Vikings Pass Rusher Scooped Up by Thielen’s Panthers
The Canadian fans will be disappointed with the news about a Vikings pass rusher.
Luiji Vilain — a pass rusher from Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s first batch of UDFAs — has been scooped up by the Carolina Panthers. Vilain was on the practice squad. Take a look at the word from David Newton of ESPN: “The Panthers also agreed to terms with offensive lineman Brett Toth from the Eagles’ practice squad and outside linebacker Luiji Vilain from the Vikings practice squad.”
Last week, Vilain was elevated to the active roster because of the opening left by Marcus Davenport’s injury. He didn’t get a chance to play for the Brian Flores defense but he did soak up 14 snaps on special teams.
Vikings Pass Rusher Scooped Up
Originally, Luiji Vilain played for Michigan. Switching over to Wake Forest, though, opened up some more opportunity. During his 2021 season, Vilain put together 8 sacks, 9 TFLs, 1 PD, 1 FR, 2 FFs, and 34 total tackles. Not a bad effort.
The Canadian didn’t get selected in the 2022 NFL Draft but Adofo-Mensah made it a priority to bring him aboard. His initial year in Minnesota came with guaranteed cash exceeding $200,000, a lofty amount for an UDFA.
As a rookie, Vilain got in on a trio of games for the Vikings. He picked up 4 tackles in his limited opportunity. By the end of the year, Vilian had played 34 snaps on defense and 59 snaps on special teams.
Maybe the greatest obstacle standing in Vilain’s way for 2023 was the presence of edge rusher Andre Carter. The towering defender was similarly a priority in undrafted free agency, being praised far and wide as one of the best pickups among the 2023 UDFAs (alongside Ivan Pace). Carter actually secured a larger amount of guaranteed money from the Vikings ($340k).
The Canadian thus had to battle with D.J. Wonnum, Patrick Jones, and Carter for one of the openings at edge rusher (Danielle Hunter and Marcus Davenport were locked-in for roster spots).
Unfortunately for him, the practice squad ended up being the destination. The upside is that he’ll now get a chance with the rebuilding Panthers.
At 0-6, Carolina is without question one of the worst teams in the NFL (despite Adam Thielen’s offseason insistence that Carolina could soon win a Super Bowl). Losing a bunch is no one’s idea of a good time, but the hope is that Frank Reich’s coaching staff will be open to allowing Vilain to pick up a pile of snaps since the outcome of games doesn’t matter too much.
The 25-year-old Vilain stands at 6’4″ and weighs 252 pounds. Allowing the sophomore to make mistakes on the fly is something the Carolina coaches will have to think long and hard about since the priority is building for the future.
Luiji Vilain responded to the news on Twitter with a simple, declarative statement: “Let’s work.” Welcoming Vilain to Carolina will be former Vikings like Adam Thielen, Xavier Woods, and Ihmir Smith-Marsette.
Minnesota took down Carolina in Week 4 by a score of 21-13. Vilain didn’t dress for the contest.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, Stat Reference CFB, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.