Vikings sign LB David Reese II, waive S Brian Cole II

On Wednesday, the Minnesota Vikings made a roster change, and the result was a member of their 15-player draft class from this past April being waived.

The Vikings have announced that they have signed linebacker David Reese II. To make room for Reese on the roster, they waived safety Brian Cole II. Cole was one of the Vikings’ fourth seventh-round picks in this past April’s draft after a successful college career at Mississippi State.

Reese went undrafted this past April after playing his college ball at the University of Florida. While with the Gators, he was a Second Team All-SEC selection in 2019. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Carolina Panthers, but was waived over the weekend.

The signing of another linebacker appears, at least on the surface, to be bad news for Ben Gedeon. Mike Zimmer had expressed hope that Gedeon, who was placed on the PUP list at the start of camp, would be activated here in the near future. There hasn’t been any definitive word as to whether or not Gedeon’s issues stem from the concussions that ended his 2019 season early.

Reese is the second linebacker that the Vikings have signed over the past week, as they also signed former Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Hardy Nickerson not that long ago.