Vikings Sign WRs Damion Ratley, Darrius Shepherd to Practice Squad for Depth
The Vikings have signed free agent wide receivers Damion Ratley and Darrius Shepherd to their practice squad, the team announced on Wednesday. With Adam Thielen hurt and several receivers going on the Reserve/COVID list over the past couple days, this adds some needed depth ahead of Monday night's game in Chicago.
The only healthy WRs on the Vikings' active roster right now are Justin Jefferson, K.J. Osborn, and rookie Ihmir Smith-Marsette. Adam Thielen's status is up in the air for MNF because of the high-ankle sprain he suffered early in the loss to the Lions. The Vikings also have a whopping six receivers on reserve lists:
- Dede Westbrook (COVID list)
- Dan Chisena (COVID list)
- Trishton Jackson (Practice Squad COVID list)
- Bisi Johnson (IR)
- Chad Beebe (IR)
- Blake Proehl (IR)
The latter trio are all out for the season. Westbrook or Chisena could potentially be activated from the COVID list ahead of Monday's game, but we've typically seen players who go on the list this season miss at least one game.
So Ratley and Shepherd join Myron Mitchell on the practice squad, taking spots opened up by three PS players going on the COVID list. One of two of them may need to be elevated to the active roster against the Bears for depth purposes.
Ratley is the more experienced of the two. The Texas A&M product was a sixth-round pick in 2018 and caught 25 passes for 344 yards and a touchdown over two seasons with the Browns, starting six games. He caught four passes for the Giants last season, and has had practice squad or offseason stints with the Texans, Lions, and Cowboys since then. Ratley is an excellent athlete with 4.4 speed and good leaping ability.
Shepherd was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Packers in 2019. The former North Dakota State star appeared in 14 games for Green Bay over two seasons, playing mostly on special teams but catching six passes on offense. He has been with the Chiefs and Cardinals this season without appearing in any games.
Although Ratley has the most production as an NFL receiver to his name, Shepherd and Mitchell have experience returning in punts in college. That could be a factor the Vikings consider with Westbrook on the COVID list. Osborn is another option to return punts, but he's pretty important as the team's WR2 for as long as Thielen is hurt. Shepherd averaged 13.1 yards per punt at NDSU with one touchdown.
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