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The Vikings have signed 27-year old WR Devin Aromashodu to a 1-year deal. Aromashodu played in 14 games (2 starts) for the Bears last year and he caught 10 passes for 149 yards (14.9 avg). He has now played in 30 games (5 starts) in his first three years in the NFL and he has caught 41 passes for 543 yards (13.2 avg) with 4 TD grabs. This was a solid signing for the Vikings as Aromashodu will be a nice fit as a #3 or #4 WR for them in 2011.
The Vikings have signed 25-year old QB Rhett Bomar off the New York Giants’ practice squad. Bomar is a big, strong guy at 6’2″, 225 pounds and he will serve as the Vikings’ #3 QB this week. The Vikings hope to not have to use him against the Eagles because it’s going to be hard for him to pick up the Vikings’ playbook that quickly. Bomar will likely be auditioning for a job for 2011 with the Vikings the last couple of weeks of 2010.
With Brett Favre and Tarvaris Jackson both hurting the Vikings have signed 31-year old QB Patrick Ramsey. Ramsey last played in a regular season game in 2008 for the Broncos. Ramsey has played in 37 games for the Vikings and he has completed 511 of 913 passes (56%) for 5,930 yards with 35 TD passes and 30 INTs (74.9 QB Rating). Ramsey has also carried the ball 47 times for 89 yards (1.9 ypc) with 2 TD runs in his career so far. Ramsey might be backing up rookie Joe Webb next Monday Night against the Bears if Favre and Jackson are unable to go.
The Vikings have signed 26-year old RB Lorenzo Booker. Booker last played in the NFL with the Eagles in 2008. He has played in 17 games in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 48 times for 178 yards (3.7 ypc) and he also also caught 34 passes for 248 yards (7.3 avg). Booker was signed for depth in the backfield with Adrian Peterson a tad banged up.
The Vikings have signed 29-year old cornerback Frank Walker. Walker played in 14 games for the Ravens last season and he had 16 tackles, 4 passes defensed and 1 interception. He has now played in 82 games in his 7 years in the NFL and he has 134 tackles, 25 passes defensed, 3 forced fumbles and 7 interceptions (one returned for a TD). With the injury to Cedric Griffin the Vikings needed to add depth in the secondary and Walker should provide that.
The Vikings have signed 28-year old WR Hank Baskett. Baskett played in 12 games (0 starts) for the Colts & Eagles last year in which he caught 5 passes for 34 yards (6.8 avg). He has now played in 59 games (11 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 76 passes for 1,080 yards (14.2 avg) with 6 TD grabs. The Vikings are desperate for any receiver that can actually catch a pass and Baskett has the reputation of having a good set of hands. He also played under Brad Childress went he was the Eagles’ offensive co-ordinator which is also likely a reason he was brought in. This was a nice low risk gamble for the Vikings.
The Vikings have signed 31-year old WR Javon Walker. Walker played in 3 games for the Raiders last season but he didn’t catch any passes. Walker has played in 83 games (46 starts) in his 8 years in the NFL and he has caught 267 passes for 4,011 yards (15.0 avg) with 31 TD grabs. He has also carried the ball 14 times for 132 yards (9.4 ypc) with 1 TD run in his career. Walker had his best days when he was with the Packers catching passes from Brett Favre. In four years with the Packers, Walker played in 48 games (18 starts) in which he caught 157 passes for 2,444 yards (15.6 avg) with 22 TD grabs. If anyone can revive Walker’s career it will be Brett Favre so this might turn out being a good signing for the Vikings.
The Vikings have signed 27-year old RB Ryan Moats to a 1-year deal. Moats played in 14 games (2 starts) for the Texans last season and he carried the ball 101 times for 390 yards (3.9 ypc) with 4 TD runs. He also caught 13 passes for 106 yards (8.2 avg) with 1 TD grab last season. Moats has now played in 38 games (3 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 204 times for 831 yards (4.1 ypc) with 8 TD runs. He has also caught 20 passes for 127 yards (6.4 avg) with 1 TD grab in his career. Moats will battle rookie Toby Gerhart and Albert Young for the #2 job at RB behind Adrian Peterson. My guess is that Moats will be the #3 RB for the Vikings this year behind Peterson and Gerhart.
UPDATE: (8/24/2010) – The Vikings have waived Ryan Moats. Moats played in the first two pre-season games for the Vikings in which he carried the ball 3 times for 16 yards (5.3 ypc) and caught 1 pass for 2 yards.
The Vikings have signed 29-year old cornerback Lito Sheppard to a 1-year, $2 million dollar deal. Sheppard played in 11 games for the Jets last season and he had 31 tackles, defensed 8 passes and he had 1 interception. Sheppard has now played in 104 games in his NFL career and he has made 284 tackles, defensed 77 passes, he has 2 sacks, forced 3 fumbles and he has 19 interceptions (3 of which he has returned for TDs). This was a good signing for the Vikings as Sheppard will be the nickel back in 2010 unless they need him to start and he’s more than capable of holding his own in that role.
The Vikings have signed DT/DE Michael Montgomery. He played in 10 games for the Packers last season and he made 2 tackles. Montgomery has played in 56 games in his NFL career and he has made 123 tackles, defensed 3 passes, he forced 1 fumble and he has 5 sacks. He will probably play inside along the D-Line for the Vikings because of his size.