Tag: Troy Dye

Report: Vikings won’t activate G Pat Elflein, LB Troy Dye off IR this week

The Minnesota Vikings will reportedly be without Pat Elflein and Troy Dye for the upcoming Falcons game.

Before the season, Vikings fans had been calling for Dru Samia to replace Pat Elflein at guard for 2020. But sometimes an unknown quantity isn’t a better one.

Samia has had his chance to start due to Elflein’s injury. He is currently tabbed as the worst-performing guard among qualifying candidates on PFF’s season grades.

According to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press, it looks like the Vikings will have to play without Elflein yet again. Tomasson reported the team will not activate him off IR.

Unless the Vikings make a change to the starting lineup, that means the team will leave Samia out there for yet another game.

Tomasson also said that the rookie Troy Dye will remain on IR as well, which makes the linebacker position group all the more thin for Minnesota.

Minnesota has not had the best of luck with injuries this season, but the Vikings also didn’t do much in the offseason to upgrade at offensive line or linebacker. Without Elflein, the Vikings are a worse offense. Without Dye, the team doesn’t have as much depth on defense.

Vikings place linebacker Troy Dye on IR

More injury woes for the Minnesota Vikings at the linebacker position.

Minnesota has not had the best of luck at linebacker.

Frankly, the team hasn’t had much of any luck in the first two games, but at linebacker specifically, the Vikings are now in a pretty deep hole.

The team has added rookie linebacker Troy Dye to injured reserve after putting Anthony Barr on IR earlier this week. Barr is reportedly out for the remainder of the 2020 season.

That leaves Eric Kendricks, Eric Wilson, Ryan Connelly, Todd Davis and Hardy Nickerson as the linebackers on the 53-man roster.

Connelly was signed right before the season. Nickerson was elevated from the practice squad earlier this week. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Thursday that linebacker Todd Davis was signing with the Vikings.

Earlier this year, the Vikings put linebacker Ben Gedeon on the physically unable to perform list. The team also placed LB Cameron Smith on the Reserve/Non-Football Illness list.

It’s early in the season, but the Vikings linebacker unit already looks way different than it did at the start of 2020.

Will Vikings LB Anthony Barr play in Week 3?

The Vikings Pro Bowl linebacker injured his shoulder in Week 2 against the Colts.

The Vikings not only lost Sunday’s game to the Colts, but they also lost linebacker Anthony Barr and third-string running back Mike Boone to injury.

Barr left the game with a shoulder injury and Boone left with a concussion.

With all due respect to Boone, who is a very good backup running back, the main concern for the Vikings is Barr.

Barr hasn’t been great through two weeks (Barr has a Pro Football Focus grade of 48.2 in 2020, the worst mark of his career), but he’s a familiar face on a rather unfamiliar (and unsuccessful) defense.

Having Barr would be big for trying to stop Derrick Henry in Week 3 when the Vikings host the Titans. Then again, it’s not like having Barr has really helped a Vikings’ run defense that has allowed more than 150 rushing yards in two straight weeks.

We’ll know more about Barr’s status after Wednesday’s practice. If Barr isn’t able to go, we’ll see more of Oregon rookie Troy Dye.

The Vikings are also without defensive end Danielle Hunter (neck) for at least one more week.

Vikings linebacker Troy Dye picks up praise for his development

We’ll have to see if Vikings rookie LB Troy Dye ends up earning more playing time than linebackers such as Eric Wilson and Ben Gedeon.

The Vikings have deployed a nickel defense quite often in the past. That means Minnesota had just two linebackers on the field — with Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr being the main options.

The nickel spells less playing time for even the third linebacker on the depth chart. However, with the addition of Dom Capers to the coaching staff, Minnesota could start to use different packages.

A player like rookie linebacker Troy Dye could be a beneficiary. Dye a rookie, isn’t likely to beat out Kendricks or Barr for playing time, but might be the third or fourth option at his position. For that to happen, he will have to adjust to the NFL as a rookie. So far, so good, according to Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer.

Here’s what Zimmer said about the rookie so far:

“I’m comfortable with the depth there,” Zimmer said of his linebackers (H/T 247 Sports).

“I think Troy Dye has come in here and done a nice job of developing. He’s playing multiple positions for us and can fill in a number of spots.”

We’ll have to see if Dye ends up earning more playing time than linebackers such as Eric Wilson and Ben Gedeon.

Ranking Vikings rookies in terms of importance

Here are some Vikings rookies ranked in order of their importance for the 2020 NFL season.

After the Vikings saw key contributors from past seasons leave the team, Minnesota underwent a retooling of its roster.

The Vikings replaced many of the veterans with rookies who will have to adjust to the NFL level without the benefit of a conventional offseason.

Vikings Wire went about ranking six rookies in terms of how important they are to the team’s success in 2020. This won’t be a list that just goes in order of draft position. However, the Vikings drafted positional needs early, so expect to see high picks high up on the list.

There are some interesting late-round rookies and undrafted free agents who might become big contributors for the Vikings, though.

Here is the Vikings rookie class, ranked in order of importance for next season:

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7

Vikings rookie roundup: List of draftees who have reportedly agreed to terms

The Minnesota Vikings reportedly agreed to terms with a good number of players in the team’s draft class recently.

Minnesota drafted a record-breaking 15 players in the 2020 NFL Draft. Despite that high total, the Vikings had reportedly agreed to terms with very few of their draftees — until Wednesday.

Before Wednesday, the only rookie in the team’s draft class who had reportedly signed was seventh-round quarterback Nate Stanley, a player out of Iowa, but since then, plenty of players have reached agreements, according to reports.

Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press reported that nine rookies in Minnesota’s draft class have at least agreed to terms.

Here is the full list of players so far:

Report: Vikings and fourth-round LB Troy Dye agree to terms

Another one. Troy Dye, a linebacker out of Oregon, reportedly agreed to a four-year $3.974 million deal, including a $678,572 signing bonus.

The Vikings reportedly agreed to terms with first-round wide receiver Justin Jefferson Wednesday.

Minnesota also went out and signed a rookie on the other side of the ball.

Troy Dye, a fourth-round pick and linebacker out of Oregon, agreed to a four-year $3.974 million deal, including a $678,572 signing bonus, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press.

Tomasson also reported that Dye will count as $779,643 against the Vikings salary cap for the 2020 season. Dye is arriving in Minnesota Wednesday, per Tomasson.

Minnesota has two mainstay starters at linebacker in Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr. The Vikings have often deployed a nickel defense in the past, using just two linebackers on the field at once.

However, the third linebacker spot on the team is up in the air, with Dye being a possible candidate to take that spot. Vikings linebacker Eric Wilson seems like the probable candidate to be Minnesota’s third linebacker. Linebacker Ben Gedeon is also a possibility for that role.

Vikings’ LB unit ranks in top-10 of PFF rankings

With Eric Kendricks, who was an All-Pro in 2019, the Minnesota Vikings boast one of the more talented linebacking units in the NFL.

With Eric Kendricks, who was an All-Pro in 2019, the Minnesota Vikings boast one of the more talented linebacking units in the NFL.

Steve Palazzolo over at Pro Football Focus ranked teams based on talent at linebacker and the Vikings came in at eighth.

Here’s a snippet of what Palazzolo wrote about the Vikings:

The Vikings have a solid group that plays to their defensive style. Another high-end year from Kendricks makes this one of the top units in the league.

Anthony Barr has always been solid and even if he hasn’t had the breakout season fans have hoped for since he was drafted ninth overall in 2014, he’s still made four Pro Bowls for a reason.

What makes this unit special is its depth. Eric Wilson is talented and has always stepped up when the team has needed him. Ben Gedeon, when healthy, is solid. Plus, the team drafted Troy Dye in the fourth round out of Oregon in this year’s NFL Draft.

To round out the NFC North, the Lions rank 19th, the Bears rank 21st and the Packers rank 28th.

You can view Palazzolo’s full rankings here.