Vikings Abruptly Cut Wide Receiver
The Minnesota Vikings welcomed veteran wide receiver and special teams expert Tim Jones to the 53-man roster on Tuesday — and released him on Wednesday.
The Vikings cut a wide receiver as roster moves continued, catching many by surprise and tweaking Minnesota’s depth chart before the 2025 season opener.
The club did so to make room for Adam Thielen after conducting a long-awaited trade with the Carolina Panthers.
Thankfully for Jones’ sake, the 27-year-old was quickly signed to the practice squad.
Tim Jones Cut from 53-Man Roster, Signed to PS
Jones has encountered a topsy-turvy week.
Vikings Quietly Drop WR Tim Jones
KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweeted Wednesday, “The Vikings terminated the contract of Tim Jones.”
Timing-wise, the maneuver directly correlated with the arrival of Thielen, who will fill WR2 duty in Minnesota for the first three weeks of the regular season as Jordan Addison serves a three-game suspension.
Carolina traded Thielen, a conditional 2026 7th-Round pick, and 2027 5th-Round pick to the Vikings for a 2026 5th-Round pick and 2027 4th-Round pick. Somebody had to go to make room for Thielen, and that was Jones.
Initially Included on 53-Man Roster.
Minnesota’s 53-man roster reveal came with several surprises, and Jones was not excluded. The veteran wideout produced several penalties in three preseason games, and most Vikings fans and analysts did not include him in their regular season depth chart forecasts.
But when the franchise published the first official roster of 2025, Jones was listed around WR5, securing a spot.
That lasted for a day. The team rolled out the red carpet for Thielen, as one might expect, and Jones hit the practice squad accordingly a few hours after the roster termination.
Now a Practice Squad Member
Jones isn’t totally unemployed, although shifting from the active roster to the practice squad is indeed a demotion.
This is the 16-man practice squad:
- OL Henry Byrd
- WR Dontae Fleming
- S Kahlef Hailassie
- DL Jonathan Harris
- WR Lucky Jackson
- WR Jeshaun Jones
- WR Tim Jones
- OL Vershon Lee
- CB Fabian Moreau
- OLB Gabriel Murphy
- TE Bryson Nesbit
- OL Max Pircher (International Program)
- DL Taki Taimani
- TE Nick Vannett
- RB Xazavian Valladay
- CB Zemaiah Vaughn
Jones is one call-up away from gameday.
The New WR Room with Adam Thielen
Then, with the regular season just 11 days away, here’s the updated wide receiver corps:
- Justin Jefferson
- Jordan Addison (suspended until Week 4)
- Adam Thielen
- Jalen Nailor
- Tai Felton
- Myles Price
Many were shocked that Lucky Jackson’s training camp and preseason productivity didn’t translate to a roster spot, especially with Jones getting the nod instead on the first edition. Too, undrafted free agent Thayer Thomas was not included on the practice squad, which also raised eyebrows — another player who performed well at training camp.
Janik Eckardt on Tim Jones
At our affiliate site PurplePTSD.com, Janik Eckardt noted on Jones: “Tim Jones initially signed with the Vikings a week after free agency had officially opened. His calling card is special teams, although it didn’t look like it in the preseason, when the experienced coverage player received three separate penalties in that phase.”
“He went undrafted out of Southern Miss in 2021 and signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he spent the first four seasons of his career. The first year took place on the practice squad, but he made the 53-man roster in 2022 and began contributing.”
The Vikings can promote Jones to the active roster three times before having to formally sign or release him.
Eckardt added, “In the preseason, Jones caught six passes for 73 yards. He’ll stick around and potentially might even play in some games. Each practice squad player can be elevated to the gameday roster three times per season (that is, before the team needs to hand over a more permanent spot on the 53-man roster) and his special-teams prowess could give him a shot. In the preseason, Jones caught six passes for 73 yards.”
It’s worth noting that Jones’ inclusion on the initial 53-man roster was quite surprising. The practice squad always made more sense — if he banked a spot at all.
You must be logged in to post a comment.