Kene Nwangwu fails physical with Saints, placed back on waivers

The strange saga of Kene Nwangwu continues. The story started with Nwangwu being a surprise cut from the Minnesota Vikings ahead of the NFL’s roster cutdown day. Then, the New Orleans Saints claimed the former Vikings running back, ending any hope of his return to the Vikings, either on the practice squad or the active roster.

Or so we thought. It turns out that things in New Orleans haven’t gone as planned for the Saints and Nwangwu. The team announced on Friday that Nwangwu had failed his physical and would be placed back on the waiver wire as a result.

No details were released on what caused Nwangwu to fail the physical, but he is now back on waivers and free for any team to claim him. However, after failing a physical, Nwangwu is unlikely to be claimed by anyone, including the Vikings.

However, if no one claims Nwangwu, he will become a free agent and be free to sign with any team that makes him an offer, whether that be for that team’s practice squad or as a member of their active 53-man roster. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Nwangwu will return to the Vikings and get placed on their roster in some capacity.

While not contributing much as a running back during his previous stint with the Vikings, Nwangwu was a solid contributor on special teams in Minnesota’s return game. That contribution is what made Nwangwu’s initial release such a surprise. Now that he’s back on the market, Minnesota could reach out and try to mend fences with the talented return man.