Rookie Tight End Elevated off Vikings Practice Squad Again

Oct 16, 2021; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks tight end Nick Muse (9) celebrates a touchdown against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Vikings have continuously been forced to shuffle their tight end lineups for a multitude of reasons. Between injuries, trades, and other teams snatching players off the practice squad, it’s been a series of musical chairs for the Vikings at that position.

One member of this musical chairs game has been rookie Nick Muse. For the final time this season, the rookie tight end has been elevated off the Vikings practice squad.

It’s the final elevation due to the fact that Muse has been elevated twice prior to this week. A practice squad player is only eligible to appear on the active roster three times before he must be signed to the 53-man roster by the team.

Those previous elevations occurred in Weeks 5 and 9. During those two games, Muse’s snaps were limited to the special teams. He played six snaps in Week 5 versus the Chicago Bears and four snaps at the Washington Commanders last weekend.

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Multiple events occurred that led to Muse suiting up this weekend. Firstly, Ben Ellefson began the 21-day process towards coming back to the active roster, but ultimately, Minnesota did not activate him this weekend. Additionally, the Las Vegas Raiders signed Jacob Hollister off Minnesota’s practice squad, which gave the Vikings fewer options to choose from this week.

Vegas’ signing of Hollister came as a result of their own tight end Darren Waller heading to IR this week. Hollister can provide a presence as a receiver, which is something the Raiders need from the tight end position.

So, heading into Minnesota’s game against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, they will have three available tight ends: T.J. Hockenson, Johnny Mundt, and now Muse. The first two should once again be the priority to take snaps for the Vikings offense.

However, Muse should be an interesting player to watch in the coming weeks. The remainder of his season can play out three ways:

  1. The Vikings sign him to the active roster full-time following this week
  2. He stays on Minnesota’s practice squad for the rest of the 2022 season
  3. Another team swoops in to sign him off the practice squad, similar to Hollister’s situation

We’ll see how things play out for the 2022 seventh-round pick.

Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.

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