Ifeadi Odenigbo Released by Giants
Dustin Baker
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All NFL teams whittled down their respective rosters on Tuesday, resulting in the release of former Vikings pass rusher Ifeadi Odengibo.
DL Ifeadi Odenigbo is being released, per source. Guaranteed $1 million this offseason. Was just never a fit with Giants. Had 10.5 sacks previous two years combined in Minnesota.
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) August 31, 2021
Odenigbo, 27, spent the offseason with the New York Giants after the Minnesota Vikings severed ties with the EDGE rusher in March. Along with tight end Kyle Rudolph, Odenigbo briefly hopped on the Giants roster, but evidently wasn’t a fit within the team’s 3-4 defense. Rudolph was not released.
The Vikings have a hodgepodge of defensive linemen currently on the roster — some will be jettisoned in mere hours — but an Odenigbo reunion would make sense if head coach Mike Zimmer is not overly high on Stephen Weatherly, who the team welcomed back via free agency about six months ago.
For now, second-year EDGE rusher D.J. Wonnum is forecasted to earn RDE duties opposite Danielle Hunter at LDE. In 2020, Wonnum and Odenigbo interchanged pass-rushing duties for the Vikings.
Odenigbo posted a Pro Football Focus grade of 60.7 in 2020, the season he was theorized to fill in aptly as Everson Griffen’s replacement on the defensive line. Yes, the same Griffen that the Vikings just re-signed last week.
Playing 65% of all defensive snaps in the pandemic season, Odengibo tallied 3.5 sacks and 35 total tackles.
If the Vikings have interest in reuniting with the Northwestern alumnus, general manager Rick Spielman has roughly $15 million in cap space to use.