Vikings Sign Speedy Journeyman Cornerback Parry Nickerson For Pre-Camp Depth
The Vikings have signed journeyman cornerback Parry Nickerson, they announced on Monday afternoon. They also officially announced the signing of tryout offensive tackle Evin Ksiezarczyk, who I wrote about on Sunday. Tryout corner Amari Henderson is away from the team attending his brother's funeral, but he'll be signed when he returns to Minnesota.
With Nickerson and Henderson, the Vikings are up to nine cornerbacks on the roster — one of them being Jeff Gladney, whose legal situation is still unresolved — and 86 total players of a possible 90.
Nickerson had a remarkable career at Tulane, recording 16 interceptions, 31 passes defended, and two touchdowns in four seasons. He was named first team All-AAC after a six-interception season as a redshirt senior in 2017. Nickerson then went out and ran a blazing 4.32 40 at the 2018 combine, which was tied for the fastest that year and ranks in the 97th percentile among corners all-time.
However, he's not a particularly great athlete outside of his straight-line speed and is undersized at 5'10", 182 pound, so Nickerson went to the Jets in the sixth round (179th overall) in the 2018 draft.
Nickerson played in all 16 games for New York as a rookie, starting two of them. He played roughly 200 snaps on defense and 100 on special teams, finishing the year with 21 tackles (one for loss) and one pass breakup.
Nickerson was traded to the Seahawks for a conditional seventh-rounder in 2019, but was released six weeks later. He got scooped up by the Jaguars, appearing in the final four games of the season, and was waived in final roster cuts last year. Nickerson then spent the 2020 season with the Packers, mostly on the practice squad or injured reserve.
His speed and college production are interesting, but there's a reason Nickerson (who turns 27 in October) is on his fifth team in four years. He's little more than a camp body for a team that needed to fill out its cornerback room. Nickerson, Henderson, and Dylan Mabin will look to push players like Harrison Hand and Kris Boyd for their 53-man roster spots.
"As far as our corner depth, honestly you guys laugh at me, but you can never have too many good corners," Mike Zimmer said on Saturday. "They just get hurt."
Nickerson is not related to Hardy Nickerson Jr., the linebacker who spent time with the Vikings last season and is now on the Texans' roster.
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