Vikings Unceremoniously Cut Ties with Once-Promising Defender
It’s another blow for the few people who still have some hope for the 2022 draft class to produce any long-term contributors for the Vikings. Recently, the team benched 2022 second-rounder Ed Ingram for veteran Dalton Risner. Someone who was on the wrong end of the benching treatment last year is Akayleb Evans, and, surprisingly, appeared in the news on Saturday.
Vikings Unceremoniously Cut Ties with Once-Promising Defender
Evans, a former fourth-rounder, is on the chopping block, according to Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo from NFL Network.
Rapoport dropped the hammer on X: “The Vikings are waiving CB Akayleb Evans, per me and Mike Garafolo, a bit of a surprise for the 2022 draft pick who has 17 starts and plays special teams. With a major roster crunch, Minnesota makes a tough cut.”
There is a roster crunch because the Vikings have opened the practice window for a pair of players from IR ‒ tight end Nick Muse and outside linebacker Gabriel Murphy.
In April of 2022, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah traded a pair of day three picks to acquire pick number 118. He selected cornerback Akayleb Evans out of the University of Missouri.
The executive said after the draft: “Evans was a guy I remember watching at night. I’d sometimes watch him in the dark, and you’re looking at his size and say, ‘He’s a big guy. Man, he moves well, plays off.’ You see him doing things in our scheme that translate really well.”
Indeed, Evans showed flashes of his physical tools early in his career, earning playing time over fellow rookie second-rounder Andrew Booth. He appeared in ten games in his debut season and started two contests. Unfortunately, two separate concussions (he also suffered one in training camp) resulted in a stint on IR and limited his playing time.
Year two was supposed to be his breakout campaign after he had clinched a starting role in Brian Flores’ defense. He started all 15 games he appeared in and logged 855 defensive snaps. Late in the season, Flores pulled his defensive back twice.
Flores then voiced his confidence in the defender and promised to reinsert him into the lineup: “He’ll be out there (on Sunday), there is no question about it. Akayleb has done a lot of good things for us this season but we all have moments and he’ll bounce back. Akayleb is a confident kid, in that moment, it was really more about the group and the unit and just trying to get a different spark. But look, he’s a confident kid, he’s obviously played well over the course of the season, we have a lot of confidence in him and he’ll be back out there.”
That confidence apparently dwindled in the offseason when the Vikings had the option to replace him, which was simply not possible at the end of the 2023 season.
In 2024, Stephon Gilmore and Shaq Griffin usurped him on the depth chart, joining Byron Murphy on the field in sets with three cornerbacks. Evans, meanwhile, was stuck on the bench and on special teams. He played three defensive snaps all year and added 83 special teams reps to his resume.
Evans occasionally showed flashes but was ultimately too inconsistent to be trusted.
The Vikings still employ five cornerbacks on the 53-man roster. In addition to the previously mentioned Murphy. Gilmore and Griffin, Flores can use veteran Fabian Moreau and rookie Dwight McGlothern if needed.
Evans is 25 years old and brings starting experience to the table. There’s a chance one team claims him off waivers. If nobody does, he will land in the free agency pool and can sign with anyone ‒ in theory, even with Minnesota’s practice squad.
From the ten players of his first draft class, Adofo-Mensah has already moved on from five (Lewis Cine, Andrew Booth, Akayleb Evans, Esezi Otomewo, Vederian Lowe). The remaining players are Ed Ingram, Brian Asamoah, Ty Chandler, Jalen Nailor, and Nick Muse.
Editor’s Note: Information from 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