Vikings adjust practice squad, elevate 2 players for Sunday’s game

With the elevation of Benton Whitley, could this be bad news for Marcus Davenport?

Going into Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Minnesota Vikings made multiple moves. The team announced that they signed running back Myles Gaskin to the practice squad and released wide receiver Lucky Jackson.

They also elevated both Gaskin and outside linebacker Benton Whitley going into Sunday’s game. Both will be eligible to play on Sunday.

Gaskin was released from the roster on Friday afternoon in a procedural move. That would ensure the Vikings didn’t have to guarantee his entire salary for the 2023 season and could go week by week.

Jackson had a good preseason and training camp after spending the spring with the D.C. Defenders. With Gaskin likely going back to the 53-man roster, Jackson may end up back on the practice squad.

Whitley was elevated along with Gaskin. That likely says something about Marcus Davenport’s availability, as he was added to the injury report on Friday with an ankle injury. His status will be made official on Sunday morning.

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Vikings sign WR N’Keal Harry to practice squad

After spending the beginning of training camp with the Vikings, N’Keal Harry is back with the team.

Wide receiver N’Keal Harry is back with the Minnesota Vikings.

On Monday, the Vikings announced they signed the veteran wide receiver to the practice squad. In a subsequent move, the Vikings released undrafted rookie Alan Ali from their practice squad.

Harry, 25, spent training camp and the early parts of the preseason with the Vikings but was waived as the team cut down to 53 players. In the Vikings’ preseason opener against the Seattle Seahawks, Harry caught two passes for 24 yards. He did not register a catch in the team’s other two preseason games.

A former first-round selection by the New England Patriots, Harry has struggled to break through in the NFL, spending time with both the Patriots and Chicago Bears in four seasons.

Harry played in seven games for the Bears last season, tallying seven receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown. Over his career, he’s played in 40 games, totaling 714 yards and five touchdowns.

With the signing of Harry, the Vikings have four wide receivers on their practice squad. Trishton Jackson, Lucky Jackson, and Thayer Thomas were signed to the team’s first practice squad.

The decision to bring an additional receiver to the practice squad is a head-scratcher, but it may signal some concern regarding Jalen Nailor’s health for the season opener. NFL teams are allowed to elevate three practice squad players to their roster every week, so there’s a possibility that Harry is suited up for the Vikings season opener.

Minnesota Vikings’ 2023 practice squad tracker

Keep track of all the additions to the Vikings practice squad

The initial 53-man roster has been set and initial waivers have come and gone. That means it’s time for teams to build out their practice squads.

The Minnesota Vikings have an interesting way they can build out their practice squad this year. With 16 spots available, there are plenty of options available to them.

With just eight offensive linemen, five defensive linemen and five cornerbacks, there are likely going to be multiple spots dedicated to those positions.

Two days before cutdown day, we took a look at the Vikings players most likely to end up on the practice squad. How many of them ended up making it? Keep tabs on it with our practice squad tracker.

12 players projected to make Minnesota Vikings practice squad

These players should find themselves with a spot on the Vikings practice squad via @TheRealForno

The Minnesota Vikings have completed their preseason with three losses, the latest being 18-17 against the Arizona Cardinals.

The 53-man roster needs to be set by 3 pm central on Tuesday, August 29th. Once that is set, waivers will run at noon central on Wednesday, August 30th. Once that happens, the practice squad will be filled with players who clear waivers.

Who could end up on the Vikings practice squad? It’s almost guaranteed that the Vikings will have a player or two outside of the organization on the practice squad. With that in mind, here are the players that should make the practice squad after cuts.

Vikings sign TE Muse, release DT Day from practice squad

Former seventh-round pick makes his way back to the practice squad

The Minnesota Vikings needed to make room for both tight end Irv Smith Jr. and defensive end Jonathan Bullard on the active roster, which they did officially on Saturday afternoon. To do so, they needed to waive tight end Nick Muse.

On Saturday afternoon, they brought their seventh-round pick Muse back to the roster by signing him to the practice squad. To make room for him, the Vikings released defensive tackle Sheldon Day from the practice squad.

Muse has played in 10 games this season for the Vikings but hasn’t gotten a single snap on offense. He has seen 108 of them on special teams this season and the Vikings didn’t need to have four tight ends on the roster. He got his spot on the active roster due to the high ankle sprain that Smith Jr. suffered in week eight against the Arizona Cardinals.

Day signed with the Vikings practice squad the same day that they placed left tackle Blake Brandel on injured reserve. They had interest for a while, as they hosted him for a visit a month earlier on November 15th.

Vikings elevate two from practice squad ahead of Week 17 game vs. Packers

The Vikings fortified the trenches with this move

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The Minnesota Vikings are not only dealing with injury issues, but they are also trying to give their players a modicum of rest. They are doing so by rotating players in and out for a series at a time.

In order to help with that, along with some needed depth, the Viking are elevating center Kyle Hinton and defensive lineman T.J. Smith.

Hinton was elevated last week ahead of the Christmas Eve matchup against the New York Giants but they ended up deactivating him. He was there to provide depth due to the back injury to Garrett Bradbury.

Smith has yet to be activated this season. He played in one game with the Vikings in 2021.

Vikings’ practice squad QB David Blough signed by Arizona Cardinals

The former Lions quarterback has five starts in his career

During the preseason, the Minnesota Vikings had some quarterback issues. They initially went into training camp with Kellen Mond and Sean Mannion but it became evident that they couldn’t roll into the season with those two behind starter Kirk Cousins.

Before the season started, they traded for Nick Mullens to be the backup quarterback and signed David Blough to the practice squad as extra depth. He had appeared in seven games with five starts and threw for 1,033 yards with four touchdowns and seven interceptions.

With Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray suffering a season-ending torn ACL on Monday night, they signed Blough off of the Vikings practice squad to provide depth behind Colt McCoy for the rest of the season. They had recently signed Carson Strong to the practice squad. He ran the true Air Raid while at Nevada and will translate well to what the Cardinals run in Arizona.

With the move, the Vikings now have an open spot on their practice squad.

Vikings host 6 players, sign CB Parry Nickerson to practice squad

The Vikings brought in six players for a tryout

After signing CB Duke Shelley to the active roster on Saturday and the Raiders signing tight end Jacob Hollister before the game against the Buffalo Bills, there were two open spots on the practice squad.

The Vikings filled one of those with veteran tight end James O’Shaughnessy and signed CB Parry Nickerson to the practice squad on Tuesday. The Vikings also hosted five others on Tuesday before signing Nickerson.

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We wrote about the Vikings hosting tight end Alize Mack earlier on Tuesday and the Vikings also hosted an old friend in Julian Taylor who was a part of the Vikings’ cuts during training camp.

They also looked at edge rusher Curtis Weaver, defensive tackle Sheldon Day and cornerback Darren Evans.

With all the players that the Vikings brought in for a tryout, it is curious that they chose not to bring in any kickers despite Greg Joseph struggling.

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Vikings sign TE James O’Shaughnessy to the practice squad

The Vikings had him in for a tryout a few weeks ago and liked what they saw

The Minnesota Vikings had tight end Jacob Hollister poached off of their practice squad over the weekend. The Raiders signed him after having him on the roster during training camp which was a smart move with Hollister not having to learn the playbook.

The Viking finally filled the spot on the practice squad by signing eighth-year veteran tight end James O’Shaughnessy.

The Viking brought him in from a tryout a few weeks back after the injury to Ben Ellefson and apparently liked what they saw.

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Over his career, O’Shaughnessy has been a stalwart backup tight end for both the Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars. A former fifth-round pick out of Illinois State, O’Shaughnessy has started 40 games out of 80 played and amassed 112 catches for 1,108 yards and three touchdowns.

His addition makes things easier until the return of Ellefson, as Nick Muse has already been elevated from the practice squad the maximum of three times.

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Vikings are signing CB Duke Shelley to the active roster

Shelley had been activated for two games so far this season

The Minnesota Vikings will be without cornerback Cameron Dantzler on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills which likely meant that a cornerback would be elevated for the game.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Vikings did one better by signing cornerback Duke Shelley to the active roster from the practice squad.

Shelley was added to the practice squad back in September by the Vikings and they had elevated him twice so far this season.

With the Vikings adding Shelley to the active roster, the Vikings will have to make a corresponding roster move, which could end up being Dantzler to injured reserve.

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