In a move that hardly was a surprise, the Vikings on Tuesday released punt returner Marcus Sherels.
With cornerback Mike Hughes having taken over as the returner in Sunday’s 42-30 win at Detroit, Sherels was inactive. Sherels also plays cornerback, but was deep on the depth chart at that spot.
With wide receiver Adam Thielen unlikely to play Thursday against Washington because of a hamstring injury, a source had said Monday there was a strong chance Minnesota would sign receiver Davion Davis off the practice squad. With the move made on Sherels, Davis remains a candidate to be signed Wednesday to fill the open roster spot.
Sherels played with the Vikings from 2010-18 and was not offered a contract last March as a free agent. He was re-signed Sept. 24 after punt returner and receiver Chad Beebe was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury. In three games, Sherrels returned six punts for a 5.5-yard average.
Sherels was asked by the Pioneer Press on Monday about the possibility of being cut.
“I don’t know,’’ he said. “I’m just taking it day by day and helping any way I can. … You can’t really worry about those things.”
Sherels is the leading punt returner in Vikings history with 2,480 yards. He has a career average of 10.5 yards per return.
The Vikings don’t owe Sherels any more money on his prorated minimum contract of $930,000. When he signed last month as a vested veteran, he was guaranteed 25 percent of his salary for all remaining games but already had earned that 25 percent.
BRIEFLY
–Head coach Mike Zimmer complained through the media last year about the Vikings not having a home game on a short week in his first five seasons as coach. They finally got one this year, with a game Thursday against Washington at U.S. Bank Stadium. “I might have mentioned (to the NFL) that we haven’t had one in five years,” Zimmer said.
–With the short week, Zimmer said he reminded his players to “go home and study” on their iPads. “Usually, they do it pretty good and I can check their pads to see how much time they’ve been studying on them,” he said.
–A source said it was a concussion that led to undrafted rookie safety Isaiah Wharton being on Minnesota’s injured-reserve list for the first four weeks of the season before an injury settlement was reached Oct. 1 and he was waived off the list. Wharton is doing fine now.
Leave a Reply