Aug. 31—The Vikings wasted no time addressing their need at tight end.
On Tuesday, they acquired tight end Chris Herndon from the New York Jets along with a sixth-round draft pick, giving up a fourth-round pick in a deal expected to become official on Wednesday. Herndon, a three-year NFL veteran who had 39 catches in 2018 and 31 in 2020, comes to the team after the Vikings learned last weekend that starting tight end Irv Smith Jr. will miss at least the beginning of the season with a torn meniscus. He will have knee surgery this week.
Tuesday was the deadline for teams to cut rosters down to the NFL maximum of 53 for the regular season. The biggest name released was defensive end Everson Griffen, but he does not have to go through waivers and indications are the Vikings are likely to re-sign him.
The Vikings could soon have several open roster spots after they place some players on injured reserve; those players would have to miss at least three games. Smith and tackle Christian Darrisaw, who has a groin injury, are candidates for injured reserve. And a source said rookie running back Kene Nwangwu, who hyperextended a knee in an Aug. 14 preseason game against Denver, will be placed on injured reserve.
Other players released who don’t have to go through waivers were long snapper Andrew DePaola, running back Ameer Abdullah, guard Dakota Dozier and cornerback Tye Smith. Like Griffen, all had nonguaranteed one-year minimum contracts. DePaola could return to the team.
The most notable players waived by the Vikings were quarterback Jake Browning and tight end Zach Davidson, a fifth-round draft pick out of Central Missouri. The Vikings hope to put both of them on the practice squad.
With quarterback Nate Stanley waived with an injury designation, that leaves rookie Kellen Mond as the only other quarterback on the roster for now to back up Kirk Cousins. A source said Browning has been told he still could compete for the backup job if he is on the practice squad, and the Vikings also could sign a veteran.
With the Vikings waiving Davidson and Shane Zylstra, they will have three tights on the 53-man roster once the Herndon deal becomes official. The others are Tyler Conklin, the projected starter for now with Smith out, and Brandon Dillon.
Other players waived were defensive end Hercules Mata’afa, running back A.J. Rose Jr., cornerback Parry Nickerson, fullback Jake Bargas, tackle Zack Bailey, guard Kyle Hinton, wide receivers Whop Philyor and Myron Mitchell, linebacker Tuf Borland, defensive end Kenny Willekes and safety Myles Dorn
Wide receiver Chad Beebe, who suffered a foot injury during last Friday’s 28-25 loss at Kansas City in the preseason finale, was waived with an injury designation; a source said he will end up on the season-ending injured reserve list. Guard Dru Samia and safety Luther Kirk also were waived with injury designations.
Wide receiver and special-teams ace Dan Chisena made the 53-man roster for the second straight year.