Former Vikings linebacker Jasper Brinkley has returned to the franchise, joining the front office as Minnesota’s director of player engagement. Alongside him, former Wake Forest RB Arkeem Byrd has been named the new assistant director of player engagement. Both will work under Vikings executive director of player development Les Pico.
Brinkley was drafted by the Vikings in the fifth round of the 2009 draft from South Carolina and played for Minnesota from 2009-12 and again in 2014. His NFL career also included stints with the Cardinals and Giants. He started 42 games, including 15 with the Vikings in 2012 and 11 in 2014, totaling 100 tackles and three forced fumbles in his standout 2012 season.
Since 2017, Brinkley has contributed to the Vikings’ rookie success program and operated his trucking company, while mentoring and coaching youth football teams in Katy, Texas. Now, he’s back in a full-time role with the team that drafted him.
Byrd, who transitioned to a student-coach role at Wake Forest following a career-ending injury in 2018, has since held various student-athlete development positions at Penn State, Arizona State, Oregon, and Temple. This marks his first full-time role with an NFL team. At Temple, Byrd developed the football team’s first internship program and created a transition program for new football student-athletes, among other responsibilities.
The Vikings, who have consistently ranked in the top two of the NFLPA’s report cards for player experience, continue to enhance their player engagement staff with these new additions.