Vikings Bring in 2 New Defenders
Josh Frey
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The Minnesota Vikings were a very active team throughout the first week of free agency.
They brought in a number of starting caliber players to their roster, and now, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has been hard at work bringing in depth to fill out the team behind these starters. That process continued on Wednesday when the Vikings brought in a pair of defenders.
Vikings Sign Two Defenders
The news was reported by Darren Wolfson of KSTP, who tweeted, “Vikings: Sign Jihad Ward + Agreed to terms with Kamu Grugier-Hill.”
Ward came out of college with exceptional hype around him after recording 104 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks over two seasons at Illinois in 2014 and 2015. As a result, the Oakland Raiders took him in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
Unfortunately, he never lived up to his draft status for the Raiders. During his rookie season, he played all 16 games and made 13 starts but recorded just 30 tackles without a single tackle for loss or sack. After he played just five games in 2017, Ward was traded to the Dallas Cowboys.
Since that trade, Ward has appeared in games for the Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars, and New York Giants. This past season in New York, the pass rusher put together a career-high five sacks. He will turn 30 years old on May 11th.
As for Grugier-Hill, the former Eastern Illinois product was selected in the sixth round of the 2016 draft by the New England Patriots. However, he was almost immediately traded to the Philadelphia Eagles where he spent the first four seasons of his NFL career, winning a Super Bowl with the team in 2017.
Following the conclusion of his rookie contract, Grugier-Hill has spent time with the Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals, and Carolina Panthers over the past four seasons, essentially joining a new team every year.
In total, Grugier-Hill has recorded a total of 338 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, six sacks, four forced fumbles, eight passes defended, three interceptions, and two fumble recoveries. The outside linebacker will turn 30 years old on May 16th. In all likelihood, the veteran will serve as depth insurance behind Blake Cashman and Ivan Pace at the off-ball linebacker spot.
The Vikings now hold 66 players on their roster ahead of the NFL Draft, which will begin on April 27th.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference.
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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.