Commanders Sign Former Vikings Tight End
Minnesota only employs five tight ends since the surprising retirement of Minnesota native Ben Ellefson. Nick Muse and Johnny Mundt are the two athletes who are fighting for one roster spot behind star TE T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver, a new signing. A former member of the team’s tight end group, Brandon Dillon, joined a new team, the Washington Commanders.
Commanders Sign Former Vikings Tight End
Dillon signed with the Vikings in 2019 after he went undrafted. He played college football at Marian University. Playing against lower-level competition never helps prospects in the pre-draft process. Regardless, Dillon made it into the NFL.
In addition to his college career against subpar competition, Dillon was undrafted and those players are always massive underdogs to make the 53-man roster. The tight end didn’t care and made the team anyway after some excellent preseason outings. His debut came in the season opener in 2019 where he played seven snaps on offense.
Already exceeding expectations, the Vikes waived him a couple of days after the game and added him to the practice squad instead. He also received another contract after the season and his journey to make the roster started all over again.
This time, Dillon didn’t make it but earned, once again, a spot on the practice squad. He appeared in three games in 2020 and recorded his first career catch for six yards.
Earning another year on the practice squad, the Vikings released the former NAIA standout in December 2021. He had short stints with the Jets and Saints but was unable to make a team in 2022.
Dillon is now on his fourth team and is trying to clinch a roster spot. One of those valuable spots might have opened for him because Armani Rogers suffered a torn Achilles tendon last week.
The Commanders also employ starter Logan Thomas and depth players Cole Turner, Curtis Hodges, and John Bates. It should be considered one of the worst TE groups in the NFL, so Dillon has a shot to make the team. The 26-year-old played in five games for the Mike Zimmer-led team.
Washington also had Cameron Dantzler on the team until he was released to make room for Dillon’s signing. The cornerback spent his first three seasons in Minnesota but neither the Zimmer regime nor the successors were big fans of his.
He surprisingly landed in the doghouse in back-to-back years with different coaching staffs in the building despite the team’s inability to find quality cornerbacks. The release after only a couple of months with the franchise is a bad sign for his future NFL career.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and Classic rock is his music genre of choice. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt
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