Minnesota Vikings make intriguing roster move that emphasizes their new approach in the run game
Ahead of the first preseason game, the Minnesota Vikings have made a couple of interesting roster moves.
Throughout the course of the preseason and training camp, the Minnesota Vikings have made and will continue to make changes to the roster, and that continued on Wednesday morning.
Ahead of the preseason debut on Saturday afternoon, the Vikings have made a change in the running back room, signing Jermar Jefferson and waiving Jordan Mims.
Minnesota Vikings make roster moves at running back
The Vikings initially signed Mims at the start of training camp when they waived Kejon Owens with a non-football illness designation. Throughout the course of training camp, Mims had been getting a lot of touches. He appeared to be the guy who would take the lion share of snaps during the preseason, but they opted to go with Jefferson.
On Monday, the Vikings hosted six players on a visit, including Jefferson.
During his college career, Jefferson thrived at Oregon State in a wide zone system. That is the likely reason why the Vikings ended up targeting him. He was a sixth-round pick of the Detroit Lions in the 2021 NFL Draft and has played in 11 games during his career, including two last season with the Arizona Cardinals.
There isn’t a hefty track record for Jefferson, with just 21 carries for 96 yards and two touchdowns, along with five receptions for 33 yards. At 5-10 and 212 pounds, Jefferson is similarly built to Aaron Jones, and can run all the concepts that the Vikings like to run.
Now, will he end up pushing for a spot on the roster? It’s not the most likely, but don’t count it out with neither Zavier Scott or Demond Claiborne not having a roster spot locked down.
It will be interesting to see how the running back room is used during the preseason, and Jefferson will likely get a few carries.
