Fan Favorite Vikings Defender Gets Released
Well, the reunion didn’t last too long.
Per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, Vikings defender Duke Shelley is being released. Minnesota will thus be moving ahead with a corner position that’s slowly taking shape behind the big three free agent additions: Byron Murphy Jr., Stephon Gilmore, and Shaq Griffen.
Vikings Defender Duke Shelley — A Fan Favorite — is Being Released
Back when he got re-signed, Janik Eckardt covered the news for PurplePTSD.
The title that Eckardt chose — “Vikings Re-Sign Fan Favorite After His 1-Year Absence” — is telling. There’s the obvious descriptive quality involved in relaying the news about Shelley’s return. But the real nugget of insight rests in the simple observation that Shelley is a fan favorite.
Living through the Ed Donatell defense wasn’t for the faint of heart. Seemingly disinterested in slowing down an offense, the Vikings’ defense made a habit of allowing for easy completions as games were routinely stressful despite some excellence from the offense. From within that context, Duke Shelley emerged.
The 5’9″, 176-pound corner has an unusual amount of scrappy competitiveness. Teams tried to pick on him with larger receivers and/or tight ends. Often, Shelley showed that he was up to the challenge of hanging in coverage.
By the end of the season, Shelley had played in eleven games and had started five. There were 31 tackles, 1 interception, and 8 passes defended. Only 45.7% of passes into his coverage were completed and he wasn’t dinged with allowing a touchdown.
At the end of the season, Shelley was coming in with an 81.5 PFF grade. The number is elite, so there should be at least some skepticism. Few, if any, look at Mr. Shelley as being among the NFL’s elite corners.
Nevertheless, the important truth is that Shelley really did play well that season. Understandably, there was some optimism that he could once again do some good things while back in Minnesota. Perhaps he can do so from the practice squad.
As mentioned, the top three corners are Murphy, Gilmore, and Griffen. All were added as free agents either last offseason or this offseason. Akayleb Evans is expected to make the team and Dwight McGlothern has a good shot, as well. A name to monitor is Fabian Moreau, a veteran who was added recently. He’s on the bubble.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is currently navigating one of the busiest afternoons on his calendar. By 3 p.m. CT, Adofo-Mensah needs to have his roster down to 53 men. So, much work rests ahead even as plenty has already been done.
By moving on from Duke Shelley, the Vikings recoup the entirety of his $985,000 cap charge.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, 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.
