Vikings Sign a New Linebacker
Pretty soon, the Vikings are going to be sitting on a complete offseason roster, necessitating a one-in, one-out approach when courting external talent. The Vikings signing a new linebacker brings them a touch closer to that limit.
As relayed by the team’s official social media, rookie Bangally Kamara is the newest member of the team. He hops aboard the team after a similar move for Smith Vilbert, who is either a huge edge rusher or a small defensive lineman. Each of these new additions turned tryouts at rookie minicamp into more permanent contracts.
Vikings Sign LB Bangally Kamara
Last year, Mr. Kamara offered some intriguing statistics while playing ball for Kansas.
He tossed up 56 tackles. Left alone, not an almighty number, but the 9.5 tackles for loss do jump off the page. The simple suggestion is that he’s a ‘backer who does well moving forward (the direction every linebacker should be keen to move in).
Rounding out the stats are 1.5 sacks, 4 passes defended, and 1 forced fumble.
Similarly of note is that Kamara has an extensive history playing college football. Check out his stops:
- Pittsburgh (2020-2023)
- South Carolina (2024)
- Kansas (2025)
Seldom do college players jump into six seasons, but that’s been more normal given the reality of COVID at the beginning of Kamara’s college career. And while it’s not a major deal, the reality of playing in all of the ACC, SEC, and Big 12 is an unusual part of his story.
Per PFF, Kamara had a reasonably humdrum season, finishing off with a 63.4 grade. Most promising was his 79.3 pass rush score, further corroborating the notion that Kamara is at his best when he’s allowed to move forward.
His snap allotment shows 309 snaps in the box, 156 snaps along the defensive line, 59 snaps as a slot corner, and 5 snaps as a wide corner.
The Vikings signed Bangally Kamara to shore up the depth, not become the Week 1 starter (technically a possibility, but a long way off from reality).
Sitting atop the pile are veterans Blake Cashman and Eric Wilson. Stealing Wilson away from his normal spot to task him with being an edge rusher means leaning on either of Jake Golday or Ivan Pace Jr. Those two would appear to be LB3 and LB4.
But, to be sure, all a player can ask for is a chance. Kamara now has that chance given that he turned his tryout (the initial chance) into an undrafted contract, which will span three seasons while coming in a hair below $900,000 for his 2026 cap charge. Expect the guaranteed money to be low, if not outright non-existent.
Bangally Kamara is listed as being 6’2″ and 235 pounds. He is 24.
