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.
T.J. Hockenson is on his way back to the Minnesota Vikings’ lineup, eyeing a Week 7 or 8 return versus the Detroit Lions or Los Angeles Rams.
But Dalton Risner’s return, a man also on the shelf due to injury, has been a bit more mysterious.
Thanks to Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, though, a bit of an update dribbled out this week — O’Connell will clarify Risner’s return after the bye, which follows Sunday’s game in London. His practice window opened will not be opened on Friday, like Hockenson’s.
“More than likely, we’re going to hold off on Dalton. I’ll circle back with you guys after the bye,” O’Connell told reporters on Wednesday.
Risner injured his back this summer, and the team designated him out for at least the season’s first four games. The Vikings will open Hockenson’s practice window on Friday, but they’ll evidently hold off on Risner until Week 7 or so. ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted in late August, just one day before the Vikings trimmed their roster from 91 players to 53: “Vikings are placing offensive lineman Dalton Risner on IR. He will be eligible to come back after four games.”
All summer last year, Vikings faithful pounded the table for the then-free-agent guard. In September 2023, Minnesota’s front office finally obliged, adding the veteran lineman on a one-year deal. He stole folks’ hearts with his performance and lovable persona, but when the 2024 offseason rolled around, Risner didn’t initially re-sign with the Vikings until May 2024. Fans rejoiced, but then Risner’s summer bent underwhelmingly, mainly because of the injury.
Risner’s overall PFF grade of 57.1 didn’t set records, but his 67.4 pass-blocking score was music to the ears of Vikings fans. For years — arguably a decade — Vikings enthusiasts asked for a competent pass-blocking guard or two, and the wish was granted in 2023 with the Ed Ingram and Risner’s midseason addition.
When the 2023 season wrapped up and former left guard Ezra Cleveland was long gone via trade to the Jacksonville Jaguars, most Vikings fans believed Risner would re-sign in Minnesota after a successful first campaign. But then March, April, and most of May hit — with crickets. Meanwhile, Risner hired superagent Drew Rosenhaus in March, a sign that he wanted to avoid last year’s weird silence. The Rosenhaus plan came to fruition in May but encountered a hiccup with the recent IR trip.
Risner signed a one-year deal worth up to $2.4 million this season.
When he turns — which will effectively be as the season’s midpoint, at best — he could snag a starter’s job at right guard, depending on Ingram’s performance, or play a reserve role.
Risner turned 29 in July.
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 MIN 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.
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