The Vikings signed former Giants defensive tackle Linval Joseph on Tuesday, about an hour and a half into the official opening of free agency (4pm EST). Per ESPN, the contract is a 5-year deal worth $31.5 million.
Joseph (or LJ as we’ll affectionately call him from now on) will be going into his 5th NFL season after spending his first four with the Giants as a 2nd Round pick (46th overall) in the 2010 Draft out of East Carolina.
The first thing you’ll notice about LJ? The man is LARGE: 6 foot 4 and listed at 323 lbs (please).
Linval’s in the vein of the run stuffing, block absorbing defensive tackle we’re been seeking since Pat Williams hung ’em up after the 2010 season. Remi Ayodele wasn’t the guy. Letroy Guion either. Fred Evans had moments, but couldn’t fill #94’s oversized (possibly orthopedic) shoes.
Enter Joseph. Er… LJ.
His numbers are similar to Williams’ four seasons in the league. Joseph has 9.0 career sacks & 109 tackles. Williams had 8.5 & 73 through four.
With second year man Sharrif Floyd having a similar skill set as veteran (soon to be former Viking?) Kevin Williams and Joseph being in the mold of “Fat Pat”, the “Williams Wall 2.0” comparisons will be easy and inevitable.
The Viking who should be most excited about the LJ signing? Audie Cole or whomever will end up playing Mike linebacker for the Purple this season. Joseph is a space eating, blocker absorbing menace. That means the MLB will be free to roam EJ Henderson style back there. A big advantage.
It’s a bit unfair to compare Sharrif & LJ to their predecessors, they are their own men.
But if our new pair of DTs can put up a semblance of the Williams Brothers former glory, the reborn Zimmer/Edwards Vikings defense will be off to a helluva start.
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