Vikings Place Long Snapper Austin Cutting on Reserve/COVID List, Activate LB Todd Davis

The Vikings activated one player from the COVID list but immediately added another.

Will Ragatz | Nov 10, 2020

The good news: The Vikings activated linebacker Todd Davis from the Reserve/COVID-19 list after an 11-day stay.

The bad news: At the same time, they added long snapper Austin Cutting to the Reserve/COVID list, meaning they currently have a hole at that rarely-publicized-but-kinda-important spot.

However, Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press has reported that Cutting is expected to be able to play on Monday night against the Bears. He was exposed to the virus as a potential close contact, but hasn't tested positive, similar to the situations with Cameron Dantzler and Matthew Stafford over the past couple weeks. He'll need five straight days of negative tests, which would clear him in plenty of time for the Vikings' game on Monday.

"Cutting has been quarantined, as is the protocol, but he's working out where he lives and fully expects to play Monday at Chicago," Tomasson tweeted.

It's unfortunate that Cutting can't practice this week, as he's coming off a poor game that featured a penalty and an off-target snap that resulted in a missed extra point. Cutting has just a 28.1 PFF grade this year and will need to improve to keep that job in 2021.

Davis wasn't just a close contact, he actually tested positive back on October 30th. But after 11 days, he's clearly symptom-free and has passed the testing protocols to be cleared for activation.

The Vikings' top two linebackers are set in stone as Eric Kendricks and Eric Wilson. But there's room for Davis to compete for snaps at the No. 3 spot with fourth-round rookie Troy Dye. Of the two, Davis is more experienced and arguably a better run defender, which the Vikings may see as valuable in their base 4-3 defense. Ryan Connelly and Hardy Nickerson Jr. are also on the roster as depth/special teams LBs.

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Published Nov 10, 2020

WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI. 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.