Don’t Sleep on This Vikings Practice Squad Player
On cutdown day, the Minnesota Vikings released the first annual 53-man roster. Adam Thielen was added to replace Tim Jones, but the majority of the squad remains intact. Perhaps the most surprising move was the release of Gabriel Murphy, who has joined the practice squad since. One of his practice squad colleagues could have an impact on the upcoming season.
Don’t Sleep on This Vikings Practice Squad Player
Trading Sam Howell was not too shocking considering his preseason, and some had even thought about parting ways with Mekhi Blackmon.
No, the most surprising trade was the one that sent defensive tackle and team captain Harrison Phillips to the New York Jets. He was the primary run defender and a big reason why Brian Flores’ defenses have been fantastic on the ground. Minnesota had the top-ranked run defense in 2024, according to EPA/Play, and Phillips was vital for that success.
Well, now that he’s gone, other guys have to step up. With him also departed Jerry Tillery and Jonathan Bullard. The latter, especially, had his fingerprints all over the ground game as well.
To replace them, the Vikings added ex-Pro Bowlers Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. The point of signing them was to bring more oomph to the interior pass-rush, an area that has quite frankly been a disaster for years.
However, in the process, the Vikings might have downgraded the rushing defense too much. A real nose tackle is nowhere to be found in the Twin Cities.
Insert practice squad defender Taki Taimani. Listed at 6’1″ and 309 lbs, he might actually be heavier than that number, as it was the weight he entered the draft with. In the 2024 preseason, he flashed his excellence at clogging up running lanes and controlling blockers, and he convinced the decision-makers to give him one of the 53 roster spots.
Last season, the undrafted first-year defender actually played games in the first half of the year, primarily on potential running downs with Phillips, earning a solid PFF run-defense grade of 69.9. An injury then knocked him out for the remainder of the season, and Redmond emerged as a new weapon up front.
It wouldn’t be surprising at all if the Vikings called him up in Week 1 to be a role player and get a handful of snaps in short-yardage situations. Instead, someone like Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, Elijah Williams, or Levi Drake Rodriguez might be inactive.
Some unsung jobs need to be done in the NFL, and run defense is one of those. There’s no other real run-stuffer on the roster, and Taimani has that one skill of picking up blockers to help others roam free, and he can make tackles in his own right.
Don’t be shocked if big number 94 is suddenly on the football field wearing a purple uniform.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.