Minnesota Vikings Move Four Players To Injured Reserve, Sign Guys You've Never Heard Of

Well, things continue to go swimmingly in Minnesota.

According to the folks at Pro Football Talk (and having been broken by Landonio in the FanPosts), the Vikings have moved four of their players to the injured reserve list, ending their seasons. The biggest surprise on the list is that of wide receiver Michael Jenkins. Jenkins, who had proven to be a pretty effective receiver after having come over from Atlanta during the off-season, suffered a knee injury in Sunday's game, and it's apparently severe enough to put him on injured reserve.

The Vikings also placed long snapper Cullen Loeffler and safeties Husain Abdullah and Tyrell Johnson on injured reserve. Loeffler got a contract extension prior to the season, so he'll be back in 2012 to resume his long snapping duties. As far as Abdullah and Johnson, it remains to be seen if they will be part of what will likely be a complete purging of the Vikings' secondary prior to the 2012 season. My guess is that Abdullah is back next year, while we've (thankfully) seen the last of Tyrell Johnson in a Vikings uniform.

In their places, the Vikings have signed four players. The biggest of those names is probably safety Jarrad Page, who was a member of the Philadelphia Eagles for the first six games of this season, getting five starts. He was released less than two weeks ago. He was a 7th-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2006 draft out of UCLA, and has 12 career interceptions.

The Vikings also brought back wide receiver Stephen Burton, who had originally been released to make room for tight end Allen Reisner prior to the game against the Falcons. They also brought in safety Andrew Sendejo, who played for the Sacramento Mountain Lions in 2010 and was waived by the Jets this pre-season, and long snapper Matt Katula, who in the past has plied his trade with the Baltimore Ravens and the New England Patriots.

The Vikings also brought back tight end Mickey Shuler. Shuler was a 7th-round pick of the Vikings in the 2010 NFL Draft, but was let go by the team (to make room for Hank Baskett, of all people) and signed by the Miami Dolphins, where he caught two passes for 44 yards last season. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals this past off-season, but failed his physical and hadn't resigned with anyone since. He will be on the Vikings' practice squad.

So there you go. If you're heading to the Metrodome this weekend, make sure you buy a program. . .otherwise you might not know who anybody is.