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Minnesota Vikings reversing roster moves from last week shows brilliance in manipulating practice squad elevations

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Tyler Forness | Last updated Oct 8, 2024 11:40 PM ET

The Minnesota Vikings added Robert Tonyan to the active roster from the practice squad last Thursday and have reversed the decision. According to the transaction wire via Pro Football Talk , the Vikings have signed running back Myles Gaskin from the practice squad and have released Robert Tonyan.

Why would the Vikings choose to do this? It appears to be procedural. The Vikings had only two tailbacks on the roster last week with Gaskin getting elevated from the practice squad for the second time this year. Being that they are both veterans, neither have to clear waivers.

Kwesi Adofo-Mensah uses brilliant roster maneuvering

So, why did the Vikings swap them between the active roster and the practice squad? They likely wanted to preserve Tonyan's final practice squad elevation. Hockenson is set to return to the field likely in week seven against the Detroit Lions.

By moving Tonyan to the active roster for a game, they preserved his third and final elevation which might not be used for a while unless one of their tight ends gets injured. Gaskin is likely to stay on the active roster for the remainder of the season this year and moving down to the practice squad and getting elevated didn't impact his paycheck at all.

This is the reason why the Vikings have veterans on the back end of the roster as the final pieces to the roster because you can make these moves without having to do expose players to waivers.

Brilliant maneuvering by general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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