Vikings sign two players from the AAF

The Minnesota Vikings signed two players from the gone-too-soon Alliance of American Football on Friday. Minnesota added former San Antonio Commanders safety Derron Smith and cornerback Duke Thomas.

Safety Derron Smith

The 27-year-old played in seven games with San Antonio, he recorded 21 tackles and three interceptions. The Fresno State alum was a sixth-round draft pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2015. Smith played in 31 games for the Bengals and seven with the Cleveland Browns.

Smith has only recorded 7 tackles, a fumble recovery and one deflected pass in his NFL career. It would only seem that he would be an addition to the practice squad. He hasn’t been on an NFL roster since 2017 when he was with the Browns.

The three-time First-Team Mountain-West selection recorded 253 tackles in his last three seasons at Fresno State.

Cornerback Duke Thomas

The 24-year-old undrafted journeyman has circled his way back to the NFL.

The Texas Longhorns alum was on the Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles practice squads in 2016 before sitting out a season due to an injury. In 2018, he made a trip to the Canadian Football League where he spent a season on Toronto’s practice squad.

Thomas led the Commanders with 22-tackles along with an interception and a fumble recovery in seven games. Thomas was a three-year starter at Texas and spent time at the nickel position as a senior.

The two-time All-Big 12 Honorable Mention played in all 51 games and started in 35. Thomas would occasionally handle kickoff and punt returns for the Longhorns during his last three years.

Other Notes:

It was reported yesterday that the Vikings will work out former AAF quarterback Brandon Silvers. Here’s that article by Christopher Gates.