T.Y. McGill Is Still a Viking

Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports.

The defensive tackle T.Y. McGill had a stellar preseason for the Vikings. Reports that the purple team released him were very surprising, considering his latest heroics.

All big-name league reporters announced his departure from the purple team.

National media and Vikings team reporters announced the move.

Fans felt that he deserved to be on the roster. The injury in the last preseason game apparently changed some things, as the Vikings didn’t release him and placed him on injured reserve instead.

Unfortunately, only players can return from injured reserve during the season if they make the initial 53-man roster. If he’s healthy enough to play, the team and players probably agree to an injury settlement, which makes the player a free agent.

The Vikings recently did that with fellow defensive tackle Tyarise Stevenson. He was waived with an injury designation. After no team claimed him, he reverted to the Vikings and had to be placed on injured reserve. However, the injury was minor, so the player had no interest in losing a year of his career on IR without a serious injury. The same thing likely happens with T.Y. McGill and the Vikings. To this point, however, he’s still a Viking.

In the first two preseason games, he recorded 3.5 sacks and wrecked all kinds of havoc. McGill looked like one of the best Vikings players on the field, but the fact that he even played on Saturday suggests that he wasn’t considered anything close to a lock to make the roster by the team.

'Unknown' Vikings Defender Gaining National Attention
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports.

His role as an overlooked journeyman is nothing new to him. The Vikings are his ninth team in the NFL.

  • 2015: Seahawks, Colts
  • 2016: Colts
  • 2017: Browns
  • 2018: Chiefs, Chargers, Eagles, Chargers
  • 2019: Commanders, Chargers, Saints
  • 2020: Eagles
  • 2021: Eagles, Commanders, Vikings
  • 2022: Vikings

He spent time on various practice squads during his career and played in 46 regular season games and overall 742 snaps on defense.

More Moves

The Vikings also placed Olabisi Johnson on IR. The wideout tore an ACL for the second consecutive year. He was in line to be involved in the offense as a backup. Unfortunately, he is also in a contract year. Subsequently, his time in Minnesota could be over.

Injury to Vikings WR Could Be Serious
Harrison Barden-USA TODAY Sports.

Tye Smith was also released. Curiously, the Vikings released their veteran CB about two weeks ago and re-signed him a few days ago to provide depth for the final preseason game.

Timon Parris, the left tackle, had a catastrophic performance against the Broncos, allowing three sacks. He is also a veteran, but his play in the third game didn’t help him to find a new team. However, in the first two games, Parris played better.

Wide receiver Myron Mitchell was a popular guess to make the active roster, but the Vikings opted to cut him. For what it’s worth, he’s a strong candidate to make the practice squad. The roster is down to seven WRs — Jefferson, Thielen, Osborn, Smith-Marsette, Jackson, Nailor, and Chisena. Five or six of them will likely be on the final 53-man roster. The Vikings have to trim their roster down to just 53 players on Tuesday.


Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and Classic rock is his music genre of choice. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt


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