On defense, with the line playing better of late and the linebacker group now healthy, Brian Flores’ main areas of concern surround the secondary, where they were short on experienced talent coming into the season, and now Jeff Okudah is going on his third-straight week recovering from the second concussion of 2025.

But recently, a glimmer of possible hope touched down at MSP Airport, in the form of cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. Minnesota was one of a handful of teams that got a chance to work Samuel Jr out to see if he is medically ready to get back on the field, after missing over a year out with a scary spine/neck injury.

Asante Samuel Jr gives Vikings the cold shoulder

Prior to his season ending four games into 2024, Asante Samuel Jr. was one of the top up-and-coming cornerbacks in the NFL. The timing was unfortunate too, being 2024 was the final year on his rookie-scale contract. Now, Asante has to prove with another team that he can still be that guy.

Unfortunately, that will not happen in a Minnesota Vikings uniform. This afternoon, news broke that the 26-year-old defensive back is signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers, as a member of their practice squad.

Free-agent cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. is signing with the Steelers practice squad, per source.

A top-25 free agent in March, Samuel recovered from spinal-fusion surgery in time to sign for the season’s second half. Now, he gets a new start with Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/pK5QfhfEy0

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) November 11, 2025

Related: Vikings Rival Coach on Hot Seat?

Asante Samuel Jr lands in Pittsburgh with four seasons and 50 NFL games under his belt (47 starts). He’s totalled 6 interceptions and 37 passes defended in those appearances, to go along with 176 total tackles.

It’s not like there was a bidding war for Samuel’s services, being he is signing with the Steelers practice squad. Obviously, this was a decision based on fit.

Whether or not the former Florida State Seminole is capable of making a major impact, at this point in his recovery from spine surgery has yet to be seen. In other words, the jury is still out on whether or not this was a missed opportunity for Minnesota.

Minnesota Vikings’ issues are on offense anyway…

While there are definitely warts that could use fixing on the defensive side of the football, it’s far the Vikings’ biggest problem. From what we have seen throughout the first nine games, those issues reside on offense.

Whether the quarterback has been JJ McCarthy or Carson Wentz, the results have oftentimes been the same. Minnesota remains bottom of the league in just about every important offensive category.

And at the end of the day, those questions need answered much more quickly than anything on defense, where the Minnesota Vikings have been much better than the offense.

But that frustration turned to hope on Wednesday, when it was reported that free agent cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. is scheduled to visit the Vikings in Eagan on Friday.

His stop at TCO Performance Center tomorrow is slotted between five other visits lined up around the league (Carolina, Pittsburgh, Green Bay, San Francisco and Chicago) over the coming days.

Samuel Jr., a 26-year-old former 2nd round pick, was cleared medically by independent doctors earlier this week to play football again, following a neck/spine injury that cost him most of 2024 and resulted in a rather controversial spinal fusion procedure over the offseason.

It'll be a busy couple weeks for Asante Samuel Jr. He's visiting the #Panthers today. After that, it's: #Packers (Thursday), #Vikings (Friday), #49ers (Monday), #Bears (Tuesday) and #Steelers (Wednesday). A thorough, methodical process. https://t.co/RZCbaBKHUd

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 5, 2025

Prior to his health scare/injury, Asante Samuel Jr. was one of the top young cornerbacks in the NFL, piling up 6 interceptions and 37 passes defended during his four-year care

So when news of Samuel Jr’s visits first broke, there was a sense of optimism around Vikings Territory. Why not? If healthy, the Florida State alum would essentially fix just about every defensive issue they currently have. Of course, the injury caveat there is very important.

Asante Samuel Jr. visit is for medical, not contract purposes

And on Thursday morning, we found out just how crucial it is to the Samuel Jr conversation. While on with the Power Trip Morning Show on KFAN Radio this morning, Tom Pelissero (NFL Network) reported that Asante Samuel Jr.’s visits are not what we originally thought they were.

According to the top league insider and Edina native, all of Samuel Jr’s visits are for medical purposes only. He is working out for team doctors and trainers, who will then decide if he is indeed healthy enough to warrant a possible signing.

“Asante Samuel Jr, the reason a player like that has a five or six team tour setup is medical. He needs to go in and get physicals in different places. Without getting too deep into the weeds on the nature of the injury, it is something very serious and very scary that he is coming back from.

He had a surgery and this is not an injury that a lot of doctors thought a surgery was going to be able to fully fix. So it’s not just a matter of his doctors clearing him, it’s a team medical staff clearing him. And when you’re talking about a neck issue, a spine issue, those are really sensitive kinds of topics.”

Tom Pelissero – Power Trip Morning Show (KFAN Radio)

Last week in Detroit, the Minnesota Vikings’ got interior pressure on QB Jared Goff that we had not yet seen during the Kevin O’Connell era.

It was that incessant pass rush vs the Lions which allowed a previously underwhelming Vikings secondary cover long enough for DT Javon Hargrave and the boys get home for five total sacks and 11 QB hits.

Minnesota Vikings coaches, execs won’t meet with Samuel Jr

But going forward, the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive backs will continue to be a problem, if they can’t find more help. If you are hoping that help will come in the form of Asante Samuel Jr., however, then you are banking an a process that still has a long way to go, even after this first round of medical visits.

According to Pelissero’s interview on KFAN, this six team medical tour will not include any meetings with head coaches or high-ranking executives. Again, teams just want to figure out if he is healthy enough to play football, before they even think about what it will take to sign him.

“[Asante Samuel Jr.] probably would have been probably the corner to get paid, along with the guys like Carlton Davis in this past free agency class, if he were healthy. The fact that it’s November and we’re talking about him taking a medical tour just shows you how significant this is.

It doesn’t mean the Vikings or someone else won’t sign him. I would just say that this isn’t him coming in and meeting the coaching staff and deciding where to go. This is these teams wanting to put him through a battery of tests and make their own determinations.

There’s 32 team doctors with 32 degrees of risk tolerance. Everybody is going to make their own judgement on this because it is something pretty significant.”

Tom Pelissero – Power Trip Morning Show (KFAN Radio)

Minnesota Vikings could use Asante Samuel Jr this weekend

The Minnesota Vikings are preparing to suit up for a week 10 – NFC vs AFC battle on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium against the Baltimore Ravens and arguably the best quarterback in the NFL, Lamar Jackson, who returned from injury last week to throw for 204 yards and 4 touchdowns in an easy 28-6 win over the dysfunctional Dolphins.

Jackson was forced to sit out for three games, due to the hamstring injury he suffered week 4 against the Kansas City Chiefs. In the five games he has started, the 28-year-old 2X NFL MVP has completed 72.9% of his passes for 1,073 yards, 14 touchdowns and just 1 interception. Oh, and he has rushed for 180 yards and 1 TD too.

Reated: MN Vikings QB Joins Mahomes and Marino in Rare Company

And on Sunday, Jackson will matchup against a MN Vikings defense that played its best game of the season last week in Detroit, a 27-23 upset victory against the division rival Lion, a high-powered offense that Brian Flores & Co. held to they held to just 116 yards passing, the Lions’ lowest air total on the season.

If they can maintain that going forward, there would be no need to sign an Asante Samuel Jr. But no matter what the Vikings tell us, they need help in the secondary and they know it. Unfortunately, we will have to wait patiently to find out if Samuel can help fix it. Then, we’ll talk about whether or not he actually will.

But general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell are far from done. Hell, we still have over a month of free agency remaining before the draft, on April 24, let alone training camp in late July. Thus, the Vikings woke up this morning, just like they have the rest of this week, ready to get better.

Minnesota Vikings hosting WR free agent on visit

That’s why they are hosting a very intriguing free agent wide receiver this morning, in Eagan — former Arizona Cardinals 2nd round draft pick Rondale Moore — according to the Vikings’ official X account. The young speedster out of Purdue is enjoying free agency for the first time in his young career.

WR Rondale Moore has started his free agent visit with the #Vikings. pic.twitter.com/BFJ7NzTTrn

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) March 14, 2025

How young is Rondale Moore? The 5’7″, 180 lb slot specialist — who was taken No. 49 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft — is just 24 years, 278 days old. If signed, he wouldn’t just line up in between Jordan Addison (23 y/o) and Justin Jefferson (25 y/o) on the football field, he’d slot in directly between the Vikings’ WR1 and WR2 in age, as well.

The Arizona Cardinal traded Moore to the Atlanta Falcons on this exact date (March 14), 2024. Unfortunately, Moore suffered a season-ending knee injury just a few months later (August 8), during a joint practice between the Falcons and Miami Dolphins.

What would Rondale Moore bring to the Vikings?

During his three-year NFL career, with Kyler Murray and Kirk Cousins as his QB for most of his 39 games played, Moore has struggled to find that next gear, as a pass-catcher, totaling just 1,201 yards and 3 receiving touchdowns on 135 receptions.

Rondale Moore visiting the Vikings is a really smart move.

Former 2nd-round pick and only 24. He’s dynamic and explosive with the ball and has great YAC when healthy.

Injuries have been an issue, he perfectly fits Kwesi’s strategy—low risk, high reward. This has real potential pic.twitter.com/l16WDQT0v6

— Matt Anderson (@MattAnderson_8) March 14, 2025

Rondale Moore’s best season, from a receiving production standpoint, came as a rookie when he posted 435 yards receiving, on 54 receptions. In 2023, his final season with Arizona (and on an NFL football field), the Cardinals seemed to unlock a new weapon to their offense, with Moore.

Related: NFL Pundit Doubts Former Vikings Can Succeed Without the QB Whisperer

They started handing him the football, not just throwing it to him. After taking just 6 carries in 2022, Moore carried the ball 28 times in 2023 and he paid them off with 178 yards rushing (6.4 YPC) and 1 TD.

Rondale Moore could be the perfect WR3 fit for the Minnesota Vikings in 2025, and possibly beyond. We’ll see if that’s how he feels while visiting TCO Performance Center today…

Free agency is a different process for every player. Some are ready to dive in blindly, without ever visiting their new organization or meeting their new coach. Others have already been negotiating under the table for days, if not weeks. Then, there are the guys who want to vet out their next team in person.

Minnesota Vikings to host Jonathan Allen on free agency visit

Apparently, former Washington Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen is the latter type. Because one of Tom Pelissero’s (NFL Network) first tweets of the negotiating period late this morning was a report that Allen has set a visit to TCO Performance Center with the Vikings on Monday.

Two-time Pro Bowl DL Jonathan Allen is visiting the #Vikings today, per source.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 10, 2025

The fact that Allen is in Eagan today tells you that he is very interested in playing for Minnesota. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that this is likely his top choice. By setting a visit with the Vikings first, both sides can decide if they want to strike a deal immediately. If not, both sides can move on with plenty of time to find another fit.

Related: Vikings Make Shortlist of Daniel Jones Finalists

Over the course of his 8-year NFL career, Jonathan Allen has accumulated 401 tackles, 118 quarterback hits, 60 TFL and 42 sacks total sacks in 109 games. He has stayed mostly healthy, until 2024, when he missed 9 games due to a season-ending pectoral injury that I am sure the Minnesota Vikings are eager to get a look at today, during Allen’s visit.

PFF has not been the biggest fan of the 30-year-old Allen over recent seasons. In 2024, he got just a 54.6 grade in the 300 snaps he saw before his injury. 2023 (59.7) wasn’t much better. From 2020 to 2022, Allen posted PFF grades between 80 and 85. His specialty is pass rush, which his PFF grades also bear out.