A year after making a trade for Ross Blacklock, the Vikings will not carry the former second-round pick through to their 53-man roster. The Vikings will waive the contract-year defensive lineman, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
Blacklock played sparingly for the Vikings last season and will join a number of players brought in during Ed Donatell‘s one-season run as DC to be jettisoned. The Vikings also released veteran D-lineman Sheldon Day on Monday night.
Chosen 40th overall in 2020, Blacklock may be more famous for his draft slot compared to his NFL on-field work to date. The Texans chose Blacklock with the pick they obtained for DeAndre Hopkins during Bill O’Brien‘s short stint working as the team’s de facto GM. Blacklock, however, has been unable to put it together as a pro. He has made three career starts; each of those came with Houston.
The Vikings used Blacklock on 139 defensive plays across 11 games last season. The rotational defensive lineman totaled one sack and two tackles for loss. The Texans sent Blacklock to the Vikes in a pick-swap deal last August. Minnesota signed Day to its practice squad in December of last year and gave him a reserve/futures deal in January. Day, who started for the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV, has not played in a regular-season game since doing so with the Browns in 2021.
One year remains on Blacklock’s second-round contract. He was due to make $1M in base salary. Although players from this year’s second round secured fourth-year guarantees, none remain on Blacklock’s deal. The Vikings will save $1M in cap space by making this move.
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