Vikings Roster Countdown: No. 59 Troy Reeder — Veteran LB With Experience

Reeder brings Super Bowl experience and 30 career starts to the Vikings' defense.

Will Ragatz | Jul 27, 2023

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Minnesota Vikings

Ahead of the Vikings' 2023 preseason, we'll be taking a look at every player on the 90-man roster, counting down from 99 to 0 (excluding the UDFAs, who we've already profiled). For every player, we'll look at the best and worst-case scenarios and their realistic outlook for the upcoming season.

No. 59: Troy Reeder, LB

Age: 29 | Size: 6'3", 245

The Vikings are optimistic about the future of second-year linebacker Brian Asamoah, a 2022 third-round pick who showed some flashes of his upside late in his rookie season. He's going to get every opportunity to win a starting job alongside Jordan Hicks over the course of training camp. But that job also was never going to be handed to him or assumed to be his, which is why the team signed veteran linebacker Troy Reeder this year in free agency.

Reeder, a Delaware native who attended the same high school as Brian O'Neill, made the Rams' 53-man roster as an undrafted rookie in 2019. Not only that: He went on to start eight games that year and 30 (including playoffs) over his first three NFL seasons. Reeder saw his snaps gradually increase each year, peaking at 864 on LA's Super Bowl-winning 2021 team. He has legitimate, big-time experience playing linebacker in the league.

However, PFF has never thought much of Reeder's play, giving him poor grades in two of his three Rams seasons and an average grade in 2020. That might help explain why, after signing with the Chargers last spring, he played just 63 defensive snaps all season. Now he's in Minnesota, where he'll look to earn more playing time.

The one sure thing with Reeder is that he'll be a big special teams contributor; he's averaged nearly 300 snaps per season in that phase over his four years.

Best-case scenario: For Reeder? He beats out Asamoah or takes advantage of an injury and spends most of the season as a starting linebacker. For the Vikings? Reeder is valuable depth at LB but spends most of his time on special teams as Asamoah shines.

Worst-case scenario: Again, this is different for the player and the team. Reeder seems unlikely to be cut after training camp, but it's not out of the question.

Outlook for 2023: At the very least, Reeder is a special teams stud who provides experience and a modest floor at linebacker. If Asamoah is who the Vikings think he is, he should beat Reeder out for the starting job.

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Published Jul 27, 2023

WILL RAGATZ