Vikings Retain Dalton Risner ‒ But There’s an Asterisk
The Minnesota Vikings are in the midst of trimming their roster to reach the required 53 players limit by Tuesday. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah started by showing 14 players the door on Monday, including last year’s draft choice, DeWayne McBride, quarterback Matt Corral, and undrafted rookie Owen Porter. Many more will follow on Tuesday.
Vikings Retain Dalton Risner ‒ But There’s an Asterisk
A player who won’t be axed is offensive guard Dalton Risner. The club has placed him on IR, using the league’s new rule. Earlier in the offseason, the NFL decided to adjust the IR rules. Last year, players who were supposed to land on IR with the option to return later in the season had to survive the roster cuts.
This year, two players are allowed to go on IR with an option to return, making the process much smoother. The Vikings now don’t have to keep the lineman on the roster for another day, opening the spot for someone else.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Vikings are placing offensive lineman Dalton Risner on IR. He will be eligible to come back after four games.”
His colleague from ESPN, beat writer Kevin Seifert, added: “A new rule allows NFL teams to place up to 2 players on IR as part of final cuts and still designate them to return during the season. Previously, teams had to hold that player on their initial 53 before placing them on IR. Another candidate for the Vikings is T.J. Hockenson.”
Indeed, Hockenson is a candidate. He is expected to miss the first few games of the season, although an exact timeline is still unknown. Throughout training camp, he was working on the side, not partaking in any drills with his teammates. Hockenson is still recovering from his knee surgery following the torn ACL and meniscus suffered in Week 17 against the Detroit Lions.
Risner, meanwhile, suffered a back injury a few weeks ago and hasn’t participated in practice since. He has also missed the entire preseason.
The Vikings re-signed Risner in May to compete with Blake Brandel and Ed Ingram, who had been penciled in as the starting guard duo. Entering training camp, it surely looked like that duo was set to begin the season in the starting lineup. Risner’s injury then prevented him from actually competing for the job.
Risner signed a one-year contract worth $2.41 million with various incentives. He has been a strange storyline in the last couple of offseason as he seemingly can’t find a team to pay him. While he isn’t a star lineman, he is respectable, with five seasons of starting experience under his belt.
Until Risner is eligible to return, the Vikings employ seven other interior linemen.
- Garrett Bradbury
- Ed Ingram
- Blake Brandel
- Dan Feeney
- Henry Byrd
- Tyrese Robinson
- Michael Jurgens
The top three are scheduled to start in Week 1. Dan Feeney is a veteran backup guard and center who will likely stick around. Henry Byrd and Tyrese Robinson were on the practice squad last year. Michael Jurgens was a seventh-rounder in April’s draft but mightily struggled in the preseason. He might need a year on the practice squad.
Long story short, Risner is out for the first four games but is eligible to return in Week 5.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt