The Vikings signed safety Gervarrius Owens on Wednesday, the team announced.
Owens, 25, was a seventh-round pick of the Giants in 2023, the 254th overall selection. He joins Minnesota after spending time with the Giants and Titans.
He has appeared in five games the past two seasons, including three his rookie season with the Giants.
In two games with the Titans in 2024, Owens saw action on one defensive snap and four on special teams. He had no stats.
Owens began his collegiate career at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M before transferring to Houston where he posted 208 total tackles, including 7.5 for loss, four interceptions, 22 passes defensed, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and two blocked kicks in 46 career games with the Cougars.
In a corresponding move, the Vikings waived linebacker Max Tooley.
Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson has been sidelined by a hamstring strain for the last few days.
While head coach Kevin O’Connell still feels like Jefferson will be able to play Week 1 when Minnesota opens the season against Chicago, he would like to see Jefferson on the field in fairly short order.
"[There’s a] finite amount of time we’re talking about to get him right and get him totally ready to roll for the grind,” O’Connell said Tuesday, via Tony Liebert of SI.com. “The guy plays 70-plus snaps a week, and what we ask him to do is just flat-out remarkable, but he’s able to consistently do that.
“But you still want to have him back sooner rather than later,” O’Connell added. “Like I said, zero worry about the opener, but there’s a lot of time in between now and then. What that looks like, we’re gonna be smart, but at the same time, he wants to get back out there. He does not want to stay wearing what I wear to practice for much longer.”
Jefferson, 26, caught 103 passes for 1,533 yards with 10 touchdowns in 17 games last season. While the Vikings certainly want to have Jefferson healthy for 2025, they also likely would like to have Jefferson establish as much chemistry as possible with quarterback J.J. McCarthy, as the 2024 No. 10 overall pick enters his first year as a starter.
Vikings safety Josh Metellus earned a new contract. And now he has one.
Via NFL Media, the Vikings and Metellus have agreed to terms on a three-year, $36 million extension.
He was due to earn a base salary of $3.675 million in 2025. He’ll now have a four-year, $39.675 million deal.
A sixth-round pick in 2020, Metellus became a regular contributor on defense in 2023. He has 27 starts in 34 regular-season games over the last two seasons.
He sat out of team drills during the offseason program while waiting for his new deal. He recently said he was willing to bet on himself, play out his contract, and see what happens next.
Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson ended Thursday’s practice early with what he described as tightness in his legs.
The Vikings sent him for an MRI.
Coach Kevin O’Connell announced Friday that imaging on Jefferson’s left hamstring revealed a mild strain. The team will hold the receiver out of practice a few days, with re-evaluation next week.
While there is no firm timetable for Jefferson’s return, O’Connell made clear that Jefferson’s availability for Week 1 is not in doubt.
Jefferson injured his right hamstring in 2023 and missed seven games.
The four-time Pro Bowler made 103 receptions for 1,533 yards and 10 touchdowns last season in earning All-Pro for a second time in his five seasons.
The Vikings will wear alternate uniforms in three of this season’s home games.
The team announced that they will wear their white helmets for their Christmas game against the Lions and that they’ll don their throwback uniforms in Week 2 and Week 18. The first of those games is a Sunday night home opener against the Falcons and the regular season finale will be against the Packers.
White helmets made their debut in a win over the Bears last season and they’ll look a bit different this year as the team has added a metallic stripe down the center. The team will wear them with white uniforms and white pants in what they call their Winter Warrior look.
The throwbacks take inspiration from the uniforms the Vikings wore in their first 45 seasons as an NFL team. They lost their two 2023 games in the uniforms, but won against the Texans while wearing them last year.
