Getty The San Francisco 49ers inquired about a trade for Vikings cornerback Cameron Dantzler.
The Vikings‘ depleted cornerback corps took another hit on Wednesday.
Rookie cornerback Cameron Dantzler was added to the team’s COVID-19 reserve list on Wednesday after three other cornerbacks landed on the injury report. The Vikings added two cornerbacks to the roster by claiming former Cardinals cornerback Chris Jones and signing practice squad member Mark Fields II to help bolster the secondary as it appears the Vikings have not improved healthwise after their bye week.
Dantzler’s designation does not necessarily mean he has coronavirus, however, his status for the Packers game this Sunday is in jeopardy. Players are placed on the list either because they have COVID-19 or have been in close contact with someone who does, leading to a quarantine period. If Dantzler did test negative, he can be reactivated to the roster after he receives two consecutive negative tests. Under the league’s increasingly flux protocols, if Dantzler is deemed a “high-risk” close contact case, he will have to quarantine for five days, the Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling reported.
The Vikings’ two eldest cornerbacks, third-year veterans Holton Hill and Mike Hughes, both did not practice with foot and neck injuries, respectively, while second-year cornerback Kris Boyd was limited with a hamstring/back designation.
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Vikings Getting Desperate at Cornerback
With the quartet of corners who did not participate in a full capacity at Wednesday’s practice, Fields was elevated to taking first-team reps. He has just six career snaps on defense, which all came in last year’s season opener against the Falcons. Fields gave up a touchdown to Julio Jones in that game and was waived a week later before being re-signed to the practice squad.
In the event none of the missing corners return against the Packers, Fields would join fifth-round rookie Harrison Hand in making their first career starts alongside first-rounder Jeff Gladney, who has dressed for all six games this season.
Jones, who has three career starts and 14 games played, would be the sole backup in nickel packages but has yet to be signed as he undergoes required quarantine, It’s unlikely he’ll have a practice under his belt if he does dress for the Packers game on Sunday.
When asked about the shortages at cornerback and the recent adds, coach Mike Zimmer responded “Well, we’ve had guys hurt. What else? It’s a five-day, six-day [process] before they can enter [the building] so if guys are hurt, it’s going to take a while for them to get up to speed, and we don’t know if these other guys can play or not, so we’ll just see.”
Cornerback Marcus Sayles was also signed to the practice squad on Tuesday after he was waived during training camp. He’ll likely be tapped to travel to Green Bay in the event none of the Vikings rostered corners’ statuses improve.
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- Vikings’ Adam Thielen Among ‘Lukewarm’ Veterans On Trade BlockTrevor Squire is a Heavy contributor covering the Minnesota Vikings and journalism graduate from the University of Minnesota — Twin Cities. Connect with him on Twitter @trevordsquire and join our Vikings community at Heavy on Vikings on Facebook.