Vikings Adjust Roster Ahead of Giants Game
On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings will face the New York Giants in their 15th game of the season. A day in advance, the organization announced a couple of roster moves that help combat this week’s injury news.
Dwight McGlothern returns to the 53-man roster after a stint on the practice squad, and practice squad linebacker Sione Takitaki was elevated for his season debut.
Vikings Sign Dwight McGlothern
On the team website, the Vikings announced Saturday, “The Vikings on Saturday announced they have signed cornerback Dwight McGlothern, Jr., from their practice squad to the 53-man roster.”
The Vikings opened three roster spots this week by placing defenders Jonathan Greenard and Joshua Metellus — both season-ending shoulder surgeries — and blocker Christian Darrisaw — still dealing with his knee injury — on injured reserve.
Cornerback McGlothern actually started the season on the 53-man roster, but he was waived in November. After going through waivers unclaimed, he returned to the practice squad. Since then, he had been a weekly gameday elevation like Takitaki this week.
McGlothern has appeared in eight games this season, primarily providing depth on defense. He has 31 defensive snaps and 16 on special teams on his season resume.
The sophomore will enter Sunday’s game as the CB4 on the team behind starters Byron Murphy and Isaiah Rodgers, as well as rotational CB3 Fabian Moreau. A former undrafted rookie a year ago, McGlothern has yet to claim a significant role on the team despite the inconsistent cornerback play. He could still get some run down the stretch as the team is eliminated, and younger players tend to get chances in those situations.
Sione Takitaki Elevated
The Vikings announced on the website, “The Vikings are using a standard elevation for linebacker Sione Takitaki. The former Brown and Patriot is set to make his Minnesota debut.”
Linebacker Takitaki is a seasoned veteran in the NFL with 83 career games for the Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots. The Vikings added him to the practice squad in September to provide depth. Despite an early-season injury to top LB Blake Cashman, Takitaki has not seen the field. He brings over 2,000 snaps on defense and over 1,000 snaps on special teams to the table.
All four Vikings linebackers — Cashman, Eric Wilson, Ivan Pace Jr., and Austin Keys are available. Keys missed some practice time, but entered the weekend without any injury designation.
However, Takitaki can help on special teams and perhaps has a role on defense, given Metellus is out. The safety has played some linebacker this season.
Returning Vikings Declared Out
Finally, the Vikings decided to sit running back Ty Chandler and tight end Gavin Bartholomew for another week. The duo was questionable.
“Chandler has been on Injured Reserve since suffering a knee injury in Week 1 at Chicago. His 21-day evaluation window opened in Week 14. Bartholomew has been on Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform all season. His practice window opened this week.”
Neither player is activated ahead of the 15th game of the season. Chandler played only in Week 1 before landing on IR with a knee injury, while Bartholomew’s back has knocked him out for his entire rookie season so far.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.