The Minnesota Vikings are facing something of a crisis in their secondary ahead of Saturday’s playoff game in San Francisco, and they looked into an unusual idea to try to rectify it.
On Friday, the Vikings placed cornerback Mackensie Alexander on injured reserve following arthroscopic knee surgery. Another cornerback, Mike Hughes, was placed on injured reserve last week, leaving the Vikings seriously depleted in the cornerback department.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Vikings went so far as to work out 41-year-old former player and cornerbacks coach Terence Newman as a possible option ahead of Saturday’s game.
With CBs Mackensie Alexander and Mike Hughes on IR, the Vikings worked out their former nickel/CB coach and player, Terence Newman, league sources tell @FieldYates and me. Newman is 41, but the team considered signing him before promoting a cornerback from its practice squad.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 11, 2020
The Vikings ultimately opted against signing Newman, instead activating rookie Nate Meadors off the practice squad.
Newman wanted to play into his 40s, so he was probably game. Still, it would have been something to see a guy who most recently served as a cornerbacks coach for the team suiting up for a playoff game out of nowhere.
