Vikings' Brian Asamoah II expects to have an Oklahoma reunion with Eagles' Jalen Hurts

Undrafted rookie linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. played 46 snaps in the Vikings' 20-17 loss to the Buccaneers, compared to only two snaps for second-year linebacker Brian Asamoah II.

That wasn't according to plan, defensive coordinator Brian Flores said Tuesday. Flores added Asamoah will play more Thursday night against the Eagles in what they intend to be more of a rotation next to starting linebacker Jordan Hicks.

Flores said Pace was playing well, "so we wanted to keep him in there. But we're going to get [Asamoah] in there a little bit more this week. We've talked about that as a staff. Sometimes games, you know, they get rolling and we were kind of doing some good things and we wanted to keep the same group out there."

Asamoah, a 2022 third-round pick, got only two snaps in the first quarter during a three-and-out series by Tampa Bay. He's seen Pace surpass him on the depth chart after missing three weeks in August because of a shoulder injury.

"Things happen the way they do," Asamoah said Tuesday, "but I guarantee you if I would've went in I would've tried to take advantage of every opportunity I was given. Just got to keep on going forward."

Asamoah hopes to reunite on the field with Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, his former college teammate at Oklahoma during the 2019 season. Hurts was a senior and Heisman finalist that season while Asamoah was a freshman making an immediate impact.

"Kind of familiarized with his game and his process," Asamoah said. "He's a gifted runner also a gifted thrower. He's really good."

Pace finished with eight tackles (six solo) and one quarterback hit in his first NFL game.

Flores said Pace has "a physicality, a speed, a twitchiness that allows him to evade blockers in a number of different ways to keep himself alive and go make some plays. We got a couple guys like that — [Asamoah] is like that. Hicks is like that as well."

Center Garrett Bradbury remained sidelined at Tuesday's walkthrough — closed to reporters — because of a lower back injury sustained on Sunday. Left tackle Christian Darrisaw and edge rusher Marcus Davenport were limited participants while dealing with ankle injuries.

Davenport, who was held out of Sunday's loss, had his right ankle taped while declining comment to reporters. The Vikings' $10 million free-agent addition suffered an ankle injury last week.

"He's still working through some things, so we'll see how that all shakes out," Flores said. "I thought Marcus had a great training camp and it was unfortunate we didn't have him last week, but he would certainly help us. We're going to need him this week. We'd love to have him."

The Eagles placed starting linebacker Nakobe Dean (foot) on injured reserve. Philadelphia practiced without cornerback James Bradberry (concussion), running back Kenneth Gainwell (ribs) and safety Reed Blankenship (ribs). Defensive tackle Fletcher Cox (ribs) was limited.

The Vikings are preparing to face "maybe the best" NFL defensive line in Philadelphia, said offensive coordinator Wes Phillips. The Vikings' blocking issues against Tampa Bay were compounded because of injuries to Bradbury and Darrisaw. While right guard Ed Ingram has drawn much of the criticism, Phillips said the shortcomings were shared.

"Guys took turns across the offense," Phillips said. "There's some things we need to clean up. We definitely felt like we had some plays available and some opportunities. It wasn't one guy, but we have to make those plays going forward."

* Receiver Justin Jefferson on having two catches for 12 yards after halftime on Sunday: "We just missed some plays, didn't execute fully on certain plays. But I didn't feel like they took me out of the game. Just the ball didn't come my way. … It's just so many different people that got to execute their plays before I can get the chance to get the ball."

* The Vikings re-signed running back Myles Gaskin to the active roster and receiver Lucky Jackson to the practice squad. This reverses last week's moves made to limit the team's guaranteed money to Gaskin. NFL veterans have full salaries guaranteed if on Week 1 active rosters.

* Former Minnesota Duluth guard Brent Laing, an undrafted rookie from Lakeville, Minn., had a free-agent visit with the Packers on Tuesday, according to the NFL's transaction wire.