With Adam Thielen’s playing status for Week 15 up in the air, Minnesota bulked up its practice squad wide receiver depth.
The Vikings announced Wednesday that they signed WRs Damion Ratley and Darrius Shepherd, both of whom could be decent candidates to be called up for the Bears game Monday night,
Thielen missed Week 14 with an ankle injury. Additionally, the Vikings placed WR Dede Westbrook on the COVID-19/Reserve list this week, leaving his playing status in doubt.
Ratley signed with the Cowboys practice squad earlier this year, only to be released shortly after. He most recently played in an NFL game in 2020, doing so with the Giants. He had 63 receiving yards in five games with New York.
Shepherd has experience in the league as a kick and punt returner, which suggests he may be a possible replacement for Westbrook this week. He had one punt return for six yards with the Packers in 2020. He also had 11 kick returns for 227 receiving yards that year.
With Vikings RB Alexander Mattison out for the Bears game Monday night, Minnesota may opt to give kick returner Kene Nwangwu more reps at running back in Week 15. That could open the door for Shepherd to take kick returning duties in addition to punt return duties. However, nothing is set in stone at the moment. The Vikings could go in a lot of different directions in Chicago.