Bengals 2012 draftees are resurfacing on NFL radars Friday. In addition to Dre Kirkpatrick booking a Cardinals visit, George Iloka also met with a familiar team.
The Vikings brought in the veteran safety for a visit, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). Iloka played for Mike Zimmer for two seasons in Cincinnati (2012-13) and was a Viking in 2018. That marked Iloka’s most recent game action. He sat out the 2019 season.
Now 30, the former Bengals fifth-round pick follows Jahleel Addae in visiting the Vikings, who did not end up signing Addae. Iloka played in 16 games with the Vikings two years ago, starting three. Anthony Harris used 2018 as a breakout slate, becoming a full-time starter alongside Harrison Smith that year. An Iloka role in Minnesota this time around would certainly feature him as a backup to Smith and Harris. The Vikings lost Jayron Kearse in free agency and feature a much younger secondary than they have in recent years.
Iloka was a five-year Bengals starter, beginning that run with 16 starts under Zimmer in 2013. He made three starts for the Vikes in 2018. He has 79 starts’ worth of experience but has been out of the league since his previous one-year Vikings contract expired.
Get em signed.
A reliable box safety with experience in Zimmer’s system? Sounds like a good fit to me
But after the 2018 season, the Vikes let him walk….
Wait a minute,
Is that Andrew Sendejo’s car pulling into the lot???
Zims loyal to his old defensive players!