As the days started to pile up, Kenrick Ellis started to wonder if the phone was ever going to ring. Eventually the Vikings called the big nose tackle and invited him up to Minnesota for a workout on Tuesday after second-year nose tackle Shamar Stephen suffered a season-ending toe injury Sunday.
"It was an opportunity. I'm happy for it," the 27-year-old said today. "I was on the couch. I didn't have a job for 17 days. I'm just happy to be here."
After starting his career off as a third-round pick of the Jets, Ellis joined the Giants in the offseason. The Giants released him twice, most recently on Oct. 4, and Ellis started to fear that he wouldn't get another opportunity.
"Of course, man. This business is a tough business," Ellis said. "It's a young business and I'm just happy to be here, blessed and thankful."
The Vikings were in need of a backup to starting nose tackle Linval Joseph, a role that Stephen, a 2014 seventh-round draft pick, was serviceable at. Ellis is a big man, too. The Vikings list him at 6-foot-5 and 335 pounds.
Ellis said "I've got a lot of studying to do" to learn coach Mike Zimmer's defense. But if he picks it up quickly, he should be able to get on the field. The Vikings like to rotate their defensive linemen and Stephen, despite being fourth on the depth chart, still averaged 16.5 snaps per game this season.
"I'm just a physical D-lineman," Ellis, who hails from Jamaica, said. "It's already a good group, so I just hope I can add to the depth of the group and give those guys a break sometime and just try to compete and help us win."
