Vikings Add Experienced Tight End
The Minnesota Vikings have reached preparation time for the first preseason contest of the year. It’ll be the first chance for the rookies to get playing time against NFL competition, but without many of the top stars on either side. One Vikings rookie, however, won’t be part of that matchup: Gavin Bartholomew.
Vikings Add Experienced Tight End
Minnesota’s sixth-round pick has not participated in training camp because of a back injury. He was stashed on the PUP list to start camp and has yet to come off, unlike fellow rookie Chaz Chambliss. Giovanni Ricci was added earlier this offseason when Bartholomew was set to miss some time.
On Monday, the club announced another tight end addition. Nick Vannett has joined the Skol Squad. Tackle Marcellus Johnson was waived for him. Steven Stilianos, another available tight end, had a workout with the Vikings on Sunday, but Vannett got the nod.
The club wrote on the website: “The Vikings on Monday added a veteran tight end to the locker room. Minnesota announced the signing of Nick Vannett, who is entering his 10th NFL season.”
Vannett, 32, is the newest Viking. He spent last year with the Tennessee Titans.
The Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling noted via social media post: “The #Vikings signed 10th-year tight end Nick Vannett, adding the veteran once known as ‘Baby Gronk’ to their roster with Gavin Bartholomew still on the PUP list.”
The veteran explained the nickname in 2016 (he has been in the league for quite some time), when he was a rookie for the Seattle Seahawks. He was asked about what his nickname was: “The one I’ve gotten throughout the process has been ‘Baby Gronk,’ but that’s just something that someone on Twitter gave me and it kind of blew up to be a little bit of a big deal, but not really.”
In college, Vannett played for Ohio State, and he caught 55 passes for 585 yards and six touchdowns in 44 games. Most of his statistical damage, at least touchdown-wise, came in 2014 when he found the endzone five times with quarterback J.T. Barrett en route to a national championship.
In the NFL, he continued to be a TE2 or TE3 statistically, without any major outbursts. His most receiving yards in a season were 269 yards (in 2018), and he caught a career-high of three touchdowns that year, too (he tied that number last season).
In 2019, the final year of his rookie contract, Vannett was traded to Pittsburgh in exchange for a fifth-round pick. He then spent one season with the Broncos in the following year, and nearly two seasons with the Saints, but New Orleans said “goodbye” late in the 2022 campaign. The remainder of the season, Vannett played for the New York Giants, where he also participated in the Vikings’ elimination with the unstoppable offense (at least for the Vikings) led by Daniel Jones.
Vannett didn’t make the Texans’ roster in 2023, but the Chargers picked him up. Finally, he played in all 17 games (ten starts) for the Titans last year. Throughout his NFL career, Vannett has played in 111 games (53 starts) and caught 108 passes for 1,012 yards and nine touchdowns. He has seen game action with seven different organizations and hopes the Vikings will be his eighth.
Vannett is not the most prolific player, but he can compete for the vacated TE3 spot behind T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver, especially with Bartholomew out. His top competition seems to be undrafted rookie Ben Yurosek.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.