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The fundraiser has already reached over $16,000 in the span of about 24 hours.
Former Texas Longhorns defensive back and now Minnesota Viking Kris Boyd is making a coordinated effort to support the victims of the tragic Uvalde shooting that took place at Robb Elementary on Thursday afternoon. Continue reading “Former Longhorn Kris Boyd sets up fundraiser for Uvalde victims”
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.
Here are some Vikings players who have helped their case to make the team.
The Vikings, just like every other NFL team, have two more cut dates this offseason: Aug. 24, when the team has to cut its roster down to 80 and Aug. 31 when it goes down to 53.
Minnesota’s active roster currently has 84 players on it after linebacker Cameron Smith announced his retirement.
Basically, the Vikings have more work to do in order to finalize the team for 2021. Of course, many of the players cut by the Vikings will soon be signed to the team’s practice squad. But for an NFL player, it’s better to make that active roster.
Here are some players on the bubble who have greatly helped their case recently:
The Vikings will have some tough cutdown decisions to make before the regular season.
A tough reality of the NFL: Not every player on the roster during the summer makes the 53-man roster before the regular season.
The Vikings will have some tough decisions to make this offseason. Minnesota will have to let go of rookies and veterans alike. At least there is the practice squad.
Here are four places where the Vikings may have to make difficult decisions to trim the roster down:
The Minnesota Vikings have ruled RT Brian O’Neill as questionable to return and CB Kris Boyd as out.
The Vikings received a big blow to their defensive unit when CB Kris Boyd was ruled questionable to return.
Minnesota later announced that he would not be coming back, downgrading Boyd to out. Boyd is a big contributor for the Vikings on defense due to other cornerbacks being out already. He also plays on special teams.
The Vikings had more bad injury news: RT Brian O’Neill is questionable to return with an eye injury. O’Neill is arguably Minnesota’s best offensive lineman. He adds a very good pass-protecting presence to a Vikings offensive line that sometimes struggles to protect the quarterback.
At first, Rashod Hill came in for O’Neill. Then, he went down. The Vikings have since gone with Dru Samia at left guard and Dakota Dozier at right tackle. We will give updates on O’Neill’s status if it changes at all.
Minnesota Vikings CB Kris Boyd has a shoulder injury and is questionable to return for the Buccaneers game.
Minnesota has been depleted at corner pretty much all year.
The group, which had to deal with a mass exodus of key contributors in free agency last offseason, was already young and inexperienced heading into 2020.
Now, the corner unit has taken another hit. The Vikings announced that corner Kris Boyd is questionable to return for the Buccaneers game. Boyd is dealing with a shoulder injury.
Boyd is also a big contributor on special teams. However, he has been prone to committing penalties in that phase of the game as of late.
This is a game with big playoff implications for both Minnesota and Tampa Bay. It would help for the Vikings to have Boyd back. We will update you as to whether that will happen or not for the Week 14 matchup.
The Jaguars’ passing game has needed an injection of luck all season long. When Mike Glennon threw to Laviska Shenault, it happened.
The Jaguars have found it difficult to get anything going in the passing game for most of the season; it’s one reason they came into Week 13 ranked 23rd in passing DVOA. Sometimes, you need a bit of divine intervention to make things happen in an aerial sense, and Jacksonville actually had that happen with 12:33 left in the first quarter against the Vikings.
Quarterback Mike Glennon was trying to hit receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. from the Minnesota 28-yard line, and it appeared for a split second that cornerback Kris Boyd might come away with the ball. Instead, Gladney missed the incoming football, it bounced off his shoulder pad, and right into Shenault’s hands in the end zone. Boyd was beside himself, and safety Harrison Smith could only look on in disgust.
✌ LIVE @Viska2live getting us started with a TD.
📺:CBS | #ProBowlVotehttps://t.co/wXsPRg81WJ pic.twitter.com/Svv0opeu5Z
— #DUUUVAL (@Jaguars) December 6, 2020
Is it better to be lucky than good? In the case of the Jaguars’ passing game, that is certainly the case here.
Week 12 of the NFL season isn’t technically over with the Pittsburgh-Baltimore game set for Wednesday. How the other former Horns performed?
The NFL’s Week 12 was a wild one. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens were set to kick off on Thanksgiving. That game was moved to Sunday. Then to Monday. Then to Tuesday. Then to Wednesday. Who knows if that game is going to take place before week 13 kicks off. The Ravens were also supposed to host the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday. That game is now kicking off on Tuesday, allegedly.
This week’s NFL action saw the Texas Longhorns’ all-time leading passer return to the football field. Due to an injury to New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, Colt McCoy was thrust into action against the Cincinnati Bengals. He would lead them to a win to give them possession of first place in the NFC East.
The weekend also saw two players from the 2020 NFL Draft class have big contributions to their team. Collin Johnson showed by the Longhorns offense missed him this year and Brandon Jones recorded the first sack of his NFL career.
A look at the rest of the Texas exes:
Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer thinks all of the corners played better last week.
The Vikings lost two starting corners out wide and the nickel corner from 2019. The team replaced those three with mostly younger, more inexperienced talent, and that’s led to some growing pains in the secondary.
Despite that, Minnesota has turned things around recently. The team defeated the Packers and Lions in back-to-back weeks to move to 3-5. Not only that, but the Vikings cornerbacks have looked much better during those games.
Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer recently talked about the corners’ play. Here’s what he said:
“All of the corners played better last week,” Zimmer said, via the Vikings. “I think Kris (Boyd) played a lot more disciplined. He missed that one tackle, but I thought he played a lot more disciplined. Jeff (Gladney) continues to get better each and every week as far as understanding things, understanding his role. … I thought Chris Jones did a nice job as well.”
The Vikings have another challenge next week: the NFC North rival Chicago Bears. That said, the Minnesota secondary has faced off against much better passing offenses already. It could be another game where the Vikings see improvement from that group.
The Vikings were already without two of their top corners heading into the game.
The Vikings beat the Packers 28-22 on Sunday at Lambeau Field.
Unfortunately, they lost three cornerbacks to injuries in the process.
Rookie Cam Dantzler left on a stretcher in the first half after suffering a scary neck and head injury. Reports came out that Dantzler had movement, but regardless, still a scary situation that will be monitored.
In the second half, second-year cornerback Kris Boyd left the game with a leg injury.
The Vikings also lost Mark Fields to injury, a player they had just brought up from the practice squad.
The Vikings were already without Mike Hughes and Holton Hill in the game.
It’s something to keep an eye on as the Vikings approach Week 9 against the Lions. Right now, the Vikings’ lead cornerback is rookie Jeff Gladney.
I would expect the Vikings to sign at least one cornerback this week given their injuries. We’ll keep you updated.
