MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -The Minnesota Vikings placed safety Michael Boulware on injured reserve Saturday to help trim their active roster to 53 players for the regular season, creating a depth concern at the position.
Boulware hurt his wrist badly enough Thursday night in the exhibition finale at Dallas to prompt the Vikings to give his spot to someone else, and his absence leaves Eric Frampton and undrafted rookie Husain Abdullah as the backups at safety to starters Darren Sharper and rookie Tyrell Johnson.
Madieu Williams, signed to a big-money contract with nearly $13 million guaranteed to join Sharper in the deep half of the field, has a neck injury and is out for perhaps another month.
Among 20 players released Saturday were quarterback Brooks Bollinger, wide receiver Jaymar Johnson, and linebacker Rufus Alexander. Johnson was a sixth-round draft pick this year, and Alexander was a sixth-round draft pick last year. Bollinger’s departure means rookie John David Booty is the third quarterback behind Tarvaris Jackson and Gus Frerotte.
Neither Bollinger nor Booty performed well during the preseason, but because Booty was a fifth-round draft pick from a prominent program – Southern California – it would have been difficult to pass him through waivers and put him on the practice squad. NFL teams can begin assembling their eight-player practice squads on Sunday.
The jettisoning of Johnson and fellow wide receiver Martin Nance left only five players at that position, a probable sign that the health of Bernard Berrian (toe) and Robert Ferguson (calf) is not a significant concern.
With starting left tackle Bryant McKinnie on the reserve-suspended list for four weeks, due to violation of the league’s personal conduct policy, the Vikings kept only eight offensive lineman, including undrafted rookie tackle Drew Radovich, who has missed time during training camp because of a shoulder injury. Artis Hicks is the only true backup guard on the roster, but he will likely start in McKinnie’s place.
That means Minnesota might not be done crafting the roster before the Sept. 8 season opener at Green Bay.
Among the notable cuts by other teams Saturday was 33-year-old offensive tackle Willie Anderson – a four-time Pro Bowl pick with Cincinnati who had foot and knee problems last season and recently lost his starting job.
On defense, the release of Alexander and veteran Derrick Pope – plus a season-ending knee injury to Heath Farwell four weeks ago – created a spot for undrafted rookie linebacker Erin Henderson. He’s the younger brother of starting middle linebacker E.J. Henderson.
Also released were kicker Steven Hauschka, wide receiver Nate Jones, cornerback Marcus Walker, cornerback Dee McCann, cornerback Brandon Sumrall, running back Albert Young, tight end Braden Jones, linebacker J Leman, defensive end Martail Burnett, guard Brian Daniels, defensive end Chris Norwell, center Dan Mozes, offensive lineman Tim Mattran, offensive tackle Chase Johnson, wide receiver Darius Reynaud, and defensive tackle Leger Douzable.
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