Vikings Tight End Returns after Roster Cuts
The Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad is rapidly filling out — and tight end Robert Tonyan is back.
Vikings Tight End Returns after Roster Cuts
The franchise dropped Tonyan on Tuesday amid roster cuts, but arranging a reunion didn’t take long.
Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling tweeted Wednesday, “The Vikings are also adding tight end Robert Tonyan to the practice squad. The veteran looked like he could make the roster until back spasms kept him off the field for the preseason.”
Tonyan has been hampered by back spasms for the last several weeks, canceling his preseason participation and allowing fellow TEs like Johnny Mundt and Nick Muse to surpass him on the depth chart. Now joining the practice squad, Tonyan will remain in the mix of Vikings football, just a call-up away from the gameday roster.
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.
The veteran 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 Tonyan.
Heading into roster trimdown week, some Vikings-themed voices began to see the writing on the wall indicating Tonyan’s exclusion from the 53-man roster. KSTP’s Darren Wolfson said on SKOR North eight days ago, “Tonyan, he got a good chance here, but this, to me, signifies that his body might just be done.”
Wolfson added, “It’s a phenomenally tough sport, he’s a big guy, he’s obviously taken a pounding, I wonder if this is the end of the road here. I don’t see a path here.”
Tonyan’s practice squad addition is fascinating because Minnesota needs depth until TE1 T.J. Hockenson returns. Hockenson is on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list and will miss at least four games to start the season. A productive Tonyan, in theory, could aid the offense in Hockenson’s absence, especially in the redzone.
At the time of this article’s publication, the Vikings added other notable veterans to the practice squad, such as Myles Gaskin, Bobby McCain, and Jonah Williams. By the end of the week, that part of the roster will feature 16 players.
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.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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