Minnesota Vikings: Shamar Stephen to IR, Kenrick Ellis signed

Minnesota Vikings DT Shamar Stephen is done for the year and a new player has been signed to take his place on the roster.

The Vikings announced on Tuesday that second-year DT Stephen has been placed on IR, ending his 2015 season. Stephen left Sunday’s game with a reported toe injury.

Stephen’s roster spot will be taken by Kenrick Ellis, a free agent DT who last played for the New York Giants.

Ellis was originally taken in the 3rd round of the 2011 draft by the New York Jets after playing his college ball at Hampton.

The 6-4, 346-pound Ellis played four years for the Jets, mostly as a reserve. In that time he amassed 52 tackles and one sack.

Ellis signed with the Giants in March of 2015 but was cut in September.

In 2010 while a member of the Hampton football team, the native Jamaican Ellis was arrested after allegedly chasing a man with a baseball bat and faced deportation before agreeing to a plea deal.

Ellis served 45 days in jail as part of that plea agreement.

Shamar Stephen’s season ends on IR after five games in which he racked up 3 tackles. He had a solid rookie season in 2014, starting three games and finishing the year with 26 tackles.

Next: NFL investigates late Griffen scratch

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