After it was revealed that second-year Minnesota Vikings cornerback Mekhi Blackmon suffered a season-ending torn ACL during Wednesday's training camp practice, many quickly began to think about who the team could sign to replace him.
But less than 24 hours later, it seems like the Vikings have already made a decision about a replacement for Blackmon, at least for the time being. On Thursday, Minnesota announced the signing of free-agent cornerback Jacobi Francis, who spent part of last season on the practice squad of the Houston Texans.
Listed at 5-foot-11 and 193 pounds, Francis appeared in five games with the Texans in 2022, but all of his snaps came on special teams. In 2023, he was on Houston's practice squad for the first seven weeks of the regular season, and he didn't appear in any matchups.
Could Jacobi Francis be a placeholder for a future Minnesota Vikings CB signing?
With Francis having very little on-field NFL experience, is he really the guy the Vikings have selected to help replace Blackmon, or is he just a quick-fix to make sure the team has enough corners for their next few training camp practices?
There are still a number of veteran cornerbacks available in free agency who have a connection to the Vikings, including Patrick Peterson and Stephon Gilmore. Could Francis just be a roster-filler until Minnesota is able to sign a more reliable cornerback in the future?
We'll just have to wait and see, but it would definitely be odd if the Vikings wound up not adding another veteran cornerback with starting experience to their roster before the start of the 2024 season, given how Blackmon was expected play significant snaps for the team this year.
In addition to Francis, Minnesota also signed linebacker Jabril Cox, a fourth-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in the 2021 NFL Draft. To make room for Francis and Cox on their roster, the Vikings released linebacker K.J. Cloyd and placed Blackmon on the team's injured reserve list.