Vikings Rookie’s Season Reportedly in Jeopardy
The Minnesota Vikings have announced their initial 53-man roster. Some more changes are expected, but for now, 11 rookies remain on the roster, including seven undrafted rookies (Max Brosmer, Joe Huber, Ben Yurosek, Chaz Chambliss, Elijah Williams, Myles Price, and Austin Keys) and four draft picks (Donovan Jackson, Tai Felton, Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, and Kobe King).
Vikings Rookie’s Season Reportedly in Jeopardy
Vikings experts know that GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah left the draft with five, not four rookies. Unfortunately, one player remains injured and has not been included in the 53-man roster for that reason.
Tight end Gavin Bartholomew has been sidelined by a back injury for months, and it looks like his absence will continue for an extended period of time.
He was placed on the Reserve/PUP list (Physical Unable to Perform). That will automatically rule him out for the first four games of the year.
The Athletic’s Alec Lewis noted that it could be even worse, “Sounds like TE Gavin Bartholomew’s back injury is serious enough to keep him out for the duration of the season. Likely to revert to the IR from the 53.”
Once that time on the PUP list is over, the Vikings could open the practice window and activate him. If they don’t, he’ll land on season-ending IR.
Bartholomew was selected in the sixth round to replace departed tight end Johnny Mundt, who signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell was pleased with that decision and 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.”
The film evaluation from his time in Pittsburgh showed 105 catches for 1,257 yards and 11 scores. He has a solid athletic profile, although everyone who has ever written a scouting report seems to agree that he needs to add some weight. Still, his measurements show an explosive tight end.
The 22-year-old won’t be on the field for a while, and the Vikings went with undrafted rookie Yurosek at the TE3 spot. The first-year player with a long tenure at Stanford and one season at Georgia in his resume doesn’t have Bartholomew’s receiving talent, but he is a decent blocker, which he certainly proved in the preseason.
He had a fantastic 77.4 PFF pass-blocking grade and an 80.0 in the running game. Granted, that’s a small sample size of eight and 29 reps, but it’s a good start. The 80.0 ranked him sixth among all preseason tight ends with at least 20 run-blocking snaps.
In the first four games of the season, the Vikings will be without fullback C.J. Ham, who landed on IR (he can return as early as Week 5). Furthermore, they will have a depleted receiving corps, with Jordan Addison drawing his suspension, and Jalen Nailor’s status remains a mystery due to his hand injury.
Both of those elements could lead to Yurosek getting some extra snaps as the Vikings could deploy three tight ends or even ask him to slide into the fullback role.
As harsh as it sounds, the NFL is a zero-sum game. If Bartholomew can’t play, the next man will be called up, and in this case, that’s Yurosek. At this point, it doesn’t appear that the rookie will be available this season.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.