Cleveland Browns safety D'Anthony Bell, left, is hugged by defensive end Curtis Weaver after Bell forced a fumble during the third quarter of a preseason game Friday, Aug. 12, 2022 in Jacksonville. © Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK.
Call it a Kwesi Adofo-Mensah special.
The former Cleveland Browns executive turned Minnesota Vikings general manager has called upon an old coworker for pass-rushing duty, as Curtis Weaver was welcomed to the Vikings on Wednesday.
The Pioneer Press‘ Chris Tomasson tweeted about the roster addition, “The Vikings have signed OLB Curtis Weaver to a futures contract. He’s the seventh player they’ve signed to a futures deal this week and the first who didn’t finish the season on their practice squad.”
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Weaver, 24, was last associated with the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL.
Adofo-Mensah was a part of the Browns organization in 2020 and 2021 before taking the Vikings GM job, and Weaver was a member of the Browns, too, from 2020 to 2022. He played one game for the Cleveland Browns in 2021, tallying 6 defensive snaps against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17 last year.
Before that, the Miami Dolphins found Weaver in the 5th Round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He was selected five picks before Minnesota selected Harrison Hand from Temple University.
The Boise State alumnus spent about four months with the Dolphins and was waived amid roster cuts on August 24, 2020. After that, he latched onto Cleveland and was placed on Injured Reserve three days after becoming a Brown. From 2021 until his addition to the Sea Dragons, Weaver underwent a series of practice squad and waiver-wire adventures.
Weaver was the 2019 MWC Defensive Player of the Year in college and a two-time First-team All-MWC. He tallied 128 total tackles, 47.5 tackles for loss, 34 sacks, 2 interceptions, and 6 passes in 40 games at Boise State — a wildly impressive statline.
The Vikings defense is expected to undergo radical upheaval this offseason, as the group ranked sixth-worst in the NFL per defensive DVOA and was thoroughly exposed in the playoff loss to the Giants. Defensive coordinator Ed Donatell’s future is uncertain, explained by head coach Kevin O’Connell on Wednesday as in a status of “evaluation mode.”
Speaking about the defense and the team as a whole, O’Connell elaborated at the year-end press conference, “In my role, the responsibility is fixing problems and making sure whatever path we take moving forward is in the best interest of being on that track to competing at a championship standard.”
Weaver was teammates with current Vikings players Ezra Cleveland and Alexander Mattison at Boise State. He also played with Dallas Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch.
These are the current EDGE rushers in the Vikings roster orbit:
Weaver will turn 25 in August.
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,’ and The Doors (the band).