Report: Minnesota Vikings To Sign Linebacker Emmanuel Lamur

Earlier in the day, the Minnesota Vikings brought in former Detroit Lions linebacker Travis Lewis to shore up their linebacking corps and their special teams. They've gone back to the well at the linebacker position again, and are bringing in a guy that Mike Zimmer has some familiarity with.

The #Vikings are signing LB Emmanuel Lamur, his brother John Lamur just wrote me in a text message. Lamur played for Mike Zimmer in Cincy.

— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) March 9, 2016

Emmanuel Lamur has spent his career with the Bengals, having signed with them in 2012 after going undrafted out of Kansas State. He started out on the practice squad and spent the second half of the 2012 season on the active roster. After missing the 2013 season with a shoulder injury, he claimed a spot in the starting lineup in 2014. He started 13 games for the Bengals that year, collecting 91 total tackles, two interceptions, and seven passes defensed. He started just two games for the Bengals in 2015, picking up 40 combined tackles and two passes defensed.

Here's what our friends over at Cincy Jungle had to say about Lamur in their free agent profile of him:

What he offers: Lamur is a former college safety and he moves like it. He's comfortable in space, in coverage and runs very well. His added length, at six-foot-four, only makes him more valuable in space. He's started a handful of games at outside LB, but he's held one of the Nickel LB roles for most of the last three seasons.

Concerns: Lamur is a former safety and he plays like it. He's not physical or strong enough to consistently play in the box and he doesn't have that aggression the Bengals generally like in their linebackers. Lamur cannot defeat a block and misses tackles because he's often a split second slow to react and doesn't have the bulk to bring guys down easily. Injuries have also derailed Lamur's development, beyond his 2015 knee injury and 2013 shoulder injury, he also had a hamstring injury in 2014 that caused him to miss time. He's often injured and I believe it stems from his lanky body type and how awkward he looks making tackles. At most, he's a nickel linebacker, but you can't count on him to play the entire season.

It looks like Lamur could offer the team quite a bit as a coverage linebacker if he can stay healthy and on the field. At worst, he sounds like he could be a very good special teamer as well.