Eden Prairie, MN (March 12, 2014) – The Minnesota Vikings have announced the following roster moves:
Agreed to Terms
PLAYER POS. EXP. COLLEGE
Linval Joseph……………… DT………………….. 5…………. East Carolina
Signed
PLAYER POS. EXP. COLLEGE
Jasper Brinkley……………. LB………………….. 6……….. South Carolina
Re-Signed
PLAYER POS. EXP. COLLEGE
Joe Berger………………….. OL………………… 10……….. Michigan Tech
Linval Joseph (lin-VALL) joins the Vikings after spending the last 4 seasons with the New York Giants. Joseph was selected in the 2nd-round (46th overall) in the 2010 NFL Draft out of East Carolina where he was 1st-team All-Conference USA following the 2009 season. The Gainesville, Fla. native has appeared in 53 regular season games making 46 starts in his NFL career. Joseph has started 46 of the last 47 games dating back to 2011. He started and earned a Super Bowl ring after recording 2 tackles, 1 for a loss, in a Super Bowl XLVI win over the New England Patriots. During the 2011 Super Bowl run with New York, Joseph started all 4 post-season contests and totaled 11 tackles and 0.5 sacks. Joseph produced a career-high 75 tackles (51 solo) in 2013 while adding 3 sacks and 1 forced fumble. Joseph produced 5+ tackles in 11 of the 15 games he appeared in 2013, including a career-high 10 tackles (7 solo) at Carolina on 9/22/13. For his career, Joseph has 207 tackles (132 solo), 9 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries.
Jasper Brinkley returns to the Minnesota Vikings after spending the 2013 season with the Arizona Cardinals. Brinkley was drafted by the Vikings in 2009 in the 5th-round (150th overall) and appeared in 48 games while recording 19 starts, including 15 in 2012, for the Vikings. Brinkley signed as a free agent with the Cardinals during the 2013 offseason and played in 15 games with 3 starts in his lone season in Arizona. In 2009, Brinkley started the final 4 games of the regular season and played in both playoff games for the Vikings, stepping in for the injured E.J. Henderson. For his career, Brinkley has appeared in 63 games and started 22.
Joe Berger (BUR-jur) has appeared in 45 regular season games in his 3 seasons with the Vikings, making 9 starts. In addition to his duties on the special teams unit, Berger has started games at center and both guard positions as a Viking. He saw action in all 16 games during the 2013 season, including starts vs. Washington (11/3) and vs. Philadelphia (12/15). As a blocker on the kick return unit, Berger helped the Vikings to the highest average starting field position after a kickoff in the NFL in 2013. Berger joined the Vikings in Week 2 of the 2011 season and entered the NFL as a 6th-round pick by Carolina in the 2005 Draft. He has appeared in 87 games with 19 starts in his 9-year NFL career with Dallas, Miami and Minnesota.
