Vikings add three more players to practice squad

After not making any waiver claims following the 53-man roster cutdown, the Minnesota Vikings signed 12 players to the practice squad on Wednesday, all of whom were a part of the organization previously. On Thursday, they added three more players, all from outside of the organization.

One of those three players was Tay Gowan, who was originally drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the 6th round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Central Florida. After making the Cardinals’ roster, he was involved in the trade that sent tight end Zach Ertz to Arizona, getting shipped to the Philadelphia Eagles along with a fifth-round pick in exchange for Ertz. He wound up playing in just two games for Philadelphia and notched two tackles.

The second player has a bit of that “one of us” energy that we love so much, and that’s wide receiver Travis Toivonen. Toivonen played his college football for the University of North Dakota, and during his time in Grand Forks caught 139 passes for 1,713 yards and 13 touchdowns. He went undrafted in 2021 and spent the season on the New York Giants’ practice squad. He was not elevated to the active roster last season and, as such, does not have any statistics to speak of.

Almost as importantly. . .well, to some, anyway. . .Toivonen played his high school ball at Red Wing High School, where he earned 4A All-State Third-Team honors, leading the state with 1,037 yards in eight regular season games.

The last player is a quarterback, and one that Vikings fans have gotten to know a little bit over the past few years. That’s quarterback David Blough, who has been with the Detroit Lions for the last three seasons. Blough actually got five starts for the Lions in 2019, going 0-5 in those starts. One of those games came against the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium, a 20-7 Minnesota win in which the Lions didn’t get on the board until just before the two-minute warning.

Blough is the clear #3 QB on the depth chart as things stand right now, something the Vikings needed after Sean Mannion signed with the Seattle Seahawks and Kellen Mond was claimed on waivers by the Cleveland Browns.

These three signings mean that the Vikings have filled 15 of the 16 spots on the practice squad. Who will they pick up to fill the final spot? Hopefully we’ll get some word on that in the next day or so.