Vikings release Scott Crichton

When the Minnesota Vikings selected Scott Crichton out of Oregon State with their first of two third-round picks in 2014, many Vikings fans were excited about the pick, including myself. Crichton was a dominant player throughout his career with the Beavers. His technique wasn’t the most polished coming out of college but his speed and strength definitely stood out on tape. I remember watching highlights with Arif at Winter Park after the pick was announced and being very excited about Crichton’s potential. He was considered a possible steal in the third round and future successor to Brian Robison.

Of course, that isn’t exactly how things panned out for the Vikings. Robison is still going strong and just signed an extension with team while Crichton was just released.

The move was more inevitable than surprising. In fact, had Crichton not been hurt and placed on Injured Reserve at the beginning of last season, his prospects for making the 53-man roster didn’t look great at Training Camp.

Crichton played in 21 games during his first two NFL seasons, but most of that action was on a very limited basis of only a handful of snaps per game. He hasn’t recorded a sack in his NFL career.

Hopefully Crichton will be 100% healthy and be able to catch on with another NFL team. He certainly had potential, but unfortunately it was never realized in Minnesota.