Forgotten Vikings Playmaker Is Back
Remember Gavin Bartholomew? The Minnesota Vikings’ 6th-Round draft selection from April? After a long, winding road over the last eight months, the rookie tight end has returned.
If Bartholomew can handle even a small snap share, Minnesota’s offense gets more flexibility — and the roster math gets interesting fast.
Minnesota placed safety Josh Metellus on the shelf Wednesday afternoon, calling up Bartholomew from injured reserve along the way. It’s Mettelus out, and a rookie playmaker in, as the Vikings activated Bartholomew’s practice window.
Gavin Bartholomew’s Return Changes the Vikings’ TE Picture
Bartholomew is an option for the season’s final three games.
Vikings Open Bartholomew’s Practice Window
In a move few saw coming — most purple fans just assumed that he wouldn’t return this season — the Vikings pressed the button on Bartholomew, opening his practice window. They have three weeks to add him to the active roster.
CBS Sports announced Wednesday, “Bartholomew (back) was designated to return from the reserve/PUP list Wednesday. The rookie tight end from Pittsburgh was placed on the PUP list in late August due to a back issue, but it now appears he’s nearing a return.”
“Bartholomew has yet to make his NFL debut after posting 322 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 38 receptions during his final collegiate season. Once fully healthy, he’ll likely play a depth role in the Vikings’ tight-end corps.”
It’s a cool little perk for Week 16 in an otherwise lost season.
Who Is … Gavin Bartholomew?
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah spent a 6th-Round pick on Bartholomew eight months ago, and the team is waiting on the return on investment.
Here’s the skinny on Bartholomew:
Age: 22
College: Pittsburgh
Height & Weight: 6’4” | 260
Consensus Big Board Ranking: 303
Our Kyle Joudry on Bartholomew earlier this season: “Bartholomew hasn’t seen the final chapter written in his football story. Far from it. The current setback is discouraging — for him most of all — but that doesn’t mean all hope is lost for the young tight end. Working back to full health and reinserting himself into the tight end competition whenever he’s able to do so will be a welcome development in Minnesota.”
“The rest of the Vikings’ 2025 draft class has been contributing on Sunday. Donovan Jackson (when healthy) is the starting left guard while Tai Felton is a depth receiver, a menace at gunner, and a returner on kickoff. Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins has been worked into the d-line rotation while Kobe King is helping on specials.”
Whose Spot Taken?
The Vikings certainly won’t demote T.J. Hockenson or Josh Oliver to make room for Bartholomew. And it sounds as if the rookie will live on the active roster before too long.
That would make Ben Sims and/or Ben Yurosek the odd men out, two relative newcomers to Vikings football. Yurosek is a rookie and undrafted free agent who’s seen action here and there this season on offense and on special teams.
Sims came from the Packers, a signing when the aforementioned Oliver fell injured not long ago.
Minnesota rarely rolls into a gameday with five tight ends, so expect Sims or Yurosek to be waived when Bartholomew is activated — and probably re-added to the practice squad.
A Chance to Salvage a Lost Season
Bartholomew is playing with a little bit of house money. Everyone forgot about him.
The rookie playmaker has a chance to get some targets from J.J. McCarthy this week or next, or at the very least, see action on special teams. Most fans — this website included — had written off Bartholomew for all of 2025, and many had already penciled him in as a draft failure.
Not so fast.
Bartholomew has a three-game trial to strut his stuff and possibly nail down a TE3 job in 2026. That’s how the operation works when a team is eliminated from postseason contention by early December. See who has the juice for the following season. It’s good timing for Bartholomew’s return to health.
PPTSD on Bartholomew
Our Janik Eckardt noted on Bartholomew, “Bartholomew now has a three-week window in which the Vikings need to activate him or he’s out for the season. Given that only three games remain, the latter part doesn’t matter.
“He has never had a real practice because the Vikings shut him down before training camp began. The tight end might need some time to make the transition from college to the pros.”
It’s worth noting that the aforementioned McCarthy has forged chemistry with his tight ends to start his young career. Bartholomew could be the latest installment.
“Though the final three games are irrelevant for the Vikings’ nonexistent playoff chances, they won’t let a player see the field who is not ready for action from a physical or competitive standpoint. Therefore, it’s not a given he’ll actually make his debut,” Eckardt concluded.
Bartholomew is a Pennsylvania native.
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