Vikings make 5 roster moves, including the return of star rookie Gabriel Murphy

Murphy was one of the most exciting players of training camp before he was injured.

Gabriel Murphy / Minnesota Viking

The Vikings officially announced the signing of new kicker John Parker Romo on Wednesday. The move comes after the team placed rookie kicker Will Reichard on short-term injured reserve with a quad strain.

Along with the signing of Romo, Minnesota announced they have elevated defensive lineman Jalen Redmond to the 53-man roster, and signed long snapper Jake McQuaide and defensive lineman Travis Bell to their practice squad.

While those moves were mostly expected, the unexpected move Wednesday was the Vikings opening the 21-day window to activate rookie linebacker Gabriel Murphy from injured reserve. Murphy was thought to be one of the steals of the undrafted free-agent market. Here's what our Will Ragatz wrote about him after an early August training camp practice.

Murphy felt like a potential steal as soon as the Vikings signed him. A projected Day 3 pick out of UCLA, he put up huge numbers and impressive tape in college but went undrafted for size reasons. Sound familiar? He has very short arms for an NFL edge rusher, but Murphy is a dynamic football player. That much has already been on display in his first training camp. On Friday, he had a sack and a tipped pass against J.J. McCarthy to win a situational drill for the Vikings' second-team defense.

With Blake Cashman missing the past three games with a turf toe injury, adding a talented linebacker with football smarts can only be viewed as a good thing for the Vikings.

Romo was previously with the Vikings from March until late July of this year before Reichard won the kicking competition in camp. The 27-year-old is set to make his NFL debut after previous practice squad stints with the Lions and Bears.

McQuaide, 36, looks set to fill in on long snapping duty after Andrew DePaloa suffered a hand injury that will require surgery. Before joining the Vikings, McQuaide played for the Rams (2011-2020), Cowboys (2021-22) and Lions (2023). He was on the Bears' practice squad earlier this season.

Redmond has bounced between the Vikings' practice squad and 53-man roster this season. He has appeared in five games for the Vikings, totaling three combined tackles and one sack.

Bell arrives in Minnesota after previous stints with the Bengals and Bears this season. He appeared in two games for the Falcons in 2023, recording two tackles.