Making Room for the Draft? Vikings Say Goodbye to 2 Players.
It’s draft time for the Minnesota Vikings and the entire NFL. Identifying new talents and acquiring them in the draft is a key to building a successful team. In that regard, the Vikes have left some meat on the bone in the last few years.
Making Room for the Draft? Vikings Say Goodbye to 2 Players.
It wasn’t particularly necessary to make room on the roster for the incoming young players, but Minnesota’s football team did it regardless, parting ways with two guys during draft week.
CB/ST NaJee Thompson
Special teams standout NaJee Thompson announced his departure on Tuesday, suggesting on social media that his time in the Twin Cities would be over.
One day later, on Wednesday, the organization officially pulled the trigger and waived him with a failed physical designation. They unceremoniously posted on the same platform, “The #Vikings have waived/failed physical CB NaJee Thompson.”
The failed physical is easy to explain. Thompson suffered a torn PCL in the 2023 season and finished the campaign on the field. In the following offseason, he opted against surgery, which ultimately cost him the entire 2024 season, because it turned out he had to have that surgery performed after all.
In 2023, he arrived as an undrafted rookie out of Georgia Southern and showed enough talent on special teams to make the 53-man roster. Thompson played in 15 games, recorded seven tackles, and made some highlight plays.
The NFL can be a harsh business, and waiving a rehabbing player who once contributed is one of those instances.
Thompson is 24 years old and needs to convince another team to give him a roster spot once his rehab is completed.
OT Trevor Reid
Offensive lineman Trevor Reid earned a similar post from the franchise’s social media team: “The Vikings have waived/non-football injury OL Trevor Reid.”
A non-football injury is an injury that he sustained while not under the team’s watch. That could have happened by something like a car accident or a jet-ski ride, or it might be an injury suffered while lifting weights or going on a run to prepare for the season. In Reid’s case, no details have been announced.
Reid spent last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played 18 games at left tackle last year and was nominated for Most Outstanding Rookie. When the season was over, he signed a futures contract in Minnesota.
Standing 6-5, 307 pounds, Reid had stints with the Eagles and Falcons after going undrafted out of Louisville. He then headed north.
According to CFL rules, the Roughriders still own his rights for two more seasons, should he want to return to Canada. Depending on his injury, he might also try to convince a team to give him an audition in the offseason programs and training camp.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.