Minnesota Vikings Sign Free Agent DT Kenrick Ellis, Place Shamar Stephen on IR

By Austin Belisle

Image courtesy of Vikings.com

As announced on the team’s official website, the Vikings placed defensive tackle Shamar Stephen on season-ending injured reserve and signed free agent Kenrick Ellis to fill his vacated roster spot. Stephen suffered a toe injury in the Vikings’ win over the Chiefs and battled a knee injury in training camp and during the preseason. The 2014 seventh-round pick out of Connecticut never fully recovered from the setback, finishing a shortened 2015 season with five games played, three tackles, and a fumble recovery.

Ellis signed with the New York Giants as an unrestricted free agent on March 18, 2015 and was active for one game before being released on October 3. He was originally drafted by the New York Jets in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft (94th overall selection) and started five games for the team. In 47 career games, the 6’4″, 346-pound Ellis has 31 tackles and one sack. He joins Sharrif Floyd, Linval Joseph, and Tom Johnson as the fourth defensive tackle on the Vikings’ roster.

Austin Belisle

Austin Belisle is the West Coast's biggest Vikings fan, a football diehard cheering on the purple and yellow from sunny California. After graduating from San Jose State University in 2014, he began working full-time in corporate marketing and blogging on various sports websites. Austin's passion for the Vikings led him to Vikings Territory, where he hopes to share his lifelong enthusiasm for the team with readers on a daily basis. You can follow him on Twitter @austincbelisle

Tags: Kendrick Ellis Shamar Stephen

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skollvikings69 says:

Oct 20, 2015 at 9:57 pm

There was so much. The defensive tackle and this last year's draft was ridiculous I don't know why the Vikings didn't grab someone and I'm talking real defensive tackle not bj debos