Tag: nick muse

Vikings sign 6 players to futures contracts

Futures contracts keep the player in the building to compete for a spot on the roster next year

When the season is over, teams take some time to sign their practice squad players to what is called a futures contract. That is essentially keeping them under contract for the offseason so they can help them develop and go through the offseason program and training camp.

Most players from a team’s practice squad will end up signing one of these at the end of the season, but some choose to wait it out and see what other opportunities exist elsewhere.

On Monday, the Minnesota Vikings inked six players to futures contracts with five of them coming from the practice squad and the other coming from injured reserve.

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.

Report: Vikings planning to activate TE Irv Smith Jr. from IR

Another weapon will be at Kirk Cousins’ disposal come the playoffs

Earlier on Friday, the Minnesota Vikings waived tight end Nick Muse which was a signal that another move could be coming. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, that intuition was correct as the Vikings are planning on activating tight end Irv Smith Jr. from injured reserve.

This is a smart move for the Vikings to do now. It is a good idea to get him some live in-game reps before the playoffs start to get the wheels turning once again. Smith Jr. hasn’t played a down since the fourth quarter of the Vikings win over the Arizona Cardinals in week eight.

The idea of running 12 personnel with the versatility with him and T.J. Hockenson would be a great asset to the Vikings’ offense.

Vikings waived TE Nick Muse

The seventh-round pick finds himself on waivers

The Minnesota Vikings have made quite a few roster this week and that has continued. On Friday afternoon, they waived rookie tight end Nick Muse.

Going into Friday, the Vikings had a roster spot still available to them after placing right tackle Brian O’Neill and center Austin Schlottmann on injured reserve. This move also signals that tight end Irv Smith Jr. might be ready to return as early as Sunday against the Chicago Bears.

Muse was the Vikings seventh-round pick out of South Carolina. After not making the initial roster, he was signed after the injury to Irv Smith Jr. and appeared in 10 games. While not getting any snaps on offense, Muse saw 108 on special teams.

Vikings elevate two, Jalen Nailor out vs Commanders

Nailor has been downgraded to out after practicing in full on Friday

The Minnesota Vikings already had one player declared out in defensive end Dalvin Tomlinson who sustained a calf injury last week against the Arizona Cardinals. He had one more join him, as wide receiver Jalen Nailor was declared out with an illness despite practicing in full on Friday afternoon.

The Vikings also elevated two players from the practice squad in wide receiver Dan Chisena and tight end Nick Muse. Both players have been activated for one game each on the season with both players getting their only action against the Chicago Bears in week five.

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Chisena’s activation is strictly to be a punt gunner and special teams ace, as that is the role that Nailor is currently playing.

Muse was activated for the second time this season and becomes the fourth tight end in the last four weeks to be activated for gameday due to Ben Ellefson being on injured reserve.

The game kicks off at noon on Sunday.

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Vikings rookie report: How is the 2022 class doing so far?

Despite not seeing much of this year’s rookie class this year, there shouldn’t be any concern that they aren’t making a big impact yet

The Minnesota Vikings rookie class has been a major cause for discussion over the first few weeks. The main reason? We haven’t seen a lot of this class thus far.

What does this mean? Well, each player either playing or not playing is its own story. Context is the most important thing when discussing the rookie class, especially after only three weeks. The Vikings are 2-1 so it’s hard to fault them for the approach they have taken.

Let’s take a look at what each rookie has done thus far and why their accomplishments are what they are.

Vikings Madden NFL 23 ratings for rookie draft picks

How do the Vikings’ rookies stack up on Madden NFL 23?

Madden rankings are not the be-all, end-all, but they do mean something.

The rankings are an algorithm that takes each metric and aggregates it to an overall number. The higher certain metrics are, the higher your overall rating is.

Some mean more than others. For example, throwing accuracy means a ton for a quarterback’s overall ranking but next to nothing for a tight end. Because of that, a really good player might be ranked lower than you think he should be.

The other element of these rankings are that Madden usually is a year behind players. One example is Cincinnati Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase who, despite a major breakout season, was ranked as an 87.

A long track record of success is the best way to receive a higher ranking. The same theory goes with rookies. Their rankings are inherently lower because they haven’t played a snap in the league. Each of the 10 Vikings draft picks now have their first ever Madden Ranking.

Here’s how they ranked amongst each other.

POLL: Which rookie will make biggest impact for Vikings in 2022?

Who will make the biggest impact right out of the gates?

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The Minnesota Vikings approached the 2022 NFL draft with the thought of winning right away.

They already signed quarterback Kirk Cousins to a one-year extension, restructured a few contracts and brought in key veteran additions to the roster. The Vikings are basically a new coat of paint on the same car because they’re convinced they already have the foundation in place to compete for a Super Bowl.

Part of that belief stems from the hope that their incoming rookies are capable of stepping up and contributing right away. It’s everyone from first-round draft pick Lewis Cine to lauded undrafted rookie free agent Luiji Vilain.

First-year general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah finessed his way up and down the draft board to maximize the number of bites at the apple the Vikings had this season. In total, their actual draft class consists of 10 players, and they also agreed to deals with at least nine undrafted players in the immediate aftermath.

Which rookie will make the biggest impact for the Vikings in 2022?

We’ve listed the entire draft class and Vilain as the options above. But if there’s another undrafted rookie you think belongs here—like Gabe Brkic or Ryan Wright—let us know in the comments section here or on our Facebook and Twitter page.

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Vikings officially announce signings of five rookie contracts

The Vikings make five rookie contracts official.

Heading into the two-day rookie minicamp, the Minnesota Vikings have officially announced the signings of five rookie contracts.

So that officially makes half of the Vikings 2022 NFL draft class now under contract with the team.

The names on the list includes safety Lewis Cine, receiver Jalen Nailor, tight end Nick Muse, defensive end Esezi Otomewo and running back Ty Chandler.

According to the Pioneer Press’ Chris Tomasson, offensive guard Ed Ingram and linebacker Brian Asamoah are not expected to agree to terms before minicamp, which means the two players will be participating under the injury protection agreement.

Cornerback Andrew Booth Jr., the second-round pick out of Clemson, is still waiting to get his contract done as well.

Meanwhile, rookie offensive tackle Vederian Lowe was reported to have agreed to terms on a deal on Thursday.

We’ll see how the other contracts shake out over the weekend as the rookies kick-start minicamp at the Performance Center on Friday.

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Report: Vikings, rookie Nick Muse agree to terms on four-year deal

The terms of Muse’s first NFL contract have been agreed on.

The Minnesota Vikings are reportedly inking a four-year, $3.7 million deal with rookie tight end Nick Muse on Thursday, ahead of the team’s two-day rookie minicamp.

Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press reported the news on Wednesday.

Per the report, Muse received $106,933 as a signing bonus, and he is slated to count $731,733 against the team’s salary cap in 2022.

The tight end position commanded some attention for the Vikings considering Irv Smith Jr. is coming off a season-ending injury. There are legitimate concerns surrounding his health, along with Johnny Mundt, who was signed in free agency, being the only viable backup on the roster.

Zach Davidson and Ben Ellefson clearly aren’t ready to step into that role.

Even Muse is a bit of a reach in addressing those concerns, but he does possess some nice versatility as a blocker and receiver.

At the very least, the Vikings saw him as worth a seventh-round flier to see what he becomes.

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