Former Viking Auditioning for Giants Roster
A couple of NFL teams’ training camps kicked off this week, and most get cooking early next week.
Minnesota Vikings rookies report to Eagan on Sunday, with everyone else arriving two days later on Tuesday.
Former Viking Auditioning for Giants Roster
And to fill out 90-man rosters, teams are exploring the free-agent wire and auditioning new players. One such personality was a former Vikings linebacker working out for the New York Giants — Nick Vigil.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweeted Friday, “The Giants are working out veteran LBs Nick Vigil and Sam Eguavoen today, per their agents David Canter and Ness Mugrabi.”
Vigil last played for the Arizona Cardinals albeit for four games and 84 defensive snaps.
Vigil played for the Vikings in 2021, his only season with the club. During that time, Vigil peaked immediately, returning an interception for a touchdown at the Cardinals in Week 2. Vigil felt like a mighty offseason addition late that afternoon, and indeed he was just that — for a while.
Soon after in 2021, Vigil’s performance tumbled, not quite keeping pace with his Week 1 and 2 theatrics. Overall, Vigil finished the 2021 season with a 42.1 grade from Pro Football Focus, the 13th-worst in the NFL among 87 qualifying linebackers. In particular, Vigil struggled with run defense, tallying a measly 30.8 score from PFF.
And then for the Cardinals in 2022, in the limited playing time, he tabulated a horrid 28.3 PFF grade before encountering a hamstring injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the season. Vigil will turn 30 next month and probably has a few more seasons in the tank, perhaps in New York if the audition went swimmingly.
Overall, Vigil hopes to embark on his fifth team in five years, traveling from the Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Chargers, Vikings, to the Cardinals. In Minnesota, Vigil produced 85 total tackles, four tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, one sack, one interception (the touchdown in Arizona), and an 89.5 passer-rating-against.
This is the Giants current off-ball linebacker room:
- Bobby Okereke
- Micah McFadden
- Darrian Beavers
- Cam Brown
- Troy Brown
- Carter Coughlin
- Dyontae Johnson
At this stage in the summer and free agency, Vigil would likely sign for close to the veteran minimum with the Giants or otherwise.
New York also signed running back James Robinson on Friday, which can be considered ‘Saquon Barkley insurance’ amid Barkley’s franchise-tag holdout.
The Giants knocked the Vikings out of the playoffs in January.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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