MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings brought back defensive end Justin Trattou on Monday morning, waiving Shaun Prater less than a week after signing him to shore up their safety depth for last Thursday's game in Arizona.
The Vikings only had Trattou active for two games this season as part of their defensive line rotation, but the fact they brought him back would suggest they're feeling somewhat better about their safety situation than they were last week. Coach Mike Zimmer said on Friday he got an encouraging injury report on both Harrison Smith and Andrew Sendejo, adding Sendejo could be back before Smith, linebacker Anthony Barr and defensive tackle Linval Joseph.
Terence Newman also showed he can handle the safety spot in a pinch, as well, and Anthony Harris had a solid debut at the other starting spot. Zimmer said rookie cornerback Trae Waynes "did some good things" against the Cardinals, though Waynes was one of the players involved in a coverage breakdown on Michael Floyd's long touchdown reception. In any case, the Vikings seem to feel they have enough options in the defensive backfield that they didn't need to keep Prater around.
We'll see how their injury situation plays out once they get back to work on Tuesday, but Monday's moves seemed to reflect some optimism about the state of the secondary.
