Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and his front office have been major players in the undrafted free agent market, signing a group of […]
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and his front office have been major players in the undrafted free agent market, signing a group of promising players each draft cycle. Ivan Pace Jr., certainly, has been the most successful addition, but Ryan Wright has been the club’s punter for three years and counting, and Dwight McGlothern, Gabe Murphy, and Bo Richter remain from last year’s UDFA haul and hope for their chance this year.
Once-Promising Ex-Viking Axed by Cowboys
One guy who hasn’t had as much success in purple (or elsewhere) is defender Luiji Vilain, despite the whopping $227,000 guaranteed money it took to bring the defender to the Twin Cities in 2022. The pass-rusher out of Michigan and Wake Forest has played in five career games through three seasons.
His latest employer, the Dallas Cowboys, has just said “goodbye” to him to make room for Justin Houston.
The Cowboys announced on their team website: “Before the Cowboys kicked off their first practice of training camp in Oxnard, the team announced some roster changes. The Cowboys signed DE James Houston, who recently was part of a workout with the Cowboys alongside some other pass rushers, and made the corresponding move of releasing LB Luiji Vilain. Houston, 26, was drafted in the sixth round by the Detroit Lions out of Jackson State in 2022, where he posted eight sacks in his rookie season over the course of just seven games.”
Houston showed flashes in Detroit with eight sacks in his rookie season in 2022, but was way too inconsistent in the following seasons with only one sack since. The Cowboys hope they can unlock some of his talent. Dallas has a strong room of pass rushers, despite Micah Parsons’ contract dispute that has been fought via media and social media between him and owner Jerry Jones.
Vilain, the former Vikings UDFA, appeared in four games in 2022 and 2023 for the Vikings, logging four tackles. He played 34 snaps on defense and 73 on special teams.
After his second preseason, Minnesota waived him and signed him to their practice squad. The Carolina Panthers snatched him in the 2023 season, but an injury forced him to spend some time on IR. He was waived the next preseason, and the Cleveland Browns gave him a practice squad slot for a couple of weeks before releasing him.
Last October, the Cowboys hired Vilain to their practice squad. He has played in four games with the Vikings and one with the Panthers. Neither the Browns nor the Cowboys activated him for a game.
Waiting for his chance is nothing new for the 27-year-old. In his four seasons at Michigan, he only recorded a single sack behind some star players like Rashan Gary, Aidan Hutchinson, and Kwity Paye before transferring to Wake Forest, where he sacked opposing QBs eight times in his one season there.
He’s now hoping someone will give him a chance in the preseason and in camp, but his time is running out, as he’s already 27.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.
