A couple of former Vikings players have been in the news recently as they take on a new step in their post-playing careers.
Floyd gets new coaching gig
Former Vikings first-round pick Sharrif Floyd has been hired by the Washington Commanders as their assistant defensive line coach. He held a similar role with the Cowboys last year under Dan Quinn. It's unclear if Floyd wanted to leave for Washington or was told he wouldn't have a spot on Mike Zimmer's staff. Zimmer, the Cowboys' new DC, was Floyd's head coach for a few years in Minnesota.
This is another good opportunity for the 32-year-old Floyd to advance his coaching career. He started out by coaching at the high school level, then spent a couple years at his alma mater (Florida) as a student assistant. Now he's onto his second NFL stop, where he'll be working with star defensive tackles Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen.
Floyd was drafted 23rd overall by the Vikings in 2013 and got off to a strong start to his career, before an allegedly botched surgery led to nerve damage that essentially forced him into retirement.
Proehl going on 'Idol'
Ex-Vikings receiver Blake Proehl will be on this year's season of American Idol. Proehl, 25, signed with Minnesota as an undrafted free agent out of East Carolina in 2021 and was with the team until being released last August. He had a major knee injury early in his time with the Vikings that derailed his chances of making it.
Proehl's singing career began to take off in recent years; he has nearly 600K followers on TikTok and has had a few videos go viral. Now he's going on "Idol" with a chance to further his music career.
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