Vikings Add Another Safety and Release WR N’Keal Harry
The roster cutdown date is fast approaching with this weekend marking the end of NFL preseason play.
However, this hasn’t stopped the Vikings from continuing to switch things up on their roster. On Thursday morning, news surfaced that the Minnesota Vikings had signed another safety in Jake Gervase while releasing WR N’Keal Harry.
Gervase is yet another player on the Vikings roster with a past connection to head coach Kevin O’Connell. The safety spent his first four NFL seasons from 2019-2022 with the Los Angeles Rams, playing a total of 19 games.
14 of those appearances came during the 2022 season, and the safety has largely been a special teams contributor. Gervase played 304 special teams snaps during the 2022 season.
Prior to his NFL career, Gervase played four seasons for the Iowa Hawkeyes. He was a starter during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Over the course of his time at Iowa, the safety recorded 147 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 12 passes defended, and 7 interceptions. The signing may be a backup plan in case rookie UDFA NaJee Thompson is unable to suit up this weekend after entering the concussion protocol last weekend.
Meanwhile, the release of N’Keal Harry provides a bit more clarity for the Vikings wide receiver room. The WR battle has been a fierce one for the spots behind Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and K.J. Osborn.
Harry suffered a “soft-tissue injury” during warmups prior to last weekend’s preseason game against the Tennessee Titans. During the preseason opener, the wide receiver caught two passes for 24 yards and likely would have been in line for more targets had he not gotten hurt.
It has been a bit of a strange NFL journey for Harry since being selected with the 32nd overall pick by the New England Patriots during the 2019 NFL Draft. He had an underwhelming career in New England, catching just 57 passes for 598 yards and 4 touchdowns during his three seasons there.
In 2022, Harry was traded to the Chicago Bears where he caught 7 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown, but the Bears let him walk in free agency, ultimately signing with the Vikings just a few weeks ago. Now, he is back on the market hoping to get another chance to make an NFL roster.
With the 2019 first-round pick no longer in the picture, WRs 4-6 are likely going to be given to three of Jalen Nailor, Jalen Reagor, Brandon Powell, and Trishton Jackson.
Nailor has been out for much of camp with a leg injury, but seeing as he was a Kwesi Adofo-Mensah draft selection in 2022, his roster spot likely is safe. Meanwhile, all three of Reagor, Powell, and Jackson have had positive moments this summer, so the Vikings have a very difficult decision to make over the next few days.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.