Vikings Sign 3; Add Another to IR

The Vikings signed three rookies to their training camp roster on Monday to make up for the loss of three players that were placed on injured reserve over the last two days.

The Vikings added one more player to their injured-reserve list and signed three to their active roster on Monday.

In addition to DE Jayme Mitchell and LB Heath Farwell, who each suffered torn anterior cruciate ligaments in Friday night’s preseason opener, the Vikings also added guard Mike Jones to injured reserve.

To bring their preseason roster number back up to 80 players, the Vikings signed offensive linemen Brock Pasteur, as Scout.com’s Caplan reported Sunday, and Sean Dumford, along with defensive end Chris Norwell.

Pasteur transferred from Nebraska to Stephen F. Austin to end his college career and started the final 21 games for the Lumberjacks. He earned All-Southland Conference honors in 2006 and 2007 and signed with the Titans as an undrafted rookie after this year’s draft. He can play both guard and tackle.

Dumford is a rookie out of Eastern Kentucky.

The Vikings also added depth at defensive end, a position that has been thinned with the loss of Mitchell for the season and the recent absence of Brian Robison, who had surgery to repair a varicose vein in his leg. Robison is expected to miss a few more weeks before returning to action. To make up for those losses, the Vikings signed Norwell, a rookie out of Illinois that originally signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent.

Norwell led the Big Ten with three fumble recoveries last year. He also played defensive tackle for the Illini and ranked ninth in the Big Ten in tackles for loss, averaging 1.04 per game, in 2006. He was named the team’s Most Improved Player in 2005, when he started all 11 games and finished the year with three straight games of at least six tackles. He was also named to The Sporting News' Freshman All-Big Ten team after starting all 11 games.