Former Vikings Defender Promoted in Tennessee
Fifteen days ago, the Minnesota Vikings shaved their roster from 91 players to 53 in preparation for the regular season.
Former Vikings Defender Promoted in Tennessee
Long-time defensive tackle James Lynch was an odd man out during roster cuts but landed with the Tennessee Titans’ practice squad soon after. Fast-forward to Week 2 of the NFL season, and Lynch will be promoted to the active roster.
KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweeted Wednesday, “Titans sign James Lynch to active roster, sign Kyron Johnson to practice squad.”
Lynch joins these Titans defensive tackles on the gameday depth chart:
- Jeffery Simmons
- T’Vondre Sweat
- Sebastian Joseph-Day
- Keondre Coburn
- James Lynch
Lynch didn’t make the Vikings’ 2024 roster because of emergences from DTs Levi Drake Rodriguez, Jalen Redmond, and Taki Taimani. But he’ll get an honest-to-goodness shake at regular season playing time as a Titan.
The Vikings reunited with Lynch in May, about three weeks after the 2024 NFL Draft, a team he belonged to since 2020. The defensive lineman had spent his entire career in Minnesota after starring at Baylor. In 2019, he earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors. He was also named unanimous first-team All-American after recording 13.5 sacks in his junior season.
Coming into the NFL, Lynch was considered undersized to be a true nose tackle, and there were doubts that his production would translate to the NFL at the defensive end position. The Vikings still gave him a shot, and he played for them in his first three seasons.
In 37 contests (three starts), Lynch made 53 tackles, two sacks, and four tackles for loss. While he only logged 59 snaps on defense in his debut season, his role grew in years two and three to a total of 581 plays on defense, almost evenly distributed.
Potentially on tap to claim a starting spot in 2023 or a significant role on the underwhelming defensive line rotation, Lynch tore his ACL in training camp. The Vikings placed him on IR in August, and his season ended before it even began.
Considering the state of the Vikings defensive line now — it’s pretty average — Lynch had a reasonable chance of making the 53-man roster this summer, to no avail.
Tennessee clumsily lost to the Chicago Bears in Week 1, a sloppy, topsy-turvy affair at Soldier Field that ended with a mind-bogglingly bad interception from quarterback Will Levis. The Titans hope to rebound this weekend at home versus the New York Jets, a team that also looked clumsy to start the season.
Lynch will turn 26 in January.
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Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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