Vikings claim DE Jonah Williams off waivers from Rams

Some depth with Danielle Hunter out

While no player is going to replace what Danielle Hunter was bringing to the table before a torn pectoral ended his season, the Minnesota Vikings are at least making an effort to add some depth to the position in his absence.

On Wednesday, the Vikings claimed defensive end Jonah Williams. . .not to be confused with Bengals’ offensive lineman Jonah Williams. . .off of waivers from the Los Angeles Rams.

Williams went undrafted out of Weber State in 2020 after a 2019 season that saw him named the Defensive Player of the Year in the Big Sky Conference. He spent the 2020 season on the Rams’ practice squad, but after an exceptional Training Camp this past year earned himself a place on the 53-man roster. He was waived by the Rams on Tuesday following their acquisition of Von Miller from the Denver Broncos.

The 6’5”, 275-pound Williams has played 97 snaps for the Rams this year in a rotational role. He has not yet recorded a sack, but has generated a handful of quarterback pressures in his limited opportunities.

Williams, along with Kenny Willekes and Patrick Jones II (when the latter gets healthy) will now compete to provide depth for the Vikings at defensive end behind starters Everson Griffen and D.J. Wonnum. Again, they’re not going to replace Hunter, because nobody can, but it will at least give the Vikings somebody that they can use on a rotational basis and possibly develop for the long term in Hunter’s absence.

Welcome to Minnesota, Jonah Williams!