The Minnesota Vikings continue to have a big summer. The Vikings have signed former Cincinnati Bengals safety George Iloka after he was released on Sunday. The deal is reportedly for one year. The Minnesota defense continues to get stronger with the goal of a Super Bowl in mind.
Done deal: The #Vikings have agreed to terms with former #Bengals S George Iloka on a 1-year deal. A big addition to their DB room, the kind you rarely find in August.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 22, 2018
George Iloka Signs One-Year Deal With Minnesota Vikings
Iloka attended Boise State University and was drafted by the Bengals in 2012. He played under Mike Zimmer in Cincinnati, so he is already familiar with the defense. Iloka spent six seasons with the Bengals, two of which were with the current Vikings head coach. In 76 career starts, Iloka has nine interceptions and 230 tackles. He joins an already loaded secondary, and will play next to Harrison Smith and Andrew Sendejo on the back end. The Vikings have high expectations this season, and Iloka might be the last piece of the puzzle.
Iloka has great size for a safety. He is 6’4″ and 225 pounds with great ball skills. He can step right in and improve an already superb defense. The former Bengal will thrive in coverage and allow Smith to roam free all over the field. Iloka is a great cover safety with range and size.
The #Bengals are releasing George Iloka. He has a decent career starting in 76 games and he can contribute like in this play the Bengals are in a Cover 2 zone and he picks the ball off. A solid landing spot would be the #Colts pairing him up with Malik Hooker could be interesting pic.twitter.com/AmnwaUgcmw
— Cut N Dryve (@CutNDryve) August 19, 2018
Iloka provides a healthy option for the Vikings. Since his first career start in 2013, Iloka has missed just four games in five seasons. With Sendejo’s injury history, this is also a great safety net.
This is a great signing for the Vikings. The one-year deal keeps them flexible in negotiations with Anthony Barr. It also allows the team to bring in a veteran talent for a Super Bowl run. Iloka had several teams interested, but he passed up better offers to join a defense he is familiar with. He also passed up a chance to be a definite starter, and he is betting on himself in 2018.
