Brian Asamoah, Not Ivan Pace Jr., Expected to Start at LB for Vikings

Vikings linebacker Ivan Pace Jr.'s meteoric rise from undrafted free agent to possible rookie starter has been well-documented. The All-American from Cincinnati had a truly incredible training camp, quickly working his way up to playing with the first-team defense. He then shined in early preseason action and earned some rest with the other roster locks in the finale a couple weekends ago.

With that said, he doesn't appear to be in the starting lineup just yet.

Defensive coordinator Brian Flores indicated on Thursday that Brian Asamoah, not Pace, will start alongside Jordan Hicks in Sunday's opener and play the bulk of the snaps. That doesn't mean Pace won't play — Flores said he's hoping to get the rookie into the game on defense — but the idea that he's already earned a starting role doesn't seem to match reality.

"Yeah" was Flores' answer when asked if Asamoah and Hicks will play the majority of the snaps at inside linebacker. "Those are the guys — BA's coming back from getting dinged a little bit in training camp. All three of those guys have played. In game one, no one's really ready to play 80 snaps in an NFL game, so we'll try to, as best we can, get as many guys in as possible. We feel good about those three guys."

Before Pace stole the headlines, Brian Asamoah was seen as an obvious year two breakout candidate because of the flashes he showed late in his rookie season and how well his skillset seemingly fits into Flores' scheme. A third-round pick in 2022, the Oklahoma product has big-time range and athleticism that gives him exciting upside as a blitzer and playmaker for Flores.

A shoulder injury during training camp held Asamoah out for a couple weeks, which led to Pace getting a ton of work with the starting defense. But once he was healthy, he was right back out there as all three linebackers mixed in with the 1s late in camp.

Pace's emergence as a third inside option gives Flores even more tools at his disposal this season, starting with Sunday's game against the Buccaneers.

"Any time you get a young guy who comes in the way he has, learns the system, produces on the field in practice and in games, it only makes (Asamoah) better, it only makes the entire room better, it only makes our team better," Flores said. "Ivan's done a lot of good things. Hopefully we can get him in the game for some snaps and continue that trajectory that he's on."

It sounds like fans can expect to see all three play on Sunday, but should temper expectations when it comes to Pace's defensive snap share — at least for now.

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