EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings on Wednesday announced they terminated the contract of receiver Tim Jones.

The move occurred a few hours after Minnesota announced a trade with Carolina to bring receiver Adam Thielen back to the Vikings.

Jones will be staying in Minnesota as one of 16 players signed to the team's practice squad.

The Vikings announced the following players are joining the team's practice squad ahead of the 2025 season (players listed alphabetically by last name):

Henry Byrd, Guard

Dontae Fleming, Wide receiver

Kahlef Hailassie, Safety

Jonathan Harris, Defensive line

Lucky Jackson, Wide receiver

Jeshaun Jones, Wide receiver

Tim Jones, Wide receiver

Vershon Lee, Guard

Fabian Moreau, Cornerback

Gabriel Murphy, Outside linebacker

Bryson Nesbit, Tight end

Max Pircher, Tackle (International Player Pathway)

Taki Taimani, Defensive line

Xazavian Valladay, Running back

Nick Vannett, Tight end

Zemaiah Vaughn, Cornerback

Teams were required to reduce their rosters to 53 players by 3 p.m. (CT) on Tuesday, Aug. 26, and could start building out their practice squads on Wednesday. Practice squads are capped at 16 players (17 if one is an International Player Pathway participant).

Scroll below for a little more information on each player.

Henry Byrd, Guard

Byrd first joined Minnesota's practice squad in December 2023. He spent the 2024 offseason with the team and rejoined the practice squad after roster reductions but suffered an injury that placed him on the Practice Squad/Injured list in December. He returned this offseason and has worked at guard and tackle during preseason games.

The 26-year-old Princeton grad is yet to appear in an NFL game.

Dontae Fleming, Wide receiver

Fleming joined the Vikings this spring as an undrafted free agent out of Tulane (after starting his college career at Louisiana). He totaled three catches for 71 yards and came close to bringing in another couple of passes thrown by Max Brosmer.

Kahlef Hailassie, Safety

Hailassie experienced one of the most interesting preseasons. He joined Minnesota this offseason as a cornerback, but the team began looking at him at safety just before its exhibition slate. Hailassie recorded two interceptions against the Texans in Preseason 1.

He has appeared in 10 NFL regular-season with Cleveland (2023-24) and spent time with Kansas City.

Jonathan Harris, Defensive line

Harris signed a futures contract with Minnesota in January and spent the entire offseason with the team, recording a sack in the Vikings final preseason game at the Titans.

The Illinois native has appeared in 40 games with the Bears, Broncos and Panthers since 2019. He recorded career bests of 43 tackles, four tackles for loss and four quarterback hits, along with his lone career sack so far for Denver in 2023.

Lucky Jackson, Wide receiver

Jackson first joined the Vikings in May 2023 and has been part of the team's practice squads for the past two seasons. He appeared in three games in 2023, primarily on special teams.

Jeshaun Jones, Wide receiver

Jones joined Minnesota as an undrafted free agent in 2024 and spent last season on the practice squad. He led the Vikings with 100 receiving yards this preseason.

Tim Jones, Wide receiver

Jones joined Minnesota this offseason and was initially on the 53-man roster Tuesday. He has appeared in 51 NFL games and made three starts with Jacksonville from 2022-24. Jones has recorded 17 career receptions for 154 yards.

Vershon Lee, Guard

Lee joined the Vikings in June and has spent time at multiple interior offensive line positions during camp and the preseason.

Fabian Moreau, Cornerback

Moreau returns to the Vikings after a stint with the 49ers. He appeared in seven games for Minnesota in 2024, totaling 102 defensive snaps and 56 on special teams while providing experience and depth.

This is Moreau's ninth NFL season. He was initially drafted by Washington out of UCLA in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He joined Atlanta in 2021, the New York Giants in 2022 and Denver in 2023. From 2021-23, Moreau started 38 of 46 games played for those franchises.

Moreau has totaled 305 tackles, five tackles for loss, seven interceptions, 43 passes defensed, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Gabriel Murphy, Outside linebacker

Murphy first joined Minnesota as an undrafted free agent in April 2024. He was progressing nicely through his first camp before landing on Injured Reserve. Murphy later joined Minnesota's practice squad in late November, and he was elevated for two games in which he played 35 defensive snaps and six on special teams. He recorded a tackle and a QB hit against Atlanta in his NFL debut.

Murphy returned this offseason and turned in another solid camp among a highly crowded position group. He recorded 1.5 sacks in the preseason opener against the Texans but was waived during Minnesota's final roster reductions. After clearing waivers, he opted to sign to the Vikings practice squad.

Bryson Nesbit, Tight end

Nesbit delivered one of the best highlights of the preseason with his 21-yard touchdown reception at Tennessee. He joined Minnesota this spring as an undrafted free agent.

Max Pircher, Tackle

Pircher joins Minnesota's practice squad as an International Player Pathway participant. Born in Brixen, Italy, the 6-foot-7, 300-pounder has previous experience with multiple NFL teams, including the Rams from 2021-22.

In his first season with Los Angeles, Pircher overlapped with Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell (was L.A.'s offensive coordinator in 2021) and multiple current Vikings assistants who helped the Rams win Super Bowl LVI.

Pircher also has spent time with the Lions (2023), Seahawks (2024) and Commanders (2024) practice squads. He began his pro career with the Swarco Raiders Tirol of the Austrian Football League in 2019.

Taki Taimani, Defensive line

Taimani made the 2024 initial 53 as an undrafted free agent out of Oregon (after Washington). He appeared in seven games as a rookie, totaling 70 defensive snaps and 34 on special teams through the first seven weeks of the season. He recorded three tackles while working in the defensive line's rotation.

Taimani returned with another strong camp for a defensive line group that was one of the deepest ever fielded by Minnesota and was waived during the final roster reductions.

Xazavian Valladay, Running back

Valladay first joined Minnesota late in camp and appeared in Minnesota's final preseason contest of 2025. Valladay rushed eight times for 39 yards with a long of 14 at Tennessee.

The Arizona State (after Wyoming) product previously appeared in one NFL game, playing 12 special teams snaps for the Jets in the 2023 regular-season finale.

Nick Vannett, Tight end

The Vikings signed Vannett in August, and his experience showed up as he quickly adjusted to Minnesota's offense. He has started 53 of 111 games played since originally entering the NFL with Seattle in 2016. Vannett has 108 receptions for 1,012 yards and nine scores to his credit.

Zemaiah Vaughn, Cornerback

Vaughn is another player in a bumper crop of undrafted free agents who joined Minnesota this spring.

He played college football at Utah, settling in at cornerback and totaling 144 tackles, 3.0 sacks, 14 tackles for loss, three interceptions and 24 passes defensed.

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