Yet Another Former Viking Joins Forces with Cousins in Atlanta
Maybe Kirk Cousins has a bit of a gravitational pull.
Per Aaron Wilson, another former Viking is taking his talents down to Georgia. Corner Harrison Hand, originally drafted by Minnesota in the 5th Round of the 2020 NFL Draft, is now a Falcon: “#Falcons sign Harrison Hand cut Anthony Sao.”
Former Viking Corner is Now a Falcon
Dustin Baker wrote about the news over at Vikings Territory. Consider the list of former Vikings who are now calling Atlanta home:
- Daylen Baldwin (WR)
- Kirk Cousins (QB)
- Taylor Heinicke (QB)
- Kyle Hinton (OG)
- Mike Hughes (CB)
- Storm Norton (OT)
Tossing Mr. Hand into the mix brings the total up to seven players, a pretty hearty helping.
Vikings fans with a good memory will tell you that Hand actually did some good things while playing with the Vikings. Most notably, he made some plays in the Christmas debacle against the Saints in 2020. Hand picked up an interception in that game to go alongside 3 tackles and 2 passes defended.
Hand was with the Vikings from 2020-21, but the transition over to the Kevin O’Connell era in 2022 meant that he had to look for work elsewhere. Originally, that meant getting picked up by the New York Giants. They would release him, though, leading to a chance in the Windy City.
The 2022 season involved the corner picking up work in Chicago. He played in four games and started one, picking up 12 tackles to stand alongside a pass defended and a forced fumble. He played 111 defensive snaps in that season.
Hand is still only 25. He has played in 27 career NFL games. His deal in Atlanta is for a bit beyond $1 million.
Minnesota’s corner situation involves quite a bit of uncertainty and youth. Byron Murphy Jr. is the CB1 and the hope from Kevin O’Connell is that he’ll be able to slide into the slot a bit more. Veteran Shaq Griffin has been added, so the hope is that he’ll do good things lining up along the outside.
Meanwhile, more youthful options like Mekhi Blackmon, Khyree Jackson, Andrew Booth Jr., and Akayleb Evans (among others) are going to be battling for some of the remaining snaps.
The Vikings reunion party — better known as the regular season game against the Atlanta Falcons — is going to be taking place in Week 14. Kirk Cousins will be commanding all of the headlines, but there could be a ton of former Vikings involved in the game.
Realistically, both squads could be competing for the same NFC Wild Card spot, so it has the potential to be a fascinating game for a lot of reasons.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.