AP

When safety Taylor Mays signed with the Vikings as a free agent in March, the feeling was that rejoining former Bengals defensive coordinator and current Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer would put Mays in position to earn playing time in Minnesota.

If Mays was in that position during the team’s offseason work, he failed to take advantage of the opportunity. The Vikings announced Tuesday that they have released Mays less than three months after agreeing to a deal with him in the first place.

Reports during OTAs had Mays working with reserve defensive units, which has generally been the case for Mays over the course of his NFL career. He’ll try to land somewhere else where there’s more call for his ability to play a safety-linebacker hybrid role and contribute on special teams.

The Vikings, meanwhile, will move forward with Harrison Smith, Robert Blanton, Andrew Sendejo, Antone Exum and Anthony Harris at safety.