Last week was a big one for the Minnesota Vikings as they beat the New York Giants to get to 7-8 on the season.
It was a big week, too, for BYU football fans who cheer on former BYU players in the NFL who happened to follow the Vikings.
Three of the 19 BYU Cougars in the NFL are currently on the Vikings roster, with Tyler Batty and Sione Takitaki on the 53-man roster and Caleb Etienne recently signed to the practice squad.
While some BYU fans might still harbor some ill will toward the Vikings for giving up on quarterback Jaren Hall so quickly, Minnesota's front office has redeemed itself in Provo between Batty, Takitaki, and Etienne. Here's how the trio is doing:
Tyler Batty, defensive end
It was a bit of a surprise when Tyler Batty went undrafted in this year's NFL draft, but he quickly signed with the Minnesota Vikings. After suffering a preseason injury and missing the team's first five games, Batty has been a consistent special teams player for the Vikings. He has nine tackles in 10 games in his rookie season.
Sione Takitaki, linebacker
Takitaki was a third round pick by the Cleveland Browns back in 2019 had had five strong seasons for the Browns with 268 tackles and four sacks in 72 games. He signed with the New England Patriots last year but his season was largely derailed by injury, registering 21 tackles in 11 games.
The veteran went unsigned this past free agent cycle and it looked like his NFL career might be over as the season chugged along without him. But he eventually signed with the Vikings practice squad in mid-September then patiently waited over two months before getting activated last week.
In Takitaki's season debut last week he played 12 special teams snaps and recorded his first tackle of the 2025 campaign.
Caleb Etienne, offensive tackle
Like Tyler Batty, Caleb Etienne was an undrafted rookie free agent this year. He spent the 2025 preseason with the Cincinnati Bengals but was released at final roster cutdowns with an injury settlement. No team claimed him and he spent September until last week looking for his next NFL opportunity, and it looks like it will be in Minnesota.
Etienne signed with Minnesota's practice squad so there's only the slimmest of chances he sees the field this year, but at least he's back in the league and could use this chance to reestablish himself as a quality roster piece next year.