Cornerback Melvin White released by the Minnesota Vikings
By Adam Carlson
The Minnesota Vikings have decided to part ways with young defensive back Melvin White, releasing the cornerback on Thursday, August 2, 2016.
It seems as though the Minnesota Vikings are starting their cuts early. Typically, squads wait until closer to the deadline to bring their team down to 75 players to begin announcing players they have released, but one player was let go today.
The team recently announced on their Twitter account that they have released cornerback Melvin White.
White was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Carolina Panthers before becoming a member of the St. Louis Rams practice squad during the 2015 season. Afterwards, he was signed to a reserve/futures contract by the Minnesota Vikings on January 15, 2016 for 1 year worth $600,000.
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One of the biggest issues concerning Melvin White is his injury history. Hurt much of this preseason and his health being the major issue in his past, the uphill battle for the defensive back to earn a spot on the roster was just too much.
This transaction puts the Minnesota Vikings at 89 players. The deadline to trim rosters to 75 players is August 30, 2016 at 3 pm central time, so fans shouldn’t expect any players to be signed to the roster for the week 3 preseason game against the San Diego Chargers on Sunday, August 28th.
This doesn’t mean that White can’t catch on another place. In fact, releasing him at this point of the preseason opens up options for him to latch on to another team with needs in the defensive secondary and make an impression in a short period of time.
Next: Vikings game-by-game 2016 season preview
Best of luck to Melvin White on his future endeavors. Hopefully he can still find a way to keep his NFL hopes alive by latching on to a different team or be added to the practice squad of a franchise. There is still some chance he could return as a member of the Minnesota Vikings practice squad as well, but there will be tough competition from all the fantastic young players on the roster at the moment.