Vikings Announce 4 Roster Moves on Monday
Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has been a busy man since training camp started roughly a month ago. Between signing fan favorite Duke Shelley in July and Matt Corral’s addition prior to Saturday’s preseason contest, the former Wall Street trader has added eight players to the team’s 91-man roster.
Vikings Announce 4 Roster Moves on Monday
On Monday, a couple of signings followed.
The Vikings announced on their website: “The Vikings have added another 158 starts to their secondary after signing cornerback Stephon Gilmore Monday.”
The big names in the reporting industry informed the masses about that move on Sunday.
Gilmore is supposed to fix the cornerback struggles for the 2024 season. Although he is already 33 years old (he will turn 34 next month), the 2019 Defensive Player of the Year played well last season as a member of the Dallas Cowboys, starting all 18 games.
The five-time Pro Bowler should be expected to slide into the starting lineup with Byron Murphy Jr., who might play more on the inside this year. One of Akayleb Evans, Shaq Griffin, or Fabian Moreau would then be the third cornerback in nickel packages.
His experience will help the young players in the locker room. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores coached him in New England and Gilmore’s addition will allow him to increase the frequency of man coverage.
Gilmore’s one-year contract is worth $7 million and can climb to $10 million if some milestones are hit.
In addition to the once elite cornerback, the Vikings acquired Justin Hall, a wideout. The organization wrote on the website: “Additionally, Minnesota signed receiver Justin Hall, who entered the NFL in 2022 by signing as an undrafted free agent with the Raiders. He spent that training camp with Las Vegas until the end of August 2022 when he was released during roster reductions.”
After the Raiders parted ways with him, the 25-year-old receiver spent a couple of seasons in the USFL and the UFL. His 603 receiving yards ranked him third in the UFL, and he found paydirt three times.
To open their roster spots for the duo, the Vikings have released a couple of players: wideout Ty James and punter Seth Vernon: “To make room for Gilmore and Hall on the roster, Minnesota waived punter Seth Vernon and receiver Ty James. Vernon had been competing against third-year pro Ryan Wright. James joined Minnesota this spring as an undrafted free agent.”
Vernon indeed competed with incumbent punter Ryan Wright. In the two preseason games, Wright was the superior punter, having a better average in each contest. Vernon, the 2022 undrafted rookie, has not punted in an actual NFL game.
James registered over 1,100 receiving yards in back-to-back seasons at Mercer. In his two preseason outings, he caught one pass for 13 yards. He was joined by college teammate Devron Harper as undrafted rookies on the Vikings, but neither has made it to the final cutdown day.
Only Maryland’s Jeshaun Jones remains from the undrafted trio in the wide receiver room.
The Vikings are now back at 91 players. Tight end Sammis Reyes doesn’t count towards the 90-man roster because of a roster exemption as an international player. On August 27, the Vikings and all other teams will trim their roster to 53 players for the regular season.
Editor’s Note: Information from ESPN and the UFL helped with this article.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt