Here’s Where “Other” Vikings Landed in 2022
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings didn’t quite singe the roster to the ground when they welcomed a new general manager and head coach eight months ago, but some roster turnover, like every offseason, was on the docket.
Here’s where “other” Vikings, men from the 2021 roster, landed in 2022.
Mackensie Alexander (CB)
New Team: Free Agent
Alexander struggled immensely for the 2021 Vikings but was on tap for a revival with the Dolphins, signing in Miami near the end of summer. Unfortunately, he was injured recently, and the Dolphins released him.
Anthony Barr (LB)
New Team: Dallas Cowboys
Tame your tear ducts, Barr joined the Cowboys after months of flirtation this summer. There, he’ll run with Micah Parsons and Leighton Vander Esch to fortify a suddenly-good defense.
Chad Beebe (WR)
New Team: Free Agent
The little engine that could spent the summer with Houston Texans. However, Beebe was one of the first on the chopping block when roster cuts commenced.
Jordan Berry (P)
New Team: Free Agent
Shockingly, rookie punter Ryan Wright ousted Berry from the Vikings punting job. And Minnesota seemed vindicated in the final preseason game when Wright boomed 56.3 yards per punt in Denver’s thin air. Berry awaits his next opportunity.
Tashawn Bower (EDGE)
New Team: Las Vegas Raiders
Bower actually made the Raiders 53-man roster and will back up Maxx Crosby. Barring injury, Bower will experience somewhat routine playing time (unlike many players on this list).
Mason Cole (C)
New Team: Pittsburgh Steelers
This man is the starting center for the Pittsburgh Steelers after filling a reservist role for the Vikings in 2021. Side note: Pittsburgh’s offensive line is one of the worst in the business.
Tyler Conklin (TE)
New Team: New York Jets
Conklin parlayed a juicy 2021 TE1 season for the Vikings into a lucrative gig with the New York Jets. He must eventually dethrone C.J. Uzomah for TE1 to make it worthwhile for the Jets pocketbook, but Vikings fans know Conklin is capable of such a thing. He’ll earn just south of $7 million per season in New York.
Wyatt Davis (OG)
New Team: New York Giants
Vikings fans had humongous plans for this man after the 2021 NFL Draft, and Vikings fans, along with several other draft brains, were wrong. Davis never received much of an audition for Minnesota’s infamous RG spot, probably because he wasn’t up for the task. Now, he’s on the Giants practice squad.
Eveson Griffen (DE)
New Team: Free Agent
Griffen claims he still wants to play, but no team has expressed interest. Or, if they have, Griffen was strangely not interested. He missed the second half of the 2021 season to address mental health, so we shall see if he signs somewhere for one last hurrah.
Harrison Hand (CB)
New Team: Free Agent
Minnesota released Hand during the second wave of roster cuts in August. GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah reportedly had every intention of adding Hand back to the roster, but the Giants swooped in for the pilfer.
But on Labor Day, the Giants released Hand. Keep an eye on him for a Vikings reunion.
Chris Herndon (TE)
New Team: Free Agent
Herndon signed with the New Orleans Saints last month, did the Homer Simpson meme, and was released shortly after. He’ll forever be remembered as the guy acquired by Rick Spielman via panic trade.
Rashod Hill (OT)
New Team: Free Agent
Hill was a part of the Washington Commanders roster during the summer but didn’t make the cut during the 53-man roster pare down. He was quietly a member of the Vikings for six years.
Sean Mannion (QB)
New Team: Seattle Seahawks
The Vikings adored Mannion as the QB2 to Kirk Cousins, but the regular season didn’t adore Mannion. Mannion was associated with the team since 2019, finally ending the relationship last week when the Vikings trimmed the roster to 53 players. He’s a Seattle practice squader now.
Kellen Mond (QB)
New Team: Cleveland Browns
Now a QB3-QB4 with Kevin Stefanski in Cleveland, vessels in The Mond Pond sunk about two weeks ago. Mond looked great in the first preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders. After that, he floundered, and the Vikings hedged the QB2 bet with a trade for Nick Mullens. That was it for Mond.
Michael Pierce (NT)
New Team: Baltimore Ravens
Wonderful when on the field, Pierce couldn’t stay available or upright for the Vikings in 2020 or 2021. In free agency, Pierce returned to familiar roots, signing back with the Ravens, where he spent four years from 2016 to 2019. He’ll start in Baltimore.
Sheldon Richardson (DT)
New Team: Free Agent
The two-time Viking will be 32 years old in November, but if 2021 was a reasonable indicator, Richardson can still play. Some team will dial his number when injuries begin to stockpile.
Ihmir Smith-Marsette (WR)
New Team: Chicago Bears
One of the biggest stunners of the summer, the Vikings seemingly chose Jalen Reagor over Smith-Marsette. And because the Iowa alumnus has such precious upside, the Bears pounced and added Smith-Marsette to its ever-growing WR hodgepodge.
Nate Stanley (QB)
New Team: Free Agent
Stanley was the odd man out when the Vikings opted for a summer battle between Mond and Mannion only. Ultimately, Nick Mullens won the QB2 job, and Minnesota signed David Blough for Stanley’s QB3-QB4 job.
Luke Stocker (TE)
New Team: Free Agent
Stocker was not a priority to re-sign by Adofo-Mensah, and at age 34, this could be the end of the road for the Tennessee alumnus.
Chazz Surratt (LB)
New Team: New York Jets
The guy who played quarterback at North Carolina as a freshman and sophomore is now on the Jets practice squad — as a linebacker. He was a casualty of the Vikings recent 2021 draft class purge.
Nick Vigil (LB)
New Team: Arizona Cardinals
Vigil was productive for the Vikings to start the 2021 season. Soon after, he performed like a reservist linebacker. He’s a backup to Isaiah Simmons in Arizona.
Armon Watts (DT)
New Team: Chicago Bears
No one really knows why Watts was released. He was on an affordable rookie deal, and the Vikings listed him as a starter when initial depth charts debuted. Like Smith-Marsette, Watts is now a Bear.
Dede Westbrook (WR)
New Team: Free Agent
The Vikings punt returner and WR5 from 2021 has not signed with a new team in 2022, although Minnesota was interested in his services about three months ago. Westbrook is 28 years old.
Xavier Woods (S)
New Team: Carolina Panthers
Woods was hot and cold with the Vikings, but he’ll get a chance to start in Carolina. The Panthers defense was under-the-radar pretty damn good last year.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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