Four Players for the Vikings to Consider on the Waiver Wire

Aug 13, 2022; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Tyler Johnson (18) catches a pass defended by Miami Dolphins cornerback D'Angelo Ross (35) in the first quarter during preseason at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Every NFL team has been very busy over the past couple days as they’ve trimmed their rosters down from 80 to 53 ahead of the regular season beginning next week. Among the players that have been cut, many are now hitting waiver wires, and teams have until 12 PM Central to claim players from these waivers. Here are four players for the Vikings to take a look at when their time to claim players rolls around.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”1086947″ player=”26281″ title=”WATCH%20Tyreek%20Hill%20%20'Kansas%20City%20threw%20me%20to%20the%20side%20like%20I%20was%20trash” duration=”69″ description=”Compared to Davante Adams, who also switched teams this offseason, Tyreek Hill has consistently had his name in headlines since shockingly being traded from the Kansas City Chiefs to the Miami Dolphins back in March. Immediately upon being traded, Hill had already secured a new contract that made him one of football’s highest-paid receivers.It appeared the contract was the sticking point for Kansas City. They weren’t willing to shell out a four-year, $120 million contract for the six-time Pro Bowl receiver. While business is business, Hill seems to feel bitter about how Kansas City moved on, despite calling his time with the Chiefs a great situation.” uploaddate=”2022-08-30″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/snapshot/1086937_sd_1661882471.jpg” contentUrl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/streaming/1086937/1086937.m3u8″ width=”16″ height=”9″]

WR Tyler Johnson

Tyler Johnson was a casualty of their simply being too much depth in the Tampa Bay locker room at wide receiver. Between guys like Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Russell Gage, Scotty Miller, and Julio Jones, it was almost impossible to find a spot for Johnson to get receptions. Because of that, an extremely talented receiver, who has over 500 receiving yards over the course of two years, is on the waiver wire.

The Vikings only have five receivers right now, and the depth at this position is at least one player shallower than initially anticipated because of the injury to Bisi Johnson. Additionally, Johnson played his college ball at the University of Minnesota, so it would be a storybook ending to bring him on with the Vikings. Oh, and if the Vikings claimed him off the waiver wire, they’d be able to keep him out of reach of Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.

WR Kalil Pimpleton

The Minnesota Vikings are yet to find a clear solution to their punt returning woes that have plagued them for the past couple seasons, and Kalil Pimpleton could be an easy fix. During his final year at Central Michigan, Pimpleton averaged 19 yards per punt return and took a pair of kicks back for touchdowns.

Again, he is a wide receiver, so it should be relatively easy for Minnesota to find a place for him in that room given how thin it is right now. Unless Minnesota is truly sold on either Ihmir Smith-Marsette or Jalen Nailor at the position, this seems like a smart investment for the Vikings. This is probably my favorite player for the Vikings waiver wire watchlist.

TE Noah Togiai

Irv Smith is on track to play in Week 1, but even still, the tight end position is one that seems rather thin on the Vikings roster. Minnesota employs only three tight ends, including Smith, after both Zach Davidson and Nick Muse were cut this week.If something were to happen to their projected starter that forces him to miss further time, they’d be relying on Ben Ellefson and Johnny Mundt to share snaps at the position.

Noah Togiai came into the NFL in 2020 and has primarily been used for his blocking prowess to this point in his career. That said, this is a player that 44 receptions and three touchdowns in his final collegiate season at Oregon State. Perhaps the Vikings look to him to try and beef up one of the thinnest positions on their roster.

DB Andre Chachere

Dan Chisena has been the Vikings gunner on punt defense, but he did not make this initial 53-man roster. Neither did Chazz Surratt who had been a work-in-progress in this area of the special teams. If they don’t have a plan in place for that spot, Andrew Chachere has proven to be very effective in this role for the Philadelphia Eagles after being picked up as a UDFA last year.

Additionally, Chachere progressively showed improvements on the actual defense, and he earned a start in the 2021 regular season finale for Philadelphia. This carried over into the preseason, and he made a number of plays for the Eagles before being waived.

That said, given the Vikings depth at the cornerback position, this is probably the least likely of the four to be picked up. Minnesota employs six promising cornerbacks on their team along with four safeties. Minnesota likely has a solution in place for punt gunner, but if not, Chachere is a name for the Vikings waiver wire watchlist.


Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing as well as minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh can often be found training for a marathon, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his takes, NFL and otherwise, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken

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