Viktor
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Minnesota's remaining defensive ends on the roster will have plentiful opportunities for playing time in the final 10 games of 2020.
The Vikings traded Yannick Ngakoue last week during their bye after six games in Purple, and Head Coach Mike Zimmer announced on Wednesday that Danielle Hunter underwent successful surgery on a herniated disc in his neck.
That's 147 games (116 starts) and 97 combined sacks off the 53-man roster in a short span.
The players left at the post are Ifeadi Odenigbo (23 games, 6 starts, 9.5 sacks), Jalyn Holmes (17, 1, 1.0), rookie D.J. Wonnum (5, 0, 1.0) and newcomer Jordan Brailford (0, 0, 0), who was signed off Washington's practice squad two weeks ago.
Dane Mizutani of the Pioneer Press noted that Odenigbo, who is older than Ngakoue or Hunter, is the statesman of the group and finding his voice.
Vikings defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo spent the early part of his career simply trying to blend in. He deferred to some of his older, more experienced Vikings teammates, like Everson Griffen, at seemingly every turn, trying to find where he belonged in the defense.
"Honestly, it's kind of a different turn that there aren't really many older guys," Odenigbo said during a videoconference. "Just this new type of cohesion. I think what's most important is we're getting better each week and we're becoming more complementary with how we play with each other and feed off each other."
Odenigbo added that he's "trying to figure out my niche" and "getting more confident … and speaking more and more."