Vikings Sign Defensive Tackle

The Vikings seem to have a strong rotation going in the middle of their defensive line, but on Thursday they added more competition and more depth with the signing of defensive tackle Ross Kolodziej, formerly with the Arizona Cardinals.

The Vikings on Thursday signed fifth-year defensive tackle Ross Kolodziej.

Kolodziej was with the Arizona Cardinals for the past two seasons (2004-05) and played in 29 games during that span, including a career-high 16 games with a career-high 14 starts in 2005. He also posted career bests in 2005 in tackles (39), sacks (3.0), passes defensed (4), and QB hurries (4).

The Vikings already have starters Kevin Williams and Pat Williams anchoring the middle of their defensive line, with young backups C.J. Mosley and Spencer Johnson and undrafted rookie Manase Hopoi.

Kolodziej entered the NFL in 2001 as a seventh-round draft choice (230th overall) of the New York Giants. He played in nine games as a rookie in 2001 and spent time with the Giants in 2002. Kolodziej also was with the San Francisco 49ers for parts of the 2002 and 2003 seasons.

Kolodziej started 45 games at the University of Wisconsin and finished his career with 170 tackles and 9.0 sacks. While Kolodziej was at Wisconsin, Vikings head coach Brad Childress, assistant offensive line coach Jim Hueber and assistant special teams coach Brian Murphy were on the Badgers’ staff.