad Sorensen — who was just waived earlier this week — in the wake of Teddy Bridgewater‘s ACL injury, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
[RELATED: Peyton Manning Not An Option For Vikings]
Sorensen, 28, was a seventh-round draft choice of the Chargers back in 2013. Although he’s bounced around the league quite a bit during his four-year NFL career, Sorensen has never thrown an NFL pass or even appeared in a game. So while he has experience on the roster of the Chargers, Titans, and — most recently — Vikings, Sorensen isn’t the answer to Minnesota’s quarterback crisis. Instead, he’ll likely serve as depth to help the Vikings get through their final preseason game, and perhaps have a chance to stick as a second or third QB.
As it currently stands, the Vikings have veteran Shaun Hill on the depth chart. Hill offers experience, but he is an uninspiring starting option for a team with playoff aspirations. He also has never started more than 10 games in any given season. Other than Hill, the Vikings have Wisconsin product Joel Stave on the depth chart. Fellow signal-callerTaylor Heinicke has been placed on the NFI list with an injury.
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Peyton Manning Not An Option For Vikings
Peyton Manning has no interest in coming out of retirement to play for the Vikings, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Presumably, Manning wouldn’t re-enter the league to quarterback any club given that he left the NFL on top, but Minnesota is in especially dire straits after Teddy Bridgewater tore his ACL and suffered knee damage earlier today.
While Manning isn’t an option for the Vikings, Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (Twitter link) throws out Colts backup quarterback Scott Tolzien as a potential trade target for Minnesota given that offensive coordinator Norv Turner was (at one point) a fan of Tolzien. Turner has never coached Tolzien, so it’s possible that the veteran play-caller liked Tolzien’s college tape. However, a trade is unlikely at this point, per Marvez.
As it currently stands, the Vikings have veteran Shaun Hill on the depth chart. Hill offers experience, but he is an uninspiring starting option for a team with playoff aspirations. He also has never started more than 10 games in any given season. Other than Hill, the Vikings have Wisconsin product Joel Stave on the depth chart. Fellow signal-caller Taylor Heinicke has been placed on the NFI list with an injury.
A cursory glance at our list of NFL free agents shows that veteran options such as Matt Flynn, Michael Vick, and Charlie Whitehurst are available, as is former Viking Tarvaris Jackson. T.J. Yates, meanwhile, was recently cleared to return to action after recovering from a torn ACL.
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Vikings’ Roster Now At 75
The Vikings had already released center John Sullivan today, and now they’ve announced several other moves that bring them in at the 75-man deadline.
Waived/Injured:
Waived:
- WR Troy Stoudemire
Placed on reserve/non-football illness:
- OL Mike Harris
Harris, a former undrafted free agent, served an as offensive tackle during his two seasons with the Chargers. Harris played 12 games at right tackle for the Vikings in 2014, and he started all 16 games at guard this past season. He re-signed with the Vikings on a one-year, $2MM deal.
Teddy Bridgewater Likely Done For Season
Awful news for the Vikings as coach Mike Zimmer tells reporters that quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is likely done for the season. Bridgewater is still going through testing, but the early results do not look good, per the head coach. 
Zimmer confirmed that Bridgewater’s knee injury was of the non-contact variety, which usually signifies ligament damage. We should have official word on Bridgewater’s exact injury and his approximate timetable soon. In any case, it’s doubtful that he will take the field in 2016.
As it currently stands, the Vikings have veteran Shaun Hill on the depth chart. Hill offers experience, but he is an uninspiring starting option for a team with playoff aspirations. He also has never started more than 10 games in any given season. Other than Hill, the Vikings have Wisconsin product Joel Stave on the depth chart. Taylor Heinicke has been placed on the NFI list with an injury.
In his sophomore season, Bridgewater earned a Pro Bowl nod as he completed 65.3% of his passes with 14 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.
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Vikings Cut John Sullivan
As a part of their effort to get down to 75, the Vikings have released center John Sullivan, per a club announcement.
Sullivan, 31, has long been on the league’s more underrated pivots, as though he’s never been named an All Pro or Pro Bowler, he’s been considered among the top centers in the NFL. Until last season, he had started at least 14 games in every season since 2009. Sullivan missed all of 2015 due to injury, and veteran Joe Berger performed like a top-five center in his stead. Given that Berger is much cheaper, the Vikings tried trading away Sullivan and his $5.4MM base salary. When they couldn’t find a taker, they released him instead.
Teddy Bridgewater Leaves Practice With Injury
Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has suffered an apparent knee injury, prompting the Vikings to end practice early, as Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press tweets. Exact details of the injury remain murky, but it was serious enough to prompt players to form a prayer circle around the QB (link). 
Bridgewater’s injury appeared to be of the non-contact variety (via Brian Murphy of the Pioneer Press on Twitter), which could spell serious leg trouble. Players around Bridgewater “freaked out” upon seeing what happened, Murphy says. Bridgewater left the field via ambulance (link).
Behind Bridgewater, the Vikings have quarterbacks Shaun Hill and Wisconsin product Joel Stave. Taylor Heinicke will be placed on the NFI list with an injury.
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Vikings Announce Roster Cuts
The Vikings have announced several roster cuts — several of which were already reported yesterday — that bring their roster to 80 players. As such, they’ll need to cut five more players before 3pm CT today.
- DE Theiren Cockran
- G Sean Hickey
- TE Brian Leonhardt
- DE Claudell Louis
- WR Marken Michel
- LB Terrance Plummer
- G Austin Shepherd
- WR Terrell Sinkfield
- QB Brad Sorensen
Vikings Cut Four
- The Vikings have made several roster moves today, cutting quarterback Brad Sorensen, wide receiver Marken Michel, defensive lineman Claudell Louis, and offensive tackle Austin Shepherd (Twitter links: 1, 2, 3 via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press); and tight end Brian Leonhardt (Twitter link via Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN).
MyCole Pruitt Out 2-4 Weeks
The Steelers are still considering free agent cornerback Keenan Lewis, but it will take him at least a month to recover from hip and groin injuries, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link). That news jibes with at least one report earlier this month that indicated Lewis would need as much as six weeks to heal from his ailments. However, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently reported that the Steelers were troubled by the medicals on Lewis’ hip when he visited the team recently.
Here’s more on the injury front:
- Although tight end MyCole Pruitt looked to have suffered a serious injury during yesterday’s preseason games, the second-year Viking will only miss two-to-four weeks with a sprained MCL, tweets Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. As such, Pruitt will likely miss at least the season opener, but he’ll return as Minnesota’s No. 2 tight end at some point early in the campaign.
- Rams rookie wide receiver Pharoh Cooper has a shoulder injury and will miss “a few weeks,” head coach Jeff Fisher yesterday told reporters, including Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com. At minimum, Cooper will probably miss the season opener. Cooper, a fourth-round pick, had apparently been the favorite for the LA’s third receiver role (and could still be when he gets back to action).
- The Redskins will also lose a rookie for a short period of time, as seventh-round running back Keith Marshall will likely be out for three weeks, according to coach Jay Gruden (Twitter link via Mike Jones of the Washington Post). However, Gruden added that Marshall could be placed on injured reserve, which would likely allow Washington to stash Marshall until 2017.
- The Buccaneers are expected to place WR/KR Donteea Dye on the waived/injured list with a hamstring issue, according to Jenna Laine of ESPN.com. Dye will need roughly a month to recover, but there’s a possibility could bring Dye back into the fold, tweets Laine (though it’s unclear if that means the club would bring him back off IR, or re-sign him after releasing him with an injury settlement).
Vikings, Seahawks Shopping Centers
If any NFL team is looking for a center, they should call the Vikings and/or the Seahawks. Minnesota is shopping John Sullivan, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter link), while Seattle is trying to trade Patrick Lewis, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
Sullivan, 31, has long been on the league’s more underrated pivots, as though he’s never been named an All Pro or Pro Bowler, he’s been considered among the top centers in the NFL. Until last season, he had started at least 14 games in every season since 2009. Sullivan missed all of 2015 due to injury, and veteran Joe Berger performed like a top-five center in his stead. Given that Berger is much cheaper, it makes sense that the Vikings are trying to trade away Sullivan and his $5.4MM base salary.
Lewis, meanwhile, isn’t the caliber of player that is Sullivan, but he did start nine games for the Seahawks last season. Seattle has been reshuffling its offensive line, and Justin Britt, who was formerly both a tackle and a guard, is now set to move to the middle, and early reports on the transition have been glowing. Lewis is entering the final year of his deal, and will earn $1.671MM for 2016.
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