Beloved Viking to Miss First Game in 5 Years
C.J. Ham will miss his first game since the 2020 campaign.
A beloved Vikings veteran will miss his first game in five years, snapping an incredible streak and leaving Minnesota a bit shorthanded at the start of 2025.
The last time Ham missed a game, former head coach Mike Zimmer still had a year left on his tenure with the Minnesota Vikings.
Now, unfortunately, the durable Viking will miss at least the first four games of 2025.
An Injured Reserve Trip Awaits Vikings Fullback
Minnesota will be Hamless to start the J.J. McCarthy era.
C.J. Ham to Injured Reserve
After much suspense and anticipation, the Vikings dropped their initial 53-man roster on Tuesday, highlighting Ham’s IR fate.
Vikings.com‘s Lindsey Young wrote: “The Vikings on Tuesday placed fullback C.J. Ham and outside linebacker Tyler Batty on Injured Reserve-Designated to Return. The moves occurred during roster reductions and mean both players must miss at least the first four games of the season.”
“Teams can designate up to eight players for returning from Injured Reserve during a regular season (plus two more players if a team makes the playoffs). Ham has been a valuable member of the Vikings offense and special teams since 2017, when he was elevated to the active roster. He initially joined Minnesota on a tryout basis in 2016 and spent that season on the practice squad.”
It is now impossible for Ham to return anytime before Week 4 — the showdown against the Cleveland Browns in London in Week 5 is the first chance.
A Surprising and Bad Twist
The Vikings’ roster release featured many shocking twists. Ham’s fate represented one of the bad ones.
Minnesota hinted that Ham was battling an ankle injury, but no one knew for sure if that meant a minor malady or a surgery-requiring ordeal. It’s the latter — a minor procedure on Ham’s ankle.
In other stunning roster news, Minnesota waived outside linebacker Gabriel Murphy after a marvelous preseason, kept seven 2025 undrafted free agents on the active roster, and kept just four cornerbacks on the initial 53-man depth chart.
What Now at Fullback?
Most teams have abolished fullbacks altogether. In that vein, the ship won’t sink in Minnesota. In fact, when Kevin O’Connell ran the Los Angeles Rams’ offense in 2020 and 2021, he didn’t use a fullback at all.
In the meantime, Minnesota kept these four running backs to pick up the slack:
- Aaron Jones
- Jordan Mason
- Ty Chandler
- Zavier Scott
There is no one-for-one replacement for Ham. Fullbacks are a dying breed in the NFL.
Other Injuries
Young mentioned rookie EDGE rusher Tyler Batty. He’ll miss the season’s first four games, too. Sixth-round rookie tight end Gavin Bartholomew is on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. That’s six games, minimum.
Rondale Moore is gone for the year, a bad knee. Again. And Jordan Addison isn’t hurt, but he’ll be suspended for three games out of the gate.
UDFA rookie center Zeke Correll is also on IR. He may be out for the season.
More on Ham
A to Z Sports‘ Tyler Forness predicted a Ham roster cut — that didn’t come true — earlier this month.
He explained, “Fullback feels like a lost art in the National Football League. Ham has been with the Vikings since 2016 and has been on the active roster since 2017. He’s earned his way to being a captain for the Vikings because of his work on special teams. However, his job could be in jeopardy.”
“This preseason, the Vikings have been using a lot more tight ends in the backfield instead of having a fullback. That kind of versatility is good from a roster math standpoint, and moving on from Ham would save the Vikings $2.75 million on the salary cap. Would it be good from a team chemistry standpoint? That’s the big question.”
And RotoBaller noted on Ham’s IR trip: “Minnesota Vikings fullback C.J. Ham (ankle) had a ‘simple procedure’ done on his ankle on Wednesday. Ham was on the team’s injury report with an ankle injury toward the end of the 2024 season, but he didn’t miss any games. The 31-year-old veteran fullback shouldn’t face a lengthy recovery timeline after having a minor surgery on his ankle and should be able to take part in most of the team’s offseason workouts.”
“He will not be anywhere near the fantasy radar once again going into the 2025 campaign after seeing only two carries for 10 yards and one touchdown and adding five receptions on six targets for 35 yards through the air in 17 regular-season games in his eighth year with the Vikings in 2024. In his eight NFL seasons, Ham has only 39 rushing attempts for 114 yards and four TDs and has caught 82 passes for 670 yards and two TDs in 130 games played.”
Ham turned 32 this summer.
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