2014 Minnesota Vikings: Vikings Claim CB Julian Posey Off Waivers, Waive CB Kip Edwards

The Minnesota Vikings announced through their official twitter feed that they’ve released cornerback Kip Edwards in order to claim cornerback Julian Posey off of waivers. Posey is the brother of Texans receiver DeVier Posey.

Julian Posey comes from the Ohio University (like current Vikings UDFA receiver Donte Foster) and was an undrafted free agent for the New York Jets, jumping on and off of their practice squad. He was released at the end of the 2012 preseason. After that, he signed with the Miami Dolphins onto their practice squad, but was promoted to the active roster and was active for a total of two games, without taking any snaps.

In September of 2013, he signed on to the practice squad with the Cleveland Browns, and was promoted to the active roster once again in the middle of the season (bouncing back and forth from active to practice squad). He was active for five games that year, all at the end and was a substitute for three of those games (because of an injury to Chris Owens), starting the final one against Pittsburgh (because of Joe Haden’s hip injury).

The National Football Post had this to say on Posey coming out in 2011:

Possesses good overall height, but has a really thin, frail-looking frame. Does a nice job extending his arms down the field in zone coverage and can create a decent jolt on contact. However, in press man doesn’t seem real confident extending his arms into the target, has a tendency to open up his hips prematurely, takes a bit of a jump step off the line and allows himself to get way too high. Isn’t a real natural bender either, seems to double over the waste in off-coverage and although he seems more comfortable sitting into his stance off the line, he pops his pad level way too high initially off the line.

Wastes a lot of motion when asked to redirect and click and close on the football. Fails to stay real low and compact with his footwork, gets caught trying to regain his balance and can be slow to click and close. Possesses good fluidity in the hips when asked to turn and run, but he needs to step off to regain his footing and get back up to speed. Possesses good straight-line speed for the position, but doesn’t play real fast in tight quarters. Isn’t a real physical tackler by any stretch and I can’t see him breaking down on receivers in the NFL and coming up with the stick.

Impression: Lacks ideal balance and footwork, isn’t real physical and looks nothing more than a speed free agent.

At his Pro Day, he posted a 4.46 40-yard dash and a 40 1/2″ vertical leap, along with an impressive 10’10” broad jump. His three-cone was 6.71 seconds and his shuttle was 4.20 seconds.

Posey seems to be a cut driven by a pursuit to follow a model—the Browns under Pettine have shown signs of consistently preferring height and length, both of which are fairly average for Posey.

This should make camp slightly more competitive but likely does not have a long-term impact on the roster. Nevertheless, without a lot of depth at cornerback on the roster this year, it’s a move that makes sense.

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