Getty Duke Shelley of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Minnesota Vikings invested heavily in their defense over the 2024 offseason.
They replaced three edge defenders and their Week 1 starting middle linebacker all of whom left in free agency. They also added cornerback depth via the 2024 draft and free agency.
Vikings brass, seeking to add further depth at the cornerback position, reunited with former Chicago Bears draft pick Duke Shelley. Shelley also spent the 2022 season with the Vikings. He sent a message after landing the deal.
“God is good,” Shelley posted on X on July 23.
Welcome back, Duke!
The #Vikings have signed @DukeSaysGo.
Shelley also had a message about Vikings fans.
“Vikings fans will forever be the best fanbase in the NFL without a doubt #Skol,” Shelley posted on X on July 23
Shelley, 27, appeared in 11 games with five starts for the Vikings in 2022. He allowed a career-low 45.7% completion on 46 targets thrown his way, per Pro Football Reference. He also had 31 tackles, eight pass deflections, and an interception.
Shelley has 52 games of experience with 11 starts in his career. He also plays special teams.
Duke Shelley Joins Crowded Vikings Cornerback Group
GettyDuke Shelley of the Minnesota Vikings.
Shelley joins a cornerback room that includes incumbents Akayleb Evans, Andrew Booth, Byron Murphy, and Mekhi Blackmon as well as 2023 free agent signing Shaquill Griffin. ESPN projects Griffin and Murphy to start with Blacmon and Evans backing them up.
The Vikings also selected cornerback Kyhree Jackson in the fourth round of the 2023 draft. But he died in a car crash on July 6.
Shelley is coming off a one-year, $1 million contract with the Los Angeles Rams in 2023.
He has earned $4 million in his career, which began as a sixth-round pick by the Bears in the 2019 draft. Shelley spent four seasons with the Bears before moving on to the Vikings. He also spent the 2023 offseason as a member of the Las Vegas Raiders.
There are several other inexperienced corners on the Vikngs’ 90-man roster, so the addition of the veteran Shelley stands out. Teams have until August 27 to finalize rosters.
Shelley’s spot may not be locked in. But proven depth could appeal to the Vikings.
Vikings’ Offseason Moves Could Be Telling for Young CBs
GettyCornerback Andrew Booth Jr. #23 of the Minnesota Vikings.
Blackmon, Booth, and Evans are all under 26 years old. But the Vikings’ offseason moves suggest a lack of faith in some or all of them. Booth and Evans were selected in the second and fourth rounds of the 2022 draft. Blackmon was a third-round pick in 2023.
Murphy is 26 years old and deflected a career-high 13 passes in 2023, per Pro Football Reference.
Still, the Vikings invested a fourth-round pick in Jackson in the 2024 draft after signing Griffin to a one-year, $4.4 million contract in free agency.
Evans started 15 games in 2023 and could keep that spot opposite Griffin when the Vikings are in nickel. Murphy is set to play more slot cornerback in 2024, which is a role he occupied even before joining the Vikings in free agency during the 2023 offseason.
All three of Booth, Blackmon, and Evans are under contract through at least the 2025 season.
Griffin and Murphy are in the final year of their respective contracts. The Vikings could have to revisit the position during the 2025 offseason.