He’s back!
On Tuesday, the Minnesota Vikings brought back a player that became a bit of a folk hero around these parts during their 2022 division-winning season.
The team has announced that they have signed cornerback Duke Shelley. The terms of the deal were not immediately made available.
The Vikings have a few spots available on the roster as the three players that have been placed on Physically Unable to Perform and Non-Football Injury lists do not count against the 90-man roster until they’re activated.
Shelley started his career with the Chicago Bears, spending three seasons with them and being waived as part of their final Training Camp cuts in 2022. He then signed with the Vikings’ practice squad and was promoted to the active roster in mid-November. He made several key plays for the Vikings, including a key pass deflection in overtime to preserve their wild victory over the Buffalo Bills.
Many fans were clamoring for the Vikings to bring Shelley back during the 2023 offseason, but the team let him go in free agency and he signed with the Las Vegas Raiders. He was part of the Raiders’ final cuts during Training Camp and wound up signing with the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams put him on injured reserve in November and activated him in time for their playoff game in January.
Shelley joins a cornerback room that is, suddenly, looking at some competition for roster spots. Veterans Byron Murphy and Shaq Griffin are at the top of the depth chart, along with second-year corner Mekhi Blackmon, but the spots behind those three players are pretty well up for grabs. We’ll have to see what kind of impression Shelley makes on the Vikings this time around. Shelley was part of Ed Donatell’s defense in his lone season in Minnesota, so we’ll see what, if anything, Brian Flores can do with his talents in this defense.
Welcome (back) to Minnesota, Duke Shelley!
