The Vikings are down a draft pick. Per Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (on Twitter), the Vikings have forfeited a seventh-round pick in this year’s draft (No. 242).
“A mistake was made, we take responsibility and we respect the league’s decision and will move forward,” general manager Rick Spielman said in a statement.
Per Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com, the punishment is regarding an infraction from 2019. There was some kind of violation of a practice squad player’s contract, but it’s uncertain who the player was or what the violation was.
Three Vikings executives were also fined $10K each, per Smith.
Some more draft notes from around the NFL:
- Neither the Saints nor Raiders will lose a draft due to violations of the COVID-19 policies, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. “They are not forfeiting them,” McCarthy said. “Neither team will lose those picks.” According to the reporter, there were rumblings that New Orleans would lose a seventh-round pick following a “mask-less locker room celebration,” and the Raiders were expected to lose a sixth-rounder due to multiple violations. While the NFL didn’t provide any context on their decision, Florio assumes both organizations appealed their penalties and were successful.
- When the NFL announced the compensatory picks for the 2021 draft, the Patriots did not have a fifth-round pick. However, a source confirmed to PFT that New England had indeed received a fifth-rounder in the upcoming draft. According to Smith, the NFL “realized a mistake in its calculation of the complex formula for determining compensatory picks,” leading to the extra Patriots selection.
- Thanks to the aforementioned compensatory-pick audit by the NFL, the Falcons are also moving two slots in the fifth round, according to Smith. Further, while the NFL only allows the addition of 32 compensatory picks each year, they’ve made an exception this time around. Thanks to the additional Patriots draft pick, the Bears normally wouldn’t have received that final compensatory pick; the NFL and NFL Players Association allowed Chicago to ultimately keep that selection.
