Before Mike Zimmer became the head coach of the Vikings he was the defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals. Now that he’s helped lead the Vikings back to prominence, he’s hoping to attract a few of his former players to join him in Vikings purple.
The NFL’s free agency sighing period opens Wednesday. Monday was the first day teams could contact the free agents on other rosters.
According to the Pioneer Press’ Chris Tomasson, the Vikings reached out to representatives for Cincinnati free agent safeties George Iloka and Reggie Nelson, both of whom Zimmer seems to have a lot of respect for from his days with the Bengals.
Reggie Nelson could be cheaper option at safety than George Iloka. Yes, Nelson will be 33, but age hasn't been a problem with Terence Newman
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) March 7, 2016
Iloka has been creating a lot of buzz on the free agent market. Pro Football Talk reports in addition to the Vikings, the Giants, Falcons and Lions are all interested. The Bengals also hope to bring him back.
While Iloka is younger, both he and Nelson have been durable for Cincinnati. Nelson has played in all but three regular season games since joining Cincinnati three years ago. He started the last 32 of those games with Iloka alongside him in 28 of those contests.
Monday was a busy day for the Vikings. They also reached out to another Bengal, linebacker Vincent Rey.
#Vikings have reached out to representative of Cincinnati free-agent linebacker Vincent Rey. Vikings need an LB and Mike Zimmer coached him
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) March 7, 2016
The Vikings also were able to get tackle Phil Loadholt to agree to a pay cut to remain in Minnesota and continued working on contract talks with a few of their own free agents.
The new league year and the official opening of free agency arrives Wednesday.
