Departed Vikings Blocker Joins Injury-Plagued Buccaneers
The Minnesota Vikings have emphasized the offensive line in the past offseason, acquiring Colts free agents Ryan Kelly and Will Fries, as well as first-round pick Donovan Jackson. Last season’s interior trio was entirely replaced.
Departed Vikings Blocker Joins Injury-Plagued Buccaneers
Garrett Bradbury was cut, Ed Ingram was traded to Houston, and Dalton Risner was left unsigned and will face the Vikings on Sunday. Blake Brandel is still on the team in a backup role.
The two reserve players on the interior are sophomore Michael Jurgens and Brandel, leaving no room for backup guard/center Dan Feeney. The veteran has now found a new job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team announced this week.
Tampa Bay has various problems along the offensive line, as Tristan Wirfs is still working his way back from knee surgery in the preseason. Tackle Luke Goedeke and guard Cody Mauch landed on IR. The latter is believed to be lost for the season, the former for at least four games with a foot injury.
Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com noted, “The right side of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive line will have a much different look going forward, as both guard Cody Mauch and tackle Luke Goedeke were placed on injured reserve on Thursday. Both players must miss a minimum of four games before returning to the action roster, though Mauch’s knee injury will reportedly knock him out for the remainder of the season. To fill the resulting open roster spots and restore depth to the offensive line, the Buccaneers signed Luke Haggard off their own practice squad and Dan Feeney off the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad.”
The new offensive line combination is a mystery at this point. Feeney will likely be a backup in some capacity. Recently, he was with the Buffalo Bills, with whom he signed in August. While he didn’t make the 53-man roster, he was stashed on the practice squad. Tampa Bay poached him.
The versatile interior lineman, a 2017 third-rounder, signed with the Vikings in March of last year and spent the entire season on the roster. Throughout the year, Feeney appeared in eight games, playing 40 snaps on special teams. The interior of the offensive line stayed relatively healthy with Garrett Bradbury and Blake Brandel playing every game and Ed Ingram and Dalton Risner sharing the right guard reps.
The blocker quickly earned a role with the Chargers in 2017, starting nine of 15 games. In the following three seasons, he started all 16 games each year and tabulated nearly 4,000 offensive snaps in his tenure with his first employer.
His next stint led him to the New York Jets, where he was a backup for two seasons and started seven games. In 2023, he appeared in 16 games with the Chicago Bears, also in a reserve role, before heading to Minneapolis in 2024.
Feeney might not be a superstar by any means (his PFF resume is filled with 40s and 50s, which is pretty underwhelming), but his versatility makes him a decent backup. He can play center and both guard spots. Teams have only a limited number of players available on game day, so having flexible linemen is crucial, especially when already down to backups in the starting unit.
Tampa Bay has started 2-0, rallying behind an early MVP candidate Baker Mayfield, who seems to make a push into the elite QB category with already five touchdowns and zero interceptions, fresh off a 4,500-yard and 41-touchdown campaign.
Mr. Feeney, 31 years old, might be asked to step in and protect the franchise quarterback at some point.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.