after spending 2011 out of football, james saxon (the running backs assistant) convinced head coach leslie frazier to give asiata another shot in the offseason of 2012. on january 5, 2012, asiata was re-signed by the team. at the start of the 2012 season, asiata earned a roster spot due to his special teams abilities and was named the third running back on the vikings depth chart, beating out other running backs jordan todman and lex hilliard.