They will return against Atlanta on Sunday
When they face the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium, the Minnesota Vikings will officially have all of their regulars back on special teams.
The team has announced that they have officially activated kicker Will Reichard and long snapper Andrew DePaola from injured reserve. Parker Romo, who had handled the kicking duties in Reichard’s absence, has been waived to make room on the roster. The Vikings already had one spot open after waiving DePaola’s replacement, Jake McQuaide, earlier in the week.
Reichard suffered a thigh injury in the Vikings’ loss to the Indianapolis Colts back in Week 9 that caused the team to put him on injured reserve. Prior to that game, he had not missed a kick this season but missed two against Indy.
DePaola has gotten All-Pro nods the past couple of years, being named to the first team in 2022 and the second team in 2023.
Romo, to his credit, did a pretty outstanding job for the Vikings in Reichard’s absence. He missed one field goal and one extra point in four games but did have two game-winning field goals, including an overtime winner against Chicago in Week 12. I have a feeling that, with the current state of kicking around the NFL, he isn’t going to be unemployed for long.
The team has also announced that outside linebacker Gabriel Murphy has been elevated to the main roster for Sunday’s game. Murphy has spent the season on injured reserve and was waived upon being activated but was brought back to the practice squad and will now make his NFL debut this week.
That should wrap up all of the Vikings’ roster moves before things kick off at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday afternoon. If the team does do anything else, we will let you know about it straight away.
