Vikings Waive UDFA Offensive Lineman Tyler Higby

The Michigan State product spent two weeks on the COVID-19 list, and has now been released.

The Vikings have waived undrafted free agent offensive lineman Tyler Higby, the team announced on Sunday. Higby spent two weeks on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, which suggests he tested positive for the virus and showed symptoms. Upon his activation from that list, the Vikings chose to cut him to keep their active roster at 80 players.

The #Vikings have waived G Tyler Higby.

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 9, 2020

Higby was signed as a UDFA after a strong four-year career at Michigan State. He was primarily a guard for the Spartans, but also played some center and some left tackle. Higby's primary calling card is his athleticism; he dominated the speed and explosiveness testing drills at MSU's pro day and has a ridiculous 9.89 Relative Athletic Score (without agility drills).

On July 27th, Higby was among the first wave of Vikings players – along with fellow rookies Justin Jefferson, Blake Brandel, and Brian Cole II, added to the new COVID list. Brandel was activated after four days, while Jefferson and Cole came off the list after eight days. But Higby remained on the list until Sunday, just shy of two weeks after he was placed on it.

Because the Vikings need to stay at 80 players or fewer on the active roster, every recent activation from the COVID list has come with a corresponding cut. Davion Davis, Kemon Hall, Bralon Addison, and Tony Brooks-James have all been waived recently. But instead of adding Higby to the active roster and cutting someone else, the Vikings decided to waive him.

Linebacker Cameron Smith announced Saturday that he will miss the 2020 season to fix a congenital heart condition. That means the Vikings will only have to make one more cut to keep the roster at 80, which will happen when offensive lineman Oli Udoh is activated off of the COVID list.

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