Vikings claim tight end, lose 3 on waivers

G T.J. Clemmings went to the Washington Redskins, G Zac Kerin was claimed by the Detroit Lions and LB Edmund Robinson will go to the New York Jets.

I wonder who they cut as well.

IMHO, Blake Bell is going to play this year.

Shurmer must be thrilled.
He just completed the TE Room.
Bell is An Athletic Move TE who, along with Hodges, just elevated the potential of this offense to kick ass.
Laugh if you want. Even average play from these two gives Sam a huge advantage over last year.  Well, along with the obvious committment to give Sam an extra half-second to read The Defense.

At this point in his career, Bell could play RB, FB, Y TE, and QB in a pinch.
He's taller than Rudy, and has high awareness and IQ, along with a 33" vertical.

Not sure why he didn't stick in SF?

No True Position?

This appears to be upgrade for MN over a MoBo, Cayleb, Treusdall, or Carter.
Whereas, SF preferred scrappy Hawkeye George Kittles.  Who, I know many of us liked in The Draft.

@"kahsmick" said: IMHO, Blake Bell is going to play this year.

Shurmer must be thrilled.
He just completed the TE Room.
Bell is An Athletic Move TE who, along with Hodges, just elevated the potential of this offense to kick ass.
Laugh if you want. Even average play from these two gives Sam a huge advantage over last year.  Well, along with the obvious committment to give Sam an extra half-second to read The Defense.

At this point in his career, Bell could play RB, FB, Y TE, and QB in a pinch.
He's taller than Rudy, and has high awareness and IQ, along with a 33" vertical.

Not sure why he didn't stick in SF?

No True Position?

This appears to be upgrade for MN over a MoBo, Cayleb, Treusdall, or Carter.
Whereas, SF preferred scrappy Hawkeye George Kittles.  Who, I know many of us liked in The Draft.

Vikes waived Bucky to make room for Bell.

Yeah, Bucky Hodges was cut to make room on the roster for Bell.

Surprised by that.

Wow.  An hour ago...
Injury Designation.
I wonder if they are trying to sneak him through?

Tells me they like Bell quite a bit.

The Vikings on Sunday claimed tight end Blake Bell off waivers from San Francisco and agreed to terms for quarterback Kyle Sloter to join the practice squad.
The Vikings were expected to release rookie tight end Bucky Hodges with an injury designation to open a roster spot for Bell. Hodges left the game in the first half of last Thursday’s preseason finale against Miami to be evaluated for a concussion.
http://www.twincities.com/2017/09/03/vikings-claim-te-blake-bell-of-waivers-sign-qb-kyle-sloter-to-practice-squad/

Maybe they stash him on IR...  ;)

I think they have a plan to keep Hodges.  
I like this TE Room.
Bell reminds me of a more athletic Rhet Ellison.  He's marginally faster than David Morgan.
Our TEs are not burners.
Bucky was the Wild Card they needed to settle down defences.
Bradford was teed off on all year without this threat on the roster.
I expect Hodges to be retained, if at all possible.

Also excited about the Sloter kid.

WTF? We got Sloter? How did he get past the Broncos?

Broncos cut him.
He looks promising.

They must have really hated Bucky's blocking.

Robinson is not going to be with Jets very long.  Kerin should last with the Lions though.

@"kahsmick" said: Broncos cut him. He looks promising.

Sloter is a guy Dave Te Thomas was extremely high on. For those who don't know, Dave is by far the most knowledgeable scout in the business. Some hate him because of his abrasive personality and brutally honest takes, and so when he's wrong, he's wrong "loudly." But he's right way more often than anyone else, and when it comes to knowing players no one even comes close. 

Whenever someone asked who his sleeper was it was always Kyle Sloter. So I watched him a few times. Tall, thin, fast, great arm, but super raw. Looks a little like Kaepernick or Mariota. I mentioned him a few times on this board, but lost track of him after the draft. Didn't realize he'd signed with the Broncos until I started hearing raves about him in training camp. This town was nuts about him. Then he played like an all pro in the preseason. Denver radio thought he was the best QB in camp. Not just better than Lynch, but better than Siemian. 

No one really thought he'd be the #2. Just too young and raw, but Denver definitely wanted this guy on their practice squad. Sounds like the Vikings gave him a ridiculous offer to convince him to leave. 

I'm out of town right now, so I'm curious to get back and hear what Denver radio is saying. 

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"kahsmick" said: Broncos cut him. He looks promising.

Sloter is a guy Dave Te Thomas was extremely high on. For those who don't know, Dave is by far the most knowledgeable scout in the business. Some hate him because of his abrasive personality and brutally honest takes, and so when he's wrong, he's wrong "loudly." But he's right way more often than anyone else, and when it comes to knowing players no one even comes close. 

Whenever someone asked who his sleeper was it was always Kyle Sloter. So I watched him a few times. Tall, thin, fast, great arm, but super raw. Looks a little like Kaepernick or Mariota. I mentioned him a few times on this board, but lost track of him after the draft. Didn't realize he'd signed with the Broncos until I started hearing raves about him in training camp. This town was nuts about him. Then he played like an all pro in the preseason. Denver radio thought he was the best QB in camp. Not just better than Lynch, but better than Siemian. 

No one really thought he'd be the #2. Just too young and raw, but Denver definitely wanted this guy on their practice squad. Sounds like the Vikings gave him a ridiculous offer to convince him to leave. 

I'm out of town right now, so I'm curious to get back and hear what Denver radio is saying. 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2703661-best-kept-secrets-of-the-nfl-draft

Needs more seasoning (Sloter), but he'll get it. He'll get to throw in practice throughout the season, good for his development. I really like this move.

What's with dumping Hodges for Bell?   I guess I'm not seeing the value here.  Was his concussion that bad that it's not going to fix itself in a couple weeks?

Wait - you mean the Vikings actually have a developmental QB who is not a "weak arm but great intangibles" guy??

Nice addition. But I wonder what they told him about his future to get him here... was it, "We're going to groom you behind 30-year-old Sam Bradford", or "25-year-old Bridgewater"..? 

@"Jor-El" said: Wait - you mean the Vikings actually have a developmental QB who is not a "weak arm but great intangibles" guy??

Nice addition. But I wonder what they told him about his future to get him here... was it, "We're going to groom you behind 30-year-old Sam Bradford", or "25-year-old Bridgewater"..? 

I think the unheard of practice squad $$$$ spoke volumes. Not much more to be said. And honestly, from Sloter's perspective, if its not a roster spot, then show me the money. Nobody was bringing him in to put on a roster. But he's really getting roster minimum money almost from Minnesota, and he's the de facto #3 QB.

@"MaroonBells" said: WTF? We got Sloter? How did he get past the Broncos?

Elway was still patting himself on the back for getting The Brownies to pay for Osweiler this season. Tried to get too cute and RS is paying the kid pretty decent jing...

Sloter will have all offseason to develop and will get to leverage all TCO will have to offer come March too. 

@"purplefaithful" said:

@"MaroonBells" said: WTF? We got Sloter? How did he get past the Broncos?

Elway was still patting himself on the back for getting The Brownies to pay for Osweiler this season. Tried to get too cute and RS is paying the kid pretty decent jing...

Sloter will have all offseason to develop and will get to leverage all TCO will have to offer come March too.