Former Minnesota Vikings fullback signs with the New Orleans Saints

After spending his first four years in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings, Zach Line has now signed on to join the New Orleans Saints.

Adrian Peterson may not be the only former teammate the Minnesota Vikings’ players will be facing in their Week 1 matchup against the New Orleans Saints. On Wednesday, it was announced that former Vikings’ fullback Zach Line had reached an agreement with the Saints to become a part of their current roster.

Minnesota Vikings

Line was signed by Minnesota in 2013 as an undrafted free-agent out of SMU. He struggled to get on the field during his first two seasons with the Vikings, but he kept grinding and ended up appearing in 31 total games over the last two years.

At 6-foot-1, 230 pounds, his main role for Minnesota was to create huge, gaping holes for the team’s running backs. Line’s efforts during the 2015 season played a big part in Peterson being able to lead the NFL in rushing that year.

But this offseason, the Vikings and Peterson went their separate ways and the team’s offense seems to be shifting farther away from a power rushing attack. Thus there not really being a role for a big bruising fullback like Line on their roster this year.

The former Minnesota fullback is coming off an offseason that saw him undergo surgery to repair an injured hip. This likely contributed to him not signing with a team for the 2017 season until now.

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New Orleans already has a starting fullback in John Kuhn, but the team may be grooming Line for next year since Kuhn will be turning 35 in September. Line is no guarantee to make the Saints’ final regular season roster, but they may just decide to keep things interesting and have him stick around for at least the first game of the year.