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The Minnesota Vikings made a move on Thanksgiving to address depth at defensive end.
Signing Tashawn Bower off the New England Patriots practice squad, the Vikings activated Bower to the 53-man roster in time for Sunday’s pivotal NFC matchup with the San Francisco 49ers.
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The Vikings are thin on the defensive front this week, which prompted the call for reinforcements.
Danielle Hunter is out for the season with a torn pectoral muscle. Nose tackle Michael Pierce is also on the injured reserve list with a shoulder injury, while defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson was placed on the COVID-19 reserve list this week and was ruled
Everson Griffen, dealing with a personal matter,” per Vikings.com, was also ruled out on Friday.
Homecoming for Bower
Bower’s arrival to Minnesota will serve as a homecoming for the 26-year-old prospect who started his career with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent out of LSU in 2017.
Bower, undersized at 250 pounds, flashed potential with his high motor and acceleration. He played multiple positions in college, including interior lineman, linebacker and defensive end. He showed flashes of versatility, winning with power and speed, but started just seven of 40 career games at LSU.
He earned a spot on the Vikings practice squad in 2017 and was a developmental project for the next two seasons. Bower appeared in seven total games with the Vikings and recorded a sack against the Los Angeles Rams in 2017.
Bower suffered an Achilles tear before the 2019 season and was released by the Vikings midway through the 2019 season. The Patriots plucked him off free agency soon after.
In New England, Bower played nine games, making three starts and notching a sack and a pass defended. He’s played a total of 232 defensive snaps in his NFL career. He notched his second career sack in Week 10 against the Cleveland Browns.
Coach Mike Zimmer said on Friday that Bower has shown total recall with the Vikings playbook and
“Tashawn’s done a good job this week and he remembered a lot of things,” Zimmer said, per Chris Tomasson.
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Vikings’ Valiant D-Line Replacements
The fears surrounding the Vikings’ pass rush taking a step back without Hunter have largely been sequestered so far.
The Vikings are currently second in the NFL with 31 sacks on the season — trailing only the Chicago Bears, who have 32 sacks with an extra game played over the Vikings entering Week 12.
Tallying back-to-back two-sack games against the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Chargers, the Vikings defense has found ways to manufacture situational pressure while still struggling on the defensive line, posting the league’s 24th ranked pass-rush win rate of 38%, per ESPN.
Armon Watts has filled in admirably for Pierce. Sheldon Richardson, who plugged in as a defensive end against the Packers, could slide into the starting three-technique spot in place of Tomlinson. He could also start at defensive end across from D.J. Wonnum if Griffen is inactive on Sunday.
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