An Unsung Competition Will Be on Full Display in the Preseason
On Saturday, the Minnesota Vikings will open their annual trio of preseason matchups, when the Houston Texans come to U.S. Bank Stadium for the first time since losing to the purple squad early in last season. Danielle Hunter is unlikely to play, but Vikings fans will get their look at Ed Ingram wearing a different uniform this time.
An Unsung Competition Will Be on Full Display in the Preseason
Will Fries will play in his old spot in the regular season, and the rumor mill has suggested that he will suit up on Saturday, which might be a little surprising, considering he just returned from a fractured tibia a couple of weeks ago.
More fascinating is the duel for the fourth edge rushing spot. The three top guys, Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Dallas Turner, will either be sidelined for the entire preseason or get a handful of reps to regain playing speed.
The edges will still be fought for, with Gabriel Murphy, Bo Richter, and Tyler Batty eyeing the fourth rotational job that helped Turner play 300 snaps last year. All three went undrafted (Batty this year; Richter and Murphy in 2024), and the Vikings spent some cash to lure them to the Twin Cities.
Bo Richter
Richter played his college ball at Air Force, and he registered 20 tackles for loss and ten sacks in his final season. At 6’1″, Richter is undersized, but he makes up for it with a ridiculous motor and tremendous athleticism, displayed in a 4.56 40-yard dash before his draft. He also had a 40-inch vertical jump.
He splashed in last year’s preseason with multiple plays behind the line of scrimmage and secured a roster spot. In the regular season, the defender appeared in 14 games, playing 267 snaps on special teams and another 29 on defense.
His task is to show more promise on defense, while continuing to make noise as a special teamer.
Gabriel Murphy
Murphy was highly productive in his last collegiate season at UCLA, when he collected 16 TFLs and eight sacks. A highly-touted UDFA a year ago, he missed most of the season due to injury. Once he returned, however, he was immediately slotted ahead of Richter on the defensive depth chart.
The 24-year-old appeared in only two games and still managed to play more defensive snaps than Richter all year (35). Conversely, he doesn’t have Richter’s special-teams prowess and therefore needs to be a QB threat to keep his job.
Tyler Batty
Unlike the other two, Tyler Batty isn’t undersized. In fact, he stands 6’6″ and 271 lbs, making him one of the bigger outside linebackers in the business. Already 26 years old (which isn’t too unusual for BYU alumni), Batty has played a ton of college football, amassing 224 tackles and 16.5 sacks over the last five years.
The Vikings opened the checkbook to lure him to the Twin Cities; it’s now on him to surpass his two challengers. His motor has always drawn some praise, and perhaps adding some special teams ability to his repertoire makes sense to unseat Richter.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.