Following Holton Hill’s recent suspension, the Minnesota Vikings reportedly worked out a pair of free-agent corners on Wednesday.
The Minnesota Vikings found out earlier in the offseason that they will be without second-year cornerback Holton Hill for the first four games of 2019 due to testing positive for PEDs.
They most recently found out that he will miss an additional four games this season for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. This comes right after a rookie season in which Hill really stood out.
In the only three starts last year, he registered one interception and seven pass breakups. He was an undrafted free agent and he wasn’t expected to have much of a role on the Vikings’ defense last season. But with injuries to other players on the roster forcing him to step up, Hill proved he has the ability to do so.
To prepare for a possible departure of Hill, it seems like Minnesota is showing interest in a pair of veteran corners who are currently free agents. According to NFL Media’s Tom Peliserro on Wednesday, the Vikings brought in Orlando Scandrick and Dexter McDonald to workout for the team.
Scandrick was drafted in 2008 by the Dallas Cowboys where he spent his first nine years of his career. Last year, he played for the Kansas City Chiefs and he appeared in 15 games and tallied 38 total tackles and one interception.
Overall, the 32-year-old veteran had a fairly successful season for the Chiefs. He had a career-high 13 pass breakups and also added a forced fumble to his stats.
McDonald has three years of NFL experience as a reserve and he last appeared in a game in 2017 as a member of the Oakland Raiders.
We all know Mike Zimmer loves his defensive backs. You might even say he has spent too much time building that secondary rather than the offensive line.
But last year, Xavier Rhodes dealt with injuries, rookie Mike Hughes tore his ACL, and with looming rumors about Trae Waynes being dealt, it’s a smart move for the Vikings to bring in another veteran corner.
Mackensie Alexander had a career year last year playing the slot. Scandrick will give him that veteran presence behind him and help continue to develop Alexander into an even more dynamic slot corner.
It even provides them with much-needed depth to this secondary that has lost some of its depth this offseason. It’ll be key if they can add Scandrick to this elite defense.