Vikings Fire a Pair of Players, Sign 2 New Guys

In a week, the Minnesota Vikings — like the NFL’s other 31 teams — will need to go from 90 players down to 53. That basic reality didn’t stop GM Nolan Teasley from doing a bit of shuffling.

The latest update out of Minnesota involved news that the Vikings fired a pair of players. Alongside those moves was the decision to bring two new guys to town. Check out the word from the team: “The #Vikings have signed DL Jonathan Harris and TE Matt Lauter. CB Tyreek Chappell and DL Taki Taimani have been waived-injured.”

The Vikings Fired a Pair Before Hiring a Pair

For a little while, Taki Taimani has seen his roster spot in peril.

Originally, the DT got added as an undrafted player following the 2024 NFL Draft. He made the team as a rookie, playing modestly. In 2025, Taimani hung around but mostly as a practice squad player. Seeing Caleb Banks and Domonique Orange added made life pretty difficult for the young DT with size.

Setting Taimani free is bad news for him. The upside, though, is that he has an early jump on the roster craziness that’s going to get set off later this week once all teams start setting talent free.

To function as a one-for-one replacement for Taki Taimani, the Vikings have brought Jonathan Harris to town.

He’ll be familiar to some since he’s both an NFL veteran and former Viking. At 6’5″ and 295 pounds, Mr. Harris is more of a 3T/5T whereas Taimani is a 1T. In a general sense, think the difference between Kevin Williams (3T) and Pat Williams (1T).

Moving on from Tyreek Chappell isn’t much of a surprise, either.

Right now, the talk of the town in Minnesota’s secondary is Jacob Thomas. He’s a safety instead of a corner, but that may not matter too much. Minnesota won’t have too many open slots in that secondary for unproven talent.

All of Byron Murphy, James Pierre, Isaiah Rodgers, Chuck Demmings, Josh Metellus, Theo Jackson, Jay Ward, and Jakobe Thomas are assured or close to assured of a roster spot. That’s eight slots filled for what will be somewhere around ten-to-twelve openings.

Guys such as Jacob Thomas, Dwight McGlothern, Zemaiah Vaughn, Tavierre Thomas, and Kahlef Hailassie (among others) have all looked more promising than Chappell. He, too, will get a jump within one of the NFL’s craziest times for subtracting and adding talent.

What’s a touch surprising is that Minnesota opted for a tight end instead of somebody else for the secondary. Are the Vikings searching for something specific at TE?

The position’s top two slots are filled by T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver. Rookie fullback Max Bredeson is going to get tossed into the mix at the position due to his versatility. There’s then Ben Yurosek alongside Gavin Bartholomew as the most likely options to earn the TE3 job but Bryson Nesbit and Marshall Lang are standing in their way.

Can Matt Lauter add value at a tight end position that’s sneaky competitive? He’s a 2026 UDFA who has already done some work with the Raiders and Titans.

Last week, the Vikings made a move to bring a new o-lineman to town. So, too, did the edge rusher spot get some tweaking in the move for Kenny Dyson, somebody who made an early impression by snagging a sack against the Ravens.

Next up for the Vikings is a preseason game against the Broncos. Afterwards, the cuts will be plentiful as Minnesota shrinks from 91 players to 53.

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

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