Former Viking Signs with Chargers
After leaving for the offseason and the first few games of the 2024 regular season, one former Minnesota Vikings linebacker will return to the Los Angeles Chargers’ roster.
Former Viking Signs with Chargers
He’s Blake Lynch, on deck for a reunion in Tinseltown.
KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson broke the news on Monday, a day after the Chargers lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-10. Los Angeles owns a 2-1 record this season.
Presumably joining the Chargers’ practice squad, Lynch will be a member of this inside linebacking corps:
- Daiyan Henley
- Denzel Perryman
- Junior Colson
- Troy Dye
- Shaq Quarterman
- Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste (Practice Squad)
And, yes, that’s former Viking Troy Dye on the list, who spent his entire rookie contract in Minnesota.
On Lynch, he spent the 2023 offseason with the Seattle Seahawks but didn’t make the cut on roster trimdown day four weeks ago. He basically took about a month off, and later, he got the call from Los Angeles, his 2023 employer. Here’s Lynch’s career resume to date:
- Minnesota Vikings (2020–2021)
- Arizona Cardinals (2022–2023)
- Los Angeles Chargers (2023)
- Seattle Seahawks (2024, preseason)
- Los Angeles Chargers (2024)
The Vikings found Lynch as an undrafted free agent before the pandemic season in 2020, and he stayed on the roster for a smidgen over two seasons (if one counts the 2022 preseason). In total, Lynch played 20 games for the Vikings while starting seven. He’s notched 51 total tackles, three passes defended, two sacks, a tackle for loss, and a QB hit since 2020.
The Baylor alumnus was on the Vikings’ roster bubble in 2022 but fell short to rookie Brian Asamoah and the aforementioned Dye. Lynch could’ve joined Minnesota’s 2022 practice squad, in theory, but the Vikings chose rookie linebacker William Kwenkeu instead.
Lynch did not play in any regular season games in 2022 but found action on 131 special teams snaps for the 2023 Chargers. In fact, the man hasn’t played a defensive snap since 2021 — Mike Zimmer‘s swan-song season in Minnesota.
He recorded a 64.6 grade from Pro Football Focus in 2021, though, and a 34.1 as a rookie in 2020 (the two seasons he actually played defense). He was a mainstay of the Vikings special teams unit in 2021, playing 342 snaps with that group. Perhaps special teams will eventually become his assignment with the Chargers
The Chargers’ schedule takes another tricky turn this weekend after they won the first two games. On Sunday, they host the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs at SoFi Stadium.
Lynch will turn 28 in February.
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.
You must be logged in to post a comment.