Vikings officially sign George Iloka to practice squad

On Thursday, the Minnesota Vikings made official the signing that we had talked about them making earlier this week.

The purple have officially signed veteran safety George Iloka to the practice squad. The team did not have to make a separate move to accommodate Iloka, as they had an open spot on the practice squad after they brought Nate Meadors up to the 53-man roster before Sunday’s opener against Green Bay.

Iloka will, presumably, serve as the backup to Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris when the team heads on the road to take on the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday. Iloka has played in Mike Zimmer’s defense before on two different teams and spent the 2018 season with the Vikings, so he’s already pretty familiar with how the defense will operate.

It might seem weird to have someone with Iloka’s level of experience in the NFL on the practice squad, but that’s the way the rules work this year with everything COVID-19 happening.

My guess is that Iloka will be one of the players that is “elevated” to the main roster before Sunday’s game, as the newly-opened spot on the 53-man roster due to the injury to Pat Elflein will likely be filled by another offensive lineman for depth at that spot.