Vikings sign RB Hillman to take Kalil's spot on roster
With Adrian Peterson having surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, the Minnesota Vikings signed veteran running back Ronnie Hillman.
Hillman takes the roster spot of left tackle Matt Kalil, who was placed on injured reserved. Peterson has not been placed on IR.
"It's a good team and it's a good opportunity," Hillman said. ". . . They just told me they want me to get in here and learn the playbook, and we'll go from there."
Hillman was a third-round draft choice of Denver in 2012. He played four years with the Broncos, rushing for 1,842 yards on 452 carries (4.1 average) with 21 touchdowns. He also had 67 receptions for 431 yards with one touchdown.
Last season with Denver, Hillman had career highs in carries (207), rushing yards (863), rush average (4.2), rushing touchdowns (7) and receptions (24).
"I knew I was going to get an opportunity somewhere," Hillman said. "It was just a matter of where and when."
When asked if Hillman could emerge as the starter in Minnesota, head coach Mike Zimmer said he barely knew anything about the running back other than that the Vikings played against him in 2015. In that game, Hillman rushed for 103 yards on 11 carries with a touchdown in a 23-20 Broncos win.
Jerrick McKinnon will start at running back for Minnesota at Carolina this Sunday, Zimmer said.
