Vikings Finally Promote Buried Niche Defender
On Sunday, the 2025 Minnesota Vikings will have one more game to play before heading into the long offseason that will stretch until training camp in the summer. Ahead of the meeting against the Green Bay Packers, the club promoted defender Taki Taimani from the practice squad to the 53-man roster.
Vikings Add Taki Taimani to 53-Man Roster
Practice squad employee Taimani, an undrafted rookie from the 2024 Draft, has been added to the roster this week, the team announced on social media.
That moves came after the Vikings had placed rookie lineman Elijah Williams on IR, leaving the rotation one man short. Taimani played a role a year ago, but has only logged one contest all year prior to the season finale. He was a practice squad call-up in the game against the Washington Commanders and ultimately played 16 snaps on defense and another five on special teams in the shutout victory.
PurplePTSD‘s Kyle Joudry wrote about his outing, “In Week 14, Taki Taimani was part of the defense for 16 snaps, trying to prove sturdy at the line of scrimmage. He didn’t earn a tackle but players in his position often get asked to soak up blockers so that other players can make the play. The Commanders turned their 23 carries into 107 ground yards, working out to a healthy team average of 4.7 yards per carry.”
The focus on the ground game is fair, as Taimani could be described as a run-stuffer. A large human being listed at 6’1″ and 324 lbs, Taimani has not recorded a sack since high school, including his long college career at Washington and Oregon.
No, his job is to defend the run and that’s why it was quite surprising he wasn’t added to the gameday roster earlier in the season, as the run defense has been Minnesota’s defensive weakness this season, which is expected when Harrison Phillips and Jonathan Bullard are replaced by pass-rushers.
Currently, the defensive line includes veterans Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, breakout star Jalen Redmond, sophomore Levi Drake Rodriguez and rookie Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins.
Last year, Taimani was more active than this season — at least until an injury hit.
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 Jalen Redmond exploded in his spot. Redmond has emerged as a superstar in the 2025 campaign.
On 70 defensive snaps, Taimani secured three tackles. Of course, nose tackles don’t particularly put up huge numbers.
Taimani is signed through the 2026 season. It remains to be seen how the defensive tackle room evolves over the next months. The identity of the defensive coordinator will also play a role.
The 26-year-old will compete for a depth role in 2026.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.