EAGAN — George Iloka had just sat down to eat with his wife when the call came from his agent.

The Cincinnati Bengals were letting him go. So much for that quiet day off. So much for all that time in training camp perfecting the scheme. So much for the only NFL team he’d ever played for.

“But that’s the business. That’s what we kind of signed up for. Things happen. At the end of the day, you’re just a number for the most part,” Iloka said.

Fortunately for Iloka, his first defensive coordinator was interested in a reunion. The Vikings signed Iloka, a former pupil of coach Mike Zimmer, to a one-year contract on Wednesday to add yet another accomplished player to what was the best defense in the league last season.

“I’m comfortable with the system, the playbook. And this is a good team. They were real close last year. They were on the brink of making it to the Super Bowl,” Iloka said after his first practice, about five hours after boarding a plane for Minnesota. “I’m just here to help this team out anyway I can. My relationship with Zim, this facility, the kind of team that they have made it a no brainer.”

The Bengals released Iloka on Sunday to clear $5.3 million in salary cap space and make way for second-round draft pick Jessie Bates III to move into a starting role. Iloka was a fifth-round pick by the Bengals out of Boise State in 2012 and played two seasons in Zimmer’s defense before the coach was hired by the Vikings. Iloka became a starter in his second year and started 76 games for the Bengals, with nine career interceptions. Credited by the team with 230 tackles over that time, Iloka is 10th on the all-time Bengals list in that category.