Vikings sign four from weekend mini-camp

This past weekend, the Minnesota Vikings held their rookie mini-camp. That camp included not only their draft class and the undrafted free agents they signed, but a group of players that were there on a tryout basis. From that camp, the team has signed four new faces. Because the roster was already at 90 players, that means they had to let four players go as well to balance things out.

The players that the team signed are Northern Illinois wide receiver Chad Beebe, Southern Illinois cornerback Craig James, Nevada-Las Vegas fullback Johnny Stanton, and Western Illinois linebacker Brett Taylor. Apparently it was a good weekend to be from a directional Illinois college.

• Beebe is notable because he’s the son of former Buffalo Bills’ wide receiver Don Beebe (ie “the guy that chased down Leon Lett in the Super Bowl when he started celebrating too early”). Of course he had a decent career at Northern Illinois (averaging nearly 15 yards/reception this past season), but that’s where people are going to recognize the name from.
• James might be a recognizable name to local fans, as he started his college career with the Minnesota Golden Gophers before transferring to Southern Illinois.
• Stanton is notable because, as you can see from the picture of him we attached to the story, he was a quarterback at UNLV. Well, a quarterback among other things. He also saw some time at linebacker with the Rebels, and apparently the Vikings think he’s a fullback.
• Taylor was named an FCS All-American this past season and was the Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.

The four players that the Vikings released were long snapper Nick Dooley, wide receiver Armanti Foreman, defensive tackle Caushaud Lyons, and fullback Kamryn Pettway. Foreman and Pettway were signed as undrafted free agents after last weekend’s NFL Draft. Lyons spent some time on the Vikings’ practice squad last season and was signed to a futures contract at the end of the year. Dooley was signed by the Vikings in late March.

So, the Vikings’ roster is still at 90 players, but there are a few new faces that have been brought into the fold.