Vikings Make 4th Roster Move of Week
The trend of former Green Bay Packers players flooding onto the Minnesota Vikings’ depth chart is alive and well.
Vikings Make 4th Roster Move of Week
Early this offseason, Aaron Jones signed his name on the purple team’s dotted line. Now, tight end Robert Tonyan is the latest.
“Another former Packers player is coming to Minnesota: the Vikings are signing tight and Robert Tonyan, who caught 137 passes for 1,437 yards and 11 touchdowns in five seasons with GB. Tonyan is completing his NFC North tour with the move; he’s spent time with both DET and CHI,” Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling tweeted on Thursday.
The move made Minnesota’s tight end room unusually deep, perhaps in preparation for life without T.J. Hockenson to start the 2024 season, a man still recovering from a torn ACL. As of May 16th, this is the Vikings TE depth chart:
- T.J. Hockenson
- Josh Oliver
- Robert Tonyan
- Johnny Mundt
- Nick Muse
- Trey Knox
- Sammis Reyes
Many of the team’s fans believe WR3, defensive tackle, and left guard remain clear roster needs, but tight end was evidently a priority. Tonyan, 30, encountered a quiet season with the Chicago Bears in 2023, receiving just 17 targets in 17 games while banking 11 receptions for 112 yards. Before 2023, Tonyan spent five seasons in Green Bay, with 1,437 yards on 148 catches for 17 touchdowns in 68 games as a Packer. At times, he was one of Aaron Rodgers’ favorite targets.
Adding Tonyan could signal a Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list fate for the aforementioned Hockenson, who said this week his return has no timetable. “They haven’t really put a timeline on it. We’re just kinda taking it day by day, week by week, there’s just so many variables that you can go through in this process,” Hockenson told NFL.com on Thursday.
“I’m doing really good right now. We’re attacking each process. I’m attacking each one, and it’s been awesome; the progression has been incredible,” he added.
Most believed Oliver and Mundt would hold down the fort until Hockenson’s return, but Tonyan thickens the plot. The battle-tested veteran could reasonably make the 53-man roster. Stay tuned.
Tonyan is the most recent in a long list of Packers defectors to join the Vikings in the last few years, including Bashaud Breeland, Chandon Sullivan, Za’Darius Smith, Dean Lowry, Aaron Jones — and now Tonyan.
The Vikings’ offense ranked 18th in the NFL last year per EPA/Play, with quarterback Kirk Cousins, Joshua Dobbs, Nick Mullens, and Jaren Hall at the helm.
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.
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