The Minnesota Vikings have added an intriguing player to their roster following their inaugural minicamp, which was held last week.

The organization has signed tight end Sammis Reyes as part of the International Player Pathway Program. Because he was signed as part of the IPPP, Reyes will not be counted against the team’s preseason roster of 90.

Reyes played a few seasons of college basketball at Tulane University before departing to attend Loyola University in New Orleans. He represented his home Chile in the 2019 FIBA World Cup qualifiers. After Chile failed to qualify, he switched to football, despite having never played the sport before, applying for the IPPP and being accepted in 2021.

After visiting the University of Florida’s Pro Day, Reyes signed a three-year contract with the Washington football team. He was also taken in the fourth round of the Canadian Football League Global Draft by the Toronto Argonauts, but he chose to remain at Washington.

Reyes was dismissed by Washington with an injury settlement during Training Camp in 2022 and joined the Chicago Bears’ practice squad. He then joined the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2023, but announced his retirement in August of that year after sustaining a concussion. He changed his mind in February of this year, and the Jaguars let him go.

As part of the IPPP, Reyes, as previously stated, does not count against the 90-man preseason roster. If he attends Training Camp with the Vikings, he can remain on the 53-man roster or, if he clears waivers after clubs make their cuts, he can re-sign to the practice squad with an exemption that will not count against the Vikings’ limit of 16 players for that group. A regulation change this season allows such a player to be promoted to the main roster for up to three games (they could previously not be added to the active squad at all during the season).

The Vikings have previously participated in the IPPP. Junior Aho, a defensive lineman, spent the entire season on the practice squad last year but was not re-signed this year. Wide receiver Moritz Böhringer, one of the Vikings’ most infamous draft picks of the past decade, was not a part of the IPPP when the Vikings drafted him in 2016, but he joined the program when he signed with the Cincinnati Bengals prior to the 2018 season after being released by Minnesota.

I’m not sure if Reyes will have much of an influence on this squad, but given the team’s present need at tight end, it can’t hurt to give him a go.