Rob Kleifield

EAGAN, Minn.Another familiar face is returning to the Vikings.

Minnesota on Wednesday signed inside linebacker Josh Ross, as well as running back Damon Bankston, to its practice squad in the middle of a short week before playing at Green Bay on Sunday.

Ross spent the final month of the 2025 season on the Vikings practice squad and was with the team until roster cuts in August. The 27-year-old was on the Seahawks practice squad for a week this October.

An undrafted free agent out of Michigan in 2022, Ross began his career with Baltimore and played in 10 games for Seattle in 2024, overlapping with Vikings General Manager Nolan Teasley. Ross has exclusively appeared on special teams in 22 career games and has posted 11 tackles in that phase.

Bankston, 23, is an undrafted rookie who initially joined the Giants (he ran three times for 6 yards in the season-opening exhibition between Minnesota and New York this year) but was waived at final cuts. Bankston then had a couple stints on the Packers practice squad in September and October.

Bankston played his final college season at New Mexico after excelling at Weber State from 2021-24. He rushed for 635 yards on 114 attempts (5.6 avg.) with five touchdowns and caught 31 passes for 397 yards (12.8 avg.) and three more scores 1,032 total yards over 13 games for the Lobos.

Ross joins a Vikings LB room that has Blake Cashman, Eric Wilson, Ivan Pace, Jr., and Jake Golday, while Bankston adds to a backfield that includes Aaron Jones, Sr., Jordan Mason and DeeJay Dallas; rookie RB Demond Claiborne was placed on Injured Reserve before Minnesota's game against Buffalo.

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