George

Iloka

He’s been placed on injured reserve. Iloka, 30, was out of the league in 2019 before signing on with the Vikings in August. His knee injury is more bad news for a Vikings defense getting boat raced on the regular in 2020.

30-year-old Illoka spent last season out of the league. He was with the Vikings in 2018, playing just 11 percent of snaps. Illoka would be a depth signing that can contribute on special teams.

Iloka has an obvious link to Oakland as the Raiders employ ex-Bengals DC Paul Guenther. Joining Oakland would also allow Iloka to reunite with former teammate Reggie Nelson. The 28-year-old was cut by Cincinnati on Sunday after being beaten out by second-round rookie Jessie Bates at Bengals training camp.

It appears DC Paul Guenther is trying to get the old Bengals band back together. After signing Vontaze Burfict on Tuesday, Iloka, who also played six seasons under Guenther in Cincinnati, is in the building. Iloka spent last season in Minnesota, playing just 116 defensive snaps.

He was among several Cowboys cut Friday including OT Jake Campos, WR Reggie Davis, RB Darius Jackson, TE Marcus Lucas, TE Codey McElroy, LB Justin Phillips, K Kasey Redfern, S Jameill Showers. A five-year starter in Cincinnati, Iloka settled for backup work as a Viking last season, notching 16 tackles over 16 appearances including three starts. Look for Jeff Heath and Xavier Woods to open the year as the Cowboys’ starting safeties.

Obviously in the market for another safety, Dallas finally landed help in their secondary after failing to lock up both Eric Berry and Clayton Geathers in their previous meetings. Iloka will immediately get a shot at starting with only Xavier Woods and Jeff Heath currently manning those positions. Iloka was in on 116 snaps for Minnesota last season.

Iloka left his Raiders visit without a deal. The Cowboys are one of the most safety needy teams in the league, but Iloka is likely a fallback to free agent Eric Berry. Iloka played just 116 snaps in a rotational role with Minnesota last year.

Considered a day-two prospect in some circles, Iloka is a true center-field safety, though he’ll likely be asked to play closer to the line of scrimmage than he did at Boise. A long and lean 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, Iloka also has unusually long 34.5 inch arms. He’ll be limited to special teams as a rookie, but is a high-upside pick.

Alabama’s Mark Barron and Notre Dame’s Harrison Smith are considered strong safeties. Iloka is an imposing free safety prospect at 6-foot-4, 222 with a sub-4.5 forty on record. Pauline expects Iloka to be an early second-round pick if he runs well and does 25 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press, as expected. Iloka could be a tight end-buster kind of safety with the ability to defend athletic TEs like Jimmy Graham and Aaron Hernandez.

Iloka is a freak specimen at 6-foot-4, 225 with 34 1/2-inch arms, certainly possessing size to become a matchup player against the NFL’s more athletic tight ends. Iloka is a shaky tackler in space, however, and not especially fluid in the hips. He is unlikely to push for significant playing time as a rookie.