With Mike Hughes around, Marcus Sherels could have to fight to make Vikings' roster

BleedGopher

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per STrib:

There was a time when the annual exercise of figuring out who would bump undrafted free agent Marcus Sherels off the Vikings’ roster was a rite of training camp.

Sherels, the thinking went, was too short, too one-dimensional and simply too expendable to keep on the roster. The annual bit of training camp punditry started in the Leslie Frazier era and continued in the Mike Zimmer era. But as Sherels went from roster afterthought to the Vikings’ all-time leading punt returner and one of the longest-tenured players on the roster, keen observers stopped assuming there would be any way he wouldn’t make the team.

The game might not be worth playing again this summer, after Sherels worked as both the Vikings’ kick and punt returner last year and signed a one-year contract — his eighth deal in as many years with the team — in March. But like a tired Hollywood franchise, it’s back for one more sequel this summer — and this time, there’s an adversary that might actually be worth watching.

Mike Hughes, the Vikings’ first-round pick, remains in his early studies of the team’s defense, going through a process that coach Mike Zimmer typically prefers not to rush with his young corners. Zimmer spent much of his first summer as Vikings coach in the ear of Xavier Rhodes, and brought Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander along slowly in their first years, so there’s no reason to think Hughes will be ushered hastily into a big defensive role. He only played two seasons of major college football, and though the Vikings gave Alexander most of the work as their top nickel corner this spring, they still have Terence Newman on the roster in case they need another option in the slot and want to bring Hughes along slowly.

But even if Hughes isn’t a major factor in the defense in 2018, he’s still going to be on the roster. He returned two kickoffs and a punt for touchdowns at Central Florida last year, and spent most of the spring splitting time with Sherels at both returns spots.

“The kickoffs, he’s very natural catching the ball,” special teams coordinator Mike Priefer said. “Obviously, it’s a much easier ball to catch than end-over-end-type kicks. Punts, he’s come a long way since rookie minicamp. He’s never really been taught how to track a punt, how to catch a punt. We do a lot of film work, a lot of close-up film work that we go over with Mike, and all our returners for that matter, to try to hone those skills. He’s done a really nice job. He’s come a long way. He’s a great athlete, a fast learner, the sky is the limit for Mike. I think he’s going to be a very good returner on both punts and kickoffs.”

Sherels has played 45 snaps on defense in Zimmer’s four years as head coach, and it’s no secret the Vikings think of him mostly as a return man at this point. The difference this year is, they’ll have another player on the roster in Hughes who’s effectively guaranteed a spot and could be good enough to take at least one of the return jobs as a rookie.

Essentially, the decision the Vikings will have to make is this: Can they afford to carry Sherels, in a role that amounts to a fourth specialist, on a roster where they’ve already got five (and possibly six) corners? They’re likely to carry three QBs, given the investments they’ve made in Kyle Sloter already, and figure to want a third running back with Dalvin Cook still returning from a torn ACL. Roster spots start to get claimed quickly in training camp, and as Sherels turns 31 in September, the Vikings will have to determine whether they’ve got enough to go around to keep him.

The Rochester native still enjoys a deep level of trust from Priefer, and is the type of player the Vikings love to boast about: a local product whose commitment to solid technique and on-field consistency are matched by few on the roster. It’s still eminently possible they’ll make the math work to keep him on the roster and render the training camp parlor game useless once again. With Hughes on the roster this year, though, the path for Sherels could be a little trickier than it’s been in a while.

http://www.startribune.com/with-mik...ve-to-fight-to-make-vikings-roster/485821701/

Go Gophers!!
 

I think he'll be fine. He's still one of the best ST players on the roster, both return and coverage groups. I do believe they've tried a couple times to have others return kicks over his tenure...one muff or bad decision and he trots back out.
 

Will be interesting. Think he'll be fine for at least one more season for sure. Clearly can't count this guy out though.
 

I never understood the fascination with moving on from Sherels. He's been a really good punt returner and good gunner on punt coverage as well. That said, I do feel like a little bit of the burst was gone last year (it was his age 30 season) so I could see why there might be some legitimacy to him being on the roster bubble this year. Priefer's comments certainly don't read like a guy who is comfortable handing over the punt returning duties to Harris though. I've really enjoyed Sherels tenure with the Vikings and hope to see him stick.
 

I never understood the fascination with moving on from Sherels. He's been a really good punt returner and good gunner on punt coverage as well. That said, I do feel like a little bit of the burst was gone last year (it was his age 30 season) so I could see why there might be some legitimacy to him being on the roster bubble this year. Priefer's comments certainly don't read like a guy who is comfortable handing over the punt returning duties to Harris though. I've really enjoyed Sherels tenure with the Vikings and hope to see him stick.

Sherels is an unbelievable survivor in that he doesn’t play his “position (DB)” good enough to warrant a roster spot, but he has grown into an excellent special teams player. So, every year there is the suspense as to if there is a new “position” player or potential player that would be almost as good at special teams. It will eventually happen and Priefer will not be making that decision. This may be the year because the candidate is a DB that has shown to be a dynamic return guy and he can be a hard hitting, tackling gunner on the kick teams. In the past it was WR’s that typically require another LB to be the gunner.


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I think another factor might be how quickly they feel Hughes moves into the starting lineup at DB. I don't think you want your starting DB returning kickoffs or punts on a regular basis? Sherels is a magician at getting the most yardage out of a punt return. Extremely dependable and a valuable decision maker.
Punt returners can easily lose games or put your team in jeopardy. You can count on Sherels. Hughes will have to be someone they see those same qualities in to make them cut Sherels.
 

Sherels is like a cockroach. he survives everything, even nuclear war. If Russia nuked the Vikings stadium, Sherels would still be there running back kicks.

Hype aside - I give Sherels at least one more year as the primary return guy. They may phase someone else in for KO Returns, but Sherels will be the Punt Return guy this season (barring injury).
 

Sherels is like a cockroach. he survives everything, even nuclear war. If Russia nuked the Vikings stadium, Sherels would still be there running back kicks.

Hype aside - I give Sherels at least one more year as the primary return guy. They may phase someone else in for KO Returns, but Sherels will be the Punt Return guy this season (barring injury).

Hope so. Would really like to see him have a chance to play in a Super Bowl. Will be interesting to see how many corners we want to keep though. Sounds like Newman could be moving to safety, which would help, but I'm expecting both Hughes and Holton Hill to make the team. That would be 6 corners (unless I'm forgetting someone) including Marcus and not including Newman. If Newman stays at corner, we would have to keep 7 corners.
 

Hope so. Would really like to see him have a chance to play in a Super Bowl. Will be interesting to see how many corners we want to keep though. Sounds like Newman could be moving to safety, which would help, but I'm expecting both Hughes and Holton Hill to make the team. That would be 6 corners (unless I'm forgetting someone) including Marcus and not including Newman. If Newman stays at corner, we would have to keep 7 corners.

Bear in mind that even if 10 dbs are ahead of Sherels in the pecking order (counting Newman, who could be pegged as CB or S), all 10 would still have to be healthy on cutdown day for Sherels not to make the team.

I’d put odds on Sherels making it.
 



Dressing a 3rd QB seems like a waste of a roster spot.
 




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