Inside The Vikings

Vikings Place Cameron Dantzler on IR, Sign Duke Shelley to Active Roster

Akayleb Evans is next in line to replace Dantzler, who will miss at least four games.
Will Ragatz|
Vikings Place Cameron Dantzler on IR, Sign Duke Shelley to Active Roster
Vikings Place Cameron Dantzler on IR, Sign Duke Shelley to Active Roster

In this story:

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings placed Cameron Dantzler Sr. on injured reserve on Saturday. He's dealing with an ankle injury and will miss at least the next four games — all of which come against teams with winning records.

Rookie Akayleb Evans will make his first career start against the Bills and will likely remain in the starting lineup against the Cowboys, Patriots, and Jets. Fellow rookie Andrew Booth Jr. could also factor into the equation, particularly if Evans struggles. Evans saw 44 snaps against the Commanders after Dantzler got hurt and played well, making two tackles for loss and breaking up a pass on a key fourth down.

The Vikings signed cornerback Duke Shelley to the active roster from the practice squad, so he takes Dantzler's spot on the 53.

They also elevated rookie tight end Nick Muse to the active roster for the Bills game. He'll serve as the No. 3 tight end behind T.J. Hockenson and Johnny Mundt and should play on special teams. Ben Ellefson returned to practice this week after a stint on IR, but he won't be activated until next week at the earliest.

Dantzler, 24, is in his third season with the Vikings. A third-round pick out of Mississippi State in 2020, he started 10 games as a rookie and showed some promise. Dantzler lost a training camp competition to veteran Bashaud Breeland last year, but wound up starting seven games. He started each of the first eight games this year and was playing fairly well.

Now the spotlight is on Evans. The fourth-round pick out of Missouri is suddenly a starting cornerback on a 7-1 team that has hopes of making a run to the Super Bowl.

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis all offseason long. Also, follow me on Twitter and feel free to ask me any questions on there.

Published
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.

Share on XFollow WillRagatz
Home/News