Vikings CB Reappears after Roster Tweak
Last week, the Minnesota Vikings waived second-year cornerback Dwight McGlothern out of nowhere, irritating the fan base because the depth chart shrank to just three corners.
A Vikings cornerback has reappeared after a roster tweak, creating new questions about depth, usage, and how the secondary might shift.
It didn’t take long, though, for McGlothern to return, as general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah quickly added McGlothern back to the practice squad. The move proved to be a little strange in the heat of the moment, but in the end, the backlash was wildly useless.
Dwight McGlothern Back to Vikings
That didn’t take long at all.
McGlothern’s Back
Before Sunday’s loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Vikings’ social media team tweeted, “The Vikings have activated C Ryan Kelly from IR and he will enter MIN vs. GB without an injury designation. CB Dwight McGlothern Jr. has signed to the practice squad and elevated to the active roster for tomorrow’s game. RB Cam Akers has been released from the practice squad.”
The tweet arrived two days after fans absolutely raged over McGlothern’s waiver.
Just Roster Maintenance in the End
The kneejerk outrage wasn’t necessary. Often, and just like the McGlothern situation, Minnesota — and other NFL teams — will waive a player with the intent of adding him back to the practice squad. That happened with McGlothern, and it is not unusual. It’s common, in fact.
But because the Vikings are enduring a losing season, largely due to an injured quarterback and generally incompetent quarterback play, every roster move gets criticized. Rather than exercising patience to see if McGlothern would return to the roster, some fans teed off on Minnesota’s coaching staff and front office, suggesting neither entity had any idea what it was doing. Just utter incompetence.
The exasperation wasn’t worth the keystrokes on a cellphone. McGlothern is back like he never left.
The Fabian Moreau Emergence
Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Brian Flores has decided that veteran corner Fabian Moreau is a better CB3 option in 2025 than McGlothern. Previously, as recently as one month ago, McGlothern lived on the active roster, with Moreau on the practice squad. The duo has switched jobs.
For Moreau’s troubles, he has a 72.2 passer-rating-against and a 63.1 Pro Football Focus grade. Both numbers are right in line with what a team might expect from a decent CB3.
McGlothern, on the other hand, has rarely played in any meaningful situations on defense this season.
CB a Need for Vikings in the Coming Offseason
Regardless of which section McGlothern inhabits or how well Moreau plays in the season’s final six games, the Vikings will probably need a cornerback from the draft in April. The current starters, Byron Murphy Jr. and Isaiah Rodgers, are decent, but the CB room needs a headliner — a young guy.
Minnesota is on track for a Top 10 or Top 12 draft pick, and the franchise has not successfully drafted a cornerback of any kind since 2015. Yes, it’s been a decade. The last guy was Trae Waynes, and even he wasn’t a superstar.
Kyle Joudry on McGlothern
Our Kyle Joudry noted on McGlothern last weekend, “The UDFA option from 2024 has inspired optimism aplenty due to cracking the 53-man roster as a rookie and sophomore. Partner making the roster with being someone who stands at 6’2″ — defensive coaches love long-and-strong outside corners — and the appeal is obvious.”
“Plus, he’s only 23, meaning he has potential and upside. But then Minnesota has been reluctant to play the young fella. He earned just 19 defensive snaps as a rookie. That was easy to explain away in a year when the Vikings climbed up to a 13-4 record. The corner cluster in that season did quite well. Veterans Murphy, Moreau, Stephon Gilmore, and Shaq Griffin all earned beefier playing time.”
Some NFL teams have six cornerbacks on their roster. The Vikings have three.
Joudry continued, “Moving into 2025, the Vikings appeared open to creating room for McGlothern to play more. Gone are Gilmore and Griffin. Moreau got brought back, but his initial assignment was on the practice squad. Young corner Mekhi Blackmon got traded away. In the end, September arrived with Minnesota holstering CB1 Murphy, CB2 Rodgers, CB3 Jeff Okudah, and CB4 McGlothern.”
“In theory, that was a setup that leaned toward seeing the undrafted sophomore play.”
McGlothern will likely stick around the roster orbit into the summer of 2026.
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