Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell and his wife Leah welcomed their fourth child to the family on Friday night, when Leah gave birth to a baby girl.
With his wife and newest daughter doing well, O'Connell traveled with the Vikings as scheduled on their flight to the Washington D.C. area, before the team plays the Commanders at FedEx Field on Sunday.
The O'Connells will now have four children at home: sons Kaden and Kolten, daughter Quinn and the new baby.
Vikings clear cap space by restructuring O'Neill's contract
Though the Vikings, who went into Tuesday's NFL trade deadline with the least salary cap space in the NFL, were able to fit tight end T.J. Hockenson under the cap earlier this week, General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said on Wednesday the team could look to restructure a player's contract to clear more room for the rest of the season.
The Vikings did that on Saturday, converting part of right tackle Brian O'Neill's base salary to a signing bonus.
The move had been the Vikings' top option to clear space, given the likelihood the 27-year-old O'Neill, who's become one of the league's best at his position, will be on the roster for several years. According to ESPN, the Vikings converted $1.869 million of O'Neill's $4.4 million base salary into a signing bonus, clearing $1.495 million of cap space for 2022. The signing bonus will increase O'Neill's cap figure by $373,888 from 2023-26.
Nailor out; Chisena, Muse up for Sunday
With an illness forcing the Vikings to rule out wide receiver Jalen Nailor for Sunday's game, the team elevated Dan Chisena from the practice squad.
Chisena — who starred in track and field in addition to football at Penn State — figures to replace the rookie's speed on special teams. The Vikings also elevated tight end Nick Muse from the practice squad, giving themselves another tight end with Hockenson finishing his first week of practice with the team.