The Minnesota Vikings have claimed former Cleveland Browns tight end Marqueis Gray and San Diego Chargers offensive tackle Mike Harris, per Brian Hall. They have waived Larry Dean and Austin Wentworth to do it.
Gray is a former University of Minnesota quarterback, who moved to tight end in the NFL and worked with Norv Turner in Cleveland (first stopping in San Francisco) and plays a versatile H-back role, moving around the field to create mismatches. Gray was also used in specific packages, like a Wildcat-type package in Cleveland. Gray had 104 snaps in the preseason with a Pro Football Focus grade of -3.8. In the regular season in 2013, Gray appeared in thirteen games (115 snaps) and ended with a positive grade (0.8 ).
Mike Harris is also a former Norv Turner player, and has played for the San Diego Chargers since 2012. He went to school at UCLA and went undrafted. Harris had 163 snaps in the preseason and finished with a -0.2 grade. In the regular season in 2013, Harris appeared in three games (194 snaps) and ended with a positive grade (0.6). The year previous, Mike Harris started at left tackle and finished as PFF’s worst-graded tackle by a significant margin.
Austin Wentworth is eligible for the practice squad, but Larry Dean is not, even with expanded rules (he has had three accrued seasons in the NFL). The other players who are eligible for the practice squad are as follows:
| Player | Position |
|---|---|
| Dominique Williams | HB |
| Donte Foster | WR |
| Mike Zimmer | LB |
| Kendall James | CB |
| Kain Colter | WR |
| Isame Faciane | DT |
| Zac Kerin | C |
| Austin Wentworth | OT |
| Chase Ford | TE |
| Kamar Jorden | WR |
| Robert Steeples | CB |
| Jeff Baca | OG |
| Mike Remmers | OT |
| Joe Banyard | RB |
| Chase Baker | DT |
| Allen Reisner | TE |
Joe Banyard is known to be signed to the practice squad. Kain Colter and Dominique Williams are reported to have practice squad invites. Some of the availability is restricted, as two of the slots are available for those players who have had two accrued seasons (like Allen Reisner) while eight other slots do not.
UPDATE: Chase Ford is also reported to be on the practice squad. So is Austin Wentworth.
UPDATE2: Mike Remmers is reported to be on the practice squad, per his agent.
UPDATE3: Kain Colter has been confirmed for the practice squad.
UPDATE4: Jeff Baca has not been signed to the practice squad, but the “door will remain open”
| Player | Position |
|---|---|
| Mike Remmers | OT |
| Austin Wentworth | OT |
| Joe Banyard | RB |
| Chase Ford | TE |
| Kain Colter | WR |
| Dominique Williams | RB |
View Comments
...and mallett was traded to the texans. christian who?
these back end roster pick ups probably won't matter much, but is gray any good? norv must've pounded the table for the guy, and we needed another OT
Not surprised Dean was let go, but kind of odd they let go of Wentworth. Leaves them with no backup OT who has been thru camp with the team. Think Harris can get up to speed with the playbook in time for game 1, in case Kalil or Loadholt get dinged up? Should help he was in SD with Norv, but still... Can any of the other backup OL play tackle?
hehe, i blame larry dean's mom, she didn't lobby hard enough for him this time. she did lobby for him before, i think at the gab. in fact, she didn't even bother showing up here, that i know of
At the absolute worst, Charlie Johnson will swing outside with Berger/Yankey/Ducasse taking that spot if Harris is not up to speed by the time they need someone there. I wouldn't be surprised if Harris was up to speed nearly right away. They were also working Vlad Ducasse at tackle in the preseason, and Ducasse played OT for the New York Jets for a time.
Thanks Arif. Good points.
How can Wentworth be on practice squad when he just got cut? Waivers?
He has an invite that he will accept. He does have to go through the waiver process again, you're right.
I'm anything but a marqueis fan. First in a line of Gophers lead weight QBs. But when you talk (or when I talk) dynamics and having something to throw at a team, he's the kind of guy who can move around and do unique things. He is a skill guy though.. Not a blocker. And not a thrower.
Yea, his plan with the Browns was not to be a thrower or a blocker, so he probably won't be that here.
there is so much player access and exposure during preseason, and seeing how TB and other players have been obviously instructed to respond in interviews, "i just want to keep getting better every day", and ricky saying how they've been looking for improvement throughout camp, it's looks like that might be the teams focus and deciding factor in who they keep
this is kinda like a second draft day, but also second rate. i gotta get out and do something, play with the dog and kids, work on my bike, go in the pool, grill a steak. these damn screens are addicting
So the 53 is set (sort of) and while there have been a few moves that have left people wondering what Rick & the coaches were thinking (myself included),at the end of the day every one was excited when our coaching staff was announced, and that excitement has continued through camp and preseason.
So it's time to keep the faith,trust the guys that work with the players every day,and hang in there.Hopefully 2014 will be a smoother ride than 2013,and if things do get a little rough everyone pulls together and continues to support our coaches & team remembering that this is year 1 of a new program.
Can't wait for Sunday!
Vikings did great to pick up Mike Harris, he proved that he was able to step up to the plate when called upon in the toughest position on offense, the blind side. He was a starting undrafted rookie which is pretty insane to say the least. I'm excited to see what this kid does in the league for years to come. SD media has a tendency of focusing on the negative, but then again they did choose Willie Smith over Harris, which was obviously a faulty decision. Their loss.
Arif,thanks for all your work the past couple days with keeping us updated on whats been happening.It's difficult with all the stuff going on in a short time span.Much appreciated.