Vikings Announce Roster Moves
Following week five’s loss in Seattle, the Vikings announced Tuesday that they have made four roster changes ahead of week six. No, none involve Dalvin Cook, so you don’t need to freak out too much Vikings fans (at least, not any more than you already are).
Jordan Brailford
The Vikings have signed the defensive end Jordan Brailford to the active roster this week. The end is a third year player out of Oklahoma State where he dominated in his last season. Brailford led the Big 12 in sacks with nine and tackles for loss with 16.
This season, he spent the first five weeks with the Washington Football Team on their practice squad and was a seventh round pick in the 2019 draft. He spent his rookie season dealing with an undisclosed injury.
Hercules Mata’afa
Mata’afa was waived this week in order to make room for Brailford on the roster. The defensive tackle played in three of the first five games and recorded on tackle. However, he proved unable to really make his presence in the DT rotation, and the Vikings have decided to move on. There is the potential that he stays with the team on the practice squad if he clears waivers.
Eddie Yarbrough
The fourth year defensive end out of Wyoming was signed to the practice squad this week. Yarbrough showed promise during the Vikings training camp and earned some reps in week one against the Packers, recording two tackles and a QB hit.
However, he has not played since, and he was waived last week to make room for George Iloka on the roster. He cleared waivers though, allowing the Vikings to pick him back up and put him on the practice squad.
Chase McLaughlin
McLaughlin is a second year kicker out of Illinois, and the Vikings decided to use a practice squad protection on him to prevent other teams from swiping him up on their active rosters. McLaughlin is the perceived backup to starter Dan Bailey, and in case anything were to happen to him, McLaughlin would be the next man up on the roster as kicker for the team.