Vikings' Tugg Buck 'signing' has NFL fans everywhere excited by too-good-to-be-true defensive tackle

Perhaps the greatest steal of the 2025 NFL Draft was the Minnesota Vikings' signing of Undrafted Free Agent Guard Tugg Buck, a hulking behemoth out of Idaho State.

Initially projected as a mid round pick, Buck's draft stock plummeted after an incident at a Pocatello Hooters in December. An event now referred to by locals as "The Wing Massacre," Tugg's involvement in a bar brawl reportedly resulted in catastrophic property damage, multiple hospitalizations, and tragically, the death of several rare and exotic birds that were present and reportedly part of Buck’s entourage…

Among them was an ostrich named Lorene, whom Buck, in a tearful confession to authorities during his arrest, identified as his legal wife.

Scouts had long praised Buck's raw physical dominance, his iconic mullet and handlebar mustache combo, and his full sleeve Kid Rock tattoo… An artistic decision he made hastily during the summer of 2020 that he's both proud of and very defensive about. However, his mounting list of off field eccentricities had teams increasingly concerned.

Despite the mounting red flags, and his uncomfortable affinity towards birds, the Vikings front office chose to focus on Buck's raw, untamed potential. GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah compared him to "a human monster truck that just needs emotional counseling after the loss of his loving wife." Coach Kevin O'Connell optimistically noted, "If we can keep him, and his birds, out of bars, we believe we've found ourselves an absolute unit."

Buck himself addressed the media during his introductory press conference, passionately declaring, "I miss my wife so much, and I swear until my last breath I will hunt the people responsible for her death.”

He then produced a framed 16x20 portrait of the late Lorene, kissed it open-mouthed for an uncomfortably long three and a half minutes, and exited the stage.