Positive News: The Minnesota Twins have confirmed the addition of another highly skilled player.
Two more seasoned defensive free agents are signed by the Vikings.
Two more seasoned defensive free agents, inside linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill and outside linebacker Jihad Ward, were signed by the Vikings on Wednesday.
Both players were selected in 2016, and they are now with their sixth NFL team. In May, they turn thirty. Grugier-Hill was originally drafted by the Eagles from Eastern Illinois in the sixth round.
He spent the first four seasons of his career as a player for the Philadelphia Eagles and the next four with the Dolphins, Texans, Cardinals, and Panthers. Grugier-Hill has made 42 starts during the regular season, including a career-high 14 with Houston in 2021 and five with Carolina the year before. Over his career, he has recorded 28 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, and 3 interceptions. The Vikings may consider Grugier-Hill, who has nearly 1,800 career special teams snaps, to be Troy Dye’s replacement, as Dye recently signed a deal with the Chargers. He will also be Blake Cashman and Ivan Pace Jr.’s backup inside linebacker. The Raiders selected Ward, an Illinois native, in the second round of the 2016 draft. His debut season saw him make 13 starts; the next five years of his career were mostly spent as a rotational player with Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Indianapolis, and Baltimore.
Over the past two seasons, Ward has played in over 650 snaps and started 20 games for the Giants. He has logged eight of his eight career sacks, twelve of his twenty-four total TFL, and all three of his forced fumbles since joining the Giants two years ago. Ward enters the Vikings’ outside linebacker room along with Andre Carter II, Pat Jones II, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Jonathan Greenard. Both Grugier-Hill and Ward don’t seem like game-changers; their career PFF ratings aren’t very high, and there was a reason they were made available for free agency at this specific moment. The two veterans will, however, provide the Vikings, who lack any second or third-round picks this year, with some much-needed depth at a cheap cost.
