Vikings Officially Hit with Major Setback
When Rondale Moore injured his knee in last weekend’s preseason game, everybody feared the worst.
The Minnesota Vikings have put a key offensive player on injured reserve while also making multiple roster moves as the regular season approaches in four weeks.
Everybody was right.
The Minnesota Vikings’ speedy wideout and return man indeed will be lost for all of 2025, putting his career in jeopardy. The team announced the awful news on Tuesday.
Vikings WR Rondale Moore Can’t Catch a Break
Minnesota must now find a Moore-like replacement internally or externally.
Injured Reserve Confirmed for Rondale Moore
An IR trip is official for Moore. ESPN’s Kevin Seifert noted this week, “Vikings receiver/punt returner Rondale Moore suffered a season-ending left knee injury in Saturday’s preseason game against the Texans, the team confirmed Tuesday after reviewing his MRI test results.”
“The news means that Moore will miss a full season for the second consecutive year. The Vikings placed him on season-ending injured reserve Tuesday.”
The brutal injury occurred on Moore’s very first play back from the 2024 ACL tear. He escaped the first part of training camp without any major hiccups, but the preseason contest against the Houston Texans was not kind.
Moore will not return in 2025.
A Gruesome Blow for the 25-Year-Old
The precedent for a player bouncing back to NFL stardom after back-to-back seasons with season-ending injuries is minuscule. Moore must beat the odds.
The Arizona Cardinals extracted him from Round 2 of the 2021 NFL Draft, and because of his speed and college production, Cardinals fans had mammoth plans for Moore. He showed promise at times but fell significantly short of 2021 draft expectations.
Now, Moore will battle back just to play football in any capacity.
What’s Next at WR for the Vikings?
The Vikings are in a pickle, mainly because WR2 Jordan Addison will miss the regular season’s first three games due to a suspension. To replace Moore, the team can focus internally on these options:
- Jalen Nailor
- Tai Felton
- Lucky Jackson
- Silas Bolden
- Jeshaun Jones
Or it can explore free agency:
- Gabe Davis
- Amari Cooper
- Odell Beckham Jr.
- Nelson Agholor
- Tyler Boyd
- Brandon Powell
There are also trade theories involving these wide receivers:
- Adam Thielen
- Trey Palmer
- Curtis Samuel
- Javon Baker
Not for nothing, in two weeks, dozens of wideouts will hit the open market after roster cutdowns. Minnesota could reasonably find a Moore alternative from the waiver wire or post-roster-cutdown free agency.
A Segue for a Silas Bolden?
Without Moore in the preseason game’s remainder last weekend, the Vikings turned to undrafted free agent rookie Silas Bolden from the University of Texas.
Bolden showed some pizazz in the punt return realm, which was supposed to be Moore’s job in 2025. He also dropped a pass from quarterback Max Brosmer — not ideal. Still, if Minnesota seeks an internal solution to Moore’s IR trip, Bolden could be hungry enough and tailor-made for the arrangement.
The rookie is 5’8″ and 160 pounds, with 4.36 speed.
Bolden and More Replacement Theories
Fansided‘s Alicia de Artola tackled the Moore replacement question this week.
She wrote, “Anyone who knows Moore’s history knows how painful a long-term injury would be. Before he could play meaningful snaps with the Falcons, he tore his ACL during a joint practice on Aug. 7, 2024. On Aug. 9, 2025, he’s in danger of suffering a similar fate.”
“Back healthy, Moore was supposed to add some veteran depth to the Vikings wide receiver room while providing potential special teams value. If Moore is ruled out for an extended period, Minnesota could look in the free agent pool to replenish their WR competition. The likes of Amari Cooper and Gabe Davis are still floating around there.”
The Vikings, too, could easily re-sign last year’s WR5, Brandon Powell, and not overthink this thing. Powell served as the purple team’s punt returner in 2023 and 2024.
“However, this could also open a significant opportunity for undrafted free agent Silas Bolden, whose special teams potential could earn him a roster spot, especially if Moore is no longer an option there. Bolden spent his first four years of college with Oregon State before transferring to Texas,” de Artola made the case for Bolden.
“His output at receiver wasn’t much to write home about but he was a stellar return man. He led the SEC with 315 punt return yards in 2024. In 2022, he led the Pac-12 with 599 kick return yards. Bolden has called himself an “opportunist” and his biggest one yet may have just appeared.”
Moore will now begin his second career-defining comeback attempt in the last 12 months.
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