Vikings Dealing with 2 Early Injuries at Camp
It’s time. Minnesota Vikings training camp will get cooking this week — this weekend especially — and the team’s roster will take final shape in the next 6-7 weeks.
Vikings training camp is basically here, and out of the gate, a couple of injuries will get in the way. Here’s who and what it means for the purple team.
And per usual operations, some players from each NFL team carry an injury status into the summer. The Vikings weren’t excluded.
Rookies Gavin Bartholomew, a tight end, and Chaz Chambliss, an outside linebacker, will start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform List (PUP).
It’s That Time — Pre-Camp Injury Designations
The Vikings put two men on the PUP list to start the week.
2 Rookies Hit the Shelf
Star Tribune‘s Ben Goessling broke the news Monday with a tweet: “The Vikings placed two rookies on the PUP list on Monday: sixth-round tight end Gavin Bartholomew and undrafted linebacker Chaz Chambliss.”
Minnesota discovered Bartholomew in Round 6 of the 2025 NFL Draft. He’s tentatively on deck for a TE3 job this fall.
Chambliss became a Viking through undrafted free agency and faces an uphill battle to make the active roster.
Gavin Bartholomew (TE)
Johnny Mundt, the team’s TE3 for the last couple of seasons, departed in free agency for the Jacksonville Jaguars in March, following quarterback Nick Mullens and new Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski to that AFC South club.
With a productive training camp and preseason, the TE3 gig is presumably Bartholomew’s to lose. The PUP trip obviously doesn’t help that outlook.
VikingsWire’s Andrew Harbaugh recently noted on Bartholomew, “The former Pittsburgh Panther tight end showed a similar skillset to that of Johnny Mundt during his days in college and now the Vikings think he can do the same role for much less than the Jaguars are paying Mundt.”
“His competition with Muse will fly under the radar for most everyone who follows the NFL but Vikings should follow it for how often the team uses their tight end depth.” Note: Nick Muse is no longer around the Twin Cities, but there’s still TE competition.
Chaz Chambliss (OLB)
Minnesota has plenty of UDFA EDGE rushers, including Bo Richter, Gabriel Murphy, and Tyler Batty. Chambliss is merely the latest.
Some fans, perhaps those who follow the SEC closely — Chambliss is a Georgia Bulldog — think he can earn a spot on the active roster in September.
Our Kyle Joudry wrote about Chambliss in May: “The team website puts Mr. Chambliss at 6’1″ and 242 pounds. No doubt, the size is concerning if one is looking to make a living as an NFL edge rusher. Consider, as a point of reference, someone who is perfectly built for the position: Danielle Hunter.”
“The former Viking stands at 6’5″ and weighs 263 pounds. He is ultra explosive and has very long arms, perfect for doing battle with the NFL’s bully offensive tackles. Chambliss won’t have the advantages that accompany a build like the one Hunter has.”
More realistically, Chambliss has a reasonable chance to make Minnesota’s practice squad.
Joudry added, “The way to win for Chambliss is going to involve unbelievable effort, excellent toughness, and a commitment to perfecting technique. Anything less than that collection of abilities will likely lead to being out of work before too long. During the 2024 season, Chaz Chambliss played in fourteen games for Georgia.”
“He offered his Bulldogs 40 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, and 1 fumble recovery. Keep in mind, as well, that he was part of the 2021 and 2022 Georgia teams that won the National Championship.”
Good News, All Things Considered
The Detroit Lions recently tossed defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike on IR this week, a brutal blow that will cause the veteran lineman to miss the entire 2025 season. While the Bartholomew and Chambliss injuries are not ideal, it could’ve been a whole lot worse with bigger names on the Vikings’ PUP list.
Minnesota can somewhat easily navigate PUP trips for Bartholomew and Chambliss.
Keep an Eye on the New Players for Injuries
The Vikings could still tab players with an injury designation. They’re not out of the woods yet.
For example, every high-profile offensive lineman and defensive tackle added by general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah this offseason — Will Fries, Ryan Kelly, Jonathan Allen, and Javon Hargrave — ended the 2024 campaign on injured reserve.
It won’t be weird one bit for Fries, as an example, to miss some of training camp.
Otherwise, the injury outlook for Minnesota right now is pretty favorable.
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