Vikings Claim Former Arizona State Center Cohl Cabral Off Waivers From Texans
The Vikings have claimed former Arizona State center Cohl Cabral off of waivers after he was released by the Texans, according to the NFL's transactions wire. This is a low-risk move to add more depth to the team's interior offensive line for offseason practices and training camp.
Cabral was signed by the Rams as an undrafted free agent last year and began the season on the practice squad before being waived in November. He was scooped up by the Texans, spent the rest of the season on their practice squad, and signed a futures deal in January. However, he was cut by Houston recently to make room for a different offensive lineman.
Despite not sticking with either the Rams or Texans so far, there's reason to believe the 23-year-old Cabral might have a bit of upside as a backup. At the very least, he adds some competition for players like Mason Cole, Kyle Hinton, Dakota Dozier, Zack Bailey, and Dru Samia on the interior.
Cabral, a native of Southern California, began his ASU career as a tackle. He played sparingly as a freshman but started 12 games at left tackle as a sophomore. Prior to his junior season, Cabral moved to center. He started 24 of the next 26 games there (with two starts at LT), earning second team All-Pac 12 honors as a team captain in both 2018 and 2019. Cabral (6'5", 305) allowed just one sack in his junior and senior seasons combined.
Last year, The Athletic's Dane Brugler ranked Cabral as his No. 8 center in the class, one spot ahead of Hinton (who the Vikings took in the seventh round). Here's what he had to say about Cabral as a prospect.
Cabral allowed only one sack the last two seasons at center, showcasing the versatility to play multiple positions on the line. He isn’t a top-tier athlete and needs to hone his posture and strike timing to help mask his deficiencies. Overall, Cabral needs to grow stronger at the point of attack and continue his growth on the interior, but he displays the toughness, smarts and competitive mentality to be a quality backup with position flexibility.
As a cheap flyer on waivers, this move makes sense for the Vikings. With Brett Jones no longer around, Cabral will have a shot to come in and compete with the likes of Cole and Hinton for the backup center job behind Garrett Bradbury. Cole might be better suited as a top backup at guard anyways.
The Vikings now have 87 players on their roster, which will become 88 when tryout cornerback Amari Henderson's signing is made official. Cabral is the 14th offensive lineman on the roster and the eighth interior lineman.
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