3 Ex-Vikings Players Have Found New Teams in Last Week
The Minnesota Vikings bludgeoned the New York Giants to start the 2024 season on Sunday, winning by a score of 28-6 and getting off to a hot start in head coach Kevin O’Connell’s third season.
3 Ex-Vikings Players Have Found New Teams in Last Week
In the backdrop, a handful of former Vikings players have found new NFL homes in the last week as teams tweak rosters to prepare for Week 2 and beyond.
So, these are the three men who found new employment.
1. Kene Nwangwu (RB | KR)
New York Jets
The Vikings made Nwangwu the odd man out two weeks ago during roster shavedowns, preferring RB3 Myles Gaskin to his services.
Nwangwu then signed with the New Orleans Saints a day later — but failed a physical, ending his very brief employment with Dennis Allen’s team. However, about two weeks after that, Nwangwu fetched a contract from the New York Jets, a team that played abysmally on Monday Night Football in a loss to the New York Jets.
In New York, Nwangwu joins this RB room:
- Breece Hall
- Braelon Allen
- Israel Abanikanda
- Isaiah Davis
- Xazavian Vallady (Practice Squad)
2. Jaquelin Roy (DT)
New England Patriots
Like Nwangwu, Roy was jettisoned during Vikings’ roster cuts on August 27th after just one year of service. He actually found playing time inside Brian Flores’ 2023 defense as a rookie, but with the offseason additions of Jerry Tillery and Levi Drake Rodriguez, for example, Roy fell on the outside looking in during 53-man roster cuts.
Roy will get another look, though, in New England, perhaps able to unlock his potential with Jerod Mayo’s tutelage.
These are New England’s defensive tackles with Roy in the house:
- Davon Godchaux
- Daniel Ekuale
- Eric Johnson II
- Jeremiah Pharms Jr.
- Jaquelin Roy
- Trysten Hill (Practice Squad)
3. Ihmir Smith-Marsette (WR)
New York Giants
How did the Giants respond after their beatdown at the hands of the Vikings? Well, they signed a former Viking in Smith-Marsette.
Minnesota fans envisioned Smith-Marsette as the team’s WR4 in 2022, but when Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell took over, the duo parted ways with him in favor of Jalen Reagor, who didn’t pan out either.
These are Smith-Marsette’s new WR teammates:
- Malik Nabers
- Darius Slayton (Injured)
- Wan’Dale Robinson
- Bryce Ford-Wheaton
- Jalin Hyatt
- Gunner Olszewski (Injured)
- Ihmir Smith-Marsette
- Isaiah Hodgins (Practice Squad)
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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