Las Vegas Is the Next Stop for Departed Vikings Pick
The 53 remaining players, along with the practice squad, prepare for the upcoming season opener against the Chicago Bears. It was a busy last week with trades and cutdown day, but GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has assembled a decent roster for the 2025 campaign.
Departed Vikings Linebacker Joins Las Vegas
A player who’s no longer on that team is linebacker Brian Asamoah. He was cut a couple of weeks prior to cutdown day and spent the remaining preseason with the Tennessee Titans, who got the first look at the former third-rounder.
Yet, they deemed him not good enough for their team and moved on as well. Now, he’s found a new employer: The Las Vegas Raiders.
The Raiders announced on social media, “We have signed LB Brian Asamoah II and QB Jeff Driskel to the practice squad. In a corresponding move, we have released LB Matt Jones and S Trey Taylor.”
Once a promising third-round pick, Asamoah has turned into a journeyman defender.
Michael Canelo of SI.com wrote, “Adding Asamoah and Driskel gives the Raiders options at positions that the team has questions about, especially with depth. The Raiders’ linebacker room is filled with three starting players who are veterans. After that, the room is filled with a lot of young, talented players. If any of the starting linebackers go down during the season, this is where these moves will come to play. The linebacker position is going to be watched closely.”
The Raiders have six linebackers on their roster:
- Germaine Pratt
- Elandon Roberts
- Devin White
- Tommy Eichenberg
- Jamal Adams
- Cody Lindenberg
Adams was once viewed as one of the best defenders in football. The former safety is trying to play a role at linebacker. It’s an overhauled unit, as standout defender Robert Spillane transferred to the New England Patriots in free agency. Asamoah likely needs a couple of those guys to suffer injuries, as harsh as that sounds, to have a realistic chance of making a gameday roster. Another opportunity would be that the special teams struggle. He has played a ton in that area.
In his rookie season, Asamoah actually showed some flashes when he rotated in for the starters Eric Kendricks and Jordan Hicks, but he still only logged 119 defensive snaps. A year later, Kendricks was axed, but Ivan Pace Jr. just snatched that starting spot from the sophomore.
Since Flores was hired in the 2023 offseason, Asamoah couldn’t crack the defensive rotation. The Vikings drafted him for Ed Donatell’s defense, but Flores was not impressed, preferring Kamu Grugier-Hill in 2024 and Eric Wilson this time. When Kobe King was drafted in April, Asamoah was pushed out and ultimately axed in August.
Vikings Territory’s Dustin Baker noted after the release, “Almost every fan and purple writer/analyst had forecasted Asamoah’s release. Why? Well, the team doesn’t use him on defense — outside of a few sweet plays as a rookie in 2022 — and habitually finds ‘another guy’ to play middle linebacker when injuries emerge. For example, rather than letting Asamoah accrue playing time during the 2023 season, Minnesota quickly signed Anthony Barr to fill those snaps. Last year, veteran Kamu Grugier-Hill seized the role that many thought Asamoah would handle when drafted in 2022.”
In his three seasons with the Vikings, Asamoah appeared in 46 games and logged 30 tackles, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. Most of his snaps in the past two years came on special teams. He ultimately played 802 snaps in the third phase and only 188 on defense.
As a former 66th overall pick, the linebacker will get some chances in the league, but it’s already his third team, and he needs to show some promise sooner rather than later.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.