Purple Headlines of the Week: A New Vikings Position Battle, Latest Tight End Acquisition, a “Salty” Vikings Defender
Josh Frey
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It’s officially been a full week since the conclusion of the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Minnesota Vikings spent that weekend reshaping the future of their roster at a number of different positions, but the news didn’t end with the conclusion of the draft. Here is a look at all the purple headlines you may have missed over the past week.
Another Vikings Position Battle
Following the conclusion of the NFL Draft, the Vikings were hard at work bringing in new undrafted free agents. One of those undrafted free agents was Seth Vernon, a punter. As a result, it appears that there not only is a kicker position battle in Minnesota, but there will also be a punter battle this summer.
Vernon spent his collegiate years at Portland State where he was the punter for three seasons from 2019-2021. Over those three seasons, he totaled 93 punts and averaged 44.2 yards per punt. His longest punt came during the 2019 season, which he boomed 66 yards.
The punter then went undrafted in 2022 before he signed a three-year, $2,562,000 contract with the Atlanta Falcons, but he has not punted in an NFL game to this point.
Veteran Tight End to Join Vikings Minicamp
Soon, the Vikings will conduct their rookie minicamp, allowing their draft selections and UDFA signings to get on the field together. However, it won’t only be rookies at the minicamp this year. A veteran tight end will be joining the group as well. That tight end is Sammis Reyes.
Despite being 28 years old, Reyes is actually still very new to the sport of football. After growing up in Chile, he committed to the University of Hawaii on a basketball scholarship before transferring to Tulane in 2016.
Following college, he decided to try football, and he joined the Washington Commanders in 2021. Reyes would appear in 11 games during that season, including a start. In total, he played 39 snaps with the offense and 145 with the special teams, recording a pair of tackles. Since then, he has spent time with the Jacksonville Jaguars but hasn’t appeared in another NFL regular season game.
A “Salty” Vikings Defender
In the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Vikings selected two players: Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy and Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner. The two players had a history together, seeing as their two programs played against each other during the College Football Playoff this year.
Turner talked about his relationship with Minnesota’s new QB1: “I’m going to be honest, J.J. definitely hurt my feelings January 1st […] We’re teammates now, after the game I kind of unfollowed him on Instagram, a little salty.”
In Case You Missed It…
Per usual, we have an additional list of reading material for the especially studious Vikings fans. Happy reading!
- Way-Too-Early Vikings Roster Projection
- The 2024 Vikings Draft Might Be Bad News for Three Players
- The Vikings Roster Spot that Still Needs Help
- Former NFC North QB Could Have a Brand New Role in 2024
The Complete Vikings 90-Man Offseason Depth Chart
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.