Vikings Release Second-Year WR
The Minnesota Vikings made multiple roster moves on Tuesday afternoon as they move into their bye week. Among those moves was waiving second-year WR Blake Proehl after activating him from the PUP list on Monday. Additionally, Minnesota released safety Mike Brown and signed Myles Dorn to the practice squad after he was waived yesterday to create room for Proehl.
So far, Proehl’s journey through the NFL has been a rocky road. He went undrafted in 2021 before signing with the Vikings during that summer. Then, he suffered a serious knee injury that ended his 2021 season and landed him on PUP to start the 2022 season.
Prior to the NFL, Proehl played his college ball at East Carolina University. Over the course of three years, he played in 29 games. The wide receiver recorded 130 receptions, 1576 yards, and 9 touchdowns during his collegiate career. He ranked eighth in the AAC with 577 receiving yards during the 2020 season. He also finished in the top 10 in receptions in both 2019 and 2020 in the conference.
Obviously, Proehl is yet to appear in an NFL game due to his recovery with his injury. Assuming Proehl clears waivers, it seems very likely that, similar to Dorn, he’ll land back with the Vikings practice squad tomorrow, and we may get to see him take the field with the special teams at some point.
As for Dorn, he should be a welcomed addition back to Minnesota’s practice squad. Dorn has been a very capable piece of the Vikings special teams this season, playing 54 snaps with the unit over the first six weeks. Considering that this has been one of the best special teams units in the NFL this season, it probably shouldn’t be messed with too much.
Over the first two years of his NFL career, Dorn has appeared in 13 games and recorded 4 tackles.
Finally, Mike Brown has been cut by the Vikings for the second time this season. Brown spent the summer with Minnesota during training camp, but the undrafted free agent was waived during the cut process. He was signed to the roster after Lewis Cine’s season-ending injury, but the safety never saw any action.
Brown played his college ball at the University of Miami (OH). He spent five seasons with the RedHawks and terrorized the Mid-American Conference on the defensive side of the ball. From 2017-21, he recorded 195 tackles, 18.5 TFLs, 3.0 sacks, 6 pass defenses, and 4 interceptions. In 2019, he ranked fifth in the MAC with 3 INTs.
During this summer’s preseason with Minnesota, he appeared in all three games for the Vikings. He finished the exhibition schedule with 15 tackles and a single pass defense. We shall see if the Vikings choose to bring him back to the practice squad, or if his time in Minnesota has come to an end.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing as well as minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his takes, NFL and otherwise, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.
