Vikings’ Recent Actions Could Be Bad News For a Rookie
Last year, cornerback Mekhi Blackmon suffered a torn ACL in the first practice session of training camp, and the Vikings had to find a replacement, as his potential breakout season was unfortunately over. This time, no such injury has taken place, but Gavin Bartholomew’s injury status remains in the spotlight.
Vikings’ Recent Actions Could Be Bad News For a Rookie
The rookie tight end was placed on the PUP list prior to the start of camp, and it turned out to be a back injury. Two weeks later, and there still haven’t been any signs of the sixth-rounder, allowing others to get more opportunities.
On Sunday, the Vikings worked out free agent tight end Steven Stilianos, further indicating that Bartholomew’s injury will last.
James Larsen, who is covering the UFL, reported Sunday, “News: The Minnesota #Vikings worked out @XFLBrahmas Steven Stilianos today, per source. The former Iowa product joined San Antonio early in the #UFL season, immediately making an impact. Even threw a TD on a trick play. Also worked out w/ #Bills in July.”
The Bills didn’t sign him, and at this point, neither have the Vikings.
Stilianos started his college career at Lafayette, from where he transferred to Iowa in 2022. He caught 65 passes for 534 yards and five touchdowns in four seasons at Lafayette, but it’s worth noting that he played in only three and four games in 2020 and 2021, respectively. At Iowa, he recorded another eight catches for 96 yards in two seasons.
He went undrafted in 2024 and joined the Titans, but has yet to appear in an NFL game, as he was cut after last year’s training camp. This spring, however, Stilianos played for Kellen Mond’s San Antonio Brahmas, tabulating 15 catches for 86 yards and one score, in addition to one touchdown pass for 38 yards.
Signing a player with those kinds of numbers wouldn’t be the most impressive move, but with the preseason coming up, and also in practice, healthy bodies are needed. T.J. Hockenson recently left practice with what appeared to be a groin injury. If he’s out, that would leave the Vikings with only Josh Oliver, undrafted rookies Ben Yurosek and Bryson Nesbit, and veteran Giovanni Ricci.
Yurosek could be the big winner of his teammates’ injuries. He got some run with the first-team offense following Hockenson’s exit, and with Bartholomew’s murky situation, he has a clear path for the vacated TE3 role that opened when Johnny Mundt signed with the Jaguars in March.
The preseason will be vital for him, as neither Hockenson nor Oliver should be expected to get much run. Kevin O’Connell usually holds established players out of preseason action.
Bartholomew’s situation is unfortunate, especially because the first-year player drew some early praise from Kevin O’Connell, who said in May: “Gavin, you know, it’s always a position that sometimes between the film evaluation, the Pro Day, seeing the tape of it, you just hope they show up and look the way you hope they look. And Gavin definitely did.”
His back injury continues to be an item to monitor.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.