Minnesota Vikings Re-Sign Justin Trattou, Release Shaun Prater

With the injury situation in the Minnesota Vikings' defensive backfield looking slightly less dire than it did a few days ago, the team has released a player they signed as temporary help and brought back a familiar face.

On Monday, the Vikings re-signed defensive end Justin Trattou, who they had released prior to last week's game against the Arizona Cardinals. To make room for him on the roster, they released defensive back Shaun Prater.

Prater, who spent the preseason with the Vikings, was signed after injuries left Harrison Smith, Andrew Sendejo, and Antone Exum unable to play in last Thursday's game. He saw seven snaps worth of action against the Cardinals.

Trattou originally figured to play a pretty big role on the defensive line coming out of Training Camp, but a foot injury and the development of rookie Danielle Hunter have made him more of an afterthought. Still, he was playing well before his injury, and is good enough to be able to step into the rotation if anything should happen to any of the Vikings' top three defensive ends.

Not that you ever want to see a guy lose his job in the NFL, but hopefully the release of Prater is a positive sign for the status of Harrison Smith and Andrew Sendejo going into this Sunday's game at TCF Bank Stadium against the Chicago Bears.