Vikings Officially Sign Another Tight End
One of the big questions for the Minnesota Vikings this offseason revolves around the health of TE T.J. Hockenson.
The Pro Bowler suffered a torn ACL and torn MCL against the Detroit Lions in Week 16 of the 2023 regular season, and he has been on the shelf ever since. As a result, the Vikings have decided to add some additional depth through the International Player Pathway on Monday, inking Sammis Reyes to a deal.
Vikings Sign TE Sammis Reyes
The official Vikings social media account posted on Monday, “The #Vikings have signed TE @SammisReyes. Reyes is joining the team through the International Player Pathway (IPP) program and does not count against the 90-player offseason roster limit.”
Reyes has had a very interesting path to the NFL. Despite being 28 years old, Reyes is actually still very new to the sport of football. After growing up in Chile, he committed to the University of Hawaii on a basketball scholarship before transferring to Tulane in 2016.
Reyes graduated from Tulane and continued playing basketball until 2019. He then decided to apply for the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program in 2020, and after being approved, he joined the Washington Commanders for the 2021 season.
Reyes would appear in 11 games during that season, including a start. In total, he played 39 snaps with the offense and 145 with the special teams, recording a pair of tackles.
He then was released by the Commanders after suffering an injury and being placed on IR during training camp. Reyes spent a couple months on the market before signing with the Chicago Bears in October, but he wouldn’t appear in any games with the team.
Reyes then spent a portion of the 2023 season with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but again, he didn’t make any appearances in games.
Of course, the Vikings still employ one of the deeper tight end rooms in the entire NFL despite the fact that they may be without Hockenson for a few games. Josh Oliver can serve as an outstanding blocker with the athleticism to handle some receiving duties. Meanwhile, Johnny Mundt has been hailed as the “best TE3” in the NFL by head coach Kevin O’Connell and has proven capable of starting for the Vikings in the past.
Still, Reyes can be a security blanket on the backend of the depth chart if needed. Reyes was one of the veteran players to take part in Minnesota’s rookie minicamp over this past weekend and apparently showed enough to earn a contract.
Because Reyes is an IPP player, he does not count towards Minnesota’s 90-man roster. As a result, they can bring him aboard without releasing a player.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.