Minnesota Vikings 2020 practice squad signing and rumor tracker

The Minnesota Vikings are putting together their practice squad.

It is that time of year that many young players in the NFL dread. Teams like the Minnesota Vikings are forced to part ways with several players who show potential yet didn’t have the opportunity to ‘wow’ the coaching staff.

For those players, there is an opportunity they can latch on to another team. However, their last opportunity for a chance to stay on an NFL team is to be signed to their practice squad and hope to be elevated to the 53-man roster.

This year, the formation of the practice squad could be more important than ever. The lack of time and resources to evaluate talent based on COVID-19 precautions and a lack of a normal preseason could make the team’s decisions extremely difficult and a high-quality player could slip through the cracks.

Thankfully, rules for the practice squad are a little different this year. 16 players will be allowed to be signed to the squad, allowing teams to keep six more players than usual. Those six slots can be used on players with any experience level, even those who normally wouldn’t qualify.

Another big change is that four of the players on the squad can be declared to be protected. If a player is designated as protected, that means they cannot be signed by another team while being part of the practice squad.

Signings or reports or expected signings started trickling in on Saturday, Sept. 5 but cannot become official until the next day. Here are those who are reported to have made the cut according to Courtney Cronin of ESPN unless otherwise noted.

Minnesota Vikings practice squad

• Jake Bargas, fullback
• Blake Brandel, offensive line
• Jake Browning, quarterback
• Aviante Collins, offensive line
• Brandon Dillon, tight end
• Mark Fields II, cornerback
• Kyle Hinton, guard
• Alexander Hollins, wide receiver
• Brett Jones, center
• Blake Lynch, linebacker
• Nate Meadors, cornerback
• Josh Metellus, safety
• Nate Stanley, quarterback
• Chase McLaughlin, kicker (via Chris Tomasson on Twitter)
• Hardy Nickerson, linebacker
• Albert Huggins, defensive tackle

Some details on practice squad signings

As of this time. all 16 of the 16 available slots are filled and designations as to which players are protected have not been made. However, that information is sure to change as the practice squad evolves.

Congratulations to the players who made the Minnesota Vikings practice squad. Hopefully, these individuals can continue to pursue their dreams of landing on an NFL roster and helping a team move toward a Super Bowl victory.