To the shock of some on Thursday, the Minnesota Vikings announced that the team had waived second-year cornerback Dwight McGlothern.
McGlothern being the one that the Vikings parted with wasn't the main source of shock; the reactions were more centered around the team making their already thin cornerback group even slimmer with the transaction.
With Thursday's roster move, Isaiah Rodgers, Byron Murphy, and Fabian Moreau are now the only corners on the Vikings' active roster. Again, it's not like McGlothern was playing much, but his departure still weakens Minnesota's cornerback group by shrinking it down to just three members.
Waiving of Dwight McGlothern suspected as a move to create room for a returning Minnesota Vikings starter
Following the news of McGlothern getting waived on Thursday, the Minnesota Star Tribune's Ben Goessling shared a potential reason why the Vikings made the move.
"The Vikings need a spot on their active roster to bring Ryan Kelly back from injured reserve. That’s likely why they waived cornerback Dwight McGlothern today."
Minnesota center Ryan Kelly has been working his way back from a concussion that he suffered in Week 4, and this week, he's been listed as a full participant in both of the team's practice sessions.
Since Kelly is still on the Vikings' injured reserve list, they needed to free up a spot on their 53-man active roster in order to make room for the veteran offensive lineman. Given his practice participation and McGlothern's departure on Thursday, the chances of Minnesota adding Kelly back to its active roster before Sunday's Week 12 game against the Green Bay Packers seem high.
As for the Vikings' cornerback room, it's possible that the team could re-sign McGlothern back to their practice squad if he clears waivers. Minnesota could then elevate him to the active roster on game days for the next three weeks without eliminating his practice squad status.
Still, the Vikings only having a total of three cornerbacks signed to their active roster seems like something they should change sooner rather than later, especially since it's not exactly their strongest position group on the defensive side of the ball.