Vikings Pick Up a New Rookie
On Tuesday, two days after a nice primetime victory over the Dallas Cowboys, the Minnesota Vikings announced a roster move, adding Caleb Etienne to the team. On social media, the official team account broke the news, “The #Vikings have signed T Caleb Etienne to the practice squad.”
Caleb Etienne Bolsters OL Depth
It’s certainly not a splash signing by any means, but auditioning a rookie blocker with three games remaining isn’t a bad idea. He also had a try-out with the Indianapolis Colts on Monday and with the Packers a couple of weeks ago.
Etienne is a large human being, standing 6’7″ and 329 lbs, according to the team’s website. People might wonder if he’s related to running backs Travis and Trevor Etienne, but he is not.
He’ll join the practice squad. His college journey was quite eventful, starting at Fort Scott (2019) and Butler (2020), and then transferring to Oklahoma State (2021-2022) and BYU (2023 and 2024). In his four seasons in the Big 12, he appeared in 38 games. Etienne then declared for the draft but didn’t hear his name called.
Because of his size, he lacks quickness, but he still provides decent athleticism.
His physical tools earned him an endorsement from NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein: “From a tape standpoint, Etienne looks more like an undrafted free agent, but his traits will make him hard to pass up as a late-round lottery ticket. Though he has the size, length and athletic explosiveness teams covet, his fundamentals are a work in progress, and he doesn’t always play with the aggression that will be needed on the next level. If a team can stash him for a couple of years and fine-tune his technique, Etienne could become a much better player.”
After the event, he signed a contract with the Cincinnati Bengals. The blocker got reps in all three preseason games, playing a total of 72 snaps, all of which took place at left tackle. He allowed three QB pressures and a sack.
As part of the final roster cuts to trim the number of players to 53, the Bengals waived the rookie with an injury designation. He then reverted to their injury reserve as an unclaimed waiver player. Those guys are forced to sit out the entire season, but an injury settlement prevented that from happening. Etienne had been a free agent until the Vikings finally ended his search for a new job.
Perhaps the signing is part of the preparation for a potential Christian Darrisaw season-ender. The star left tackle has been in and out of the lineup all year, as he’s dealing with the knee injury suffered 14 months ago. Shutting him down for the remainder of the year should be under consideration. The final games are meaningless from a win-loss standpoint, and he should take care of the knee to get past the injury in time for next season.
The offensive tackle depth behind starters Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill consists of Justin Skule, Blake Brandel, and Walter Rouse on the 53-man roster. Etienne is the only listed tackle on the practice squad, though Henry Byrd played there in the preseason. The Vikings list him as a guard.
Etienne is 24 years old. He’s unlikely to see game action this season, but he’s worth a look, given his athleticism.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.