Former Viking Dalton Risner Venturing Toward Familiar Free Agency Mystery
In all likelihood, guard Dalton Risner is soon to encounter a tepid market for his services in free agency. Such an outcome is darn near an annual NFL tradition.
He most recently did his work for the Cincinnati Bengals, a team that is somehow bungling having an elite passer alongside an elite wide receiver. Continuing to put in work with the Bengals can’t be outright dismissed, but that remains to be seen. Learning where Risner finds work has been a yearly mystery that lasts for months, leading to yet another round of questions about where he’ll end up in 2026.
Guard Dalton Risner: What Level of Interest Does NFL Express?
Over on PFF, there’s a list of the NFL’s top 250 free agents. Coming in at 76th is Mr. Risner.
The word: “A regular short-term pickup by teams since leaving the Denver Broncos back in 2022, Risner simply shows up and produces in pass protection. He has yet to have a season where his PFF pass-blocking grade has fallen below 65.0, and his 71.5 PFF pass-blocking grade in 2025 ranked 18th among all guards.”
At least in theory, the NFL — a league unashamed in its proclivity for passing — should be keen to employ Dalton Risner. Then reality arrives with a different message.
The most recent season involved him playing on yet another single-season contract. He did so for a bit beyond $1.3 million. Consider that Minnesota opted to move on largely due to the addition of RG1 Will Fries, who came to town for a deal tipping the scales at close to $88 million across five years (partly contributing to the current cap crunch).
At least per PFF, Risner offered impressive play. The 69.4 grade is sturdy, placing him down at 26th overall among guards. Definitely a starter, in other words.
Digging down a bit further shows a guard who surrendered 2 sacks, 4 QB hits, and 17 pressures. So, too, did he get dinged with committing 4 penalties. Similarly notable is that he picked up work at both guard spots, offering the Bengals 142 snaps at left guard and 625 snaps at right guard. Every coaching staff will value that two-for-one versatility.
Offensive linemen tend to be different than skilled players — in particular, running backs — insofar as their game ages more gracefully. Winning in the trenches does become easier with speed and explosiveness, but ruggedness and technique can bridge the gap.
Dalton Risner, 30, could realistically have several more years of strong football in him. Does a team finally offer him the higher-level compensation he has long coveted?
The Vikings had Risner on the roster for 2023 and 2024. Neither deal surpassed $3 million per season. Even more wild is that the Bengals then picked him up for less, signing a guard who can play solid ball for less than $2 million.
NFL free agency gets rolling in the middle of March. The 6’5″ and 312-pound Dalton Risner should generate interest, but we’ll see if that interest means earning some beefy money.
For the Vikings, the greatest questions for the o-line are around the health of LT1 Christian Darrisaw and the status of C1 Ryan Kelly. Seeing Darrisaw get back to complete strength will be huge as Minnesota then looks to reinforce the center spot.
