Vikings sign new WR, release two players
Reports emerged Sunday morning that five-time Pro Bowl cornerback Stephon Gilmore had signed with the Minnesota Vikings, and the team confirmed it Monday morning.
Vikings sign new WR, release two players
Gilmore, a Super Bowl champion, is expected to be a starting guard in 2024, but to make room for him on the current 91-man roster, the Vikings have cut two players from the roster and added a wide receiver.
These were the three transactions on Monday morning in addition to Gilmore’s arrival.
WR Justin Hall signed
Hall, 25, has never played a regular season snap in the NFL and was scouted by the Las Vegas Raiders as a non-drafted free agent in 2022. Standing 5’8″ and weighing 185 pounds, he is a smaller wide receiver.
He last played for the Houston Roughnecks, an XFL team, in 2023. Hall played college basketball at Ball State from 2017 to 2021. There, he was quite productive with 5,359 all-purpose yards and was ranked as the Cardinals’ top deep threat.
The new Viking should be viewed as a candidate for the practice squad, but it is unlikely that he will make the 53-man roster.
Punter Seth Vernon eliminated
Like Hall, Vernon has never played in a regular season game. The Atlanta Falcons signed the punter as an undrafted free agent in 2022. He stayed through the summer before being cut from the roster in August 2022. Until Monday, he was hoping for a longer stint with the Vikings. But that didn’t happen.
Lindsey Young of Vikings.com revealed some of Vernon’s stats in April: “As a senior in 2021, he averaged 44.9 yards per punt. In his only game of the 2020 season, he averaged 54.8 yards on six punts (the remaining games were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). In 2019, he averaged 43.2 yards per kick. During his time at Portland State, Vernon recorded 93 punts, averaging 44.6 yards per kick. He managed 27 punts inside the 20-yard line and recorded 29 punts of 50 or more yards.”
Vernon performed well at minicamp in June, but incumbent punter Ryan Wright ultimately won the summer battle.
WR Ty James is out
Minnesota signed James during its wave of undrafted free agents shortly after the draft. He stayed for about four months.
In his last two seasons at Mercer, James recorded 116 catches for 1,105 and 1,157 yards and scored 20 total points. He has some big-play talent in his repertoire and may soon get another chance in the NFL.
However, with Hall involved, James is out, at least for now.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube channel. VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis and opinions on all things purple team related, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Viking obsession dates back to 1996. Listed secret passions: Peanut butter ice cream, “The Sopranos,” Basset Hounds and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information from OverTheCap.com.
