Punter Brett Thorson's hamstring injury and the need for running back depth led to a pair of moves on Tuesday afternoon.
The Minnesota Vikings made a pair of practice squad roster moves Tuesday afternoon, signing punter Johnny Hekker and running back Jaret Patterson while releasing wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph and cornerback Bryce Phillips. The moves address two areas of concern on the Vikings roster as injury questions linger heading deeper into September.
The move to sign Hekker is a straightforward one. He lost the punter battle to Brett Thorson during the preseason and training camp, but Thorson suffered a hamstring injury that could hinder him for an unknown amount of time. The Vikings have not placed Thorson on injured reserve at this point, so Hekker is simply insurance.
It makes sense to bring him in because there is already a little bit of chemistry built between kicker Will Reichard and long snapper Andrew DePaola . Hecker is known by many as the best holder in the NFL. That will be a huge factor in the choice of who to bring in as the backup punter.
The running back Minnesota brought in is an intriguing player. Patterson was an undrafted free agent out of the University of Buffalo who signed with the Washington Commanders in 2021. He played in all 17 games as a rookie with 266 yards on 68 carries and two touchdowns, then bounced around the league since, spending time with Washington in 2022 and the last two years with the Los Angeles Chargers . He has played in 27 career games.
Patterson's career stat line sits at 126 carries for 503 yards and three touchdowns, along with 13 catches for 81 yards. Those are decent numbers, especially when it comes to a yards-per-carry average of 4.0. You aren't going to find much better than that on the free agent market during the month of September.
Patterson is best known for a performance he had with Buffalo in November of 2020, when he ran for eight touchdowns and 409 yards on 36 carries. It was a dominant day for Patterson, but the 5-foot-8, 195-pound back hasn't been able to catch on consistently in the NFL. It will be interesting to see what he can do with the Vikings, but right now he's providing depth and assurance, which is exactly what Minnesota needs.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: Minnesota Vikings make necessary roster moves to fortify roster after multiple injuries linger over the roster
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