EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings roster, defensive coordinator and system have changed considerably since Duke Shelley walked the halls of Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center, but he said Wednesday he "felt like I was back home."
"Like you haven't seen your family in a long time, and you come back home and everybody's just congratulating you and welcoming you in," Shelley said. "It feels good to be back."
Shelley, who started five games and appeared in 11 for the Vikings in 2022, flew in for a workout Tuesday and signed that evening. He practiced Wednesday in a fresh No. 29 jersey (Shelley wore 20 in 2022, which is now worn by Jay Ward) and is looking forward to helping the Vikings after playing for the Rams in 2023.
The 27-year-old had been maintaining his personal training in his hometown of Atlanta and hoping for a phone call.
"It came, and I jumped right on it," said Shelley, who received an outpouring of support from Vikings fans on social media. He thanked them with the following post on X (formerly Twitter).
Shelley explained why he thinks he connected so strongly and quickly with fans.
"I feel like I came in at a time of need," Shelley said. "We were on a hot streak at the time, and the big game in Buffalo, you come in and make that play right away, before anybody knows your name and kind of just build off that. I feel like I did that, and they loved it. The energy they came with, I just feed off it. I feed off them more than they know. I don't want to let them down, so that's kind of my thing."
The Vikings are mourning the tragic death of rookie cornerback Khyree Jackson in a July 6 automobile accident, and second-year cornerback Mekhi Blackmon suffered a torn ACL at Wednesday's practice. Blackmon was placed on Injured Reserve Wednesday.
Teammates and coaches who were here when Shelley recorded a career-best eight passes defensed and recorded his first career interception (against the Bears team that drafted him in 2019) were glad to welcome him back to the group.
"Great to have Duke back in our cornerbacks/DBs room. A guy that had a huge impact on our locker room when he was here in 2022," Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell said Wednesday. "Just seeing the excitement of the guys when Duke was back on the grass and in the locker room, as well, I know everybody was excited to get Duke back and really join that competition there as we look at the depth of that cornerbacks room. That's going to be a big part of training camp with [Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores] and the defensive side."
Shelley said he's looking forward to playing for Flores a few seasons after noticing him when Shelley was still with the Bears and in joint practices against the Flores-led Dolphins.
"Oh man, he's a good guy. His personality, he's chill at first. I'm still trying to get to know him as much as I can," Shelley said. "He's easy to talk to. I can relate to him. I talked to a couple of other guys on the o-line and defense, and they said positive things about him with how he attacks certain situations in games, and I appreciate it."
