Vikings sign DE Benton Whitley away from Chiefs practice squad

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - JUNE 7 : Benton Whitley #51 of the Los Angeles Rams participates in drills during mini camp on June 7, 2022 at the team's facility at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
THOUSAND OAKS, CA - JUNE 7 : Benton Whitley #51 of the Los Angeles Rams participates in drills during mini camp on June 7, 2022 at the team's facility at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)

The Minnesota Vikings have signed defensive end Benton Whitley away from the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Kansas City Chiefs had a roster spot open up unexpectedly on Wednesday with the news that defensive end Benton Whitley had been signed away by the Minnesota Vikings from the team’s practice squad. That means the Chiefs should be signing someone else soon enough to fill the hole going forward.

Whitley had only been with the Chiefs for a few weeks and it’s likely that many fans will even wonder who he is even after he’s gone from the team.

The Chiefs first signed Whitley in a similar fashion last month when they poached him from the practice squad of the Los Angeles Rams. When signing away a player in such a manner, that very player must remain on the active roster of the new team for at least three weeks. That means Whitley should feel a bit more comfortable with Minnesota knowing he can stick around for a bit.

For the Chiefs, the signing of Whitley was all about potential security in the face of an injury to Michael Danna. Danna’s calf injury kept him out of action for a few weeks, but he returned in Week 6 and the Chiefs never needed Whitley after all as Malik Herring stepped up as an active player on Sundays instead.

Whitley was originally a hot commodity this summer with the Rams who looked like he might force his way onto the roster. However, the numbers just didn’t work out and he went onto their practice squad. That hasn’t stopped two new teams from signing him outright, however.

Whitley originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent out of Holy Cross where he had 5.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss during his final season.

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