When the Vikings drafted him, Kene Nwangwu had the potential to serve a vital role on special teams.
Things don’t always go according to plan. Nwangwu suffered an injury in the preseason opener against the Broncos. Minnesota activated the rookie running back off IR on Oct. 19.
Now, Vikings fans can finally see the enticing draft prospect play in the regular season. Minnesota special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken said on Thursday that the plan is for Nwangwu to take kickoff return duties in Week 8. Here’s the full quote:
“Right now, we’re planning on Kene,” Ficken said. “We’ve got some other guys backed up … [like] K.J. Osborn. We’ve got a good group of guys that can go ahead and handle those duties.”
Ryan Ficken says the plan is for Kene Nwangwu to handle kickoff return duties pic.twitter.com/omJfesR32K
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 28, 2021
When the Vikings activated Nwangwu off IR, the team released Ameer Abdullah in a corresponding roster move. Ideally, Nwangwu will be a similar-but-better player than Abdullah. Abdullah, in the latter stages of his NFL career, landed with another NFL team already.