Tag: Brian Asamoah

Pro Football Focus tabs Brian Asamoah as breakout candidate in 2023

Pro Football Focus identified the Vikings’ young linebacker as a breakout player in 2023

The Minnesota Vikings’ defense this past season was one of the worst in the NFL. Fans and the media will point to the scheme, former defensive coordinator Ed Donatell or the aging veterans for the reasons they did not succeed.

As the Vikings look forward to next season, they’ll need players on their roster to step up if they hope to improve. On Tuesday, Pro Football Focus called out linebacker Brian Asamoah, who could be a player to breakout next season.

“The Vikings need to get younger and more athletic on defense, and that’s a cue for linebacker Brian Asamoah to take on a bigger role in 2023. The rookie played just 121 snaps this season but flashed playmaking ability during those snaps — he single-handedly created a turnover with a forced fumble and recovery against the Giants in Week 16.”

With Jordan Hicks and Eric Kendricks as potential cap casualties this offseason, it would allow Asamoah to step into either of those roles and make a big impact next season for the Vikings.

Vikings Brian Asamoah (concussion) ruled out vs. Giants

The Vikings’ defense will be without one of their fastest players

The Minnesota Vikings’ defense and special teams unit received some bad news as they came out of halftime. Rookie linebacker Brian Asamoah has been ruled out for the remainder of the game with a concussion.

Asamoah suffered the injury on a punt return late in the first half. The team medical staff quickly helped Asamoah off the field and then took him to the medical tent. As the team emerged from the locker room after halftime, the team ruled Asamoah out for the game.

The Vikings’ defense has struggled this game, especially against New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones. Losing Asamoah will hurt them, as he has the speed to keep up with Jones’ scrambling ability. The Vikings’ defense will need to get creative in this second half to help fill the void left by Asamoah.

Vikings injury report: Garrett Bradbury practices in full

The injury report is improving for the Vikings

The good news with the Minnesota Vikings injury report is that it continues to improve. For the first time since he aggravated his back injury in a minor car accident after the Indianapolis Colts game, center Garrett Bradbury was a full participant in practice.

Luckily for the Vikings, it puts Bradbury in position to play this Sunday barring a setback.With the Vikings’ recent struggles on the offensive line without Bradbury, this is a massive development.

Along with Bradbury, linebacker Brian Asamoah was also upgraded to a full participant in practice with a knee injury.

Safety Harrison Smith (knee) and defensive end James Lynch (shoulder) maintained the status quo by staying limited and full in practice, respectively.

Cornerback Cameroun Dantzler was still out of practice with both his ankle injury and the personal matter that he is dealing with.

Friday’s injury report will tell us more about their status for Sunday.

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Vikings have multiple starters inactive in Week 18 vs. Bears

The Vikings are treating this game similar to a preseason game

The Minnesota Vikings only have a small amount to play for and that hinges on a San Francisco 49ers loss to the Arizona Cardinals. With the Chicago Bears not playing quarterback Justin Fields, the Vikings have “in theory” an easy matchup.

With that in mind, they aren’t taking any chances and that is reflected in who the Vikings have named as their inactives.

Initially, the Vikings had announced that outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith would be traveling separately from the team due to a personal issue.

Safety Harrison Smith was ruled out on Saturday after he experienced some knee soreness after practice on Friday.

The rest of the list isn’t much of a suprise.

    • Cornerback Cameron Dantzler is still dealing with his ankle after suffering a high ankle sprain against the Washington Commanders.
    • After being injured, defensive end Ross Blacklock is healthy but the Vikings continue to make him inactive.
    • Both center Garrett Bradbury and defensive end James Lynch continue to be out with their respective injuries.
    • Linebacker Brian Asamoah likely would play in a normal week, but will miss Sunday’s game since it has little consequences.

Vikings vs. Bears final injury report: 2 out, 3 questionable

The Vikings officially have two out on Sunday

The Minnesota Vikings didn’t have a lot of issues on their injury report and things got cleared up on Friday. They did see one player added to the report listed as questionable.

  • Center Garrett Bradbury was declared out for the fifth-consecutive game with a back injury.
  • Defensive end James Lynch is out for the second-consecutive game with a shoulder injury.
  • Outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith was added to the injury report. He is listed as questionable with a personal matter. He didn’t practice on Friday.
  • Cornerback Cameron Dantzler was also added to the injury report as he was limited on Friday with his lingering ankle injury.
  • Linebacker Brian Asamoah continued to be limited with his knee injury and was listed as questionable.

The Bears have three players out in quarterback Justin Fields, cornerback Jaylon Jones and linebacker Sterling Weatherford. They also have three players questionable with defensive lineman Angelo Blackson, cornerback Kyler Gordon and defensive lineman Terrell Lewis.

The game kicks off at noon on Sunday.

Vikings vs. Bears: 5 players to watch in Week 18

Here are five players to watch for in this week 18 matchup

The Minnesota Vikings are headed to Soldier Field this Sunday to take on the Chicago Bears in the regular season finale. The Vikings have already secured a playoff berth by clinching the NFC North, but with a win over the Bears on Sunday combined with a loss by the San Francisco 49ers, the Vikings could move into the second seed in the NFC.

Head coach Kevin O’Connell has yet to say whether or not he’ll treat this game any differently with the playoffs already secured, but the expectation is that starters will play in some capacity. Let’s take a look at some players to watch in this weekend’s matchup.

Vikings vs. Bears injury report: Josh Metellus upgraded

Minimal improvement describes the Vikings’ injury report

Thankfully, the Minnesota Vikings are relatively healthy but things still aren’t perfect and the injury report reflects that.

Thursday’s injury report was much of the same but did have some improvement.

  • Safety Josh Metellus was upgraded to a full participant in practice after being limited on Wednesday.
  • Linebacker Brian Asamoah was limited once again due to a knee injury
  • Center Garrett Bradbury did not practice again with his back. He hasn’t practiced since he was involved in a minor car accident after the game against Indianapolis Colts.
  • Defensive end James Lynch is still out with a shoulder injury. It was initially reported that he would be out for the rest of the regular season.

For the Bears, cornerback Kyler Gordon appeared on the injury report with a groin injury. He was limited after not being on the report on Wednesday. Tight end Trevon Wesco was upgraded to full with an ankle injury.

Friday’s report will clear a lot of things up.

Vikings vs. Bears injury report: Bradbury still out

No major surprises from the Vikings on the injury report

The first injury report for the final game of the regular season is in the books and there weren’t a lot of surprises. Only four players for the Minnesota Vikings were on the injury report.

  • Center Garrett Bradbury is still out of practice with his back injury. The target date for Bradbury’s return is in the playofs.
  • Defensive end James Lynch is still out with a shoulder injury. It was initially reported that he would be out the rest of the regular season.
  • Linebacker Brian Asamoah was limited with a shoulder injury. He was also limited last week as well.
  • Safety Josh Metellus was limited with a thigh injury. With the Vikings wanting to rest their key players for the playoffs, having Metellus healthy would be a good thing.

The Bears have already ruled out quarterback Justin Fields with a hip injury and is the only standout for the Bears.

Vikings Film Room: Aggressiveness can change everything

The addition of Asamoah could be just what the Vikings need

When the Minnesota Vikings selected linebacker Brian Asamoah in the third round of the NFL draft, they did so in the way they want to shape the defense moving forward with a quick trigger and aggressiveness.

Asamoah has both of those and, while they can be a huge positive, it’s also why he hasn’t played a whole lot this season. That aggressiveness doesn’t always suit him well, as he would get a little overzealous in hitting the wrong gap.

That has shown some improvement from what we saw during the preseason and he made a huge impact in Saturday’s game against the New York Giants.

This is a relatively simple play. Tight end Daniel Bellinger motions into the backfield and runs a crossing route. Daniel Jones hits him with ease, but how Asamoah attacks Bellinger after the catch, gives the Vikings an element that they haven’t had in awhile.

He uses his explosiveness to catch up and violently attacks the ball. He scoops it up and that turnover set up a Vikings field goal.

Ed Donatell’s defense isn’t the most aggressive so adding that element could be a game-changer for this defense.

WATCH rookie Brian Asamoah makes the play of the day

The rookie will have more opportunities to make big plays

Head coach Kevin O’Connell has been vocal about want to see rookie Brian Asamoah on the field more often and the numbers are bearing that out. After playing a career-high 21 snaps against the Indianapolis Colts, Asamoah forced a fumble and recovered it himself.

Playing in zone, Asamoah followed rookie tight end Daniel Bellinger on a crossing route. With his speed, he caught up to Bellinger and punched the ball out with ease. Asamoah then picked the ball up and returned it for a modest gain.

Greg Joseph hit a 40-yard field goal on the ensuing drive to extend the Vikings lead to 10-0.

The Vikings second level could use the speed and aggressive nature of Asamoah down the stretch, as this won’t be the last time that he makes a big play.