The Minnesota Vikings announced the signing of 13 players to the practice squad yesterday. With COVID being a daily threat to all players on the team, the practice squad has been increased to 16 players. The threat of this damn virus is surely one of the reasons that the Vikings' practice squad is topped by two quarterbacks.
Minnesota Vikings' Practice Squad
3 Jake Browning, QB
7 Nate Stanley, QB
15 Alexander Hollins, WR
86 Brandon Dillon, TE
40 Jake Bargas, FB
61 Brett Jones, C
76 Aviante Collins, G/T
68 Kyle Hinton, G
64 Blake Brandel, T
48 Blake Lynch, LB
26 Nate Meadors, CB
32 Mark Fields II, CB
44 Josh Metellus, S
The Vikings selected a whopping 15 players in the 2020 NFL Draft. That's a record for a seven-round draft. Nine of the 15 made the active roster. Seventh-round defensive end Kenny Willekes is on injured reserve. Four of the five remaining draft picks were signed to the practice squad.
Blake Brandel
Josh Metellus
Nate Stanley
Kyle Hinton
Seventh-round safety Brian Cole II is the lone 2020 draft pick to not make the roster in some fashion.
Among undrafted rookies, receiver Dan Chisena is on the active roster and safety Myles Dorn was placed on injured reserve. Fullback Jake Bargas and linebacker Blake Lynch are undrafted rookies on the practice squad.
COVID concerns boosted the size of this year's practice squad. It also provided teams with the opportunity to sign some veteran players to the practice that ordinarily wouldn't qualify. Brett Jones is one such veteran player.
The Vikings have three more practice squad spots to fill. One of those is expected to be filled by kicker Chase McLaughlin. It's something of a return to Minnesota for McLaughlin as he spent nine days on the Vikings' practice squad last year. If COVID were to strike down Dan Bailey, it's wise to have a kicker on the ready. It's especially wise if that kicker already has nine days of experience with the team's kicking battery of holder Britton Colquitt and long snapper Austin Cutting.
If the McLaughlin practice squad signing happens, two practice squad spots remain. Both will probably be announced a moment after this is posted.
Update: According to Darren Wolfson, the Vikings added former Texans, Eagles, Patriots, and Lions defensive tackle Albert Huggins to the practice squad.
And the final practice squad spot is taken by linebacker Hardy Nickerson Jr. After initially making the Vikings' 53-man roster, Nickerson was released after Ryan Connelly was claimed off waivers.
The Vikings' 16-man Practice Squad:
3 Jake Browning, QB
7 Nate Stanley, QB
15 Alexander Hollins, WR
86 Brandon Dillon, TE
40 Jake Bargas, FB
61 Brett Jones, C
76 Aviante Collins, G/T
68 Kyle Hinton, G
64 Blake Brandel, T
48 Blake Lynch, LB
26 Nate Meadors, CB
32 Mark Fields II, CB
44 Josh Metellus, S
Chase McLaughlin, K
Albert Huggins, DT
47 Hardy Nickerson, Jr., LB
Until the next practice squad change...
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