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Kevin O'Connell liked what he saw from two rookie tryouts.
After hosting tryouts at the rookie minicamp this past weekend, the Minnesota Vikings have signed two players.
The Vikings had 21 tryouts during the minicamp, and now a pair of defensive players will get another shot at making what would likely be the practice squad after getting inked to deals on Monday.
Former Penn State and North Carolina lineman Smith Vilbert, and Kansas linebacker Bangally Kamara have signed with Minnesota.
While NFL veteran Cooper Rush was the interesting name to watch during the camp, it was two rookies who came away with deals after the long weekend.
Vilbert, a 6-foot-6, 282-pound defensive lineman, notched 22 tackles, six tackles for loss, a sack, and a forced fumble with the Tar Heels last season. Meanwhile, Kamara, a 6-foot-2, 235-pound linebacker, had 56 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
“My philosophy on this camp is really designed to do a lot of things at once,” O’Connell said over the weekend. “We want to give opportunity to guys that had not been signed on a tryout basis. We always have some veterans that are willing to join us for this time and then we have our college free agents we signed, and then ultimately this is the first chance we get to get on the grass with many of our draft picks and at least get them going in the offseason program.”
The Vikings will soon have a short break before starting OTA’s, and then eventually training camp later this summer where both Vilbert and Kamara will push for a spot on the practice squad.
Meanwhile, as the rookies battle it out this summer, another pair of Vikings will be in a heated dual for a starting role.
According to Tom Pelissero, the starting quarterback battle between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy will be wide-open.
“[The Vikings] envision it being a true competition: Kyler Murray versus J.J. McCarthy, Pelissero said. “Both of these guys are going to go into this believing they’re gonna win this job.
“I don’t know, frankly, how friendly that quarterback room is going to be. It’s going to be a very competitive quarterback room.
“From everything that I’ve understood, it is truly wide open. They’re keeping an open mind as a coaching staff.”
Minnesota brought Murray in after a rollercoaster season with McCarthy at the helm. Despite finishing with a 6-4 record as a starter, injuries and inconsistent play left fans and coaches alike to question whether or not there was a future with the former first-round pick. And while many had assumed Murray would be handed the job, it seems as though that isn’t the case.
So while rookies scrap and fight for jobs, so too will the two most important players on the roster this season.
Trevor Ripley Trevor Ripley is a Heavy writer covering the Minnesota Vikings, Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals. More about Trevor Ripley
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