Vikings rookie punter Brett Thorson exited Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears with a sore hamstring. The extent of the soreness has yet to be revealed but it was enough of a concern to bring back Johnny Hekker. Yesterday, he was signed to the practice squad. As soon as I heard that the Vikings were concerned enough with Thorson’s injury to look at available punters, I hoped that Hekker was one of them. He’d competed with Thorson for the punting job through training camp. Hekker is familiar with the kicking battery of kicker Will Reichard and long snapper Andrew DePaola. If Thorson can’t punt against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Hekker should be able to easily step in as the holder. The continuity of the kicking battery is critical. After 14 years of experience, Hekker can easily handle the actual punting part of the punter job.
With Jordan Mason on injured reserve, Aaron Jones Sr. had a heavy workload against the Bears. 23 carries on a soggy, spongy turf and his 31 years clearly has the Vikings decision-maker concerned about the sustainability of leaning so heavily on Jones while Mason is out. That’s why the Vikings signed Jarret Patterson to the practice squad yesterday. The signing results in the following running back room.
Aaron Jones Sr.
Demond Claiborne
DeeJay Dallas
Jerome Ford - practice squad
Jarret Patterson - practice squad
Jones must stay healthy. While I really like what I’ve seen from DeeJay Dallas, I hope that speedy rookie Demond Claiborne gets much more than a few carries in the coming weeks.
Signing players always means losing players. To make room on the practice squad for Johnny Hekker and Jarret Patterson, the Vikings released receiver Trayvon Rudolph and cornerback Bryce Phillips.
The Vikings also announced that defensive tackle Taki Taimani has been waived from injured reserve.
An NFL roster is always a fluid thing. Hopefully, any further roster tweaks made by the Vikings isn’t due to injury.
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