Vikings Round Out Practice Squad With Former Bears CB Duke Shelley

Shelley gives the Vikings some additional depth at slot cornerback.

Will Ragatz | Sep 7, 2022

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Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings finalized their 16-man practice squad with the signing of former Chicago Bears cornerback Duke Shelley.

Shelley, 25, was a sixth-round pick out of Kansas State in 2019 after racking up eight interceptions, seven tackles for loss, and 31 passes defended in four years. He played in 30 games for the Bears over the past three seasons, starting six of them. His defensive snaps increased from 8 as a rookie to 209 in 2020 to 409 last season. Playing in 10 games in 2021, Shelley recorded 37 tackles and three passes defended.

At 5'8" and 183 pounds, Shelley is exclusively a slot cornerback. He's been mostly adequate in coverage during his NFL career, but has struggled with run defense and tackling.

Signing Shelley gives the Vikings some additional depth at nickel. Their starting slot corner is Chandon Sullivan, but it's unclear who Sullivan's backup is. There isn't an obvious No. 2 at that spot on the 53-man roster, which could lead to Parry Nickerson or Shelley being elevated for games. If they're not available and Sullivan goes down, it could be rookie Andrew Booth Jr. or even starting safety Cam Bynum who gets thrust into that role.

The Vikings also announced that they reached an injury settlement with DL T.Y. McGill, who has been released from their IR.

Here's the Vikings' full practice squad:

QB David Blough
WR Dan Chisena
S Myles Dorn
CB Tay Gowan
G Kyle Hinton
WR Trishton Jackson
RB Bryant Koback
LB William Kwenkeu
TE Nick Muse
CB Parry Nickerson
OLB Janarius Robinson
CB Duke Shelley
DL T.J. Smith
C Josh Sokol
WR Travis Toivonen
DL Jaylen Twyman

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Published Sep 7, 2022

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.