Former Vikings safety Husain Abdullah returns to NFL with Chiefs
Get the 1500 ESPN SportsWire delivered to your inbox daily, and keep up with all the news in Twin Cities Sports
Husain Abdullah is coming back to the NFL. Just not with the Minnesota Vikings.
The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Monday they've signed Abdullah, who played four years for the Vikings before sitting out last season to go on a religious pilgrimage. Terms were not disclosed.
Abdullah, 27, signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent out of Washington State. He played on special teams his first two seasons, then beat out Tyrell Johnson for a starting job in 2010 training camp and started 24 games over the next seasons.
The Vikings offered Abdullah a contract extension early in the 2011 season. But he turned it down, not wanting to lose focus on the game, and ended up on injured reserve because of a series of concussions.
Abdullah received clearance to return from two top neurologists before he and his brother, fellow NFL defensive back Hamza Abdullah, decided to skip the 2012 season and make a pilgrimage to Mecca during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The Vikings drafted safety Harrison Smith in the first round of last year's NFL draft and didn't show interest in bringing back Abdullah following the pilgrimage. The Chiefs worked him out two weeks ago.
