A former Penn State linebacker has been waived by the Minnesota Vikings.
With running back Aaron Jones coming off IR, the Vikings waived Kobe King, who’s in the middle of his rookie season.
After becoming a mainstay in the Penn State defense, King went in the sixth round of this year’s draft to Minnesota.
New Man on the Minnesota Vikings: Kobe King Selected in 6th Round of NFL Draft
He played in four games and ended with four tackles. At Penn State, he played in 46 games between 2021 and ‘24, ending with 200 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and a forced fumble.
King is a player Penn State could use right about now.
A season-ending injury Tony Rojas suffered earlier this month has exposed a lack of linebacker depth the defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and others had worried about all season. Had King stayed for his last year of eligibility and Penn State still gone after Amare Campbell in the transfer portal, the team would have a formidable linebacker duo that could have helped some of this four-game losing streak.
King explained his decision to leave Penn State in February.
“Just looking back at my process and the way I prepared throughout my career, I definitely felt like I progressed in certain areas,” he told reporters at his NFL Combine presser. “Stats, growing as a player, as a man, I just felt I was ready to take the next step and ready to show the next level that I can be one of the best at the next level.”
At 22, this is hardly the deathnail for King’s NFL career, and he isn’t alone in being waived as a rookie.
King’s classmate, Jaylen Reed of the Houston Texans, was also waived.
