Vikings Sign an Old Friend and a Newcomer
The Minnesota Vikings opened a pair of roster spots when they put Rondale Moore on IR and waived Zeke Correll with an injury designation. The receiver suffered a season-ending knee injury, and center Correll fractured his ankle. Both of those incidents happened in the recent preseason opener.
Vikings Sign an Old Friend and a Newcomer
On Wednesday, the club filled those two openings, the team announced on the website: “The Vikings on Wednesday announced the signings of outside linebacker Cam Gill and linebacker Max Tooley ahead of hosting the Patriots in the first of two joint practices.”
Tooley had spent most of the offseason with the Vikings. The 27-year-old linebacker was waived a couple of weeks before returning. Gill is an edge rusher with some NFL experience, including a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2020 postseason, in which he recorded half a sack against quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who was running for his life that day.
The Vikings noted, “Listed at 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds, Gill entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following the 2020 NFL Draft out of Wagner. He played in 40 regular-season games for the Bucs from 2020-23, totaling 29 tackles, 2.5 sacks and four QB hits. Gill played in eight playoff games for Tampa Bay, including Super Bowl LV when he recorded two tackles and split a sack on just three defensive snaps.”
Gill was a star at Wagner, winning NEC Conference Defensive Player of the Year in both 2018 and 2019. Over his four-year career in the FCS, Gill recorded 34 sacks.
Despite mostly playing against subpar competition in college, he immediately made Tampa Bay’s stacked 53-man roster, followed by his NFL debut a few weeks into the season. Over four years, Gill appeared in 40 regular-season and eight postseason games with the team. He missed the entire 2022 season with a Lisfranc injury, though.
Last year, Gill switched NFC South sides, signing with the Carolina Panthers, where he added another ten games to his resume. In five years and four seasons, Gill competed in 50 games in the regular season, logging 51 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Of his 1,345 career snaps, 940 came on special teams.
The Vikings are set with their top three edge defenders, Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Dallas Turner. Gabriel Murphy has a wonderful preseason opener and is clearly the favorite for the fourth slot. Bo Richter and Tyler Batty compete for another spot. Chaz Chambliss was shuffled between edge rusher and off-ball linebacker versus the Texans.
The Vikings might just want to add some depth to the room, given that the top three will likely sit for the remainder of the preseason, and Murphy has made a good case to get that treatment, too.
Tooley, meanwhile, returns to the linebacker group after a two-week absence. He initially joined the club last September after the Texans had released him. He then spent the entire season on the practice squad and received a futures contract.
The defender went undrafted out of BYU last year. In six seasons and 60 college games, Tooley registered 176 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, and three sacks. He also collected seven interceptions. At his pro day, Tooley posted a 4.58 40-yard dash. His listed size is 6-2 and 225 lbs.
Tooley is unlikely to be included when the team announces the 53-man roster in a couple of weeks, but he might see some action in the preseason, especially after Brian Asamoah was axed.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.