Vikings Defender Avoids Serious Injury
The Minnesota Vikings have completed roughly two weeks of practice sessions in their annual training camp. All eyes are on tenth overall pick J.J. McCarthy and his development and how well Sam Darnold is doing in comparison. However, injuries have played a major role throughout camp, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
Vikings Defender Avoids Serious Injury
Sophomore cornerback Mekhi Blackmon will miss the 2024 campaign because of a torn ACL suffered during the first practice, which surely overshadowed everything else early in camp. The minor injuries of Shaquill Griffin, Lewis Cine, and, on offense, Robert Tonyan only added to the woes.
On Saturday, reports of defensive lineman Jerry Tillery sustaining an injury surfaced. Alec Lewis from The Athletic reported: “Vikings DT Jerry Tillery was down for a few minutes. The cart came out, but instead Tillery got on the golf cart. Didn’t look good at all. He’d been taking reps with 1s in 5-down looks at DT.”
Tillery arrived in March after signing a one-year contract worth up to $3.75 million. After missing out on the big names in free agency to bolster the underwhelming defensive line, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah acquired Tillery to at least get starter Harrison Phillips some help. Without him, the Vikings would be another player short on the already concerning defensive line.
Good news arrived on Sunday afternoon, though. The Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling tweeted: “Sounds like Jerry Tillery, who was carted off the field yesterday at Vikings camp, will be fine. Source said he just got cleated in practice yesterday.”
While that can be extremely painful, he should be back on the practice field soon.
Tillery was part of the 2019 draft class but has failed to match the high expectations. The Los Angeles Chargers selected him with the 28th overall pick out of Notre Dame.
He had played 54 games (29 starts) until the Chargers released him during his fourth season. The defender logged 10.5 sacks and 98 tackles in 2,150 defensive snaps.
Entering the waiver wire, Tillery couldn’t choose his next team and was assigned to the Raiders, who put a waiver claim in for the ex-first-rounder, but he re-signed in 2023 for a second season in Las Vegas. In 24 games with the Raiders, Tillery produced two sacks and 41 tackles.
His PFF resume shows a lot of subpar play, but he’s coming off his best season.
- 2019: 35.5 (116/116 DTs)
- 2020: 43.9 (108/110 DTs)
- 2021: 46.3 (94/108 DTs)
- 2022: 49.8 (100/128 DTs)
- 2023: 67.7 (40/130 DTs)
Tillery is a pass-rush specialist; he jogs onto the field on third downs and gets after the quarterback. In terms of run-stopping, he leaves a lot to be desired. It should be noted, though, that the Vikings lacked that play style in last year’s rotation, as nobody could generate pressure from the inside. All employed players had their strengths in the running game.
The 27-year-old tabulated 29 quarterback pressures and 23 QB hurries last season. Twenty-nine pressures would’ve ranked fourth in Minnesota’s 2023 defense; the hurries would’ve ranked him second.
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores can pick his group out of the following defensive linemen:
- Harrison Phillips
- Jonathan Bullard
- Jerry Tillery
- Jonah Williams
- Jaquelin Roy
- Levi Drake Rodriguez
- James Lynch
- Jalen Redmond
- Tyler Manoa
- Taki Taimani
Phillips and Bullard return from last season. Tillery and Williams are experienced players; both joined as free agents. Roy and Rodriguez were picked in the two recent drafts, while Lynch was re-signed after missing the 2023 campaign with a torn ACL. Redmond is a sophomore who played well in a few games in the UFL. Manoa and Taimani are undrafted rookies.
Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee Phillips will surely reclaim one of the top spots. Next to him, the Vikings will use a heavy rotation. Bullard is perhaps the best run defender, while Tillery can provide some pass rush. Roy and Rodriguez are wildcards.
Tillery can’t fix the interior defensive line, but he can be a piece of a hopefully serviceable puzzle.
The defender will turn 28 in October and wants to build on his strong 2023.
Editor’s Note: Information from Over The Cap and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt