Inside The Vikings

NFC North Foe Poaches Veteran Corner Off Vikings' Practice Squad

Joejuan Williams is headed to the Bears, weakening the Vikings' cornerback depth.
Will Ragatz|
NFC North Foe Poaches Veteran Corner Off Vikings' Practice Squad
NFC North Foe Poaches Veteran Corner Off Vikings' Practice Squad

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Minnesota Vikings

The Bears have signed veteran cornerback Joejuan Williams off of the Vikings' practice squad, they announced on Wednesday morning.

This move deals a blow to Minnesota's depth at corner. Williams was functionally the team's CB5, behind Byron Murphy Jr., Akayleb Evans, Mekhi Blackmon, and Andrew Booth Jr. (who has not yet played a defensive snap this season). Rookie NaJee Thompson is also on the 53-man roster, but he's exclusively a special teams player.

The Vikings still have undrafted rookie corners C.J. Coldon Jr. and Jaylin Williams on their practice squad, but they may look to add another at some point.

Joejuan Williams signed a one-year deal with the Vikings this spring after spending his first four seasons with the Patriots, who drafted him 45th overall out of Vanderbilt in 2019. A big, physical corner at 6'3", 212 pounds, Williams began training camp working with the starting defense but quickly fell behind players like Blackmon and Booth on the depth chart. He was released during roster cuts and landed on the practice squad.

Williams appeared in 38 games (including playoffs) over his first three seasons with New England, starting two of them. He missed the 2022 campaign with an injury.

The Bears are dealing with several injuries in their cornerback room, so Williams will add some important depth. The 0-3 Bears and 0-3 Vikings both have must-win games this weekend against the 0-3 Broncos and 0-3 Panthers, respectively.

The Vikings also announced that they signed RB Myles Gaskin, who was released on Tuesday, to their practice squad. They still have a spot open on their 53-man roster.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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