The Minnesota Vikings have bolstered their back end with Natrone Brooks.
“The #Vikings have signed CB Natrone Brooks to the practice squad,” the Vikings announced in a post on X on October 20.
This is Brooks’ second stint with the Vikings. He signed with the club on October 1 first, also as a member of the practice squad. But the Vikings released him less than one week later amid a slew of other roster moves.
Brooks, 26, is a former undrafted free agent out of Southern Miss.
He has 15 total tackles in 26 career regular-season games played, with one start. He has contributed on defense but has mostly been a special teamer so far in his career.
Vikings Reunite With Natrone Brooks
Brooks, who is listed at 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds, could also provide some under-the-radar positional versatility for head coach Kevin O’Connell and the Vikings.
“Brooks has good size and impressive explosiveness as a leaper, but sports poor functional speed to recover when beaten down the field. While the size, ball skills and anticipation give him enough cache to find a camp as a priority free agent,” NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein wrote before the 2023 draft.
“Inability to turn and run and his history of allowing long touchdowns is impossible to overlook. Teams could ask him to add weight and transition to safety where he will have a better chance for success in the league.”
The Vikings were without rookie Chuck Demmings when they initially signed Brooks.
The bye week may have done the team–and specifically Demmings–some good regarding healing up for the stretch.
Minnesota has veteran James Pierre and second-year pro Zehemiah Vaughn behind starters Byron Murphy and Isaiah Rodgers on the 53-man roster. The Vikings also have Da’Veawn Armstead on their practice squad with Brooks.
Coming out of the break, the Vikings will face the Indianapolis Colts at home.
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