Vikings Elevate Odell Beckham Jr. and Jeshaun Jones for Sunday’s Visit to New Orleans

Minnesota made two receiver changes from its practice-squad group Saturday, elevating Odell Beckham Jr. and Jeshaun Jones to the active roster ahead of the Vikings’ Sunday matchup against the New Orleans Saints. The team announced the elevations in advance of the noon CT kickoff, indicating that both players are expected to be available on the game-day roster for at least that contest.

Beckham Jr., a veteran wide receiver, is the headline of the move. For the Vikings, elevating a receiver with Beckham’s résumé typically serves two purposes, immediate depth at a high-use position and a potential spark in pass routes that require timing, variation, and red-zone attention. Even without additional public detail on specific play-calling plans, adding a receiver from the practice squad during the regular season is often the clearest sign that coaches want the receiver group to be more flexible for a particular opponent.

Jeshaun Jones is the other receiver promoted for the Saints game. From a roster management standpoint, elevations like this can change the snap distribution across the wideout room. When teams bring up multiple receivers at once, the intention usually goes beyond a single player “insurance” need, it can allow a coaching staff to match personnel more precisely, protect starters’ workloads, and keep the offense supplied with route options as game flow changes.

The Vikings’ announcement frames the moves as elevations from the practice squad, which matters because practice-squad players typically do not automatically become active for every week. Elevations are a weekly mechanism, and they indicate that Minnesota has identified specific football reasons to make these players part of the active group for this particular game against New Orleans.

For New Orleans, the Vikings’ receiver elevations add another layer to preparation. Opponents typically game-plan assuming the weekly active roster will include a certain blend of route styles and target profiles. When a team elevates two receivers, it can force adjustments in coverage responsibilities, especially in the intermediate and boundary areas where route stems can differ from week to week based on who is active.

What to watch next is how Minnesota uses the two additions once the game reaches the field. The immediate questions are whether Beckham Jr. is deployed as an early-game target, how quickly Jones earns snaps, and whether either receiver appears in specific packages that suggest a planned emphasis against the Saints’ coverage looks. Those answers will show how Minnesota’s practice-squad elevations translate into on-field responsibilities for Sunday’s matchup.