Vikings Auditioned a Player and the Lions Signed Him
As the players prepare for their first preseason matchup, the roster is set. No further moves are expected to take place until kickoff on Saturday, when the Minnesota Vikings challenge the Houston Texans.
Vikings Auditioned a Player and the Lions Signed Him
A few days ago, the Vikes had a visitor at TCO Performance Center, as they worked out tight end Steven Stilianos. He’s now joined a different team.
Lions Snag the Tight End
Stilianos, a former UFL player, was signed by the Lions, UFL reporter James Larsen reported Thursday on social media: “NEWS: The Detroit #Lions are signing @XFLBrahmas TE Steven Stilianos, source confirms.”
The tight end attended the University of Iowa after starting at Lafayette.
Larsen added, “Stilianos joined the Brahmas right as the #UFL season began, totaling 86 yards & 1 TD. The former Iowa product impressed as a run blocker – and also threw a TD on a trick play.”
The Vikings have added some UFL (or back in the day, USFL and XFL) players in the past, including Lucky Jackson and Jalen Redmond, who both have a decent shot at making the 53-man roster.
Lions reporter Christian Booher of Si.com noted, “According to multiple reports, the Lions are signing former San Antonio Brahmas tight end Steven Stilianos. He joins a competition for the team’s third tight spot with Shane Zylstra, Zach Horton and Kenny Yeboah.”
Sam LaPorta, Detroit’s top tight end, spent time at Iowa in the same position room as the newcomer. Stilianos has an unremarkable receiving background, but he might be a solid blocker. We’ll never know whether the Vikings turned the tight end down or the other way around.
Vikings Add Veteran Instead
Instead, the Vikings added a much more experienced player in Nick Vannett. The 32-year-old has had stints with the Seattle Seahawks (2015-2019), Pittsburgh Steelers (2019), Denver Broncos (2020), New Orleans Saints (2021-2022), New York Giants (2022), Houston Texans (2023), Los Angeles Chargers (2023), and Tennessee Titans (2024).
In all those chapters, he accumulated 1,012 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in 111 games. Just last year, he contributed 135 receiving yards to the Titans’ forgettable season.
Tight End Competition
The newest Viking will compete for a depth spot in Minnesota’s tight end group. Gavin Bartholomew, the sixth-round rookie, has yet to participate in practice because of a back injury. Due to his draft pedigree, he was the favorite to be Johnny Mundt’s successor at the TE3 gig, as the veteran departed to Jacksonville in free agency.
Instead, it’ll be a wide-open competition between multiple players. Perhaps the favorite is undrafted rookie Ben Yurosek. Many believed he was a draftable tight end, but he didn’t get picked. The Vikings opened the checkbook to lure the Stanford and Georgia alumnus to the Twin Cities. His profile shows some solid athleticism and a willingness to block that could help him.
In June, the club also bolstered depth with Giovanni Ricci, another veteran tight end, because Bartholomew missed practice. Ricci has been with three other franchises before and has seen playing time in 36 games, most recently in 2023. In his resume, there are nine catches for 102 yards.
Finally, the Vikings employ another rookie: North Carolina’s Bryson Nesbit. He was a frequent pass-catching tight end in college, but isn’t nearly gaining as much steam as the other guys. Nesbit is the underdog in the race for TE3.
That competition will be on full display in the preseason. In those three exhibitions, tight ends usually fare pretty well, because QBs tend to target the big men in the middle of the field. Ex-Viking Nick Muse made a good impression in the last two preseasons.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
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