Key Part of Vikings Offense on His Way Back
Minnesota Vikings tight end Josh Oliver injured his foot during his team’s terrible loss at the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 8, missing the following two contests against the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens. Now, Oliver is nearing a return.
A crucial piece of the Vikings offense is nearing a return from injury, giving Kevin O’Connell’s unit a much-needed boost heading into Week 11.
The Vikings will host the Chicago Bears this weekend, and all signs point to Oliver in the lineup.
Josh Oliver Inches Toward Return to Vikings Lineup
Minnesota emphatically needs more TE production.
Oliver Expected to See Action in Week 11
Oliver’s path to return has been cleared. Head coach Kevin O’Connell said Monday, “Josh Oliver should return to the practice field and work his way up to hopefully giving us some snaps on Sunday.”
The Athletic‘s Alec Lewis also noted on X, “Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell said TE Josh Oliver should be back at practice this weekend and able to provide some snaps Sunday against the Bears.”
A Boost for Run Blocking and to the Passing Game
Oliver’s main claim to fame is run-blocking, and that’s the main reason there’s a spot for him in the Vikings’ offense. And wouldn’t you know it? One of Minnesota’s biggest bugaboos this season is running the football, and last weekend especially, refusing to do so in a game when the ground attack fetched over six yards per carry.
Theoretically, Oliver’s return to the lineup should encourage O’Connell to run the ball more, particularly after taking heat from fans after Week 10. With a 22-year-old quarterback in a tight game, O’Connell chose to throw the ball 42 times and ran the thing on just 18 occasions.
That won’t work with a young quarterback under center who’s developing on the fly.
Oliver is one of the NFL’s best run-blocking tight ends. Use him. Run the ball.
Ben Yurosek in Oliver’s Stead
In late April, the Vikings onboarded a tight end named Ben Yurosek from the University of Georgia, an undrafted find who came in handy when 6th-Round draft pick Gavin Bartholomew, also a tight end, battled injuries out of the gate in his career.
Yurosek filled the Oliver role in the last couple of games and will presumably revert to TE3 duties this Sunday.
The first-year tight end notably recovered a bad Myles Price fumble against the Ravens last weekend, a play that temporarily saved the game.
Do or Die on Sunday
Somehow, while nobody was looking, the Bears, Minnesota’s next opponent, stumbled their way to a 6-3 record. On paper, that looks formidable — but the team Minnesota will see this time isn’t quite the same one it handled back in Week 1, not with J.J. McCarthy now firmly in command.
That’s why getting Oliver back matters. In previous years, the Vikings could’ve survived a Chicago matchup without his blocking and physicality. Not this season. The 2025 version of the Bears, while still flawed, can actually hang around long enough to make you regret every missed assignment.
Still, the numbers don’t love them. Per DVOA, Chicago ranks as the league’s eighth-worst team — a wild stat for a supposed contender. Their strength of victory tells the truth: they’re beating bad teams and folding against good ones. The record might sparkle; under the hood is a different story.
More on Oliver
Our Brevan Bane noted on Oliver last week, “While Oliver doesn’t contribute a ton in the passing game, the Vikings will miss his services when it comes to blocking. His grades from PFF in regards to his blocking aren’t nearly as prolific as they have been in years past.”
“His run blocking and pass blocking grades for 2025 are only a 58.8 and 55.9 respectively. For example, in 2024, his run blocking grade was a 73.0 while his pass blocking grade was a 62.5. Either way, a Vikings run game trying to build momentum will certainly miss his expertise against a good defense.”
O’Connell said about his TE depth before Week 10, “Nick Vannett is a guy that we went out and got for a reason, veteran presence, kind of along the lines of what Josh Oliver brings, is Nick’s skill set.”
“We feel really good about the depth we have, not only Nick, but there’s a reason why we made sure to bring Ben Sims back to the building, along with Ben Yurosek, and then we’ve got Bryson Nesbit on the practice squad, along with Nick, that we feel like gives us a skill set that those guys are always progressing, working, and making sure they’re ready when their number’s called.”
Check Friday’s injury report for Oliver’s official Week 11 designation.
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