Tag: harrison hand

Giants claim WR Jaylon Moore, CB Harrison Hand off of waivers

The New York Giants have claimed WR Jaylon Moore and two others off of waivers, while placing two on injured reserve and releasing one.

With injuries mounting at the wide receiver position, the New York Giants were forced to scour the waiver wire on Wednesday and they came back with a catch.

The team has claimed Jaylon Moore off of waivers from the Baltimore Ravens. He is likely to take the roster spot of Collin Johnson, who suffered a torn Achilles on Wednesday and is out for the season.

Moore, 25, was signed by the Ravens as an undrafted free agent out of UT Martin in 2020. He spent each of the previous two seasons on their practice squad and has an obvious connection to current Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.

The 5-foot-11, 191-pound Moore was named 2019 The CFB Network All-Ohio Valley first team and 2019 Phil Steele Preseason All-OVC second team as a senior.

Moore missed five games in 2021 due to injury, but managed to haul in 16 receptions for 292 yards and totaled five touchdowns.

In addition to Moore, the Giants also claimed wide receiver Bailey Gaither off of waivers from the Ravens and defensive back Harrison Hand off of waivers from the Minnesota Vikings.

Gaither, 25, was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted rookie out of San Jose State in 2021. He also made a stop with the Pittsburgh Maulers (USFL) before joining Baltimore this offseason.

Hand, 23, was a fifth-round pick of the Vikings in the 2020 NFL draft out of Temple. He’s appeared in 23 career games (one start), recording 23 tackles, three passes defensed and one interception.

In order to clear room for the trio, tight end Jordan Akins was cut, while Johnson and wide receiver Marcus Kemp were placed on injured reserve.

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Vikings waive former Denver Broncos TE

The former Bronco lasted just a month in Minnesota

Part two of roster cuts came on Tuesday as the Minnesota Vikings needed to trim the roster down to 80 players by the 4 pm eastern deadline.

The Vikings began those moves on Tuesday by waiving former fifth-round draft pick Harrison Hand and they continued those by releasing former Denver Broncos TE Shaun Beyer per The Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling.

Beyer was signed just under a month ago after spending time with the Broncos. The former Iowa Hawkeye didn’t have much of an opportunity in college having to sit behind both TJ Hockenson and Noah Fant who each went in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft.

Beyer was hoping to be insurance for the Vikings in their tight end room but he found himself buried on the depth chart. Now, he will have an opportunity to find a new home before final cut-down day.

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Viking waive former fifth-round pick

The Vikings waived the former fifth-round pick

Part two of roster cuts came on Tuesday as the Minnesota Vikings needed to trim the roster down to 80 players by the 4 pm eastern deadline.

While the final 53-man roster feels relatively easy to predict, the second round of cuts can be tough. They are usually split between players that guaranteed won’t make the roster and older vets being released a week early so they have a better chance of landing on a roster.

The other avenue is placing them on the reserve Physically Unable to Perform list, which requires them to sit out the first four games

The Vikings began those moves on Tuesday by waiving a former fifth-round draft pick.

Hand, a fifth-round draft pick in 2019 out of Temple, played in 23 games with the Vikings over the last two seasons totaling one interception and three passes defended.

With his departure, the only cornerbacks that Rick Spielman drafted that are still on the roster are Cameron Dantzler and Kris Boyd.

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Vikings 2022 NFL draft preview: Where does Minnesota stand at CB?

The Vikings should be aggressive at cornerback

There’s no need in beating around the bush when it comes to this year’s 2022 NFL draft preview. We’re getting right to the main event, and for the Minnesota Vikings, it all starts with the cornerback position.

It’s no surprise that everyone from mock draft experts to couch analysts still have the team taking a corner with the No. 12 overall pick.

The secondary was burnt toast on a weekly basis last season, and yet, instead of throwing the toast away entirely, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has opted to just scrape off some of the charred crust and put it right back on the plate.

There’s still work to do in the draft, and fans are hopeful the first-year GM adds another playmaker to the defensive backfield sooner rather than later.

Packers vs. Vikings: Week 11 inactives

Here are the Week 11 inactives:

The Vikings have a crucial divisional matchup with the Packers this week.

At 4-5, Minnesota can get back to .500 and gain ground in an all-important 2021 playoff race.

However, Green Bay is favored for a reason. With Aaron Rodgers behind center, the Packers have a lethal offense. At 8-2, Green Bay has the division and a playoff berth all but wrapped up.

The Vikings will have to try and pull off the upset without the help of a few depth players. Here are the inactive lists for both teams:

Vikings activate Harrison Hand off COVID-19/reserve list

Guess who’s back?

The Vikings placed CB Patrick Peterson IR this week. With that move, Minnesota needs the less-experienced members of the team’s secondary to step up — at least for the next three games.

Enter Harrison Hand, the second-year corner who’s showed promise in 2020 and training camp. Hand has only played in two games this season. Minnesota placed him on the COVID-19/reserve list near the start of October.

Now, Hand is finally back. The Vikings are on a bye week, so maybe Hand can return and get acclimated to the point where he can play in Week 8 against the Cowboys. The Vikings certainly need him as soon as possible.

Dallas is also on a bye in Week 7. The Cowboys are slight favorites over the Vikings at the moment. Minnesota is at home against Dallas and the Vikings notched their record to 3-3 with a win over Carolina last time out. The Cowboys are currently 5-1.

Vikings CB Harrison Hand removed from Reserve/COVID-19 list

The Vikings announced that CB Harrison Hand has been removed from the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

Earlier this week, the Vikings were forced to add cornerback Harrison Hand to the Reserve/COVID-19 list. Now, Hand is off the list, the team announced Friday.

Hand has played in only the Week 1 game against the Bengals this season. He had two tackles and was not targeted. Last year, he was promising in limited defensive reps.

He finished with a PFF grade of 65.8 in 2020. His best performance came was against the Saints, when he had two passes defended and an interception.

Then, he had a decent 2021 training camp, leading to some thinking he could have a big role this year.  However, the signing of Bashaud Breeland moved Hand down on the depth chart, resulting in him having a depth role so far this year.

Hand was ruled out for the Week 2 game against the Cardinals after dealing with a hamstring injury that week. For this week, it remains to be seen whether the Vikings will play Hand in Week 3 or let him rest after not having a ton of time to practice.

Vikings add CB Harrison Hand to Reserve/COVID-19 list

The Vikings announced Wednesday that CB Harrison Hand was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

After playing in Week 1 and being ruled out in Week 2, Harrison Hand has been placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, the team announced Wednesday.

Hand is coming off a rookie season where he was decent in limited reps. His best game was the loss to the Saints, when he had two passes defended and an interception.

Hand played well in training camp this year. He was thought of as a player who could at least feature as depth in the cornerback unit. When Hand played in the Bengals game, he had two tackles. He was not targeted in the regular season opener. Leading up to the Week 2 game, Hand was dealing with a hamstring injury, as seen on the Vikings’ injury report.

Per the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols, players who are vaccinated will not be deemed high-risk close contacts (H/T NFL.com’s Grant Gordon). However, those vaccinated individuals can be tested daily for five days. Only unvaccinated players are at risk of missing games without a positive test. With that in mind, it remains to be seen how this will affect the Vikings’ roster as a whole.

Vikings inactives list for the Cardinals game

Here are the Vikings players who are inactive for the Week 2 game.

The Vikings released their list of inactives for the Week 2 matchup against the Cardinals, and the biggest storylines came from the players not featured on the list.

LB Eric Kendricks was limited in practice earlier this week, and was listed as questionable on the injury report. However, Kendricks was nowhere to be found on the list of inactives, so it’s still possible that the linebacker ends up playing. CB Cameron Dantzler, after being inactive for the Week 1 game against the Bengals, was also not on this week’s list. Here are the players who are on it:

Vikings CB Harrison Hand named Minnesota’s surprise minicamp player

Do you think Vikings corner Harrison Hand has a chance at a starting job during the 2021 NFL season?

In a small sample size of snaps this past season, Harrison Hand impressed. The Vikings rookie had an interception and three passes defended. He earned a PFF grade of 65.8 for his 146 snaps, which is decent.

The Vikings have now gone through OTAs and mandatory minicamp, and Hand has impressed in a small sample size yet again. In fact, ESPN’s Courtney Cronin tabbed Hand as Minnesota’s minicamp surprise. Cronin wrote:

“With Jeff Gladney absent amid legal issues and Cameron Dantzler sidelined with an apparent injury, Hand, a former fifth-round pick, got a lot of reps with the first-team defense in OTAs and minicamp. He came away with a couple of interceptions. The Vikings moved Hand around as an outside corner and even lined him up in the slot, which should help his chances for making the roster this fall. The secondary looks a lot different this year. While Dantzler (if healthy), Patrick Peterson and Bashaud Breeland will be the front-runners to earn starting jobs, Hand’s strong spring showing could put him in line to duke it out with Kris Boyd for one of the final spots on the depth chart.”

As Cronin pointed out, Hand actually has a chance at a starting job. He’s more of a dark horse, even with Gladney’s legal situation and Dantzler’s injury, but it’s not out of the question.