Linval Joseph

BIOGRAPHY

Linval Clement Joseph (born October 10, 1988) is an American football defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at East Carolina. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the second round, 46th overall of the 2010 NFL Draft. Joseph played for the Giants from 2010-2013, starting 46 of 53 regular-season games. He also started all four of the Giants’ victories in their 2011 Super Bowl run when they held Atlanta, Green Bay, San Francisco, and New England to an average of 14 points per game.

On March 11, 2014, Joseph signed a five-year, $31.5 million deal with the Minnesota Vikings, including a $3 million signing bonus, $12.5 million guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $6.25 million. In 2015, Joseph will earn a base salary of $3.9 million and a workout bonus of $100,000. Joseph has a cap hit of $4.6 million while his dead money value is $6.1 million.

In 2015, he was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week after his performance in the Vikings 21-18 overtime win over the St. Louis Rams in Week 9. Joseph was credited with 10 tackles (7 solo), 0.5 sacks, 3 tackles for loss, and 2 pressures in the victory, earning a +11.4 grade from Pro Football Focus. The 10 combined tackles tied for the most by a defensive tackle in a game this season. Joseph became the first Viking defensive tackle to win the award in over a decade (the last was Kevin Williams in 2004) and the first Viking defender to receive the honor since linebacker Anthony Barr in 2014. He was ranked 76th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.

On March 30, 2020, Joseph signed a two-year, $17 million contract with the Los Angeles Chargers.