Minnesota Vikings make 3 transactions ahead of Week 17 vs. Lions
By Adam Carlson
The Minnesota Vikings made some moves to be ready for Week 17 against Detroit.
Heading into Week 17, the Minnesota Vikings are hurting. The team has placed several important players on injured reserve this season and many others have missed time this year. This forces the team to need to get production from some unexpected places.
Since the Vikings have been eliminated from the playoffs and there are so many familiar players not suiting up for Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions, Minnesota made some adjustments to their roster to be ready for the game.
Here are the moves the Minnesota Vikings made according to the team’s official Twitter account on Saturday:
- Tae Hayes, CB – Elevated to the active roster
- Cordrea Tankersley, CB – Elevated to the active roster
- Eddie Yarbrough, DE – Elevated to the active roster via COVID-19 replacement.
It’s not surprising to see cornerbacks being promoted for Week 17. The Vikings released Holton Hill earlier this season and placed Mike Hughes on injured reserve, leaving a young group of players to fill in. Then, the Week 17 injury report confirmed the team would be without Cameron Dantzler and Chris Jones, limiting the available bodies for Sunday.
Hayes is the player Vikings fans might be the least familiar with among these transactions. The former Appalachian State corner was an undrafted free agent of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019 and spent some time that season with the Denver Broncos as well. He signed to Minnesota’s practice squad on Dec. 2, 2020.
Meanwhile, Tankersley has spent a little more time with Minnesota. He was signed to the Vikings practice squad on Nov. 9, 2020 after being waived by the Miami Dolphins. Both he and Hayes could see the field against Detroit.
Yarbrough has seen action for Minnesota at defensive end this season, playing in three games and accumulating seven tackles (five solo) and one quarterback hit. Like with the corners, the available pass rushers are slim with Ifeadi Odenigbo and Jalyn Holmes ruled out.
Best of luck to these three players in Week 17 as the Minnesota Vikings hope to end the season on a positive note by defeating the Detroit Lions.