Minnesota Vikings Have Nearly Filled Practice Squad

by Christopher Gates on Sep 5, 2011 10:49 AM CDT in Minnesota Vikings 2011 Season

To continue the story that we started last night, the Minnesota Vikings have nearly completely finished filling out their eight-man practice squad. Here are the players that have made it.

WR Emmanuel Arceneaux
FB Matt Asiata
WR Stephen Burton
OL Chris DeGeare
FB Ryan D'Imperio
RB Caleb King
DL Cedric McKinley

I was surprised to see DeGeare's name on the list, but it turns out that he only appeared in eight games in 2010, which is one less than the limit that he would have had to reach to be ineligible for the practice squad.

Despite numerous reports saying that the Vikings have "completed" their practice squad, I've only seen the seven names listed above. As we mentioned yesterday, I believe that the eighth spot is being reserved for tight end Allen Reisner, who was released when the Vikings made their claim on Xavier Adibi yesterday.

This is a very offensive-heavy practice squad to this point, with McKinley being the only defensive player out of the first seven signed. If Reisner is, indeed, brought back, then seven of the eight players on the Vikings' practice squad will reside on the offensive side of the football.

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2 FBs? Really?

I gotta say, I would much rather see a guy like Cord Parks or Tony Carter or Ross Homan on the squad instead of one of the FBs. I didn’t see either guy doing anything special in the preseason to warrant such a coveted thing as a PS position. Hopefully there is a plan. Really bummed about Homan though. I thought I heard he was killing it early in training camp….

I love ping pong balls!!

by NYCVike on Sep 5, 2011 11:01 AM CDT reply actions

2 FBs seems very silly.

I’m shocked that Cord Parks or Ross Homan isn’t on here.

"I wanted to do it because it's fun, it's fun to do bad things and drive into a car."

by PurplePeopleEaters on Sep 5, 2011 11:13 AM CDT up reply actions

Maybe we'll get lucky...

and after we sign Reisner the team will release a FB and sign one of those players. That would actually make a lot of sense. Our LB core needs some kind of Plan B.

I love ping pong balls!!

by NYCVike on Sep 5, 2011 11:18 AM CDT up reply actions

Maybe we are ok at LB

We have 3 solid starters, and picked up a 4th that can sub for any of the other 3 who are hurt, and 5 is great on special teams and can fill in if a starter is hurt. #6 is young but great on special teams and hopefully can develop into a McDaniel type WLB.

If one of the top 5 are hurt, we can pickup an unemployed LB — have Farwell, Homan and Herron signed elsewhere yet? Don’t think so.

Didn’t we pickup up Napolean Harris mid-season once?

Recall, we have Brinkley for next year to backup and eventually replace EJ, plus all 3 starters next year plus the new guy, with Dan hopefully blooming next year. I can see why we would not waste a spot on the PS for another backup LB given all this.

TiggerSr

by TiggerSr on Sep 5, 2011 11:28 AM CDT up reply actions

Holman is still unsigned

The concussion he suffered kept him out of two preseason games and affected him in the last one. He might not find work until he can prove he is completely free of it’s simptoms (sp?).

by nmvikesfan on Sep 5, 2011 12:40 PM CDT up reply actions

He didn't look good in any of the games though

Quite disappointing.

"I am patient with stupidity but not with those who are proud of it."

by NMVike on Sep 5, 2011 8:53 PM CDT up reply actions

Excellent news!

Caleb King! Yeah! Give him one year to study and practice, and he’ll beat out Booker or Gerhart.

Sometimes the PS is full of long-shots, but not this time. I’d say at least four of these guys have a legitimate shot at making the team in the future. Hard to believe they cut Ryan D’Imperio, he’s done positive things every play I’ve seen him in. DeGeare I thought was a second stringer working his way up. Burton, Arceneaux, and Asiata obviously need a lot more study and reps at their positions. McKinley I don’t know about.

Any chance they can get Reisner on the PS? That would complete the sweet.

by jimbo55403 on Sep 5, 2011 11:23 AM CDT reply actions

King v. Booker

Odd how I see it so differently from you. King made a great juke on his RD run, but he does not look anywhere near the level that Booker is playing at, from what I have seen.

Perhaps you saw King play some in college? Booker looks to me like he is much faster, and he has already shown ability to catch out of backfield, execute screens and draws against 1st-team defenses. Perhaps King might be a durable and effective primary RB some day, IF AD goes down, but Booker is the best 3d down back we have at this point.

Gerharft is still an enigma for the NFL, I think. Hard to predict how he (or King) will develop over next -12 years.

TiggerSr

by TiggerSr on Sep 5, 2011 11:35 AM CDT up reply actions

Plus Booker is great in the return game

King we have no idea

by nmvikesfan on Sep 5, 2011 12:16 PM CDT up reply actions

+1

King could be good given some time but between the two, Booker is definitely better at the moment.

by FSUViking on Sep 5, 2011 2:26 PM CDT up reply actions

I was pulling for Tristan Davis on the PS

Still haven’t watched all of the Houston game so I have nothing for/against King. In the Seattle game when we were trying to run time off the clock and Tristan scored from 35 yards – I just thought that kid has some natural instinct for running with patience, using his blocks, and cutting to daylight. I’m sure he had good coaching at Auburn, but damn – that was a fine run. And yes, I know it was against 3rd & 4th teamers.

Onward to San Diego!

by Caretaker QB on Sep 5, 2011 5:45 PM CDT up reply actions

Yeah, I see King pushing Gerhart rather than Booker.

Gerahart and King seem to me more of the pure running back type whereas Booker is that shifty quick third down pass-catching back.

by CanadianViking on Sep 5, 2011 5:50 PM CDT up reply actions

practice squad

just so u know any team can sign any player off any practice squad . but they have to go right to 53 man line up. so just cuz they made it to our ps doesnt protect them from being swooped up later by another team.

by skol viking on Sep 5, 2011 11:35 AM CDT reply actions

And of course

we can poach NE’s PS too….

TiggerSr

by TiggerSr on Sep 5, 2011 11:37 AM CDT up reply actions

This Caleb King lovefest is getting out of hand

The guy was not drafted in the regular draft.

The guy was not even drafted in the supplemental draft.

He has played in ONE preseason game, and against a bunch of benchwarmers and other players who are now looking for work.

He averaged 3.3 yards per carry.

I thought he showed promise too, but DAMN. All of a sudden, he’s Adrian freakin’ Peterson around these parts.

by rovibe on Sep 5, 2011 12:23 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs

Not only that he made through waivers where 31 other teams felt he was PS material

by nmvikesfan on Sep 5, 2011 12:27 PM CDT up reply actions

Supplemental Draft

You can’t be in both the regular draft and the supplemental draft. Supplemental Draft Rules

After the draft in April, he found out he was going to be academically ineligible for the 2011 season in college, so he decided to declare for the supplemental draft instead of sitting out a college season. If a team picks a guy in the supplemental draft, they have to forfeit that draft position in the next year’s draft. That’s a steep price for most teams. Vikes signed him as an undrafted free agent, instead of spending a 6th or 7th round pick on him.

WR, CB, K & P of the Minnesota Machine

by dthompson on Sep 6, 2011 11:24 AM CDT up reply actions

On a very important side note:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/09/05/vikings-extend-chad-greenway/
Chad greenway has signed an extention. I tried to do a fan post was not able to. this is very exciting news for all of us. All I can say is WOOOO HOOOO!

SKOL!

by nmvikesfan on Sep 5, 2011 1:06 PM CDT reply actions

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Now we can focus on AP’s extension.

by muffin man on Sep 5, 2011 1:16 PM CDT up reply actions

Looks like that is coming soon too!

They have til the Sept 20th deadline to get it done or they will have to wait until the end of the season. Signing him now with a hefty signing bonus spread thoughout the contract will free up even more cap space.

by nmvikesfan on Sep 5, 2011 1:38 PM CDT up reply actions

Speed of the game

Is very hard to determine on TV. King looked good because he was playing against third tier players – whose biggest weakness is speed. That’s why teams pay attention to 40 times. Remember, the coaches have seen King’s speed up close and this is likely why he was not drafted. Much easier to look good against cream puffs than starters.

by Vikefandc on Sep 5, 2011 1:17 PM CDT via mobile reply actions

Geez...

Maybe they should start carving that bronze bust for Caleb King now, and set aside a special place in Canton for when he’s enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

by rovibe on Sep 5, 2011 1:20 PM CDT reply actions

Apparently, I just don't know WRs.

Here I’ve been touting Jaymar Johnson to the point that I could have been accused of calling him as the next Randy Moss. And yet, not only was he released, not invited to the PS, but now it seems NOBODY has shown any interest in him- not even for THEIR PS’s.

Good lord. I guess I genuinely know next to nothing about WRs.

New season and a practically new team. Let's go Vikings! Skol! Daily Norseman

by KJSegall on Sep 5, 2011 1:27 PM CDT reply actions

Same here.

But I still prefer him to Berrian… and Camerillo. And punt returns for the 1st four games of the year are going to make me nervous.

by kcskol on Sep 5, 2011 5:29 PM CDT up reply actions

I could be mistaken

but I don’t think Jaymar Johnson is eligible for the practice squad anymore. I can’t quote a rulebook on it, I just remember some people discussing it on a different thread. He’d make a solid 5th receiver on most teams, unfortunate we have a great #2 receiver then 4 good #4 receivers and he couldn’t beat them. Best of luck to him though.

by SkolNick on Sep 5, 2011 11:30 PM CDT up reply actions

RE: Greenway and King

Apparently, Greenway was so impressed with Caleb King, he told the Vikings,

“I want to play here for the rest of my career. Now that we have Caleb King, I know that we’ll win the next 15 Super Bowls. For that, I’m willing to play for the veteran minimum so that all the cap space saved can go to locking up King for the foreseeable future, and paying the young man the kind og big dollars he so richly deserves!”

Team officials are expected to elevate King to the regular roster immediately, and trade talks for Adrian Peterson are rumored to have begun already.

by rovibe on Sep 5, 2011 1:30 PM CDT reply actions

king has great potential

Sorry for getting excited about a player. From now on ill root for Jaymar Johnson to lead us to the superbowl…oh wait he got cut too

by RaysOfHope on Sep 5, 2011 1:37 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions

Asiata played half back at Utah

Just because they were looking at him as a fullback does not mean that is the only position he can play.

I think they like him and if there is an injury then they have either him or King.

D’Imperio has shown enough to be allowed to learn the full back position more. He also did well on special teams. Plus you never know if they would consider moving him back to linebacker. He did play there at Rutgers after all. Here is what cbssports.com said about him …

Analysis

Positives: Solid football player, instinctual and tough. Capable of making transition to fullback. Physical and hard-working. Better than athlete than most believe, with good agility in coverage and the speed to make plays. Gets deep in his drops as a linebacker and is a factor down the middle third. Attacks ballcarriers, can be explosive with his hips through the man.

Negatives: Missed 2007 season with broken leg. Lost weight for his pro day to run quicker 40. Good blitzer but does not always get there because he gets caught up in traffic. Is a bit stiff in the hips and elusive runners can get by him in the open field, which will be evident on special teams coverage.

I am not saying they will move D’Imperio back to LB but he has the size at 6-2 241 and speed at 4.68 to be a backup to EJ. I would venture a guess and say he is just as good as Onatolu right now at linebacker.

by MarkSP18 on Sep 5, 2011 3:01 PM CDT reply actions

Hey Mark..

Do you think that maybe the might be trying to teach the two young FBs to run better reciever routes so the can be TE backups?

Considering i believe the true FB position is going the way of the dodo bird.

by midnightwonder on Sep 5, 2011 4:09 PM CDT up reply actions

Yeah but I would think Brinkly has shown enough that he might would be the back up

But I guess with his injury we’ve got to do something.

I'm like the Dali Lama of kicking ass

by Grime on Sep 6, 2011 8:05 AM CDT up reply actions

Any word on Reisner yet?

by jcase0 on Sep 5, 2011 3:57 PM CDT reply actions

Cleared waivers

On the PS

by Murgo on Sep 5, 2011 4:37 PM CDT up reply actions

WOOHOO!

Guy’s a solid player, I’m hoping we can keep develop him into a starter so that we don’t have to pay out the behind to keep Shiancoe next year. Don’t get me wrong, I love Shank, but he’s going to want a huge contract after this season and we want to run a lot more 2 TE sets.

by SkolNick on Sep 5, 2011 11:33 PM CDT up reply actions

So what exactly do guys on the practice squad end up doing?

Do they practice with the 53? And if so, how much practice do they actually get? Last year when Webb was QB #3, he didn’t really get much in the way of reps. How do practice squad guys get the reps to get better. For instance, Stephen Burton looks like he’s going to need a ton of work.

by kcskol on Sep 5, 2011 5:33 PM CDT reply actions

scout team

They still take part in team meetings and such. But they make up the majority of the scout team. If you don’t have a QB on the PS then your #3 QB runs the scout team, ala Joe Webb ca. 2010

"I am patient with stupidity but not with those who are proud of it."

by NMVike on Sep 5, 2011 8:55 PM CDT up reply actions