The Vikings parted ways with Holton Hill on Tuesday, ending a run for the cornerback in Minnesota that never quite lived up to expectations.
Hill began the season as one of the Vikings' starting corners, but had been out since Week 4 with a foot injury that landed him on injured reserve last month. When the Vikings made the move to put Hill on IR, coach Mike Zimmer said the injury had "been going on a lot longer than we expected."
The Vikings picked Hill up as an undrafted free agent before the 2018 season, giving him a $75,000 bonus that was at the time the largest they'd awarded to a rookie free agent under Zimmer. The 6-foot-2 corner started three games as a rookie, but two four-game suspensions — one for performance-enhancing drugs, the other for violating the league's substance abuse policy — caused him to fall out of favor before the 2019 season.
Hill got another chance at the beginning of this season as the Vikings tried to rebuild their cornerback group on the fly, but even with 2018 first-rounder Mike Hughes still on IR with a neck injury, the Vikings decided to move on from Hill on Tuesday.
The team also placed tight end Brandon Dillon on the practice squad injured reserve list, after using him the past two weeks with Irv Smith out because of groin and back injuries. The Vikings also added offensive lineman Zack Bailey to their practice squad; Bailey began the 2020 season with the Buccaneers, whom the Vikings face on Sunday.
