Detroit Lions Had Former Vikings Nose Tackle Visit For Tryout

The Detroit Lions welcomed former Minnesota Vikings nose tackle Taki Taimani to the teams Allen Park Performance Center for a visit on Friday, according to the NFL's official transaction wire.

After playing collegiately at Oregon and Washington, the 6-foot-1, 325-pound defender went undrafted in 2024.

He was subsequently signed by the Minnesota Vikings. He was able to secure a spot on their 53-man roster coming out of his first training camp.

In 2025, he was not able to make the team, but was brought back on the practice squad.

Prior to the official roster cuts this season, Taimani was waived with an injury designation and reverted to injured reserve list the following day.

Earlier this week, the front office signed safety Myles Bryant to the practice squad. Defensive lineman Aidan Keanaaina was also added recently to the practice squad.

According to a league scouting report, Taimani is a "A two-gapping wide-body capable of standing firm when manning his gaps, Taimani has some pop and anchor to battle along the interior but is a non-factor as a rusher. He has shown the ability to play at a variety of weights, but he’s lacking initial snap quickness and rarely captures lateral positioning or the neutral zone off the snap. Taimani might not have the traits or versatility to be drafted, but players with power who can challenge run games will always have a chance to make a roster."

Can Lions' defense replicate Cardinals success?

Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard still has the tough task of managing a defense that could use some more help in the secondary.

Getting Brian Branch to assist the back end will certainly be a benefit, but the Packers game will be his first game action in 10 months.

Sheppard was asked this week if he team can replicate the success the defense had against the Cardinals.

“I mean each week is different to be honest, as you know. I'm not telling you nothing you don't know. And week-to-week, you try to do what's best for the defense and for the team's success week-to-week. And every week's different," said Sheppard. "Every week's going to call for certain things to change. Every week's going to call for different guys needed to step up depending on where the ball is focused on and so on and so forth. So, I don't want to say we're going to replicate anything. What I want to say is I definitely want to build on a lot of the positives that came from that game. And I just want to credit the players, man.

"That's the thing that gets lost in all that. People start to, 'Oh, what did you change? What did you do?' The players went out and executed and played at a high level and played at a high level like they expect to do every week. It just showed up in Arizona on a more consistent basis than it had the previous four weeks.”

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