The Vikings reunite with a linebacker ahead of the final regular-season game

The Minnesota Vikings signed linebacker Abraham Beauplan to the practice squad this week, five days ahead of the season finale against the Detroit Lions.

Bleacher Report’s NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported the reunion between Minnesota and its former linebacker on Tuesday, January 2.

“The #Vikings are signing rookie LB Abraham Beauplan after working him out today, his agent @DerykGilmore tells me,” Schultz wrote on X. “Beauplan was with Minnesota in the preseason but was waived following an injury. He’s now fully healthy.”

Beauplan played three years at Marshall between 2020-22 where he tallied 231 tackles, including 23 tackles for loss, 5 forced fumbles, 3.5 sacks and 1 interception, per Sports Reference.

Beauplan is unlikely to play in the Vikings’ regular season finale. However, his signing indicates that Minnesota is potentially interested in inking the linebacker to a reserve/future contract, which would set Beauplan up to participate in the team’s training camp activities beginning this spring.\

Minnesota’s addition of Beauplan to the practice squad is also an indication that linebacker Anthony Barr will remain on the active roster for the Vikings’ must-win road contest against the Lions on January 7. The team has only a 2.7% chance to make the playoffs, per ESPN’s Football Power Index, after dropping its home finale against the Green Bay Packers in primetime on New Year’s Eve.

The Vikings reunited with Barr on November 13 after parting ways with the four-time Pro Bowler following the 2021 campaign. He spent the 2022 season in the NFC East, appearing in 14 games and making 10 starts for the Dallas Cowboys.

Barr has appeared in three games for the Vikings this season, two against the Denver Broncos and the Chicago Bears in the two weeks immediately following his signing in Minnesota. He spent the next several weeks on the practice squad before the team elevated him again for last Sunday’s contest against the Packers.

All told, Barr has played 34 defensive snaps and 6 snaps on special teams since rejoining the Vikings, per Pro Football Reference. Over the course of his 10-year NFL career, nine of which he has spent in Minnesota, Barr has appeared in 115 games and made 108 starts. He has tallied 554 total tackles, including 41 tackles for loss, 32 pass breakups, 18.5 sacks, 8 forced fumbles, 5 interceptions and 1 defensive touchdown.