Minnesota Vikings Roster Tweaks

The Minnesota Vikings were unfortunately forced to tweak the roster this week. Rookie safety Lewis Cine was lost for the season to a compound lower leg fracture on Sunday against the New Orleans. The injury was such that he remained in London for immediate medical attention. Everything has apparently proceeded well and Cine should return to Minnesota later this week. Now, recuperation, recovery, and rehabilitation are in front of him. Here’s to a speedy and complete recovery. Lewis Cine will be back. 

Cine’s move to injured reserve opened a spot on the roster. At least for bookkeeping purposes that spot was initially filled by Ryan Connelly. He’s been on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list since the start of training camp. He was activated on Tuesday and released on Wednesday. The NFL is often a brutal business. To fill the 53rd spot on the roster, the Vikings signed nose tackle Khyiris Tonga off the practice squad of the Atlanta Falcons. 

Tonga was originally a seventh-round pick out of BYU by the Chicago Bears in the 2021 NFL Draft. He made the team as a rookie. He appeared in 15 games and had two starts. That’s pretty good for a seventh-round rookie. This season, he lost a training camp battle with Mike Pennel Jr. and Angelo Blackson to anchor the interior of Matt Eberflus’ new Bears defense. The Falcons signed him to their practice squad. Now, he’s on the 53-man roster of the Vikings. 

The Vikings interior of Harrison Phillips, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Jonathan Bullard have had some nice moments but overall teams have had a little too much running success. That running success was what allowed the Saints to get back in the game on Sunday. On too many second half drives, the Vikings were getting gashed for 7-8 yards on first down. There’s been too much of a drop when Phillips isn’t in the middle of the Vikings defense. Perhaps, Tonga’s 6’4” 338 lb size and strength will assist and supplement the defensive line. Phillips has the strength and leverage traits to excel as a 3-4 nose tackle. At 6’3” 307 lbs, he doesn’t have ideal size for the position. Tonga gives the Vikings more options and much greater depth. He’s also familiar with defensive line coach Chris Rumph from his single season in Chicago. 

The Vikings also made some practice squad moves this week. Defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman and receiver Travis Toivonen were released. To add some safety depth to the roster, the Vikings signed Mike Brown to the practice squad. He originally signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent this offseason. He was with the team through OTAs and training camp. After being waived by Minnesota during roster reductions, Brown spent a brief period on the Green Bay Packers practice squad. The Vikings now have 15 players on their practice squad. There’s room for one more player. 

Finally, receiver Blake Proehl returned to practice. He’d been on the physically unable to perform list since the start of training camp while finishing his recovery from a torn ACL. Proehl’s participation in practice starts a 21-day window for him to added to the 53-man roster. If he isn’t added to the roster, he’ll revert back to the PUP list for the remainder of the season.