Vikings Place Smith Jr., Nwangwu, Chisena on IR, Bring Back Griffen and DePaola

Yesterday, in my post about the Vikings' initial 53-man roster, I tried to make it very clear that the roster was a fluid situation and that plenty of changes and shuffling were on the way.

That's been the case today, and then some.

The Vikings began the day with 53 players on the roster. Then they claimed tight end Ben Ellefson, waiving Jalyn Holmes to create space.

Here's what they've done since:

Placed Irv Smith Jr., Kene Nwangwu, and Dan Chisena on injured reserve
Waived Britton Colquitt
Had the Chris Herndon trade officially process
Re-signed Everson Griffen and Andrew DePaola

So the roster currently sits at 52, although they're reportedly expected to re-sign Colquitt. That was just another procedural move like the Griffen and DePaola cuts, perhaps due to the timing of the Herndon trade processing and when they were able to place the three players on IR.

Like Griffen and DePaola, punter Britton Colquitt is expected back with the #Vikings very soon.
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) September 1, 2021

Smith and Nwangwu going on IR was expected, but Chisena going there as well is news. He and Nwangwu will be eligible to return as soon as Week 4, but the Vikings' special teams will have to get by without them for now. Smith is likely out for the season.

The good news is that none of Anthony Barr, Christian Darrisaw, or Dede Westbrook went on IR, indicating the Vikings feel like those players will be able to return sooner than Week 4. This is a positive development on Darrisaw:

Source says tackle Christian Darrisaw is doing much better as he works his way back from his groin injury and it won't be long before he starts practicing again. The #Vikings didn't put Darrisaw on IR today so there wasn't a belief he wouldn't be able to play in the first 3 games
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) September 1, 2021

Despite briefly being down to one specialist, both DePaola and Colquitt are still around for now. Same with Griffen. Because those players are vested veterans, they don't have to be subject to waivers. It's a creative way to get players through to IR and avoid subjecting anyone to waivers.

Not practicing for the Vikings on Wednesday, in addition to the players on IR, were Barr, Alexander Mattison, and Josh Metellus. The two new tight ends — Herndon and Ellefson — will likely make their practice debuts on Thursday.

Also, in number news, Westbrook is switching to No. 12, previously occupied by Chad Beebe. That's the number he wore with the Jaguars. That frees up No. 89, which will be taken by Herndon (who wore that number with the Jets). Sheldon Richardson will have to change from No. 9 next week, per league policy, and it remains to be seen if Griffen will get No. 97 from Michael Pierce.

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