Vikings Grab a New Linebacker
Thanksgiving is in the rearview mirror, while Christmas is inching closer. That, of course, means the NFL season is entering crunch time. For the Minnesota Vikings, the remaining four games of the season are probably meaningless from a playoff standpoint, but they are still helpful for evaluating players.
Vikings Grab a New Linebacker
On Wednesday, the franchise announced a roster adjustment. Linebacker Josh Ross was added to the practice squad. Players signed to the practice squad this late in the season rarely get to see the NFL field in the final stretch of the season, but he might very well be an option for a futures contract.
Once the season is over, the Vikings will begin filling their offseason roster. Because players can’t be signed for the next season until March, when free agency kicks off, they sign their practice squad players and some others to futures contracts. Ross is certainly a candidate for that.
Either way, Ross tried out for the job earlier this week and beat out competitors like special teams ace Trey Vaval.
Ross is 26 and was an undrafted rookie in 2022, signing his first NFL deal with the Baltimore Ravens. The Michigan alumnus carved out a nice career for an undrafted defender. Baltimore retained him for the entire 2022 and 2023 seasons, and he even made the team in 2024. However, the linebacker was waived in October of 2024.
His next chapter took place in Seattle, as the Seahawks claimed him off waivers. His contract expired this year, and the Seahawks handed him a new one-year deal. He didn’t survive the roster cuts this time, though.
Since then, Ross had been available, and the Vikings finally ended his job search. On his resume, he has 22 appearances in his first three NFL seasons, with 11 tackles.
He has never played a down on defense, but has over 1,000 snaps of experience on special teams.
In Minnesota, Ross is reunited with a couple of college teammates. One is, of course, quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who is coming off the best performance in his young NFL career. Ross departed from Michigan before McCarthy took over the full-time starting job in 2022. McCarthy logged 59 pass attempts in his first collegiate season, which was also Ross’ final campaign. He led the team in tackles that year.
The other reunion will be with safety Joshua Metellus. Minnesota’s Swiss Army Knife and the newcomer crossed paths between 2017 and 2019. Metellus was a sixth-round draft pick in 2020, while Ross stayed for two more seasons.
He’s the second linebacker on the practice squad, sharing those honors with veteran defender Sione Takitaki. They provide depth in case one of Blake Cashman, Eric Wilson, Austin Keys, or Ivan Pace Jr. is sidelined. Wilson has been a superstar for the Vikings. He’s pretty much putting together a Pro Bowl-type season since replacing Pace in the starting lineup earlier in the season.
Ross’ best chance to appear in an NFL game is a potential injury to one of the top players in special teams coverage. That’s what he does in his NFL life.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.