Mark Fields

Vikings Sign K Chase McLaughlin To Practice Squad

The Vikings signed kicker Chase McLaughlin, kicker Chase McLaughlin, linebacker Hardy Nickerson, and defensive tackle Albert Huggins to the practice squad on Tuesday. With that, the Vikes have filled out their 16-man unit:

McLaughlin bounced around last year, appearing in games for the Colts, Chargers, and 49ers. He started off the 2019 season with the Vikings’ practice squad, and they’re bringing him back in 2020 to serve as extra insurance for Dan Bailey. Earlier this summer, he lost out on the Colts’ kicking job when Chris Ballard & Co. chose rookie Rodrigo Blankenship.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/15/20

Today’s reserve/futures deals:

Baltimore Ravens

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

  • DB DaShaun Amos

Houston Texans

Minnesota Vikings

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/12/20

The Vikings added a group of players on reserve/futures contracts today, and we also missed some of the Rams’ from earlier in the week. For a primer/refresher on what exactly these deals entail, click here.

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

Polite is the most well-known of the bunch. A highly regarded talent, he fell to the Jets with the 68th pick this past draft because of off-field concerns. He was shockingly cut by New York despite being an early third-round pick, and eventually ended up on the Rams’ practice squad.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/16/19

Today’s practice squad moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Dallas Cowboys

Minnesota Vikings

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/14/19

Here are Saturday’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

  • Promoted from practice squad: T Jake Rodgers
  • Waived: OL Corey Levin

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

San Francisco 49ers

Washington Redskins

NFC North Notes: Lions, Jackson, Vikings, Fields, Vedvik, Packers, Goodson

The Lions might not be done stockpiling quarterbacks. At cutdown day, they had amassed five on the 90-man roster. They cut Tom Savage and Luis Perez to get them down to three, but are now apparently looking for additional options. Detroit will work out Tyree Jackson on Monday, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). The Bills waived Jackson this weekend. As of right now the Lions have journeyman Josh Johnson and undrafted rookie David Blough, who they just traded for, on the roster behind Matthew Stafford.

The Lions also scheduled a Kyle Sloter workout, but the recently waived Vikings passer ended up signing with the Cardinals’ practice squad. Sloter drew interest from several teams, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets. Jackson left the University of Buffalo a year early, then went undrafted. He’s widely regarded as having impressive physical tools, but still being far too raw to play anytime soon.

Here’s more from the NFC North:

  • The Vikings made a minor trade with the Chiefs for cornerback Mark Fields over the weekend, and now we have the details. The 2021 seventh-round pick Minnesota sent is conditional, a source told Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Twitter link). Gooessling writes that it’s “based on Fields being on the Vikings’ roster for an agreed-upon number of games,” and that if Fields isn’t on the roster long Minnesota won’t have to give up anything. Fields was an undrafted rookie from Clemson who the Vikings reportedly had interest in right after the draft.
  • Speaking of Vikings trades, Minnesota caught some flak for trading a fifth-round pick for kicker/punter Kaare Vedvik and then cutting him a few weeks later. Vedvik struggled during the preseason, and Minnesota opted to stick with Dan Bailey as their kicker. The Jets ended up claiming Vedvik off waivers, but Minnesota apparently wanted him back. The Vikings had offered him a spot on the practice squad and he was likely going to accept before New York claimed him, Tomasson tweets.
  • We also now have terms on the B.J. Goodson trade. The Giants initially announced they intended to release the inside linebacker, but then traded him to the Packers earlier this morning. The deal was done in exchange for the teams agreeing to swap conditional 2020 seventh-round picks, according to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer (Twitter link). Balzer notes that Green Bay sent a pick they had previously acquired from Baltimore in the deal. Goodson was a fourth-round pick of the Giants’ back in 2016, who started 13 games for them last year.

Chiefs Trade CB Mark Fields To Vikings

Mark Fields is heading to Minnesota. NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports (via Twitter) that the cornerback has been traded by the Chiefs to the Vikings. ESPN’s Courtney Cronin tweets that Kansas City has received a 2021 seventh-rounder.

The undrafted free agent cornerback considered signing with Minnesota after the draft, tweets Cronin. The Vikings had been seeking some extra depth at outside and slot cornerback, and Fields possesses the flexibility to fill in at either spot.

For the Chiefs, the team had relatively high hopes for the cornerback following a productive training camp. However, Fields struggled on game day, and he had three penalties (two pass interference and a face mark) during Kansas City’s preseason finale.

Chiefs Sign 17 UDFAs

The Chiefs have announced the signing of 17 undrafted free agents. The entire list is below:

With uncertainty surrounding Tyreek Hill, the Chiefs have been hunting for wide receiver help. They apparently focused in on Custis, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that the team gave him more than $100K in guaranteed money. This is the highest guarantee for an undrafted receiver in at least the past two years. The Syracuse product had a breakout campaign during his senior season, hauling in 51 receptions for 906 yards and six touchdowns. The Chiefs ended up adding five undrafted receivers in total, and that’s in addition to second-round wideout Mecole Hardman.

Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (via Twitter) that the team also gave pricey base guarantees to Thompson ($50K), Schumer ($67K), Harris ($50K), and Fox ($45K).

The Fox move is particularly interesting, as Dustin Colquitt has been a mainstay of the Chiefs punting unit since 2005. The 36-year-old had a career-low 45 punts in 2018, although he did manage to place 21 of those inside the 20. With Colquitt eyeing his 15th NFL season, the organization may simply be looking to provide the veteran with some competition.

It’s also notable that the Chiefs added three undrafted quarterbacks. The coaching staff will presumably let the rookies battle during the early parts of camp, with perhaps one of them joining EJ Manuel, Chad Henne, and Chase Litton for the backup quarterback competition.