Vikings GM Nolan Teasley continues to shake up the roster, with multiple moves raising intriguing questions
Over the first few months of GM Nolan Teasley’s tenure, he has not been afraid to shake up the back end of the roster.
The Minnesota Vikings have depth concerns across the roster, and the front office keeps using the practice squad to address them. On Tuesday, Minnesota officially placed Donovan Jackson on injured reserve, and that forced another round of roster moves to shore up the offensive line.
In response, the Vikings signed tackle Tristan Leigh to the practice squad. That wasn’t the only move. Minnesota also released three players from the practice squad: cornerback Natrone Brooks, punter Johnny Hekker, and running back Devin Neal. Along with that, the Vikings waived cornerback Tyreek Chappell from injured reserve, which is likely due to an injury settlement.
Donovan Jackson injury tests Vikings’ offensive line depth
Losing Jackson is a tough blow for the Vikings. The good news is the front office saw a moment like this coming and prepared for it. After final cuts, Minnesota added multiple offensive linemen through waivers in Nick Samac and Trevor Keegan.
Samac is currently on injured reserve, so he can’t help right away. However, there is some relief on the horizon. The Vikings opened the practice window for center Michael Juergens, which means he is on track to come off injured reserve soon.
Adding Leigh to the practice squad gives Minnesota another body up front while those pieces sort themselves out. It’s not a flashy move, but they did give Leigh significant guarantees, which will come off their dead cap with each week he is on the practice squad.
Johnny Hekker and Devin Neal releases raise questions
The two most intriguing moves of the day were the releases of Hekker and Neal.
Hekker has been the Vikings’ punter for the last two weeks while Brett Thorson deals with a hamstring injury. The real question is whether his release comes down to his performance on the field. If that’s the case, it’s hard to argue with the decision. Hekker was rough on Sunday afternoon against the Miami Dolphins, averaging just 37.75 yards per punt with a couple of shanks mixed in.
That’s not the kind of production a team can live with, especially when field position matters as much as it does for this roster. Minnesota will need a reliable answer at punter until Thorson is back in the lineup, but if he’s healthy, that point is moot.
The Neal move hits a little closer to home for me. Going into the 2025 NFL Draft, I called him a bigger Aaron Jones. The New Orleans Saints ended up selecting him in the fifth round, and he eventually found his way to Minnesota.
When the Vikings signed Neal, it made a lot of sense. He can run a lot of the wide zone concepts that Minnesota likes to lean on in its rushing attack, with my comp for him coming out being a bigger Aaron Jones. That fit is why he was on the radar in the first place.
Even so, Neal was only with the team for about a week before moving on. It does have me curious if another running back move is on the horizon.
Nolan Teasley keeps tweaking the back end of the roster
None of these moves will grab national headlines, but they do show a clear pattern. General manager Nolan Teasley continues to tweak the back end of the roster, cycling through players in search of talent that can stick.
That is not a bad strategy. Injuries pile up over the course of a season, and the teams that survive them are usually the ones that have already done the work on the practice squad. Minnesota is churning through bodies to find out who can actually contribute when called upon.
The offensive line is the area to watch over the next few weeks. Jackson’s absence puts pressure on the depth pieces, and the timing of Juergens’ return could determine how much more shuffling the Vikings need to do. If more injuries hit, expect Teasley to keep working the waiver wire and the practice squad.
