Vikings Sign a Veteran CB with Previous Connection to Kwesi Adofo-Mensah
While free agency is still well over a month away, that hasn’t stopped some teams from signing players to reserve/futures contracts.
The Minnesota Vikings retained a large chunk of their practice squad by signing them to such contracts immediately after the season, and they’ve continued to add some intriguing talent in this manner. Most recently, the Vikings have added a new cornerback via a futures contract in A.J. Green III.
Vikings Sign a Veteran CB
The Vikings tweeted to announce the move, “The #Vikings have signed CB A.J. Green III (@AjGofor6) to a Reserve/Future Free Agent contract.”
Green spent his collegiate days playing for Oklahoma State from 2016-19, and with the Cowboys, he recorded 147 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 21 passes defended, six interceptions, and two forced fumbles. During his time at Oklahoma State, the program saw two consecutive 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017 and made bowls in all four seasons.
However, despite some of the success during his collegiate career, Green would go undrafted in 2020. As a result, the Cleveland Browns, who had just hired current Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as vice president of football operations, signed the cornerback as an undrafted free agent.
Green never carved out a substantial role for himself in Cleveland, but he did spend four years with the Browns, including each of their playoff runs in both 2020 and 2023. Unfortunately, though, these two seasons would prove to be his least effective in the NFL as Green played just one defensive snap in 2020 and none in 2023.
However, 2021 and 2022 saw Green play a combined 317 defensive snaps while also adding 410 snaps with the special teams. Over his four seasons in the NFL, the cornerback has totaled 40 tackles, seven passes defended, two interceptions, and two fumble recoveries.
If Green is going to carve out a role for himself with the Vikings, it will be due to his size. He stands at 6’2 and weighs nearly 200 pounds, which would place him far above the weight class of, say, Mekhi Blackmon.
With Green III’s addition to the roster, these are the Vikings’ cornerbacks as of January 23rd:
- Byron Murphy
- Mekhi Blackmon
- Andrew Booth
- Akayleb Evans
- Najee Thompson
- Joejuan Williams
- Jaylin Williams
- A.J. Green III
Free agency officially gets started in 49 days on March 13th.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference and Sports Reference CFB.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.