The Vikings have added six defensive backs since the beginning of training camp in what defensive coordinator Brian Flores on Tuesday called a “collaborative“ effort to find players who might help solve one of the team’s biggest needs.
Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is happy to be coaching Stephon Gilmore again
The Vikings have added six defensive backs in the training camp. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore is the latest, and the second to have been coached by Brian Flores before.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
August 20, 2024 at 10:56PM
“If anything, I probably lean on [General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah‘s staff],” he said. “I‘m kind of locked in what we’re doing here daily, as far as getting ready [for the season]. I could go on and about the great staff he’s got. It’s, ‘Hey, what about this guy? What about this guy?’ Collectively, we come to a decision. I wouldn’t say I have a stamp on all of it.“
Then, he added with a smile, “I really like Gilmore. I would say that.”
Stephon Gilmore is the Vikings’ most recent defensive back addition, the second of the six that Flores has previously coached. Gilmore, a cornerback, won NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors the night before Super Bowl LIII, when Flores called the Patriots defense that held the Rams to three points in his final game with New England. This week, he reunited with Gilmore for the first time since that Super Bowl, when the Vikings signed the 33-year-old cornerback to a one-year deal reportedly worth $7 million.
”His career speaks for itself: the accolades and all, the talent,” Flores said. “But Steph the person is a great human being, a great teammate. He’s going to be great for the young guys in our group: just understanding what it takes to be a professional, his maturity, his toughness and just his global understanding of the game.”
Gilmore‘s addition gives the Vikings their most experienced secondary in years, with fellow 13th-year pro Harrison Smith at safety and eighth-year man Shaq Griffin also likely to start at cornerback. Between them, Smith and Gilmore have spent more than two full years in NFL training camps; the safety tried to break the monotony on Monday by inserting some of his own ideas on Gilmore’s first day.
“Yesterday, we had something drawn up, and Harrison Smith sent him on a blitz,” Flores said. “I told Harrison, ‘He’s not here to blitz.’”
Tonyan back at practice
Tight end Robert Tonyan, who hadn’t practiced since July 31 because of back spasms, returned to participate in position drills on Tuesday before watching the full-team sections of the Vikings’ padded practice.
The Vikings were still without linebacker Blake Cashman, who needed stitches for a finger injury he sustained in the team’s joint practices in Cleveland last week. Wide receiver Jordan Addison (ankle) and guard Dalton Risner (undisclosed injury) did not practice, and safety Josh Metellus watched from the sideline after participating in the Vikings’ walk-through on Tuesday.
Correction: A previous version of a picture caption misidentified Vikings cornerback Stephon Gilmore.
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