Dillon Bell’s first NFL roster celebration didn’t even last a full day.
The Minnesota Vikings cut Bell on Monday, just one day after initially including him on their final 53-man roster. He didn’t see it coming, and what should have been a milestone quickly turned into uncertainty about what comes next in his NFL career. For now, though, Bell is still in Minnesota.
The Vikings later signed Bell to their practice squad, along with QB Max Brosmer, RB DeeJay Dallas and OLB Kyle Van Noy. But that move hardly softens the blow after the way the organization handled the situation.
Bell’s release came after he had already taken the good news as a real step forward. During Kirby Smart’s press conference on Monday, Smart said Bell called to thank him and members of the Georgia coaching staff for helping push him toward his NFL dream. That call would not have happened if Bell had known what was coming the next day.
Bell did have the chance to land elsewhere after Minnesota let him go, but he cleared waivers and remained available for the Vikings to bring back on the practice squad. That at least keeps him in a system that already knows his game, even if the circumstances make the whole thing feel pretty cold.
There is still a path forward for Bell. His time on the active roster was brief, but it showed enough to prove he belongs in the conversation.
He put together a solid preseason across Minnesota’s three games, finishing with seven catches for 59 yards. The numbers are modest, but they still mattered: those seven receptions tied for 11th-most in the NFL during the preseason.
That production likely played a big role in why the Vikings wanted him back on the practice squad. They clearly see a player they can trust if the receiver room gets thin during the season. If that moment comes, Bell should be someone they feel comfortable calling up.
It is still a tough outcome for Bell, especially with the regular season about to begin. He came close to making the Vikings’ final roster and briefly got the reward that comes with it, only to have it pulled away almost immediately.
Even so, his NFL story is nowhere near finished. One opportunity in the regular season could still change everything.
In Other News...
Georgia Fans Already Divided Over Another Sanford Stadium Gimmick
Georgia football is leaning into the kind of game-day presentation that can turn Sanford Stadium into a visual talking point before the first snap. The program announced it is asking fans to take part in a stadium striping event for the week four matchup against Oklahoma, a look it used last season, and it is also planning a white-out for the week two game against Western Kentucky. For a fan base that treats home-field atmosphere as part of the product, the message is clear: the Bulldogs want the stands to look as loud as they feel.
The response, as usual with these kinds of promos, has already split the room. Some fans like the coordinated look and the way it can make Sanford Stadium pop on television, while others see it as one more unnecessary gimmick layered onto an already big Saturday. With Oklahoma coming to town in week four, the striping idea is getting extra attention, and it will be worth watching whether the latest attempt at a themed crowd brings more buy-in the second time around. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Suddenly Has A Chance To Unlock A Former 5-Star Up Front
Xzavier McLeods retirement at the start of fall camp for the 2026 season changed the look of Georgias interior defensive line almost overnight. What had been a steady part of the rotation now has to be replaced by committee, and Kirby Smart has already signaled that the Bulldogs will sort out the snaps through competition rather than hand the job to one player.
That opens the door for Jordan Hall, a junior whose career has been slowed by injury issues, and for sophomore Elijah Griffin, whose talent gives Georgia a chance to get more out of the position group than it may have expected a few weeks ago. How much of that upside turns into actual production will depend on who can stay on the field and who can take advantage of the extra work now available up front. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Fans Have Every Reason To Push Back On Jeff Brohm
The scheduled home-and-home series between Georgia and Louisville is off, and both schools reportedly agreed to cancel it as the SECs move to nine conference games continues to reshape future slates. From Georgias side, the explanation appears tied to the growing difficulty of fitting everything in around an expanded conference schedule, a problem that has forced plenty of moving parts behind the scenes for athletic departments trying to balance competition, travel and long-term planning.
Jeff Brohm, though, offered a different version of events when he suggested Georgia was the side responsible for pulling the plug. That is where the frustration can linger for Bulldogs fans, especially with Louisville also known to have had its own trouble lining up Power Four opponents. The series is gone either way, but the debate over why it disappeared has left enough room for both schools to point in different directions. [Read more 🡒]