The Vikings have made a flurry of roster moves over the past couple days. Let's go over all of them.
- OLB Marcus Davenport has been placed on injured reserve
- RB/KR Kene Nwangwu has been activated from injured reserve
- WR Jalen Nailor has been designated to return to practice (opening his 21-day window to be activated from IR)
- WR Trishton Jackson has been waived
- RB Myles Gaskin has been signed off the Vikings' practice squad by the Rams
Davenport heading to IR was expected. He suffered a high-ankle sprain in the Vikings' win over the Bears on Sunday and will miss at least the next four games, though it could be more. This is another tough break for a player who has struggled to stay healthy but looked really good in Weeks 4 and 5. In the meantime, the Vikings will roll with an outside linebacker group of Danielle Hunter, D.J. Wonnum, Pat Jones II, and Andre Carter II.
Nwangwu is healthy after missing the first six weeks of the season with a lower back injury. He'll step into his role as the team's kick returner, replacing Ty Chandler. In six games, Chandler returned just three kicks for 70 yards, but the Vikings may give Nwangwu more freedom to take the ball out from deep in the end zone. He had three kick return touchdowns over the last two seasons. There's an outside shot Nwangwu could see some touches on offense at some point this season.
Nailor is set to return soon from his hamstring injury. He could be activated this week, depending on how he feels in practice. He's an important special teams player who could be in the mix for snaps at wide receiver during Justin Jefferson's absence.
The Vikings signed Gaskin before the season but never used him. Now he heads to the Rams, where he could potentially get an opportunity to play because Kyren Williams is hurt.
The Vikings have a spot open on the 53-man roster after waiving Jackson, which will go to Nailor when he's cleared to play. They have a spot on the practice squad after losing Gaskin, which figures to go to Jackson to keep him around.
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