Monday Morning Mailbag: Replacing Pierce, Roster Explanations and Troy Dye's Potential

Viktor

Well-known member
Mar 19, 2019
2,552
0
aazuj7vf70wsfxu5l8nm


Ryan starts us off with the big news from last week that free-agent signee Michael Pierce opted out (high-risk category) for the 2020 season.


At this moment in time, no, a player cannot opt back in after choosing to opt out for the 2020 season. Even if there are advancements made against COVID-19 (and we all hope that is the case), players who have chosen to opt out will not be playing during this season.


The absence of Pierce will be big, and not just because he is 6-foot and 340 pounds. He is an absolute beast as a run stuffer in the middle of the defensive line, as evidence by his work with the Ravens in recent years. But with that said, he has all of my support for choosing to focus on the health and himself and his family during this time.


Here is what Pierce, who has asthma and dealt with pneumonia in 2017, said on a recent radio interview about his decision: "I really realized that if something like that gets out of hand, I can not only end up in the hospital, but I could potentially end up in the grave."


With Pierce out for the 2020 season, the onus will now fall on players such as Jaleel Johnson, Armon Watts and Jalyn Holmes at defensive tackle for the Vikings. Those players have a chance to prove what they can do if they win a starting job. Minnesota also could turn to Shamar Stephen, who started 15 games in 2019, to move over to Joseph's former post.


Hello from Slovakia, heart of Europe. I'm a Vikings fan since I started watching the NFL in 2017 (too shortly, I know :D) and I admire this site, thanks for that. By the way, my question is if you could explain a little bit how the squad functions during the season. I know that our limit at the moment is 90 players, during the season 53 men, I think. I know something about practice squad, but I'm not sure about the process, the dates, injuries and so on...thanks lot. SKOL.


— Róbert Šubert in Trenčín, Slovakia
 
Top