Feb 9, 2023; Phoenix, Arizona, US; Denver Broncos guard Dalton Risner Poses for a photo poses for a photo on the red carpet before the NFL Honors award show at Symphony Hall. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports.
The man is back. He said so himself.
Dalton Risner rejoined the Minnesota Vikings on Wednesday after four months of inaction via contract extension and 2.5 months of solitude on the free-agent market.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted Wednesday, 99 days before the start of the NFL season, “The Vikings are re-signing veteran guard Dalton Risner on a 1-year deal that has a signing bonus, per-game and 53-man bonuses and incentives if he’s the majority of season starter, sources say.”
Several sources piled on to confirm the move, and the veteran lineman is back in the Twin Cities. And it didn’t take long for Risner to join the social media celebration.
Risner used the X app to confirm his new contract and seemed over the moon about the Minnesota reunion. First, he posted this video, a highlight from the 2023 season in a game where the Vikings chipped off the New Orleans Saints at U.S. Bank Stadium in Week 10.
That moment alone may have solidified Risner’s lovability for Vikings fans, with the celebratory kick as the grand crescendo. Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah signed Risner last September, and soon after, he seized a starter’s job previously held by Ezra Cleveland.
The video from Risner wasn’t the only social media post. He also channeled his inner 1995 Michael Jordan with an “I’m Back” tweet:
When the 2023 season concluded, and the aforementioned Cleveland was long gone via trade to the Jacksonville Jaguars, most Vikings fans thought Risner would re-sign in Minnesota after a prosperous first campaign. But then March, April, and most of May hit — with nothing. Meanwhile, Risner hired superagent Drew Rosenhaus in March, a sign that he wanted to avoid last year’s weird silence. The Rosenhaus plan all worked out this week.
Dalton sat down for an interview with KIBW in April and expressed befuddlement about his unemployment: “I’m still just undervalued. I mean, last year, I didn’t get a job until September. And the team that gave me a shot, I showed up there, and their four-year starter, within three weeks, I beat him out for the job, ended up trading him away, and I played 11 games. They relied on me every Sunday. I thought things would change this offseason, here I am, in April, about to be May and I don’t have a job and it’s unfortunate.”
That confusion was all for nil when the dust settled, and Risner will presumably regain his starting LG job in no time. It’s worth noting, however, that Minnesota’s coaching staff has sung the praises of Blake Brandel, a veteran lineman who was on tap to replace Risner.
The terms of Risner’s new deal were not available at the time of this article’s publication.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.