Vikings Promote 2 WRs
The Minnesota Vikings take on the Chicago Bears this Sunday, a battle to avoid last place in the NFC North.
At 1-3, both teams’ start to 2023 has been underwhelming, and one squad hopes to rectify recent struggles at Soldier Field.
Vikings Promote 2 WRs
Meanwhile, Minnesota lost reigning Offensive Player of the Year Justin Jefferson for at least a month, nursing a hamstring injury that will keep the phenom playmaker out of games indefinitely.
In Jefferson’s stead, the Vikings will turn to pass-catchers Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, K.J. Osborn, and Brandon Powell for production, but that’s not all.
On Wednesday, Minnesota promoted two practice squad wideouts to the active roster.
N’Keal Harry
Minnesota signed Harry on August 6th, a transaction that fell out of the sky because most of the team’s fans believed the Vikings were somewhat deep at wide receiver. Harry brought former 1st-Round draft stock to the table, and some felt his resume and performance at training camp could launch the 25-year-old to a roster spot.
Harry was then released by the Vikings before roster trimdowns in August, only to be re-signed to the practice squad a week and a half later.
Now, Harry will see the regular season playing field.
Harry has tabulated 64 receptions for 714 yards and 5 scores in his four-year career, so he has some experience. He hasn’t taken the NFL by storm since 2019, especially as a former 1st-Rounder, but he was more of a ‘big name’ to land with the Vikings than most folks expected two months ago.
The former Patriot caught two passes for 24 yards in the Vikings first preseason game at Seattle. He was also accountable for a few nifty training camp highlights during his brief stay.
Trishton Jackson
An undrafted free agent with the Rams in 2020, Jackson stayed on Los Angeles’ depth chart for about a year and a half before eventually landing with the Vikings in 2021. He’s impressed back-to-back Vikings coaching staffs and general managers.
He’s the guy who fired up training camp highlights like this:
Jackson started his college career at Michigan State, where he caught only 17 passes over two seasons for 232 yards and 1 touchdown. He transferred to Syracuse but had to sit out the 2018 season because of the transfer rules back then but logged 69 catches for 1,050 yards and 12 touchdowns, earning second-team All-ACC honors. Jackson entered the 2020 draft.
From a deep receiver class in 2020, Jackson ended up as an undrafted rookie, joining the Los Angeles Rams and offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell. He stayed with the organization for one year and was cut on cutdown day 2021.
The Vikings signed him to the practice squad roughly five months before O’Connell joined. At training camps and in the preseasons of 2022-2023, Jackson showed promise and produced some highlight plays, like the one above, but failed twice to make the 53-man roster.
Like Harry, though, he landed on the practice squad and will get a shot to bust out in the next four games without Jefferson. Jackson was also activated for Minnesota’s Week 3 showdown with the Los Angeles Chargers but only saw the field for one offensive play.
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,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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