The Vikings have signed the second linebacker that they had a past relationship with in a week, as they've brought back former starting middle linebacker Napoleon Harris. Harris signed a one-year deal.
Harris, if you'll remember, originally came to the Vikings in the Randy Moss trade prior to the 2005 Draft, and was the starter for the Raiders at that spot the last time they went to the Super Bowl. After not doing a whole hell of a lot for the team in 2005, he had a pretty outstanding 2006 season, and cashed in on that success by signing a free agent contract with the Kansas City Chiefs. Strangely, here are his 2008 stats to this point:
Yes. . .for whatever reason, Harris hasn't seen the field in six games for the Chiefs this year. I'm not sure if he was injured or what the deal is. I'll be looking around here to find out as soon as the post goes up. If there are any Chief fans out there that could enlighten us as well, that would be great.
I'm guessing that Harris won't be available this weekend against Chicago, but he should be ready to go after the bye week. The scheme is basically the same as when he left, so there shouldn't be much of an adjustment period.
In order to get Harris on to the roster, the Vikings release fullback Thomas Tapeh, just six games into the five-year, $6 million contract he signed this off-season with the Beloved Purple. It came to light over the past week that Tapeh had undergone a knee surgery just prior to signing with the Vikings that he didn't bother to tell anyone about. He had also spent the past four games on the inactive list.
Yeah. . .not the best signing ever for the Vikings there.
We'll be back with more throughout the course of the day. Blogger Deathsport picks, injury reports, all sorts of goodness. Stay tuned!