Minnesota Vikings Place Shamar Stephen on IR; Sign Kenrick Ellis

Because of an injury, the Minnesota Vikings made a move along the defensive front on Tuesday afternoon.

The team has placed second-year defensive tackle Shamar Stephen on injured reserve, ending his season. Stephen suffered a toe injury in Sunday's 16-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Stephen was a seventh-round pick of the Vikings in the 2014 NFL Draft out of the University of Connecticut. In five games this season, he had collected three tackles while playing in a backup capacity.

To fill his spot on the roster, the Vikings signed defensive tackle Kenrick Ellis. Ellis was a third-round pick (#94 overall) of the New York Jets in the 2011 NFL Draft, having played his college ball at both the University of South Carolina and Hampton University. According to NFL.com, he stands 6'4" and weighs in at. . .checks website, rubs eyes, looks again. . .345 pounds. He played in 47 games for the Jets, getting five starts over that time. He has also had two separate stints with the New York Giants this season, but appeared in just one game for them.

Ellis will likely slot into Stephen's spot as the fourth defensive tackle behind Sharrif Floyd, Linval Joseph, and Tom Johnson. I'm not sure how much playing time he'll see early on, but there's a chance that he could become a part of the rotation sooner rather than later.