The Vikings keep turning the bottom of the roster like a deck of cards, and Friday brought another familiar face back into the mix.
Minnesota signed outside linebacker Jihad Ward to the practice squad and let go of offensive tackle Tristan Leigh to clear a spot. It’s the latest move in a season where the 5-0 Vikings have kept churning the back end of the roster while waiting for Week 7’s matchup with the 2-4 Indianapolis Colts at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday at noon.
Ward’s return hardly came out of nowhere. He first joined Minnesota’s practice squad on Sept. 9, then got picked up by the New York Giants on Oct. 1 after Brian Burns tore his ACL.
Ward played one game there, made one tackle, and was cut Tuesday. A few days later, he’s back at TCO Performance Center.
The reunion had already been teased in public. On Tuesday, Ward hinted at the move on Instagram by posting a graphic of himself in his purple No. 52 Vikings jersey.
Ward is now in his 11th NFL season and came into the league as a second-round pick of the Oakland Raiders in 2016. The former Illinois standout has piled up 24 career sacks across seven teams, including 5.0 sacks in 2023 with the Giants and 5.0 more in 2025 with the Tennessee Titans.
Minnesota also knows exactly what kind of player it’s getting. Ward was on the Vikings for all 17 games last season, finishing with 10 tackles, one sack and one fumble recovery. He now joins Kenny Dyson and Keshawn Banks as the outside linebackers on the practice squad.
On the active roster, Andrew Van Ginkel, Dallas Turner and Kyle Van Noy headline the edge group, while Tyler Batty remains on injured reserve.
Leigh’s exit fits the health picture up front. The undrafted Clemson tackle came back to the practice squad on Oct. 6, the same day Donovan Jackson landed on injured reserve. At that point, Christian Darrisaw was in concussion protocol, and Minnesota needed help at tackle for its trip to New Orleans.
That need has eased. Darrisaw has now put together back-to-back full practices, and Brian O’Neill was also a full participant Thursday. With both starting tackles healthy, the Vikings had the flexibility to use Leigh’s spot on a veteran pass rusher instead.
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