Vikings coach Mike Zimmer talks about Kene Nwangwu’s return

“He’s got great speed, and we’ll try to utilize that on some of the special teams and go from there.” Zimmer said.

Vikings RB Kene Nwangwu enticed Minnesota fans with his speed during training camp. During the preseason, however, Nwangwu suffered a setback.

The Vikings rookie running back sustained a knee injury in the preseason opener. Minnesota then placed Nwangwu on IR. Last week, the Vikings finally activated Nwangwu off the reserve/injured list.

Mike Zimmer talked about Nwangwu’s potential fit with the team going forward:

“We thought he would possibly be the kickoff returner,” Zimmer said. “So we tried to give him some looks there. He’s got great speed, and we’ll try to utilize that on some of the special teams and go from there.”

Nwangwu could be an option for the offense, too. The Vikings released Ameer Abdullah in the process of bringing Nwangwu back. Abdullah’s absence leaves a hole in the Vikings’ offense. Nwangwu possibly has a similar skillset to Abdullah due to his break-away speed and the ability in the return.

Will that translate into Nwangwu being a vital player on this 2021 team? Only time will tell.