Levi Drake Rodriguez wrestled past the center and into the backfield to chase down Brandon Allen.

Rodriguez's dark hair flowed loosely behind him as he sacked the Titans QB for a loss of 10.

"I saw the slide coming to me, and I knew the center was double-hand punching, so it was a cool little cross chop, and I got home," Rodriguez said after Minnesota's final preseason game of 2025. "It felt great. I needed that."

KFAN's Ben Leber called it a "beautiful" play during the radio broadcast.

"For all those listening … It was an inside chop with his right hand, he dipped that same right arm and kind of ripped through the half edge of that defender," Leber described.

With a motor that seemingly never stops, Rodriguez's splash play added to an already impressive training camp and preseason that recently was paused due to an injury.

"Man, it felt so good [to be back out there]. Cleats on the turf, movin', having some confidence out there," Rodriguez said. "It felt great."

And though Minnesota ultimately lost 23-13 in Tennessee, the final exhibition contest allowed young defenders to make one last case ahead of upcoming roster cuts. Teams must reduce their rosters to 53 players by 3 p.m. (CT) on Aug. 26.

Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah joined Paul Allen, Pete Bercich and Leber in the KFAN radio booth during Friday's third quarter; it was during that segment Rodriguez logged the sack.

Adofo-Mensah noted it's "great" to see the pass rusher back.

"You know, there's second-unit players in training camp who take a ton of reps in practice and then have to go play a game a day later," Adofo-Mensah said. "I'm excited to see him with fresh legs do his thing."

The Vikings GM commented on Rodriguez's sack of Allen and what it showed him.

"He has elite pass-rushing skills," Adofo-Mensah said, "And sometimes that can actually work against you when you get to your second move when you don't need to, but [the game is starting to slow down for him], and that was a great example of that, that rush."

Rodriguez said he's become incredibly comfortable within Minnesota's defensive line group, which has helped him find success.

"Love our boys, man. Just grind every day," he said. "It doesn't matter how we feel; we freakin' work. It's an honor to just play with our boys and see everybody grow mentally, physically, spiritually, especially during the game."

Rodriguez also contributed on a sack by Jonathan Harris, flushing Titans starting QB Cam Ward out of the pocket before he was swallowed by Harris.

The Vikings third sack of the evening came at the hands of rookie LB Austin Keys. The "Mississippi Bullfrog" joined Minnesota out of Auburn as an undrafted free agent this spring and has shown up a handful of times on big plays in practice.

Keys, who started Friday's game, also added four tackles, a tackle for loss and a QB hit.

Another undrafted rookie flashed in Chaz Chambliss, who led the Vikings in tackles with seven. Just before the end of the game, Chambliss dropped RB Jordan Mims for a 3-yard loss that helped stop the Titans from adding another TD to the scoring column.

Linebacker Cam Gill, who just signed with Minnesota on Aug. 13, and safety Mishael Powell had six tackles. Powell especially shined on a big down in the fourth quarter. Titans QB (formerly a Viking) Trevor Siemian got off a pass to WR James Proche II on third-and-15, but a monster hit by Powell stopped Proche 7 yards short of the sticks and forced Tennessee to settle for a 30-yard field goal.

Vikings 2025 draft picks Kobe King and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins started the game and each garnered attention on plays, as well. King tackled Ward on a third-down scramble in the first quarter, allowing the QB to gain just a yard and force a Titans three-and-punt. Later that quarter, King tackled RB Kalel Mullings for no gain.

Dawkins had two tackles but also deflected an Allen pass late in the second quarter; another incompletion followed, and the Titans punted.

Friday's game provided ample opportunity for players who haven't gotten as many practice snaps as those higher on the depth chart.

"You find out what they learned," Vikings Coach Kevin O'Connell said. "You find out who can learn, maybe, without the maximum number of reps. Because you go into training camp and you try to communicate to those guys that reps are coming, so maximize your walk-through reps, maximize your meeting time when you're going through the practice tape and you're watching somebody else get coached up at the positions. You've gotta be able to apply that.

"That is such life for a lot of young players in this league, to be ready for their moment when called upon," O'Connell continued. "We've had a lot of guys — a lot of guys who came in under different circumstances, whether it's a rookie minicamp tryout guy who catches the eye of his position coach, or it's a guy like Max [Brosmer] or Myles Price, and you just go down the line.

"Especially on the defensive side, there's some guys who really came on and started to get some real work with the first and second units," he added. "I told the team, this group came together in a way that you could feel it. You can feel it in the locker room. We've got a lot of hard decisions to make."

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