Ex-Vikings Defender Heads to Panthers
Dustin Baker
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For 24 NFL teams, the offseason has begun, and general managers are signing oodles of players to ‘futures’ contracts.
One such man receiving a futures contract? Ex-Minnesota Vikings safety Myles Dorn, who latched onto the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday.
The Athletic‘s Joe Person, who covers the Panthers, tweeted about the Dorn addition, “Panthers signed former Vikings DB Myles Dorn to a reserve/future deal. Dorn, a Charlotte native who played at UNC, is the son of retired NFL CB Torin Dorn.”
Ex-Vikings Defender Heads to Panthers
The Vikings found Dorn via undrafted free agency in 2020, and the safety stayed linked to the organization for three seasons. In 2022, Dorn lived on the practice squad for most of the year. The North Carolinian played 14 total games in Minnesota, tallying 208 special snaps but no defensive appearances.
Dorn would’ve played for the Vikings if injuries arose to Harrison Smith, Camryn Bynum, Josh Metellus, or Theo Jackson. But aside from Lewis Cine’s broken leg in London, Minnesota’s safeties remained upright, for the most part, in 2022.
Now, Dorn will get a crack at making the Panthers 53-man roster late this summer. He has a special teams focus — at least that’s what the Vikings believed — and would assuredly enjoy sniffing Carolina’s secondary. The Panthers ranked 27th in the NFL in 2022 per passing defense DVOA, so it will likely be an offseason of change for Carolina’s defensive backs.
Dorn stood out as a positive for the Vikings throughout preseason last August. He appeared in all three games and started one of them. During the appearances, Dorn recorded 13 tackles and had a pair of passes defended.
Carolina also employs another former Vikings safety, Xavier Woods. Woods played for the Vikings in 2021 and started all 17 games. The Panthers safety room — which will change tremendously in the next eight months — currently looks like this:
- Juston Burris
- Sean Chandler
- Myles Dorn
- Sam Franklin
- Myles Hartfield
- Xavier Woods
This week, the Vikings signed these six players to futures contracts:
- Trishton Jackson (WR)
- Blake Proehl (WR)
- Nick Muse (TE)
- Josh Sokol (C)
- Benton Whitley (OLB)
- Tay Gowan (CB)
In addition to Dorn and the aforementioned Woods, the Panthers also employ Pat Elflein (C), who also played for the Vikings from 2017 to 2019.
The Vikings and Panthers will meet in a regular season game next year in Charlotte. Minnesota is 10-6 (.625) all-time against Carolina and has won the last two matchups (2020, 2021).
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 Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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