Vikings waive WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette to make room for Jalen Reagor

The Minnesota Vikings made a surprising transaction on Wednesday, waiving wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette from the 53-man roster.

After only one season wearing a purple and gold jersey, the Minnesota Vikings are moving on from wide receiver and punt returner Ihmir Smith-Marsette as the former Iowa standout was waived on Wednesday afternoon.

The surprising transaction comes as a response to the purple and gold making a trade for Philadelphia Eagles receiver Jalen Reagor in order to get the roster back to the 53-man limit needed.

Prior to today, it was expected that Smith-Marsette would be the primary punt return specialist for Minnesota after having a solid training camp and preseason, but now he will be subjected to waivers.

What does this all mean for the Minnesota Vikings?

Replacing Ihmir Smith-Marsette with Jalen Reagor is an interesting move for Minnesota. Smith-Marsette was appearing as though he was carving a role for himself through special teams while making some plays on offense, but that role will likely go to Reagor now.

NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero announced on his Twitter account that the Vikings’ corresponding move to acquiring Reagor was waiving Smith-Marsette.

The Vikings have been busy recently, making several trades to acquire players as well as get compensation for players who may have been released as part of the team’s cuts. So far, there have been some players let go who seemed to have some potential going forward and Smith-Marsette joins those ranks.

Don’t be surprised if the former fifth-round 2021 NFL Draft pick is claimed on waivers by a team fairly early in the pecking order. His ability to return punts as well as his 6’1, 185-pound frame should give him some appeal to teams in need of depth at receiver and on special teams.

We at The Viking Age would like to thank Imhir Smith-Marsette for his time with the Minnesota Vikings and wish him the best going forward.