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          Minnesota Vikings sign LB Todd Davis to fill void after Anthony Barr, Troy Dye injuries

          • Courtney Cronin, ESPN Staff WriterSep 24, 2020, 06:01 PM
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              Courtney Cronin joined ESPN in 2017, originally covering the Minnesota Vikings before switching to the Chicago Bears in 2022. Courtney is a frequent panelist on Around the Horn and host of Best Week Ever on ESPN Radio. She also co-hosts The Chicago Bears Podcast on ESPN 1000. She previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News as a multimedia sports journalist.

          EAGAN, Minn. -- The Minnesota Vikings' linebacking corps took another hit on Thursday when the team placed rookie Troy Dye (foot) on injured reserve.

          Dye, a 2020 fourth-round pick, suffered the injury in the second quarter of Minnesota's 28-11 loss at Indianapolis when he was called on to fill in for teammate Anthony Barr. The Pro Bowl linebacker tore his right pectoral muscle at the end of the first quarter and was placed on IR on Monday. He is expected to miss the remainder of the season.

          Minnesota signed veteran linebacker Todd Davis on Thursday to help with depth after losing Barr and Dye within four days of each other. Davis, 28, started at least 14 games for the Broncos in each of the past four seasons and played for Vikings offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak in 2015 and 2016 when he was the team's head coach.

          Davis, a 6-foot-1, 230-pound linebacker, spent the offseason with Denver and was released on Sept. 4. He was not on an NFL roster for the first two weeks of the season. The six-year vet led the Broncos in tackling in 2019 and finished tied for eighth in the NFL with a career-high 134 tackles (78 solo).

          Dye's injury is one of many that Minnesota's linebacker unit is dealing with in 2020.

          Ben Gedeon, the team's former No. 3 linebacker, was placed on the physically unable to perform list before the season, stemming from two concussions suffered during the 2019 season that caused him to miss 10 games.

          On Aug. 8, second-year linebacker Cameron Smith announced he would undergo open-heart surgery to repair his bicuspid aortic valve, a congestive heart defect he discovered while undergoing team testing for COVID-19. Minnesota waived Smith with injury designation two days later and placed him on the non-football injury list.

          The Vikings are down to All-Pro Eric Kendricks, Eric Wilson, Ryan Connelly, Hardy Nickerson Jr. and Davis on the active roster. Nickerson was signed to the active roster off the practice squad earlier this week.

          Dye is eligible to return to practice ahead of the Vikings' Week 6 matchup with Atlanta.