Minnesota Vikings News & Rumors

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/15/24

Wednesday’s minor NFL moves:

Atlanta Falcons:

Denver Broncos

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Signed: Ty Summers
  • Waived with injury designation: WR Wayne Ruby

Minnesota Vikings

Lynch sat on the free agent market for quite some time, but his patience pays off. He’ll return to Minnesota for his fourth season with the team. He’s started three games for the Vikings in 28 game appearances over the last two years.

Allen, a part of Denver’s 13-man undrafted free agent class, sees a short tenure with the Broncos come to an end. Once again, he’ll be free to sign with anyone else in the NFL who may have interest.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/14/24

Teams continue to sign their draft picks to rookie contracts. We’ve collected today’s miscellaneous signings below:

Chicago Bears

  • OT Kiran Amegadjie (third round, Yale)

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

Minnesota Vikings

  • OT Walter Rouse (sixth round, Oklahoma)

New York Giants

  • CB Dru Phillips (third round, Kentucky)

Seattle Seahawks

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/14/24

Today’s minor moves:

Cleveland Browns

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

San Francisco 49ers

Washington Commanders

CB Jerry Jacobs To Visit Falcons, Vikings

Jerry Jacobs has been on the market since the Lions elected not to retain him via an RFA tender. The veteran corner has since drawn interest from a list of teams which is growing.

Jacobs has visits lined up with the Falcons and Vikings, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports. Jacksonville recently hosted the 26-year-old as well, so he could have a few options to choose from when joining a new team this offseason. He has made 40 appearances (including 29 starts) over the past three seasons, all with Detroit.

The Lions’ secondary was a weak point last year, and it comes as little surprise the unit has seen plenty of turnover this offseason. Detroit traded for Carlton Davis and signed Amik Robertson, providing the team with a pair of starting-caliber newcomers. The team then used its top two draft picks on corners (Terrion Arnold in the first round, followed by Ennis Rakestraw Jr. in the second).

As Detroit moves forward with a number of new contributors at the cornerback spot, Jacobs seeks out a new landing spot. The former UDFA matched his previous career high with eight pass deflections last season, also setting a new personal mark with three interceptions. He struggled in coverage, however, surrendering six touchdowns and an opposing passer rating of 96.5 as the nearest defender.

Atlanta has had a quiet offseason to date in terms of cornerbacks. The team lost Jeff Okudah in free agency, bringing in veteran Antonio Hamilton to replace him. The latter played primarily on special teams early in his career, but he has logged a defensive snap share of 61% during each of the past two seasons. The Falcons did not select a corner in the draft.

Minnesota, by contrast, has made a few notable secondary moves so far. The team inked Shaquill Griffin to a one-year, $4.55MM deal in free agency. The former Pro Bowler has 79 starts to his name, and he could hold down a first-team role in 2024. The Vikings then used a fourth-round selection in the draft on Khyree Jackson as a developmental option at the cornerback spot.

The three teams connected to Jacobs so far are in vastly different financial situations. The Jaguars currently have just over $34MM in cap space, whereas that figure sits at $16.67MM for the Vikings and $4.85MM for the Falcons. A short-term Jacobs deal will likely not be an expensive one, but it will be interesting to see how urgently Minnesota and/or Atlanta proceed regarding an offer following his visits.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/13/24

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Claimed off waivers (from 49ers): DL Spencer Waege
  • Placed on reserve/retired list: OL Trente Jones

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Signed: DL Chris Collins

Miami Dolphins

  • Signed: OL Ireland Brown, CB Jason Maitre

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

  • Signed: RB Terrell Jennings, G Ryan Johnson, LB Jay Person, DE Jotham Russell
  • Waived: RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

  • Signed: DL Elijah Chatman
  • Waived: OLB Jeremiah Martin

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Waived: OL Kellen Diesch

San Francisco 49ers

  • Signed: DL Shakel Brown

Seattle Seahawks

  • Signed: DE Nathan Pickering, LB Devin Richardson

Tennessee Titans

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/10/24

Yesterday’s rush of rookie signings continued today. Here are Friday’s draft pick signings:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

  • K Will Reichard (sixth round, Alabama)
  • C Michael Jurgens (seventh round, Wake Forest)
  • DT Levi Drake Rodriguez (seventh round, Texas A&M-Commerce)

New England Patriots

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • G Mason McCormick (fourth round, South Dakota State)
  • DT Logan Lee (sixth round, Iowa)

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

Seahawks’ GM, HC Discuss Byron Murphy Pick; Team Not Expected To Trade From DL Group

MAY 8: The Rams also made an offer for the Seahawks’ No. 16 pick, according to Sportskeeda.com’s Tony Pauline. Los Angeles, which also attempted to trade up higher for Brock Bowers, is believed to have been targeting Murphy. The Eagles’ interest stemmed from a fear they would lose Quinyon Mitchell had they not traded up. Mitchell ended up falling to Philly at No. 22, while the Rams went with Florida State D-lineman Jared Verse at No. 19.

MAY 5: Going into this year’s draft, guard was arguably the Seahawks’ biggest need. And as ESPN’s Brady Henderson writes, Seattle had targeted Alabama’s JC Latham, who was selected by the Titans with the No. 7 overall pick (the ‘Hawks would have slid Latham, a collegiate tackle, to the interior of their O-line, at least in the early stages of his pro career).

[RELATED: Murphy Signs Rookie Deal]

A number of this year’s top defensive prospects fell lower than expected due to an unprecedented run on offensive talent. When the Seahawks were on the clock with the No. 16 pick, only one defensive player, UCLA edge defender Laiatu Latu, was off the board, and he went to the Colts at No. 15. That left Texas DT Byron Murphy II available for Seattle, whom the team saw as the best defender in the 2024 class. The ‘Hawks ultimately turned in the card for the former Longhorn.

As offensive players were flying off the board, the Seahawks — who did not have a second-round choice — were fielding trade offers that would have allowed them to move down the board and pick up additional draft capital in the process. Per Henderson, the ‘Hawks received offers from the Steelers, Eagles, Vikings, and Falcons (who were trying to trade back into the first round after surprisingly drafting QB Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 choice). The Packers were also interested in acquiring Seattle’s No. 16 selection, but Green Bay ultimately did not make an offer.

With Murphy still available but with Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed, Dre’Mont Jones, Johnathan Hankins, and several recent draftees already on the roster, GM John Schneider was tempted to trade back. However, Seattle is not in rebuild mode, and Schneider felt that Murphy was too good to pass up.

“I’d be lying to you if I said we didn’t think about [trading back],” Schneider said. “But [Murphy], he was just too good. He influences the game, like a lot. He’s got that ability to jump off the ball and get up field. He can play edges, he can play square, he can rush the passer inside, he gets up and down the line of scrimmage.”

New head coach Mike Macdonald added, “he just plays our style of football, really. And then he’s so talented. Versatility along the front, such an aggressive player, plays violently, heavy hands for a guy [of] shorter stature, flexible, pass-rush flexibility — you name it. Yeah, just really excited to have him.”

With all of the D-linemen on the roster and the Seahawks’ shortage of cap space — per OverTheCap.com, Seattle is the only team in the red as of the time of this writing — it would be fair to expect the club to deal from its DL surplus. However, Henderson said the team has no such plans, especially since Macdonald intends to rotate his players more frequently than his predecessor, Pete Carroll.

In related news, the team is expected to have outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu back for training camp, per Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic. Nwosu, who recorded 9.5 sacks in his first Seattle slate in 2022, suffered a pectoral strain in October and missed the remainder of the 2023 campaign. He is under contract through 2026 by virtue of the three-year, $45MM extension he signed in July.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/7/24

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Waived (non-football injury): OL Ryan Swoboda

Green Bay Packers

  • Reverted to IR: WR Thyrick Pitts

Kansas City Chiefs

Minnesota Vikings

Tennessee Titans

  • Waived: DL Shakel Brown

Washington Commanders

  • Waived: LB Brandon Bouyer-Randle, CB D’Angelo Mandell, DE Joshua Pryor

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/2/24

Today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

  • Deemed international roster exemption: LB David Ojabo

Minnesota Vikings

The Ravens carved out an extra roster spot after having been granted an international roster exemption for linebacker David Ojabo. The NFL allows teams to carry an extra international player on their roster as long as the individual “is a person whose citizenship and principal place of residence are outside the United States and Canada” and has “a maximum of two years of United States high school experience.”

Normally, this is reserved for undrafted players, with many of those players entering the league via the NFL International Pathway Program. However, the Ravens got creative with Ojabo, who is a former second-round pick. The linebacker was born in Nigeria and grew up in the United Kingdom, and he only came to the United States when he was 17. The Michigan product’s NFL career has been highlighted by injuries, with Ojabo being limited to only five appearances through two seasons in Baltimore.

The move allows the Ravens to now carry 91 players on their offseason roster.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/30/24

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Waived: WR Kaden Davis, CB Quavian White

Dallas Cowboys

Minnesota Vikings

  • Signed: P Seth Vernon

New England Patriots

The Patriots have added some linebacker depth in Oshane Ximines, who spent the first five seasons of his career with the Giants. A third-round pick in 2019, Ximines ended up getting into 48 games during his time in New York, compiling 71 tackles and 6.5 sacks. He was limited to only three games this past season while alternating between the Giants practice squad and active roster.

In New England, he’ll be reunited with outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins, who previously served in the same role with the Giants. The Patriots will be hoping the new addition can provide some depth at strongside linebacker behind the likes of Matt Judon and Josh Uche.