Vikings Sign 2 Fresh Faces
The Minnesota Vikings cut ties with once-promising inside linebacker Brian Asamoah on Tuesday, paving the way for a couple of similar moves on Thursday.
The Vikings have signed two linebackers, adding depth and competition to the defensive roster ahead of the 2025 season. Here’s the latest on the moves.
The purple team actually had three roster spots to fill at the start of Wednesday, adding two new linebackers ahead of the club’s second preseason game.
Cam Gill, Max Tooley Sign with Vikings
Linebacking depth was evidently on the menu.
Two New LBs in the House for Vikings
Minnesota will shave its roster from 90 players to 53 in less than two weeks, but that didn’t stop the franchise from adding new faces.
NBC Sports‘ Myles Simmons detailed the transactions: “In advance of two of joint practices with the Patriots, the Vikings have added a pair of defensive players. Minnesota announced the club has signed outside linebacker Cam Gill and linebacker Max Tooley.”
It’s new blood in backup roles for Brian Flores’ mighty defense.
Insert OLB Cam Gill
Cam Gill, 27, joined the NFL five years ago as an undrafted free agent, starting out with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he stayed for four seasons. He ventured to the Carolina Panthers’ roster last year, appearing in 10 games, and is now a newly minted Viking.
Gill has played 405 defensive snaps in his career, along with 940 plays on special teams. He logged a 49.1 Pro Football Focus grade last season.
It’s worth noting that Gill is an outside linebacker — like Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel — whereas Tooley is an off-ball linebacker, like Ivan Pace Jr. and Blake Cashman.
Gill has banked 51 total tackles and 2.5 sacks since the start of 2020.
A Max Tooley Reunion
This is a quick reunion for Tooley. He was a Viking until two weeks ago.
A colleague of ex-Vikings quarterback Jaren Hall at BYU, Tooley played six years as a Cougar (2018-2023) and tallied 311 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 8 passes defended, and 7 interceptions in 60 college contests. Tooley is 6’2″ and 230 pounds. He also ran a 4.58 forty.
Here’s Tooley’s mini-odyssey with Minnesota:
- Signed to Vikings practice squad on 9/19/24 as an UDFA
- Signed to Futures Contract on 1/16/25
- Waived by Vikings on 7/30/25
- Signed by Viking son 8/13/25
He couldn’t stay away; it only took two weeks for a reunion.
The Revamped ILBs & OLBs
This is the updated off-ball linebacking crew in Minnesota:
- Ivan Pace Jr.
- Blake Cashman
- Eric Wilson
- Kobe King
- Chaz Chambliss
- Austin Keys
- Dorian Mausi
- Max Tooley
And the outside linebackers:
- Jonathan Greenard
- Andrew Van Ginkel
- Dallas Turner
- Gabriel Murphy
- Bo Richter
- Tyler Batty
- Cam Gill
What’s Next?
Both men must fight valiantly to earn roster spots on August 26th. The pair is likely striving toward practice squad placement in 2025.
Gill and Tooley, too, have arrived just in time for joint practices between Minnesota and New England. A preseason game between the clubs is also afoot.
A to Z Sports‘ Tyler Forness wrote about the events this week: “The Minnesota Vikings are set to host the New England Patriots for joint practices this week. It’s going to be an interesting couple of days, as joint practices are often more informative than the preseason game that follows.”
“Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell has a pre-existing relationship with Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, as they were on the same team in 2008 when O’Connell was selected by New England in the NFL Draft. When both teams end up taking the field on Wednesday, what should we be looking for?McCarthy going against Brian Flores’ defense is a good thing for his development over the course of training camp.”
The practices and preseason game will feature several connections, like Stefon Diggs and Joshua Dobbs on the Patriots’ roster, along with Garrett Bradbury.
Forness added, “In fact, Flores’ defense has been a massive problem for the offense. As we move forward, this will be a really nice test for him. How will he do against the Patriots defense? It’s still off of the Belichick tree, but seeing a different version of the same defense is a good thing, as different coordinators will have their own nuances to how they call it. Seeing McCarthy against the Patriots defense will be really fun to watch.”
Forness also noted on Drake Maye, who was linked to the Vikings before the 2024 NFL Draft: “How will he look in comparison to McCarthy? Can he figure out Flores’ defense? The future of the National Football League is going to be on full display with the two young quarterbacks, and it should be a really good week of practice.”
The Vikings and Patriots, with probable snaps for Gill and Tooley, will square off Saturday at noon. Starters are expected to see extensive action at joint practices but little to none in the preseason game.
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