The Minnesota Vikings’ newest outside linebacker has a familiar connection to one of their most important defenders.
Kenny Dyson and Jalen Redmond took remarkably similar routes to Minnesota. Both entered the NFL as undrafted players. Both initially signed with the Carolina Panthers. Both spent their early professional years trying to stay on the radar, then used spring football to create another opportunity.
Redmond turned that opportunity into a breakout with the Vikings. Dyson is unlikely to receive the same immediate role, and it would be unfair to expect him to become the next Redmond. But the similarities explain why Minnesota was willing to give him a late-summer audition.
The Vikings signed Dyson on Monday and waived rookie outside linebacker Arden Walker in a corresponding move. Dyson joins a crowded edge-rusher group with only two preseason games remaining, so his realistic goal is to earn more reps, contribute on special teams and make a case for the practice squad.
Still, the Redmond precedent is there.
The Carolina connection
Redmond went undrafted out of Oklahoma in 2023 and signed with the Panthers. His first NFL opportunity did not last, and he eventually took a different route back to football by joining the Arlington Renegades of the UFL.
That spring became a turning point.
In four games with Arlington, Redmond recorded 18 tackles, five tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. The Vikings signed him after the UFL season, initially viewed him as a developmental defensive lineman and kept working with him after he moved between the active roster and practice squad.
By the end of his first season in Minnesota, Redmond had shown real promise. He appeared in 13 games, made two starts and totaled 18 tackles, six tackles for loss, two passes defended and a sack. His bigger leap came afterward, when he developed into the Vikings’ six-sack breakout star last year.
Dyson’s story begins in much the same place.
He went undrafted out of Bryant University in 2024 and signed with Carolina. He spent most of his rookie year on the Panthers’ practice squad, though he was elevated for two games and finished with two tackles and a quarterback hit.
After Carolina moved on following the 2025 draft, Dyson did not immediately land with another NFL team. He spent last season out of the league, then signed with the Houston Gamblers for the UFL season.
Like Redmond, he used the spring to put productive tape back in front of NFL scouts.
Dyson’s UFL opportunity
Dyson finished his UFL stint with 27 tackles, seven tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. The numbers do not guarantee anything at the next level, but they show he consistently created negative plays.
That was also the calling card of his college career.
At Bryant, Dyson appeared in 44 games and recorded 104 tackles, 35 tackles for loss, 25.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, an interception and six passes defended. He was a first-team all-conference selection in both 2022 and 2023.
The 6-foot-3, 244-pound defender has always found ways into the backfield. What he has not yet proven is that he can do it against NFL offensive linemen, in an NFL scheme and on an NFL roster. That is why this opportunity matters.
Redmond’s path demonstrates that spring-league production can be more than an empty stat line. The UFL gave him game reps, allowed him to regain confidence and put him in a position to make the most of a second NFL chance. The Vikings then gave him the patience to develop.
Dyson has taken the same first steps. What happens next is up to him.
A much smaller window
There are important differences between the two players.
Redmond joined Minnesota in June, giving him a full training camp to learn the defense and establish himself. Dyson arrives in mid-August, after the Vikings have already played their first preseason game and are preparing for joint practices with the Baltimore Ravens.
He is also joining a different position group.
Redmond found a place on a defensive line that needed contributors. Dyson enters an outside linebacker room led by Dallas Turner and Andrew Van Ginkel. Behind them, Ty Ingram-Dawkins and Tyler Batty are competing for snaps, while Minnesota is still searching for a clear picture of its depth.
Dyson will not be handed meaningful defensive work. He will have to earn it quickly.
That could begin with special teams. For a player trying to stick at the bottom of the roster, value on coverage units is often as important as a good pass-rush rep. If Dyson can show that he can run, tackle, understand assignments and help on multiple units, he gives the Vikings another reason to keep evaluating him.
The preseason game against the Ravens, assuming he is ready to play, could offer his first meaningful chance to make his case.
Why the comparison still matters
No one should project Redmond’s outcome onto Dyson.
Redmond is now a proven part of Minnesota’s defensive front. Dyson is a newcomer hoping to extend his NFL career beyond the final weeks of camp. Their positions are different, their developmental timelines are different and their chances of becoming major contributors this season are different.
But their shared route is still worth noticing.
The NFL often treats undrafted players as disposable. A team signs them, evaluates them through a short camp window and moves on if the player is not immediately ready. The UFL gives players like Redmond and Dyson a way to keep playing instead of disappearing from the professional football ecosystem.
For Redmond, it led to a life-changing opportunity in Minnesota.
For Dyson, it has led to a new locker, a new playbook and a narrow chance to prove that his football journey is not over. It’s now on him to extend his story beyond cutdown day.
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