All along, depth corner Dwight McGlothern was looking like a long shot to demand a roster spot yet again. Minnesota has officially moved on.

Consider the update about the Kwesi corner who has been sent packing even though the roster cut down day only arrives on Sunday: “The #Vikings have signed CB Tre Hawkins III and waived-injured Dwight McGlothern Jr.”

Kwesi Corner Dwight McGlothern Gets Waived

McGlothern has already overcome long odds.

As an undrafted rookie, McGlothern made the roster, but was seldom used due to the four veterans ahead of him (Byron Murphy Jr., Stephon Gilmore, Shaq Griffin, and Fabian Moreau). As a sophomore, McGlothern yet again made the final roster, but was again buried behind several veterans (Murphy, Isaiah Rodgers, and Jeff Okudah). He won’t get the chance to do so yet again in 2026.

At no point has it been difficult to find reasons for intrigue with Dwight McGlothern.

He stands at 6’2″ and weighs 185 pounds. Basically, super long but not as sturdy as someone like Xavier Rhodes (listed at 6’1″ and 218 pounds). Boasting his build means (in theory) being able to hang with tall outside receivers. So far, the Vikings haven’t given him the chance to do so. Note that he ran a 4.47 forty. That’s not unheard of speed, but it’s very good. In a rough sense, that speed is a touch better than Murphy but not as formidable as Rodgers.

As a rookie in 2024, Dwight McGlothern earned 19 snaps on defense and just 17 snaps on special teams. He then had 31 snaps on defense in 2025 while offering 20 snaps for Matt Daniels on specials.

Seeing a young fella — especially an undrafted player — fail to earn a beefy workload early on isn’t strange. What is strange, though, is carving out a roster spot for this player when there’s not a special teams job. Most youthful players get polished on specials while trying to earn more snaps on either offense or defense. Not so with McGlothern.

In Tre Hawkins, the Vikings are welcoming a similar corner to town.

He’s listed as being 6’3″ and weighing 195 pounds. Originally, Hawkins got into the NFL in 2023, doing so as a 6th-Round selection of the New York Giants. Since then, Hawkins has played in twenty-one ball games, starting four. The Giants sent him onto the field for 429 snaps on defense and 176 on special teams.

Sandwiched between the New York and Minnesota stops was some modest work in Washington in 2025. Note that former Vikings DB coach Daronte Jones is now the Commanders DC.

Tre Hawkins will look to make a good impression early to have a chance at the 53. Realistically, though, he’s probably trying to get a spot on the practice squad as he progresses from there.

Meanwhile, Dwight McGlothern will get the second chapter of his NFL career started somewhere. He’ll likely need to prove capable of helping on specials to get back onto a 53-man roster.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

Britons Harriet Dart and Fran Jones both made winning starts to their bids to reach the US Open singles main draw.

Dart, who has twice reached the US Open second round, came through 6-0 6-7 (1-7) 6-1 against Jordyn Hazelitt in the first round of qualifying in New York.

She will face another American 16-year-old, Kristina Penickova, next.

Jones, who qualified for the US Open for the first time last year, will face Germany’s Mona Barthel after winning 6-3 6-4 against Italy’s Nuria Brancaccio.

But Jodie Burrage lost to Spain’s Guiomar Maristany 7-6 (7-1) 6-4, while Henry Searle was beaten 6-1 6-2 by American 16-year-old Michael Antonius in the men’s event.

Antonius will face former US Open finalist Kei Nishikori in the second qualifying round, after the Japanese 36-year-old battled to a 6-1 2-6 6-2 win over Austrian Sebastian Ofner.

Former US Open semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov will face Kazakhstan’s Timofey Skatov in his second qualifying match after dismissing Italy’s Lorenzo Giustino 6-0 6-3.

In the women’s draw, 2019 US Open winner Bianca Andreescu progressed with a 6-1 6-2 win against Dutch player Eva Vedder.

Heather Watson resumes her qualifying campaign with a second-round match against Spain’s Angela Fita Boluda on Wednesday.

In the men’s draw, Britons Jacob Fearnley, Toby Samuel, Billy Harris, Harry Wendelken and Jack Pinnington Jones all return to action seeking to move one win away from the Flushing Meadows main draw.

Players must come through three rounds of qualifying to reach the singles main draw, which gets under way on Sunday.

Elsewhere, Britain’s Arthur Fery warmed up for the US Open with a 6-1 7-5 victory over Cruz Hewitt at the Winston-Salem Open.

Fery, playing just his third match since his stunning run to the Wimbledon semi-finals, came back from 4-1 down in the second set to advance.

The fourth seed will play either Czech Tomas Machac or Dutch qualifier Mees Rottgering next.

Champion trainer Chris Waller is relying on a team of ‘boys’ to capture his second Group 1 prize of the season.

Waller secured the season’s opening Group 1 event, the Winx Stakes at Randwick last Saturday, with a predominantly mare-based squad. For the upcoming Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday, he will field three colts and two geldings.

Two of the five contenders, Angel Capital and Birdman, galloped at Caulfield on Tuesday morning on a track softened by overnight rain. Beiwacht, a scratching from the Winx Stakes due to an elevated temperature, also galloped and received Waller’s approval to compete.

Buckaroo and Autumn Boy will complete the five-horse team.

Rider bookings are yet to be finalised, but it has been confirmed that leading Sydney jockey James McDonald will be in Melbourne for the Memsie Stakes meeting.

“He will be here, but we haven’t worked out what he will be riding,” Waller commented. “We will keep a watch on the weather and what transpires.”

Waller considers Angel Capital a Group 1 winner in waiting, noting his considerable improvement since his initial run back in Sydney, where he finished third in the Missile Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on August 8.

“It’s only bad luck that is holding him back from being a multiple Group 1 winner,” Waller stated. “He’ll get his chance on Saturday, but I am a little bit concerned about the track. His better form is on better tracks, but the beauty of Caulfield is it does dry very well. The 1400 metres is a good distance for him, and he normally runs well at Caulfield. He’s come on well and if anything, better than I thought. He’s held his weight as he’s a mature colt now.”

Regarding Birdman, Waller said, “Birdman, Jye McNeil was aboard, and he said he felt great, had a good attitude. He found good form down here in the autumn and he carried it right through to Brisbane, winning the Doomben Cup. He resumes ahead of a good preparation, we hope.”

Buckaroo, who finished second first-up in last year’s Memsie Stakes, will be kept to shorter distances this preparation.

After securing second place behind Via Sistina in the Cox Plate, Buckaroo finished last in the Melbourne Cup. He returned in the autumn but was spelled after just two starts.

Buckaroo has completed three trials to prepare for his return.

“He won a jump-out at Flemington to give him some bragging rights last week and he’s come through that well,” Waller explained. “We will target shorter races with him this prep. He does hold an entry for the Caulfield Cup, but I think we will stick to 1800 metres, might stretch him to 2000 metres, but he has come back with plenty of enthusiasm.”

Waller mentioned that Autumn Boy, also scratched from the Winx Stakes last week, will remain in Melbourne after Saturday’s race.

“He’s a stallion, a multiple Group 1 winner, and we’re keen to get him to a Cox Plate,” Waller said. “There’s lots of options down here and once he gets out to 1600, 1800, 2000 metres, he will be a horse to be reckoned with.”

Waller confirmed that Beiwacht was cleared by his veterinary team after being withdrawn from the Winx Stakes with an elevated temperature.

“His blood profile was back to normal yesterday and the vets allowed us to gallop him this morning, and he galloped well,” Waller stated. “Providing he comes through the work well, we will accept with him on Wednesday.”

Check out the latest racing odds for the Memsie Stakes with leading Australian betting sites.

St Helens legend Jonny Lomax has announced he is to retire at the end of the Super League season.

The 35-year-old, who has not featured since fracturing his jaw in the defeat by Warrington Wolves in June, has made 388 appearances for Saints, winning five Grand Finals, one Challenge Cup and a World Club Challenge.

He won four caps for Great Britain and 11 for England, including a World Cup final appearance against Australia in 2017.

“Over the last 20 years, I have been able to live out a boyhood dream. Achieving far more than I could ever have imagined. Representing and captaining my hometown club and, of course, the pinnacle, representing England and Great Britain,” he told the club website., external

“I have been fortunate enough to meet some incredible people along the way, experiencing some incredible highs with them. As well as some testing times too.”

He added: “I will retire at the age of 36, grateful for the life the game has given me, knowing I have given it everything I could, with the scars to prove it (19 operations, including 12 knee operations by the age of 26). Despite this, I still feel lucky.

“For those that have supported me throughout it all… I hope I have been able to do you proud.”

Saints chairman Eamonn McManus called Lomax, who made his debut in March 2009 aged 18, “the bravest of brave in the bravest of sports”.

St Helens are seventh in Super League with three games of the campaign to go.

They are two points behind reigning champions Hull KR, who they play in the final game of the regular season, as they look to secure a place in the top six and avoid missing out on the Super League play-offs for the first time.

Earlier in the day, the news emerged of Minnesota moving on from corner Dwight McGlothern. Doing so meant jettisoning a 2023 UDFA.

More recently, the news involved a Vikings receiver who was part of that same cluster of undrafted talent.

Depth pass catcher Jeshaun Jones is being suspended for three games. Losing these games is as a result of violating the “NFL’s Substances of Abuse policy.” Not long after the news emerged, Ben Goessling (The Star Tribune) shared another factoid: “According to Hillsborough County court records, Vikings receiver Jeshaun Jones was arrested in April for refusing to submit to a breath test to determine his blood-alcohol level. He pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of reckless driving last month.”

Vikings Receiver Jeshaun Jones Done for Trio of Games

Quite possibly, the Vikings will opt to ride out the suspension before then making the roster call. Safe to say, though, that this is bad news for the player.

Jones finds himself on the fringe of the roster. At best, he’s the WR6. Sneaking onto the roster would have been due to some mixture of being able to help on specials and being able to grow into a role on offense. On Saturday, Jones did some really good things on the field but saw a dark cloud hang over his day due to a fumble that overshadowed a lot of the good things he did.

Jones tossed 5 catches for 63 yards onto the stat sheet. Most notably, he made an acrobatic catch when he was double covered.

Right now, the Vikings boast the current depth chart at receiver:

• WR1 Justin Jefferson
• WR2 Jordan Addison
• WR3 Jauan Jennings
• WR4 Tai Felton
• WR5 Myles Price
• WR6 Jeshaun Jones
• WR7 Dontae Fleming
• WR8 Dillon Bell
• WR9 Michael Briscoe
• WR10 Trayvon Rudolph
• WR11 Marcus Sanders Jr.
• WR12 Terrill Davis

Offering such a hearty helping of receiver options makes the margin for error thin.

Andrew Krammer (The Star Tribune) adds some more insight about how the offseason competition has been unfolding: “Jones, 26, spent the past two years on the Vikings practice squad and appeared likely to at least make that route again. He’s consistently been around WR6 in camp behind Jefferson, Addison, Jennings, Felton and Price. He can play Friday night in Denver, but suspension begins Aug. 30 thru Sept. 27.”

At the very least, Fleming and Bell will get a minor boost since they’re available while Jones is away. Of the two, Bell may boast a better shot at getting onto the roster due to a unique cluster of abilities that allows him to be used as a gadget guy.

Per Over the Cap, the Vikings had to send over $235,000 in guaranteed money to get Jones back in 2023. Kicking over such meaty money is suggestive of optimism about his potential.

What has then taken place has been an ongoing desire to work with the young receiver. He has mostly lived on the practice squad in 2024 and 2025. Last year, Jones got elevated for some work. Jones earned 7 snaps on specials teams, a spot where he returned a pair of punts for 5 total yards.

Jeshaun Jones is 26. He stands at 6’1″ and weighs 188 pounds. During the summer, Justin Jefferson mentioned him specifically as a receiver who had been improving.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.